Sanctity of Human Life, Corpse’s reverence and Abortion in Islam and Buddhism: Comparative Study

Abstract

Human beings are the cynosure of the whole universe. Islam and Buddhism both emphasized the sanctity of human life. The killing of people is not allowed in Islam in any form whatsoever. In Buddhism, the non-violence (Ahimsa) philosophy states that every living thing’s life is sacred. This study is aimed to identify the teachings of Islam and Buddhism regarding corpse’s reverence and abortion. Islam markedly stress on the holiness of human life. In Islam, it is not permissible for a person to attack someone's life or property or reputation. According to Buddhist’s concept of Karma and Cycle of Samsara, the life of human beings is equal to that of all other living things that is why Buddhism does not allow the killing of insects. A comparative methodology will be adopted in this study. It is concluded that both Islam and Buddhism have the same viewpoint on the sanctity of human life but regarding the corpse’s reverence and abortion, these have a different perspective.