There
Never Was A People Without A Warner
Qur'an 35:24
Verily We have sent thee (Muhammad) in truth as
a bearer of glad tidings 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 (with the Command) "Serve
Allah and eshew Evil":
Of the people were some whom Allah guided and
some on whom Error became inevitably
(established).
So travel through the earth and see what was the
end of those who denied (the Truth).
Qur'an 4:164
And Messengers (Prophets who received revealed
books) We have mentioned unto thee (Muhammad)
before
And Messengers We have not mentioned unto
thee;
And Allah spake directly unto Moses.
These verses of the
Holy Qur’an testify that Allah (the One True
God) has sent prophets to every people.
Therefore, it is not surprising to Muslims to find
prophecies about the Last Prophet, Muhammad (s), in
previously revealed scriptures. Moreover, Allah had
taken covenant with the Prophets to believe and help
future Prophets of Allah, as indicated by the verse
quoted below.
Allah's
Covenant With Prophets
Qur'an 3:81-82
Behold! Allah took the covenant of the Prophets
saying:
"I give you a Book and Wisdom; then comes
to you an Apostle confirming what is with you;
do ye believe him and render him help."
Allah said: "Do ye agree and take this My
Covenant as binding on you?"
They said: "We agree."
He said: "Then bear witness and I am with
you among the witnesses."
If any turn back after this they are perverted
transgressors.
A
Brief Introduction To Hindu Scriptures
The Vedas,
Upanishads, Puranas, and Brahmanas Granth are the
four sacred books in Hindu religion. The last one is
a commentary on the Vedas, but it is considered as a
revealed book. These books are in Sanskrit,
the sacred language of the Hindus. The Vedas
are divided into four books: Rig Veda, Yajur
Veda, Sam Veda and Atharva Veda. Of these, the first
three books are considered the more ancient books,
and the Rig Veda is the oldest of them. The Rig Veda
was compiled in three long and different periods.
Opinions greatly differ as to the date of
compilation or revelation of the four Vedas. Swami
Daya Nand, founder of the Arya Samaj, holds the
opinion that the Vedas were revealed 1.3 billion
years ago, while others (Hindu scholars and
orientalists) hold the opinion that they are not
more than four thousand years old. Analysis of the
Vedas reveal differences in the accounts of the
places where these books were revealed and the
Rishis (Prophets) to whom these scriptures were
given. Nevertheless, the Vedas are the most
authentic scriptures of the Hindus.
The Upanishads
are considered next to the Vedas in order of
superiority and authenticity. However, some Pandits
consider the Upanishads to be superior to the Vedas
primarily from the internal evidence found in the
Upanishads. Next in authenticity to the Upanishads
are the Puranas. The Puranas are the most
widely read of all Hindu Scriptures, as these are
easily available (the Vedas are difficult to find).
The compiler of the Puranas is Maha Rishi Vyasa,
and he arranged the Puranas in eighteen volumes.
These books contain the history of the creation of
the universe, the history of the early Aryan people,
and life stories of the divines and deities of the
Hindus. The Puranas were either revealed
simultaneously with the Vedas or some time before.
The sanctity and reverence of the Puranas is
admitted and recognized in all the authentic books
of the Hindus.
For a long time,
the Hindu Scriptures were primarily in the hands of
Pandits and a small group of men who had learned
Sanskrit (The majority of the Hindu population knew
Hindi and could comprehend only a smattering of
Sanskrit words). Sir William Jones, who was a
Judge and founded the Asiatic Society of Bengal,
learned Sanskrit in the last decade of the
Eighteenth century. He was instrumental in
generating interest in Sanskrit and Hindu Scriptures
in Europe, and it was due to his efforts that the
Hindu scriptures were translated into English.
In 1935, Dr.
Pran Nath published an article in the Times of
India that showed that the Rig Veda contains
events of the Babylonian and Egyptian kings
and their wars. Further, he showed that one-fifth of
the Rig Veda is derived from the Babylonian
Scriptures. From a Muslim perspective, it is likely
that the Hindus were given a revealed book or books
that contained description and struggles of
Allah’s Prophets sent previously to other peoples.
It is also possible that commentaries written about
them were incorporated later and became a part of
the revealed books.
There are a number
of examples of these in Hindu scriptures. The
Atharva Veda is also known as ‘Brahma Veda’ or
in its meaning as the Devine Knowledge. An Analysis
of the Vedas reveal that ‘Brahma’
is actually Abraham, where the initial
letter A in Abraham is moved to the end making it
Brahma. This analysis is accurate when one writes
the two words in Arabic script, a language close to
that spoken by Prophet Abraham. Similarly,
Abraham’s first wife Sarah is mentioned in
the Vedas as Saraswati, and Prophet Nuh
(Noah of The Flood) is mentioned as Manuh or Manu.
