 October 17, 2013 10:10AM |
Yesterday
was Eid and I happened to have an encounter with a Muslim man who tried
to convince me to convert to Islam. Many Muslims consider doing Dawa as
a religious obligation. The Muslim in this case was a Pakistani Punjabi
from Lyalpur, Samundari and was about 50 years old. At first we were
just talking (gap shap) about everyday things in the Punjabi language. I
had no idea he wanted to convert me. Starting Dawa with small talk is a
tactic many Muslims employ to first try to find out about their
potential target. When he saw that I am a friendly person he then
switched to his Da'wa mode. Below is our conversation:
MUSLIM: Beta(son), I want to give you a gift of the holy Quran, I'm sure if you read it, it will change your life.
ME: (wanting to be polite I accepted) Uncle Jee, if you give it to me I will read it when I have free time. Thank you for the offer.
MUSLIM: You know Beta, my family were also Sikhs many generations ago, but then we saw the light of Islam we converted. This is why so many Pakistanis today are Muslims who were formerly Sikhs.
Vichaar: this is a common myth amongst Pakistani Punjabis that their ancestors were Sikhs who then converted to Islam. Truth is, they are the descendants of those Hindus who were beaten up and forced to convert to Islam by the invading Afghans. Sikhs have always been a small minority in Punjab, never being a majority in any district in undivided Punjab. During the misl period Sikhs were only 5% of Punjab's entire population. Then during Sikh Raaj of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Sikh population grew to about 15-18% of Punjab's demographic share. With the fall of the Sikh Raaj many newly converted Sikhs had reverted back to their old faiths and again Sikh population shrank. There has never been any historically known mass conversion of Sikhs to Islam.
ME: Yes uncle jee, similarly many Muslims also converted to Sikhi. In our history we have examples of many such Muslims who saw the greatness of Sikhi and as Sikhs played a prominent role.
MUSLIM: But Beta, Islam is different.
ME: What do you mean?
MUSLIM: It is the last divine religion on this world, while all religions before it became impure and tempered. So it is the duty of all humans to become Muslims like my Sikh ancestors did.
ME: But Uncle Jee, we also believe our religion, Sikhi is by far the best out there. We believe Guru Nanak Dev Jee was sent for a special mission into this world in order to spread the fragrance of Sikhi where ever he went.
MUSLIM: In Gurbani it says "Aval Allah Noor Apaya, Qudrat Ke Sabh Bandhe, Ek Noor Te Sabh Jag Upjea Kaun Bhale Kau Mande." So even in Gurbani it is Talking about the greatness of Allah over other Gods. So Sikhs should believe in Allah and join his Path.
ME: Uncle Jee, do you know What that Gurbani you just quoted means? Aval Allah Noor Upaya means First God's Noor created this world, Qudrat Ke Sabh Bandhe: all living creatures are of his Kudrat, then how can you say one is good or bad based on his caste or religion? So uncle jee, this Shabad is actually talking about the oneness of all mankind who are all created by God.
Vichaar: Many Muslims quote this famous Gurbani Tukh because it has Islamic words like Allah, Noor, Kudrat and they think it must be talking about Islam's greatness but rather it is talking the opposite. It is making the point about the oneness of Vaheguru's creation.
When the Muslim uncle jee realized I am not being convinced about Islam, he used a different tactic. This time he tried to break me off from Sikhi first by attacking Sikh traditions because he knew that it was Sikhi which was preventing me from becoming Muslim.
MUSLIM: Beta, you know no where in Gurbani does it say that Sikhs should have a beard and grow their hair and wear a Pagdi (Turban).
ME: Uncle Jee, our Kesh are an integral part of our faith. Our Gurus themselves kept Kesh and commanded Sikhs to keep them. Just as Muslims rely on the Hadees for much of the Islamic way of life, similarly Sikhs also have historical documents which says Keeping Kesh is a must for a Sikh. We have examples of many Sikhs who became Shaheeds instead of cutting their Kesh. So there is no doubt that keeping Kesh is a must for a Sikh.
MUSLIM: You are a young man, why do you put this bojh (burden) on your head? you should take it off and shave your beard and enjoy your life.
ME: Uncle Jee, the Sikh Dastar is not a Bojh (burden). For us it is a crown that we wear with pride. What is a Sardar without is his Dastar? We keep our beard intact because we are men. We don't want to look like women by shaving our beard.
MUSLIM: But just look at all the Sikhs today. 90% of your boys no longer even wear Pagdis on their head. We are in the west you should try to look western instead of practising this useless ritual.
