Limitation of IRF regarding the explanation of "Concept of God in Hinduism"

(By Ahmed Ali)
.
[The explanation of IRF has been taken from http://www.islam101.com/religions/hinduism/conceptOfGod.htm]
.
.
=> Introduction:
.
Hinduism is not a perfect way according to Islam and so there should not be any similarity between Hinduism and Islam.
.
Today the Hindu swamis and even the Hindu people are forcing us to follow their theology and they are mixing the pure monotheism with their man-made concepts. For this, today many young Muslim brothers and sisters are going away from true Islamic Monotheism and as a result, they are doing "Shirk"(association of partner with one True God) consciously and unconsciously (which is the highest sin according to Islam).
.
In this circumstance, the method of understanding the Concept of Hinduism in the light of Islam will not be perfect at all. It should be understood in the light of Hinduism's own style. I respect Dr Zakir Naik's effort, but to realise the root concept, it is not sufficient to depend on his explanation. If you can not differentiate the misguided way from the right one, you may also fall into the trap of such misguidance.
.
.
=> Limitation of making difference between Hindu and Muslim:
.
Dr Zakir Naik considers that the real difference between a common Hindu and a common Muslim is that a Hindu believes that everything is God; but a Muslim believes that everything is God's (i.e belongs to God).
.
"...the major difference between the Hindu and the Muslim beliefs is the difference of the apostrophe ‘s’. The Hindu says everything is God. The Muslim says everything is God’s."
(Dr Zakir Naik)
.
It is not fully perfect. Hindu people believe that God lives inside every creature in the form of Atma or Soul and so, everything is God in the sense that the creation is the manifestaion of one God.
Again as God stays inside every creature, so in vice versa, everything is God's or belongs to God. Bhagabat Gita concludes this thing like this way,
.
"And when you have thus learned the truth, you will know that all living beings are but part of Me—and that ***they are in Me, and are Mine***."
.
(Bhagabat Gita, 4:35)
.
.
=> Limitation of the explanation of "One God":
.
Dr Zakir Naik has given references from Hindu scriptures to show that Hinduism says to believe in "One God". ***But this "One God" does not refer to the True Creator***.
Let us examine the references of what Dr Zakir has provided.
.
.
=>"He is One only without a second."
.
(Chandogya Upanishad 6:2:1;
The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan page 447 and 448]
[Sacred Books of the East, volume 1 ‘The Upanishads part I’ page 93)
.
.
=>"There is only one God, not the second; not at all, not at all, not in the least bit."
.
(Brahma Sutra)
.
.
=>"Sages (learned Priests) call one God by many names."
.
(Rigveda 1:164:46)
.
.
=>"O friends, do not worship anybody but Him, the Divine One. Praise Him alone."
.
(Rigveda 8:1:1;
Rigveda Samhita vol. 9, pages 2810 and 2811 by Swami Satya Prakash Sarasvati and Satyakam Vidyalankar)
.
.
Now the point should be realised. According to Islamic Monotheism, The One God(Allah) is the One and Only True Creator Who creates out of nothing. So, if this Oneness of God is claimed in above references, then the Monotheism of Hinduism and the Montheism of Islam should be the same. But in reality, they are not the same. Let us see.
.
=>"The Originator of the heavens and the earth. When He decrees a matter, He only says to it: "Be!" - and it is."
.
(The Noble Quran, 2:117)
.
So, according to Islam, God gives His command and it is created automatically out of nothing. And so God is not comparable to anything of His creation.
.
But according to Hinduism, God actually does not create anything. We assume the things around us as Creation. But in actual concept, these are all the manifestion of God as God according to Hinduism has made the beings from His own body.
.
=>“He(the divine Self-existence or God), desiring to **produce beings of many kinds from his own body**….”
.
(Manusmriti, 01:08)
.
“The Supreme Person(God) **in whom all beings abide** and by whom all this is pervaded….”
.
(Bhagabat Gita, 8:22)
.
