My reply:
I assume this question is asked by a Hindu who does not quite know what Islam (and also Christianity) claim:
Both claim that the Supreme Being (called Allah in Islam and God in Christianity) has revealed the full truth only to one person – in the case of Islam to Prophet Mohammed and in the case of Christianity to his son Jesus.
This truth is contained in the Quran in the case of Islam, and in the Bible in the case of Christianity.
So this is the reason that Christianity claims that all must become Christians to be saved and Islam claims that all must become Muslims to avoid burning in hell for ever.
So where do Hindus stand? Naturally those who believe in either of the two religions, and Zakir Naik is assumed to believe in Islam, consider Hindus believing the wrong thing and need to be converted or if they refuse, can even be killed without incurring sin.
This makes basically every pious Muslim or Christian anti-Hindu. Naturally they cannot respect Hindu belief, if they believe that it is plain wrong.
Now the important question is: on what basis do Muslims claim that only Quran contains the full truth and Christians that only the Bible contains the full truth? Well, there is no solid basis, but it is an assumption which however over centuries, many people came to believe to be true – no doubt many of them were forced to convert.
Since there is no basis, Islam and Christianity also cannot come to a conclusion which one of the two is true, and though they co-existed for some 1400 years, they both still make the same claim of ‘the only truth’.
It is difficult to understand why Hindus do not put forth their view of the one truth, which is revealed in the Vedas. It is the most ancient, original revelation of what is true and is not based on mere assumption, but on deep insight and on experience of the Rishis.
Is it possible that the most ancient revelation is closer to the truth than those which came only recently?
Yes it is. Let’s find out.
Unfortunately, this call for a genuine enquiry into truth will not find takers among the Muslim and Christian clergy. They prefer to claim: This and only this is the truth. It is the responsibility of Hindus to clear the air regarding what is true. They know most about it.
By Maria Wirth
https://mariawirthblog.wpcomstaging.com/2016/07/18/a-reply-to-dr-zakir-naik/
17 Comments
Nailed it Maria..
Simply great.
Great answer, Maria.
[…] via Quora question: Why is Dr Zakir Naik labeled as anti Hindu? […]
Truth has only one rule, it is one, the same for all, in all ages and in all creations (past, present and future), depriving none. True revelation in it’s entirety, therefore, must exist from the very beginning of all creations. In other words, since truth covers the three periods of time, you are left to answer what was your God. who always existed, was doing before this creation?
The first test of true religion!
Revelation, in its entirety, must exist from the very beginning of creation for all. It is unjust to deprive millions born before the Puranas (4000yrs),Zend Avesta (3000yrs), Torrah (2600yrs), Bible (2000yrs), Q’uran (1400yrs),Guru Grantha (600yrs), etc. of divine revelation.
Dear Maria,
You are definitely someone with wisdom earned through practice. You are indeed blessed in the true sense. Very few of you and many false prophets like Zakir.
I humbly request you to “review Jaap Ji Sahib” of Guru Nanak and write on your blog – your thoughts in English. Your review and comments would be very valuable to me.
Thanks in advance
i have not come across yet jaap ji Sahib. at present i am a bit busy. will make a note.
.
Hindus themselves are completely lost to the truth of the Vedas, which leaves them incapable of challenging the Abrahamic religions.
We have to go back to the period of the Vedic renaissance.
All the religions of the world are desperately divided into many sects or denominations. There has never been any serious debate within them, except for Hinduism, to even clarify which one holds the true interpretation of their holy books.
It was the period between 1873 to 1883 in India, Hinduism led by Maharishi Swami Dayanand Saraswati undertook the task of such a debate. Every sect of Hinduism was involved and in the end, even though the process was very heated and painful, it was the society (Samaj) of the Aryas emerged to hold the true interpretation of the Vedas.
It was then the right time also to challenge all the other religions as to which one is the one true of the world. Since it laid stress on good reasoning, science and most important of all, the full understanding of the functions of natural laws, it brought down not only all false dogmas but also Darwin’s theory of evolution.
http://www.vjsingh.info/book3.html
Dear Maria,
This is the most fitting answer to the question raised by many.Hindu leaders in particular and Hindus in general are ignorant about Hinduism and problems Hindus are facing because of lack of knowledge about other religions.
Hindu children as well as Hindu parents are orphan as far as teaching of Hinduism is concerned because os secularism in India so no teaching of Hinduism in schools.
You are source of light for all Hindus and they must demand for teaching of Hinduism in schools so that they can stand tall to defend their faith.
Maria, I am a fan and a fellow follower of Vedanta, but your answer is too generalized and therefore can incite the exact thing you want to rectify. Not all Christians or Muslims believe the same things as the most fundamentalist among them. In your essay you say Christians believe it is only through Jesus that God is attained. Many or most Christians do not believe that Jesus is the only way, even the Pope disagreed with that view. There are many Christian traditions which are within the “Universalist” or believe in similar precepts of those traditions in that they believe or teach similar to most Hindus that “all paths are legitimate paths to God.” There are Muslims like that as well, although less in number outside the more secular among them.
Of course I don’t mean that all Christians and Muslims believe what their doctrine contains. I talk about the doctrines. After the Pope’s comment about atheists, next day the Vatican spokesman “corrected” him, that according to the Christian doctrine only Christians can be saved or redeemed, don’t remember the exact term.
Hi, I am also talking about the doctrines. Still, Christianity is not a doctrine per se, it is an umbrella term for a variety of doctrines with a wide range of views on the interpretation of the Christian scripture. I know you know this as an ex-Christian, my point is just a matter of semantics and not disagreeing with your point. 🙂
My main problem with the Christian doctrine is that it claims it alone is true and all must follow it if they don’t want to end up in hell.
Of course this is not true.
Zakir Naik has an agenda of converting the poor and vulnerable hindus to Islam with loads of funds coming from Saudi Arabia. His son has been studying Islam in Saudi. Zakir Naik is a fugitive avoiding the charges of fraudulent economic activity and has taken Malaysia citizenship. He is a militant who never condemned ISIS or Lashkare Toiba even when asked. So he is both Anti hindu and Anti Indian.
Both muslims and Christians strongly believe in the “fact” that if someone who doesn’t believe in their respective faiths that person will end up in eternal hellfire. Hinduism, on the other hand, has eliminated the prospect of ANYONE ending up in hell. Hindus declared there is no permanent hell out there. Hindus believe in Karma SIddhanta. And karma siddhanta applies to all sentient beings uniformly.
Islam is a destroying force.That is the reason you find Jihaad, Taqayya, halal, halala, Talaq, Mullah, Madarsa etc like negative terminologies prominently practised.
Muslims have almost finished or trying to finish people from other faiths, wherever, they are in majority. Most Muslims don’t want to to stay in Muslim countries and they want to move to Europe and America like places. At one place they hate Kaaffirs and at another, they try to take all kind of help from them. Jaakir Naik has further damaged the Islam, by bringing further bad names to it.
Like fragrance, TRUTH is absolute and doesn’t require any explainatory relativity, for it is natural and just. Anything having something to do with the TRUTH, doesn’t have any relation or connection with negativity like cruelties, inhumanity. Vise versa an ideology which is based on and supports suppression, cruelties, compulsion has got nothing to do with the TRUTH. And best examples are ideology of Islam and that of Christianity as well. Both of these ideology are marely dictative thoughts and can’t be called as a DHARAM.