www.ahmadiyya.

org > Articles on Islam

Some friends have
noticed a remarkable
Dr similarity between talks
Zakir presented on television
by Dr Zakir Naik, the
Naik famous Indian lecturer
and on Islam, on the subject
of prophecies about the
the coming of the Holy
Laho Prophet Muhammad in
Hindu scriptures and the
re coverage of the same
Ahmasubject
known
in the well-
book
diyya Muhammad in World
book Scriptures by Maulana
Abdul Haq Vidyarthi,
Mthe great scholar of the
uLahore
Movement.
Ahmadiyya

h
To carry out a more
a detailed comparison,
m I have checked Dr
Naik’s article
mProphet Muhammad
a(pbuh) in Hindu
Scriptures against the
dfirst edition of
in
Muhammad in World
Scriptures, chapter III:
W‘The Prophet in the
or
Hindu Scriptures’.
ld Here is the link to
SDr Naik’s article on the
website of his own
cr
organisation IRF. We
ip
have also saved a local
copy of the same article
tu
for the record at our
re
website here.
s The edition of
Muhammad in World
His
Scriptures I refer to
articl
below is on the website
ewww.aaiil.org
is a and is
summ
reached by going to the
ary
Booksof link and looking
our the name of the
under
author
book Abdul Haq
Vidyarthi. This book
Compiled
was first by
published in
Zahid Aziz
1940 (which, to put it
into aking a foreign
perspectiv language)
e, is 25 spiritual teacher
years will appear with
before Dr his companions.
Zakir Naik His name will be
was born). Mohammad.
Raja (Bhoj),
A after giving this
comparis Maha Dev Arab
on (of angelic
Zakir disposition) a
Naik’s bath in the
article Panchgavya and
gives the Ganga water
various (i.e. purifying
prophecies him of all sins),
under four offered him the
headings. present of his
sincere devotion
Under the
and showing
first
him all
heading
reverence said, I
(I) are make obeisance
three to thee. O Ye!
prophecies The pride of
from the mankind, the
book dweller in
Bhavishya Arabia, Ye have
Purana. collected a great
The first force to kill the
of these is Devil and you
given as yourself have
follows: been protected
from the
“A malecha
ma opponents.”
lec
ha This is also the first
(be prophecy in Maulana
lon Abdul Haq Vidyarthi’s
gin book, and its translation
g appears on pages 61–62.
to It is identical with the
a quotation in Zakir
1
for Naik’s article.
eig
n
1. Except that in the Maulana’s
co book the word malecha is spelt
unt as malechha, and his quotation
ry has the following extra words at
an the end: “O Ye! The image of
the Most Pious God, the biggest
d Lord, I am a slave to thee, take
spe me as one lying on thy feet.”
1
www.ahmadiyya.org > Articles on Islam
the companions of the
Prophet”.
After
quoting Following these six
the points, there are two
prophecy, further comments in
Zakir Zakir Naik’s article.
Naik’s The first is in answer to
article the objection that Raja
draws out Bhoj lived in the 11th
six points century C.E. The
from it. objection and its answer
The as given in this article
Maulana, are exactly as in the
after Maulana’s book,
quoting namely, that there was
the not just one Raja Bhoj.
prophecy, The article says:
lists ten
points. We “The Egyptian
find that Monarchs were
Zakir called as
Naik’s Pharaoh and the
first three Roman Kings
points are were known as
the same Caesar, similarly
as the the Indian Rajas
Maulana’s were given the
first three title of Bhoj.”
points, while the Maulana’s
and his book has:
points (4),
(5) and (6) “Just as the
are the Egyptian
same as monarchs were
numbers known as
(10), (7) Pharaohs and
and (6) the Roman
respectivel kings were
y of the called Kaisers,
Maulana. similarly, the
The
Indian rajas
wording is
were given the
also very
epithet of Bhoj.”
similar.
(p. 62)
For
example, The second
point (3) comment relates to the
in both
part of the prophecy
begins
about giving the
with the
words: promised one a bath in
“Special the Ganges, and the
mention is article says:
made of
“T es is an idiom,
he which means
Pro washing away
ph sins or immunity
et from all sorts of
did sins. Here the
not prophecy
ph implies that
ysi Prophet
cal Muhammad
ly (pbuh) was
tak sinless, i.e.
e a Maasoom.”
bat
h The same comment
in is found in the
the Maulana’s book in the
Pa following words:
nc
hg “Another point
av which requires
ya elucidation is
an the Prophet’s
d taking bath in
the ‘Panchgavya’
wa and the water of
ter the Ganges. This
of did not, of
Ga course, actually
ng happen as it was
es. only a vision; so
Sin we give it the
ce interpretation
the that the Prophet
wa will be purged
ter of and made
of immune from all
Ga sorts of sins.”
ng The second
es
prophecy from the book
is
Bhavishya Purana in
co
Zakir Naik’s article is
nsi
der also the second
ed prophecy in the
hol Maulana’s chapter (p.
y, 64). It begins with the
tak words:
ing
“The Malecha
bat
h have spoiled the
in well-known land
the of the Arabs.
Ga Arya Dharma is
ng not to be found
 in of the entire prophecy
the (of which about one-
co tenth is given above) is
unt identical in the article
ry. and the book.
… Following the prophecy,
Zakir Naik’s article
”
makes ten points about
The it, while the Maulana’s
wording book makes twelve