“And when you have thus learned the truth, you will know that **all living beings are but part of Me**-and that they are in Me, and are Mine.”
.
(Bhagabat Gita, 4:35)
.
.
As God according to Hinduism has made the universe by transforming His own body, one can compare God with the creation and can do form worship also, which is (Shirk) a major sin in Islam. So, the oneness of God according to Hinduism is nothing but a special form of "Shirk"(concept of association of partner with the True Creator) in Islam.
.
.
=> Limitation of the explanation of form-worship in Hinduism:
.
Dr Zakir Naik tries to show that Hinduism does not support form-worship, specially idol-worship, but he can not show any reference from Hindu scriptures where it is specifically said that form-worship or idol-worship is prohibited. Form-worship or idol-worship is neither prohibited nor compulsory; it is preferable or optional. And also it is a lower type of worship according to Hinduism.
.
Let us examine the refrences of what Dr Zakir has used.
.
=>"There is no likeness of Him."
.
(Svetasvatara Upanishad 4:19;
The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan page 736 & 737]
(Sacred Books of the East, volume 15, ‘The Upanishads part II’ page no 253))
.
.
=>"There is no image of Him."
.
(Yajurveda 32:3;
Yajurveda by Devi Chand M.A. page 377)
.
.
=>"He is bodyless and pure."
.
(Yajurveda 40:8;
Yajurveda Samhita by Ralph T. H. Giffith page 538)
.
.
=>"His form is not to be seen; no one sees Him with the eye."
.
(Svetasvatara Upanishad 4:20;
The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan page 737]
(Sacred Books of the East, volume 15, ‘The Upanishads part II’ page no 253))
.
.
Here all these references are saying about the formless God who is considered as "The Supreme Soul"(Param Atma). The actual concept is that God according to Hinduism is "The Supreme Soul" who is formless. And this Supreme Soul, from His own body or own portion, makes the universe. So this universe is actually the transformation of the portion of God. Here souls come from the supreme soul and enter every creature. So the worldly bodies become damagable, but the souls become immortal as the souls are the parts of God. For this reason, the universe has been said as our illusion as all these are actually the manifestation of God(according to Hinduism). So, the above verses do not prohibit form-worship, but just says about the concept of formless God in Hinduism.
.
Indian Scholar Swami Vivekananda comments on the concept of divinity of soul like this way:
.
"...this immortal and perfect soul must be the same in the highest God as well as in the humblest man, the difference between them being only in the degree in which this soul manifests itself.
.
But why should the soul take to itself a body? For the same reason that I take a looking-glass — to see myself. Thus, in the body, the soul is reflected. The soul is God, and every human being has a perfect divinity within himself, and each one must show his divinity sooner or later."
.
(Complete Works of Vivekananda/Volume 1/Lectures and Discourses/THE HINDU RELIGION)
.
.
Dr Zakir further gives some other references which do not prove that idol worship is prohibited, but just presents that idol worship is a lower type of worship. Let us have a look of other references by which Dr Zakir claims that idol worship is prohibited.
.
.
=>"They enter darkness, those who worship the natural elements" (Air, Water, Fire, etc.). "They sink deeper in darkness, those who worship sambhuti(created things, for example table, chair, idol, etc.)."
.
(Yajurveda 40:9;
Yajurveda Samhita by Ralph T. H. Giffith page 538)
.
.
=>"Those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires surrender unto demigods and follow the particular rules and regulations of worship according to their own natures."
.
(Bhagavad Gita 7:20)
.
If you deeply see the above two references, you can find that these references are not specifically saying that 'Idol worship is prohibited.'
.
The above first reference from Yajurveda says that the people who worship natural forms or created forms enter darkness. This darkness does not mean the darkness of hell, rather it is the darkness compared to desire and ignorance.
The same issue is again repeated in Bhagabat Gita 7:20 that the people who are in worldly desire worship different demigods.
But it is not said anywhere that such worship is prohibited.
Rather, this can be a lower type of worship.
.
There are other references from Hindu scriptures which are giving permission of idol worship:
.
