Prophet Muhammad in Hindu Scriptures by DR. Z. HAQ

Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) In Hindu Scriptures ‫ٱ ٱلَ ۡ َ ٰ ِ ٱلَ ِ ِي‬ ِ ‫ِ ۡ ِي‬ In the name of Allah, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful All Praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, the [One Who] Sustains the Heavens and Earths, Director of all that is created, who sent the Messengers (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon all of them) to rational beings, to guide them and explain the religious laws to them with clear proofs and undeniable arguments. I praise Him for all of His bounties. I ask Him to increase His Grace and Generosity. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah alone, who has no partner, the One, Who Subdues, the Generous, the Forgiving. I bear witness that our leader Muhammad is His servant and Messenger, His beloved and dear one, the best of all creation. He was honoured with the Glorious Qur’an that has been an enduring miracle throughout the years. He was also sent with his guiding Sunnah that shows the way for those who seek guidance. Our leader Muhammad has been particularised with the characteristic of eloquent and pithy speech, and simplicity and ease in the religion. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, the other Prophets and Messengers, all of their families and the rest of the righteous. NO Copyrights!!! This book can be printed or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, without permission from the publisher for the sake of spreading the True teachings of Islam. ( P e a c e B e U p o n H i m ) IN HINDU SCRIPT URES DR. Z. HAQ Source: www. prophetmuhammadforall. org 1 There Never Was A People Without A Warner Qur'an 35:24 Verily We have sent t hee (Muhammad) in t rut h as a bearer of glad t idings and as a warner: And there never was a people without a warner having lived among them (in the past) . Qur'an 16:36 For We assuredly sent amongst every People an apostle (wit h t he Command) "Serve Allah and eshew Evil ": Of t he people were some whom Allah guided and some on whom Error became inevit ably (est ablished). So t ravel t hrough t he eart h and see what was t he end of t hose who denied (t he Trut h). Qur'an 4:164 And Messengers (Prophet s who received revealed books) We have ment ioned unt o t hee (Muhammad) bef ore And Messengers We have not mentioned unto thee ; And Allah spoke direct ly unt o Moses. These verses of t he Holy Qur’ an t est if y t hat Allah (the One True God) has sent prophet s t o every people. Theref ore, it is not surprising t o Muslims t o f ind prophecies about t he Last Prophet , Muhammad (s), in previously revealed script ures. Moreover, Allah had t aken covenant wit h t he Prophet s t o believe and help f ut ure Prophet s of Allah, as indicat ed by t he verse quot ed below. Allah's Covenant with Prophets Qur'an 3:81-82 Behold! Allah t ook t he covenant of t he Prophet s saying: "I give you a Book and Wisdom; t hen comes t o you an Apost le conf irming what is wit h you; do ye believe him and render him help. " Allah said: "Do ye agree and t ake t his My Covenant as binding on you?" They said: "We agree. " He said: "Then bear wit ness and I am wit h you among t he wit nesses. " If any t urn back af t er t his t hey are pervert ed t ransgressors. A Brief Introduction to Hindu Scriptures Source: www. prophetmuhammadforall. org 2 The Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, and Brahmanas Grant h are t he f our sacred books in Hindu religion. The last one is a comment ary on t he Vedas, but it is considered as a revealed book. These books are in Sanskrit , t he sacred language of t he Hindus. The Vedas are divided int o four books: Rig Veda, Yaj ur Veda, Sam Veda and At harva Veda. Of t hese, t he f irst t hree books are considered t he more ancient books, and t he Rig Veda is t he oldest of t hem. The Rig Veda was compiled in t hree long and dif f erent periods. Opinions great ly dif f er as t o t he dat e of compilat ion or revelat ion of t he f our Vedas. Swami Daya Nand, f ounder of t he Arya Samaj , holds t he opinion t hat t he Vedas were revealed 1. 