Islam Under Scrutiny by Ex-Muslims
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Muhammad Is Not Foretold In Buddhist Scriptures - A Rebuttal to Dr. Zakir Naik04 January, 2006 Introduction In my last article, I refuted the claims of Muhammad being predicted in Hindu scriptures to be false. Now it is the turn of Buddhist scriptures. I really do not understand how Dr.Zakir Naik is able to fool the readers with such claims that Gautama Buddha had prophesized Muhammad. First one must know these basics about Buddha. You can find Dr.Zakir Naik's Article On this here: Muhammad In Buddhist Scriptures Who Is This "Buddha"? Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha, was born in the sixth century B.C. in what is now modern Nepal . His father, Suddhodana, was the ruler of the Sakya people and Siddhartha grew up living the extravagant life of a young prince. According to custom, he married at the young age of sixteen to a girl named Yasodhara. His father had ordered that he live a life of total seclusion, but one day Siddhartha ventured out into the world and was confronted with the reality of the inevitable suffering of life. The next day, at the age of twenty-nine, he left his kingdom and newborn son to lead an ascetic life and determine a way to relieve universal suffering. For six years, Siddhartha submitted himself to rigorous ascetic practices, studying and following different methods of meditation with various religious teachers. But he was never fully satisfied. One day, however, he was offered a bowl of rice from a young girl and he accepted it. In that moment, he realised that physical austerities were not the means to achieve liberation. From then on, he encouraged people to follow a path of balance rather than extremism. He called this The Middle Way. That night Siddhartha sat under the Bodhi tree, and meditated until dawn. He purified his mind of all defilements and attained enlightenment at the age of thirty-five, thus earning the title Buddha, or "Enlightened One". For the remainder of his eighty years, the Buddha preached the Dharma in an effort to help other sentient beings reach enlightenment. So, Buddha Means "The Awake One/ Enlightened One"
Zakir Quotes The Following : Buddha prophesised the advent of a Maitreya: A) Almost all Buddhist books contain this prophecy. It is in Chakkavatti Sinhnad Suttanta D. III, 76: "There will arise in the world a Buddha named Maitreya (the benevolent one) a holy one, a supreme one, an enlightened one, endowed with wisdom in conduct, auspicious, knowing the universe: "What he has realized by his own supernatural knowledge he will publish to this universe. He will preach his religion, glorious in its origin, glorious at its climax, glorious at the goal, in the spirit and the letter. He will proclaim a religious life, wholly perfect and thoroughly pure; even as I now preach my religion and a like life do proclaim. He will keep up the society of monks numbering many thousands, even as now I keep up a society of monks numbering many hundreds". B) According to Sacred Books of the East volume 35 pg. 225: "It is said that I am not an only Buddha upon whom the leadership and order is dependent. After me another Buddha maitreya of such and such virtues will come. I am now the leader of hundreds, he will be the leader of thousands." C) According to the Gospel of Buddha by Carus pg. 217 and 218 (From Ceylon sources): "Ananda said to the Blessed One, 'Who shall teach us when thou art gone?' And the Blessed one replied, 'I am not the first Buddha who came upon the earth nor shall I be the last. In due time another Buddha will arise in the world, a holy one, a supremely enlightened one, endowed with wisdom in conduct, auspicious, knowing the universe, an incomparable leader of men, a master of angels and mortals. He will reveal to you the same eternal truths, which I have taught you. He will preach his religion, glorious in its origin, glorious at the climax and glorious at the goal. He will proclaim a religious life, wholly perfect and pure such as I now proclaim. His disciples will number many thousands while mine number many hundreds.' Ananda said, 'How shall we know him?' The Blessed one replied, 'He will be known as Maitreya'." Most of the Mahayana Buddhists do not know what kind of Book Chakkavatti Sinhnad Suttanta this is. The Major books of Buddhism are: All of them written after Buddha's death. Amanda wrote down Buddha's thoughts and sermons, which became the main Buddhist scriptures.
