Similarities in the Teachings of the Veda and the Qur’an

Prof. Saud Alam Qasmi

Dean, Faculty of Theology, AMU

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When the Divine books are mentioned, we think of four books- Torah, Psalms, Gospel and Qur'an, because these books have been mentioned by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and mentioned again and again in the Holy Qur'an. But the books of God according to the Qur’an are not confined to these four books.

The Qur’an has declared that Allah Almighty bestowed heavenly books on His Messengers for the guidance of different nations. Among them were some detailed books which are called Kitāb al-Munīr and some short books which are called "Zubūr". Elsewhere short books are also called Sahīfa. It is known from the hadith of Holy Prophet (PBUH) that from Hazrat Adam (PBUH) to Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) Allah sent one hundred and twenty four thousand prophets. Some Hadiths mention that among them three hundred and fifteen prophets received the Divine Books. Who were these three hundred and fifteen apostles on whom the books were revealed and in what languages? It is not mentioned in the hadith. But it is clear that all nations and lands have received the Holy Books.

    India many books are considered sacred but the Vedas have the primacy of the place. Rigveda is the earliest religious document of Hinduism, in which the sages, sects and religious leaders, as they observed the universe and its manifestations, presented their feelings and desires to Ishwar in the form of prayers. There is also praise for the deities. There are prayers for earth, sky, air, light, river, mountains, cattle, gardens, agriculture, economics, food and physical strength. There are also prayers for goodness, sin, heaven, hell, action and sacrifice.

    The teachings of the Sacred Books are similar in essence. Tawheed, Prophethood, the Hereafter, and morality and character building is also found in the ancient scriptures as well as in the Torah, Injīl and the Qur’an. There is teaching of the Onness of God or Tawhīd in the Rig Veda, also. For example, it is said:

      “Whose eyes are wide in the whole universe, whose face is present in the whole world, whose arms are working in the whole          universe, whose footsteps are walking in the whole universe. He is Ishwar (God) alone. Is the creator. In the case of sin and goodness, according to the deeds done, he promotes everything. ”

Monotheism is also taught in Yajur Veda. For example, see the following mantra:

"There is only one God who has not been created. He is faster and more agile than the heart. Even the devas (angels) cannot attain it."

Thus, the message of all scriptures is the same; it is emphasis on the unity of the Creator and the unity of mankind.

 

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Understanding The Quran

Prof. Ali.Mohammad Naqvi

Director Dara Shikoh Centre, AMU

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Surah-1 (Al-Fatiha)

1:1 In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful,

1:2 All thanks and praise is to Allah, Lord of Worlds

1: 3 The Gracious, the Merciful.

1: 4 Master of the Day of Recompense

1: 5 We worship Thou exclusively,and we seek help exclusively from Thee

1:6 Guide us to the straight path.

1:7 The path of those whom Thou have favoured,
not of those who incur Thy wrath, nor of those who go astray

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Al-Fatihah means Introduction or the Opening. This Surah is the Introduction or Preface to the Holy Qur'an. It is calso called Surah al-Hamd. It was revealed at the very outset of Islamic movement and is the first Surah that was revealed in full. Before it only a few verses of Surah 96, 73 and 74 were revealed. This also is the only Surah that was revealed twice. This shows the importance of Al-Hamd. It was revealed both at Makkah and Madinah. Hence, it is Makki (Meccan) as well as Madani (Madinese). The importance of this Surah is quite evident from its compulsory use in prayers; no prayer is complete without it. Every practising Muslim recites it at least ten times a day in the daily prayers. The excellence of the artistic arrangement of the verses is of the highest poetic order. It has unique sound effect, containing in it the glory of the inimitable style of the Arabic language. The unfathomable depth of its meaning raises man to ecstatic heights.

This small Surah is a prayer of man to God, which Allah Himself has taught. The Holy Qur'an is a Book of Divine Guidance and Guidance is a matter of Grace. So, it is prefixed with a prayer to God. The whole Holy Qur'an is an answer to Man's prayer for Divine Guidance. It is comparable with the Lord's Prayer of the Christians. But the contrast between the two Prayers is remarkable. The Biblical Prayer refers to God as Father, Fati?hah refers to God as Lord of the Universes; Lord's Prayer refers to Father as being in Heaven, Fatihah calls Him "Lord of the Worlds and the Hereafter". In the Lord's Prayer man asks for the settling of the debts and for daily bread; while in this Surah man asks for the divine guidance to the Right path.

THEME: Surah Fatihah is so comprehensive in its meaning that it is said that the meaning of the Holy Qur'an as a whole has been summed up in it. This Surah is the quintessence of the whole of the Qur'an. It is a short Chapter of seven short verses, but it is a mine of knowledge.