Some Pundits consider Atharva Veda as the Book of
Abraham. Prophets Ismail (Ishmael) and Ishaq (Isaac)
are named Atharva and Angira, respectively, in the
Vedas.
Table
1
| Brahma |
Abraham |
| Saraswati |
Sarah |
| Manu,
Manuh |
Nuh |
Background
To Prophecies
It is well known
that the Hindus love hero worship, and it is
reasonable to assume that over a long period of time
the high regard and reverence for some Prophets led
to some of them considered as god or God. Further,
it is likely that the Book of Abraham and those of
other Prophets contained prophecies about the Last
Prophet, Muhammad (s). Muslim historians of India
hold the opinion that the graves of Prophets
Sheesh and Ayyub (Job) are in Ayodhya, in the
province of Uttar Pradesh, India. In ancient times,
Ayodhya was known as Khosla according to Shatpath
Brahmanas.
Some Pundits have
now begun to reject the Puranas simply because they
find in them many prophecies and vivid signs of the
truth of Prophet Muhammad. A case has been made that
the present Puranas are not the same collection that
Vedas refer to and the real books were lost.
Nevertheless, this contention is not correct. It is
impossible that all the Puranas which were so widely
read and keenly studied, could have fallen in
oblivion and totally wiped out, whereas the Vedas,
which only a few could read and understand, remained
intact until now.
Another argument
against the prophecies is that these were added to
the Puranas at a later date. Nevertheless, this
argument is also without a basis. Such a well-known
book, in vast circulation and read at appointed
times in prayers, cannot be easily tampered with.
Moreover, all the Pandits and the learned divines of
the Hindus could not have conspired and secretly
added these prophecies to the Puranas. The most
strange thing is that the corruption is made in
favor of the Prophet and against their own religion.
All major books of
the Hindus prophesy about Prophet Mohammad. In
addition to many of his qualities, his life events,
Abraham, Ka'bah, Bakkah (Makkah) and Arabia, the
prophecies mention his name as Mahamad, Mamah, and
Ahmad. The name Mahamad appears in the Puranas,
Mamah in Kuntap Sukt (in Atharva Veda) and Ahmad in
Sama Veda. Many different classifications as to the
degree of importance of the Vedas have been made.
For example, in Shatpath it is stated that Sama Veda
is the essence of all the Vedas. At another place in
Taitttriya Brahmana, it is stated that “This world
was created from Brahma, the Vaishas were created
from the mantras of the Rig Veda, the Kashtriyas
were created from Yajur Veda and Brahmans were
created from Sama Veda.”
Prophecy
In The Puranas
The compiler of the
Puranas, Mahrishi Vyasa, is highly honored
among the Hindus as a great rishi and learned
person. He was a pious and God fearing man. He also
wrote the Gita and the Maha Bharat.
Among the eighteen volumes of the Puranas is one by
the title ‘Bhavishya Puran,’ literally
meaning future events. The Hindus regard it as the
Word of God. The prophecy containing Prophet
Muhammad by name is found in Prati Sarg Parv III: 3,
3, Verse 5.
Before the English
translation is presented, a note on the word Malechha
that appears in the first part of verse 5 is in
order. The word Malechha means a man belonging to a
foreign country and speaking foreign language. This
word is now used to degrade people meaning unclean
or even worse. Its usage varies and depends on who
is using it and for whom. Sir William Jones had
great difficulty in recruiting a Pundit to teach him
Sanskrit because he was considered unclean (Malechha).
It was only after the direct intervention of
Maharaja (King) Shiv Chandra that Pundit Ram Lochna
agreed to teach him Sanskrit.
It is not known
when this word began to be used in the derogatory
sense, whether before the advent of Prophet Muhammad
(s), after the conversion of Hindu King
Chakrawati Farmas (of Malabar, located on the
southwest coast of India) to Islam during the
lifetime of the Prophet, soon after the arrival of
Muslims in India (711 CE) or sometime later.
Mahrishi Vyasa, the compiler of the Puranas, has defined
a wise Malechha as “a man of good actions,
sharp intellect, spiritual eminence, and showing
reverence to the deity (God).
Many Sanskrit words
have borrowed from Arabic and Hebrew with a
slight change as was shown in the examples of
Brahma, Saraswati and Manu, and as indicated in
Table 2 below. It appears that this word is derived
from the Hebrew word Ma-Hekha (
),
which means thy brethren (e.g., And he (Ishmael)
shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.
