Monastic life is not a feature of which major world religion?

• A. Judaism
• B. Hinduism
• C. Buddhism
• D. Islam

Answer: (D)

Monastic life means organized communities of monks or nuns who renounce ordinary society to devote themselves full-time to spiritual practice. This structure is central in Buddhism, where monasteries house monks and nuns living by strict rules. Hinduism also includes renunciant paths, like sanyasis, who pursue spiritual goals within ashrams or roaming communities. Islam does not have a formal monastic order or system of monk-nun communities; religious life is integrated into family and community life, with spirituality fostered through daily worship, study, and charitable practice, and, in some places, through Sufi orders that are spiritual fraternities rather than monasteries. Judaism likewise emphasizes study, ritual life, and community rather than monastic apartness. So, monastic life is not a feature of Islam.