Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth glorifies Allah. (Al Quran 61:1/2)
Written and collected by Zia H Shah MD, Chief Editor of the Muslim Times
It is very simple!
And as we celebrate, the first United Nations International Day of Yoga – the United Nations, today on June 21, 2015, it is the perfect occasion to examine the recipe.
Firstly, a happy International Day of Yoga to all our brothers and sisters from India.
Many if not all of the Hindus think that there is one ultimate God, Bhagavan or Brahman, if you will. If you think of Him as the Creator and every thing else, 330 million wonderful products, as His creation that glorify Bhagavan or Brahman, then you are thinking like a Muslim. Some biologists estimate that there are 10-30 million different species of different animals and plants on our planet earth. So, God’s creations may well be 330 million or more. The Holy Quran states:
The seven heavens and the earth and those that are therein extol His glory; and there is not a thing but glorifies Him with His praise; but you understand not their glorification. Indeed, He is Forbearing, Most Merciful. (Al Quran 17:44/45)
In other words please do not take the symbolism too literally and take it metaphorically, like a Muslim, a Jew or a Unitarian Christian will, in the understanding of the above verse or similar verses from the Holy Quran or the Holy Bible. Now let me quote from a Hindu blog by Abhilash, who is a freelance writer and a full time blogger dedicated to writing on topics related to Hinduism,he currently lives in Pune, India,so you fully understand, what I mean:
Do Hindus worship 330 million gods? The number 330 million is constantly heard when any discussion regarding the gods in Hinduism take place. But the initiators of the discussion, who are mostly totally unaware of Hindu religion and wants to take a dig, deliberately skip the symbolism of the numerous Hindu gods. The symbolism of the 330 million that it represents the Brahman, which has different names, forms, activities, attributes and powers owing to differences of function. All animate and inanimate and those yet to appear is nothing but a manifestation of Brahman.
It is a known fact that it is impossible to worship the 330 million gods. But, why the number 33? In Brhadaranyaka Upanishad while discussing Brahman, Yajnavalkya is asked how many gods are there. He says that there are three hundred and three and three thousand and three gods. When the question is repeated? He says, thirty three. When the question is again repeated he says, six. Finally, after several repetitions he says ONE. (Chapter I, hymn 9, verse 1)
The number 33 comes from the number of Vedic gods explained by Yajnavalkya in Brhadaranyaka Upanishad – the eight Vasus, the eleven Rudras, the twelve Adityas, Indra and Prajapati. (Chapter I, hymn 9, verse 2)
Now to this 33 was added the maximum number of zeros that the ancient people thought were the number of living beings.
So when someone mentions about 330 million gods in Hindu Religion, it consists of the person mentioning it and those listening plus all living and non-living beings. In fact, if the ancient seers were to create the same symbolism today they will be counting it in billions.
Millions or billions, it is nothing but the manifestation of the ONE God and Hindus call it Brahman.
Lord Krishna explains thus in the Bhagavad Gita:
I am the goal, the supporter, the Lord, the witness, the abode, the refuge, the friend, the origin, the dissolution, the foundation, the substratum, and the imperishable seed. (Chapter 9, Verse 18)
I am the origin or seed of all beings, O Arjuna. There is nothing, animate or inanimate, that can exist without Me. (Chapter 10, Verse 39)
O Arjuna, know Me to be the eternal seed of all creatures. (Chapter 7, Verse 10)
This is what Hindus worship in the numerous forms.
So in the final analysis God is One but things that glorify Him run in millions!
As most of you have also read about the Big Bang, so now you know that material things are not eternal and God the Creator is, even though many of the Hindu scholars in the nineteenth century or the first half of twentieth century may have pleaded otherwise. Time to evolve and change!
Here let me link one of my articles about Religion and Science, titled: The anesthesia of familiarity: There should be a Creator for this universe.
My other article about Hinduism.
