Was Islamic Hajj Borrowed from Hinduism? Full Refutation of the Hindu Ritual Claim
Atheists and Christians Falsely Claim That Islamic Hajj Is Derived from Hinduism
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- I Respond to Those Liars and Say
- How Hajj Was Performed in the Days of Prophet Abraham
- The Chronology of Abrahamic Hajj Hinduism and Buddhism
- Claim Muslims Bathe in Zamzam Like Hindus Bathe in the Ganges
- Claim Muslims Shave Their Heads During Hajj Like Hindus
- Claim Muslims Offer Sacrifices Like Hindus
- Claim Muslims Circumambulate the Kaaba Like Hindus Circumambulate Their Holy Places
- Claim The Black Stone Resembles a Hindu Sacred Object
- Claim Muslims Stand on Mount Arafat Like Hindus Stand on Mount Mathrami
- Claim Muslims Spend the Night in Mina Like Hindus Spend the Night in Lahari
Introduction
A Christian mocked the Hajj ritual, claiming it was borrowed from Hindu rituals. This Christian copied this claim from atheist publications without thinking or investigating its credibility. We will respond to his lies one by one…
Atheists and Christians falsely claim that Islamic Hajj is derived from Hinduism!
I Respond to Those Liars and Say
We - as Muslims - inherited the Hajj ritual from our father Abraham, peace be upon him, as God Almighty says:
{ And remember when We assigned to Abraham the site of the House, saying, “Do not associate with Me anything and purify My House for those who go around it and those who stand [in prayer] and those who bow and prostrate. And proclaim to the people the Hajj [pilgrimage ]; they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel, coming from every distant pass, that they may witness benefits for themselves and mention the name of Allah on appointed days over what He has provided for them of grazing livestock. So eat [something] and [eat] it. From it, and feed the poor and needy. Then let them complete their decency and fulfill their vows and go around the Ancient House. That is so. And whoever honors the sacred ordinances of Allah - it is better for him in the sight of his Lord. And grazing livestock have been made lawful to you, except what is recited to you. So avoid the uncleanness of idols and avoid false statement. Inclining toward Allah, not associating partners with Him. And whoever associates partners with Allah - By Allah, it is as if he had fallen from the sky and been snatched by birds or the wind had swept him to a remote place. That is so. And whoever honors the symbols of Allah - indeed, it is from the piety of hearts. You have benefits in them for a specified term. Then their place of residence is at the Ancient House. 33} Surah Al-Hajj
Through the previous verses, we find that God commanded the Prophet Abraham to build and purify the Kaaba, and then commanded him to call the people to come for Hajj…
How Hajj Was Performed in the Days of Prophet Abraham
If we look at the verses and reflect on them, we will find that they explain to us how Hajj was performed in the days of the Prophet Abraham , which is as follows:
When we refer to Al-Tabari’s interpretation, we will find many narrations that explain to us the meaning of (tafth) . Tafth includes shaving the head, trimming the mustache, plucking the armpit hair, shaving the pubic hair, clipping the nails, removing hair from the sideburns, stoning the Jamarat, standing at Arafat, and spending the night at Muzdalifah…
2Fulfilling the vow.
3Circumambulating the Kaaba.
4Slaughtering livestock to draw closer to God and feed the poor.
Thus, we have obtained four important details about how Hajj was performed in the days of Prophet Abraham , peace be upon him .
The
The Chronology of Abrahamic Hajj Hinduism and Buddhism
Now, let us move on to the second part, which is very important, very important, and I hope you will focus on it:
Historians estimate that the time of the Prophet Abraham was between 2324 and 1850 BC.
The Westminster Historical Atlas places the era of Abraham between 2000 and 1700 BC, with Hammurabi coming at the end of this period and capturing Mari in 1700 BC. The Westminster Encyclopedia places the birth of Abraham at 1996 BC, based on Bishop Usher’s estimate .
According to the Jewish scriptures, the Prophet Abraham was born in 1900 BC.
