Visit Ladakh - A Glorious Land Of Surprises

Ladakh is the highest and the most popular place in India. It is bounded by world's two mightiest mountain ranges the great Himalayan and the Karakoram, It lies athwart two others The Ladakh and the Zanskar range. The grandeur of snow-capped mountains around small and narrow river basins and its picturesque location of monasteries, the rich ancient Buddhist monuments, the traditional folk songs and folk dance, all go in to make this unique mountain abode of man, a great attraction for tourists of all categories. Ladakh is also home to four major mountain ranges: the Great Himalayan, Zanskar, Ladakh, and Karakoram, the land offers overwhelming natural beauty summoning the more intense and adventurous visit that appeal the tourists. The magical beauty of the region is totted up with the charming disposition and simplicity of the Buddhist people and the beautifully decorated monasteries contrast the comparatively harsh vicinity of the land.
It also attracts the more intense and adventurous of travelers. The overwhelming wilderness and magic can only belong to this great land of towering mountains and Buddhist simplicity. Its landscape, sky, shooting stars, silence, wizened faces, rosy cheeks, dragons and Zen - everything also makes Ladakh a quite place to visit. There are a number of interesting places and monasteries to visit in and around Leh, such as - The Leh Palace, the monasteries of Shey, Hemis, Alchi, Thikse and Lamayuru. Ladakh is a glorious land of surprises; it is also a land of enthralling natural beauty and diversity that can easily fascinate even the most seasoned traveler.
Major Attractions in Ladakh
The Hemis Monastery
The Hemis monastery is the largest monastery in Ladakh. Hemis is especially renowned for a huge painting of the Buddha, which is displayed to the poublic once in 11 years.

The Thikse Monastery
The Thikse monastery, near Leh, is considered to be an architectural wonder. The Shey monastery has a huge gold-plated copper statue of the Buddha.
Sankar Gompa
Sankar Gompa, 3-km north of the town centre, is among the most accessible monasteries in central Ladakh - hence its restricted visiting hours for tourists

Alchi
Driving past on the nearby Srinagar-Leh highway, you'd never guess that this is one of the most significant historical sites in Asia.

Dah-Hanu
Dah and Hanu are places on the far side of the great Indus River on the far side of Leh. Surrounded by the great Hindu - Kush mountains and peopled by a hardy but gentle people who have a bank of strange legends to relate for the weary traveller's ears.

Hemis Wildlife Sanctuary
The Hemis High Altitude National Park includes the catchments of two valleys, which drain into the River Indus. It is named after the famous monastery - Hemis, and sprawls over 600-sq-km in the Markha And Rumbak valleys.