1- Tripitaka:
The "three baskets", includes Buddha's sermons,
rules for the monks and philosophical teachings, with 100 volumes,
about the size of 70 Bibles. 2- The Mahayana adds the "Lotus Sutra" and the "Perfection of Wisdom", which includes the "Diamond Sutra", the "Heart Sutra"... and many others, like the "Lankavatara", with a total of more than 200 volumes. 3- The Vajrayana (Tantrism Buddhism), adds among others, the holy scriptures of the "Kanjur" (108 volumes), and the "Tanjur" (225 volumes). 4- The Tibetan literature translates and adds with a total of more than 300 volumes. 5- The writings of the 6 Buddhist Councils are also considered holy scriptures (another 400 volumes). The last one was in Rangoon in 1954. In these major books, this Chakkavatti Sinhnad Suttanta is nowhere to be found. I even confirmed with a Buddhist who said he has never heard such a kind of Suttana or Sutra anywhere and probably even if it is there, they are not primary scriptures. Now the GOSPEL of Buddha says the following : Ananda, suppressing his tears, said to the Blessed One: "Who shall teach us when thou art gone?" And the Blessed One replied: "I am not the first Buddha who came upon earth, nor shall I be the last. In due time another Buddha will arise in the world, a Holy One, a supremely enlightened One, endowed with wisdom in conduct, auspicious, knowing the universe, an incomparable leader of men, a master of angels and mortals. He will reveal to you the same eternal truths which I have taught you. He will preach his religion, glorious in its origin, glorious at the climax, and glorious at the goal, in the spirit and in the letter. He will proclaim a religious life, wholly perfect and pure; such as I now proclaim." Ananda said: "How shall we know him?" The Blessed One said: "He will be known as Metteyya, which means 'he whose name is kindness.'" You can see the highlighted words. Gautama Buddha says a supremely enlightened one, endowed with wisdom,knowing the universe and a master of angels and mortals would come. Now let us analyse each quality mentioned above: SUPREMELY ENLIGHTENED What is enlightment in Buddhism?
Enlightenment is the attainment of
wisdom. Some traditions of Buddhism represent enlightenment as
"all at once" ascension into nirvana. Others: a gradual
acquirement of wisdom. Flashes of awareness are characterized by
Surya Das to be "mini-enlightenments" 1. Life is difficult, it holds for living beings imperfections and suffering 2. This difficulty or "dukkha" is caused by desire for things to be other than what they are. This includes attachment, craving, envy, jealousy, grasping etc 3. Desire can be removed and thus an end to the difficulties and suffering of life 4. The way to do this is to follow the Eightfold Path a training in wisdom, ethic Muhammad never realized or believed in these four noble truths of Buddha. All Muhammad said was GOD is one and polytheism was wrong. He also spewed hatred on monotheistic Jews of Arabia and called them pigs and apes. Gautama Buddha never used to abuse anyone. Muhammad never knew the eightfold path too. He in fact never abstained from material desires as he said they were all lawful under Allah's eyes and only prohibit taking intoxicants during prayers. Muhammad advocated complete submission to Allah and he never spoke of self-realization and wiping away misery through detachment. In fact he desired for all kinds of materialistic pleasures. So, we can easily come to a conclusion that Muhammad is not the enlightened one in terms of Buddhism. Knowing the Universe Buddha has prophesized that the Buddha to come will know this universe well and will be knowledgeable. Now let us see if Muhammad met this criterion: Sahih Bukhari Volume 4, Book 54, Number 537: The Prophet said "If a house fly falls in the drink of anyone of you, he should dip it (in the drink), for one of its wings has a disease and the other has the cure for the disease." What kind of science is this? Is this the knowledge of one who knows the universe? You can see from this link that house flies cause several diseases: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2111.html Volume 4, Book 54, Number 538: Allah's Apostle said, "A prostitute was forgiven by Allah, because, passing by a panting dog near a well and seeing that the dog was about to die of thirst, she took off her shoe, and tying it with her head-cover she drew out some water for it. So, Allah forgave her because of that." Volume 4, Book 54, Number 539: The Prophet said, "Angels do not enter a house witch has either a dog or a picture in it." Volume 4, Book 54, Number 540: Allah's Apostle ordered that the dogs should be killed. Volume 4, Book 54, Number 541: Allah's Apostle said, "If somebody keeps a dog, he loses one Qirat (of the reward) of his good deeds everyday, except if he keeps it for the purpose of agriculture or for the protection of livestock." You can see this man at one point of time say's that Allah forgave a woman who saved a dog from thirst. It shows as though Allah and Muhammad love dogs. But in later hadiths he expresses his hatred of dogs and says having a dog will make you lose reward from Allah! What kind of logic does this man hold to be called as "Knowing the Universe"?
