Islam and Other Religions - Prof. Shahul Hameed

[Guest guest]

Islam and Other Religions

Prof. Shahul Hameed

Mar. 28, 2006

 

[say: We believe in God, and in what has been revealed to us and what

was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and

in (the Books) given to Moses, Jesus, and the Prophets from their

Lord: We make no distinction between one and another.] (Aal `Imran

3:84)

 

Islam teaches the respect of all beliefs.

 

As is borne out by this command of God in the Qur'an, Muslims must

believe in all the prophets of God previously sent to humanity. This

means that they are not permitted to show any disrespect to any

prophet or to the religion he taught to his followers. To a Muslim,

religious belief must come out of a person's free choice, as God has

also commanded not to use any kind of coercion in the matter of

religion:

 

[Let there be no compulsion in religion, truth stands out clear from

error.] (Al-Baqarah 2:256)

 

It is the conviction of a religion's adherents, not the compulsion

they can impose on others, that establishes its moral force on earth.

This was a principle evident in the life and practice of the Prophet

Muhammad (peace be on him) as well as the Constitution of Madinah

which he drew up with the multi-religious community of Madinah.

 

This document guaranteed the freedom of worship to all religious

communities. This was the spirit of the Qur'an that shines into the

hearts of all its perceptive readers: the spirit of tolerance and

understanding. Allah says in the Qur'an that He has made people into

nations and tribes so that they can know and deal with each other in

an equal temper of kindness and generosity:

 

[O humankind! We created you from a single pair of a male and female,

and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know and deal with

each other in kindness (not that you may despise each other). Verily

the most honored of you in the sight of God (is he who is) the most

righteous of you, and God is Knower, Aware.] (Al-Hujurat 49:13)

 

The above verse emphasizes the point that in Islam there is no place

for intolerance, prejudice, or bigotry based on color, race,

nationality or any such considerations. This all-encompassing

tolerance of Islam applies to all elements of life and all affairs of

Muslims.

 

The Muslim's acceptance of the Jews and Christians (referred to in

the Qur'an as People of the Book) as authentic religious communities

is made clear:

 

[And dispute not with the People of the Book, except with means

better (than mere disputation), unless it be with those of them who

inflict wrong and injury.] (Al-`Ankabut 29:46).

 

This verse tells Muslims that they should take all measures to avoid

dispute, anger or other negative feelings between themselves and

others.

 

Islam and Other Religions - Prof. Shahul Hameed

 

 

------

 

Muslims unable to find even one of 123,974 missing prophets ......... 14

centuries later!!!

 

" Beginning with Adam, Islamic tradition asserts, God sends 124,000

prophets at various times and to every community to remind people of

their obligation to the one and only sovereign Lord and warn them

against heedlessness and disobedience. The Qur'an declares, `There is

not a nation but that a warner was sent to it' (Q. 26:207). Since

Muslims are still in the dark about the 123,974 missing prophets 14

centuries later perhaps help should be rendered. Maybe they should

check with ordinary Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Taoists. Maybe they

will begin hearing names like Shri Brahma, Saraswati, Vishnu,

Lakshmi, Shiva, Parvati, Ganesha, Kartekiya, Krishna, Radha, Rama,

Sita, Laxsman, Durga, Mahavira, Buddha, Tao, Confucius, Socrates,

Raja Janaka, Nanak, Zarathustra, Shirdi Sai Nath, Pindola Bharadvaja,

Ajita, Subinda,... "

 

To the Ummah,

 

i have realized that Muslims are yet unable to find even a single of

the 123,974 prophets missing for the last 14 centuries! Yes, it may

be hard to believe but true that till today so many missing prophets,

sages and seers cannot be found by the ulema and ummah. Out of the

124,000 prophets that Islamic traditions asserts were sent by God

Almighty, they only know the names of the 26 mentioned in the Quran.

 

Why has God sent prophets?

 

Islam teaches that God has sent prophets to humanity, in different

times and places, to communicate His message. Since the beginning of

time, God has sent His guidance through these chosen people. They

were human beings who taught the people around them about faith in

One Almighty God, and how to walk on the path of righteousness. Some

prophets also revealed God's Word through books of revelation.

 

What message have the prophets brought?

 

Muslims believe that all prophets gave guidance and instruction to

their people about how to properly worship God and live their lives.

Since God is One, His message has been one and the same throughout

time. In essence, all prophets taught the message of Islam - to find

peace in your life through submission to the One Almighty Creator; to

believe in God and to follow His guidance.

 

What does the Qur'an say about the prophets?

 

" The Messenger believes in what has been revealed to him from his

Lord, as do the men of faith. Each one of them believes in God, His

angels, His books, and His Messengers. They say: 'We make no

distinction between one and another of His Messengers.' And they

say: 'We hear, and we obey. We seek Thy forgiveness, Our Lord, and to

Thee is the end of all journeys.' " (Al-Baqarah, 2:285)

 

We did aforetime send messengers before thee: Of them there are some

whose story, We have related to thee. 4454

And some whose story We have not related to thee.

surah 40:78 Al Mu'nim (The Believer)

 

" 4454. Cf. 4:164. Allah sent Messengers of His Truth to every people.

