Through this series, we are endeavoring to reduce the hostility between Hindus and Muslims. Request you to share the article if you like the campaign. Look out for the Part 5 tomorrow!
The True Meaning of Kaafir
I would introduce you to the term that appears to have been used in the Qur’an for Sanatan Dharma. This is a mystery that needs to be unveiled because the word Kaafir has lately been used constantly to create a division between Hindus and Muslims. However, the real meaning of Kaafir is “one who denies.” (Sanatan Dharma had also introduced the word atheist to the world thousands of years ago to convey the same meaning.) This word cannot be used for those who believe in monotheism, because 1400 years ago, the message of the Prophet Muhammad’s monotheism was widely preached. Those who rejected the message were called Kaafir in the Qur’an and in many verses he was called Kuffar-e-Quraish. The term was used for a particular group that inhabited Mecca and the surrounding areas.
The Sabin and Sanatan Dharma
Apart from this group, the names of three other religions have come in the Qur’an, the name of one religion has been described as Nasara (Christians), the second one is Jewish and the third one is Sabin. Unfortunately, the Muslim ulema did not delve deep enough into the religious texts to find out which group the Sabin was used for.
The majority of religious scholars (theologists) kept insisting that the term Sabin has been used for a religious group that believes in stars and constellations. It is also written in the Urdu dictionary that Sabins are the group of people who believe in the stars. But in the last century, some Muslim Ulema deciphered the word Sabin to mean the religious group that the Qur’an addresses Sabin to actually be referring to Sanatan Dharma. As the first and last letter of the word Sabin and Sanatan are the same, it is not difficult to guess that just as the Qur’an addresses Christians by the name of Nasara instead of Christian, likewise, the Sanatan religions are probably called Sabin in a similar fashion.
A noteworthy point is that in the 62nd verse of Sura-e-Baqara in the Qur’an, Allah has promised that “of course those who are believers (righteous and true Muslims) and those who are Jews and Nasaras (Christians) and Sabin, if you believe (believe) in Allah (God) on the last day (the day of judgement – al-Qiyāmah) and do virtuous deeds, then their Lord (God) has ajar (reward) for them, and neither fear will prevail upon them nor will they be sad (unhappy). It is clear from this verse that Allah is promising to reward all those who believe in the existence of God, the coming of the al-Qiyāmah and do virtuous deeds.
The Unity of Religions From Early Times
The claim of Sabin being the eternally righteous can also be attributed to the fact that the book of interpretation of the Qur’an by Ibn Qasiris written by Abdul Rahman bin Zayed where “Sabin considers himself to be the Ummah of Hazrat Nuh (the follower of Manu). (I have explained in previous parts that the people of India are call him Manu, and Muslims call Hazrat Nuh.)
During the introduction of Sabin given in Wikipedia, it is explained that Sabin is of Sabi in the plural form, and elucidates that these early humansright from the origins of the Universe must have been following a true religion because they are named in the Qur’an along with Jews and Christians. It also states that the Sabins used to call themselves a class following Hazrat Nuh (Manu). Wikipedia also states that the Sabins were a religious class that believed in monotheism and descended messengers (incarnations) of God; this class was actually the Ahl-e-Kitab (the group holding the divine scriptures). Of note, a Muslim theologist, Maulana Shams Naved Usmani has come up with a number of arguments in his book “Agar Bhi Na Jaage Toh” to prove Sabin as Sanatan Dharma.
Maulana Usmani has also demonstrated that the words used in the Arabic language for other religious texts in Surah-e-Shoara and Surah-e-Nahal of the Qur’an mean other texts and large pages (During ancient times, leaves were popularly used for writing, where they were preserved in the form of separate pages, whereas other books revealed by God in the Qur’an were called big pages) Astoundingly, in a marvelous manner, some ulema by intently studying the religious scripts have endeavored to draw Hinduism and Islam closer to each other to build unity among Hindus and Muslims and I am venturing to do the same as well!