An exclusive article by Rohini Verma about the "Hinduism in Ancient Arabia" is worth read. We are re-publishing the article for wider reading for our visitors. Although, the article had already been published on Sankhnaad, yet it is re-published for them who likes this type of re-search work as well as for RSS Swyamsewaks, also for them who could not gone through the article earlier.
Hinduism is the most
ancient code of ethics that's been followed in the world, the most ancient
Dharma. Hinduism was not only limited to the Indian subcontinent. As a matter
of fact, Hinduism has its firm footprints as far away as Europe and Africa.
From time to time
various Hindu artefacts are discovered in various parts of the world. Hinduism
was there prior to spread of Islam or Christianity and was the way of life in
majority of the world. The pre-Islamic Hindu history of the non-Muslim West
Asia appears to have begun at least 9,000 years ago and it continued for
millennia, at last seeing extermination of its followers after Mohammad started
spreading Islam, and with the destruction of the Hindu shrine of Kaaba.
Hinduism and vedic culture in Arabia
Sanskrit name of Arabia:
Prior to the advent of
Muhammad, Arabia was centre of the vedic civilization. The word “Arabistan” is
derived from a Sanskrit word “Arvasthan”, which means the land of horses. These
people followed Hindu smritis and were called smritics. The people who lived in
this land were thus called Semitic. Arabs (before Islam) followed the ancient Vedic Smritis such
as Manu-Smriti as their revered religious guides and thus they were identified
as Smritic which has been corrupted to the pronunciation - Semitic.
Language and literature of the area:
The language of the
land was Sanskrit and it later gave way to Arabic. Many Arabic words have
Sanskrit origin. All the four Vedas find mention in Arabic literature. Thousands
of words that were derived from Sanskrit still survive in Arabic. Some poems
have been written which mention Hindu rule in the area and also mention famous
kings like Vikramaditya. In Sair-Ul-Okul there is a poem written by Jirrham
Bintoi who praises India's great King Vikramaditya. A noted scholar of
history, W.H. Siddiqui notes:
"The Arab
civilization grew up intensively as well as extensively on the riches of Indian
trade and commerce. Nomadic Arab tribes became partially settled communities
and some of them lived within walled towns practised agriculture and commerce,
wrote on wood and stone, feared the gods and honored the kings."
Idols of Hindu gods:
There were idols of
many Hindu gods found in the area. Many of these idols were found in Kaaba
which were demolished by Muhammad and his followers.
The Kaaba was a Hindu
shrine that was captured by Muslims. The black stone which is a symbol of Lord
Shiva is still found in Kaaba. According to encyclopedia Islamia Muhammad’s
grand father and uncles were priests at Kaaba temple which had 360 idols. All
other Vedic Idols could be found buried in the precincts or trampled underfoot
in labyrinthine subterranean corridors if archaeological excavations are
undertaken. In fact the names of the holiest of Muslim cities Mecca and Medina
come from the Sanskrit
words Makha-Medini which means the land of Fire-Worship. A poem written by
Labi-Bin-E- Akhtab-Bin-E-Turfa, who lived in Arabia around 1850 B.C., mentions
all four Vedas. This verse can be found in Sair- Ul-Okul which is an anthology
of ancient Arabic poetry. It was compiled in 1742 AD under order of the Turkish
Sultan Salim.
Condition of women
Women in vedic Arabia enjoyed a lot of freedom. Goddess Durga
was worshipped by the people. Women were allowed to get education. They were
financially independent and were free to choose their husbands. They were
entrepreneurs, artisans, poets and even warriors.
Destruction of vedic deities by Muhammad:
The Kaaba had 360
vedic deities’ idols and was dedicated to worship sun god. At the centre of
Kaaba there is octagonal pedestal of Bramha. Now it is called Maqam –e Ibrahim.
