Allah's first words to our prophet (pbuh) was "Iqra" (meaning read, recite) and the Quran says for us to gain knowledge and weigh them, ponder upon them, and use intellect to decide what is truth and what is not.
During the golden age, Muslims travelled to Greece - a nation that is known to be polytheist in ancient times - why? to get the works of their philosophers and historians so they could read abut the cultures and beliefs of other people and learn some things... Like Philosophy, which the Muslims heavily improved upon - especially imam al Ghazali.
Making blanket statements such as "reading about falsehood sounds like a waste of time..." without considering the reasons why people do so - is kinda ignorant.
I suppose it depends on what you're reading and why you're reading it, and obviously don't go and end up believing in it, lol.
Of course, as Muslims, we should primarily focus on learning as much of our deen as we can, to benefit us spiritually and in our everyday lives. However, I also think comparative religion has its place, I have always found the conflicting religious ideas concerning the afterlife, creation stories, attitudes to ethical issues ect fascinating - and in a way it also reinforced my own faith and belief in Islam. When placed side by side, the criterion between truth and error stares at you bright as day.
I've never been interested too much in studying the mythology of extinct cultures and religions tbh, or going into those myths and tales surrounding them, I didn't see too much of a point. But the ones which still exist today, or have had a lasting impact on society today, are interesting to read up on.
However, I also think comparative religion has its place, I have always found the conflicting religious ideas concerning the afterlife, creation stories, attitudes to ethical issues ect fascinating - and in a way it also reinforced my own faith and belief in Islam. When placed side by side, the criterion between truth and error stares at you bright as day.
Yes, this ^
See, I studied Homer's two volumes, and these are Myth, obviously. I did so to understand the values which the ancient Greeks held dear to their race. Why? So when I debate a Christian who is Greek (and there are many) I can know what bias they foster and why they swapped one form of polytheism for another.
That itself is rather revealing.
For the brother who wrote: "reading about falsehood sounds like a waste of time..." I say "Know thy enemy".
The mythology is part of the culture history. It tells how people were thinking earlier times, what kind of rituals they had, how they understood the world around them etc. so by that part it´s not "false". I see it just as a part of history and don´t know why knowing and understanding history might be bad.
But if someone writes a story where he tells about mythology of some imagination culture he just created in his mind, it´s the other thing of course.
You know, there was time I studied Ancient Egyptian mythology a lot - I have no idea why. and honestly it was a little creepy.
But those Egyptian Pharaohs, they put the materialism and consumerism of the 21st century to shame. They practically squeezed every single possession they owned into their pyramids- food, furniture, gold, servants, wives, pets.....subhanAllah. Like talk about attachment to the dunya, of course the most well-known example of this being Fir'awn.
You know, there was time I studied Ancient Egyptian mythology a lot
Did you notice that the Greek Mythos is mirrored by the Egyptian Mythos? And that too - mirrored by the Nordic Myhtos? And that too, mirrored by the Hindu Mythos? The stories are similar if not the same - names are different due to language
Check.
Mithra, Horus, Attis, Krishna, Dionysus, and the trinity of Christianity - can you see the corruption of collusion?
Did you notice that the Greek Mythos is mirrored by the Egyptian Mythos? And that too - mirrored by the Nordic Myhtos? And that too, mirrored by the Hindu Mythos? The stories are similar if not the same - names are different due to language
Check.
Mithra, Horus, Attis, Krishna, Dionysus, and the trinity of Christianity - can you see the corruption of collusion?
Interesting isn't it?
dem na like we. lol
Scimi
It's true, I've noticed how similar many mythologies are, Roman, Greek, Egyptian, Indian.
It makes a lot of sense, they often borrowed from one another, maybe passed on via word of mouth to different cultures, and these mythologies discuss existential issues like creation and death which no doubt every single person wonders about in life - then they construct the answers to those questions to suit their own cultures, shaped by what already exists.
Some also seem to take elements from the monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam (like the great flood story is often found) no doubt borrowed from those religions as the Middle East was pretty much the centre of civilization way back.
The same way, Christianity and Judaism some way down the line became influenced by the mythologies around them.
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