ME: Uncle Jee, if the majority of the world drinks alcohol, smokes cigarettes and fornicates you think I should follow their example? who cares what the world thinks. For a Sikh all that matters is what his Guru thinks. Just look at all true Muslims who follow the examples (Sunnah) of their prophet, they all have beards and many of your Mullahs-Maulanas even wear turbans, why don't they follow the western lifestyle by shaving and removing their turbans? I am not a cultural slave of the west that I will abandon my religious traditions. In fact I'm surprised you as a Muslim don't even keep a beard! what kind of Muslim are you?
When he could not break me away from Sikhi, he ended his Da`wa and changed the topic and left after 2 minutes. Sikhs in the west need to be aware of cleaver people of other religions trying to convert us. They see us as a soft target since most Sikhs are not very knowledgeable about Sikhi, so they think it will be easy to break a Sikh from Sikhi and convince him to convert. In the west Christian missionaries and Muslims are very active in targeting Sikhs. Sikhs need to gain knowledge about Sikhi in order to counter them if such a situation arises.
MUSLIM: Beta(son), I want to give you a gift of the holy Quran, I'm sure if you read it, it will change your life.
ME: (wanting to be polite I accepted) Uncle Jee, if you give it to me I will read it when I have free time. Thank you for the offer.
MUSLIM: You know Beta, my family were also Sikhs many generations ago, but then we saw the light of Islam we converted. This is why so many Pakistanis today are Muslims who were formerly Sikhs.
Vichaar: this is a common myth amongst Pakistani Punjabis that their ancestors were Sikhs who then converted to Islam. Truth is, they are the descendants of those Hindus who were beaten up and forced to convert to Islam by the invading Afghans. Sikhs have always been a small minority in Punjab, never being a majority in any district in undivided Punjab. During the misl period Sikhs were only 5% of Punjab's entire population. Then during Sikh Raaj of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Sikh population grew to about 15-18% of Punjab's demographic share. With the fall of the Sikh Raaj many newly converted Sikhs had reverted back to their old faiths and again Sikh population shrank. There has never been any historically known mass conversion of Sikhs to Islam.
ME: Yes uncle jee, similarly many Muslims also converted to Sikhi. In our history we have examples of many such Muslims who saw the greatness of Sikhi and as Sikhs played a prominent role.
MUSLIM: But Beta, Islam is different.
ME: What do you mean?
MUSLIM: It is the last divine religion on this world, while all religions before it became impure and tempered. So it is the duty of all humans to become Muslims like my Sikh ancestors did.
ME: But Uncle Jee, we also believe our religion, Sikhi is by far the best out there. We believe Guru Nanak Dev Jee was sent for a special mission into this world in order to spread the fragrance of Sikhi where ever he went.
MUSLIM: In Gurbani it says "Aval Allah Noor Apaya, Qudrat Ke Sabh Bandhe, Ek Noor Te Sabh Jag Upjea Kaun Bhale Kau Mande." So even in Gurbani it is Talking about the greatness of Allah over other Gods. So Sikhs should believe in Allah and join his Path.
ME: Uncle Jee, do you know What that Gurbani you just quoted means? Aval Allah Noor Upaya means First God's Noor created this world, Qudrat Ke Sabh Bandhe: all living creatures are of his Kudrat, then how can you say one is good or bad based on his caste or religion? So uncle jee, this Shabad is actually talking about the oneness of all mankind who are all created by God.
Vichaar: Many Muslims quote this famous Gurbani Tukh because it has Islamic words like Allah, Noor, Kudrat and they think it must be talking about Islam's greatness but rather it is talking the opposite. It is making the point about the oneness of Vaheguru's creation.
When the Muslim uncle jee realized I am not being convinced about Islam, he used a different tactic. This time he tried to break me off from Sikhi first by attacking Sikh traditions because he knew that it was Sikhi which was preventing me from becoming Muslim.
MUSLIM: Beta, you know no where in Gurbani does it say that Sikhs should have a beard and grow their hair and wear a Pagdi (Turban).
ME: Uncle Jee, our Kesh are an integral part of our faith. Our Gurus themselves kept Kesh and commanded Sikhs to keep them. Just as Muslims rely on the Hadees for much of the Islamic way of life, similarly Sikhs also have historical documents which says Keeping Kesh is a must for a Sikh. We have examples of many Sikhs who became Shaheeds instead of cutting their Kesh. So there is no doubt that keeping Kesh is a must for a Sikh.
MUSLIM: You are a young man, why do you put this bojh (burden) on your head? you should take it off and shave your beard and enjoy your life.