- Therefore, we conclude that the Prophet Abraham lived approximately 4,000 years ago; that is, the Islamic Abrahamic Hajj system was in existence approximately 4,000 years ago.
When we turn to the Hindu religion , we find that the holy books of that religion began to appear on the scene in a period ranging between 1400-1600 BC ; that is, about 3500 years ago.
It is truly noteworthy that the beliefs, customs and traditions of Hinduism were formed over a long period starting from the 15th century BC until the present day . In the 15th century BC, the indigenous people of India were Negroes who had primitive ideas and beliefs. Then the Aryan invaders came, passing by the Iranians on their way, and their beliefs were influenced by the countries they passed through. When they settled in India, a mixture of beliefs occurred, from which Hinduism was born as a religion with primitive ideas of nature worship, ancestor worship and cow worship in particular.
In the 8th century BC , Hinduism developed when the doctrine of Brahmanism was established, and they said to worship Brahma.
When Islam entered India , the Hindu priests were influenced by Islam and adopted some things from it.
As for Buddhism , it only emerged about 2,500 years ago.
From all of the above , we find that Hinduism and Buddhism emerged after the Abrahamic pilgrimage, not before it. Therefore, it is foolish for an atheist or Christian to claim that the Islamic Abrahamic pilgrimage was derived from Hinduism.
As for those who claim that current Hindu rituals emerged approximately 5,000 years ago, this is an exaggeration, and no one can prove that these rituals existed 5,000 years ago.
Claim Muslims Bathe in Zamzam Like Hindus Bathe in the Ganges
That Christian accused the Islamic Hajj of being a Hindu ritual. That Christian says that Muslims bathe in the Zamzam well just as Hindus bathe in the Ganges River!
I reply to him and say:
I have just explained to you that the Islamic Abrahamic pilgrimage has nothing to do with Hinduism.
O Christian, you are thus attacking your God, your book, your religion, and your prophets. The Holy Bible tells us that the Prophet John used to baptize people in the Jordan River and wash them of their sins, as stated in the Holy Bible:
5And all the country of Judea and the people of Jerusalem went out to him, and they were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. (Alvandyk translation)
The Prophet John was baptizing with water at Ain Nun near Salim, as the Bible says:
23 John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water there, and people were coming and being baptized.
And Jesus himself was baptized in the Jordan River by the Prophet John, as the Bible says:
9In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan River . (Joint Arabic Translation)
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.
Philip baptized the eunuch in water, as stated in the Bible:
37 Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” He answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
38 Then he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.
Churches around the world baptize new Christians, and most churches consider baptism a sacred sacrament of the Church.
We, as Muslims, do not imitate Hindus. Rather, we bathe and drink from the Zamzam well, following the example of Hajar, the wife of the Prophet Abraham and the mother of the Prophet Ishmael , peace be upon them . This has nothing to do with Hinduism, which exists in India, far from the desert of Mecca.
In addition, there are differences between us and the Hindus, as the Hindus go down to the Ganges River in groups…, but we - as Muslims - no, no, we do not go down to the Zamzam Well, we only wash in it.
Even now, there are people in villages who bathe in canals and rivers. Does this make them pagan Hindus?!
No
There is no evidence for what this Christian is accusing Islam of. It is just nonsense, as is the custom of Christians and atheists.
The
Claim Muslims Shave Their Heads During Hajj Like Hindus
This Christian accuses Islam of borrowing Hajj from Hinduism because Muslims shave their heads during Hajj seasons!
I reply to him and say:
You, the Christian, are thus attacking your own book, because the Lord, according to you, has commanded the shaving of the head of the Nazirite, as the Holy Book says:
18 And the Nazirite shall shave the head of his consecrated offering at the door of the tent of meeting , and he shall take the hair of the head of his consecrated offering and put it on the fire that is under the peace offering.
Paul applied this commandment, as the Bible says:
1 8 Paul also stayed many days, then took leave of the brothers and sailed to Syria with Priscilla and Aquila. He had shaved his head in Cenchreae because he had taken a vow .