"He who knows him who has no beginning and no end, in the midst of chaos, creating all things, **having many forms**, alone enveloping everything, is freed from all fetters."
.
[Svetâsvatara Upanishad, 5:13;
The Upanishads, Part 2 (SBE15), by Max Müller;
source - http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/sbe15/sbe15104.htm]
.
.
"The Blessed Lord said: My dear Arjuna, O son of Prtha, behold now My opulences, **hundreds of thousands of varied divine forms**, multicolored like the sea."
.
[Bhagavad Gita, 11:5;
'Bhagavad Gita As It Is' by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada;
source - https://asitis.com/11/5.html]
.
.
"All of them—**as they surrender unto Me(by form or formless worship)**—I reward accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Prtha."
.
[Bhagavad Gita, 4:11;
'Bhagavad Gita As It Is' by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada;
source - https://www.asitis.com/4/11.html]
.
.
"Whatever a man may sacrifice **to other gods**, O son of Kunti, is really meant for Me alone, but it is offered without true understanding."
.
[Bhagavad Gita, 9:23;
'Bhagavad Gita As It Is' by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada;
source - https://asitis.com/9/23.html]
.
.
The point should be noted that the Indian Philosophy does not say that your motto is to get the way of worship, rather it shows a way by which you can be fully free from ignorance and worldly desire. And this is called "Moksha" or "Mukti" which means becoming free from worldly bondage.
.
"The Vedas teach that the soul is divine, only held in the bondage of matter; perfection will be reached when this bond will burst, and the word they use for it is therefore, Mukti — freedom, freedom from the bonds of imperfection, freedom from death and misery."
.
(Complete Works of Vivekananda/Volume 1/Lectures and Discourses/PAPER ON HINDUISM)
.
Now in this way of Moksha or Mukti, form worship is just a lower stage when people are in worldly desire. And when the worldly desire is overcomed, the formless worship comes and also, gradually the way of worship will go away in one period and then the highest stage to be free from the worldly bondage will be achieved according to Indian Philosophy.
.
Vivekananda concludes all these things like this way:
.
"Hindu is centred in realisation. Man is to become divine by realising the divine. Idols or temples or churches or books are only the supports, the helps, of his spiritual childhood: but on and on he must progress.
.
He must not stop anywhere. "External worship, material worship," say the scriptures, "is the lowest stage; struggling to rise high, mental prayer is the next stage, but the highest stage is when the Lord has been realised.""
.
(Complete Works of Vivekananda/Volume 1/Lectures and Discourses/PAPER ON HINDUISM)
.
.
So this is very common to realise that idol worship is a great part of Hinduism.
.
.
So to me, Hinduism is nothing but a well-decorated pagan thought which shows the perfect way of how you can do "Shirk"(association of partner with One True Creator). Clearly it is one of the most misguided way to a true Muslim who submits himself to Allah Almighty. So, I will request to my Muslim brothers and sisters to judge the truth in the proper way. Indeed, the intention of Dr Zakir is not to teach us the false way, but he tries to call people to Islam with the similar points between Hinduism and Islam. But you see yourself that if you show such similarity to a knowledgeable Hindu, he may not listen to you, rather you can be in his trap of association partner with God. From my journey to Islam, I have found that Quran, itself the rebuttal of all false claim and the Quran says to find similarity with Jewish and Christian scriptures, not with the Indian Philosophy. Because Quranic point of view is very clear that all such association of partner with God is "Shirk" and so it should be avoided. So we should not search similarity with "Shirk" and "Kufr" system.
.
.
=> Also read my response to Hinduism:
.
♦ WHY WE CAN NOT ACCEPT HINDUISM AS TRUE???
.
visit - http://uniqueislamblog.blogspot.com/2017/10/why-we-can-not-accept-hinduism-as-true.html
.
.
♦ A DIFFERENT THINKING ON INDIAN PHILOSOPHY...
.
visit - http://uniqueislamblog.blogspot.com/2017/10/a-different-thinking-on-indian.html