Islam and Sikhism

Map showing the prevalence of Abrahamic (purple) and Dharmic (yellow) religions in each country.

In Islam, Muhammad is the last and final prophet of God. Islam views Jews, Christians and Muslims as "People of the Book" as all three major faiths are part of the Abrahamic religions. Muslims also believe Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and Jesus were prophets. However, Muslims do not consider any Sikh or gurus as prophets.

Sikhism is part of the Dharmic religions, the others being Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Guru Nanak Dev said, "The faithful are firmly bound to the Dharma."

Many Islamic dynasties ruled parts of the Indian subcontinent starting from the 12^th century. The prominent ones include the Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526) and the Mughal Empire (1526–1857), with which the Sikh gurus frequently came into direct confrontation, however these empires helped in the spread of Islam in South Asia, but by the mid-18^th century, the British Empire had ended the Mughal dynasty.

Sikhism arose in a climate that was heavily influenced by the Bhaktism and Sufism. Nanak was its founder; although born a Hindu, he was thoroughly conversant with both Hindu and Islamic texts. The Guru Granth Sahib contains the teachings, philosophies and beliefs of eleven Hindu saints and four Sufi saints. Sikh religious philosophy accepts some aspects of Sufism, and rejects most of them.

The Gurus and their Muslim contemporaries

Guru Nanak's preachings were directed with equal force to all humans regardless of their religion. As such he freely borrowed religious terminology from the lexicons of both faiths, sometimes redefining them. As part of his preaching against communalism summarized by the famous phrase, "There is no Hindu and no Muslim," Nanak defined a Muslim as follows:

To be a Muslim is difficult; if one really be so, then one may be called a Muslim. Let one first love the religion of saints, and put aside pride and self as the file removes rust. Let him accept the religion of his authorities, and dismiss anxiety regarding death or life; Let him heartily obey the will of God, worship the Creator and efface himself. When he is kind to all men, then Nanak, he shall indeed be a Muslim.

He also said, "if you make good works the creed you repeat, you shall be a Muslim," and "act according to the Qur'an and your sacred books." Similarly, in a song about maqam,Guru Nanak defines the transformation of man, after which he is established in permanent union with God.

SHALOK, FIRST MEHL: It is difficult to be called a Muslim; if one is truly a Muslim, then he may be called one. First, let him savor the religion of the Prophet as sweet; then, let his pride of his possessions be scraped away. Becoming a true Muslim, a disciple of the faith of Mohammed, let him put aside the delusion of death and life. As he submits to God’s Will, and surrenders to the Creator, he is rid of selfishness and conceit. And when, O Nanak, he is merciful to all beings, only then shall he be called a Muslim.

Allah is hidden in every heart; reflect upon this in your mind. The One Lord is within both Hindu and Muslim; Kabir proclaims this out loud.

Be kind and compassionate to me, O Creator Lord. Bless me with devotion and meditation, O Lord Creator. Says Nanak, the Guru has rid me of doubt. The Muslim God Allah and the Hindu God Paarbrahm are one and the same.

To be Muslim is to be kind-hearted, and wash away pollution from within the heart. He does not even approach worldly pleasures; he is pure, like flowers, silk, ghee and the deer-skin. || 13 || One who is blessed with the mercy and compassion of the Merciful Lord, is the manliest man among men. He alone is a Shaykh, a preacher, a Haji, and he alone is God’s slave, who is blessed with God’s Grace. || 14 || The Creator Lord has Creative Power; the Merciful Lord has Mercy. The Praises and the Love of the Merciful Lord are unfathomable. Realize the True Hukam, the Command of the Lord, O Nanak; you shall be released from bondage, and carried across.

I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim. My body and breath of life belong to Allah — to Raam — the God of both. || 4 || Says Kabir, this is what I say: meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master.

While in Baghdad as part of his journey to Mecca and Medina, Guru Nanak had extensive dialogue with Muslim scholars there. In one discourse with a pir there, Nanak proclaimed his belief that - in contradistinction to the Qur'anic belief regarding seven firmaments and fourteen regions - there are innumerable earths, each with intelligent beings. The Muslim rulers of the Lodi dynasty and the first Mughals were too concerned with consolidating their respective rules, and Akbar's liberalism led him to establish cordial relations with all religious communities in India. This good will did not continue. The influence of the Sufi Naqshbandi order on Jahangir led to the execution of Guru Arjan Dev.

Differences between Islam and Sikhism

Sikhs are prohibited from eating halal (and kosher) food. Many Sikhs eat Non-halal meat including Beef, Pork, Lamb etc, although some Sikh communities are vegetarian. Sikhs do not believe in pilgrimages; Muslims, in contrast, consider Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) a crucial part of the faith.

The Five Pillars of Islam (Arabic: أركان الإسلام), are the five duties incumbent to every Muslim. These duties are Shahadah (profession of faith), Salah (ritual prayer), Zakah (alms tax), Sawm (fasting during Ramadan), and Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca). These five practices are essential to Sunni Islam. Shīˤī subscribe to eight ritual practices, which substantially overlap with the Five Pillars. Twelvers also have five fundamental beliefs which relates to aqidah. The concept of five pillars is taken from the Hadith collections, notably those of Sahih Al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. The Qur'an does not speak of five pillars, although one can find in it scattered references to their associated practices.