👆 This is exactly what Hindus do too.
In the Holy Bible, the Lord set a law for the one who is purified, which is to shave his head:
8The one who is to be purified shall wash his clothes , shave all his hair , and bathe himself in water to be purified. Then he shall enter the camp, but he shall stay outside his tent for seven days.
33 - He shall shave , but he shall not shave the bald head. The priest shall isolate the bald head for another seven days.
Then I am surprised by that Christian when he accuses Hajj of being pagan just because we shave our heads!!!
Don’t most people around the world shave their hair?!
Oh Christians, do you consider people who shave their hair pagans?!
As for Buddhists who shave their hair, they do so every month or two. They do this as a form of asceticism and severing ties, and it has nothing to do with the Islamic Hajj ritual.
The
Claim Muslims Offer Sacrifices Like Hindus
That Christian accuses Islam of being borrowed from Hinduism because we offer sacrifices to God, slaughter animals during Hajj, and feed the poor with them as an act of devotion to God.
I reply to him and say:
Offering sacrifices to God is not derived from Hinduism, but rather dates back to the time of our father Adam, peace be upon him. Adam used to offer sacrifices to God, and so did the sons of Adam. Therefore, God Almighty says in the Holy Qur’an:
{And recite to them the news of the two sons of Adam in truth, when they both offered a sacrifice, and it was accepted from one of them but not from the other. He said, “I will surely kill you.” He said, “Allah only accepts from the righteous.”} Surah Al-Ma’idah
You, the Christian, are thus attacking your book, because your book also commanded the offering of sacrifices to the Lord, as the Holy Book says:
12 If he offers it as a thanksgiving offering, he shall offer with the thanksgiving offering unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and fine flour, cakes mixed with oil,
13 with the cakes of leavened bread, he shall offer his offering with the sacrifice of his peace offerings as a thanksgiving offering.
14 He shall offer one of each offering of it as a heave offering to the Lord; it shall belong to the priest who sprinkles the blood of the sacrifice of peace offerings.
15 The flesh of his peace offerings as thanksgiving offerings shall be eaten on the day of its offering; he shall not leave any of it until morning.
16 If his offering is a vowed offering or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten on the day he offers his sacrifice, and on the next day whatever remains of it shall be eaten.
17 But the flesh of the sacrifice left over on the third day shall be burned with fire.
18 “If he eats any of the flesh of his peace offering on the third day, it will not be accepted; he who offers it will not be credited with it; it will be unclean, and the person who eats it will bear his guilt.
19 “The flesh that has touched any unclean thing may not be eaten; it shall be burned with fire. But all clean flesh may be eaten from it.
20 “But the person who eats the flesh of the peace offering of the Lord, with his uncleanness on him, shall be cut off from his people.
21 “The person who touches any unclean thing—the uncleanness of a human being or an unclean animal or any unclean abomination—and eats any of the flesh of the peace offering of the Lord, that person shall be cut off from his people.”
Also, Joseph the carpenter and the Virgin Mary offered a sacrifice to the Lord, as the Holy Bible says:
23 As it is written in the law of the Lord: Every male who opens the womb will be called holy to the Lord.
24 - And that they may offer a sacrifice, as it is said in the law of the Lord: A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.
The
Claim Muslims Circumambulate the Kaaba Like Hindus Circumambulate Their Holy Places
That Christian accuses Islam of being borrowed from Hinduism because Muslims circumambulate the Kaaba just as Hindus circumambulate their holy places!!
I reply to him and say:
Circumambulating the Kaaba existed before the emergence of Hinduism, as we explained before. Muslims circumambulate counterclockwise, while Hindus, Buddhists, and Jews circumambulate clockwise.
It is impossible to know when the Hindus first began performing the Tawaf. Therefore, no atheist can claim that Muslims stole the idea of the Tawaf from the Hindus, because you cannot determine when the Hindu ritual of Tawaf first appeared.
