Lost Prophets of India
Khurshid Imam
Index
A. Introduction
B. Hindus / India without Prophet?
C. Prophet Noah community does not recognize its prophet
D. Quran, Prophet Noah and Vedas
E. Prophet Noah, Hindu Scriptures and India
F. Prophet Adam, Hindu scriptures and India
G. Prophet Adam was sent to the holy land of India
H. Hindus and Muslims are lost brothers
I. Conclusion
A. Introduction
Quran proclaims that messenger or prophet was sent to every nation/ every community. Quran mentions 25 prophets by name. Our Hindu brethren – in India – always come up with this question:
· Which prophet was sent to India?
· Is God of Islam discriminatory that he sent all messengers in and around Arab?
· Today India forms 17% of world population; Hindu community is one of the largest communities of the world – how come Quran is completely absent from mentioning the name of prophet who was sent here?
· Is Quran only for Arabs so that it mentions about prophets sent to that area but not for Indian peninsula?
A knowledgeable Muslim will rightly say – “It is not possible that Quran will mention name and details of each of hundreds of thousands of prophets, else it will become the bulkiest book of the world. Who will read the book whose pages will run into millions? Quran is mainly book of guidance and by mentioning 25 prophets Quran guides us for this world. Surely every community and nation was bestowed with prophet. We don’t know which prophet was sent to India”.
This last statement is made depending upon the knowledge and research. Most of Muslim will make this statement. However a deeper study of Quran, hadees (books containing words of Prophet Muhammad), history and other sources will surprise all of us.
Please note my beloved Hindu brethren: Most of you have the notion that Islam is a religion “founded” by Prophet Muhammad 1400 years back. Kindly clear this misconception. Nowhere Quran claims that Prophet Muhammad was the founder of any religion NOR God says that through Quran any NEW religion came into existence. God clears that Prophet Muhammad was the seal of prophet (Last prophet) (Refer to Surah Ahzab 33:40) and that Prophet Muhammad was not given any new religion rather the same old age religion of God that was previously given to all prophets.
The same religion has He established for you as that which He enjoined on Noah–the which We have sent by inspiration to you–and that which We enjoined on Abraham, Moses and Jesus: Namely that you should remain steadfast in Religion and make no divisions therein:……….. [Quran, Surah Shura 42:13]
So as per Islamic belief there has been Prophet / messenger of God in various places in different era and all of them taught and propagated the same religion of God. This religion is called “Islam” in Arabic language.
Terminologies that will be used in this article: Hadees=Words of Prophet Muhammad compiled in book; Ved= God’s word as per Hinduism; Puran, bhagwad Geeta, Ramcharitmanas= Sacred and revered scripture of Hinduism.
B. Hindus / India without Prophet?
All theist communities – those who believe in religion and existence of God – associate themselves with their Prophet. Even though the belief regarding their prophet is distorted, yet they know him-at least.
Community Book that is considered divine Prophet
Muslims – Quran Prophet Muhammad
Christians – Bible Prophet Jesus
Jews – Old Testament Prophet Moses
Hindus – Vedas ??
If you ask a common Hindu; what is the God’s word in Hinduism? Most of them will say Bhagwad Geeta or Ramayana or Mahabharata. But you have to remind them that these all are human written books; only Vedas are claimed to be God’s word in Hinduism. Vedas are considered ishwani (God’s word) or aupaurishya i.e. divine. Though every Hindu loves Ram, Krishna most but he does not attribute Vedas being revealed to any of them. If Vedas are God’s word then there must be someone on whom it was revealed. Our country has lost its prophet in mythological stories. The first recipient of Vedas was the messenger on whom the book was revealed.
Allah has mentioned that for every community a prophet was sent.
a. “..For every Qaum (nation or community) there has been a warner” [Quran, Surah Ra’d 13:7]
وَلِكُلِّ قَوْمٍ هَادٍ
b. “And verily, We have sent among every Ummah (community) a Messenger...” [Quran, Surah Namal 16:36]
وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّسُولًا
It will be highly surprising that no prophet was sent to India which happens to be one of the important cradles of human civilization. Definitely some Prophet would have come to this country India among Hindu masses. May be that Prophet is lost into mythological stories.
“Does Quran gives any indication of Hindi community”- is beyond the scope of this article.
C. Prophet Noah community does not recognize its prophet.
Out of all major communities only Hindus have a book (claimed to be God’s word) but not a person who can be associated with it. The Prophet of Hindus is Lost. Hindu community – as a whole does not recognize its prophet.
The shock is that – Community of Prophet Noah(Peace be upon him) also does not recognize him as a whole !!!. Look at this very interesting Hadees:
“Allah’s messenger said, “Noah and his nation will come (on the Day of Resurrection) and Allah will ask (Noah), “Did you convey (the Message of God)?’
He will reply, ‘Yes, O my Lord!’
Then Allah will ask Noah’s nation, ‘Did Noah convey My Message to you?’
They will reply, ‘No; no prophet came to us.’
Then Allah will ask Noah, ‘Who will stand a witness for you?’
He will reply, ‘Muhammad and his followers (will stand witness for me).’ So, I and my followers will stand as Witnesses for him (that he conveyed Allah’s Message)………….”
[Sahih Bukhari Volume 60 (Prophetic Commentary on the Quran), Hadees 14;
Sahih Bukhari Book 96 (Holding Fast to the Quran and Sunnah) Hadees 77]
Please note down some important points from the above Hadees:
1. When Allah will ask Prophet Noah whether he conveyed the message of Islam to his people then he will reply YES.
2. When People of Prophet Noah will be asked whether Prophet Noah conveyed them message then what will be the reply of his community? His community will clearly REFUSE to acknowledge any Prophet coming among them. They will; in fact; say that no prophet came among them.
3. So it means people of Noah – as a whole – don’t recognize him as a Prophet.
4. Now who will be witness regarding prophet Noah claim that he came and delivered his message? Ummat (People) of Prophet Muhammad i.e. I and you will be witness. We will bear witness that Prophet Noah did come to his people, delivered his message but his people-as a whole-will not recognize him.
5. Today Hindus are the only theist community who claim to have God’s word but fail to recognize their prophet. Does not this Hadees provide a very strong link between Prophet Noah and Hindus?