The Five Symbols of the Khalsa or Five Kakkars are Kirpan, Kangha, Kes, Kara and Kacchera, meaning the wearing of a short sword, the wearing of a comb, uncut hair, the wearing of a symbolic bangle and characteristic shorts or underpants respectively.

Islamic predestination

Main articles: Predestination in Islam and Adalah

In accordance with the Islamic belief in predestination, or divine preordainment (al-qadā wa l-qadar), God has full knowledge and control over all that occurs. This is explained in Qur'anic verses such as "Say: 'Nothing will happen to us except what God has decreed for us: He is our protector'…" For Muslims, everything in the world that occurs, good or evil, has been preordained and nothing can happen unless permitted by God. In Islamic theology, divine preordainment does not suggest an absence of God's indignation against evil, because any evils that do occur are thought to result in future benefits men may not be able to see. According to Muslim theologians, although events are pre-ordained, man possesses free will in that he has the faculty to choose between right and wrong, and is thus responsible for his actions. According to Islamic tradition, all that has been decreed by God is written in al-Lawh al-Mahfūz, the "Preserved Tablet".

The Shīˤa understanding of predestination is called "divine justice" (adalah). This doctrine, developed in Sunnism as well by the Mu'tazila, stresses the importance of man's responsibility for his own actions. In contrast, the Sunni deemphasize the role of individual free will in the context of God's creation and foreknowledge of all things.

Sufism as a whole is primarily concerned with direct personal experience, and as such may be compared to various forms of mysticism such as Bhakti form of Hinduism, Hesychasm, Zen, Kabbalah, Gnosticism and Christian mysticism.

There are also other major differences in Islam and Sikhism. The Qur'an as in the Bible describes God as merciful and beneficent, though frequently angry. In the Adi Granth, this is not an attribute of God, who is described as merciful but fair.

Additionally, the Sikh Gurus taught reincarnation and karma, which are standard Hindu beliefs , unlike Muhammad, who preached of a Qiyamah. Regarding heaven and hell, Sikhs believe that heaven and hell are both in this world, where everyone reaps the fruits of Karma. Sikhs are instructed to neither desire heaven nor fear hell, both being the fruit of ego, but to transcend both and merge one's soul directly with God. The Sikh has to rise above ego in order to escape uncontrolled transmigration of the soul and attain permanent union with the creative immanence of God. Having done so, the soul retains its identity; man and God are never ontologically identical.

Sufi saints in holy Guru Granth Sahib

• Bhagat Beni
• Bhagat Bhikhan
• Baba Farid
• Bhagat Sadhana

Sufi saint: Hazrat Mian Mir construction of Golden Temple

In December 1588, the great Sufi saint of Lahore, Mian Mir, who was a close friend of Guru Arjan Dev, initiated the construction of the Golden Temple by laying the first foundation stone (December 1588 CE)

Bhai Mardana: Muslim follower of Guru Nanak

Bhai Mardana (1459-1534) was a Muslim and the first follower and companion of the Sikh founder, Guru Nanak Dev. He was with Nanak in all of his journeys across India and Asia. Mardana was born a Muslim to a Mirasi couple, Badra and Lakkho, of Rai Bhoi di Talwandi (modern Nankana Sahib, capital of Nankana Sahib District of Pakistan).

Shah Bhikhan

Pir Bhikhan Shah, a 17^th century Sufi saint, was born the son of Sayyid Muhammad Yusaf of Siana Sayyidari, a village 5km from Pehova (in modern Kurukshetra district of Haryana). For a time, he lived at Ghuram in present day Patiala district of the Punjab and finally settled at Thaska, again in Kurukshetra district. He was the disciple of Abu l-Muali Shah, a Sufi divine residing at Ambhita, near Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, and soon became a saint of much repute and piety in his own right.

According to a tradition preserved in Bhai Santokh Singh, Sri Gur Pratap Suraj Granth, Pir Bhikhan Shah, as he learnt through intuition of the birth of Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708) at Patna, made obeisance that day to the East instead of to the West. At this, his disciples demurred, for no Muslim should make such respectful gestures except towards the Kaˤbah in Mecca.

The pir explained that in a city in the East, God had revealed Himself through a newborn baby, to whom he had bowed and to no ordinary mortal. Bhikhan Shah with his disciples then traveled all the way to Patna to have a glimpse of the infant Gobind Rai, barely three months old. Desiring to know what would be his attitude to the two major religious peoples of India, he placed two small pots in front of the child, one representing in his own mind Hindus and the other Muslims. As the child covered both the pots simultaneously with his tiny hands, Bhikhan Shah felt happy concluding that the new seer would treat both Hindus and Muslims alike and show equal respect to both.

Sikh chronicles record another meeting between Gobind Singh and Pir Bhikhan Shah, which took place in 1672 when the latter went to see him at Lakhnaur, near Ambala, where he was halting for some time on his way from Patna to Kiratpur.

Further reading

• Talib, Gurbachan (1950). Muslim League Attack on Sikhs and Hindus in the Punjab 1947. India: Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee.Online 1 Online 2 Online 3

External links

• History of The Sikhs Webportal
• The Sikhs Homepage