2
www.ahmadiyya.org > Articles on Islam
sacred cities of
Kashi, etc.…”
points.
In the Maulana’s book
Naik’s
first two also, this is the next
points are prophecy, and is given
the same in almost the same
as the words (pages 65–66).
Maulana’s We now reach the
first two second heading (II) in
points. His Zakir Naik’s article.
3rd to his Under this are given
10th point three prophecies from
are the the Atharva Veda. In the
same as Maulana’s book also,
the these are the prophecies
Maulana’s that occur next. Each
points (5) and every point noted in
to (12), in the article about these
the same prophecies is to be
order. found in the Maulana’s
book, in the same order,
The from pages 67 to 115.
third and Below I list the chief
final aspects of these
prophecy prophecies as
from the mentioned in Zakir
book Naik’s article and place
in parenthesis the page
Bhavishya
number in Muhammad
Purana in
in World Scriptures
Zakir where the same is
Naik’s mentioned:
article
begins as Kuntap, which
follows: is the name of some
chapters of the Atharva
“C Veda, stands for
orr Bakkah, a name of
upt Makkah (p. 68–69).
ion The word
an Narashansah means
d ‘the praised one’ and
per refers to the Holy
sec Prophet (p. 71).
uti The Holy
on Prophet is prophesied as
are the camel-riding rishi
fou (p. 73–74).
nd He is called
in Mamah Rishi and given
sev certain signs such as a
en hundred gold coins, ten
 chaplets,
Coming now to the
etc. (p.
third heading (III) in
76–82).
Zakir Naik’s article,
5• He under it one prophecy is
is calledbriefly mentioned, to
Rebh,
the effect that the
which
Sanskrit word sushrava
means the
in the Rig Veda applies
same as
the nameto the Holy Prophet.
‘Ahmad’ The same is in the
(p. 83). Maulana’s book on
page 115.
6• Th
e battle of The fourth and
the Allies final heading in Zakir
of the Naik’s article gives one
Holy prophecy, which is from
Prophet’s the Sama Veda, and it is
time is translated as follows:
described
and the “Ahmed
word karo acquired from
refers to his Lord the
the Holy knowledge of
Prophet eternal law. I
(p. 106– received light
108). from him just as
7• Th from the sun.”
e conquest This prophecy is found
of Makka in similar words in the
is Maulana’s book on
prophesie page 129. Zakir Naik’s
article then makes three
d and the
points about this
Holy
prophecy. The first of
Prophet is these is that the word
termed as ‘Ahmad’ here has been
an read by previous
abandhu, translators not as a
meaning a name but as Ahm at hi
helpless and therefore they
man (p. translated the mantra as:
114–115). “I