Hindu brethren do not know their Prophet. They say prophet hood is not part of their faith / culture.
Prophet Noah’s people will refuse to recognize / acknowledge any Prophet coming among them.
D. Quran, Prophet Noah and Vedas
Some very important observations from the Quran:
1. Prophet Noah was the first Prophet with laws.
He was first ba-shariat nabi i.e. Prophet who was given complete revelation; laws regarding religion.
Look at the chronological “order” of prophets when Allah speaks about Prophets – especially in context with religion / revelation – then it will always start with Prophet Noah and end with Prophet Muhammad.
We have sent you inspiration as we sent it to Noah and the Messengers after him; we sent inspiration to Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob and the Tribes, to Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron and Solomon and to David We gave the Psalms. [Quran, Surah Nisa 4:163]
The same religion has He established for you as that which He enjoined on Noah–the which We have sent by inspiration to you–and that which We enjoined on Abraham, Moses and Jesus: Namely that you should remain steadfast in Religion and make no divisions therein……[Quran, Surah Shura 42:13]
And (remember) when We took from the Prophets their covenant, and from you and from Nuh (Noah), Ibrahim (Abraham), Musa (Moses), and ‘Îsa (Jesus) son of Maryam (Mary). We took from them a strong covenant. [Quran, Surah Ahzaab 33:7]
Let’s take; for example 42:13 of Quran. The Prophets mentioned in chronicle order are:
Prophet Revelation Today’s community
Prophet Muhammad Quran Muslims
Prophet Jesus Injeel Christians
Prophet Moses Torah Jews
Prophet Abraham Sohfa-e-Ibraheem Arabs/Jews
Prophet Noah ? ?
We see that Prophet Noah is indicated as the first Messenger in these places of Quran. Also from hadees [Sahi Bukhari Volume 4, Book 55, hadith 556; Sahi Bukhari Volume 6, Book 60, hadith 236] we know that Prophet Noah was the first ba-shariat nabi i.e. Prophet who was given complete Shariat i.e. laws. This was given in the form of revelation.
Also it’s interesting to see that all theist community of people who had God’s word are covered using above equation. Till now we had Hindu community but no prophet. Can Prophet Noah be prophet of Hindus? Prophet Noah has to be prophet of the oldest community or one of the oldest communities.
2. Hindu / Indian civilization – oldest civilization
Hindus have been claiming for years that they are the oldest religious community. Vedic religion is accepted as oldest religion by historians. No other community in the world claims that its religion is oldest – except Hindus. No wonder Vedas – claimed to be God’s word by Hindus – are said to be Aadi granth which means earliest revelation.
Now can you match the dots .. Prophet Noah.. Vedas ..Hindus?
Re-writing Quran, 42:13 in tabular form:
Prophet Revelation Today’s community
Prophet Muhammad Quran Muslims
Prophet Jesus Injeel Christians
Prophet Moses Torah Jews
Prophet Abraham Sohfa-e-Ibraheem Arabs
Prophet Noah Vedas? Hindus?
3. Does Quran give any indication towards Vedas?
Look at this ayah of the Quran:
وَإِنَّهُ لَفِي زُبُرِ الْأَوَّلِينَ
“…wa innahu lafi zuburil awwaleen”- And verily it (Quran) is in earliest revelations.[Quran, Surah Shura 26:196]
Translating word Zuburil awwaleen into English; it means: earliest revelations.
Translating word Zuburil awwaleen into Sanskrit; it means Aadi Granth or: earliest revelations.
Please keep in mind ONLY holy Vedas are proclaimed as earliest revelations or aadi granth. So this ayah indicates that teachings of the Quran are into aadi granth. Is it possible that Quran is referring to Vedas in this ayah which is claimed as aadi granth by Hindus?
When we actually look into Vedas then we DO find about tauheed (oneness of God), risalat (Prophet hood), akhrat (Life hereafter) and other aspects of Islam; though shirk is also mentioned (subject to interpretation). There are tons of other similarities between Quran and Vedas – description of which is beyond the scope of this article.
So Quran is referring to earliest scriptures of Allah and saying that teachings of Quran are present in that. When we look into Vedas then we do find lot of similarities and fundamentals of Quran present in Vedas.
Here one thing I would like to make clear. Some people may argue that word Zubril awaaleen was not taken as in the sense of Vedas by Sahaba (Companions of Prophet) or others. What we need to understand is that Quran is meant till qiyamah and it’s very eloquent. Every word of Quran is perfect, well balanced, conveying lot of meanings; we understand better and better with the passage of time. This is a big topic. Word Zubril awwaleen meant as “earliest revelations” for earlier Muslims referring to those scriptures of Allah that were sent earlier. That was also correct. Now today – after intellectual evolution we know that a community says that they have earliest revelations; then there is a strong possibility that Quran is referring to this particular book which was revealed earliest.
Hindus are claiming that they possess earliest revelations.
Prophet Noah is the prophet of earliest human civilization.
People of Prophet Noah will fail to recognize him – as a whole.
Today Hindus don’t recognize their Prophet.
Can you see the pattern?
Now there is one community who claims that it has earliest revelation; historians believe that Vedic religion happen to be earliest religion. Hindus are the only community that claims that it has earliest revelation. So can there be correlation between first Prophet-with-Shariat i.e. Prophet Noah — earliest civilization i.e. People of India — earliest scripture i.e. Vedas?
Are number of dots between Prophet Noah.. Vedas ..Hindus increasing?
4. Idol worship, caste system, Quran and Hindus
a. Quran mentions about prophets, their call to people. Also God tells about the crime of those people; what major sins they indulged in. So a prophet’s community is characterized by some of crimes committed by its people. For example people of Prophet Lot are characterized with indulging in homosexuality.
Noah community was the one who was too much engrossed in shirk and idol worship.
Quran mentions about shirk of other community also but Noah people were so much engrossed in shirk and idol worship that Allah has mentioned about their 5 idols.
