A comparison of the religious beliefs, rites, philosophical principles and practices in Zoroastrianism and Islam.
Comparison chart
 | Islam | Zoroastrianism |
|---|---|---|
 |  | |
| Place of origin | Arabian Peninsula, Mecca at Mount Hira. | Persia (Iran) |
| Practices | Five pillars: Testament that there is one God and Muhammad is his messenger (shahadah); prayer five times daily; fast during Ramadan; charity to the poor (zakat); pilgrimage (Hajj). | Fire is used in Zoroastrian worship. Zoroastrians also pray 5 times a day. |
| Use of statues and pictures | Images of God or prophets not permitted. Art takes the form of calligraphy, architecture etc. Muslims distinguish themselves from other groups by not drawing lifelike human works, which could be mistaken as idolatry. No image is representative of God | Permitted, there are several drawings regarding Prophet Zoroaster and symbolic images of God (Ahura Mazda). |
| Belief of God | Only one God (monotheism). God is the one True Creator. God has always existed, none existed before him and will exist forever. He transcends life and death. No part of His creation resembles Him, He cannot be seen, but sees all. | One God. |
| Place of worship | Mosque/masjid, any place which is considered clean by Islamic standards. | Dar-e Mehr (Persian) or Agiyari (Gujarati) or Fire temple |
| Founder | Prophet Muhammad. According to Islamic scripture, all people who follow God's revealed guidance and the messengers sent with it 'submit' to that guidance, and are considered Muslims (ie. Adam, Moses, Abraham, Jesus, etc.). | Zarathustra Haechataspa Spitama or Zoroaster (Greek) or Zartosht (Parsi) |
| Literal Meaning | Islam is derived from the Arabic root "Salema": peace, purity, submission and obedience. In the religious sense, Islam means submission to the will of God and obedience to His law. A Muslim is one who follows Islam. | Follower of Zoroaster. |
| Life after death | All beings created with reason will be accountable to God Almighty on the Day of Judgement. They will be rewarded for every atom's weight of good, and either forgiven or punished for evil deeds. | Eternal life in Heaven, or in Hell. |
| Human Nature | Humans are born pure and innocent. Upon reaching adolescence, you are responsible for what you do, and must choose right from wrong. Islam also teaches that faith and action go hand-in-hand. | equal ability to do good or evil. |
| Scriptures | The Qur'an, and traditions of the Holy Last messenger Muhammad, called 'Sunnah' which is found in narrations or 'hadiths' by the men around him. | The Zend Avesta. |
| Goal of religion | Fulfill gift and responsibility of this life through following the guidance of Holy Quran and Hadith, striving to serve mankind through compassion, justice, trustworthiness, and love for all of God's creation | To serve God, by good deeds towards others. To acquire and cultivate divine attributes, particularly “ good mind and righteousness; to elevate themselves in harmony with God and to listen to God’s guiding voice within them. |
| Followers | Muslims | Zoroastrians. |
| Means of Salvation | Belief in one God, remembrance of God, repentance, fear of God and hope in God's mercy. | Good thoughts, good words, and good deeds. |
| About | Islam consists of individuals who believe in Allah, a deity whose teachings its followers—Muslims—believe were recorded, verbatim, by the god's last prophet, Muhammad. | Zoroastrianism is one of the most earliest monotheistic faith, in a concept of the one creator God (Known as Ahura Mazda) |
| Clergy | Imam leads congregational prayer in a mosque. Sheikh, Maulana, Mullah and Mufti | Priests. |
| View of the Buddha | N/A. Islamic scripture does not discuss or mention Gautam Buddha. | N/A |
| Geographical distribution and predominance | There are 1.6 billion. By the percentage of the total population in a region considering themselves Muslim, 24.8% in Asia-Oceania, 91.2% in the Middle East-North Africa, 29.6% in Sub-Saharan Africa, around 6.0% in Europe, and 0.6% in the Americas. | Middle East, Central Asia and Northern India. |
| Belief | Belief in one God, who has sent messengers with revelation and guidance for humanity so they may be guided to good & who have came with both good news and a warning, the last & final messenger being Muhammad. | There is a cosmic battle between the Good God, Ahura Mazda, and the evil god, Ahriman. |
| God's role in salvation | You are judged according to your efforts to do good and avoid sinful behaviors, oppression, etc. God will judge your deeds and intentions. A person must believe in God and follow His commandments. | Follow God's Commands to do good deeds. |
| Prophets | God sent thousands of divinely inspired messengers to guide mankind. These include Adam, Solomon, David, Noah, Abraham, Ismail, Issac, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad. There are 124,000 prophets, who were sent to all the world's nations. | Zarathustra (Zoroaster) |
| Second coming of Jesus | Affirmed | N/A |
| Abrahamic Lineage | The ancestor of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم is Abraham (Ibrahim) through his son Ismael. | N/A. |
| Status of women | The prophet said "Do good to and serve your mother, then your mother, then your mother, then your father, then the near relatives and then those who come after them." Islam's honoring women is the great status of the mother in Islam. | Equal to men |
| Concept of God | Ninety nine names and attributes of Allah (God) who is infinite supreme, Sublimely one, all are dependent on him yet he depends on none. Self sufficient. without beginning and without end, and there is nothing comparable to him. | One God |
| Principle | Say, "He is Allah , [who is] One, Allah , the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, Nor is there to Him any equivalent." - Quran: Surah Al Ikhlas | Good thoughts, good words, and good deeds. |
| Definition | Islam is an Arabic word for "Submission or surrender in Ultimate Peace". Muslim means a believer in One God (Al-Illah or Allah) | Follower of Zoroaster. |
| Angels | Angels are created from light and remain unseen as they worship and follow God's commands. | Angels serve Ahura Mazda. |
| View of Oriental religions | Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Shino are not from following the right path. But, “… And We never punish until We have sent a Messenger (to give warning).” [al-Israa’ 17:15]. | N/A |
| Ressurection of Jesus | Denied because God raised Jesus to him and he will return before end of time to finish his life, correct any confusion about his teachings and restore order to the world. | Denied |
| Concept of Deity | God (Allah) is the only god and is all-powerful and omniscient. | One Good God, Who is in cosmic battle with one evil god. |
| Population | 1.6 billion Muslims | Approx. 100,000 Zoroastrians in the world. |
| View of other Dharmic religions | N/A. | Zoroastrianism was founded in protest of worshipping numerous Aryan/Hindu deities. |
| Virtue on which religion is based upon | Tawheed (oneness of God); Peace | Kindness. |
| Authority of Dalai Lama | N/A. | N/A. |
| Virtue in which religion is based upon | Peace, complete submission to God | Kindness |
| Time of origin | 600 C.E. | 2000 B.C. |
| Original Language | Arabic | Persian, Gathic Avestan |
Catholicism 
Sunni 
Catholicism
Comments: Islam vs Zoroastrianism
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