The Significance Of Sabbath Day

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There is a famous poem by Emily Dickenson that starts with, ‘Some keep the Sabbath going to Church, I keep it at home'. The Sabbath day has always been associated with religious feelings and piety. Actually the main significance of Sabbath is the day of rest. Yes, Sabbath day is a day for rest and spiritual awakening. That is why, the term for taking a break or ‘sabbatical' originates in the word, ‘Sabbath'.

Biblical Reference: According to the story of Genesis, God created the earth in 6 days. On the seventh day, God took rest. This is the day of the Sabbath or our weekly off from work. On this day, we are supposed to take rest from worldly affairs and our daily work in honour of God. The significance of the Sabbath is mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible. It is in fact one of the ten commandments of Christianity.

Which Day Is Sabbath?

Although we know that Sabbath is supposed to be a day of rest, there is a considerable confusion about which day of the week should be kept as Sabbath. According to a majority of Christian traditions, Sunday is the day of Sabbath. Most of the modern countries in Christendom, have their weekly off on Sunday. Schools, offices and businesses are closed on Sundays. Sunday is also the day to visit the Church and listen to religious sermons.

But for the Jewish community, Sabbath does not come on Sunday. According to Judaism, Sabbath must be celebrated from sundown on Friday night until 3 stars come up in the sky on Saturday night. So basically, Jews celebrate Sabbath on a Saturday. For Jews, Sabbath is both a day of rest for God and also the celebration of the return of the scattered Jews from Egypt to Israel during the first exodus.

When we come to Islam, Friday is taken as the day of rest of Sabbath. Muslims celebrate Jumah or Friday as the Sabbath day in the week. According to the Koran, the day on which Allah mounted the Throne is the day when creation was completed. That is why, all Islamic countries have their weekly off on Fridays. Friday is also the day on which Muslims go for a special prayer in the mosque.

These are some points that define the significance of Sabbath day in different religions. Apart from the 3 main Abrahamic religions of the world, there many other religions that celebrate Sabbath on different days of the year.