Muhammad destroyed all 360 idols and looted the temple. Vedic ritual was to
face the east while praying but Muhammad ordered to face west while praying. He
considered idol worship against his religion so he made it a sin. Pagan Hindu
prayers were done in lyrical way with music but Muhammad was so keen on curbing
non-Islamic beleifs that he declared music haraam or a sin. Traditional accounts mention that
one of the deities among the 360 destroyed, when the shrine was stormed, was
that of Saturn, another was of the moon and yet another was one called Allah.
In India the practice of Navagraha puja that is worship of the nine planets is
still in vogue. Two of these nine are the Saturn and the moon. Right at the
centre of the Kaaba is the octagonal pedestal of Bramha the creator.
Maqam-E-Ibrahim or more appropriately the pedestal of Brahma.
Lord Vishnu's footprints:
The ancient Vedic
scripture Harihareswar Mahatmya mentions that Lord Vishnu's footprints are
consecrated in Mecca. Worshipping such carved, holy foot impressions is a holy
Vedic custom.
Reference to King Vikramaditya:
There is a reference
to a king Vikramaditya in an inscription found in Kaaba in Mecca proving beyond
doubt that the Arabian Peninsula formed a part of his Indian Empire. King
Vikrama’s preachers had succeeded in spreading the Vedic way of life in Arabia.
It could be that Vikramaditya himself had this peninsula named Arvasthan if he
was the first Indian monarch to capture it and bring it under his sway.
Seven circumambulations:
The practice of taking
seven steps- known as Saptapadi in Sanskrit- is associated with Hindu marriage
ceremony and fire worship. The culminating rite in a Hindu marriage enjoins
upon the bride and groom to go round the sacred fire four times. Since
"Makha" means fire, the seven circumambulations also prove that Mecca
was the seat of Indian fire-worship in the West Asia.
Even now Muslims do
the seven circumambulations. Muslim pilgrims visiting the Kaaba shrine go
around it seven times. In no other mosque does this perambulation prevail.
Hindus invariably perambulate around their shrines. This is yet another proof
that the Kaaba shrine is a pre-Islamic Shiva temple where the Hindu practice of
perambulation is still meticulously observed. The only difference is that
Muslims move anti-clockwise.
Sanskrit synonyms
In Sanskrit language
Allah, Akka and Amba are synonyms. They signify the supreme goddess or mother.
The term ‘ALLAH’ forms part of Sanskrit chants invoking goddess Durga.
Unani medicine:
The identity of Unani
and Ayurvedic systems shows that Unani is just the Arabic term for the
Ayurvedic system of healing taught to them and administered in Arabia when
Arabia formed part of the Indian empire. Unani medicine is more or less derived
from the Ayurveda.
Recital of the Namaz five times:
Islam jumbled up the
Sanskrit words Nama and Yaja which meant "bowing and worshipping"
respectively into a combination word Namaz. He used that word to describe his
prescribed method of prayer. Recital of the Namaz five times a day owes its
origin to the Vedic injunction of Panchmahayagna (five daily worship-
Panch-Maha-Yagna) which is part of the daily Vedic ritual prescribed for all
Hindus. Because the Vedic custom was to pray facing the East, in its aversion
for all things Pagan/Hindu, islam directed its followers to pray facing only
the west when in Mecca.
Sanskrit inscriptions:
Encyclopedias tell us
that there are inscriptions on the side of the Kaaba walls. At least some of
these inscriptions are in Sanskrit, and some of them are stanzas from the
Bhagavad Gita. Many of these inscriptions were destroyed by followers of
Muhammad. But relics of some exist even to this day.
Meaning of ‘Eed-ul-Fitr’:
In India, Hindus
commemorate their ancestors during the Pitr-Paksha that is the fortnight
reserved for their remembrance. The very same is the significance of
‘Eed-ul-Fitr’ (worship of forefathers). There is strong evidence that this
festival was encouraged from the Hindu practice of Pitr pooja.
Mosque over buried Hindus:
Islam showed utter
contempt for the souls of dead people. Muhammad had a mosque constructed on a
place having dead bodies of Hindus. Through the ages, Muhammad's followers
would preserve this tradition of desecration of non-muslim graves and emulate
his example devoutly by consistently building mosques on graveyards on top of
destroyed places of worship. This act of desecration was followed by
innumerable raiding expeditions and the successive history of loot, plunder,
rape and destruction that Islam and its founders went on to create in Medinah.