Muslim India

All the self-absorption the Bharat has been bragging thereon has not been Hindus heritage exclusively save some portion thereof. ‘Ashoka the great' has added some portion to this heritage but he was a Buddhist. Finally British Empire has also a share in contributing to Indian heritage but the 1000 years Muslim Rule has a lion's share in contributing to the overwhelming part of Indian heritage not only in India but in the entire ‘Indian Subcontinent'. And of course the Bharati Hindus are even now basking in Indian Muslims heritage.  Right from their legendary drummer, namely, Allah Rakha Khan to the architect of her missile program, Abdul Kalam Khan, including the overwhelming number of the most celebrated Poets, Writers, Historians, Geographers, Architectures, sport stars, film Stars, Musicians, Singers have been Muslim. Similarly all their world fame fascinating architectural monuments have been brought about by Indian Muslims. So much so that Hindus do not have the name for their own country - they have swindled us of our name "India" - which had been ours exclusively. Nonetheless, the inhuman conditions the Indian Muslims are caused to live & die in are no less than barbaric Brahmin Apartheid.
Indian Muslims on either side of the border have never been ‘Pakistanis' and Hindus on either side of the border have never been ‘Indians'. We have been ‘Indian Muslims' throughout and they have been ‘Bharati Hindus' throughout. Similarly Indian Muslims have never ever named their homeland as Pakistan during their 1000-year rule and ‘Bharati Hindus' have never ever named their homeland as India, before the Muslims rule.
During the entire Muslims Era, we the Indian Muslims had always named our country as ‘Hindustan' or ‘Hind' as a nickname, in the local languages and ‘India' in the western languages, before the great divide. Similarly Bharati-Hindus have always named their country as Bharat even after the partition, in Hindi language - and still today their official name in their constitution is Bharat. Bharat has never ever been ‘India' - and ‘India' has never ever been ‘Bharat' before the partition.
The name: ‘India' therefore has nothing to do with ‘Bharat,' ‘Hinduism' or ‘Hindus.' Bharati-Hindus have, like so many other symbols of our highly prestigious heritage and of our great pride, plagiarized, stealthily - and have been committing the most serious and grievous misnomer in regard of her name. ‘Bharati Hindus' always keep their real face, trick and task cloaked, for their ‘realities' in accordance with sacred teaching of Chanakya. So simply for this reasons they have displayed, our owned name, ‘India' - and have sent their real name, ‘Bharat' in the background, for they know that they can neither throw away their real name ‘Bharat' nor they can escape there from so openly - hence by applying their traditional duplicity, they resorted to display the stolen name ‘India' on the forefront and kept their real name ‘Bharat' dormant, hidden and behind. Their real name has been Bharat throughout - even in the period far before than Ashoka the Great, which falls far before the Christ - while a well known Rajah namely, Rajah Bharata (or Rajah Bherath), according to "Puranas" had united some seven regions (or continents) in the north of the now Bharat and was reigning thereupon with great pomp and show. The name of that very regions (or continents), much less than the now Bharat (being somewhat peninsular) was ‘Jambu Dvipa' - and hence after the death of the aforementioned Rajah Bharata (or Rajah Bharat), the Hindus used to call the land as ‘Bharth Varsh' or Bharatavarsha (i.e. land of the Bharata). In this way the present name of ‘Bharat' is the corruption of ‘Bharata' (or Bherath).
I quote the exact words of the famous researcher, Sri Swami Sivananda from his book ‘All about Hinduism' as below:
"The classical name for India which is used in Sanskrit literature is Bharata -Varsha or Bharata-Khanda, after the name of Bharata who ruled over a large extent of territory in days of yore. Manus name for the whole central region between the Himalayas and the Vindhya mountains is Aryavarta, Abode of the Aryans. Another name for the whole of India is Jambu-Dvipa. The Greeks gave the name Indu to the whole of this country. It was on account of this India became popular as the name of this country throughout Europe".
Renowned Professor C.R. Mishra notes in his valuable research work; ‘Comprehensive History and Culture of Orissa' that Bharata did not originally denote India: "Bharatavarsha, here is used in a general sense denoting the regions of northern India " (P: 121). Elaborating this, he states that Bharata is mentioned for the first time in the Hatigumpha inscription and that it denoted only a part of North India - " In the epigraphic records of ancient India, the name `Bharatavarsha' is mentioned for the first time in the Hatigumpha inscription. But the name denoted North India at that time." (C.R. Mishra, `Kharavela and His Times', P: 130, N: 79).
And it is for this reason that their ultra religious and orthodox political pundits have named their most rabid pack as ‘Bharatya Janata Party' (BJP) - the name of one of their religious book is also "Mahabharata" a long poem narrating the long fight between Kurus and Pandus, the two clans of Bharata family. And Hindus have also been calling their country as ‘Bharat Mata' (i.e. Mother Bharat). And now they have named their first ever so called spaceship as "Bharateena".
The Muslims have ruled exclusively, the whole Indian sub continent for round about 1000 years - if the name ‘India' had any link with ‘Hinduism' or Hindus, the Muslim powerful rulers, particularly the emperor Aurang Zeb Alamgeer would have consigned it to the dustbin of the history. They have grabbed our exclusively owned entity and property, the name ‘India' - as they have grabbed Junagadh, Hyderabad Deccan, Siachin, Kargil and Kashmir. How they did it, I borrow the quotation from the famous book, ‘Freedom at Midnight' of the two renowned co-authors, Mr. Larry Collins & Mr. Dominique Lapierre:
"AT THE OUTSET CONGRESS CLAIMED THE MOST PRECIOUS ASSET OF ALL, THE NAME "INDIA". REJECTING PROPOSAL TO NAME THEIR NEW DOMINION "HINDUSTAN", CONGRESS INSISTED THAT SINCE PAKISTAN WAS SECEDING, THE NAME INDIA AND INDIA'S IDENTITY IN GROUPS LIKE U.N. REMAIN THEIRS".
Now let us trace the base of the name ‘India'. There is no denying the fact that the Greek word ‘Indos' and the Latin word ‘Indus' have been the ancient names of the mighty River, ‘Sindh' (i.e. Indus) respectively - and the ‘Sindhus' as well as India have been derived from the words ‘Sindh' and ‘Indus' respectively. One of the world's most ancient civilizations has been the ‘Indus Valley Civilization' which came out more than 3230 BC - flourished and cherished in the Indus Valley - and when it perished, after the intrusion of the Aryan settlers - it was buried also in its nativity. Thus the Indus Valley Civilization was also native of the Indus Valley. And ergo it also derived its name from the very river, ‘Sindh, (i.e. Indus) - whose Greek and Latin names were/are pronounced as ‘Indos' and ‘Indus' - and so that ancient most civilization is remembered in the history, as "Indus Valley Civilization" - though it had the most ‘contemporary' features.
Its main ‘Mausoleums,' the largest sites with citadels, have also been discovered in Pakistan; ‘Moenjo-Daro' on the lower Indus plain in the South at Larkana District - ‘Chanhu Daro' in Nawabshah District, (in Sindh Province) - ‘Harappa' on the upper Indus plain in the north, at Sahiwal (in Punjab province) – ‘Shahi Tump' in the valley of Kej (Mekran) in the Baloch territory and ‘Judeiro Daro' in the Pathan region of Balochistan.
Now let us go back a little more in time. The intrusion of the Aryans started in waves after waves in about 3000 BC, and continued for about 1000 years - those Aryans were not a single tribe or race but they were comprised of an assortment of tribes from the Central Asia. So in first instance, those Aryans settled in the upper part of the mighty river; ‘Sindh/Indus' namely, ‘Sindh Valley' or ‘Indus Valley' - which were then known as ‘Saptasindhva' or ‘Sapta Sindhus' meaning, land of the seven rivers (i.e. Sutlaj, Bias, Ravi, Chenab, Jehlum, Sindh and the now extinct river Saraswati).
Celebrated writer, Bode Roy Punjabi quoting the illustrious researcher, Dr. Abinas Chandra Das writes as under, "The land in which the Vedic Aryans lived is called in Rigveda by the name of Saptasindhva or the land of seven rivers, which includes the Indus or Sindhu with its principal tributaries on the west and the saraswati on the east. The Ganges and the Yamunas have certainly been mentioned once or twice but they have not at all been included in the computation of the seven rivers that gave the country its name."
Bode Roy Punjabi writes in his book, ‘Saptasindhva' as under:
"Thus the area now forming Kashmir, the Punjab, the NWFP, Eastern Balochistan and Sind (h) was the area of Aryan Settlement".
Distinguished scholar, A.L. Bhasham writes in his famous Book, ‘The Wonder that was India' - "Of the two river systems that of the Indus, now mainly in Pakistan, had the earliest civilization and gave its name to India. The fertile plains of the Punjab watered by the five great tributaries of the Indus had a high culture over two thousand years before Christ, which spread down the lower course of the Indus as far as the sea."
Similar is the account of the eminent research scholar, Sri Swami Sivananda in his research work, ‘Origin and Significance of the term Hindu' in the following words:
"That part of the great Aryan race which migrated from Central Asia, through the mountain passes into India, settled first in the districts near the river Sindhu, now called the Indus, on the other side of the river. The Persians pronounced the word Sindhu as Hindu, and named their Aryan brethren Hindus. Hindu is only a corrupt form of Sindhu".
So merely as a common noun from the word "Sapta Sindhus" and simply for the reason of their new common nativity and to denote those Aryan settlers as whole: they were first called as ‘Sindhus' and ‘Sindhi' in some of the local and eastern languages. And exactly for the same reason and as a common noun from the word ‘Indus' they were called as Indians in most of the western languages. Thus none of those Aryans was neither Hindu nor that was possible, for Hinduism was not yet handcrafted.
Similarly the heartland of the Indus Valley Civilization, making a part of Pakistan is called even today as Sindh (i.e. Sindh Province) and its natives as ‘Sindhi' because of the river ‘Sindh/Indus' - exactly as natives of Punjab (i.e. land of five rivers) are called Punjabis, as a common noun.
Now how the erstwhile common noun ‘Sindhus' transmuted subsequently into the ‘Hindus'- the proper noun - that implied subsequently, one pertained to Hinduism. Or to simplify this question a little more, how the then simple common noun ‘Sindhus' from the word ‘Sindh', corrupted into ‘Hindus,' the complicated noun - which turned into as a certain creed specific.
In fact the word Hindu has no link whatsoever with the subsequently developed creed, ‘Hinduism'. Because the emerge of the word ‘Hindu' was far more ancient than the surge of the creed, ‘Hinduism'. And as a matter of fact the word ‘Hinduism' have been coined far more later (i.e. round about after 2000 years) for the creed of the ‘caste-rule' (i.e. Vern Ashram) by the western orientalists - and thus the word ‘Hindu' had not been derived from Hinduism, for that could have not been done.
The word Hindu is admittedly a corruption of ‘Sindhu' - a native of ‘Sindh - Valley' (i.e. Indus - Valley). And today also the local natives of Sindh, in Pakistan, are called Sindhi, as a common noun from the word Sindh; the local name of the river Indus. Actually when the closest neighbors Iranians invaded the India, in about first half of the first BC millennium, they pronounced the word ‘Sapta Sindhus' as ‘Haft Hindus', for in Persian language the word ‘haft' also denotes seven - and as such the word ‘Haft-Hindus' is the Persian corruption of ‘Sapta Sindhus' the then name of the Sindh Valley or Indus Valley. In this way if the word ‘Hindu' is admittedly the corruption of ‘Sindhu' - then the word ‘Hindi' is obviously the corruption of Sindhi.
And this is the reasons that all Arabs even today call, all the Indian Muslims, including the Pakistanis as ‘Hindi' - whereas the believers of caste rule specifically as Hindus - exactly and similarly the whole world call all the natives of India as Indians but the believers of the caste rule (i.e. Hinduism) as Hindus. Even the Hindus do not and cannot dare to use the word Hindu for other than them. The meaning of ‘Hindu' and ‘Hindi'/'Indian' are so distinct right from the birth of Vern Ashram that in Arabic language the words ‘Hindu' or ‘Hindukki' are used simply for the believer of Hinduism - and its plural has been ‘Hindoos' or ‘Hanadic' - whereas the plural of the word Hindi (i.e. Indian) has also been clearly distinct as ‘Hanud' - from the former plural.
Now let us go a little deeper. Actually after about 2000 years of the Aryans mega migration, round about in 1000 BC, with the passage of time, some of the Aryan Settlers, like other ancient idol worshipers developed a ‘sculpture based culture' and as such some of them first attracted to, then converted to and finally adopted that culture as a creed. So those were the circumstances, in about 1000 BC, when the metamorphosis of the ‘sculpture based culture' into the Vern Ashram (i.e. Caste Rule) was underway - and the newly debuted ‘sculpture based creed' thus started rising up and swelling up in the shape of Vern Ashram. But as yet, no one had ever called that culture or creed as Hinduism - they used to use the word ‘Vern Ashram' (i.e. caste rule) and subsequently ‘Sanatan Dharma' (i.e. the Eternal Way) for the newly emerged creed, as evident from their basic most, primitive most and the sacred most, four religious books, the Rig-Veda, Yajur-Veda, Sama-Veda and the Atharva-Veda of Hindus. And it is for the reason of this most primitiveness - that they are also known as childhood of Hinduism.
Thus with the passage of further time, when some more extraordinary distinction in regard of the ethnicity as well as in beliefs, inter-se the Aryan Settlers, developed and protruded, then the common nouns, the ‘Aryans' and the ‘Sindhus' or ‘Hindus' lost its original sense and were therefore no more meaningful or conclusive, for all the Aryan Settlers did not adopt Vern Ashram (i.e. caste rule) or the sculpture based culture.
Those Aryan Settlers who adopted the sculpture based culture, as his/her creed, were called the ‘Hindus' specifically as a proper noun and the rest simply the ‘Sindhi'/'Hindi' in the local as well as in the eastern languages and the ‘Indians' in the western languages, as a common noun. So one can say that as the ‘Hindus' word is the corrupted form of Sindhus - similarly the ‘Hindus people' are the corrupted (viz converted) form of some Aryans, who adopted the Vern Ashram (i.e. caste rule) as their creed. Thereafter when the Aryans Settlers spread throughout the whole sub continent, the whole subcontinent was also emerged as ‘Barsagheer-Hind' in the eastern languages and as ‘Indian subcontinent' in the western languages - and its natives as Hindis/Indians respectively - irrespective of their different religions, creeds and ethnicities, for the words Hindi/Indian simply denoted the native of Hind/India - and had nothing to do with any religion - whereas to denote believers of the ‘caste rule' or ‘Vern Ashram' the specific word ‘Hindus' was/are used for them, in all the languages of the world.
Exactly as the word "Asians" implies natives of Asia, irrespective of the creed of the Asians. Even today all the natives of India are called Indians but the believers of Islam in Bharat are called the Indian Muslims, the believers of Christianity are called the Indian Christians, and the believers of Sikhism are called the Indian Sikhs and so forth: as I said earlier that Aryans were not a single tribe but were multitude of tribes and were of multi-ethnical origin - hence after the mass exodus when the difference in their credos developed with the passage of time - then the word Hindu turned as creed specific and the word Sindhi/Hindi or Indian kept its originality, as nativity specific.
Actually Hindus never had any specific name for their creed. Now we must ask the question, why the Hindus creed had been nameless right from the beginning? In fact firstly, in the beginning the Hindus creed did not come out as a regular religion - secondly, unlike all other man-made creeds, Hindus never had any founder persona, neither in the sky nor on earth, as a founder of their creed. Hence no one was there to be attributed to their creed. Conversely, the grand spiritual leaders; Gautama Buddha, Confucius, Zoroaster, Lao zi (Lao Tzu) , Nataputta Mahavira, Joseph Smith, Guru Nanak Sahib, have been the Founder Personas of Buddhism, Confucianism, Zoroastrianism, Taoism, Jainism, Mormonism, Sikhism respectively.
Actually in the start the creed ‘Vern Ashram' was simply a jumble of some rituals of the assorted peoples, in the shape of a culture. Subsequently and gradually it transformed into a larger blend of the available respective cultures, pertaining to the host of Aryan Settlers along with the host of the local Dravidians - which was emerged subsequently as Vedic Civilization, solely based on the Vern Ashram (i.e. the caste rule). And as such it was their native name Hindu, wherefrom the name of their creed was coined after about more than two millenniums of the surge of the creed.
A renowned Hindu scholar, Nirad C. Choudhry writes in his book, "The Continent of Circe":
"I am surprised to find how many people even among those who are well-educated think that we are Hindus because we have a religion called Hinduism and that word is comparable to 'Christian' or 'Muslim'. It had no such association for the Hindus or for their neighbors in former times. This crept in when Modern European Orientalists began to study the religions of India. They found that the Hindus had no other name for the whole complex of their religious feelings, beliefs and practices except the phrase ‘Sanatan Dharma or the Eternal Way. They did not have even a word of their own for religion in European sense; and so the Orientalists coined the word Hinduism to describe that complex of religion. Actually we Hindus are not Hindus because we follow a religion called or understood as Hinduism; our religion has been given the very imprecise label ‘Hinduism' because it is the jumble of the creeds and rites of a people known as Hindus after their country. On this analogy the Greek religion might be called Hellenism and Graecism".
Another renowned Hindu scholar, Pundit Shiv Kishan Kaul writes in his book, ‘Wakes up Hindus':
"The word Hinduism derived from Hindu, a Corruption of Sindhu. The Punjab in Vedic times was called Sapta Sindhu (The land of seven rivers). This was pronounced by Iranians as, Haft Hindu and so the inhabitants of the Punjab came to be called Hindus by Muslims invaders."
To tell the truth, the Indus River is exclusively a ‘Muslim River' (though I use this term as a phrase) -for, which has been as steadfast as a Muslim should have been. In spite of all the hurdles and the unjust divide of our owned India, this mighty, impressive and striking river after forming its identity as such has been flowing throughout in the now Muslim India (i.e. the Pakistan) - and by hinting towards the destiny it ends its journey at the Arabian Sea, in the Ocean - the Ocean which itself is not only being contributed by the former with fresh water but has also been contributed with an identity and name (i.e. the Indian Ocean) by this splendid and refined river.
The phrase I have used for the Indus River can be judged not only from its nativity but also from its originality, openheartedness, cleanliness and candidness. This superb River has also given identity to many other entities, nations and regions, so openly - and none of them has any nexus whatsoever with Hinduism. For instance,
Indian Ocean: the ocean wherein the mighty river, Indus is emptied and has been swimming therein, since the time immemorial.
Indonesia: a Muslim country comprised of nearly 13000 islands, situated in the Indian Ocean.
Indochina: the now Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam etc. - once were comprised of a peninsula called Indochina, for its inhabitants had been or considered to be the cross-breed of Indians and Chinese.