Additional Reading
India yoga: PM Narendra Modi leads thousands in celebration
The Future of Hinduism in America’s Changing Religious Landscape
9 reasons why India is one of the most diverse countries in the world
Retweeted Zia (@zia_ny):
How can Hindus think like a Muslim or a Jew, despite the mention of 330 million gods?… https://t.co/KKKsM8IcEy
— Sohail Ch✒Muslim_EQ (@Sohail_Calgary) November 13, 2016
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
The Muslim Times has the best collection on the theme of interfaith tolerance @MuslimPoly @MuslimMarine https://t.co/DHU3pwcRsp pic.twitter.com/KPQ56l1H8O
— The Muslim Times (@The_MuslimTimes) March 23, 2017
Messiah of this age, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani claimed to be second coming of Krishna
He is also referred as Promised Messiah, he writes in Lecture Sialkot:
Finally, let it be clear that my advent in the present age is not for the reformation of the Muslims alone, but I have come to reform the people of all the three religions: Muslims, Christians and Hindus. Just as God has appointed me the Promised Messiah for the Muslims and Christians, so am I the Avatar for the Hindus. For the past twenty years or so, I have been proclaiming that just as I have appeared in the spirit of the Messiah son of Maryas for the purpose of removing sins which have filled the earth, so have I come as Raja Krishna—one of the greatest Avatars of the Hindu faith. In other words, I am the same person by virtue of spiritual reality. This is no fancy or speculation on my part. The God of heaven and earth has revealed to me, not once but a number of times, that for the Hindus I am Krishna and for the Muslims and Christians I am the Promised Messiah. I know that the ignorant Muslims, on hearing this, will immediately say that by assuming the name of a kafir, I have openly accepted disbelief. But this revelation is from God and I have no choice but to proclaim it. Today it is for the first time that I am announcing it before such a large gathering, for those who are from God are never afraid of the reproaches of faultfinders.
Let it be clear that Raja Krishna, according to what has been revealed to me, was such a truly great man that it is hard to find his like among the Rishis and Avatars of the Hindus. He was an Avatar—i.e., Prophet—of his time upon whom the Holy Spirit would descend from God. He was from God, victorious and prosperous. He cleansed the land of the Aryas from sin and was in fact the Prophet of his age whose teaching was later corrupted in numerous ways. He was full of love for God, a friend of virtue and an enemy of evil. It was God’s promise that, in the latter days, He would send someone, i.e., an Avatar, in his image. Hence this promise has been fulfilled with my coming. Among other revelations regarding myself, I also received this revelation:
‘O’ Krishna, slayer of swine and protector of cows, thy praise is recorded in the Gita!’
Hence, I love Krishna because I have come in his image. Another resemblance between the two of us is that the same qualities that have been attributed to Krishna (for instance, his being the destroyer of sin, the consoler, and the nourisher of the poor) are also the qualities of the Promised Messiah. From the spiritual point of view, therefore, Krishna and Promised Messiah are one and the same; it is only the regional terminology that is different.
Now, in my capacity as Krishna, I warn the Aryas against some of their errors. One of them, which I have already mentioned, is that it is not right to believe that all the souls and particles of the universe, also known as Purkarti or Purmano, are uncreated and eternal. The fact is that there is nothing uncreated except Parmeshwar Who does not depend on anything for His existence. Anything that depends on others for its existence cannot be uncreated. Are the attributes of the spirits innate and has nobody created them? If this is so then the union of souls with bodies can also come about by itself and the coming together of material particles can take place on its own. If this were indeed so, you would be left with no rational argument to believe in the existence of Parmeshwar. If reason can accept the concept that souls with all their innate attributes are self-existent, then it would readily accept the other concept that the union and separation of souls and bodies is also self-existent, for once self-existence is considered to be a fact, there is no reason why one path should be left open and the other closed. No logic can justify such approach.