Nuh said: “My Lord! Surely they have disobeyed me and followed him whose wealth and children have added to him nothing but loss. And they have planned a very great plan. And they say: ‘By no means leave your gods, nor leave [the gods] Wadd, nor Suwa; nor Yaghus, and Yauq and Nasr.’ And indeed they have led astray many, and do not increase the unjust in aught but error.” [Quran, Surah Nuh 71:21-23]
b. There is an indication of another prevalent sin of Noah’s people. Look these two ayah of Quran:
But the chiefs of the Unbelievers among his people (Noah’s people) said: “We see (in) you nothing but a man like ourselves: Nor do we see that any follow you but the meanest among us, in judgment immature: Nor do we see in you (all) any merit above us: in fact we think ye are liars!” [Quran, Surah Hud 11:27]
قَالُوا أَنُؤْمِنُ لَكَ وَاتَّبَعَكَ الْأَرْذَلُونَ
They (People of Noah who rejected his teachings) said: “Shall we believe in you when it is the meanest that follow you?” [Quran, Surah Shura 26:111]
فَقَالَ الْمَلَأُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِن قَوْمِهِ مَا نَرَاكَ إِلَّا بَشَرًا مِّثْلَنَا وَمَا نَرَاكَ اتَّبَعَكَ إِلَّا الَّذِينَ هُمْ أَرَاذِلُنَا بَادِيَ الرَّأْيِ
The Arabic words “ardhalūna” and “arādhilunā” are used in above two ayah respectively which has been derived from the root word rā dhāl lām (ر ذ ل). Both words convey the meaning – “mean /vile/ lowest in status”. Arabic-English Lexicon by Edward William Lane gives the meaning of Arabic word rā dhāl lām (ر ذ ل) as “low, base, vile, or contemptible, in his aspect and states or circumstances ..”. This word is not used for any other people of any prophet. Above two ayah give the idea that some people were considered meanest or lowest among the people of Prophet Noah.
Does this refer to prevalent untouchability or “caste system”? We know that caste system is an important character of Hinduism since centuries. Even today caste-system or untouchability is very unique feature of India.
So can we increase number of dots between Prophet Noah – Ved – Hindus / India?
Important: Today dalits brethren (People in Hinduism who are considered untouchable or lowest in status) hate “Manu” for the reason that they think that Manu started and propagated caste system. It is fact that the Hindu religious book ManuSmriti does speak volume in favor of caste system yet we don’t know for sure who authored this book. What is 101% guaranteed is that none of prophets can propagate or teach such inhumane teachings. This book is attributed to Manu but for sure; neither Jal-plavan-Manu i.e. Prophet Noah (Peace be upon him) nor swaymBhuva Manu i.e. Prophet Adam (Peace be upon him) taught this. In fact from above two Quranic ayah it’s clear that Prophet Noah acted against the caste system and among his followers were those who were considered meanest and lowest.
E. Prophet Noah, Hindu Scriptures and India
If a muslim is asked about Prophet Noah (Peace be upon him) and the great flood then he / she will immediately tell that during the era of Prophet Noah there was a great flood and this destroyed wrong doers and world life except selected few; and this event is described in Quran, Surah Hud 11:36-44
Similarly if a Christian is asked about this incidence he too will tell that Bible speaks about Noah and the great flood in great detail in Bible – Book of Genesis 6:9-22; Genesis Complete 7th chapter.
However the surprising point is that if a learned Hindu is asked about the great flood and Jal-Plavan-Manu i.e. Manu of the great flood then he too can quote Matsya Puran Chapter 1 & 2 and Bhawishya Puaran, Pratisarga Parva, Chapters 4-7 – and tell How God ordered Noah (mentioned as NYUH or MANU) to build a boat and put creatures into the boat and how great flood destroyed the life on land.
1- Vishnu (GOD) had got a boat built by the devtas. (In other accounts, Manu was himself asked to construct the boat). When the earth was flooded, Manu (Prophet Noah) was to place all living beings in the boat and thus save them. ….. And when the waters of the flood receded, Manu (Prophet Noah) could populate the world afresh and rule over it. [Mat’sya Purana 1:29-35]
Source: http://www.astrojyoti.com/matsyapurana.htm
2- “Then the seven destructive clouds would spring up from vapors… and would rain in torrents till all the seas become united into one great mass. In fact, the whole earth would be covered with one vast expanse of water, then get hold of that yonder boat and put the seed of creation and the sacred Vedasin it.” [Mat’sya Purana 2:10-11]
3- “At the beginning of the re-creation of the universe which would follow the period of destruction (Caused by the Deluge / flood), I shall propagate the Vedicknowledge”. [Mat’sya Purana 2:14-16]
Please note-Vedas and Prophet Noah are referred together in above two references.
Quran speaks about (Nooh used in Quran) Prophet Noah and the great flood event.
Bible tells about (Noah used in bible) Prophet Noah and the great flood event.
Hindu scriptures describe (Nyuh and Manu) Prophet Noah and the great flood event.
Are these mere co-incidences?
Are we telling the same – one event in different scriptures?
DO we have common root; the same event reached different people through different prophets?
The ONE and the same GOD told about this important event to different people in different era through divine revelation / through prophets?
Are we witnessing real incidence of Prophet Noah soaked in mythological stories in puranas?
5. Besides these references about Noah, Let us see some Shlokas (ayah) from the Bhavishya
Purana given by Pandit Ved Prakashs’ book – Vedon aur Puranon Ke Adhar Par Dharmik Ekta Ki Jyoti – in which there are clear references of other prophets with their original names
“…From them was born a child named Noah. He ruled for 500years. He had three sons: Sim, Sham,Bhav. Noah, the true devotee of Vishnu was engrossed in the Pantheistic meditations. One day Vishnu told him in dream: ‘O dear Noah, listen! on the seventh day there will be a disaster in the form of a Deluge / flood. You immediately embark the Ark along with the People. O’ the devotee of Indra, save your life, you are elevated’. Acting upon this advice this great personage (Noah) constructed an Ark, 300 hath (an arm’s length) long, 50 hath wide and 3000 hath deep. With his family and the couples (male+female) of each creation, he embarked the Ark and started praising Vishnu…. For forty days there were torrential rains as a result of which all the land was flooded and all the four seas united into a great mass… After the Deluge / flood the great mystic Noah resumed life along with the members of his family. Noah’s sons became popularly known as Sam, Ham, Yaqut….”.
In these Shlokas the word “Niyuh” has been used for Noah, whereas Ham and Yaqut are same.
Let’s read this same event from other source; which presents same picture.
