Brilliant Photographer: ZIYAH GAFICLast night, I came to learn of Buddha in Islam by Sh. Hamza Yusuf. It has been a topic of discussion amongst many of the Muslim Scholars.
Subhan Allah.
*
The Abrahamic faiths’ belief in God and the Last Day is not understood in the same manner in either Buddhism or Hinduism but certainly has parallels in both their teachings, especially in Pure Land Buddhism and philosophical Hinduism, which acknowledges one God and recognizes that the images in the temples are only aids to help simple people grasp a particular aspect of the universal, transcendent nature of God.
In Islamic theology point of view, we find much compatibility between Buddha and with the Quran world view. Buddha says:”one who knows self is dear will keep it well guarded; the wise one keeps a vigil a third of the night”. Similarly Quran states:”the Lord knows that you [Muhammad] keep vigil in the night, nigh two-thirds, or half the night, or a third” [73:20]
Every Friday Muslims recite Surah Al-Kahf (The Cave), in that Surah there are 4 main stories, 1 is of a man named al-Khidir whom God instructed Moses (AS) to meet and learn from. Al-Khidir is not a prophet but like Buddha, a person from this world who is born and does not marry, eat, drink, age or die. Both have enigmatic character and were given two gifts from God. Mercy and experiential knowledge of reality. In the Quranic narrative, al-Khidr attempts to dissuade Moses from attempting to learn what cannot be taught but experienced. This is a very Buddhist view. (After citing many commonalities and connections Shaykh Hamza continues to write…) Thus, rather than establishing a historical connection or identification between the two, one might also see the Buddha as one manifestation of the spiritual archetype articulated by the Quranic figure al-Khidr (AS). This point of view is substantiated by the remarkable parallels one see’s between the two figures.
