Let us examine the concept of God in these two major religions in light of their respective scriptures and study if there are similarities.First we shall discuss the Concept of God in Hinduism.COMMON CONCEPT OF GOD IN HINDUISM :If you ask some lay persons who are Hindus that how many gods do they believe in, some may say three, some may say thirty-three, some may say a thousand, while some may say thirty-three crores i.e. 330 million. But if you ask this question to a learned Hindu who is well versed with the Hindu Scriptures, he will reply that the Hindus should actually believe and worship only one God.DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ISLAM AND HINDUISM IS THAT OF ’S(Everything is ‘God’s’ – Everything is ‘God’)The major difference between the Hindu and the Muslim is that while the common Hindu believes in the philosophy of Pantheism, i.e. “everything is God, the Tree is God, the Sun is God, the Moon is God, the Snake is God, the Monkey is God, the Human Being is God”, all Muslims believe that “everything is God’s”.The Muslims believe that everything is God’s. GOD with an apostrophe’s’. Everything belongs to the one and only unique eternal God. The tree belongs to God, the sun belongs to God, the moon belongs to God, the snake belongs to God, monkey belongs to God, the human being belongs to God.Thus the major difference between the Hindus and the Muslims is the apostrophe ‘s’. The Hindu says, “everything is GOD”. The Muslim says, “everything is God’s”, GOD with an Apostrophe ‘s’. If we can solve the difference of the Apostrophe ‘s’, the Hindus and the Muslims will be united.The Glorious Qur’an says“Come to common terms as between us and you”,Which is the first term?“that we worship none but Allah”So let’s come to common terms by analyzing the scriptures of the Hindus and of the Muslims.UPANISHAD:Upanishads are one of the sacred Scriptures of the Hindus.Chandogya Upanishad Chapter 6 Section 2 verse 1“Ekam Evadvitiyam”“He is one only without a second.”(The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan pg. 447 & 448)(Sacred Books of the East Volume 1, the Upanishads Part I Page 93)Shwetashvatara Upanishad Chapter 6 verse 9“Nacasya kascij janita na cadhipah”“Of Him there are neither parents nor Lord.”(The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan pg. 745)(and in Sacred books of the East volume 15, the Upanishads Part II Page 263)Shwetashvatara Upanishad Chapter 4 verse 19“Na tasya pratima asti”“There is no likeness of Him”.(The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan pg 736 & 737 )UPANISHAD:Upanishads are one of the sacred Scriptures of the Hindus.Chandogya Upanishad Chapter 6 Section 2 verse 1“Ekam Evadvitiyam”“He is one only without a second.”(The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan pg. 447 & 448)(Sacred Books of the East Volume 1, the Upanishads Part I Page 93)Shwetashvatara Upanishad Chapter 6 verse 9“Nacasya kascij janita na cadhipah”“Of Him there are neither parents nor Lord.”(The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan pg. 745)(and in Sacred books of the East volume 15, the Upanishads Part II Page 263)Shwetashvatara Upanishad Chapter 4 verse 19“Na tasya pratima asti”“There is no likeness of Him”.(The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan pg 736 & 737 )BRAHMA SUTRA OF HINDU VEDANTAThe Brahma Sutra of Hindu Vedanta is:‘Ekam Brahm, dvitiya naste neh na naste kinchan”“Bhagwan ek hi hai dusara nahi hai, nahi hai, nahi hai, zara bhi nahi hai”.“There is only one God, not the second, not at all, not at all, not in the least bit”.All the above quoted verses and passages from Hindu Scriptures clearly amplify the Oneness and Uniqueness of Almighty God, the Creator of all. Furthermore, they negate the existence of any other deity besides the One True God. These verses essentially propound monotheism.Therefore only if one carefully studies the Hindu Scriptures, will one understand and realize the correct concept of God in Hinduism.The Qur’an too propounds monotheism. So you will find similarities between Hinduism and Islam even in the concept of God.SURAH IKHLAS WITH EXPLANATIONTranslationAs per Islam, the best and the most concise definition of God is given in Surah Ikhlas of the Glorious Qur’an:Say He is Allah,The One and Only;Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;He begets not,Nor is He begotten;And there is noneLike unto Him.(Al Qur’an 112:1-4)The word ‘assamad’ is difficult to translate. It means that absolute existence can be attributed only to Allah, all other existence being temporal or conditional. It also means Allah is not dependant on any person or thing but all persons and things are dependent on Him.It is the touch stone of TheologySurah Ikhlas i.e. Chapter 112 of the Glorious Qur’an is the touchstone of Theology. ‘Theo’ in Greek means God and ‘logy’ means study. Thus ‘Theology’ means study of God and Surah Ikhlas is the touchstone of the study of God.If you want to purchase or sell your gold jewellery, you would first evaluate it. Such an evaluation of gold jewellery is done by a goldsmith with the help of a touchstone. He rubs the gold jewellery on the touch stone and compares its colour with rubbing samples of gold. If it matches with 24 Karat gold he will tell that your jewellery is 24 Karat pure Gold. If it is not high quality pure Gold, he will tell you its value whether 22 Karats, 18 Karats or it may not be gold at all. It may be fake because all that glitters is not gold.Similarly Surah Ikhlas (Chapter 112 of the Qur’an) is the touchstone of theology, which can verify whether the deity that you worship is a true God or a false God. Thus, Surah Ikhlaas is a four-line definition of Almighty God according to the Qur’an. If any one claims to be, or is believed to be Almighty God satisfies this four-line definition, we Muslims will readily accept that deity as God. This Chapter of the Glorious Qur’an, Surah Ikhlas, is the acid test. It is the ‘Furqan’ or the criterion to judge between the one True God and false claimants to divinity. Hence, whichever deity any human on earth worships, if such a deity fulfills the criteria specified in this Chapter of the Qur’an, then this deity is worthy of worship and is the One True God.The blog is to be continued later...Joweria
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