There are some whose names are known to us through the Holy Qur'an,

but there are a large number whose names are not made known to us

through that medium. We must recognise the Truth wherever we find

it. "

 

Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an

(Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an, Amana Corporation, 1989.)

 

We did send messengers before thee, and appointed for them wives and

children:

And it was never the part of a messenger to bring a Sign except as

Allah permitted (or commanded).

For each period is a Book (revealed).

 

surah 13:38 Al Ra'd (The Thunder)

(Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an, Amana Corporation, 1989.)

 

" Beginning with Adam, Islamic tradition asserts, God sends 124,000

prophets at various times and to every community to remind people of

their obligation to the one and only sovereign Lord and warn them

against heedlessness and disobedience. The Qur'an declares, `There is

not a nation but that a warner was sent to it' (Q. 26:207) "

 

Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an

(Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an, Amana Corporation, 1989.)

 

" The Qur'an mentions by name, however, twenty-six prophets and

messengers, most of whom are biblical personages. These include

Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, Elijah, Jonah, John the Baptist,

Jesus, and others. The Qur'an also mentions three Arabian prophets:

Shu'ayb (possibly Jethro, Moses's father-in-law), Hud, and Salih. "

 

Mahmoud M. Ayoub, World Religions: The Islamic Tradition

(World Religions, edited by Willard G. Oxtoby, Oxford University

Press Canada, 1996, p. 363.)

 

What about the numerous missing prophets?

 

That leaves 123,974 unaccounted for i.e. 124,000 - 26 = 123,074

missing prophets. For more than 1,400 years the Islamic scholars and

theologians have been searching for these very large number of

Allah's Messengers, but yet have been unable to find them. Although

they were sent to Earth the overwhelming majority of His Messengers

cannot be found — this is preposterous, to say the least! Who were

they? Where are they? When did they come? What did they do? What do

they look like? What are their names? Who know these Messengers,

their wives and children? Are their names mentioned in the holy

scriptures of Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism? Is it possible that

ordinary, even illiterate Hindus, Buddhists or Sikhs can name scores

off the cuff?

 

The learned Islamic scholars do not have a `clue' and are in fact

still 'waiting' to locate and identify them. A billion Muslims may

also be professing to be `searching' alongside, but until today not

even a single Messenger that was sent aforetime has been found! The

search for these Missing Messengers must be one of the greatest acts

of hypocrisy in the annals of Islamic history! We are talking about a

colossal number - 123,974 to be precise!

 

" The Koran did not see revelation as canceling out the messages and

insights of previous prophets, but instead stressed the continuity of

the religious experience of mankind. It is important to stress this

point because tolerance is not a virtue that many Western people

today would feel inclined to attribute to Islam. Yet from the start,

Muslims saw revelation in less exclusive terms than either Jews or

Christians. The intolerance that many people condemn in Islam today

does not always spring from a rival vision of God but from quite

another source: Muslims are intolerant of injustice, whether this is

committed by rulers of their own — like Shah Muhammad Reza Pahlavi of

Iran — or by the powerful Western countries. The Koran does not

condemn other religious traditions as false or incomplete but shows

that each new prophet as conforming and continuing the insights of

his predecessors. The Koran teaches that God had sent messengers to

every people on the face of the earth: Islam tradition says there had

been 124,000 such prophets, a symbolic number suggesting infinitude.

Thus the Koran repeatedly points out that it is not bringing a

message that is essentially new and that Muslims must emphasize their

kinship with the other religions:

 

Do not argue with the followers of earlier revelation otherwise than

in the most kindly manner — unless it be such of them as are set on

evil doing — and say: " We believe in that which has been bestowed

upon us, as well as that which has been bestowed upon you: for our

God and your God is one and the same, and it is unto him that we

[all] surrender ourselves.

 

The Koran naturally singles out apostles who were familiar to the

Arabs—like Abraham, Noah, Moses and Jesus, who were the prophets of

the Jews and Christians. It also mentions Hud and Salih, who had been

sent to the ancient Arab peoples of Midan and Thamood. Today Muslims

insist that if Muhammad had known about Hindus and Buddhists, he

would have included their religious sages. "

 

Karen Armstrong, A History of God

(Karen Armstrong, A History of God, Ballantine Books, 1993, p. 152)

 

" All these great (Muslim) saints were respected by Shiites but still

they could not transcend the limits of religiosity. So they also

became extremely fanatic. Firstly, they would not see to another

religion where they had saints. They would not respect the saints who

belonged to another religion... They also did not realize that there

saints who are not so-called Muslims. "

 

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

Shri Fatima Puja, Geneva, Switzerland — August 14, 1988

 

Did even a single Muslim search for the missing prophets?

