Representation of Hinduism in Muslim Theological Writings in Arabic

Dheen Mohamed Mohamed Meerasahib

doi:10.32350/jitc.162.01

Authors

Dheen Mohamed Mohamed Meerasahib Hamad bin Khalifa University , Qatar https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6600-9097

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32350/jitc.162.01

Keywords:

avatāra, Barāhimah, kalām, prophecy, Veda, Vedic religion, ṛṣi

Abstract

The current study aimed to demonstrate that classical Muslim theological (kalām) literature misrepresents the Hindu position on prophecy. Muslim theologians, including al-Juwaynī, al-Ghazālī, al-Shahrastānī, and others, attributed to the Barāhimah (Hindus) an outright denial of prophecy and divine revelation, claiming they consider prophetic missions rationally impossible. According to the author, this representation is untenable and unsupported by Hindu sacred texts. ʿIlm al-kalām, the Islamic science of dialectical theology, bears responsibility for articulating and defending articles of faith against external threats. In fulfilling this role, kalām scholars engage with other religions through convergence, contrast, or contradiction. Such engagement necessarily involves representing the doctrines of those religions. This study examined the accuracy of these representations by analyzing how kalām scholars portrayed Hindu beliefs regarding prophecy. Through analysis of Hindu sacred texts, it has been demonstrated that Hinduism is grounded in divine revelation (śruti) transmitted through prophetic figures (ṛṣis) and divine manifestations (avatāras). The study utilized a dual-source methodology, examining both classical kalām texts and Hindu sacred literature (Vedas, Upaniṣads, Bhagavad Gītā) to assess the accuracy of theological representations. By analyzing the concepts of śruti, ṛṣi, and avatāra, this research attempted to demonstrate functional parallels between Hindu and Islamic understandings of the concept of prophecy. It was proposed that kalām scholars may have encountered heterodox schools, such as the materialist Cārvāka philosophy and mistakenly attributed their views to mainstream Hinduism. This study concluded by recommending systematic reassessment of kalām representations of other religions as a way to revitalizing the science of kalām in contemporary Islamic scholarship.

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