Mingling of Hinduism and
Islam
Asghar Ali Engineer
Dara
Shikoh has made seminal contribution to the composite culture of India. He was
appointed heir apparent by Shah Jahan and had he become emperor of India it
would have certainly made much difference to religio-cultural scene in India.
Dara Shikoh had learnt Sanskrit and studied the Hindu scripture in original.
He translated Upanishads into Persian directly from Sanskrit and called it
Sirr-e-Akbar (The Great Mystery). And in introduction to this work he says that
one finds in Upanishads the concept of tawhid (the doctrine of Unity of God, the
most fundamental doctrine of Islam) after the Qur’an and perhaps the Qur’an
refers to Upanishad when it refers to Kitab al-Maknun (The Hidden Book).
His work Majma`ul Bahrayn (Mingling of the Two Oceans i.e. Hinduism and
Islam) is very seminal work in the history of composite culture of India.
Dara Shikoh, who was the disciple of the disciple of Mian Mir, the great Sufi
saint who had laid the foundation stone of the Har Mandir Sahib in Amritsar at
the instance of the Sikh Guru, shows in this book that there is great deal of
similarities between these two great religions Hinduism and Islam. He divides
his tract into twenty sections like The Elements, The Senses, The Religious
Exercises, The Attributes, the Great Resurrection and so on. In each section he
discusses similarities between Hinduism and Islam.
For example, in the first section “Discourse on the Elements”, he
compares the concept of these elements in Islam and Hinduism. They are five in
number i.e. Arsh-i-Azam (The Great Throne); secondly the wind, thirdly the Fire;
fourthly the water and fifthly the Dust. In the Indian language, these are
called Panch Bhut namely akas, vayu, tejas, jala and prithvi. He then discusses
these elements and their similarities in both the traditions. Dara Shikoh for
example compares Ruhi-i-Azam with Jivatma.
Then coming to Sifat-I-Allah Ta`ala i.e. Divine Attributes, he says in
Islamic Sufi tradition there are two Beauty (Jamal) and Majesty (Jamal) while in
Indian tradition it is three called Triguna called Sattva, Rajas and tamas which
mean Creation, Duration and Destruction. Then he goes on to compare Brahma,
Vishnu and Mahishvara with Jibrail, Mika’il and Israfil. He says that Brahma
or Jibra’il is the (Superintending angel) of Creation; Vishnu or Mika’il is
the angel of Duration (or Existence) and Mahishwara or Israfil is the angel of
Destruction. Dara Shikoh further says that water, wind and fire are also allied
with these angels. Thus water goes with Jibra’il, fire with Mika’il and air
with Israfil. Similarly Brahma is water, Vishnu is fire and Maheshwara is air.
In all these 20 sections in Majma`ul Bahrayn, Dara Shikoh finds similarities
between both Hindu and Islamic (particularly Sufi) traditions. The fanatics and
fundamentalists in both the traditions denounce each other and try to prove the
truth of their own religion. In such circumstances it is highly necessary to
popularise writings of persons like Dara Shikoh who uphold the truth of all
religious traditions.
The Sufi Islam has been a bridge between Hindus and Muslims in India. The
very fundamental doctrine of Sufism has been sulh-i-kula i.e. peace with all.
The Sufis go with essence, not with phraseology or terminology. The Sufis
studied the local traditions and adopted many of them. Even in the Qur’an, one
finds remarkable similarities between some of the Hindu traditions and Islamic
tradition. For example in Indian tradition we find Satyam, Shivam and Sundaram
for God. One finds in the Qur’an Huwa’l Haq (He is Truth ), Jamil (Sundaram)
and Jabbar (Shivam). All three Attributes are there in the Qur’an.
Also, the often quoted saying that Vasudhaiv Kutumbakum (entire universe is a
family) finds its reflection in the Holy Prophet’s saying Al-khalqu
‘Ayalullah’ i.e. entire creation is Allah’s family. These are remarkable
similarities between these two traditions. It is on these similarities that the
Sufis and others built the bridges between the two communities.
However, it is some political interests, which selectively and superficially
use some traditions to divide Hindus and Muslims. Thus one can easily say that
while religions unite, politics divide.
Among the `Ulama persons like Maulana Abul Kalam Azad came out with the
doctrine of unity of religion (wahdat-i-din) which is also a very constructive
approach. There have been many Sufi saints in India like Mazhar Jan-i-Janan who
accept Ram and Krishna as the Prophets of God as Allah has stated in the
Qur’an that He has sent prophets to all nations. Thus we must promote
similarities between Hindus and Muslims and there are abundant examples of these
similarities in our scriptures.............