3 billion years ago, while ot hers (Hindu scholars and orient alist s) hold t he opinion t hat t hey are not more t han f our t housand years old. Analysis of t he Vedas reveal dif f erences in t he account s of t he places where t hese books were revealed and t he Rishis (Prophet s) t o whom t hese script ures were given. Nevert heless, t he Vedas are t he most aut hent ic script ures of t he Hindus. The Upanishads are considered next t o t he Vedas in order of superiorit y and aut hent icit y. However, some Pandit s consider t he Upanishads t o be superior t o t he Vedas primarily f rom t he int ernal evidence f ound in t he Upanishads. Next in aut hent icit y t o t he Upanishads are t he Puranas. The Puranas are t he most widely read of all Hindu Script ures, as t hese are easily available (t he Vedas are dif f icult t o f ind). The compiler of t he Puranas is Maha Rishi Vyasa, and he arranged t he Puranas in eight een volumes. These books cont ain t he hist ory of t he creat ion of t he universe, t he hist ory of t he early Aryan people, and lif e st ories of t he divines and deit ies of t he Hindus. The Puranas were eit her revealed simult aneously wit h t he Vedas or some t ime bef ore. The sanct it y and reverence of t he Puranas is admit t ed and recognized in all t he aut hent ic books of t he Hindus. For a long t ime, t he Hindu Script ures were primarily in t he hands of Pandit s and a small group of men who had learned Sanskrit (The maj orit y of t he Hindu populat ion knew Hindi and could comprehend only a smat t ering of Sanskrit words). Sir William Jones, who was a Judge and f ounded t he Asiat ic Societ y of Bengal, learned Sanskrit in t he last decade of t he Eight eent h cent ury. He was inst rument al in generat ing int erest in Sanskrit and Hindu Script ures in Europe, and it was due t o his ef f ort s t hat t he Hindu script ures were t ranslat ed int o English. In 1935, Dr. Pran Nath published an art icle in t he Times of India t hat showed t hat t he Rig Veda cont ains event s of t he Babylonian and Egyptian kings and t heir wars. Furt her, he showed t hat one-f if t h of t he Rig Veda is derived f rom t he Babylonian Script ures. From a Muslim perspect ive, it is likely t hat t he Hindus were given a revealed book or books t hat cont ained descript ion and st ruggles of Allah’ s Prophet s sent previously t o ot her peoples. It is also possible t hat comment aries writ t en about t hem were incorporat ed lat er and became a part of t he revealed books. There are a number of examples of t hese in Hindu script ures. The At harva Veda is also known as ‘ Brahma Veda’ or in it s meaning as t he Devine Knowledge. An Analysis of t he Vedas reveal t hat ‘ Brahma’ is act ually Abraham , where t he init ial let t er A in Abraham is moved t o t he end making it Brahma. This analysis is accurat e when one writ es t he t wo words in Arabic script , a language close t o t hat spoken by Prophet Abraham. Similarly, Abraham’ s f irst wif e Sarah is ment ioned in t he Vedas as Saraswati , and Prophet Nuh (Noah of The Flood) is ment ioned as Source: www. prophetmuhammadforall. org 3 Manuh or Manu. Some Pundit s consider At harva Veda as t he Book of Abraham. Prophet s Ismail (Ishmael) and Ishaq (Isaac) are named At harva and Angira, respect ively, in t he Vedas. Table 1 Brahma Abraham Saraswat i Sarah Manu, Manuh Nuh Background to Prophecies It is well known t hat t he Hindus love hero worship, and it is reasonable t o assume t hat over a long period of t ime t he high regard and reverence f or some Prophet s led t o some of t hem considered as god or God. Furt her, it is likely t hat t he Book of Abraham and t hose of ot her Prophet s cont ained prophecies about t he Last Prophet , Muhammad (s). Muslim hist orians of India hold t he opinion t hat the graves of Prophets Sheesh and Ayyub (Job) are in Ayodhya, in t he province of Ut t ar Pradesh, India. In ancient t imes, Ayodhya was known as Khosla according t o Shat pat h Brahmanas. Some Pundit s have now begun t o rej ect t he Puranas simply because t hey f ind in t hem many prophecies and vivid signs of t he t rut h of Prophet Muhammad. A case has been made t hat t he present Puranas are not t he same collect ion t hat Vedas ref er t o and t he real books were lost . Nevert heless, t his cont ent ion is not correct . It is impossible t hat all t he Puranas which were so widely read and keenly st udied, could have f allen in oblivion and t ot ally wiped out , whereas t he Vedas, which only a f ew could read and underst and, remained int act unt il now. Anot her argument against t he prophecies is t hat t hese were added t o t he Puranas at a lat er dat e. Nevert heless, t his argument is also wit hout a basis. Such a wellknown book, in vast circulat ion and read at appoint ed t imes in prayers, cannot be easily t ampered wit