Threads of commonality

It is seen that Hinduism and Islam have many doctrines and beliefs in common to serve as a civilising force for all human beings in general and Indians in particular. Being the adherents of the two religions, Hindus and Muslims should feel much impelled to discover those treasures hidden in their faiths. By doing this, they will also be able to correlate the teachings of Islam with those

of the Hinduism or sanatan dharma, which, in turn, would enable them to come closer to each other and thus ensure their peaceful co-existence with religious harmony and mutual respect. Hinduism is another name of sanatan dharma (meaning that which has come straight) or shaswat dharma (that has come down directly from the heaven). Etymologically, sanatan dharma or shaswat dharma are the Sanskrit words for Deen al-Qaiyim, another name of Islam as mentioned in the Holy Quran (98:5).

Similarly, in the Bhagwad Gita, the two words “swadharm” and “swabhawnit karm” have been used to denote those who are taught by the nature and not by parents.

The same concept is reflected in the Quran when it calls Islam the natural religion. It enjoins upon Muslims to believe that every prophet brought the same religion to his people but they sought to distort their original teachings for their vested interests.

One of the most striking similarities between Islam and Hinduism is the concept of shruti in Hinduism and that of wahi (divine revelation) in Islam. Just as shruti texts, according to Hindu belief, are divine words of God because they were “heard” by the ancient sages ( rishis) from God, similarly the wahi or the Holy Quran is the verbatim speech of Allah heard by His last Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) through the angel Gabriel. Wahi or the Quranic verses are shruti in the sense of revealed scrip- ture, while the scriptural authority of Hadith in Islam is as secondary as that of smriti in Hinduism. Many Islamic scholars hold the view that the ancient sages who heard and taught the shruti texts or Vedas may have been prophets to whom God had revealed them originally.

It is not just coincidence that the first people with divine revelation ( shruti) are the Hindus and the last one is Muslims with the concept of wahi. Perhaps, it is God’s plan to reveal it that He brought the two people together in India.

The belief in oneness of God (Monotheism) forms the bedrock of both Islam and Hinduism. Just as the Brahma Sutra of Hindu Vedanta is

“aika brahma dutia nasti, nasti kinchit” (God is one and there is none except Him, not at all), similarly the first part of Muslims’ Kalima reads: “La

ilaha illal lahu” (There is no God but only one God).

The belief in the unity of God is enshrined in the Quran as it says: “Say God is only one” (112:1) much in the same way as the Vedas put it: “He is the sole ruler of all the living and non-living world, He who is the God of the humans and the animals.”( Rig Ved 3.121.10)

“Do not worship anyone except God” ( Rig Ved 1.1.8)

“He is the one worthy of being worshipped. (Leaving him) whom do they worship and present offerings?” ( Atharva Ved 2.0.2) “There is only one ruler and creator of the world.” ( Rig Ved 3.121.10)

Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi is a Delhi-based writer