“..His son Nyuha (Noah) ruled for 500 years. He had three sons named Sima, Sama and Bhava. Nyuha (Noah) was a devotee of Lord Vishnu. Once the Lord appeared in his dream and said: “My dear Nyuha (Noah), please listen, there will be devastation on the seventh day. Therefore, you have to be very quick that you make a big boat and ride in it. O chief of the devotees, you will be celebrated as a great king”. Then he made a strong boat which was 300 hath (an arm’s length) long, 50 hath (an arm’s length) wide and 30 hath (an arm’s length) high. It was beautiful and all the living entities could take shelter in it. He then himself rode in it, engaged in meditating on Lord Vishnu. Lord Indra called the devastating cloud named Sambartaka and poured heavy rain continuously for 40 days. The whole earth, Bharat-varsa, had merged in the water and four oceans came up together. Only Visala or Badarikasrama was not submerged. There were 80,000 great transcendentalists in Visala who joined with king Nyuha and his family. All of them were saved and everything else was destroyed. [Bhawishya Puran, the Pratisarga Parva, Chapters 4 to 7]
Source: http://www.astrojyoti.com/bhavishyapurana-2.htm
Can Hindus, Christians and Muslims feel stronger common bonding?
Historical facts and observations attest very close relation between India and Prophet Noah:
“{…….. A French writer, A.J.A. Dubois, who studied the Hindu religion and Indian civilization for forty years subsequently, wrote a voluminous and most authentic book – Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies – of its kind on Hindu rituals, customs, manners and traditions.
Book can be downloaded from http://www.scribd.com/doc/57522848/Hindu-Manners-Customs-and-Ceremonies
Some of the facts, he related in this book will certainly be of vital interest to our readers.
a.“…Suffice it to remark that a Celebrated Personage, reverenced by the Hindus, and known to them as MAHANUVU, escaped the calamity in an ark, in which were also the Seven Penitents. The appellation MAHANUVU is worthy of remark. It is a compound of two words-MAHA – great, and NUVU, which is undoubtedly the same as Noah”. [Page 48]
b.“It is practically admitted that India was inhabited very soon after the Deluge / flood, which made a desert of the whole world. [Page 100]
c.“It is definitely stated in the Markandeya Purana and the Bhagavata that this event caused the destruction of all mankind, with the exception of the seven famous Rishis or Penitents whom I have often had occasion to mention, and who were saved from the universal destruction by means of an ark, of which Vishnu himself was the pilot. Another great personage, called Manu, who, as I have tried elsewhere to show, was no other than the great Noah himself. [Page 416-417]
d. The details about the event of Noah and the Deluge / flood have also been given in the Bhavishya Purana and the Matsya Purana. The word Manu has been used for a number of Hindu religious personages (It is said about Adam that from Manu’s left side shatrupa (i.e. Eve) was created. See Hanuman Prasad Potdar, Ram Charit Manas. (Gita press Gorakhpur, Ed. 15,) P. 154 and Kh. Hassan Nizami Dehlwi, Hindu Mazhab Ki Ma’lumat (Halqa Mashaikh, Delhi edition, 20 December, 1927) P. 6 ) but Manu who figures most in the puranas, the Vedas and other Hindu scriptures is Noah; un-doubted. Even in the Vedas the mention of Noah by the name Manu is at 75 places.
e. The English translator-commentator of the Vedas, Griffith writes in explaining the word Manu, in one of the mantras: “Manu is the man par excellence, or the representative man and father of the human race, regarded as the first institutor of sacrifices and religious ceremonies.” This explanatory note is in Griffith’s translation of The Rigveda in Mandal 1:sukt 13: Mantr 4
e. Besides these references of Noah in the Vedas and the purans, I am presenting here yet another authentic proof of the affiliation of Hindu race with Noah. Generally speaking, the relation between a race and its prophet can be established by the calendar which, in one way or the other, starts with the prophet himself. For example, Muslims count their calendar from Prophet Muhammad’s Hijrah
(Migration from Mecca to Madina), and the Christians theirs, from the departure of Jesus. Like-wise the Hindu people count the time of their main events from Noah’s times, and, thereby, count the period that elapsed since the Deluge / flood in terms of sixty years as one year.
Dubois writes “……the commencement of the true era of the Hindus, that is to say, of their Kali-yuga, dates from about the same time as the epoch of the Deluge / flood-an event clearly recognized by them and very distinctly mentioned by their authors, who give it the name of Jala-pralayam, or the Flood of waters……And curiously enough, in all their ordinary transactions of life, in the promulgation of all their acts, in the their monuments, the Hindus date everything from the subsidence of the flood…… Their public and private events are always reckoned by the year of the various cycles of sixty years which have elapsed since the Deluge / flood.” [Page 416-417]…….}”
[“Now or never”-English translation of “Agar Ab bhi Na Jaage To”; Page 14-15]
There are several other detailed proofs from Quran and other sources that prove beyond doubt about the event of Noah and great flood in India. For details kindly refer to the above book.
An interesting fact- One of my relative – from my wife’s side – hails from bottom most part of India; i.e. in Tamilnadu; his & his family last name is “Noohu”.Any association between Noah and that region? 🙂
Starting point of Noah flood:
{.. We know from the Qur’an that after Noah’s Deluge the Ark of Noah came to rest upon (Mountain) Al-Judi which is located at Kurdistan in Iraq. From the Bible we know that his boat came to rest upon Ararat (Mountain) range. (Judi is a mount of the Ararat range). But commentators have still not been able to say, in which part of the world Noah preached after the Ark came to rest. It has also not been found where Noah was for 600 years prior to Deluge. The Torah merely states that after the Deluge, Noah and his companions assembled together in Babel.
The Qur’an says that water started gushing forth from the Tanur and it was the beginning of the deluge: “(Thus it was) till, when our commandment came to pass and the Al-Tanurgushed forth water. We said: ‘Load there-in two of every kind, a pair (the male and the female)..…” [Quran, Surah Hud 11:40]
‘Tanur’ is not an Arabic but a Persian word used in the sense of an ‘Oven’ in which bread are baked. Most of the commentators have used it in the same sense and only few have taken it to mean the surface of the earth: which means that water gushing forth from the surface of the earth. But in the Qur’an ‘Al’ is used before the word ‘Tanur’ which implies ‘a particular Tanur’. Let us see explanations of the scholars in this regard.