h. Moreover, all t he Pandit s and t he learned divines of t he Hindus could not have conspired and secret ly added t hese prophecies t o t he Puranas. The most st range t hing is t hat t he corrupt ion is made in f avor of t he Prophet and against t heir own religion. All maj or books of t he Hindus prophesy about Prophet Mohammad. In addit ion t o many of his qualit ies, his lif e event s, Abraham, Ka'bah, Bakkah (Makkah) and Arabia, the prophecies mention his name as Mahamad, Mamah, and Ahmad. The name Mahamad appears in t he Puranas, Mamah in Kunt ap Sukt (in At harva Veda) and Ahmad in Sama Veda. Many dif f erent classif icat ions as t o t he degree of import ance of t he Vedas have been made. For example, in Shat pat h it is st at ed Source: www. prophetmuhammadforall. org 4 t hat Sama Veda is t he essence of all t he Vedas. At anot her place in Tait t t riya Brahmana, it is st at ed t hat “ This worl d was creat ed f rom Brahma, t he Vaishas were creat ed f rom t he mant ras of t he Rig Veda, t he Kasht riyas were creat ed f rom Yaj ur Veda and Brahmans were creat ed f rom Sama Veda. ” Prophecy In The Puranas The compiler of t he Puranas, Mahrishi Vyasa, is highly honored among t he Hindus as a great rishi and learned person. He was a pious and God f earing man. He also wrot e t he Gita and t he Maha Bharat . Among t he eight een volumes of t he Puranas is one by t he t it le ‘ Bhavishya Puran, ’ lit erally meaning f ut ure event s. The Hindus regard it as t he Word of God. The prophecy containing Prophet Muhammad by name is found in Prati Sarg Parv III: 3, 3, Verse 5. Bef ore t he English t ranslat ion is present ed, a not e on t he word Malechha t hat appears in t he f irst part of verse 5 is in order. The word Malechha means a man belonging t o a f oreign count ry and speaking f oreign language. This word is now used t o degrade people meaning unclean or even worse. It s usage varies and depends on who is using it and f or whom. Sir William Jones had great dif f icult y in recruit ing a Pundit t o t each him Sanskrit because he was considered unclean (Malechha). It was only af t er t he direct int ervent ion of Maharaj a (King) Shiv Chandra t hat Pundit Ram Lochna agreed t o t each him Sanskrit . It is not known when t his word began t o be used in t he derogat ory sense, whet her bef ore t he advent of Prophet Muhammad (s), af t er t he conversion of Hindu King Chakrawati Farmas (of Malabar, locat ed on t he sout hwest coast of India) t o Islam during t he lif et ime of t he Prophet , soon af t er t he arrival of Muslims in India (711 CE) or somet ime lat er. Mahrishi Vyasa, t he compiler of t he Puranas, has defined a wise Malechha as “ a man of good act ions, sharp int ellect , spirit ual eminence, and showing reverence t o t he deit y (God). Many Sanskrit words have borrowed f rom Arabic and Hebrew wit h a slight change as was shown in t he examples of Brahma, Saraswat i and Manu, and as indicat ed in Table 2 below. It appears t hat t his word is derived f rom t he Hebrew word MaHekha ( ), which means t hy bret hren (e. g. , And he (Ishmael) shall dwell in t he presence of all his bret hren. Genesis 16: 12; i. e. , Ismaelit es are t he bret hren of t he Israelit es). In t he cont ext of Biblical script ures t his word meant a descendant of Prophet Ismail (Ishmael), and it is well known t hat Muhammad (s) is a descendant of Prophet Ismail t hrough his second son Kedar . Those who can read Arabic Script can easily see t hat a mistake in separating Ma from Hekha will produce a single word ‘ Malhekha, ’ and when adapt ed in anot her t ongue like Sanskrit might sound like Malechha. Table 2 Source: www. prophetmuhammadforall. org 5 The Sanskrit t ext and t ranslat ion of Verse 5 of Bhavishya Puran, Prat i Sarg Parv III: 3, 3 are given below. (The boxed area in t he Sanskrit t ext ident if ies t he word Mahamad or Mohammad). A malechha (belonging t o a f oreign count ry and speaking f oreign language) spirit ual t eacher will appear wit h his companions. His name will be Mahamad. . . The t ranslat ion of Verses 5-27 ( Sanskrit text of the Puranas, Prati Sarg Parv III: 3, 3 ) is present ed below f rom t he work of Dr. Vidyarthi . “ A malechha (belonging t o a f oreign count ry and speaking f oreign language) spirit ual t eacher will appear wit h his companions. His name will be Mahamad. Raj a (Bhoj ) af t er giving t his Mahadev Arab (of angelic disposit ion) a bat h in t he 'Panchgavya' and t he Ganges wat er, (i. e. purging him of all