3
www.ahmadiyya.org > Articles on Islam
d version of certain
parts of the Maulana’s
alone havetreatment of the subject,
acquired following exactly the
the realsame order as in the
wisdom ofMaulana’s book. No
my doubt a later author can
father”. make use of the work of
These an earlier one, but if he
benefits substantially
three
from it then integrity
points requires that he must
under thisacknowledge the
prophecy source. In this case, the
are foundlater author has merely
in therepeated the results of
Maulana’s the earlier work without
discussion any contribution at all
on pageby himself, and with no
129. mention of the earlier
work.
At this
point We may add here
that the Maulana’s book
Zakir
was the result of his
Naik’s
own deep study and
article
research, after he had
comes to
mastered the Sanskrit
an end —language around the
and soyears 1915–16. His
does theknowledge of Sanskrit
chapter and the Hindu scriptures
‘The is demonstrated by his
Prophet intranslation of Yajur
the HinduVeda from Sanskrit to
Scriptures’ Urdu, and moreover by
in his public debates in
Maulana pre-partition India with
Abdul Haqthe Arya Samaj pandits
Vidyarthi’ in the presence of tens
s bookof thousands of people.
come to a
A famous debate
close on
page 130. A debate on this topic
took place in Diwan
It canHall, Delhi, on 5th
be seenFebruary 1944, at which
that thethe prophecy about “A
article byPraised One, Camel
Zakir NaikRider” mentioned in the
is nothing Atharva Veda was
at all exhaustively debated
more thanbetween the Maulana
a greatlyand opposing pandits.
compresse (This is the prophecy in
Zakir Pandits on the stage.
Naik’s Reports tell us that, in
article response to the
under thearguments put forward
second by Maulana Abdul Haq
heading.) Vidyarthi, the scholarly
As theArya representtative,
annual Pandit Diyas Dev Ji
conference Shastri, was unable to
of thegive any other
Arya interpretation to these
Samaj waswords than as a
taking prophecy. A report says:
place at
the time in “In response to
Delhi, the arguments of
their Maulana Abdul
leading Haq, Pandit
scholars Diyas Dev Ji
were tried to create
present. many
The Arya complications
Samaj had but the Maulana
challenged cleared them all
other and issued the
religions challenged that
to debates, in the whole
and the history of India
Ahmadiyy there has not
a Anjuman been any
Isha‘at Mamah Rishi. If
Islam of there has been,
Delhi had he should be put
accepted forward. …
the
challenge Maulana Abdul
for Haq read out the
Muslims. prophecy again
The topic and again, but
of the Pandit Diyas
debate Dev Ji was
was: “The unable to give
truth of any explanation,
the Holy despite his
Prophet scholarship and
Muhamma learning.
d is Muslims were
establishe ecstatic and
d from the were sending
prophecies blessings on the
contained Holy Prophet. It
in the seemed as if
Vedas”. what Allah has
There described as the
were some descent of
25 Arya angels, which
 wa Muslims in the
s battles in the
wit time of the Holy
nes Prophet, was
sed taking place.
by The