“If it is said that the word Tanur has a prefix ‘Al’ (used for the definite article in Arabic) then it is most probable that Noah already knew it. Hasan Basri reports that the Tanur was made of stone and Eve used to bake bread in it. Then this Tanur was possessed by Noah and he had been told: ‘Once you see water gushing forth from the Tanur, embark along with your companions in the Ark.”
“That this Tanur was of Adam has also been stated by Muhammad Naim Moradabadi in his commentary of the Qur’an. Earlier we have quoted the statement of Ibne Abbas from Tafsire Fath’ul Qadir that the Tanur of Adam was in India. Let us look at it from a different perspective. While collecting together various facts about the word ‘Tanur’, Showkani has written “…..the eighth saying is that it is a place that exists in India.” [Tafsir Fat’hul Qadir, Vol II, P. 474.]
It won’t be out of place to mention here that when I searched the word in Indian Railway timetable, I found that a place called Tanur is in Kerala and when I attempted to locate it in the map I found the place Tanur located at the sea shore in the district Malappuram of Kerala. It is on the western shore of India, separated from Arabia by the Arabian ocean. In the light of the above discussed legends can it be supposed that it is the same place wherefrom Noah’s Deluge started, as has been illustrated in the Quran? It correlates all other sayings about Tanur, concluding that the water had started gushing forth from the Tanur situated at the sea shore and the same is called ‘The Tanur of Adam’.…}
[“Now or never”-English translation of “Agar Ab bhi Na Jaage To”; Page 21-22]
F. Prophet Adam, Hindu scriptures and India
1. Adam – The first human being – the first Prophet – the first Man “..All are progeny (children) of Manu (Adam)…” [Rigveda 1:45:1]
“O children of Adam.. ”[Quran Surah Araf 7:26-27,31,35,172; Surah isra 17:70; Surah yasin 36:60]
Let me remind you that in Hindu tradition MANU is a title given to 14 great personalities. Two prominent of them are:
Svayambhuva Manu = Manu who was created without parents=Prophet Adam(Peace be upon him)
Jal-Plavan-Manu = Manu of the great flood = Prophet Noah (Peace be upon him)
It has been the consistent belief of Muslims and Christians that God created Adam as the first person. And thereafter Eve (or Hawwa) was created as his spouse and from them human beings originated.
“O Mankind! We have created you from single pair of male and female…” [Quran Surah Hujrat 49:13]
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍ وَأُنثَىٰ
This same event is described in Hindu scripture.
“Brahma accordingly created two beings from his body, one was male and the other was female. The male half was named Svayambhuva Manu and the female half was named Shatarupa.”
Matasya Puran describes in allegorical term that Brahma made two parts of his body and formed two person – one part formed was male known as Svayambhuva Manuand other part formed was female by name Shatarupa. [See Hanuman Prasad Potdar, Ram Charit Manas.(Gita press Gorakhpur, Ed. 15,) P. 154 and Kh. Hassan Nizami Dehlwi, Hindu MazhabKi Ma’lumat (Halqa Mashaikh, Delhi edition, 20 December, 1927) P. 6.]
Please note – The word Brahma has been used for Adam in Hari Vansh Puran.
When a Muslim reads the above statement he immediately realizes that this incidence is about creation of Prophet Adam and Hazrat Hawwa (Spouse of Adam). They both were created in the beginning and Puran / Hindu scripture is referring to their creation.
Similarly when a Christian reads the above passage he can understand that this even is about the creation of Adam and Eve which is also mentioned in bible. Refer to Bible, Book of Genesis 2:7-22
Is this just co-incidence?
2. Is this also co-incidence?
Hazrat Adam was first person who was created without any parents and Matasya puran refers him as Svayambhuva (swaym+bhoo) Manu which in Sanskrit means the Manu who came into existence / was created himself (without any parent)?
Svayambhuva manu and Prophet Adam is the one and the same person by name and by event.
Also there has been debate on the meaning and origin of word ADAM. Scholars and researches have tried vaguely to prove Adam being Arabic word or Hebrew word. Probably their attention was not drawn towards the Sanskrit language. According to the Monier-Williams Sanskrit Dictionary, adi means “beginning” or “first”. Similarly sanskrit word Aadim means “The first or most ancient man”. Can it be said that Word Adam refers to the first man?
Is it difficult to understand why people in Indian peninsula refer to human being as AADMI?
Also see the name “Nyuh” or “Nooh” and Sanskrit word for boat – “Naav”. Prophet Noah is strongly correlated with the great flood and ark / boat. Noah is Prophet of Ark/boat.
3. Hindu Scriptures and Prophet Adam
Also see some Shlokas (ayah) from the BhavishyaPurana given by Pandit Ved Prakashs’ book- Vedon aur Puranon Ke Adhar Par Dharmik Ekta Ki Jyoti–
“Adam and Eve took birth from Vishnu’s (God’s) mud. In the Eastern part of the Paradise, Parmeshwar (God) had constructed a big and beautiful forest spreading over an expanse of 4 Kos (eight miles). Adam’s impatience to see his wife led him to see Eve under the forbidden tree. At once Satan appeared there in the guise of a snake. This cunning enemy cheated Adam and Eve, made them violates the commandment of Vishnu (One of attribute of God), and the husband took the forbidden fruit that led both of them to this terrestrial universe. Both of them sustained by means of the leaves of the wild fig. Subsequently a number of children were born to them, and all of them were called Malechh. Adam lived for 930 years”.
In these Shlokas the word Adam figures as Adam, Eve as Haw’yawati, Paradise as Pradan Nagar (inhabitation of Rewards) and for Satan Kali. Please note – word for Eve here is Hawyawati which is similar to word Hawwa that muslims use for spouse of Prophet Adam. Is this co-incidence?
Let us read this event from another source – which also presents same picture:
“In the eastern side of Pradan city (city of reward i.e. paradise) where there is a big God-given forest, which is 16 square yojanas in size. The man named Adama was staying there under a Papa-Vriksha or a sinful tree and was eager to see his wife Havyavati (Eve or hawwa). The Kali purusha (The Satan) quickly came there assuming the form of a serpent. He cheated them and they disobeyed Lord Vishnu. The husband ate the forbidden fruit of the sinful tree.”