West Indies: the chain of islands, Jamaica, Barbados, Dominica etcetera - which includes about 23 entities, situated in the Caribbean Sea, to the west of the Indian Ocean - given this reason the Indonesia along with Madura and south Borneo were once called East Indies, for they were located in the southeast of the Indian Ocean.
Red Indians: the Native Americans or the aborigines, inhabiting north and South America, they are considered as the Indians who crossed the now Bering Strait (in Atlantic) through the ice-bridge in the ancient ice age of Pleistocene epoch. So the main region of those Red Indians has been given officially, the name and status of ‘Indiana State' as the 19th state of the USA. In this regard my reliance is on the following borrowed excerpts from the world class, the world's best selling and amazing Multimedia Encyclopedia; ‘ENCARTA.'  :-

"The Native Americans of North America are believed to be descendants of the Mongoloids, early hunters and gatherers who migrated from Asia to North America in waves possibly from as early as 30,000 BC. These Stone Age peoples crossed an ice-age land bridge across what is now the Bering Strait during the Pleistocene epoch".
Furthermore,
"Indiana entered the Union on December 1, 1816, as the 19th state. Three 19th-century US presidents—William Henry Harrison, his grandson Benjamin Harrison, and Abraham Lincoln—lived in Indiana for substantial periods. Manufacturing became the chief economic activity in the early 20th century, but at the start of the 1990s the state was also a major producer of farm commodities, especially corn, soya beans, and pigs. The state's name, which refers to Native Americans ("Indians"), was coined in the 1760s and applied to a private tract of land in Pennsylvania; the name was officially adopted when Indiana Territory was formed in 1800. Indiana is known as the "Hoosier State". Its major cities are Indianapolis (the capital), Fort Wayne, Evansville, Gary, South Bend, and Hammond".
I also reproduce the opinions of the world-renowned geographer, Hecataeus (550-476) of Miletus, an ancient Greek city of Ionia, on the west coast of Asia Minor (part of modern Turkey) - and of the world-renowned historian, Herodotus (484-425 BC), considered as "father of history" - in the following borrowed words:
‘India was the country in the neighborhood of river Indus and this was the ultimate country on the face of the earth. Beyond this lay the "Deserta Incognita" unknown desert or "Marusthali" (i.e. place of death).'
It shows that the now Pakistan was India and not the now Bharat.
When it is an established fact that Hind/India have been derived from the grand river Sindh/Indus - now even in the NWFP & northern regions of Pakistan, the name of this river has been ‘Aba Sin (viz Aba Sindh) - meaning, father of rivers - then this name is exclusively our entity and property and hence amongst other prides, this also must be our sanctity and identity, not of others who has no right whatsoever upon it - and we alone have the right to snatch it back - and rename our country as ‘Islamic Republic Of India' (viz Islami Jamhoria Hind)- or ‘Muslim India' to be more appropriate.
The reasons for this urge and drive are very compelling and pressing, for instance:
1. The foremost and the prime question has been that what is the nationality and what is our nationality? In my view every live nationality, in this world has two inescapable ingredients, the soul (i.e. the religion or I call it the religion nationality) and the body (i.e. the region - or I call it the regional nationality or identity or the nativity) - as these have been inevitable for a living being. The soul can't stay without corporeal body and a corporeal body can't move without soul - both have been concomitant inter se inexorably. The nationality shall be not robust if it lacks either the soul (i.e. the religion or religion nationality) or body (i.e. the region - or the regional nationality or identity). Religion has been optional, hence can be chosen and be changed any time - but nativity has been non-optional, hence can neither be picked out, nor can be replaced. This is why that after embracing Islam, the soul or nucleus of nationality of the Arabs, Persian and Turks and many others, changed forthwith - and they all became Muslims - but so far their nativities or regional identities were concerned all of them have been intact and will be intact - hence they are the Arab Muslims, the Persian Muslims, the Turks Muslims and so forth. So much so that the renowned Companions of the Holy Prophet Mohammad (SAW), Bilal (RA) has been Bilal Habshi, (RA) - (i.e. Bilal the Ethiopian, RA), Salman (RA) has been Salman Farsi (RA) - (i.e. Salman the Persian, RA), Suhaib (RA) has been Suhaib Rumi (RA) - (i.e. Suhaib the Roman, RA) - and one of the Ummahat-ul-Mu'mineen (RA), namely, Omul Mu'mineen, Maria (RA), Mother of Ibrahim (RA), the Prophet Mohammad's son, has been ‘Maria Qibthiya' (i.e. Maria the Egyptian, RA) - and Malka of Saba, (also as Sheba) AS (i.e. Sabaean Queen, AS) has been ‘Malka Saba,' AS (Queen of Saba) - even after they all embraced Islam. As such the ‘Muslim Millat' or Muslim Ummah (i.e. The Muslim Grand Nation) has been composed of Arab Muslims, Persian Muslims, Turk Muslims, Chinese Muslims, Russian Muslims, Berber Muslims, Tartar Muslims and so much and so forth. And when the reference is to be made to the ‘Muslim Grand Nation' – ‘Muslim Millat' or ‘Muslim Ummah' (viz the universal Muslim Nation) - then the whole world is their ‘Grand Nativity'. Because Islam, Qur'an, and the last Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) has not been a race, color, ethnic, region or nation specific but has been universal from the day one - and therefore second ingredient of nationality i.e. nativity for the Muslim Grand Nation shall also be universal, namely the entire world.
Faith specific name, Muslim is common noun; inasmuch region specific name (viz geographic specific name) is proper noun for a Muslim. This is one of the edges the Muslim Nation has got over other nations, for there is no conception of ‘Millat' or ‘Ummah' in ‘them' - because in Muslims the nucleus of their nationalities is the same i.e. Islam - whereas in ‘them' both the nuclei as well as the peripheries are different.
In seeking the answer of the question my reliance is on the Holy Qur'an: "O MANKIND! LO! WE HAVE CREATED YOU FROM MALE AND FEMALE - AND HAVE MADE NATIONS - AND TRIBES THAT YE MAY KNOW ONE ANOTHER. LO! THE NOBLEST OF YOU, IN THE SIGHT OF ALLAH, IS THE BEST IN CONDUCT. LO! ALLAH IS KNOWER - AWARE." (Surah al-Hujurat, 39-13).
By going through and thinking through this Holy Verse along with many others relevant to the subject - what I have gathered, as a petty student of the Holy Qur'an there from is that in classification of the humankind the inter se distinction among the nations has been emphasized more overtly while sorting out the various nations. Ergo the following are the criterions/yardsticks for the classification of the mankind:
A- Humanity; humanity; has been used as the first criterion or the yardstick to distinguish the human race from all other beings, as evident from the addressee as well as from the discloser of the commonality of their ascendant, in the Holy Verse. And as such it has been established, firstly; that as human beings we all are one and the same entity - and secondly; that human being is second to none vis-à-vis other beings.
B- Loyalty to a faith; now to define and distinguish the humankind inter se, faith has been used as the second criterion or yardstick - and thus the believers of Islam has been declared as the "Muslims" - whereas the believers of Judaism are called Yehuda i.e. Jews - the believers of Christianity are called Nasara or Nazareth or Christians - and so forth were the nations of Aad, Thamud and Sab-i-een accordingly in the ancient periods.
C- Identity or Nativity; But as obvious from the day one that the humankind at variance in religions are found all over the world at variance in regions or nativities - so solely on the basis of the loyalty towards a particular religion without giving reference to the respective region or nativity, the inter se distinction could have neither been made in Muslims nor in the believers of other religions. Hence due to this reason, in the aforementioned Holy Verse as I have been referring to, the most emphasis has been given on the inter se distinction of the various nations and tribes. Now so for the tribes are concerned even in them the inter se distinction cannot be established without giving reference to the respective progenitor or nativity thereto. Hence in the same way, nations of same belief all over the world could not be distinguished without giving reference to the respective region or nativity. And thus it is for this reason that the words nations and tribes have been used in plural, in the Holy Verse, which signifies that nations as well as the tribes have been more than one. Thus to distinguish the Muslims inter se as well as the Non-Muslims, the respective religion along with the respective region (i.e. regional identity or nativity) has to be used inevitably to consolidate the definition as well as the distinction of various Muslim nations as well as the Non-Muslims all over the world, for the foremost purpose of the aforementioned Holy Revelation has been stated as "THAT YE MAY KNOW ONE ANOTHER". To stress a little more I mean to submit that neither alone a ‘religion' could be made the sole basis for a living and a distinctive nationality - and nor alone the ‘regional identity' or nativity. And ergo both the definitions of nationality unleashed by the two most celebrated and great scholars, at the juncture of formation of this country; one on the sole basis of religion and the second on the lone basis of region (i.e. regional identity or nativity) with due respect were suffering extremely from extremism. Thus in my opinion both the religion as well as the region (i.e. nativity) has been as vital for a living and a distinctive nationality, as a nucleus and its periphery have been vital for a viable atom. And it is due to this cause that even today the people of Germany, America, United Kingdom, France, Sweden, and Russia etc are as different nations simply on account of their different nativities - as the Buddhists, Sikhs and Chinese have been, on account of their difference in religions as well as in nativities.
Now the next part of my question is what is our nationality?
1. In our case too of course Islam has been the Soul or Nucleus of our nationality and the ‘Indian' nativity or ‘regional identity' has been the natural body or the natural periphery of our nationality. We could choose the religion of our choice, that we have done well, but we can neither choose the nativity nor substitute, for that is not a matter of choice or substitution - it is always granted - and we have been bestowed upon, the ‘Indian' nativity or Indian identity - the original most, the natural most, the ancient most, the magnificent most and the elegant most. We have been Muslims by religion and Indian by region/nativity. As such we have been ‘Indian Muslims' - as others are Arab Muslims, Persian Muslims, Turks Muslims. Chinese Muslims, Russian Muslims, Tajak Muslims, Uzbek Muslims, Kazakh Muslims, Indonesian Muslims, Maldivian Muslims, Sri-Lankan Muslims, Moroccans Muslims, Bosnian Muslims, Albanian Muslims and so on. And if all the Muslim nations, the world over have retained and have been retaining their respective nativity/identity, they have had long before embracing Islam - why we the Muslims of this subcontinent could not retain ours? Whereas in fact our nativity has been ours exclusively and has been more original and natural, as compared to others. But the funny thing has been that we were staunch and sturdy ‘Indian Muslims' at 12.00 midnight, on August 13, 1947 and before - but a little after 12.01 AM, August 14, 1947, all of a sudden we became Pakistani Muslims - altogether a new brand and breed. And as such we stunned and shunned all the pride we had been the custodians thereto, for around one millennium. This is an unprecedented national tragedy and a comedy simultaneously.
2. Every live nationality in the world has been comprised of a nucleus (i.e. the religion) and the periphery (i.e. the identity/nativity). Hence we observe that there have been, Arab Christians, American Christens, Russian Christians, Bharati Christians and so forth.
3. The secular Turkey (or say with the feeble soul of religion) can survive easily but the most religious Chechnya and the Palestine (without the control of their respective regions) could not - or survive hardly.
4.We as Indian Muslims had no free homeland after fall of the Muslim Indian Empire and before the freedom - but yet we were a formidable nation, as ‘Indian Muslims' and as such we had retained our identity and nationality, though we were in search of free homeland desperately. But the amusing thing is that the moment we seized a marvelous homeland - we left behind our ‘religion nationality' as well as ‘regional identity' and lost. And hence before the freedom we were in search of a homeland: but after the freedom, our homeland has been in the search of her nation. Simply because of the simulated and childish replacement of our natural nativity - and this is why, still we are bewildering in the search of identity and nationality.
5. By fabricating and calling ourselves as Pakistani Muslims, instead of Indian Muslims, we severed and cut off the root of the two-nation theory on one hand and admitted the ‘Bharati Hindus' as ‘Indian Hindus' and the left over Muslims i.e. the ‘Indian Muslims' as Bharati Muslims, in Bharat, on the other.
6. As Indian Muslims we had played the most dominant, commanding and vital role as an impressive nation in the world history - but simply because of the concoction and impersonation in respect of our nationality, no one knows even today, what is Pakistan and who are Pakistanis? And all the historical pride belonging to the word India was bequeathed to the stingy Hindus, our bloodthirsty archenemy.
7. The word, Pakistan had never ever been a civilization, a culture, a creed or even a city, let alone a country.
8. The word, Pakistan has no real historical meaning and had never ever been a word or entity that had been written or entered in any dictionary or encyclopedia in any part of the world.
9. All the Muslims on either side of the border admit with pride that they have been the Indian Muslims but none of them could understand to admit with pride that how they became Pakistani Muslims and the left behind Muslim brethren as Indian Muslims, hence an identity perplexes developed - and so due to the absence of natural nativity, the artificial locality has been contrived, retrieved and erected instead.
10.The word ‘Pakistan' has been as alien for us as it has been for the rest of the world, hence some intentionally while others unintentionally pronounce it incorrectly - very important leaders even pronounce the ‘Pakistanis' as the "Pakis" internationally, which is a nude slang.
11. The Bharati Hindus and the Zionists Jews in particular, because of their old roguish habits, have been mispronouncing it in a more offending way as "phukis" and as such throughout the internet they have been using the slang "pakis" as nickname for Pakistanis. Both the Hindus and Jews have the old genetic nexus and hence both have been the ‘higher-ranking' slangy twins. Hence once the Almighty Allah had to intervene when the elderly slangy Jews, by giving extra stress and strain malafidely to the word "Ra'ina" (i.e. Listen to us) - while talking to the Prophet Mohammad (SAW), used to mispronounce the same as "Ra'aina" which was a slang - hence the Almighty Allah commanded the believers forthwith in these words; "o ye who believe, say not (unto the prophet): "listen to us" (ra'ina) but say look upon us" (viz unzurna). (Surah Al-Baqarah 2-104). Thus one can gauge how much has been the offensive effect of the mispronounced words?
12. The Hindus were in a high dilemma about the name of the left over country, Bharat, at the time of partition - but it was the late Choudhry Rehmat Ali who answered their dilemma within no time on one hand and created a hitch for us on the other.
13.No one including Choudhry Rehmat Ali has/had the right to propose a name for the nation simply for entertainment and amusement - like a big Choudhry use to propose a name for the newly born baby in their outcaste, in ‘pind' (village) - they call them, ‘kami kamin (i.e. base-born persons), as ‘nathu' or ‘khairi' (viz Tom, Dick & Harry).
14. China, Germany, Korea, Yemen and many others have been mangled for centuries but yet none of the part has ever deserted its nativity.
15. Others introduce themselves by disclosing their nationality whereas we confuse others by disclosing ours (viz Pakistanis).
16. Many in us skip even today by saying that nothing lies there in the name - and that a flower be a flower and a filth be a filth regardless of name - but it lacks any temptation for sanity to be subscribed thereto, for they do forget that it is always a certain name that sprouts the sense of the essence in the first instance - and this is why that name of a certain flower spring forth its pleasant fragrance in the first instance. A goodwill name does not come by overnight - it takes centuries and years that a goodwill name is established and recognized. And here I raise a simple question; can the names of flower and filth can be bartered inter-se?
17. The oneness of Allah Almighty is beyond doubt - but similarly His 99 names, He has preferred for Himself are also beyond question - this is enough to unfold the importance of name.
18.The Holy Prophet Mohammad (SAW) had always preferred to hide even his severe miseries but He (SAW) could not do so while He (SAW) was embarking upon the Hijrah (viz emigration) in 622 AD from ‘Mecca the Magnificent' to ‘Medina the Luminous'. His aching words even today can cause drooping. While leaving for ‘Medina the Luminous' He (SAW) remarked in the throbbing words: "O Mecca, I swear by Allah that you are the loveliest to me in the whole world and similar are you before Allah as well - had your natives not compelled me I would have not left you ever"
19. Religion has been the best rope to be tied with and to keep tight and unite a nation of course but still even a wise woodcutter never ties the bundle of the wood with a single rope, he usually apply three ropes, lest the one let loose, in the intricate journey.
20. Religion has been the greatest integrating force indeed but its fire (i.e. warmth and excitement) needs constant fanning by a very fabulous, extraordinary and legendary pious leader - who does not come into being so frequently but rather very very rarely - whereas so far nativity is concerned, it has been self fanning and self fueling all the time, like the jungle fire.
21.Religion always needs nice and virtuous people to keep them blended together - but in case of nativity, even the beasts have been the most loyal and devoted followers. You may throw away a cat for hundred times but it will never leave her native home.
22.Every living being has been granted with two legs at least, no one, if normal has ever been seen as a single footed, for no one can stay at a single foot, like a Hindu jogi (i.e. Hindu ascetic) for longer - so how a nation could stay on a single foot for so longer, particularly when the nation has been surrounded by, with a little exception (i.e. of China, Sri Lanka) - the evil most neighbors, which have been pushing the nation right from the very beginning. So this was one of the reasons due to which our country was dismembered by the over time pushing neighbor, the bulky and Brahman Bharat, which herself has been fastened foxily, simply with the rope of ‘nativity' we left behind.
23. It was the region and not the religion who outfitted the poor Vietnamese to fight for 10 long years against the ruthless US Empire and put down their 30 million human heads, 15 % of its total population in the ordeal of Vietnam War.
24.Two nations at variance in religion can live with peace, provided none of them breaches the region of the other e.g. Egypt & Israel, Pakistan & China - Iran & Bharat - Bangladesh & Bharat - but they can't live in peace if any one of them breaches the region of the other, despite the similarity in their religions - e.g. Turkey & Kurds - Iran & Kurds – Iraq & Kurds.
25.Religion has been but not always a strong source of convergence - some time it become the source of divergence, when it falls in the hands of illiterate fanatics, hence a nation must be always kept tied with the second rope viz nativity too, for none can leak out there from.
26. Muslims clerics have been successful to split up the Muslims nationhood even within a country by sowing the seeds of petty religious discrepancies amongst them - but has not been successful thus far to split up the nativity. For instance: Iranians Muslims have been bisected insofar as their religion (given the myth of Sunni & Shiite sects) is concerned - but none, including the vocal clerics have thus far been successful to move them a little from their nativity - the regional identity viz Iran. Thus they may be divergent in terms of outfits but convergent in terms of nativity. The same dismal is the case of nearly every Muslim state.
27. To re-catch, reclaim the image and maintain the lineage with the past glory it is the only way out to rename our country with reference to the context.
Now the mind haunting question, I know is; how I exclude the Hindus from the Indian nativity?
The reasons are so many but to cut short, I submit a few:

• They have never ever named their country India before, even before the Christ and before Ashoka the Great.
• Even today they believe the Indian Subcontinent as ‘Bhartavarsha' right from the demise of their Rajah Bharata, far more before the Christ, so they must not be bashful to follow their belief.
• In their constitution their official name has been Bharat, right from the beginning and never India so they must not feel embarrassed to follow their constitution.
• The English translation for Bharat has never been India so they have no right to play with the syntax of an international language.
• If they like antiquity then they should replace their country name by the oldest one viz ‘Jambu Dvipa'.
• The name "Hindustan" is purely a Persian word and the name "India" is purely its English version - and none of them has anything to do with Sanskrit at least - the suffix "stan" has always been used exclusively by Muslims as suffix with the names of Muslim countries, e.g. Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Turkistan, Daghistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and hence were used by Muslims as well their rulers in the case of India during the 1000 years Muslim rule.
• The same is the case of so many Provinces in Muslim countries and other regions: Balochistan, North Waziristan, South Waziristan, Baltistan, Tabristan Gharjistan, Khuzestan, Seistan, Arministan, Tatarstan, Norestan, Sajistan etc. Whereas both, the original name "Bharata" and its corruption the now "Bharat" have had its origin from Sanskrit.
• They have neither any share in, nor any regard for the river Sindh/Indus - rather they have been jealous and envious towards it, hence they have no right to get share and regard there from.
• Their own Hindu and the most sacred rivers have been ‘Brahmaputra' (son of Brahma in Sanskrit - or Yarlung Zangbo in Tibet) & her sons (viz derivative rivers; the Ganges and Yamunas; hence they should borrow a name there from, if they like their own rivers.
• Hindus have been 99% in Nepal but they have never claimed the name India, for they know that they or their creed have no connection whatsoever, with the India or Indian nativity - and they have been proud of their own nativity namely, ‘Nepalese' - which further cements the fact that Hindus, have nothing to do with the word India. (The End)