Prophet of Islam attacked Kaaba
Prophet Muhammad
turned to the idols housed in and around the temple. Each one of the sacred
idol was dragged down and stripped of the rich jewels and gems that ornamented
them. Then he set all broken idols on fire. There was the idol of Lord Hanuman
at the top of the temple. This image of Bahubali was dragged down from the
roof, and the saffron flag that it held was trampled into the dirt by the Holy
Prophet. The icon itself was buried in the sand and used as a doorstep. The
only idol that Muhammad spared was the black stone known today as "Sangey
Aswad", which was a Shivlinga. The only reason this was spared is that, it
was the family deity of Muhammad's clan. Muhammad's own uncle,
Umar-Bin-E-Hassham was a staunch Hindu and fervent devotee of Lord Shiva. He
was a renowned poet and wrote many verses in praise of Lord Shiva. His verses
are included in Sair-Ul-Okul. The Encyclopedia Islamia admits :
"Muhammed's grandfather and uncles were hereditary priests of the Kaaba
temple which housed 360 idols!"
The Shiv Ling at the Kaaba. It was broken in seven
places and now is held together by a silver band.
places and now is held together by a silver band.
The Temple of Dhu-l-Khalasa:
This temple was
dedicated to Lord Shiva, Dhu-L-Khalasa stood for "The One of
Kailash". It was situated in Yemen. The Prophet's helper Jarir set out
with a force of 150 cavalrymen from the Ahmas Tribe. In Jarir's words: "We
dismantled it and burnt it to the ground and killed whoever was present
there." Plenty of valuables were robbed. The beautiful statue of
Dhu-L-Khalasa (Shiva), a white piece of marble in which a crown was carved, was
used as the stepping stone under the mosque at Tabala.
The Temples of Fils & Ruda in Tai:
Ali Bint Abi Talib
went to the Temple of Fils to destroy it by order of Muhammad. He took 200
horsemen with him. Ali tortured and murdered many people present there. This
Temple contained images of the Mother Goddess. Ali obtained two swords from the
temple, one named Rasub and another called Makhzam, both swords were extremely
valuable. The Temple of Ruda was looted and destroyed. It was dedicated to Lord
Rudra (Shiva) and contained a beautiful jet black Shivling. The Shivling was
smashed into its base and the temple razed.
According to historian Sitaram Goel:
"The conquest of
Mecca by Muhammad was the most significant event in the history of Islam. The
success of the enterprise settled the character of Islam for all time to come.
The principal lessons are two: The first is that Muslims should continue
resorting to violence on any and every pretext till they triumph; setbacks are
temporary. The second lesson is that Islam should refuse to coexist or
compromise with every other religion and culture, and use the first favourable
opportunity to wipe out the others completely so that it alone may
prevail."
Practice of shaving the head:
As the pilgrims now
proceed towards Mecca for Hajj they are told to shave head and beard and to don
a special sacred attire. This consists of two seamless sheets of white cloth.
One is to be worn
round the waist and the other over the shoulders. Both these rites are remnants
of the old Vedic practice of entering Hindu shrines, clean shaven and with holy
seamless spotless white sheets.
With Islam came the
flood of destruction, murder, plunder and crime that destroyed the great Vedic
heritage of Arabs. Archaeological research has resulted in discovery of historic
sites in other Islamic countries like Afghanistan that prove its close
religious-cultural affinity with Hindu India. References to Afghanistan, its
rivers and towns are found in Rig Veda. Even Syria is said to have a Hindu
past, so much so that it derived its name from Surya or Sun. So, we can
conclude that the whole west Asia and Arabia had strong links to the Hindu
culture which were snubbed by the later Muslim rulers. The destruction of
Hindu/Pagan and other non-islamic relics of the past continues to this day.
Source : Sankhnaad.Net
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