Document Type : Research Paper
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Abstract
The servants of God usually, in places for praying, request Him to fulfill their material and spiritual needs, most importantly to protect them from harm and death. With a contrastive methodology, this paper aims at investigating the quality of praying in sacred books (the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Qur’an). It first focuses on the etymology of the word praying and then examines its status in different holy books. Then a brief comparison is made between different perspectives. According to the Old Testament, the place of praying is synagogue; in the New Testament church is the place for praying and in the Qur’an, mosque. The Old Testament emphasizes that the place of praying should be made of stone, be located in a high area of land and be the place for sacrifice. The New Testament focuses merely on believers and in the holy Qur’an the believers, the place and the time are all emphasized. Unlike the New Testament, the Old Testament has laid down some rules for entering the place of praying; the Qur’an has forbidden the unbelievers from entering the Holy Mosque. The Holy Mosque, with regard to its Islamic praying-social orientation, cannot be compared to any other place of praying; such orientation does not exist in Judaism and Christianity.
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