India land of prophets, say Muslim scholars
Hyderabad, April 13: Two days after RSS sarsangchalak K.S. Sudarshan asked Muslims to recognise Krishna as one of the prophets of Islam, city scholars have declared that India is the land of holy prophets and the place where the Divine Message was first received from Allah.
Islamic traditions hold that the first Prophet of Islam and the progenitor of humanity, Hazrat Adam, descended on Sarandeep Island (now in Sri Lanka) after he was sent down from Heaven (after he ate the forbidden fruit at Eve’s urging). Since India is one of the oldest civilisations, many prophets may have been sent to guide humanity, Mufti Sadiq Mohiuddin of the department of fatwas of 135-year-old Jamia Nizamia Islamic University, told this correspondent.
The Mufti told this correspondent that early Islamic personalities including Ibn Asakir and Allama Ibn Saad had mentioned in their sayings (Riwayat) that Adam had landed on Indian soil. Even the famous Arab traveller Ibn Batuta had mentioned in his travelogues of visiting Sarandeep island where the first prophet of Islam had descended from the Garden of Eden. Muslims believe that God had sent about 1.24 lakh prophets to all parts of the world.
However, the names of only 25 prophets are mentioned in the Quran.
Mufti Sadiq Mohiuddin pointed out that while Islamic scholars are of the view that India was the land of prophets, they were divided on whether Rama and Krishna were prophets of Islam.
They may or may not have been prophets. We want to remain silent on the issue. But it is the duty of every Muslim to respect the religious personalities of other religions, he said. According to All-India Muslim Personal Law Board general secretary Abdur Raheem Qureshi, some Indian Islamic scholars believe Dhul-Kifl, one of the holy personalities mentioned in the Quran, refers to Gautam Buddha.
There is no �p� sound in Arabic. Dhul Kifl means resident of Kifl or Kapil (Kapilavastu, where Buddha was born) Some scholars also hold that the Jain guru lord Mahavir was also a prophet.Islamic scholar Hafiz Shujat Hussain refers to the writings of the eminent thinker Moulana Tayyab Qasmi of Darul-Uloom Deoband, who had held that Rama and Krishna could also be prophets.
We should give utmost respect to Hindu prophets as we give respect to prophets from Hazrat Adam to Hazrat Muhammad, including Hazrat Musa (Moses) and Hazrat Isa (Jesus).City Muslim scholars also quote from Subhatul Marjan Fi Tarikhe Hindustan, written by the Islamic scholar Allama Ghulam Ali Azad Bilgrami in Arabic, which describes India as the first domicile of Adam.In Ayodhya, the birth place of Rama, there is a long grave. This is said to be the burial place Adam’s son Prophet Hazrat Shish, Hafiz Shujat told this correspondent.
Though Islamic scholars hold different opinions on the prophethood of Rama and Krishna, they all agree that since India is the place where Hazrat Adam had descended, it had acquired the status of the first capital of entire humanity. Since Adam received angels and revelations from God, India could be called the first land where man ever received enlightenment.
Indian Muslims have always believed that God had sent His prophets, messengers and guides to India. We all hold Rama and Krishna in high esteem, not because Sudarshan advises us to do so but because the Quran and Islamic traditions want us to. There are Islamic traditions that Prophet Mohammed used to say that he gets the fragrance of Paradise from India,says Peerzada Syed Shabbir Naqshbandi, president of the All-India Religious Leaders Association.