Muhammad was leader of a clan of tribes at medina who willed to adopt Islam. Calling him master of angels and mortals is like committing blasphemy against Islam or going against the Qur'an. The Qur'an says the following:
006.062:
012.021
001.004 The Qur'an also mentions many a times that Allah is the creator and the master of Angels, Men, Jinns, etc. Now Muhammad was not a master to angels or are we supposed to assume that he was a partner of Allah? Muhammad was not the master of mortals. There are nearly 4.5 billion kuffars on this earth. The Qur'an claims Muhammad to be just a messenger of GOD and told Muhammad not to interfere in affairs of men as control is with ALLAH. So, how can Dr.Zakir Naik call Muhammad Master of Angels and Mortals? Absurd like always! "..same eternal truths which I have taught you.." Did Muhammad ever teach the same things that Buddha taught? Lets have a brief comparison:
You can see for yourself, there is no similarity between the two schools of thoughts. So, Buddha's words that the maitreya will teach his teachings is not applicable to Muhammad. Now Dr.Zakir Naik continues with his substantiation: (i)The Sanskrit word 'Maitreya' or its equivalent in Pali 'Metteyya' means loving, compassionate, merciful and benevolent. It also means kindness and friendliness, sympathy, etc. One Arabic word which is equivalent to all these words is 'Rahmat'. In Surah Al-Anbiya:
"We sent thee not, but as a mercy for
all creatures." Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was called the merciful, which is 'Maitri'. (ii)The words Mercy and Merciful are mentioned in the Holy Qur'an no less than 409 times.
(iv)The Word Muhammad is also spelt as 'Mahamet' or 'Mahomet' and in various other ways in different languages. The word 'Maho' or 'Maha' in Pali and Sanskrit mean Great and Illustrious and 'Metta' means mercy. Therefore 'Mahomet' means 'Great Mercy'. This is sophism at its worst: The Qur'an 21:107 does not mean that Muhammad is a compassionate man. Read the tafsir for this verse by Ibn Kathir: "Here Allah tells us that He has made Muhammad a mercy to the `Alamin, i.e., He sent him as a mercy for all of them [peoples], so whoever accepts this mercy and gives thanks for this blessing, will be happy in this world and in the Hereafter. But whoever rejects it and denies it, will lose out in this world and in the Hereafter, " When I give a bread loaf to a poor man and say, "this has been given to you by me as a mercy for the poor". This means, out of my mercy I gave the poor the loaf for them to eat. It does not mean the loaf of bread is merciful. Furthermore if you reject what I give you and then I decide to punish you, that is the sign that I am vengeful psychopath and not a merciful person. Dr.Zakir wrote that merciful is "Maitri" in pali /Sanskrit. Actually the so-called scholar is wrong. In Sanskrit the word for MERCIFUL = kRpAnvita, paropakArin, sAnukroza, sadaya, AnRzaMsya, adhimAtrakAruNika. In Pali, the word MERCIFUL = sānukampa, dayālū, kāruṇikaActually, Maitreya apart from meaning benevolent has an important scriptural meaning - Bodhi-sattva and future Buddha Dr.Naik say that the word "merciful" appears no less than 409 times. Actually it appears 307 times in the Qur'an excluding the hogwash line "Bismillah Ir-Rahman Ir-Raheem" before every Surah. This is meant for Allah/God and not for Muhammed. So what's your point Dr.Naik? Allah is Maitreya? But what has it got to do with Maitreya? Is he trying to mislead the reader with such irrelevant data? Did you know Mr.Naik that: The word Disbeliever/Disbelievers occurs 153 times in Qur'an? The word war/fight occurs 67 times approximately? That there are around 164 verses in the Qur'an that speaks of Jihad? First of all in Pali, the word for GREAT is not "maho" but the words are mahanta, parama, seṭṭha, tumula, uru, uttama, vipula, visāla.The Pali word for mercy is not "metta" but the words are dayā, anukampā, karuṇā. Metta means love and not mercy. Mercy is forgiveness and sympathy, not love! What a lie this so-called scholar is spreading?!!? Dr.Zakir Naik writes: Buddha's doctrine was Esoteric and Exoteric: According to the Sacred Books of the East, volume 11, pg. 36 Maha-Parinibbana Sutta chapter 2 verse 32: "I have preached the truth without making any distinction between exoteric and esoteric doctrine, for in respect of truths, Ananda, the Tathagata has no such thing as the closed fist of a teacher, who keeps something back". Muhammad (pbuh) on the commandment of Almighty God delivered the message and doctrine without making any distinction between esoteric and exoteric. The Qur'an was recited in public in the days of the Prophet and is being done so till date. The Prophet had strictly forbidden the Muslims from hiding the doctrine. The actual translation of Maha-Parinibbana Sutta chapter2 verse 32 is: Thus spoke the Venerable Ananda, but the Blessed One answered him, saying: "What more does the community of bhikkhus expects from me, Ananda? I have set forth the Dharma without making any distinction of esoteric and exoteric doctrine; there is nothing, Ananda, with regard to the teachings that the Tathagata holds to the last with the closed fist of a teacher who keeps some things back. Whosoever may think that it is he who should lead the community of bhikkhus, or that the community depends upon him, it is such a one