sins) of f ered him t he present s of his sincere devot ion and showing him all reverence said, 'I make obeisance t o t hee. ' 'O Ye! the pride of mankind, the dweller in Arabia, Ye have collect ed a great f orce t o kill t he Devil and you yourself have been protected from the malechha opponents (idol worshipers, pagans) . ' ‘ O Ye! t he image of t he Most Pious God t he biggest Lord, I am a slave t o t hee, t ake me as one lying on t hy f eet . ' Source: www. prophetmuhammadforall. org 6 “ The Malechhas have spoiled t he well-known land of the Arabs. Arya Dharma is not to be found in that country. Bef ore also t here appeared a misguided f iend whom I had killed [ not e: e. g. , Abraha Al-Ashram, t he Abyssinian viceroy of Yemen, who at t acked Mecca] ; he has now again appeared being sent by a powerf ul enemy. To show t hese enemies t he right pat h and t o give t hem guidance t he well-known Mahamad (Mohammad), who has been given by me t he epit het of Brahma is busy in bringing t he Pishachas t o t he right pat h. O Raj a! You need not go t o t he land of t he f oolish Pishachas, you will be purif ied t hrough my kindness even where you are. At night , he of t he angelic disposit ion, t he shrewd man, in t he guise of a Pishacha said t o Raj a Bhoj , "O Raj a! Your Arya Dharma has been made t o prevail over all religions, but according to the commandments of ‘ Ashwar Parmatma (God, Supreme Spirit) , I shall enf orce t he st rong creed of t he meat -eat ers. My follower will be a man circumcised, without a tail (on his head), keeping beard, creating a revolution, announcing call for prayer and will be eating all lawful things. He will eat all sorts of animals except swine . They will not seek purif icat ion f rom t he holy shrubs, but will be purif ied t hrough warf are. Because of t heir f ight ing t he irreligious nat ions, t hey will be known as Musalmans (Muslims). I shall be t he originat or of t his religion of t he meat -eat ing nat ion. " More Prophecies In Hindu Scriptures The Vedas cont ain many prophecies about Prophet Muhammad. Some European and Hindu t ranslat ors of t he Vedas have removed t he name ref erring t o t he Prophet , while ot hers have t ried t o explain away t he mant ras (verses) on his lif e event s, Ka’ bah, Makkah, Medinah, Arabia, and ot her event s using t he t erminology of t he Hindus, such as purif icat ion rit ual s, and lands and rivers in India. Some mant ras cont aining prophecies are int er-mixed wit h explanat ory phrases, and it may be t hat t hese were comment aries and explanat ory not es on t he prophecies, which lat er became a part of t he prophecy. Several prophecies are f ound in Atharva Veda: (1) XX: 21, Mant ras 6, 7, and 9, (2) XX: 137, Mant ras 7 t hrough 9, and (3) X: 2, Mant ras 26, 27, 29, 30, and 32. Similarly, in Rig Veda, addit ional prophecies are f ound in: (1) VII: 96, Mant ras 13 t hrough 16, and (2) I: 53, Mant ras 6 and 9. Finally, a prophecy is f ound in Sama Veda III: 10, Mant ra 1. These are a sample of many prophecies. The serious reader may want t o ref er t o scholarly work of Dr. A. H. Vidyarthi, entitled “ Mohammad in World Scriptures, ” 1990 . This book explains t he Hindu t erminology used in t he Mant ras and t he meaning and usage of cert ain words and phrases f rom wit hin t he Vedas and ot her Hindu Script ures. No Compulsion in Religion Qur'an There The right is no direction is compulsion henceforth Source: www. prophetmuhammadforall. org in distinct from 2:256 religion. error. 7 And he who rej ect s t he f alse deit ies and believet h in Allah hat h grasped a f irm handhold which will never break. Allah is Hearer, Knower. Allah: Allah is t he proper name of t he One True God, creat or and sust ainer of t he universe, who does not have a part ner or associat e, and He did not beget nor was He begot t en. The word Allah is used by t he Arab Christ ians and Jews f or The God (Eloh-im in Hebrew; 'Allaha' in Aramaic, t he mot her t ongue of Jesus). The word Allah does not have a plural or gender. pbuh: Peace Be Upon Him. This expression is used f or all Prophets of Allah. Abbreviat ions derived f rom Arabic words are (s) and (as). ra: Radiallahu Anhu (May Allah be pleased wit h him). References: 1. Abdul Haq Vidyarthi , "Muhammad in World Script ures, " Adam Publishers, 1990. (Includes chapt ers on Zoroast rian and Hindu Script ures) 2. A. H. Vidyarthi and U. Ali, "Muhammad in Parsi, Hindu & Buddhist Script ures, " IB. Source: www. prophetmuhammadforall. org 8