http://www.alislam.org/library/books/LectureSialkot.pdf
Big Bang an epiphany for some Hindus
Some sects of Hindus especially the Aryas were stressing, especially in the nineteenth century, that our universe is eternal. Big Bang has certainly done away with many such claims. Here is an article in Urdu about this issue:
http://www.alfazl.org/london/20090619.pdf#page=10
Books of Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad about Hinduism
Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad the Founder of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has addressed Hinduism in many of his books. Some of his books are completely devoted to different aspects of Hinduism:
1. Purani Tahrirain (Old Writings)
2. Surma Chashm Arya (Collrium for the eyes of the Aryas)
3. Shahna-i-Haq (Battalion of Truth) or Aryon ki kisi qadr Khidmat aur un ke vedon aur nukta chinion ki kucheh mahiyat
4. Sut-Bachan (The True Word)
5. Ariya Dharam
6. Sanatan Dharam
http://www.alislam.org/library/links/80-books.html
http://www.alislam.org/urdu/rk/
Challenging barriers of misperception between Hindus and Muslims
By Sardar Anees Ahmad
Of all the major world religions, it would seem that Hinduism and Islam share the fewest points of commonality. The former is an Indian religion that originated circa 1,500 B.C. which preaches polytheism, idolatry, and reincarnation, while the latter has its roots in 7th century Arabia and argues for the Oneness of God, condemns idol worship, and states man only lives on this earth once.
Despite these and other differ ences, a great deal of similarity exists between the two faiths. Both religions boast over a billion adherents today, stress the value of prayer, and advocate the institution of prophethood. For example, both Hinduism and Islam recognize Prophet Krishna and Prophet Buddha as true prophets of God.
To read the rest of the article by Sardar Anees Ahmad go to:
http://www.muslimsunrise.com/dmddocuments/2008_iss_3.pdf#page=11
Kumbh Mela festival in Haridwar
Guaranteeing the safety of 50 million pilgrims as they bathe in a narrow stretch of river is a crowd control headache beyond the imagination of most police forces around the world.
…
The Kumbh Mela (“Pitcher Festival”) is held every three years and rotates around the four cities where, in Hindu mythology, drops of the nectar of immorality fell from a pitcher during a struggle between the gods and demons.
For details go to:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/world/03-method-behind-madness-at-worlds-biggest-festival-ss-08
Messiah of this age, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani wrote:
I look upon no one as an enemy. I have the same love for all mankind as a mother has for her children. I am only an enemy of false beliefs and untruths. Sympathy for all is a moral obligation and a duty. (Arbaeen)
Hinduism is not a religion But it represents the composite total of the growth of man from animalhood to humanity in India/Hindustan. thousands of years back human beings lived like animals.They are evolving morally,socially, culturally, spiritually,science, medicine and in all aspects of life. If Islam is true God must have given the Essence of Quran to the first Human who appeared on earth in a perfect language in a perfect document form ….etc. But that did not happen. It seems man has evolved from perfect animal to present cultural/social stage by stage by stage which has taken thousands of years. The development is too slow to describe clearly. Even today in some Islands of Andaman men and women are living without Dress. If on Judgement day the men and women of Andaman who died without culture,asked why You GOD, did not teach us culture ? What would God reply ? God must be sent to HELL first for his lapse.Then What is your explanation for hereditary diseases ? No two men and women similar in emotional levlel, aptitude,attitude taste preferences etc.
Idolatry is nothing But the Elementary Level of Education in Spiritualilty.
To say that Idolatry is sin, is absurd.Hinduism prescibes Idolatry for beginners, But it is not compulsory. It leaves to the discretion of the indivudal to choose idolatry or Meditation, chanting of manthiram …..etc.Hinduism does not prescribe no single method .3
islam is nothing sum total of Arabian culture.
Pro.Mohammed desilted and updated Arabian culture.
Does religion consist in living like Arabians ?
If we were to accept the teachings of Islam/ Pro.Mohammed true, it leads to the conclution that Arab Culture is alone approved by God/Allah.Other cultures are anti God. But Non-Arab people constitute 3.5 /4 of world’s population.
Hence I reject the claim of Pro.Mohammed that islam- which is an aphorism for Arab culture- alone is true.