that would have to give last instructions respecting them. But, Ananda, the Tathagata has no such idea as that it is he who should lead the community of bhikkhus, or that the community depends upon him. So what instructions should he have to give respecting the community of bhikkhus? "Now I am frail, Ananda, old, aged, far gone in years. This is my eightieth year, and my life is spent. Even as an old cart, Ananda, is held together with much difficulty, so the body of the Tathagata is kept going only with supports. It is, Ananda, only when the Tathagata, disregarding external objects, with the cessation of certain feelings, attains to and abides in the signless concentration of mind, that his body is more comfortable. Now Buddha calls himself as THATHAGATA( a title given to himself which means self-realized and enlightened one). For practicing Buddhists, references to "dharma" or dhamma in the singular, particularly as "the" Dharma, is used to mean the teachings of the Buddha, and is sometimes referred to as the Buddha-Dharma. Dharma is the universal law of nature and to call it Buddha-Dhamma suggests that other kinds of Dharma may exist. But this is not so, there is only one Dharma. The term Buddha-Dharma merely refers to the fact that it was discovered by the Buddha, not created by him. So Dhamma literally means the TRUTH DISCOVERED BY A BUDDHA and not a doctrine or any kind of doctrine involving God or Allah or angels or whatsoever superstition. The truth of Buddha was precisely self-realisation to escape suffering in life. He never spoke of God. So, the dharma does not include God in it. Buddha tells to Ananda, that the bikkhus (the Buddhist monks) should be lead by Buddha and after him the next Buddha would lead them .Bikkhus has no analogy to imams of Muslims. Bikkhus are monks who adopt the eight fold path and practice and preach the teachings of Gautama Buddha. So, the hiding or not hiding factor does not hold good for Muhammad, because he intentionally wanted to pose himself as a messenger of God and so he did not hide. Whereas Buddha never claimed to be a messenger of God. He wanted his Dharma to be visible so that people who wanted to escape misery can adopt his teachings. Muhammad told his followers to essentially SUBMIT to Allah and Love Muhammad more than any body else including their family. But Buddha never ordered anything as such. So, the Dharma which is open is totally different from the doctrine of Allah or Muhammad. Dr.Zakir Naik proceeds to say: Devoted Servitors of the Buddhas: According to Sacred Books of the East volume 11 pg. 97 Maha-Parinibbana Sutta Chapter 5 verse 36: "Then the Blessed one addressed the brethren, and said, 'Whosoever, brethren have been Arahat-Buddhas through the long ages of the past, they were servitors just as devoted to those Blessed ones as Ananda has been to me. And whosoever brethren shall be the Arahat-Buddhas of the future, there shall be servitors as devoted to those Blessed ones as Ananda has been to me'." The Servitor of Buddha was Ananda. Muhammad (pbuh) also had a servitor by the name Anas (r.a.) who was the son of Malik. Anas (r.a...) was presented to the Prophet by his parents. Anas (r.a...) relates: "My mother said to him, 'Oh Messenger of God, here is your little servant'." Further Anas relates, "I served him from the time I was 8 years old and the Prophet called me his son and his little beloved". Anas (r.a...) stayed by the Prophet in peace and in war, in safety as well as in danger till the end of his life. Anas (r.a.), even though he was only 11 years old stayed beside the Prophet during the battle of Uhud where the Prophet's life was in great danger. Even during the battle of Honain when the Prophet was surrounded by the enemies who were archers, Anas (r.a...) who was only 16 years old stood by the Prophet. Anas (R) can surely be compared with Ananda who stood by Gautam Buddha when the mad elephant approached him. This is of no relevance to prove that Maitreya and Muhammad are same. Infact Even Imam Husain had this kind of men to die for him in karbalah battle. Zakir Naik tends to commit a logical fallacy called Post hoc ergo propter hoc. Just because Buddha had a noble companion and after him Muhammad had a companion, it doesn't mean Muhammad is maitreya. It is stupid. Buddha never said that MAITREYA would be having a companion. In the above lines of Buddha, he means to say that the members of the community of highly-realised Buddhists or Buddha would have faithful monks and servitors serving the purpose to hold the eight fold path. It in no way concludes logically that Muhammad is MAITREYA. Even Imam Husain had servitors. But did the servitors preach BUDDHISM? No! It is height of absurd conclusiveness by Dr.Zakir Naik. Dr. Zakir Naik then writes: Six Criteria for Identifying Buddha:
According to the Gospel of Buddha by Carus pg. 214: "The Blessed one said, 'There are two occasions on which a Tathagata's appearance becomes clear and exceedingly bright. In the night Ananda, in which a Tathagata attains to the supreme and perfect insight, and in the night in which he passes finally away in that ultra passing which leaves nothing whatever of his earthly existence to remain.' " According to Gautam Buddha, following are the six criteria for identifying a Buddha. i) A Buddha attains supreme and perfect insight at night-time.