Similarity Between Hinduism And Islam

CORRECT UNDERSTANDING OF A RELIGION
a. Don't observe followers of a Religion. Refer to Authentic Sources of that Religion
Followers of major religions, whether it be Hinduism, Islam or Christianity, have divided themselves and their beliefs into various sects.
It is not appropriate for one to try to understand a religion by observing the followers of that religion. Most followers may themselves not be aware of the correct teachings of their religion. Thus, the best and the most appropriate method of understanding any religion is to understand the authentic sources of that religion, i.e. the sacred scriptures of that religion.
b. Authentic Sources of Islam.
Allah (swt), Almighty God, says in the Glorious Qur'an:
And hold fast, All together,
by the Rope Which Allah (stretches out for you),
and be not divided among yourselves.
(Al Qur'an 3:103)
The “rope of Allah refers” to the Glorious Qur'an. Allah (swt) says that Muslims should not be divided and that the only unifying factor is the authentic source of the religion of Islam i.e. the Glorious Qur'an.
Allah (swt) also says in the Glorious Qur'an in several places including Al Qur'an 4:59:
O ye who believe!
Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger.
(Al Qur'an 4:59)
To understand the Qur'an better we have to refer to the explanation of the Qur'an by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) on whom the Qur'an was revealed. Thus the best and the most appropriate method of understanding Islam is to understand the authentic sources of Islam which are the Glorious Qur'an, (the words of Almighty Allah) and the authentic Ahadith, (i.e. the sayings and traditions of Prophet Muhammad.
c. Authentic Sources of Hinduism
Similarly, the best and the most appropriate method of understanding Hinduism is to understand the authentic sources i.e. the sacred scriptures of Hinduism. The most sacred and authentic Scriptures of Hinduism are the Vedas, followed by the Upanishads, the Itihaas, Bhagvad Gita, Puranas, etc.
Let us understand these two major religions of the world, i.e. Islam and Hinduism, by studying and analyzing the authentic Scriptures of these two major religions of the world.
d. Emphasis on those Similarities, which are not commonly known.
In this work on ‘Similarities between Islam and Hinduism', we shall not lay emphasis on those similarities which are known by almost all the followers of both the religions e.g. a person should always speak the truth, he should not lie, he should not steal, he should be kind, he should not be cruel, etc. Instead, we shall consider those similarities, which are not commonly known by all the followers and hence are known only to those who are familiar with the contents of their sacred Scriptures.
INTRODUCTION OF ISLAM
1. Definition of Islam.
Islam is an Arabic word, which comes from the word ‘Salm' which means peace and from ‘Silm', which means submitting your will to Allah – the Almighty God.  In short Islam means peace acquired by submitting your will to Allah (swt).
The word Islam is mentioned in several places in the Qur'an and the Hadith including Surah Ali Imran, chapter 3, verse 19 and verse 85.
2. Definition of a Muslim
A Muslim is a person who submits his will to Allah – the Almighty God.
The word Muslim is mentioned several times in the Qur'an and Hadith including Surah Ali Imran Chapter 3 Verse 64 and Surah Fussilat Chapter 41 Verse 33.
3. A misconception about Islam
Many people have a misconception that Islam is a new religion that was formulated 1400 years ago, and that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was the founder of Islam. However, let me clarify that Islam is not the name of some unique religion presented for the first time by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who should, on that account be called the founder of Islam.
The Qur'an states that Islam – the complete submission of man before his one and only Unique Creator – is the one and only faith and way of life consistently revealed by God to humankind from the very beginning. Noah, Solomon, David, Abraham, Moses, Isaac and Jesus (peace be upon them all) – prophets who appeared at different times and places – all propagated the same faith and conveyed the same message of Tawheed (Oneness of God),Risaalat (Prophethood) and Aakhirah (the Hereafter). These prophets of God were not founders of different religions to be named after them. They were each reiterating the message and faith of their predecessors.
However, Muhammad (pbuh) was the last Prophet of God. God revived through him the same genuine faith which had been conveyed by all His Prophets. This original message was earlier corrupted and split into various religions by people of different ages, who indulged in interpolations and admixture. These alien elements were eliminated by God, and Islam – in its pure and original form – was transmitted to humankind through Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
Since there was to be no messenger after Muhammad (pbuh), the Book revealed to him (i.e. the Glorious Qur'an) was preserved word for word so that it should be a source of guidance for all times.
Thus the religion of all the prophets was ‘total submission to God's will' and one word for that in the Arabic language is ‘Islam'. Abraham and Jesus (peace be upon them) too were Muslims, as Allah testifies in Al-Qur'an 3:67 and 3:52 respectively.
INTRODUCTION OF HINDUISM
1. Definition of a Hindu
a. The word ‘Hindu' has geographical significance and was used originally to refer to those people who lived beyond the river Sindhu or the region watered by the river Indus.
b. Historians say that it was first used by the Persians who came to India through the North Western passes of the Himalayas. The word ‘Hindu' was also used by the Arabs.
c. This word ‘Hindu' is nowhere mentioned in Indian Literature or Hindu Scriptures before the advent of Muslims to India, according to the Encyclopedia of Religions and Ethics (6:690)
d. Jawaharlal Nehru, in his book ‘Discovery of India', writes on pg. 74-75, that the earliest reference to the word ‘Hindu' can be traced to a tantrik of the 8th Century C.E., where it means a people and not a follower of a particular religion. The use of the word ‘Hindu' in connection with a particular religion is of late occurrence.
e. In short the word ‘Hindu' is a geographical definition or term which is used to refer to people who live beyond the river Indus or in other words to those who live in India.
2. Definition of Hinduism
a. Hinduism has been derived from the word Hindu. According to the New Encyclopedia Britannica 20:581, Hinduism was a name given in English language in the Nineteenth Century by the English people to the multiplicity of the beliefs and faiths of the people of the Indus land. The British writers in 1830 gave the word Hinduism to be used as the common name for all the beliefs of the people of India excluding the Muslims and converted Christians.
b. According to the Hindu Scholars, Hinduism is a misnomer and the religion ‘Hinduism' should be either referred to as ‘Sanatana Dharma', which means eternal religion, or as Vedic Dharma, meaning religion of the Vedas. According to Swami Vivekananda, the followers of this religion are referred to as Vendantists.
In the next month's article in this series, we shall examine the articles of faith in Islam and compare them with the tenets of Hinduism as mentioned in the Hindu Scriptures. We shall also study and compare the concept of God in Islam and in Hinduism.
And all praises are for the One and Only God and Creator Allah, who alone is worthy of devotion, complete submission and worship.


ARTICLES OF FAITH (IMAAN) IN ISLAM & COMPARISON WITH TENETS PRESCRIBED BY HINDU SCRIPTURES
Almighty Allah says in the Glorious Qur'an
It is not righteousness
That ye turn your faces
Towards East or West;
But it is righteousness
To believe in Allah
And the Last Day,
And the Angels,
And the Book,
And the Messengers;
(Al Qur'an 2:177)
Sahih Muslim Vol. 1 Book of Imaan Chapter 2 Hadith 6.
It is reported in Sahih Muslim:
“… A man came to the Prophet and said ‘O Messenger of Allah, what is Imaan (faith)? He (the prophet) said: ‘That you affirm your faith in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Meeting, His Messengers and that you believe in the Resurrection i.e. Hereafter and that you believe in Qadr i.e. destiny'.
(Sahih Muslim Vol. 1, Book of Imaan, Chapter 2, Hadith 6)
Thus the six articles of faith of Islam are:
i)        Concept of God (The first article of faith in Islam is ‘Tawheed' i.e. belief in the one Unique Eternal Creator of all creation).
ii)       His angels
iii)      His books
iv)    His messengers
v)     The Hereafter i.e. Life after death and
vi)    Qadr i.e. destiny
Let's study what Hinduism says about these six articles.
Concept of God in Hinduism and in Islam
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.
a. 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.
b. 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.

1. Chandogya Upanishad Chapter 6 Section 2 verse 1

It is mentioned in the Chandogya Upanishad:
“Ekam Evadvitiyam”
“He is one only without a second.”
(Chandogya Upanishad 6:2:1)
(The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan pg. 447 & 448)
(Sacred Books of the East Volume 1, the Upanishads Part I Page 93)

1. Shwetashvatara Upanishad Chapter 6 verse 9

It is mentioned in the Shwetashvatara Upanishad
“Nacasya kascij janita na cadhipah”
“Of Him there are neither parents nor Lord.”
(Shwetashvatara Upanishad 6:9)
(The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan pg. 745)
(and in Sacred books of the East volume 15, the Upanishads Part II Page 263)

1. Shwetashvatara Upanishad Chapter 4 verse 19

It is mentioned in Shwetashvatara Upanishad
“Na tasya pratima asti”
“There is no likeness of Him”.
(Shwetashvatara Upanishad 4:19)
(The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan pg 736 & 737 )
(and in Sacred books of the East Volume 15, the Upanishads part II, Page no. 253)

1. Shwetashvatara Upanishad Chapter 4 verse 20

It is mentioned in Shwetashvatara Upanishad
“na samdrse tisthati rupam asya, na caksusa pasyati kas canainam”.
“His form cannot be seen, no one sees Him with the eye”.
(Shwetashvatara Upanishad 4:20)
(The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan pg. 737)
(And in Sacred books of the East Volume 15, the Upanishad part II, Page no. 253)
BHAGWAD GEETA 7:20
The most popular amongst all the Hindu Scriptures is the Bhagwad Geeta.
Bhagwad Geeta mentions
“Those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires worship demigods” that is “Those who are materialistic, they worship demigods” i.e. others as deities besides the True God.
(Bhagwad Geeta 7:20)
It is mentioned in Bhagavad Gita
“He who knows Me as the unborn, as the beginning-less, as the Supreme Lord of all the worlds…”
(Bhagwad Geeta 10:3)
YAJURVEDA
Vedas are the most sacred amongst all the Hindu Scriptures. There are principally 4 Vedas: Rig Ved, Yajur Ved, Sam Ved, and Atharva Ved.

1. Yajurveda Chapter 32, Verse 3

It is mentioned in Yajurveda
“na tasya pratima asti”
“There is no image of Him”
It further says, “as He is unborn, He deserves our worship”.
(Yajurveda 32:3)
(The Yajurveda by Devi Chand M.A. pg. 377)

1. Yajurveda Chapter 40 Verse 8

It is mentioned in Yajurveda Chapter 40 verse 8
“He is bodiless and pure”.
(Yajurveda 40:8)
(Yajurveda Samhita by Ralph I. H. Griffith pg. 538)

1. Yajurved Chapter 40 Verse 9

It is mentioned in Yajurved
“Andhatma pravishanti ye assambhuti mupaste”
“They enter darkness, those who worship natural things.”
E.g. worship of natural elements air, water, fire, etc.
(Yajurveda 40:9)
It further continues and says
“They sink deeper in darkness those who worship sambhuti i.e. created things”
E.g. created things such as table, chair, idols, etc.
(Yajurveda Samhita by Ralph T. H. Griffith pg. 538)
ATHARVA VEDA

1. Atharva Veda book 20 hymn (chapter) 58 verse 3

It is mentioned  in Atharva Veda
“Dev Maha Osi”
“God is Verily Great.”
(Atharva Veda 20:58:3)
(Atharvaveda Samhita Vol. 2, William Duright Whitney pg. 910)
RIGVEDA
The oldest and most sacred amongst all the Vedas is the Rigveda.
i.  Rigveda Book no. 1, Hymn No. 164, verse 46
It is mentioned in Rigveda Book no. 1, hymn No. 164 verse 46
“Ekam sat vipra bahudha vadanti”
“Sages (learned Priests) call one God by many names”.
(Rigveda 1:164:46)
Truth is one, God is one, sages call it by various names.
A similar message is given in Rigveda, Book 10, hymn 114, verse 5.
ii.  Rigveda Book 2 hymn 1
Rigveda gives no less than 33 different attributes to Almighty God. Several of these attributes are mentioned in Rigveda Book 2 hymn 1
a. Brahma  – Creator  – Khaliq – Rigveda Book 2 Hymn 1 Verse 3
Amongst the various attributes given in Rigveda , one of the beautiful attributes for Almighty God is ‘Brahma'. ‘Brahma' means ‘the Creator'. If you translate into Arabic it means ‘Khaliq'. Islam does not object to anyone calling Almighty God as ‘Khaliq' or ‘Creator' or ‘Brahma', but if someone says that ‘Brahma' i.e. Almighty God has got four heads and on each head is a crown and this Brahma has got four hands, Islam takes strong exception to it because such descriptions give an image to Almighty God. Such descriptions are also against what is propounded in Yajurveda Chapter 32, verse 3 which says:
“Na tasya pratima asti”
“There is no image of Him”.
(Yajurveda 32:3)

1. Vishnu – Sustainer – Rabb : Rigveda Book 2, Hymn 1, verse 3

Another beautiful attribute mentioned in the Rigveda Book 2, Hymn 1, Verse 3 is Vishnu. ‘Vishnu' means ‘the Sustainer'.  If you translate this word into Arabic it means ‘Rabb'. Islam has no objection if anyone calls Almighty God as ‘Rabb' or ‘Sustainer' or ‘Vishnu', but if someone says that Vishnu is Almighty God and this Vishnu has four arms, one of the right arms holds the ‘chakra' i.e. a discus and one of the left arms holds a ‘conch shell' and Vishnu rides on a bird or reclines on a snake couch, then Islam takes strong exception to this, because such descriptions of Vishnu give an image to Almighty God. Such descriptions are also against what is taught in Yajurveda Chapter 40 verse 8.
iii. Rigveda Book 8 hymn 1 verse 1
It is mentioned in Rigveda
“Ma Chidanyadvi Shansata”
“Do not worship anybody but Him, the Divine One, Praise Him alone”
(Rigveda 8:1:1)
(Rigveda Samhiti Vol. IX, pg. 1 & 2 by Swami Satyaprakash Sarasvati & Satyakam Vidhya Lankar)

1. Rigveda Book 5 Hymn 81 verse 1

It is mentioned in Rigveda
“Verily great is the glory of the Divine Creator”
(Rigveda 5:81:1)
(Rigveda Samhiti Vol. 6, pg 1802 & 1803 by Swami Satyaprakash Sarasvati & Satyakam Vidhya Lanka)

1. Rigveda Book no. VI, Hymn 45, verse 16

It is mentioned in Rigveda
“Ya Eka Ittamushtuhi”
“Praise Him who is the matchless & alone”.
(Rigveda 6:45:16)
(Hymns of Rigveda by Ralph T. H. Griffith pg. 648)
BRAHMA SUTRA OF HINDU VEDANTA
The 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.