स्वर्गलोक से समस्त मानवजाति के पिता का आगमन धरती पर हुआ।उनका नाम आदम था और उनकी पत्नी का नाम हव्वा।
‘‘आदमोनामपुरूषःपत्नीहव्यवतीतथा‘‘ (भविष्यपुराण–प्रतिसर्गपर्व 4, 18)
अनुवाद— आदम नाम का पुरूष तथा पत्नी का नाम हव्यवती था।‘
Again – both Christians and Muslims can correlate themselves with the above mentioned event of Adam. Quran mentions about this event — Adam-Eve living in paradise, asked not to approach a particular act, then Satan mislead them – in Quran, Surah Baqrah 2:35-36.
Similarly Bible describes this event in Bible, Book of Genesis, Chapter 2: 15 Chapter 3: 1-7.
Again same event – almost same description in three different scriptures. Can there be a common connection for these three?
Was there some divine source in India – in the form of messenger and revelation – the traces of which can be found in above described stories?
Vedas mention about Prophet Adam, Prophet Noah and Prophet Muhammad.
Prophet Adam was the first person, first prophet, came before Prophet Noah so it’s not surprising that he was mentioned in Vedas.
Prophet Muhammad was the last prophet and he has been prophesized in previous scriptures of God so it’s also not surprising that he is mentioned in Vedas. What is surprising is that no prophet after Prophet Noah is mentioned in Vedas. What does it indicate? Does it indicate that Vedas were contemporary to Prophet Noah? In other words – Vedas were given to Prophet Noah?
G. Prophet Adam was sent to the holy land of India?
1. Muhammad ibn Sa’d ibn Mani’ al-Baghdadi or Ibn Sa’d (Arabic: ابن سعد), born in the year 168AH/784CE) and died in 230AH/845CE wrote Kitab Tabaqat Al-Kubra which was a compendium of biographical information about famous Islamic personalities in 8 volumes.
He (lbn Sa`d) said: Hishám Ibn Muhammad Ibn al-Sa’ib al-Kalbi informed us on the authority of his father, he on the authority of Abu Salih, he on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas; he said: Adam was cast down in India and Eve at Juddah. Then he came in her search and reached Jam’a; then Eve joined him, and so the place was known as al-Muzdalifah, and they had come together at Jam’a so it was known as Jam’a. [Ibn Sa’d, AL-TABAQAT AL-KABIR, Volume 1, Parts 1.4.3]
2. Adam was sent from the Paradise…. He was cast down on a mountain in India known as Nawdh and Eve cast at Juddah. …, then he built an oven which was inherited by Nuh, and from this oven gushed out boiling water bringing torment in India.
..After that he returned to India.. [Ibn Sa’d, AL-TABAQAT AL-KABIR, Volume 1, Part 1.3.42]
3. “Al-Hassan said that Adam descended in India…. Ass’ady related that Adam descended.. in India..”
4. At-Tabarani, Abu Nu’aim and Ibn Asakir all related from Abu Hurairah (ra) that the Messenger of Allah (saws) said “Adam (as) descended in India.” And At-Tabarani related the following narration from Abdullah ibn Umar (ra): When Allah made Adam (as) descend, He made him descend in the land of India. He then went to Makkah and afterwards went to Ash-Shams, which is where he died.
5. कुरआन के प्रसिद्ध भाष्यकार इब्ने कसीर ने मुस्नदएअब्दुर्रज़्ज़ाक़ को उद्धृत करते हुए अपने भाष्य में लिखा है कि
‘‘ह. आदम अ. भारत की भूमि पर उतरे थे।उनका क़द बहुत लम्बा था।‘‘
ईशदूतह. मुहम्मद स. सत्संगिंयों तथा अन्य मुस्लिम संतों और इतिहासकारों की एक बड़ी संख्या से यही उल्लिखित है कि पृथ्वी के पहले मानव ने, जो ईश्वर के पहले दूत भी थे, अपना पहला क़दम भारत में रखा।उन्होंने अपनी संतान में ईश–प्रदत्त सनातनधर्म (अरबी भाषा में दीन–ए–क़य्यिम) का प्रचार प्रसार किया और बाद में समय समय पर संसार के विभिन्न भागों में ईशदूतों ने उसी एक ईश्वरीय धर्म को पुनर्जीवित किया।
आदम या आदिम शब्द, जिसका अर्थ है ‘‘सबसे पहला‘‘, भारतीय मूल का होना भी यही सिद्ध करता है कि आदिमानव भारत में उतरा।उसी को बाद में भारतीय साहित्य में आदिमनु या स्वयंभूमनु कहा गया।
स्वायंभू मनु अरू सतरूपा।जिन्हतेंभैनरसृष्टिअनूपा।।
दंपत्ति धरम आचरण नीका। अजहुँ गाव श्रुति जिन्हकैलीका।।
(रामचरितमानस, दो. 141, चौ. 1)
अर्थात स्वायम्भूवमनु और उसकी पत्नी शत्रूपा जिनसे मनुष्यों की यह अनुपम सृष्टि हुई, इन दोनों पति पत्नी के धर्म और आचरण बहुत अच्छे थे आज भी वेद जिनकी मर्यादा का गान करते हैं।अरफ़ात, पति पत्नी के मिलने का स्थान इस्लामी परंपरा के अनुसार आदम की पत्नी हव्वा को स्वर्ग लोक से जिद्दा (सऊदीअरब) में उतारा गया।दोनों एक दूसरे को तलाशते रहे, यहां तक कि दोनों की मुलाक़ात अरफ़ात में हुई जो मक्का से 12 किमी. दूर एक निर्जन खुले क्षेत्र का नाम है।हज के महीने की 9वीं तारीख़ को सुबह चलकर अरफ़ात पहुंचना और सूर्य अस्त से पहले तक समय वहां ईश्वर से प्रार्थना आदि में बिताना हज का सबसे प्रमुख अंग है।
In the above Hindi Quotation – Ramcharitmanas – revered book of Hinduism speaks about Adam, and his wife Hawwa.
