MINGLING OF TWO OCEANS- HINDUISM AND ISLAM

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MINGLING OF THE TWO OCEANS- HINDUISM AND ISLAM

Asghar Ali, Engineer

 

Dara Shikoh has made seminal contribution to the

composite culture of India. He was appointed heir apparent by Shah

Jahan and had he become emperor of India it would have certainly

made much difference to religio-cultural scene in India. Dara Shikoh

had learnt Sanskrit and studied the Hindu scripture in original. He

translated Upanishads into Persian directly from Sanskrit and called

it Sirr-e-Akbar (The Great Mystery). And in introduction to this

work he says that one finds in Upanishads the concept of tawhid (the

doctrine of Unity of God, the most fundamental doctrine of Islam)

after the Qur'an and perhaps the Qur'an refers to Upanishad when it

refers to Kitab al-Maknun (The Hidden Book). His work Majma`ul

Bahrayn (Mingling of the Two Oceans i.e. Hinduism and Islam) is very

seminal work in the history of composite culture of India.

 

Dara Shikoh who was the disciple of the disciple of

Mian Mir, the great Sufi saint who had laid the foundation stone of

the Har Mandir in Amritsar at the instance of the Sikh Guru shows in

this book that there is great deal of similarities between these two

great religions Hinduism and Islam. He divides his tract into twenty

sections like The Elements, The Senses, The Religious Exercises, The

Attributes, the Great Resurrection and so on. In each section he

discusses similarities between Hinduism and Islam.

 

For example, in the first section "Discourse on the

Elements" he compares the concept of these elements in Islam and

Hinduism. They are five in umber i.e. Arsh-i-Azam (The Great

Throne); secondly the wind, thirdly the Fire; Fourthly the water and

Fifthly the Dust. In the Indian language these are called Panch Bhut

namely akas, vayu, tejas, jala and prithvi. He then discusses these

elements and their similarities in both the traditions. Dara Shikoh

for example compares Ruhi-i-Azam with Jivatma.

 

Then coming to Sifat-I-Allah Ta`ala i.e. Divine

Attributes he says in Islamic Sufi tradition there are two Beauty

(Jamal) and Majesty (Jamal) while in Indian tradition it is three

called Triguna called Sattva, Rajas and tamas which mean Creation,

Duration and Destruction. Then he goes on to compare Brahma, Vishnu

and Mahishvara with Jibrail, Mika'il and Israfil. He says that

Brahma or Jibra'il is the (Superintending angel) of Creation; Vishnu

or Mika'il is the angel of Duration (or Existence) and Mahishwara or

Israfil is the angel of Destruction. Dara Shikoh further says that

water, wind and fire are also allied with these angels. Thus water

goes with Jibra'il, fire with Mika'il and air with Israfil.

Similarly Brahma is water, Vishnu is fire and Maheshwara is air.

 

In all these 20 sections in Majma`ul Bahrayn Dara Shikoh

finds similarities between both Hindu and Islamic (particularly

Sufi) traditions. The fanatics and fundamentalists in both the

traditions denounce each other and try to prove the truth of their

own religion. In such circumstances it is highly necessary to

popularise writings of persons like Dara Shikoh who uphold the truth

of all religious traditions. The Sufi Islam has been a bridge

between Hindus and Muslims in India. The very fundamental doctrine

of Sufism has been sulh-i-kula i.e. peace with all.

 

The Sufis go with essence, not with phraseology or

terminology. The Sufis studied the local traditions and adopted many

of them. Even in the Qur'an one finds remarkable similarities

between some of the Hindu traditions and Islamic tradition. For

example in Indian tradition we find Stayam, Shivam and Sundaram for

God. One finds in the Qur'an Huwa'l Haq (He is Truth ), Jamil

(Sundaram) and Jabbar (Shivam). All three Attributes are there in

the Qur'an.

 

Also, the often quoted saying that Vasudhaiv Kutumbakum

(entire universe is a family) finds its reflection in the Holy

Prophet's saying Al-khalqu `Ayalullah i.e. entire creation is

Allah's family. These are remarkable similarities between these two

traditions. It is on these similarities that the Sufis and others

built the bridges between the two communities. However, it is some

political interests, which selectively and superficially use some

traditions to divide Hindus and Muslims. Thus one can easily say

that while religions unite the politics divide.

 

Among the `Ulama persons like Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

came out with the doctrine of unity of religion (wahdat-i-din) which

is also very constructive approach. There have been many Sufi saints

in India like Mazhar Jan-i-Janan who accept Ram and Krishna as the

Prophets of God as Allah has stated in the Qur'an that He has sent

prophets to all nations. Thus we must promote similarities between

Hindus and Muslims and there are abundant examples of these

similarities in our scriptures.