ii) On the occasion of his complete enlightenment he looks exceedingly bright
iii) A Buddha dies a natural death.
iv) He dies at night-time.
v) He looks exceedingly bright before his death.
vi) After his death a Buddha ceases to exist on earth. i) Muhammad (pbuh) attained supreme insight and Prophethood at night-time. According to Surah Dukhan: "By the books that makes thing clear - We sent it down during a blessed night." [Al-Qur'an 44:2-3] According to Surah Al-Qadar: "We have indeed revealed this (message) in the night of power." [Al-Qur'an 97:1] As already discussed, the insight that Buddha refers to is self-realisation and escape from Samhara cycle. It is not knowing the unity of GOD. Infact what Muhammad got was not an insight but an illusion and vision, where it seemed to be an angel Gabriel talking something to him. It has nothing to do with self-realisation.
ii) Muhammad (pbuh) instantly felt his understanding illumined with celestial light. Muhammad never understood it first. Read this hadith : Bukhari Volume 1, Book 1, Number 3: The Prophet added, "The angel caught me (forcefully) and pressed me so hard that I could not bear it any more. He then released me and again asked me to read and I replied, 'I do not know how to read.' Thereupon he caught me again and pressed me a second time till I could not bear it any more. He then released me and again asked me to read but again I replied, 'I do not know how to read (or what shall I read)?' Thereupon he caught me for the third time and pressed me, and then released me and said, 'Read in the name of your Lord, who has created (all that exists) has created man from a clot. Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous." (96.1, 96.2, 96.3) Then Allah's Apostle returned with the Inspiration and with his heart beating severely. Then he went to Khadija bint Khuwailid and said, "Cover me! Cover me!" They covered him till his fear was over and after that he told her everything that had happened and said, "I fear that something may happen to me." It shows Muhammad was actually afraid of the revelation being given via the angel. Where did he feel illumined? At a certain stage when revelation stopped he even wanted to commit suicide many a times by dropping himself from the hill. Is this how a self-realised Dhamma adopting person behave? Infact Muhammad believed in superstitions such as angels and Jinns whereas Buddha never did. iii) Muhammad (pbuh) died a natural death.
Does that mean anyone who dies a natural death is MAITREYA? Infact there is a disagreement to this natural death of Muhammad. Immediately following the conquest of Khaibar, a Jewish woman prepared a dinner for Muhammad and some of his men. Unknown to the Muslims was that she had put a poison into the lamb (some say goat) that was served at dinner. Muhammad ate some of the poisoned lamb and died as a result three years later.
From Bukhari's Hadith 5.713: Narrated Ibn Abbas: 'Umar bin Al-Khattab used to let Ibn Abbas sit beside him, so 'AbdurRahman bin 'Auf said to 'Umar, "We have sons similar to him." 'Umar replied, "(I respect him) because of his status that you know." 'Umar then asked Ibn 'Abbas about the meaning of this Holy Verse:-- "When comes the help of Allah and the conquest of Mecca . . ." (110.1) Ibn 'Abbas replied, "That indicated the death of Allah's Apostle which Allah informed him of." 'Umar said, "I do not understand of it except what you understand." Narrated 'Aisha: The Prophet in his ailment in which he died, used to say, "O 'Aisha! I still feel the pain caused by the food I ate at Khaibar, and at this time, I feel as if my aorta is being cut from that poison."