Genesis 16:12; i.e., Ismaelites are the brethren of
the Israelites). In the context of Biblical
scriptures this word meant a descendant of Prophet
Ismail (Ishmael), and it is well known that Muhammad
(s) is a descendant of Prophet Ismail through his
second son Kedar. Those who can read Arabic
Script can easily see that a mistake in
separating Ma from Hekha will produce a single word
‘Malhekha,’ and when adapted in another
tongue like Sanskrit might sound like Malechha.
Table
2
The Sanskrit text
and translation of Verse 5 of Bhavishya Puran, Prati
Sarg Parv III: 3, 3 are given below. (The boxed area
in the Sanskrit text identifies the word Mahamad or
Mohammad).
A malechha
(belonging to a foreign country and speaking
foreign language) spiritual teacher will appear
with his companions. His name will be Mahamad...
The translation of
Verses 5-27 (
Sanskrit
text of the Puranas, Prati Sarg Parv III: 3, 3)
is presented below from the work of Dr. Vidyarthi.
“A malechha
(belonging to a foreign country and speaking
foreign language) spiritual teacher will appear
with his companions. His name will be Mahamad.
Raja (Bhoj) after giving this Mahadev Arab
(of angelic disposition) a bath in the 'Panchgavya'
and the Ganges water, (i.e. purging him of all
sins) offered him the presents of his sincere
devotion and showing him all reverence said, 'I
make obeisance to thee.' 'O Ye! the pride of
mankind, the dweller in Arabia, Ye have
collected a great force to kill the Devil and you
yourself have been protected from the malechha
opponents (idol worshipers, pagans).' ‘O Ye!
the image of the Most Pious God the biggest Lord,
I am a slave to thee, take me as one lying on thy
feet.'
“The Malechhas
have spoiled the well-known land of the Arabs.
Arya Dharma is not to be found in that country.
Before also there appeared a misguided fiend whom
I had killed [note: e.g., Abraha Al-Ashram, the
Abyssinian viceroy of Yemen, who attacked Mecca];
he has now again appeared being sent by a powerful
enemy. To show these enemies the right path and to
give them guidance the well-known Mahamad
(Mohammad), who has been given by me the epithet
of Brahma is busy in bringing the Pishachas to the
right path. O Raja! You need not go to the land of
the foolish Pishachas, you will be purified
through my kindness even where you are. At night,
he of the angelic disposition, the shrewd man, in
the guise of a Pishacha said to Raja Bhoj, "O
Raja! Your Arya Dharma has been made to prevail
over all religions, but according to the
commandments of ‘Ashwar Parmatma (God, Supreme
Spirit), I shall enforce the strong creed of
the meat-eaters. 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 purification from the holy
shrubs, but will be purified through warfare.
Because of their fighting the irreligious nations,
they will be known as Musalmans (Muslims).
I shall be the originator of this religion of the
meat-eating nation."
More
Prophecies In Hindu Scriptures
The Vedas contain
many prophecies about Prophet Muhammad. Some
European and Hindu translators of the Vedas have
removed the name referring to the Prophet, while
others have tried to explain away the mantras
(verses) on his life events, Ka’bah, Makkah,
Medinah, Arabia, and other events using the
terminology of the Hindus, such as purification
rituals, and lands and rivers in India. Some mantras
containing prophecies are inter-mixed with
explanatory phrases, and it may be that these were
commentaries and explanatory notes on the
prophecies, which later became a part of the
prophecy.
Several prophecies
are found in Atharva Veda: (1) XX: 21,
Mantras 6, 7, and 9, (2) XX: 137, Mantras 7 through
9, and (3) X: 2, Mantras 26, 27, 29, 30, and 32.
Similarly, in Rig Veda, additional prophecies
are found in: (1) VII: 96, Mantras 13 through 16,
and (2) I: 53, Mantras 6 and 9. Finally, a prophecy
is found in Sama Veda III: 10, Mantra 1.
These are a sample of many prophecies. The serious
reader may want to refer to scholarly work of Dr.
A.H. Vidyarthi, entitled “Mohammad in World
Scriptures,” 1990. This book explains the
Hindu terminology used in the Mantras and the
meaning and usage of certain words and phrases from
within the Vedas and other Hindu Scriptures.
No
Compulsion In Religion
Qur'an 2:256
There is no compulsion in religion.
The right direction is henceforth distinct from
error.
And he who rejecteth false deities and believeth
in Allah hath grasped a firm handhold which will
never break.
Allah is Hearer, Knower.
Allah: Allah
is the proper name of the One True God, creator
and sustainer of the universe, who does not have a
partner or associate, and He did not beget nor was
He begotten. The word Allah is used by the Arab
Christians and Jews for The God (Eloh-im in
Hebrew; 'Allaha' in Aramaic, the mother tongue of
Jesus). The word
Allah
does not have a plural or gender.