4
www.ahmadiyya.org > Articles on Islam
the coming of
angels, when on
Pr the one side was
om the solitary
ise figure of
d Maulana Abdul
Me Haq and on the
ssi other was a
ah large number of
has Arya scholars of
cal Sanskrit, but the
led call that was
de sounded from
bat heaven was: Al-
es Haq fi Āl-i
wit Muhammad (the
h truth is with the
the followers of
op Muhammad).
po
ne Before the
nts conclusion of
of the debate,
Isl Maulana Sayyid
am Akhtar Husain
as Gilani [co-
bei chairman of the
ng proceedings on
the behalf of the
‘ho Ahmadiyya
ly Anjuman] made
wa a strong appeal
rs’ to Muslims to
of refrain from
thi raising any
s slogans of
ag victory as this
e. would offend the
In Hindus, but to
thi leave the hall in
s a calm and
‘ho orderly manner.
ly Maulana Abdul
wa Haq Vidyarthi’s
r’ rational style of
at argumentation,
De his virtuous
lhi, behaviour,
M courtesy and
usl polite manners,
im and the friendly
s attitude of the
wit Ahmadiyya
organisers, made
nes
a deep
sed
im seen in the
pre capital city of
ssi India.” 2
on
on Maulana Abdul Haq
the Vidyarthi did not
Hi merely write a book. He
nd established his
us, arguments in front of
wh leading Hindu pandits.
ile The Muslim audience
the too became convinced
hea that he was serving the
rts cause of Islam. As he
of was an Ahmadi, he
the could not automatically
Mu have the support of the
sli general Muslims behind
ms him. There were no
we blind devotees on his
re side, cheering him on
fill regardless, as is the case
ed with Muslim religious
wit leaders generally. He
h earned accolades from
fait Muslims by his work.
h
an Do Hindu scriptures
d contain any Divine
kn revelations?
ow The research by the
led Maulana was based on
ge. the teaching of Islam
In that prophets from God
reli had appeared among all
gio nations before the
us Prophet Muhammad.
his Muslim scholars had
tor generally limited this to
y, the Israelite prophets
thi and a few others. Hazrat
s Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
wa revived and laid stress
s on this unique teaching
the and concluded from it
firs that the great sacred
t persons of the Hindu
de religion must have been
bat true prophets and its
e scriptures must have
of been Divine revelations
its originally. It was on the
kin basis of this belief that
d the Maulana found
to prophecies about the
be Holy Prophet
Muhamma
d in Hindu However, Dr Zakir
scriptures. Naik has stated, in a
This isdifferent place, that the
why, inVedas may not be
explaining revealed scriptures.
the secondAnswering the question
prophecy “whether we can
given consider the Vedas and
above, thethe other Hindu
Maulana Scriptures to be the
writes: revelations of God?”,
he replies:
“T
he “There is no text
co in the Quran or
mi Sahih Hadith
ng mentioning the
pro name of the
ph revelation that
et
was sent to
wil
India. Since the
l
names of the
att
est Vedas or other
the Hindu scriptures
trut are no where to
h be found in
of Quran and Sahih
the Hadith, one
Ar cannot say for
ya sure that they
n were the
fait revelations of
h” God.
(p.
65) 2. Paigham Sulh, 16 February
. 1944, p. 8.

5
www.ahmadiyya.org > Articles on Islam
quotations from them
given by Dr Zakir Naik
Th “may not be”
ey prophecies about the
ma Holy Prophet
y Muhammad revealed by
be God.
the
Interestingly, in his
rev
article Dr Naik has
ela
actually copied the
tio Maulana’s statement
n above: “The coming
of prophet will attest the
Go truth of the Aryan
d faith”, which means that
or the Holy Prophet
ma confirmed that those
y scriptures were
not originally revealed by
be God. Perhaps Dr Naik
the did not realise that this
rev contradicts his own
ela belief expressed
elsewhere.
tio
n Finally, our belief
of that the coming of the
Go Holy Prophet
d.” Muhammad is
3 prophesied in previous
scriptures is not meant
If as a mere gimmick to
nothing atplease the Muslim
all in thempublic and to sneer at
was followers of other
revealed religions. Quite the
by God,contrary, it is meant to
then howshow the common
did Divine origin of all
prophecies religions and to present
about theIslam as the completion
advent ofand culmination of
the Holyearlier religions. It also
Prophet increases respect for the
come to besacred leaders of other
in thesereligions in the hearts of
books? Ifthe Muslims.
they “may
not be”
revelations
at all, then
it is also
possible
that the
 3. See on his website
www.irf.net the article
‘Common Questions asked by
Hindus about Islam’.