CONCEPT OF GOD IN ISLAM
The Qur'an too propounds monotheism. So you will find similarities between Hinduism and Islam even in the concept of God.
a. SURAH IKHLAS WITH EXPLANATION
(i) Translation
As 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 none
Like 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 Theology
Surah 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.
b. Is Bhagwan Rajneesh God ?
Some people say that Bhagwan Rajneesh or Osho Rajneesh is Almighty God. Please note my words, I have stated that some people say that Bhagwan Rajneesh is Almighty God. Once during a question-answer session there was a Hindu gentleman who misunderstood my statement. He said that Hindus do not worship Rajneesh as God. I am aware that Hinduism does not consider Rajneesh to be God. Rajneesh has followers, who are converts to his philosophy / ideology, but who were originally followers of various different religions.
Let us put this candidate Bhagwan Rajneesh to the test of Divinity as prescribed by Surah Ikhlaas, the touchstone of Divinity.
(i) The First Criterion is ‘Qul hu Allah hu ahad' –‘say, He is Allah one and only'. Is Rajneesh one and only? We know several such fake god-men and claimants of divinity amongst humans. Several are found in our country, India. Rajneesh is surely not one and only. Not as a human and not even as a human claimant to godhood. However, some disciples of Rajneesh may still state that Rajneesh is unique and that he is one and only.
(ii) Let us analyse the second criterion ‘Allah hus samad'– ‘Allah the Absolute & ‘Eternal'. Is Rajneesh absolute and eternal? We know from his biography that he was suffering from diabetes, asthama, and chronic backache. He alleged that the U.S.A. government gave him slow poisoning while he was in their jail. Imagine! Almighty God being poisoned! Moreover, all are aware that Rajneesh died and was cremated / buried. So Rajneesh was neither eternal, nor absolute
(iii) The third Criteria is ‘Lam ya lid wa lam yu lad' – ‘He begets not, nor is begotten'. However, Rajneesh was begotten. He was born in Jabalpur in India. Like all humans, he too had a mother and a father. They later on become his disciples.
Rajneesh was a very intelligent person. In May 1981 he went to U.S.A. He established a town in Oregon and named it ‘Rajneeshpuram'. It seems that he took America for a ride for the U.S. government arrested him and later deported him out of America in 1985. So Rajneesh returned to India and started a ‘Rajneesh Neosanyas commune in Pune in India which was later renamed the ‘Osho commune'.
If you visit this ‘Osho commune' in Pune you will find it written on his tombstone, “Osho – never born, never died, only visited the planet earth between 11th Dec. 1931 to 19th Jan 1990”. They conveniently forget to mention on this tombstone that Rajneesh was not given a visa for 21 different countries of the world. Imagine Almighty God visiting the earth and requiring a visa! The Arch Bishop of Greece had said that if Rajneesh was not deported they would burn his house and those of his disciples.
(iv) The fourth test is so stringent that none besides the One True God, Allah (swt), can pass it. ‘Wa lam ya kullahu kufuwan ahad' which means, ‘there is none like Him'. The moment you can imagine or compare the candidate or claimant to godhood to anything, this candidate is not god. Neither can you have a mental picture of God.
We know that Rajneesh was a human being. He had one head, two hands, two feet, and a white flowing beard. The moment you can think or imagine what the claimant to godhood is, he or she is not god.
Suppose someone says, “God is a thousand times as strong as Arnold Schwarzenegger”. Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of the strongest men on earth. He was given the title ‘Mr. Universe' in (the year). The moment you can compare Almighty God to anything, whether it is a 1000 times stronger or a million times stronger, whether it be Darasingh or Kingkong, the moment you can compare the claimant to godhood to anything, he is not God. ‘Wa lam ya kul lahu kufwan ahad' ‘there is none like Him.'
c. ATTRIBUTES OF GOD
To Allah belong the most beautiful names:
(i) The Qur'an mentions in Surah Isra Chapter 17 Verse 110:
Say: “Call upon Allah, or
Call upon Rahman;
By whatever name ye call
Upon Him, (it is well):
For to Him belong
The Most Beautiful Names
(Al Qur'an 17:110)
You can call Allah by any name but that name should be beautiful and should not conjure up a mental picture. The Qur'an gives no less than 99 different attributes to Almighty God. Some of these are Ar-Rahman, Ar-Raheem, Al-Hakeem; Most Gracious, Most Merciful and All Wise. 99 different names / attributes and the crowning one, the hundredth one is Allah. The Qur'an repeats this message that to Allah belong the most beautiful names in:
(i) Surah Al Aaraf Chapter 7 Verse 180
(ii) In Surah Taha Chapter 20 Verse 8
(iii) In Surah Al Hashr Chapter 59 Verse 23 & 24
d. NAME ALLAH PREFERED TO THE WORD ‘GOD'
The Muslims prefer calling Allah (swt) with His Name Allah, instead of the English word ‘God'. The Arabic word Allah is pure and unique, unlike the English word God which can be played around with.
If you add ‘s' to God, it becomes ‘gods' that is plural of God. Allah is one and singular, there is no plural of Allah. If you add ‘dess' to God, it becomes ‘goddess' that is a female God. There is nothing like male Allah or female Allah. Allah has no gender. If you add father to God, it becomes ‘godfather'. “He is my Godfather” means that “he is my guardian”. There is nothing like Allah Abba or Allah father in Islam. If you add mother to God it becomes ‘godmother, there is nothing like Allah Ammi or Allah Mother in Islam. If you put tin before God, it becomes tin god i.e. a fake God, there is nothing like-tin Allah or fake Allah in Islam. Allah is a unique word, which does not conjure up any mental picture nor can it be played around with. Hence, the Muslims prefer the name Allah when referring to the Almighty Creator. But sometimes while speaking to non-Muslims we may have to use the inappropriate word God for Allah.
Allah is mentioned by Name in Hindu Scriptures
The Word “Allah”, which refers to Almighty God in Arabic, is also mentioned in
Rigveda Book 2 hymn 1 verse 11
Rigveda Book 3 hymn 30 verse 10
Rigveda Book 9 hymn 67 verse 30
There is an Upanishad by the name ALO Upanishad.
IIA. THE CONCEPT OF GOD IN ISLAM
We had earlier stated that as per Islam the best and the most concise definition of God is as 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 none
Like unto Him.
(Al Qur'an 112:1-4)
i. Similar Verses in Hindu Scriptues
There are several passages in the Hindu Scriptures, which have the same or similar meaning as Surah Ikhlas.
1. Say: He is Allah, The One and Only.
(Al Qur'an 112:1)
It has a meaning which is very similar to:
“Ekam Evadvitiyam”
“He is only one without a second.”
(Chandogya Upanishad 6:2:1)
2. Allah, the Eternal, Absolute.
He begetteth not,
Nor is He begotten;
(Al Qur'an 112:2-3)
It has similar meaning as:
“He who knows Me as the unborn, as the beginning-less, as the Supreme Lord of all the Worlds.”
(Bhagvad Gita 10:3)
and “Of (check – or For Him?) Him there is neither parents nor Lord.”
(Shwetashvatara Upanishad 6:9)
3. And there is none
Like unto Him.
(Al Qur'an 112:4)
A similar message is given in Shwetashvatara Upanishad & Yajurveda:
“Na Tasya pratima asti”
“There is no likeness of Him.”
(Shwetashvatara Upanishad 4:19 & Yajurveda 32:3)
Remember, the 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”
Concept of Angels in Hinduism and in Islam
We shall now examine the belief in angels of God in these two major religions and study if there are similarities.
1. Angels in Islam

Angels are a creation of Allah (swt). They have been created from light and are normally unseen. They do not have a free will of their own and hence they always obey the commandments of Almighty Allah. Due to the absence of free will they cannot disobey God. Different angels have been appointed by Almighty Allah for different activities. For example, Archangel Gabriel (Jibreel) was appointed to convey the revelation of Allah (swt) to the prophets of Allah.
Since angels are a creation of God, and not God, Muslims do not worship angels.
2. Angels in Hinduism

There is no concept of angels in Hinduism. However Hindus believe that there are certain super-beings, which perform acts, which cannot be done by normal human beings. These super-beings too are worshipped as deities by some Hindus.
CONCEPT OF REVELATION IN HINDUISM AND IN ISLAM
Let us now study what the Hindu and Islamic scriptures state regarding God's revelations or books revealed by God for the guidance of humans:
(i) Concept of Revelation in Islam