Here it is important to mention that ahadees speaking about Prophet Adam’s descent in India has been declared weak by Muhaddesseen (those who collect Hadees); but few points that are important are:
a) We don’t find any Sahi Hadees contradicting this.
b) We don’t find other ahadees referring to other places apart from India.
c) Weak / dhayeef Hadees does not mean unauthentic but absence of other chain of narrations; lesser number of people narrating Hadees etc.
d) Moreover we have seen lot of other proofs and will see further that gives strong indication towards Prophet Adam being in India.
6. Adam’s peak
There is a big foot-print in Sri-Lanka (See the below picture) which is revered by people from different faith. Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Buddhist – all have great respect and honor for this foot print as they correlate it with their religion. It is a 1.8 meters (5 ft 11 in) rock formation near the summit, which in Buddhist tradition is held to be the footprint of the Buddha, in Hindu tradition that of Shiva and in Muslim and Christian tradition that of Adam, or that of St. Thomas.
Muslim researchers and Scholars have time and again attested to the belief that prophet Adam descended to India and lived here. India was the blessed land where human civilization started.
a. Prophet Hazrat Syedina Azam Alaihis salatus salaam’s Peak (Famous as Adam’s Peak) – The First Foot Mark on Earth by Hazrat Adam (Alaihis Salaam)
Jutting sharply skyward from the lush jungles of southwestern Sri Lanka is the 7362 foot (2243 meter) peak of Sri Pada, the ‘Holy Footprint’. Also called Adam’s Peak, the mountain has the unique distinction of being sacred to the followers of four of the world’s major religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam. Long before the development of these religions, however, the mountain was worshipped by the aboriginal inhabitants of Sri Lanka, the Veddas. Their name for the peak was Samanala Kanda; Saman being one of the four guardian deities of the island. For Hindus, the name of the mountain is Sivan Adi Padham, because it was the world-creative dance of the god Shiva that left the giant footprint (5 feet 7 inches by 2 feet 6 inches). According to Buddhist traditions from as early as 300 BC, the real print is actually beneath this larger marking. Imprinted on a huge sapphire, it was left by the Buddha during the third and final of his legendary visits to Sri Lanka. When Portuguese Christians came to the island in the 16th century they claimed the impression to be the footprint of St. Thomas who, according to legend, first brought Christianity to Sri Lanka.
The mountain is more easily seen from the sea than from land, and also more impressive. Early Arab seafarers fascinated with the pyramidal peak wrote of it as “the highest mountain in the world” (it is not even the highest in Sri Lanka), and “visible from three days sail”. The ancient Sinhalese also believed it to be of great height and a native legend tells “from Seyllan to Paradise is forty miles, and the sound of the fountains of Paradise is heard here”. Visited by many early world travelers, among them the Arab Ibn Batuta (1304-1368) and the Venetian Marco Polo (1254-1324), Adam’s Peak attained a legendary status as a mystic pilgrimage destination. Today the pilgrimage season commences in December and continues until the beginning of the monsoon rains in April (from May to October the mountain is obscured by clouds). Certain parts of the path leading up the mountain are extremely steep and the climbing chains secured in these sections are said to have been placed by Alexander the Great (365-323 BC), though there is no evidence that he made it this far south on his Asia travels. Atop the peak is an oblong platform (74 x 24 feet) where stands a small Buddhist temple and the shrine of Saman with the strange footprint. Votive offerings are made here, especially of a coil of silver as long as the donor is tall, for recovery from sickness; and rain-water taken from the footprint is known to have a wonderful healing power. Adam’s Peak is also called Samanalakande or the ‘butterfly mountain’ because of the myriads of small butterflies that fly from all over the island to die upon the sacred mountain.
b. Islamic literature tells us that Prophet Adam descended directly from the heaven on Indian soil. India was his first domicile and the entire human race has spread from here. For this very reason the nomenclature A’dmi is used to denote human being. We find numerous references to this effect in Muslim magnum opus i.e. Subhatul Marjan Fi Tarikhe Hindustan, written by the celebrated Islamic scholar Allama Ghulam Ali Azad Bilgrami.
The above is an edited version of a long article by the late Maulana Hussain Ahmad Madani, translated from Urdu by Mohammad Anwer Hussain.
7. Adam bridge
Last but not least is the bridge connecting India and Sri-Lanka. It is popularly known as Adam’s bridge. Some of our Hindu brethren have started making claim that this bridge was built by Shri Ram and his Vaanar-Sena.
Wikipedia says – “Adam’s Bridge also known as Rama’s Bridge or Rama Setu is a chain of limestone shoals, between Pamban Island, also known as Rameswaram Island, off the southeastern coast of Tamil Nadu, India, and Mannar Island, off the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka.
Geological evidence suggests that this bridge is a former land connection between India and Sri Lanka” Geologists have strong view that this path – Adam’s bridge – was formed naturally without any human intervention.
Also please note that it’s very difficult – as of today – to estimate the date of existence of Prophet Adam. Whatever it may be it certainly belongs to pre-historic era. May be 10,000 year+; may be 50,000 year +; may be 1,00,000+ – we don’t know for sure. But one thing that we know from geography is that map of the world has not been same throughout history. It changes over long period of history.
Map of India and Sri-Lanka was not exactly same thousands and millions of years back – as it is today. Most probably – India and Sri-lanka was one part that time. Geologists suggest that initially whole land was joined together and was one single land – known as supercontinent and gradually formation of continents took place and continents started drifting away from each other.
What was map of India and Saudi Arab during early period of human habitation? This is an interesting topic which is beyond the scope of the article.
But at least – we have strong indication that when Adam descended on earth then India and Sri-Lanka was one single entity. This region was the blessed land where first human being came.
H. Hindus and Muslims are lost brothers
It is possible that you would not be satisfied with one or some proofs presented in the article citing it not to be – very authentic; however one cannot ignore large numbers of proofs presented from various sources (Quran, Hadees, Ved, Puran, History, Tradition and culture) all indicating that Prophet Noah and Prophet Adam were sent to India. Moreover we don’t find the contrary; i.e. we don’t have proofs regarding these Prophets coming to some other part of world.
The vague picture behind the dirt of history is the picture of a great nation, a great civilization, the cradle of human civilization, the blessed land of India – loosing pure religion into mythological stories; forgetting its blessed past; making hundreds of gods; forgetting its Prophets….. traces of which can be found even today in various ways.
Hindus and Muslims are lost brothers.