Hinduism is evolving and must evolve on its own. Swami Vivekananda says a Hindu need not become a Muslim-Arabian vice-versa . One must assimulate the best elements of other culture and grow naturally. Different seeds gets water , Air,light and manure and grow according to its true nature.
…
Hindu elders had a peculiar way of integrating different sects into one without bloodshed. If in a Hindu temple 10 idols are being used for pooja,it indicates 10 sects have merged into one. Due to interal and external aggressions, the process of social and cultural evolution is greatly disturbed for nearly 800 yrs. Hindu society should be desilted and it is being worked out in gentle way. Dew drops that settle on the petals of rose make it blossom and unfold more without any damage to rose flower. Similarly several Organisations are bent of innovating Hindu society. Sri Narayana Guru of kerala once ordered 49 idols of a temple to be smashed into pieces leaving only one for pooja.
Idolatry should be pushed into the Back and replaced by meditation, Yoga Bhajan and chanting of Manthiram.Government of India, fearing Minority communities, did not do anything to modernise Hindu society and temples. A person /organisation which espouses the cause of Hindus,alone dictate modernisation concepts to Hindus.Mr.Narendra Modi must teach Hindus How to offer prayer – self-discipline,Brahmachariyam etc. Muslims should support such measures .
I thank Ahamathiya Muslim Mission for recognising Sri Krishna as a Prophet of Hindustan which is unprecended in the History of Arabian religion.It is really a wonder to hear the words of Pro.Hazrat Qualam Mirza Ahamed,founder of Ahamtiya Movement . Ahamathiya Muslim Mission shedding its Arabian Affinity should draw freely from Indian Culture and History. Ahamathiya Movement should encourage Muslims to adopt Hindu/Indian Names , women should wear Thilgam on the forehead. Ahamathiya Movement should strive to root out the Islam from southi Arabia and replant it on Indian soil, absorbing the Best elements of Indian cultural heritage.
Readers are silent on my suggestion .Why ? I request the readers to participate and write your views
Ahmadis read Geeta and love (respect Lord Karishna with love). I would like to know if any Hindu posting here has read the Quran?
The prophet Muhammad taught love and tolerance with justice. That was the teaching of all the prophets including Prophets Abraham, Ismael, Issac, Jacob, Moses, Jesus, Karishna and Rama.
Islam was not invented 1400 years ago. It is the true faith taught by all prophets since the time of Adam (The first prophet) 6000 years ago.
According to Ahmadiyah teachings, Islam allows practice and peaceful preaching of all faiths without fear.
A Hindu may be worshipping idols. We will say he is doing wrong. But we will not abuse him or cause any harm to him or harm his temple (Mandir). Our faith teaches us to protect all the places of worship.
This is what we do and this is what we expect from others (Christians, Jews and Hindus).
Some friends need to familiarize themselves with the teaching of the prophet Muhammad. He said, during his last Sermon (1400 years ago): “A white man has no superiority over a black man and a black man has no superiority over a white man. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab. A non-Arab has no superiority over an Arab. If any one is superior, it is due to his/her good morale.”
Quran teaches and gives good news to people of all faiths, Muslims, Jews, Christians and people of other faiths, if they believe in their God and do good deeds (i.e. at least be peaceful), they have their reward with their Lord and they will have no fear nor will they grieve.
In the presence of such good teachings, let all faiths flourish, and let the world enjoy a peaceful, heavenly time.
If Hindus are not ‘kafir’, are they also ‘people of the book’ who, in spite of being so called, are still ‘infidels’?
There is no word in Arabic for infidel. It is western society coined word for non-Christians. The word, Kafir, is derived from the trilateral verb, kafara which means knowingly cover up a fact. Like farmer putting seed in ground and cover it with soil. So the Quran uses the word kafir for farmer. A Hindu is not a kafir, but definition if a Muslim act contrary to the edict of Quran falls into Kufar.
I believe that Hinduism is to included in the “People of the Book”. Why?