You, the Christian, are thus attacking your religion, because Christians come to the tomb of Christ in the Church of the Resurrection on the occasion of Holy Saturday, and the Patriarch and his priests walk around the tomb.
The Bible says:
6 - I will wash my hands in innocence, that I may go around your altar, O Lord.
12 - They went around Zion, and circled around it, and counted its towers.
The
Claim The Black Stone Resembles a Hindu Sacred Object
This Christian accuses Islam of being a pagan religion, saying that the black stone inside the silver frame resembles a Hindu vagina!!
I reply to him and say:
Even if we were to remove the silver frame around the Black Stone, there would be no resemblance between the Black Stone and the sacred Hindu vagina. The Black Stone is made up of 15 separate, irregularly shaped pieces, and these pieces differ in size, with the largest piece being the size of a date. In other words, the Black Stone does not, no, it does not, resemble the sacred vagina at all.
Of course, these 15 separate pieces were stuck together with red adhesive.
The silver frame around the Black Stone was first placed in the year 64 AH, approximately 53 years after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. This means that the Prophet Muhammad did not borrow the frame’s shape from the Hindus, as the ignorant enemies of Islam claim.
This silver frame was not placed to resemble the Hindu vagina, and why was it not placed to worship it as the stupid atheists claim. Rather, you should listen to the story from the beginning and then judge for yourselves:
In the year 64 AH, a commander called Al-Hajjaj bin Yusuf Al-Thaqafi headed to Mecca and besieged it. He set up a catapult on Mount Abu Qubays and then attacked Mecca with the catapult, causing severe damage to the Kaaba from the sparks of the fire and the collapse of its roof. Therefore, the companion Ibn Al-Zubayr rebuilt the Kaaba and surrounded the Black Stone with a silver frame to protect and preserve it. Later, the caliphs and wealthy people followed his example . The last person to donate a silver frame was the Ottoman Sultan Muhammad Reshad Khan in 1331 AH. Finally, the rulers of the Saudi state came and placed new silver frames around the Black Stone to replace the old ones.
Knowing that Ibn al-Zubayr did not travel to India and did not meet the Hindus at all.
Now, I want to know your opinion: What does the silver frame have to do with the Hindu vagina anyway?!
There is no connection between them except in the minds of sick atheists who fabricate lies against Islam based on mere suspicions… and if you ask these atheists about the evidence, they will not answer you!
If the silver frame around the Black Stone were removed, there would be no problem at all and it would not affect the acceptance of Hajj. This proves that we have not borrowed anything from Hinduism.
Will Christians consider the cross a pagan heritage or will they say it is just a resemblance and nothing more?!
Claim Muslims Stand on Mount Arafat Like Hindus Stand on Mount Mathrami
That Christian accuses the Islamic Hajj of being taken from Hinduism, because Muslims stand on Mount Arafat , and Hindus stand on Mount Mathrami !
I reply to him and say:
Christian, there is no evidence for what you are saying, it is just an assumption and nothing more.
Then no no there is no mountain called (Mathrami) , but this is a picture of Hindus 👆 on their way to visit the cave temple (Amarnath Yatra).
To visit this temple, Hindus trek over steep hills and high ground to reach it. It often takes 2-6 days to reach the temple, so Hindus spend the night along the way and then wake up to continue the journey.
This picture is not of Hindus standing on Mount Mathura , as atheists claim. Rather, this picture talks about the Hindus’ journey to the Amarnath Yatra cave.
Hindus visit this cave to see a piece of ice hanging from the ceiling of the cave, as they believe that this piece of ice is an incarnation of their Lord Shiva :
Cave Temple (Amarnath Yatra)
If we search the Hindu religious and historical books, we will find that the oldest mention of the Amarnath Yatra Temple is in the book (Rajatarangini) [ Book VII v. 183 ]; this book mentions that Queen Suryamati presented a gift to the Amarnath Temple in the 11th century AD .
The Amarnath Yatra is mentioned again in the Rajavalipataka , a book written by the historian Prajna Bhatta in the 16th century AD .