From Bukhari's Hadith 3.786: Narrated Anas bin Malik: A Jewess brought a poisoned (cooked) sheep for the Prophet who ate from it. She was brought to the Prophet and he was asked, "Shall we kill her?" He said, "No." I continued to see the effect of the poison on the palate of the mouth of Allah's Apostle. What needs to be investigated here are the circumstances of Muhammad's death. The Jews were planning to murder him. The Jews believed that a real prophet would be forewarned of their deed but an impostor wouldn't be warned by God. The Muslims also believed this; the other Muslim who died said that he didn't think Muhammad would eat of something that was poisoned (see quote in A6). The Jews were right, Muhammad did eat of the poison, and did die from it. They proved, according to their test, that Muhammad was not a prophet. As they said (quote A2): "We wanted to know if you were a liar in which case we would get rid of you, and if you are a prophet then the poison would not harm you." These Jews were convinced that a real prophet would know what was going on. In this case Muhammad didn't know. Only after Muhammad ate from the lamb did the lamb "talk to him". I don't think that that was anything miraculous in itself; even the other Muslim knew it was bad before Muhammad ate from it. Most adults know when they are eating something that is bad. So for Muhammad to say the sheep "talked" to him is not prophetic at all. Even a child spits out bad tasting food. Many times previously, Muhammad claimed to have had "revelations" that warned him of danger. He even used one of these convenient "revelations" as grounds to attack the Jewish settlement of Banu Nadhir. Yet at Khaibar the revelation came too late: too late to save his own life, too late to save Bishr's life. As his illness wore on, Muhammad began to pray for healing - he even rubbed his "healing" hand upon himself. Gabriel also got into the act and prayed for his healing (see quotes C2 & C3). Muhammad even got himself "cupped" (the best of all medicines!), (quote A5). Obviously, at this point in time, Muhammad wanted to be healed. But it didn't help. As it progressively got worse, Muhammad realized that he was dying, ceased praying for healing (quote C4), and claimed that Allah had given him a choice to going to Paradise, or living on earth. Muhammad said he then wanted to go to Paradise. Knowing the game was up, he made the best out of a failed situation. Muhammad's earlier premonitions of his deaths read more like the cosmic words of a mystic. Nothing definite is ever said about them until after his approaching death. Perhaps he had seen this type of death before and knew the outcome. It doesn't take a prophet or a "revelation" to know that death is near. My basic point is this: the Jews proved that Muhammad was not a real prophet. He ingested the poison, so did at least one of his followers. He attempted to be healed, he tried his medicine, and his form of "laying on of hands", his prayer, Aisha's prayer, and even Gabriel's prayer, but in the end, he died from the poison. iv) According to Ayesha (r.a.), Muhammad (pbuh) expired at night-time. When he was dying there was no oil in the lamp and his wife Ayesha (r.a.) had to borrow oil for the lamp. The way a MAITREYA would pass away would be when he would have gained total insight and he knows the time he will die. Read the Dhammapadha and Gospel of Buddha completely. You shall know the Maitreya is nowhere is said to have a WIFE or slave girls. The maitreya will abstain from all material pleasures and will die at highest point of enlightenment. Have a look at this hadith which describes how Muhammad died : Sahih Bukhari Volume 7, Book 62, Number 144: Narrated 'Aisha: that during his fatal ailment, Allah's Apostle, used to ask his wives, "Where shall I stay tomorrow? Where shall I stay tomorrow?" He was looking forward to Aisha's turn. So all his wives allowed him to stay where he wished, and he stayed at 'Aisha's house till he died there. 'Aisha added: He died on the day of my usual turn at my house. Allah took him unto Him while his head was between my chest and my neck and his saliva was mixed with my saliva. One could interpret that he was fondling and mouthing ayesha when he fell dead. A Materialistic person Muhammad cannot be termed as MAITREYA. v) According to Anas (r.a.), Muhammad (pbuh) looked exceedingly bright in the night of his death.
Yes this one is true. That is what Anas told narrated. But Buddha never said that when Maitreya dies, he will shine brightly. You can refer to the stated verse regarding Maitreya told by Buddha.
vi) After the burial of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) he was never seen again in his bodily form on this earth. Now this statement does not match with what Buddha exactly said. Buddha said : "..in the night in which he passes finally away in that ultra passing which leaves nothing whatever of his earthly existence to remain" This means that the Maitreya will not leave even a trace of his existence on earth and will totally demise. But Muhammad has his clothes, swords, letters, footprints, dead body in his grave, etc. left behind. The Maitreya is not said to have a grave or a mosque. Dr.Zakir naik writes :
Buddhas are only Preachers:
According to Dhammapada, Sacred Books of East volume 10 pg., 67: "The Jathagatas (Buddhas) are only Preachers." The Qur'an says in Surah Ghashiya: "Therefore do thou give admonition, for thou art one to admonish. Thou art not one to manage (men's) affairs." [Al-Qur'an 88:21-22]
Dr.Zakir Naik actually mistranslates the word Jathagatas, it is actually Tathagata. This is traditionally interpreted as "one who comes and goes in the same way (as the previous Buddhas)". The term Tathagata can be construed as tatha-gata or as tatha-agata. The former means thus-gone while the latter means thus-come, or, alternatively, gone-to-thusness and come-from-thusness. This distinction represents an important dichotomy in Buddhist doctrine related to the ideas of self-power and other-power. Tathagata as thus-gone implies that the Buddha was a pioneer and the task of the practitioner or devotee is to follow and imitate and, ultimately, achieve what Buddha achieved.
