Islam and Sikhism

In Islam, Muhammad is the last and final prophet of God. Islam views Jews, Christians and Muslims as "People of the Book" as all three major faiths are part of the Abrahamic religions. Muslims also believe Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and Jesus were prophets. However, Muslims do not consider any Sikh or gurus as prophets.

Sikhism is part of the Dharmic religions, the others being Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Guru Nanak Dev said, "The faithful are firmly bound to the Dharma." [ [http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.gurbani?Action=Search&Param=english&Tier=1&SearchData=dharma Sri Granth: Search Results ] ]

Many Islamic dynasties ruled parts of the Indian subcontinent starting from the 12^th century. The prominent ones include the Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526) and the Mughal Empire (1526–1857), with which the Sikh gurus frequently came into direct confrontation, however these empires helped in the spread of Islam in South Asia, but by the mid-18^th century, the British Empire had ended the Mughal dynasty. [] , who was a close friend of Guru Arjan Dev, initiated the construction of the Golden Temple by laying the first foundation stone (December 1588 CE) [ [http://sgpc.net/golden-temple/index.asp Harmandir Sahib Amritsar, Swarn Mandir India, Golden Temple India, Swarna Mandir Amritsar, Swarn Mandir In Punjab ] ]

Bhai Mardana: Muslim follower of Guru Nanak

Bhai Mardana (1459-1534) was a Muslim [ [http://www.allaboutsikhs.com/early-gursikhs/early-gursikhs-bhai-mardana-ji.html Early Gursikhs: Bhai Mardana ji | Gateway to Sikhism-Gateway to Sikhism ] ] and the first follower [ [http://www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/gurus/mardana.html Sikh Personalities ] ] [ [http://www.allaboutsikhs.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29 A Gateway to Sikhism | Early Gursikhs: Bhai Mardana ji - A Gateway to Sikhism ] ] and companion of the Sikh founder, Guru Nanak Dev. He was with Nanak in all of his journeys across India and Asia. Mardana was born a Muslim to a Mirasi couple, Badra and Lakkho, of Rai Bhoi di Talwandi (modern Nankana Sahib, capital of Nankana Sahib District of Pakistan).

hah Bhikhan

Pir Bhikhan Shah, a 17^th century Sufi saint, was born the son of Sayyid Muhammad Yusaf of Siana Sayyidari, a village 5km from Pehova (in modern Kurukshetra district of Haryana). For a time, he lived at Ghuram in present day Patiala district of the Punjab and finally settled at Thaska, again in Kurukshetra district. He was the disciple of Abu l-Muali Shah, a Sufi divine residing at Ambhita, near Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, and soon became a saint of much repute and piety in his own right.

According to a tradition preserved in Bhai Santokh Singh, Sri Gur Pratap Suraj Granth, Pir Bhikhan Shah, as he learnt through intuition of the birth of Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708) at Patna, made obeisance that day to the East instead of to the West. At this, his disciples demurred, for no Muslim should make such respectful gestures except towards the Kaˤbah in Mecca.

The pir explained that in a city in the East, God had revealed Himself through a newborn baby, to whom he had bowed and to no ordinary mortal. Bhikhan Shah with his disciples then travelled all the way to Patna to have a glimpse of the infant Gobind Rai, barely three months old. Desiring to know what would be his attitude to the two major religious peoples of India, he placed two small pots in front of the child, one representing in his own mind Hindus and the other Muslims. As the child covered both the pots simultaneously with his tiny hands, Bhikhan Shah felt happy concluding that the new seer would treat both Hindus and Muslims alike and show equal respect to both.

Sikh chronicles record another meeting between Gobind Singh and Pir Bhikhan Shah, which took place in 1672 when the latter went to see him at Lakhnaur, near Ambala, where he was halting for some time on his way from Patna to Kiratpur.

References

Further reading

* [http://www.bharatvani.org/books/mla/ Online 1] [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC03809888&id=9fQLAAAAIAAJ&q=Muslim+League+Attack+on+Sikhs+and+Hindus+in+the+Punjab+1947&dq=Muslim+League+Attack+on+Sikhs+and+Hindus+in+the+Punjab+1947&pgis=1 Online 2] [http://allaboutsikhs.com/books/gst/ Online 3]

External links

* [http://www.sikhiwiki.com/ Sikh Wiki]