The temple is also mentioned in the Ain-e-Akbari or Akbar’s Administration , a 16th century document that records the administration of the Mughal Empire under Emperor Akbar . This document was written in Persian by the court historian, Abu’l-Fadl .
Some Hindu websites claim that the Amarnath Yatra temple is mentioned in the Nilamata Purana (V1324), a book originally composed in the 6th and 8th centuries CE , with changes made in the 9th and 10th centuries CE . There is no evidence for those who claim that the book was composed before that date.
As for some Hindu websites that claim that the Amarnath Yatra cave is mentioned in the Mahabharata , I searched this book for the temple and did not find any mention of it.
Of course, most Hindu websites copy the same words from each other verbatim, and most of their words are just hearsay without evidence or direct quotation from their books!
There is no historical document for this Hindu cave before the advent of Islam. Rather, all Hindu books that mentioned this cave were books that appeared after Islam.
As for the time of the discovery of this temple, and when Hindus first began visiting it, no one knows for sure. Rather, they are all just myths and rumors, as acknowledged by the Hindus themselves… However, popular Hindu folklore tells that there was a Muslim shepherd named (Bhuta Malik) , and this man discovered this cave in 1850 AD , and a miracle happened to him there at the hands of a hermit. Some other sources say that he discovered it in the 11th century AD , and some other sources say that he discovered it in the 15th century AD . Some other sources say that someone else discovered it in the 18th century AD . Since the discovery of this cave, Hindus have been visiting this temple, believing that it is the place of their holy lord (Lord Shiva) .
No one knows when the Amarnath Yatra was discovered.
Some sites say that a Muslim shepherd discovered this Hindu cave.
This means that these Hindus started visiting this temple hundreds of years after the advent of Islam… and there is no evidence that Hindus visited this temple before the advent of Islam.
On some Hindu websites, you will find a different story about the beginning of the discovery and visitation of this tomb, and this story is as follows:
[Bhrigu Rishi visited the Himalayas and was the first to have darshan of the holy Amarnath cave. When the villagers heard of this, the cave soon became Shiva’s home and a pilgrimage center.]
But this story👆 has no basis, and there is no evidence for it in books. Rather, it is just local rumors and legends.
As for some Hindus who claim that this cave is 5,000 years old, this is a baseless claim, and even if we assume that this claim is true, there is no evidence that Hindus have revered it and visited it for 5,000 years.
As you know, there are hundreds of caves, hills, plateaus, and mountains that are thousands of years old, but that doesn’t mean that people have been sanctifying them for thousands of years.
Some Hindus claim that there are footprints that suggest that people used to visit this cave in ancient times, but this is incorrect and there is no evidence for it. Moreover, the presence of footprints does not necessarily mean that people used to revere this cave… Moreover, the footprints appear similar from time to time.
The prophets of the Bible also stood on mountains, such as: the Prophet Moses
3And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain , saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the children of Israel:
Also, Mount Zion is considered one of the holy mountains revered in the Bible:
2Beautiful in height, joy of the whole earth, Mount Zion, joy of the farthest reaches of the north, city of the great King.
The
Claim Muslims Spend the Night in Mina Like Hindus Spend the Night in Lahari
That Christian says that Muslim pilgrims spend the night in Mina just as Hindus spend the night in Lahari !
I reply to him and say:
Christian, you have no evidence for what you say.
No, no, there is no Hindu ritual called “Lahari Night” . This is just a lie invented by a lying anti-Islam person, who posted this lie in a picture on Twitter… and then this picture spread among the fools who attack Islam.
Lahari Bandar , also known as Lahori Bandar or Lari Bandar , is a historical coastal town in southern Sindh. It was once the main port in Sindh and one of the main ports in western India.
As for the Hindu festival of Lohri , it is simply an annual celebration marking the winter solstice , at the same time Christians celebrate the annual Christmas holiday.
On the festival of Lohri, Hindus do not move from their region to spend the night in another region , but rather celebrate in their regions, dancing and singing like most other festivals.