“And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger..” Quran 16:36
So, There must have messengers in India also. Now read quotes from Hindu scripture. Initial part of quotes is Sanskrit that is the original language of Hindu Scriptures.
Thouhid of Hindu scriptures:
“Ekam evadvitiyam”
“He is One only without a second.”
[Chandogya Upanishad 6:2:1]1
1[The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan page 447 and 448]
[Sacred Books of the East, volume 1 ‘The Upanishads part I’ page 93]
………………………..
“Na casya kascij janita na cadhipah.”
“Of Him there are neither parents nor lord.”
[Svetasvatara Upanishad 6:9]2
[The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan page 745]
[Sacred Books of the East, volume 15, ‘The Upanishads part II’ page 263.]
…………………
“Na tasya pratima asti”
“There is no likeness of Him.”
[Svetasvatara Upanishad 4:19]3
[The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan page 736 & 737]
[Sacred Books of the East, volume 15, ‘The Upanishads part II’ page no 253]
………………
iv.”Na samdrse tisthati rupam asya, na caksusa pasyati kas canainam.”
“His form is not to be seen; no one sees Him with the eye.”
[Svetasvatara Upanishad 4:20]4
4[The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan page 737]
[Sacred Books of the East, volume 15, ‘The Upanishads part II’ page no 253]
……………..
Many Bavishia Purana’s verses are verbatim from Quran
Good blog you have got here.. It’s difficult to find good quality writing like
yours these days. I really appreciate individuals like you!
Take care!!
The Lady from U.K. asked me how another question:
“Also sir though the Hindu scriptures do proclaim the existence of a universal God , but majority Hindus I know not only believe but also worship multiple gods , what is their Fate then , because Quran clearly states that associating partners with Allah swt is an unforgivable act ?”
My response:
First of all, The shirk, شَارِكْ, from the verb, ش ر ك . does not mean idol worship. It means “conceptualization of partners with God.”
We, Muslims, believe God manifests Himself on the earth through Shariah revealed through Prophets to eliminate evil. Hindu concept of God is that He manifests in different physical forms to eliminate evil as stated in the following verse from Atharva Veda:
“The whole of this universe
Is stationed in the Omnipresent
And the Omnipresent God.
WE SEE HIM IN DIFFERENT FORMS.
He bring to light
All these worlds.
Him they call the Kala, Indefinite,
Pervading the indefinite space”
(Ref: Atharva Veda 19.53.3)
So, When the Hindus pray in front of a stony statute, they are focusing praying to the One and the only God. There is no partners for God here.
I believe that Hinduism is to included in the “People of the Book”. Why?
“And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger..” Quran 16:36
So, There must have messengers in India also. Now read quotes from Hindu scripture. Initial part of quotes is Sanskrit that is the original language of Hindu Scriptures.
Thouhid of Hindu scriptures:
“Ekam evadvitiyam”
“He is One only without a second.”
[Chandogya Upanishad 6:2:1]1
1[The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan page 447 and 448]
[Sacred Books of the East, volume 1 ‘The Upanishads part I’ page 93]
………………………..
“Na casya kascij janita na cadhipah.”
“Of Him there are neither parents nor lord.”
[Svetasvatara Upanishad 6:9]2
[The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan page 745]
[Sacred Books of the East, volume 15, ‘The Upanishads part II’ page 263.]
…………………
“Na tasya pratima asti”
“There is no likeness of Him.”
[Svetasvatara Upanishad 4:19]3
[The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan page 736 & 737]
[Sacred Books of the East, volume 15, ‘The Upanishads part II’ page no 253]
………………
iv.”Na samdrse tisthati rupam asya, na caksusa pasyati kas canainam.”
“His form is not to be seen; no one sees Him with the eye.”
[Svetasvatara Upanishad 4:20]4
[The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan page 737]
[Sacred Books of the East, volume 15, ‘The Upanishads part II’ page no 253]
……………..
Also, Many Bavishia Purana’s verses are verbatim from Quran