Hinduism and Islam

Source- http://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/h_islam.asp

Islam originated in the desert sands of Arabia as a reaction against prevailing native traditions based on the revelations received by Prophet Muhammad. Hinduism originated in the temperate climate of the Indian subcontinent as a result of the synthesis of different indigenous and foreign traditions and in continuation of the prehistoric religious beliefs of lost civilizations. Although founded by a prophet, in Islam we find echoes of ancient Judo Christian beliefs, with some deviations that are unsettling for both. If in Islam we find the vibrancy of a young and recent religion that is intent upon conquering the world in its zeal to embrace the humanity, in Hinduism we find the patience and tolerance of an ancient tradition, which is willing to let the world takes its own time to appreciate its wisdom and understand its universal appeal.

Definition and Antiquity

The word "Islam" is derived from the Arabic root word "salaama,"1 meaning peace, obedience, purity, and submission. Islam means abiding peace and unconditional obedience to the will of God and His divine law. While other religions derive their names from either a tribe (Judaism), or a geographical area (Hinduism), or a founder (Zoroastrianism, Buddhism and Christianity), Islam derives its name from its central doctrine of peace and submission to God. Thus the chief message of Islam is hidden in its very name. While the followers of other religions may call themselves as Christians, Jains, Buddhists etc., the followers of Islam refer themselves as Muslims or Mussalmans, but never as "Muhammadans," which some non-Muslims however tend to call them erroneously.

Islam by all means is a religion founded by a prophet. Hinduism, in contrast, is a group of religious traditions, established over a period of time, through the revelations received by innumerable saints, seers, incarnations and emanations of God. It contains various traditions such as Saivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism that are religions by themselves. In Hinduism personalities do not count as much as the divine law or the dharma. So it is in Islam, where the message of Islam is far more important than the person of Muhammad himself. Muslims therefore do not worship their prophet, unlike the Christians.

The word "Hindu" or "Hindoo" is derived from the Sanskrit root word "Sindhu" and used by Persians, ancient Greeks and many foreigners to denote the people who lived beyond the river Indus, whom Alexander could not conquer. During the medieval period, Islamic scholars and Muslim travelers referred the Indian subcontinent as Hindustan or the land of the Hindus. The word stuck for several centuries and throughout the Islamic Caliphate. During the British rule, the word Hindu was used to distinguish the native Indians who were not Christians, nor Muslims, nor Sikhs, nor Jains, nor Buddhists. The word Hinduism was coined in the 1830s by British scholars to denote the religious traditions of the native Indians to distinguish them from other recognized religions. While they are now popular all over the world under the generic name Hinduism, for generations Hindus recognized their religious traditions as aspects of one eternal Truth that went by the name "sanatana dharma" or eternal law. It is interesting that for over 6000 years, Hinduism went by many names but Hinduism.