Now the tafsir for 88:21-22 of Qur'an is as follows : Allah says, So remind them -- you are only one who reminds. You are not a Musaytir over them) meaning, "O Muhammad! Remind the people with what you have been sent with to them.'' (your duty is only to convey (the Message) and on Us is the reckoning.) (13:40) Then Allah says, You are not a Musaytir over them.) Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid and others said, "You are not a dictator over them.'' This means that you cannot create faith in their hearts. Ibn Zayd said, "You are not the one who can force them to have faith.'' Imam Ahmad recorded from Jabir that the Messenger of Allah said, (I have been commanded to fight the people until they say La ilaha illallah (none has the right to be worshipped except Allah). So if they say that, they have safeguarded their blood and wealth from me - except for what is rightfully due from it - and their reckoning is with Allah, the Mighty and Majestic.)'' Then he recited, (So remind them - you are only one who reminds. You are not a dictator over them -) This is how Muslim recorded this Hadith in his Book of Faith, and At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa'i also recorded it in their Sunans in the Books of Tafsir. This Hadith can be found in both of the Two Sahihs. So, the meaning here is Muhammad cannot instill faiths in disbelievers but can only be a warner. But the Tathagata of Buddhism is not the warner/messenger that is told about in Islam. It is clearly proven from the above explanations that this is a barefaced lie. Dr. Zakir Naik Finnaly Writes: Identification of Maitreya by Buddha:
According to Dhammapada, Mattaya Sutta, 151: "The promised one will be: i) Compassionate for the whole creation ii) A messenger of peace, a peace-maker Muhammad was not compassionate to the whole creation. He slaughtered the tribes of Banu Qurayza, he killed Kinana for his treasure, he looted khaiber, he killed a 120 year old jewish poet Abu Afak for writing a poem against him. He has committed many murders, waged many wars (attle of badr,uhud,trench,khaiber,etc). In what way he is compassionate? Have a sample of Muhammad's alleged compassion: 1. FROM THE SIRAT RASUL ALLAH (THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET OF GOD), BY IBN ISHAQ (1), page 675: SALIM B. UMAYR'S EXPEDITION TO KILL ABU AFAK Abu Afak was one of the B. Amr b. Auf of the B. Ubayda clan. He showed his disaffection when the apostle killed al-Harith b. Suwayd b. Samit and said:
"Long have I lived but never have I seen [NOTE: the Tubba was a ruler from Yemen who invaded that part of what is present Saudi Arabia: the Qaylites resisted him] The apostle said, "Who will deal with this rascal for me?" Whereupon Salim b. Umayr, brother of B. Amr b. Auf, one of the "weepers", went forth and killed him. Umama b. Muzayriya said concerning that:
You gave the lie to God's religion and the man Ahmad! [Muhammad]
2. The oldest extant biography of Muhammad is called the "Sirat Rasulallah" - "Life of the Prophet of Allah". This book was written by Ibn Ishaq, a devout Muslim scholar, and later revised by Ibn Hisham. It was written before any of the major works of Hadith. It is considered the most authentic biography of Muhammad. It was translated into English by A. Guillaume as "The Life of Muhammad". page 515 reads: "Kinana al-Rabi, who had the custody of the treasure of Banu Nadir, was brought to the apostle who asked him about it. He denied that he knew where it was. A Jew came (Tabari says "was brought"), to the apostle and said that he had seen Kinana going round a certain ruin every morning early. When the apostle said to Kinana, "Do you know that if we find you have it I shall kill you?" He said "Yes". The apostle gave orders that the ruin was to be excavated and some of the treasure was found. When he asked him about the rest he refused to produce it, so the apostle gave orders to al-Zubayr Al-Awwam, "Torture him until you extract what he has." So he kindled a fire with flint and steel on his chest until he was nearly dead. Then the apostle delivered him to Muhammad b. Maslama and he struck off his head, in revenge for his brother Mahmud."
3. Sahih Bukhari Volume 1, Book 4, Number 234: Narrated Abu Qilaba: Anas said, "Some people of 'Ukl or 'Uraina tribe came to Medina and its climate did not suit them. So the Prophet ordered them to go to the herd of (Milch) camels and to drink their milk and urine (as a medicine). So they went as directed and after they became healthy, they killed the shepherd of the Prophet and drove away all the camels. The news reached the Prophet early in the morning and he sent (men) in their pursuit and they were captured and brought at noon. He then ordered to cut their hands and feet (and it was done), and their eyes were branded with heated pieces of iron, They were put in 'Al-Harra' and when they asked for water, no water was given to them." Abu Qilaba said, "Those people committed theft and murder, became infidels after embracing Islam and fought against Allah and His Apostle." 4. Sunan Abu-Dawud Book 38, Number 4390
Narrated
Atiyyah al-Qurazi: Tell me can you call Muhammad as Maitreya? Was Buddha doing anything like this? ii) The most successful in the world. Indeed this man Muhammad was successful in betraying his enemies, slaughtering them, taking captives and destroying the pagan's idols in kaab'ah with a claim that Abraham built it.