1. Allah (swt) has sent a revelation in every age.
Allah (swt) says in the Qur'an:
“For each period
Is a Book (revealed)
(Al Qur'an 13:38)
2. Four Revelations mentioned by name in the Qur'an:
There are several revelations sent by Allah (swt) in different ages for the guidance of human beings of the respective ages. Only four revelations are mentioned by name in the Qur'an: these are the. Torah, Zabur, Injeel and the Qur'an.
Torah is the Wahi, the revelation which was revealed to Prophet Moses (pbuh).
Zabur is the Wahi, the revelation which was revealed to Prophet David (pbuh)
Injeel is the Wahi, the revelation which was revealed to Prophet Jesus (pbuh) and
The Qur'an is the last and final Wahi, the final revelation, which was revealed to the Last and Final Messenger Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
3. All previous revelations were only meant for a particular group of people and for a particular time period.
Each of the revelations, prior to the revelation of the Glorious Qur'an, was meant only for a particular period and for a particular group of people.
4. The Qur'an was revealed for whole of Humankind
Since the Qur'an was the last and final revelation of Almighty Allah, it was revealed not only for the Muslims or the Arabs but it was revealed for whole of Humankind. Further, the Qur'an was not revealed only for the era of the Prophet but it was revealed for the all of Humankind until the Last Day.
a. Allah (swt) says in the Qur'an:
Alif Ram Ra. A Book
Which We have revealed
Unto thee, in order that
Thou mightest lead mankind
Out of the depths of darkness
Into light – by the leave
Of their Lord – to the way
Of (Him) the Exalted in Power,
Worthy of all Praise!
(Al Qur'an 14:1)
b. Here is a Message for mankind;
Let them take warning therefrom,
And let them know that He
Is (no other than) One God:
Let men of understanding
Take heed
(Al Qur'an 14:52)
c. Ramadan is the (month)
In which was sent down
The Qur'an, as a guide
To mankind, also clear (Signs)
For Guidance and Judgement
(Between right and wrong)
(Al Qur'an 2:185)
d. Verily We have revealed
The Book to thee
In truth, for (instructing) mankind
(Al Qur'an 39:41)
Al Qur'an is God's Word. It is the most sacred scripture of Islam. It is the Last and Final Revelation of Almighty God which was revealed in the sixth century of the English Calendar to the last and final messenger Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
5. The Qur'an is mentioned in the previous scriptures and in scriptures of other religions
It is mentioned in the Qur'an:
Without doubt it is (announced)
In the revealed Books
Of former peoples.
(Al Qur'an 26:196)
The mention of the Glorious Qur'an, this last and final Revelation of Almighty God, is made in all the previous scriptures and in the scriptures of various religions.
6. Hadith
The other sacred scripture of Islam besides the Qur'an are the hadith i.e. the sayings and traditions of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). These hadith are supplementary to the Glorious Qur'an. They do not and cannot overrule the teachings of the Qur'an nor will they contradict the Qur'an.
(ii) BOOKS OF HINDUISM
INTRODUCTION
There are two kinds of sacred writings in Hinduism: Sruti and Smrti.
Sruti means that which has been heard, perceived, understood or revealed. It is the oldest and the most sacred of the Hindu's Scriptures. The Sruti is divided into two main parts: the Vedas and the Upanishads and these two are considered to be of divine origin.
Smrti is not as sacred as the sruti. Yet it is considered to be important and is popular with the Hindus today. Smrti means memory or remembered. This Hindu literature is easier to understand because it speaks about the truths of the Universe through Symbolism and Mythology. The smrti are not considered to be of divine origin but are accepted as human composition. The Smrti lists rules governing the actions of the individual, the community and the society, which regulate and guide individuals in their daily conduct. They are also known as Dharma Shastra. Smrtis consist of many writings including the Puranas and Itihaas.
There are several Holy Scriptures of the Hindus; among them are the Vedas, Upanishads and the Puranas.
1. VEDAS
i) The word ‘Veda' is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘vid', which means to know. The word ‘Veda' therefore, means knowledge par excellence or sacred wisdom. There are four principal divisions of the Vedas. (Although according to their number, they amount to 1131 out of which about a dozen are available. According to MahaBhasya of Patanjali, there are 21 branches of Rig Veda, 9 types of Atharva Veda, 101 branches of Yajur Veda and 1000 of Sam Veda)
ii) The Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda and the Sam Veda are considered to be more ancient books and are known as ‘Trai Viddya' or the ‘Triple Sciences'. The Rig Veda is the oldest and has been compiled in three long and different periods of time. The 4th Veda is the Atharva Veda, which is of a later date.
Rigveda is mainly composed of songs of praise.
Yajurveda deals sacrificial formula.
Samveda refers to melody.
Atharva Veda has a large number of magic formulas.
iii) There is no unanimous opinion regarding the date of compilation or revelation of the four Vedas. According to Swami Dayanand, who was the founder of the Arya Samaj, the Vedas were revealed 1310 millions of years ago and according to other scholars they are not more than 4000 years old.
iv) Similarly there is a difference of opinion regarding the places where these books were revealed and the Rishis to whom these Scriptures were given. In spite of these differences, the Vedas are considered the most authentic of the Hindu Scriptures and the real foundations of the Hindu Dharma.
2. UPANISHADS
i) The word ‘Upanishad' is derived from ‘Upa' meaning ‘near', ‘ni' which means ‘down' and ‘shad' means ‘to sit'. Therefore Upanishads means sitting down near. Groups of pupils sit near the teacher to learn from him the sacred doctrines.
According to Samkara, Upanishad is derived from the root word ‘sad' which means ‘to loosen', ‘to reach' or ‘to destroy', with ‘upa' and ‘ni' as prefix. Therefore Upanishad means ‘Brahma knowledge' by which ignorance is loosened or destroyed.
The number of Upanishads exceeds 200 though the Indian tradition puts it at 108. There are 10 principal Upanishads however some consider them to be more than 10, while others state that there are 18.
ii) The Vedanta meant originally the Upanishads, though the word is now used for the system of philosophy based on the Upanishad. Literally, Vedanta means the end of the Veda, Vedasya-antah, the conclusion as well as the goal of Vedas. The Upanishads are the concluding portions of the Vedas and chronologically they come at the end of the Vedic period.
iii) Some Pundits consider the Upanishad to be superior to the Vedas.
3. ITIHAS – EPIC
There are two Itihas or epics namely the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.
i) Ramayana
Ramayana is an epic, which deals with the life story of Rama. Most Hindus are aware of the story of the Ramayana.
ii) Mahabharata
Mahabharata is another great epic, which speaks about the feud between the cousins: the Pandavas and the Kauravas. It also contains the life story of Krishna. The story of this epic, the Mahabharata, is also commonly known to most Hindus.
4. BHAGVAD GITA

Bhagvad Gita is the most popular and well known amongst all the Hindu scriptures. It is a part of the epic Mahabharata and contains 18 Chapters in Bhishma Parva Chapters 25 to 42. It contains the advice given by Krishna, in the battlefield, to Arjun.
5. PURANAS

Next in order of authenticity are the Puranas, which are the most widely read scripture. The word ‘Puranas' means ‘ancient' The Puranas contain the History of the Creation of the Universe, history of the early Aryan Tribes and life stories of the divines and deities of the Hindus. The Puranas are revealed books like the Vedas, which were revealed simultaneously with the Vedas or at sometime close to the revelation of the Vedas
Maharishi Vyasa has divided the Puranas into 18 voluminous parts. Chief among the Puranas is a book known as Bhavishya Purana. It is called so because it gives prophecies of future events. The Hindus consider the Bhavishya Purana to be the word of God. Maharishi Vyasa is considered a mere compiler of the book the real author being God.
6. OTHER SCRIPTURES

There are several other Hindu Scriptures like Manu Smriti etc.
7. MOST AUTHENTIC HINDU SCRIPTURES ARE THE VEDAS
Amongst all the Hindu Scriptures, the Vedas are considered the most authentic. No other Hindu Scriptures overrule the Vedas. If there is a contradiction between the Vedas and any other Hindu scripture, the opinion of the Veda will prevail, according to Hindu Scholars.
Thus we have examined and highlighted similarities between the concept of angels and revelation in Islam and in Hinduism as mentioned in their respective scriptures. In subsequent articles in the present series, we shall study the similarities between the concept of prophethood, life after death, fate & destiny and worship in Islam and in Hinduism.
And all praises are for the One and Only God and Creator Allah, who alone is worthy of devotion, complete submission and worship
THE CONCEPT OF LIFE AFTER DEATH IN HINDUISM AND IN ISLAM
LIFE AFTER DEATH IN HINDUISM:
1.    Concept of rebirth in Hinduism – Reincarnation or Transmigration of the Souls
Most of the Hindus believe in the cycle of birth, death and rebirth, which is called ‘Samsara'.
‘Samsara' or the doctrine of rebirth is also known as the theory of reincarnation or of transmigration of the soul. This doctrine is considered to be a basic tenet of Hinduism. According to doctrine of rebirth, differences between individuals, even at the time of their birth are due to their past karma i.e. actions done in the past birth. For example if one child is born healthy while another is handicapped or blind, the differences are attributed to their deeds in their previous lives. Those who believe in this theory reason that since all actions may not bear fruit in this life, there has to be another life for facing or reaping the consequences of one's actions.
a)     It is mentioned in the Bhagvad Gita
“As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless.”
(Bhagvad Gita 2:22)
b)     The Doctrine of Re-birth is also described in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad:
“As a Caterpillar which has wriggled to the top of a blade of grass draws itself over to a new blade, so does the soul, after it has put aside its body draws itself over to a new existence. (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad  4:4:3)
2.    Karma – The law of Cause and Effect:
Karma means act, deed, action or activity and refers not only to action undertaken by the body but also to those undertaken by the mind. Karma is actually action and reaction or the law of cause and effect. It is explained by the saying, “As we sow, so shall we reap”. A farmer cannot sow wheat and expect rice to grow. Similarly, every good thought, word or deed begets a similar reaction which affects our next life and every unkind thought, harsh word and evil deed comes back to harm us in this life or in the next life.
3.    Dharma – Righteous Duties:
Dharma means what is right or righteous duties. This includes what is right for the individual, family, the class or caste and also for the universe itself. In order to achieve good karma, life should be lived according to Dharma, otherwise it will result in bad karma. Dharma affects both, the present life and the future as well.
4.    Moksha – Liberation from the Cycle of Rebirth:
Moksha means liberation from the cycle of rebirth or of ‘Samsara'. The ultimate aim of every Hindu is that one day the cycle of rebirth will be over and he will not have to be reborn again. This can only happen if there is no karma to cause an individual to be reborn i.e. it looses its good and bad karma.
5.    Rebirth is not mentioned in the Vedas:
The important point worth noting is that the doctrine of rebirth is not postulated, propounded nor even mentioned anywhere in what are considered to be the most authentic Hindu scriptures i.e. the Vedas. The Vedas make no mention of the entire concept of transmigration of souls.
6.    Punarjanam does not mean cycle of rebirth but means Life after Death:
The Common word used for the doctrine of rebirth is ‘Punarjanam'. In Sanskrit ‘Punar' or ‘Puna', means, 'next time' or ‘again' and ‘Janam' means ‘life'. Therefore ‘Punarjanam' means ‘next life' or ‘the life hereafter'. It does not mean coming to life on earth again and again as a living creature.
If one reads many of the references to Punarjanam in Hindu Scriptures besides the Vedas, keeping the life in the hereafter in mind, one gets the concept of the next life but not of rebirths or of life again and again. This is true for several quotations of the Bhagvad Gita and Upanishad which speak of Punarjanam.
This concept of repeated births or of cycle of rebirth was developed after the Vedic period. This doctrine was included by humans in subsequent Hindu scriptures including the Upanishad, Bhagvad Gita and the Puranas in a conscious attempt to rationalize and explain the differences between different individuals at birth and the different circumstances in which people find themselves in, with the concept that Almighty God is not unjust. So to say that since God is not unjust the inequalities and differences between people are due to their deeds in their past lives.
Islam has a rational answer to this which we shall discuss later InshaAllah.
7.     Life after Death in the Vedas:
There is reference to life after death in the Vedas. It is mentioned in:

1. Rigved Book no. 10, Hymn no. 16 verse no. 4

“The unborn portion, burn that, AGNI, with thy heat; let thy flame, thy splendour, consume it; with those glorious members which thou hast given him, JATAVEDAS, bear him to the world (of the virtuous)”
(Rigved 10:16:4)
The Sanskrit word ‘Sukritam u Lokam' means ‘the word of the virtuous or region of the pious, referring to the hereafter. The next verse i.e.

1. Rigveda Book 10 hymn 16 verse 5 says:

“… Putting on (Celestial) life, let the remains (of bodily like) depart: let him, JATAVEDAS be associated with a body.”
(Rigveda 10:16:5)
This verse too refers to a second life i.e. life after death.
8.    Paradise – Swarga in the Vedas:
‘Swarg' i.e. Paradise, is described in several places in the Vedas including.:

1. Atharva Veda Book 4 hymn 34 verse 6 (Devichand)

“May all these streams of butter, with their banks of honey, flowing with distilled water, and milk and curds and water reach thee in domestic life enhancing thy pleasure. May thou acquire completely these things strengthening the soul in diverse ways.”
(Atharva Veda 4:34:6)
Atharva Veda Book 4 hymn 34 verse 6 (Ved Pra.)

