SPIRIT OF ISLAM FEBRUARY 2018

26 Spirit of Islam Issue 62 February 2018 SIMILARTIES BETWEEN SIKHISM & ISLAM Benefit from Understanding Islamic scholar Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, and Giani Harpreet Singh, Jathedar of Takhat Shri Damdama Sahib, discuss Islam and Sikhism. The Jathedar recently released a Gurmukhi version of Maulana’s translation of the Quran. The samvad was moderated by Mona Mehta and Reena Singh from The Times of India. G IANI HARPREET SINGH, Jathedar of the Takhat Shri Damdama Sahib says that it took him more than two years, working with scholars at Punjabi University, Patiala, to translate Maulana Wahiduddin Khan’s translation of the Quran into Gurmukhi. “Mohammad Habib, my PhD guide, Mohammad Yusuf, Satinder Singh and I, worked on the project. Mohd Habib motivated me and introduced us to Maulanaji’s translation of the Quran. He said a Gurmukhi translation will send out a good message.”  The Jathedar continues, “It was a great learning experience. There are many similarities between the Quran and the Guru Granth Sahib. They both talk about Aek Khuda , or Aek Rab —One God. Ishwar or Parmatman is One; He is the creator, Brahman; He runs the show. Gurbani talks of Aek Rab ka hukum —that the world operates according to the Supreme Being’s will. The Quran talks of one Rab , Supreme Being. The Guru Granth tells Sikhs that their aim should be to live according to His hukum (commandment); whether you experience sukha or dukha (happiness or sorrow), that’s His will.” Maulana adds: “After my education, I became a seeker. I went to the jungles and mountains, and kept repeating to myself, Khudawand tu kabb aayega, mein kabb tak tera intezaar karoon (When will you reveal yourself to me, O God; how long do I have to wait?) During this phase I read extensively. The basic teaching of Islam is oneness of God. I studied Islam from the prism of science, not philosophy.  “In The Brief History of Time , Stephen Hawking described creation as part of one big whole; everything tied in one string. We talk of the oneness of God, and science calls it the (single) string theory. That’s The Quran’s message is ‘take your nectar of wisdom, and ignore the rest’. Wisdom is present in everything in nature. The rose has both beauty and thorns—the wisdom is to live in peaceful coexistence. “That is the spirituality in Islam.”