Rebuttal To A Quranic Claim
Some muslims tend to identify Buddha as DHUL-KIFL in Qur'an. But most of Muslim scholars call Dhul-Kifl as ISAIAH. The explanation is given as follows: Dhul-Kifl was the Prophet of Allah. The Qur'an has made mention of him in the following two Verses: And Isma'il and Idris and Dhul-kifl; all were men of constancy and patience. We admitted them into out mercy because they were of the righteous ones. (21:85. 86) And remember Isma'il, Elisha and Dhul-kifl. Each of them was of the company of the good. (38:48) Al-Baizawi says that he was so called because he had to do double the work of the Prophets of his time. He is identified with Ezekiel of the Bible who was carried away to Babylon after the destruction of Jerusalem. He was chained and imprisoned. He bore all hardships with patience and continued reproving the evil sin of the Bani Israel. Ibn Jarir, an interpreter has narrated an event which throws some light on his life. When Al-Yasa (peace be upon him) grew old, he wished to appoint a suitable person as his successor to guide the Israelites. He declared: Only that person will be considered competent to become his successor who observes fast during the day remembers Allah throughout the night and refrains from flying into a rage. One among the crowd stood up and said: (I will adhere to all these conditions. The Prophet Al-Yasa repeated these conditions thrice and the same person promised solemnly to fulfill the conditions. Thereupon he was appointed as a vicegerent. After some time he was subjected to a trial. One day the Satan in the disguise of an old man knocked at his door. He was allowed to get in. The visitor lodged a complaint against the cruel treatment of the people towards him. The vicegerent directed him to come in the evening. He assured the visitor that all his grievances shall be redressed. He promised but did not turn up at the appointed time. Next day he came again and complained as usual. The vicegerent commanded him to come in the evening. He made a solemn promise to come but did not abide by it. On the third day he came again and knocked at the door but it was not opened. The Satan in the disguise of an old man managed to slip into the room and presented himself before the vicegerent. He was wonder-struck at the sudden appearance of the old man. The vicegerent interrogated the visitor. He admitted that he was Iblis who assumed the likeness of an old man and was trying to enrage him. He endeavoured to make him back out of his promise but failed in his mission. Thereupon the vicegerent became known as Dhul-kifl because he maintained his solemn promise with the Prophet Al-Yasa (peace be upon him). He refrained from losing temper though the Satan left no stone unturned to annoy him. Soon after Allah chose him as His Prophet. He commanded the Israelites to wage holy war against those who made mischief on the earth and opposed the religion of Allah. His followers, the Israelites refused to carry out his orders because they were afraid of death. As a retaliation for the utter disobedience of the Commandment of Allah and His Prophet, most of the people were overtaken by calamity. Plague broke out and numerous people died miserably. They deserted their houses in terror and ran away to save their lives. When they covered some distance, they heard a dreadful sound and the death prevailed over them. None remained alive to bury them. The corpses were putrefied in the scorching heat of the sun. The Prophet Dhul-kifl came out of the seclusion after seven days. He was overwhelmed with grief to see the predicament of his followers and supplicated: O' Allah! You have perished my followers. Take pity on them and give them a new life. Allah granted the prayer of His Prophet, the dead persons regained their lives. The Qur'an Affirms: Have you not thought on those who quitted their dwellings--and they were thousands for fear of death. Allah said to them: Die! Then He restored them to life, for full of bounty towards man is Allah. But most men give not thanks. (2: 280) Afterwards the Prophet Dhul-kifl left his followers and migrated to Babylon. He died there. Some people believe he is EZEKIEL. Some say he was not a prophet but a noble man. In which case, prophecies of BUDDHA about maitreya cannot be used to prove Muhammad's prophet-hood. So, Dhul-Kifl cannot be Buddha because in Quranic terminology Buddha is a Kuffar and cannot be addressed as a noble man and compared with other prophets. It is another bare faced lie that muslims and muslim scholars love to tell to convert Buddhists to ISLAM just like they tell Hindus that Muhammad is Kalki Avatar! All these are not same. It is just a stupid propaganda. References
Conclusion Dr.Zakir Naik is on a mission to Islamise all religions. He seems to follow the footsteps of Muhammad who encouraged lying to deceive enemies. From this write-up we can easily infer that Muhammad is no match to Gautama Buddha. All you need to deduce this is simple logic and some knowledge on Buddhism and Islam. I hope all the Buddhists reading this are already satisfied. But I have tried my best to put it up vividly and lucidly so that even non-buddhists can understand the content being presented without any hassle. Dr.Zakir Naik needs to increase his IMAN by reading the Qur'an and believing in its sanctity rather than lying and spreading gossips about other religions' scriptures.
Regards, Mail Me: lightofasia@gmail.com "The secret of creativity is knowing how to hide your sources. This is what Dr.Zakir Does - Hide and Manipulate Sources" |