Fatihah contains the fundamentals of the Faith of Islam. Hence it is aptly called the mother of the Book (Umm-al-Qur'an). It refers directly or indirectly to all the cardinal principles of the Islamic ideology. Following are some of the salient points, which this Surah refers to:

• Beginning with the Name of Allah, the fountain head of all blessings, the Chapter goes on to narrate the four fundamental attributes of God i.e. the Creator, the Gracious, the Merciful, and the Master of the Day of Judgement. This is the concept of God in Islam; God whose power and dominion know no bounds and Whose Mercy and Beneficence have no limitations.
• The Creator and the Sustainer of the Universe is One and only One. (Doctrine of Touhid).
• The pre-eminent attributes of God are Love and Mercy (Sifat or the Divine Attributes).
• He is Lord of the Last Day. There is a day of requital when justice in its fullness will be meted out; when none shall bear the burden of the other (Doctrine of Maad or Hereafter).
• Man should worship and seek help only from Him (Touhid-e-af''al and Ibadah or the practical dimension of Touhid).
• Man needs Guidance from God (Doctrine of Revelation or Wah?i and Prophethood.
• We should have love and devotion for the Prophets, Auliya and Ausi?ya and should follow them (Nabuwwat).
• Man has also to declare his hatred against evil and the evil ones and keep away from them.

Surah Al-Hamd not only refers to the topics of Touhid, Maad and Nabuwwat, to Aqaid, Akhlaq and basis of Ahkam but also to Islamic concept of man, universe, history and practical systems. That is why it is said that Al-Fatihah is the quintessence of the Holy Qur'an.

THE MEANING AND IMPORTANCE OF BISMILLAH: (1:1)

This first verse of the Qur'an is called Bismillah. Bismillah is a part of this Chapter (surah) and also of every other Surah of the Holy Qur'an excepting Surah Al-Bara'at. There is a saying reported by Ibne 'Abbas to the effect that whenever any new Chapter was revealed, Bismillah was the first verse to be revealed and without Bismillah the Holy Prophet did not know that a new Chapter had began (Dawud).

It is said that the Surah Al-Hamd is the quintessence of the Qur'an, and Bismillah is the quintessence of this Surah and the letter' Ba of ' Bismillahhir-Rahmanir-Rahim is the quintessence of the Bismillah. The dot beneath the first letter 'Ba` which identifies the letter from the other letters of the language is the quintessence of the first letter Ba. This has mystical meanings. That is why Hazrat Ali said: I am the dot beneath the Ba of Bismillah.

If we delve deeply in the meaning of this verse, we will find that it presents the core message of Islam in a nutshell. Every ideology has a slogan or a short statement, which sums up its perspective and message. For example, the liberal ideology of the French revolution had the slogan "equality, liberty, fraternity" which at once stated its orientation. Marxism start with the statement 'workers of the world unite', which once again shows the class orientation of its ideology. The Qur'an begins with Bismillahir Rahmanir- Rahim (In the Name of God the Gracious, the Merciful), which is a concise statement of Islamic ideology. It clearly states that Islamic ideology is not class oriented, not race oriented and not caste oriented; it is God oriented. God, the religion of God and Divine Laws are the cornerstone of this ideology. Thus, the formula of Bismillah is symbolic of the Islamic system as such.

The Wisdom of Starting Every Work with Bismillah

It is emphasized in Islam that a Muslim should begin all of his works with this formula. The phrase is in fact equivalent to saying that I seek the assistance of Allah, the Beneficent, and the Merciful. Islam is not merely a philosophical system; Islam is a religion of action. It has a perspective and it also calls for action. The very first statement of the Qur'an, which is also the gist of Islamic ideology, not only contains the principle of belief, but also implies action.

Islam is a religion, which wants to make life of persons God-oriented. So, it wants that a Muslim should begin every work with the name of God. The very act of starting his work in the name of God, whom he believes to be the Beneficent and the merciful, eloquently speaks of the individual's devotion to his Lord..

The practice of beginning every work with the name of God has different effects:

• Firstly, there are mystical and mysterious dimensions of the universe and the human existence, which are beyond our sense perception. God's Grace helps man in invisible manners
• Secondly, this practice has profound psychological effect. Islam, at the very outset, creates in man love and attachment for God. Human consciousness becomes God oriented. It inculcates in man the quality of Taqwa (Godliness). It leads to piety and righteousness. Man is restrained from indulging in improper actions.

Man has a sense of humility and powerfulness at one and the same time. He acknowledges his own helplessness and shows his conviction that if called, the Lord may help him. At one hand his consciousness realizes that he is not all-powerful to achieve whatever he wants. He can do nothing without God's help and in the other hand he feels great with the realization that God's help is with him and he enjoys God's support.