1. “Having pools of clarified butter, stocks of sweet honey, and having exhilarating drinks for water, full of milk and curds, may all these streams flow to us in the world of happiness swelling sweetly. May our lakes full of lotuses be situated near us.”

(Atharva Veda 4:34:6)

1. It is mentioned in Atharvaveda

(Atharva Veda 4:34:2)
c)      It is mentioned in Atharvaveda:
May the realised ones, first of all, take the vital breath under their control from the limbs in which it has been circulating. Go to heaven stay firm with all the parts of your body. Attain the world of light and emancipation, following the path of the enlightened ones (your predecessors)”.
(Atharva Veda 2:34:5)
d)     It is mentioned in Atharavaveda
“O both of you, start to accomplish it, make determined effort to accomplish it. Those having unflinching faith attain this abode of happiness. Whatever ripe offerings you have made in fire of sacrifice, may both, the husband and wife, stand united to guard them with care.
(Atharva Veda 6:122:5)
e)     It is mentioned in the Rigveda:
“O Aila, the loud-sounding clouds, these divines say to you, since you are indeed subject to death, let your progeny propitiate your revered cosmic forces with oblations, then alone you shall rejoice (with me) in heaven”
(Rigveda 10:95:18)
9. Hell – ‘Nark' in the Vedas
‘Nark' or ‘Hell' is also described in the Vedas and the Sanskrit word used is ‘Narakasthanam'.
It is also mentioned in Rigveda:
“May the bounteous fire divine, consume them with his fiercely glowing sharp jaws like flames, who disregard the commandments and steadfast laws of most venerable and sagacious Lord.
(Rigveda 4:5:4)
LIFE AFTER DEATH – THE HEREAFTER
LIFE AFTER DEATH IN ISLAM
1.      Live once in this world and then be resurrected in the Hereafter
It is mentioned in the Qur'an
How can ye reject the faith in Allah?
Seeing that ye were without life,
And He gave you life; Then will He cause you to die,
and will He again bring you to life; And again to Him will ye return.
(Al Qur'an 2:28)
Islam states that a human being comes into this world only once, and after he dies, he is again resurrected on the day of judgement. Depending on his deeds he will either dwell in heaven i.e. Paradise or he will dwell in hell.
2.   This Life is a test for the hereafter
It is mentioned in the Qur'an
He who created Death and Life,
that He may try which of you is best in deed;
And He is the exalted in Might, oft- forgiving
(Al Qur'an 67:2)
This life that we lead in this world is a test for the hereafter. If we follow the commandments of the Almighty Creator and we pass the test, we shall enter Paradise i.e., which is Eternal Bliss. If we do not follow the commandments of our creator and fail the test then we shall be put into hell.
3.      Full Recompense on the Day of Judgement:
It is mentioned in the Qur'an
Every soul shall have a test of death.
And only on the Day of Judgment shall
you be paid your full recompense.
Only he who is saved far from the fire and admitted to the Garden
will have attained the object (of life).
For the life of this world is but goods and chattels of deception.
(Al Qur'an 3:185)
4. Paradise – Al Jannah

1. Al-Jannah i.e. paradise is a place of perpetual bliss. In Arabic, ‘jannat' literally means ‘the Garden'. The Qur'an describes paradise in great detail, such as gardens underneath which rivers run. It contains rivers of milk unchanging in flavour and rivers of purified honey. In paradise is fruit of every kind. No fatigue shall be felt in paradise neither shall there be any idle talk. There shall be no cause of sin, difficulty, anxiety, trouble or hardship. Paradise shall thus have peace and bliss.

1. Paradise is described in several verses of the Qur'an including:
2. Surah Ale Imran Chapter 3 verse 15
3. Surah Ale Imran Chapter 3 verse 198
4. Surah Al-Nisa Chapter 4 verse 57
5. Surah Al Maidah Chapter 5 verse 119
6. Surah At-Taubah Chapter 9 verse 72
7. Surah Al-Hajr Chapter 15 verses 45-48
8. Surah Al-Kahf Chapter 18 verse 31
9. Surah Al-Hajj Chapter 22 verse 23
10. Surah Al-Fatir Chapter 35 verses 33-35
11. Surah Yasin Chapter 36 verses 55-58
12. Surah Al-Saffat Chapter 37 verses 41-49
13. Surah Al-Zukhruf Chapter 43 verses 68-73
14. Surah Al-Dukhan Chapter 44 verses 51-57
15. Surah Muhammad Chapter 47 verse 15
16. Surah Al-Tur Chapter 52 verses 17-24
17. Surah Al-Rahman Chapter 55 verses 46-77
18. Surah Al-Waqiah Chapter 56 verses 11-38

5. Hell – Jahannam
Hell is a place of torment where evil-doers undergo the most terrible pain and suffering caused by being burnt by hellfire, a fire whose fuel is men and stones. Further, the Qur'an states that as many times as their skins are burnt, the residents of hell shall be given fresh skin so that they feel the pain. Hell is described in several verses of the Qur'an including:
Surah Al-Baqarah Chapter 2 Verse 24
Surah Al-Nisa Chapter 4 Verse 56
Surah Ibrahim Chapter 14 Verses 16,17
Surah Al-Hajj Chapter 22 Verses 19-22
Surah Al-Fatir Chapter 35 Verses 36,37
6. Logical Concepts for differences in different Individuals

1. In Hinduism, the differences in two individuals at birth is explained by stating past karma i.e. actions of the previous life, as the cause of the differences. There is no scientific or logical proof or evidence of the cycle of rebirths.

How does Islam explain these differences? The Islamic explanation for these differences in different individual is given in Surah Mulk:
‘He who created death and life,
that He may try which of you is best in Deed;
And He is the Exalted in Might; oft-forgiving.
(Al Qur'an 67:2)
This life that we live is the test for the hereafter.
THE CONCEPT OF FATE & DESTINY IN HINDUISM & IN ISLAM
DESTINY
1.   Concept of Destiny – Qadr in Islam
‘Qadr' is the concept of Destiny. Certain aspects of human life are predestined by our Creator Almighty Allah. For example, where and when will a person be born, the surroundings and conditions in which he will be born, how long will he live and where and when he will die. These are predetermined by the Creator.
2.      Concept of Destiny in Hinduism
Concept of Destiny in Hinduism is somewhat similar to that of Islam
3.      Present Conditions are a test
There are several verses in the Qur'an which clearly specify that our Creator Almighty Allah tests us in several different ways
It is mentioned in the Qur'an:
“Do men think that they will be
left alone on saying, “we believe”,
And that they will not be tested?”
(Al Qur'an 29:2)
“Or do ye think that ye shall enter the Garden (of Bliss)
without such (trials) as came to those who passed away before you?
They encountered suffering and adversity, and were shaken in spirit that
even The Messenger and those of faith who were with him cried:
“When (will come) the help of Allah?”
Ah! Verily, the help Of Allah is (always) near!
(Al Qur'an 2:214)
“Every soul shall have a taste of death
And we test you by evil and by good by way of trial –
to Us must ye return.”
(Al Qur'an 21:35)
“Be sure we shall test you with something of fear and hunger,
some loss in goods or lives, or the fruits (of your toil),
but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere.”
(Al Qur'an 2:155)
And know ye that your possessions
And your progeny, are but a trial
And that it is Allah with whom lies
Your highest reward.
(Al Qur'an 8:28)
4.      Judgement will be based on the facility provided
Each human being undergoes a test in this world. The test an individual undergoes differs from person to person, depending upon the comforts and the conditions in which Allah puts an individual. He passes His judgement accordingly. For example if a teacher sets a difficult examination paper, the correction is usually lenient. On the other hand if the teacher sets an easy examination paper, the correction is strict.
Similarly some human beings are born in rich families while some others are born in poor families. Islam instructs every rich Muslim, who has a saving of more than the Nisaab level, i.e. 85 gms of Gold, to give 2.5% of his excess wealth in obligatory charity every lunar year. This called the system of ‘Zakaah' in Islam. Some rich persons may be giving the minimum required charity; some may be giving less than what is required while others may not be giving at all. Thus for a rich man, he may get full marks in Zakat i.e. charity, some may get less, some may get nil. On the other hand, a poor person who has a saving of less than 85 gms of gold gets full marks in Zakat, because he does not have to give this compulsory charity.  Any normal human being would like to be rich and not poor. Some may appreciate the rich people and sympathise with the poor, not knowing that the same wealth may take that person to hell if he does not give charity and due to this wealth falls prey to temptations of character, while poverty for the poor man may be an easy path to paradise if he follows the other commandments of Almighty God. The converse may be true. A wealthy man may earn paradise by his philanthropy and humility, while a poor person who covets luxuries and hence resorts to unfair means to get them may be in trouble on the Day of Judgement.
5.      Children born with congenital defects are a test for their parents
Some children are born healthy while others are born handicapped or with a congenital defect. Irrespective of whether a child is born healthy or handicap, in Islam he is Masoom i.e. sinless. There is no question of the child being handicapped due to a carried forward baggage of past sins from ‘a previous life'. Such a belief will not inculcate a charitable attitude in others. Others might say that the child deserves his birth defects or the handicap since it is a result of his ‘bad karma'.
Islam states that such handicaps are a type of test for the parent whether they are yet thankful towards their Creator or not. Do they retain their patience? Do they continue to persevere?
There is a famous saying that a person was sad because he had no shoes to wear until he saw a person who had no feet.
It is mentioned in the Qur'an:
And know ye that your possessions
And your progeny, are but a trial
And that it is Allah with whom lies
Your highest reward.
(Al Qur'an 8:28)
Allah (swt) may be testing the parents whether they yet are thankful to their Creator or not. May be the parents are righteous and pious and deserve Jannah. If Allah wants to give them a higher place in Jannah, He will test them further, e.g. by giving a handicap child. Yet if they are thankful to their Creator, they will deserve a higher reward i.e. the Jannatul Firdous.
There is a general rule that the more difficult the test, higher the reward. To pass graduation in Arts and Commerce is relatively easy and if you pass you are called as a graduate without any special title but if you graduate in the field of medicine which is comparatively a much more difficult examination, besides becoming a graduate you are also called as a doctor and the title Dr. is put in front of your name.
In the same way Allah (swt) tests, different people in different ways, some with health, some with disease, some with wealth, some with poverty, some with more intelligence, some with less, and depending upon the facility He gives the individual, He tests accordingly.
Thus the main reason for the differences in the human being is that this life is a test for the hereafter. Life after death is mentioned in the Qur'an as well as the Vedas.
Individual differences are not due to transmigration of souls or ‘Samsara', These beliefs were added on in subsequent scriptures like the Upanishad, Bhagvad Gita and the Puranas. The repetitive cycle of birth and death, birth and death, was unknown and unheard of in the Vedic period.
English translation of verses of the Glorious Qur'an is taken from Abdullah Yusuf Ali
In the subsequent articles in the present series, we shall InshaAllah study the similarities between the concept of worship and between other teachings in Islam and in Hinduism.
And all praises are for the One and Only God and Creator Allah, who alone is worthy of devotion, complete submission and worship.
I M  thankful to Dr. Zakir  Nayak who is the real author of the whole preview