{ .. “A. The Hindus are the earliest race with Shari’at (the Revealed Law) and the Muslims the last and God’s wisdom has assembled them together in one country, India.
B. All the ancient temples and mosques in india have been consutructed facing Kaaba. Dubois writes in his book: “The structure of the large temples, both ancient and modern, is everywhere the same….. Their architectural monuments, such as they exist today……. the entrance of the great pagodas….. Faces the east, a position which is observed in all their temples, great and small.” [Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies. Page 579.] The Muslims know the reason of their mosques being in this direction, towards Ka’aba, but the Hindus do not. Different people give different explanations but no one has got the factual knowledge. May it be due to their old association with Ka’aba a fact which they have absolutely forgotten now? The customs have still remained where as the reality is lost. Even the pyre of the Hindus, like the graves of the muslims, is always in the North-South direction. C. The Muslims circumbulate Ka’aba seven times during Haj and Umrah 3 and the Hindus, at the time of marriage, take pledge after making seven rounds around fire.
D. The attire the Muslims use at the time of Haj, consists of the two pieces of unstitched cloth, one fastened round the waist and another to cover the upper body. Since thousands of years the Hindus too have been wearing the similar kind of dress at the time of visiting the places of pilgrimage. This dress is considered so sacred by them that in its changed version their men have been using it in the form of ‘Dhoti’ and women in the form of ‘Sari’ even in their diurnal life.
E. At the time of Haj and Umrah it is compulsory for the Muslims to cut hair and better still to shave it. The Hindus too have been shaving off their hair at the time of pilgrimage for thousands of years.
F. While performing Haj or Umrah when the Muslims are in Ahram (the holy dress) their men are not allowed to wear such shoes as would cover their insteps. During these days Hawai Chappals are used so that only two fillets remain on the insteps and no difficulty is caused while walking also. While on pilgrimage the Hindus have always been using filletless wooden sandals having only a peg like thumb on them.
G. The Muslims name the child on A’qiqah(The Muslim ceremony of shaving the head of a newly born child on the seventh day after birth and a sacrifice made on that day) and shave his head. The Hindus from the early beginning shave the head of the baby at a similar occasion, called by them Namkaran Sanskar.
H. Can you even imagine that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had borrowed (God forbid) these manners and customs from Hinduism 1400 years ago? The fact is that this race has an old affiliation with ka’aba and they are the only religious community in the world that has still retained its traditions even in the form of meaningless rituals. If Noah had given these customs connected with Ka’aba to his people, then Moses and Jesus too would have given to theirs. With the passage of time, the truth about Ka’aba has been lost. While the various other races have lost these related customs too, it (Hindu race) is the only race that has still retained them in one or the other form. There are hundreds of identical examples which I am not quoting here for fear of prolonging this discussion, but it must be clearly understood that the unique and precious quality of this race is that if their lost truths are revived back for them, then their understanding of Islam will be easier as compared to other races. The defect of ignoring the reality at the cost of rites has already crept in even amongst the Muslims.
It has been realized by the famous Urdu poet Iqbal when he said:
The reality is lost in the stories- this community is lost in absurdities.
1. But the book given to the Muslims and the Prophet sent unto them are preserved and protected till the Last Day. The Muslims will find their lost realities and essentials once they refer to the Qur’an and the Holy prophet. If the Vedas, as the Hindu scholars assert, is the name of the divine knowledge and not of any particular book, then it is to be concluded that the Book as well as prophet of the Hindu race are lost. We can return their essentials to them once we search their prophet and the Scripture for them.” }
[“Now or never”-English translation of “Agar Ab bhi Na Jaage To”; Page 19-20]
Regarding Prophet Muhammad, Prophet Jesus, Prophet Adam, Prophet Noah and details of the great flood etc and Hindu Scriptures / India; Kaaba in Hinduism; association of India with Kaaba; Ved and its exact status; Are Hindus referred in Quran; tons of other similarities between Islam and Hindu scriptures – kindly refer to the book “Agar ab bhi na jaage to” / “Now or Never” mentioned in the last part of article. It is available in English, hindi and urdu.
I. Conclusion
1. The general belief is that Quran / Islam is silent about any prophet in Indian Peninsula. Hindu brethren argue why Allah did not send any Prophet/messenger to India?
2. Among theist communities only Hindus are completely dissociated with the concept of Prophet hood and they don’t associate themselves with any Prophet.
3. Word of Prophet Muhammad tells us that people of Prophet Noah will not recognize him on the day of judgment; they will not acknowledge that any Prophet came among them.
4. Hindu brethren claim that they are the oldest civilization. They possess the oldest revealed book Vedas. Historian has no objection against it. Quran gives several clues regarding Prophet Noah being the prophet of first human civilization who was given complete shariat or laws.
5. Quran, hadees, Hindu scriptures, history, observations make sure that Prophet Noah was sent as messenger in India, the great flood started here, wrong-doers got destroyed. Even after the flood Prophet Noah came to India.
6. Prophet Adam was also sent to India, India is the blessed land from where Prophet hood started.
7. India and Hindus still maintain several tradition and practices that tells us that the pure & original Sanatan Dharam i.e. Islam started from this pavitr (sacred) land.
Important Note: This article is primarily and heavily based on the revolutionary work of Acharya Maulana Shams Naved usmani (May God bless him) – authored by Allama Syed Abdullah tariq Sahb (May God bless him;give good health) in – the book “Agar Ab Bhi Na Jaage to”.
“The book which created a sensation in Urdu circles and transformed the outlook of more than a million Muslims vis-a-vis their Hindu brethern and Sanatan Dharma. Based on a part of comparative religious work of the great Saint and Scholar Maulana Acharya Shams Naved Usmani, ‘Agar ab bhi na jaage to’— written by his favorite disciple S. Abdullah Tariq, has now been translated by Dr. A. H. Tak, reader dept. of English, Srinagar University..”
–opening page of the book “Now or Never” (English translation of “Agar Ab Bhi Na Jaage to”)
1. Download the original book – in Urdu – “Agar Ab Bhi Na Jaage to” from here:
2. Download the English Translation – “Now or Never” from here:
3. Download the Hindi Translation – “Agar Ab Bhi Na Jaage to” from here:
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Revisiting Religion 