Q463 :Male circumcision was introduced long ago by
Jews. Did the Jews also start the pilgrimage and fasting?
A463 : We cannot say of any religious practices that
it was started by the Jews or some other religions. All Divine faiths
were revealed by Allah. They have the same message to all mankind. The
basic beliefs are the same. Islam is only the final, netplete and
preserved version of this faith. There are bound to be similarities
between it and earlier religions preached by earlier prophets. The
history of the children of Israel dates back much further than the
revelation of the Torah to Prophet Moses (peace be upon him). As you
are aware, they are called the Children of Israel after Prophet Jacob
who is the grandson of Prophet Abraham whom Allah ordered to have
himself circumcised. Prophet Abraham was the first to make the
pilgrimage long before the Jewish religion came into existence. When
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) taught us the rituals of
pilgrimage, it is believed by many scholars that he put those practices
back to their original form, as they were done by Prophet Abraham. This
speaks much for the unity of Divine faith. Christianity and Judaism
have their prayers which are different from ours. We cannot say that
the Jews started prayer. It was a requirement of them imposed by Allah
in the same way as Muslims are required to offer five prayers everyday.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )