Patna, NU Online
Islam is a wonderful religion and Prophet of Islam, Hazrat Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) is the greatest person in the history of mankind. This claim was not surfaced by a Muslim but said by a well-renowned Hindu scholar in India. He also said that for learning and understanding Islam, Prophet’s (Peace Be Upon Him) life and teachings are the best source.<>

The Hindu scholar, Swami Lakshmi Shankaracharya, stated, “We are talking about Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) and we should keep it in our mind that he is the greatest individual in history. If anyone wants to know about Islam, one should judge Islam by Prophet’s (Peace Be Upon Him) life and his teachings.”

While delivering a lecture on “Seerat-un-Nabi” (Prophet’s Upright Character) conference held here last month, Swami who is also the founder of Jan Ekta Manch, said that peace and humanity is the core teaching of Islam. But, unfortunately, most of the Muslims don’t follow Islamic teachings and they hardly learn from the life of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him).

He urged, “It is the duty of every Muslim according to their religion to save and protect the humanity, Prophet Muhammed (Peace Be Upon Him) always forgave his enemies and showed patience when he was harmed by others, this was his moral teachings which made Islam an international religion.”

He cited the stories of “Fatah-e-Makkah” (Makkah Conquer) when enemies of Islam were given complete liberty despite being made prisoners of war by the Muslims. On Jihad, he clarified that it has nothing to do with innocent killings and terrorism. The first permission to take to arms was accorded in verse 22:39 of the Holy Quran, which reads: “Permission (to take up arms) is hereby given to those who attacked, because they have been wronged.” The Holy Quran further says: “Fight, for the sake of Allah with those that fight against you, but do not be aggressive.”

He also cited extensively from the Veda and Gita to authenticate that Islam’s endeavor to establish peace is not different from what Sanatan scriptures bid.

It is interesting to mention that Swami was initially very critical about Islam and its concept of Jihad. He considered Islam to be the root cause of global terrorism. This thinking had cropped up in his mind because of his study of negative materials on Islam and behavior of some Muslims. Then he wrote a book “The History of Islamic Terrorism.”

However, on being urged to study Islam from its original sources Swami read The Holy Quran from cover to cover besides the life of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). Finally, he realized that he misunderstood Islam. He accepted his mistake and decided to write a rejoinder of such negative materials in a book titled, “Islam – Aatank ya Aadarsh” in Hindi or “Islam – Terror or Ideal Path” in English. In this book, he clarifies the real meaning of Jihad and how Islam is the religion of peace. He concludes that Muslims were enjoined to fight in self-defense to establish peace, without resorting to terror.

The conference was organized by Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Bihar, and group’s chief of the region, Nayyaruzzaman, presided over the conference. He emphasized on the acquisition of true knowledge of Islam and practicing it as was done by the Prophet’s companions.

Editor : Sudarto Murtaufiq