 

Why are the Islamic scholars, theologians, and their billion

believers still completely in the dark in their `earnest' search for

the missing Messengers, despite looking at every nook and cranny of

Earth for 14 centuries? Why have they failed so miserably in this

modern information age? " Today Muslims insist that if Muhammad had

known about Hindus and Buddhists, he would have included their

religious sages. " What are we to understand from this statement? Are

we to believe that Prophet Muhammad, the most perfect human according

to Muslims, was not so perfect in as far as geography and history is

concerned? Do we conclude that Prophet Muhammad did not know about

Hindus and Buddhists because Allah is just as ignorant! Then what are

we to understand of this verse:

 

To Allah belongs the East and the West; Whithersoever ye turn, there

is Allah's countenance. For Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing.

 

surah 2:115 Al Baqarah (The Heifer)

(Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an, Amana Corporation, 1989.)

 

We did send messengers before thee, and appointed for them wives and

children:

And it was never the part of a messenger to bring a Sign except as Allah

permitted. For each period is a Book (revealed.)

Allah doth blot out or confirm what He pleaseth: With Him is the

Mother of the Book.

 

surah 13:38-39 Al Ra'd (The Thunder)

(Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an, Amana Corporation, 1989.)

 

What help can be rendered to Muslims?

 

Since Muslims are still in the dark about the 123,974 missing

prophets 14 centuries later perhaps help should be rendered. Maybe

they should check with ordinary Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Taoists.

Maybe they will begin hearing names like Shri Brahma, Saraswati,

Vishnu, Lakshmi, Shiva, Parvati, Ganesha, Kartekiya, Krishna, Radha,

Rama, Sita, Laxsman, Durga, Mahavira, Buddha, Tao, Confucius,

Socrates, Raja Janaka, Nanak, Zarathustra, Shirdi Sai Nath, Pindola

Bharadvaja, Ajita, Subinda, Kalika, Vajraputra, Bhadra, Kanakavatsa,

Kanaka Bhadra, Nakula, Rahula, Chudapanthaka, Angaja, Panthaka,

Nagasena, Jivaka, Vanavasin, .... (A thousand names can be easily

provided. 100,000 would just require some midnight-oil.) Maybe they

should confirm with the Vedas, Puranas, Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita,

Shri Lalita Sahasranama, Dhammapada, Pali Canon, Lalitavistara, Tao

Te Ching, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, and other Holy Scriptures. Maybe

they should ask fellow beings — Hindus, Buddhists, Taoists, Jains,

Sikhs — if they know anything about these Missing Messengers. Maybe

these Islamic scholars may have overlooked all these suggestions,

century after century. Maybe none of these simple solutions ever

crossed their minds as ignorance is bliss.

 

But since in these modern age we have the evidence and means to

identify well over 123,974 prophets, seers and sages mentioned in the

holy scriptures of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Taoism are Muslims

interested? Does the Ummah want to know the identity and teachings of

the missing 123,974 missing prophets of Islam? i guess not.

 

regards to all,

 

jagbir

 

 

" The most prevalent expression of worship comes as devotion to God

and the Gods. Hindus believe in one Supreme Being. The plurality of

Gods are perceived as divine creations of that one Being. So,

Hinduism has one supreme God, but it also has an extensive hierarchy

of many, many Gods. Still there are many who view the Gods as mere

symbols, representations of forces or mind strata, or as various

personifications generated as a projection of man's mind onto an

impersonal pure Beingness. In reality, the Gods are individual soul

beings, and down through the ages ordinary men and women, great

saints and sages, prophets and mystics in all cultures have inwardly

seen, heard and been profoundly influenced by these superconscious

inner plane beings. "

 

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, November 1998

(Himalayan Academy, 1998, www.hinduismtoday.kauai.hi.us/welcome.html)

 

 

" This need of wider intellectual enlightenment concerning both the

nature of the world and its correct relation to the mystical view of

man, in short, Truth in all its fullness, caused me to look around

and consider where else it might be satisfied. I knew several of the

answers of the West, knew too that they were often excellent as far

as they went, but they did not go far enough. . . . I knew something

of the Western philosophies, admirably reasoned and laboriously

worked out as they were, but their tremendous conflict of opinion

largely cancelled out each other's value and left the student

bewildered. I knew however that the forest thinkers of Asiaitic

countries had leisurely pondered this problem long before the first

city Greeks had begun to ponder it in Europe. Moreover there was this

vital difference that whereas the Western thinkers usually claimed

that nobody had discovered ultimate truth and that human limitations

were so narrow that nobody was likely to discover it, the authors of

old Asiatic books claimed that ultimate truth was certainly

discoverable and that a few sages had definitely known it....

 

I felt therefore that if hope lay anywhere it lay in Asia, the

continent where the world's most renowned religious, mystic and

philosophical teachers from Jesus to Confucius had been born. It

needed but slightly more consideration to narrow the search to India

because I knew from wide study and personal travel that all the

Asiatic lands, like Tibet, China, and Japan had directly or

indirectly derived their philosophic knowledge, yoga systems and

religious speculations from this single fountain-head. "

 

Paul Brunton, Ph.D., The Hidden Teaching Beyond Yoga

E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1966, p. 39-40.