ME: Uncle Jee, the Sikh Dastar is not a Bojh (burden). For us it is a crown that we wear with pride. What is a Sardar without is his Dastar? We keep our beard intact because we are men. We don't want to look like women by shaving our beard.
MUSLIM: But just look at all the Sikhs today. 90% of your boys no longer even wear Pagdis on their head. We are in the west you should try to look western instead of practising this useless ritual.
ME: Uncle Jee, if the majority of the world drinks alcohol, smokes cigarettes and fornicates you think I should follow their example? who cares what the world thinks. For a Sikh all that matters is what his Guru thinks. Just look at all true Muslims who follow the examples (Sunnah) of their prophet, they all have beards and many of your Mullahs-Maulanas even wear turbans, why don't they follow the western lifestyle by shaving and removing their turbans? I am not a cultural slave of the west that I will abandon my religious traditions. In fact I'm surprised you as a Muslim don't even keep a beard! what kind of Muslim are you?
When he could not break me away from Sikhi, he ended his Da`wa and changed the topic and left after 2 minutes. Sikhs in the west need to be aware of cleaver people of other religions trying to convert us. They see us as a soft target since most Sikhs are not very knowledgeable about Sikhi, so they think it will be easy to break a Sikh from Sikhi and convince him to convert. In the west Christian missionaries and Muslims are very active in targeting Sikhs. Sikhs need to gain knowledge about Sikhi in order to counter them if such a situation arises.
http://gurmatbibek.com/forum/read.php?3,29590
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Knowledge is power!
20 comments:
WOW! a very interesting convo....
Yes this types of things are happening now a day and also i want to say one more thing that mostly muslims are like this only.they will tell to people that islam is peaceful religion and they want peace but realthing is where ever they gone they have slaughtered many people to convert to islam and our guru arjan dev ji and guru Tegbahadar ji vi inha karke hi shaheed hoye ne
they have killed many jews, Hindus and many other religion for silly reason just to convert to islam here where is the peace you can see
Women status is also very much worst in their religion. women can't go for mosque but in sikhism men and women are both can go for gurudwara
So finally i want to tell you dont believe on any muslim they will do anything to convert anybody to muslim
any question on sikhism ask me i will try my best to answer and also consult the knowledgeable persons(who are in contacts) for your answer
mail me: smanjitsingh589@gmail.com
I don't think as you.
Think about this questions:
How can all religion is equal to god?
Is god Omnipresent?
I think Sikh is just a movement of Sufis to unit some people. If Sikhs have no problem with others so change to Islam, it is monothiesm.
There no scripture in Sikhism preventing you to come to Islam and preach it and unit all people of this world.
All religions are not equal to God. Only Gurmat is the true way of life. All other religions including Islam are either false or have some element of truth but only Sikhi is 100% truth. The fact is made amply clear in Gurbani and Vaars as well.
Yes God is omnipresent. There is no doubt about it in Gurmat. However, in Quran it is unclear and thus varied interpretations are presented. Some say Allah is omnipresent from verses that state Allah’s face is everywhere while others say it is only by his power and knowledge that he is present in the creation.
Sikhi is not an off-shoot of Sufism because mysticism in both systems is very different. In Sufism, there exists dichotomy between religion and politics and way of life is more other-worldly. This is not so in Sikhi. Unless you present some evidence, your statement is unsound and foolish.
Since Gurmat is better than Islam, that alone justifies not going to Islam. There are clear injunctions in Gurbani explicating that those who turn their backs on Satguru get lost, wander in many incarnations and get punished in the next world. Our idea of uniting the world is by love, justice, fairness and equality. Islamic way is to kill, subjugate or enslave people in the name of religion. This is false way of life and will never succeed.
Nobody forces anybody into islam, muslims tell Sikhs that the quran exists and tell them to look into it. Whether the person accepts or not is upto the person. I ould not be offended if a Sikh came up to me with his guru grant book and asked me to look into it- he is asking me to look at the Sikh knowledge- then whether I accept Sikhism is upto me. The person who complains about islam being forced on them needs to grow up.
First of all Guru Granth Sahib Ji is not a book, we call it Guru. I think you completely misunderstood his point, he is not moaning about Muslims trying to convert him. He is pointing out that Sikhs (or any other religious person) who are not aware of their religion are more susceptible to conversion. I think he just wants people to be more aware Sikhi.
@muslim, guru nanak dev ji was not a sufi for your kind information and we are sikh we are amritdhari's(sikh Baptist) guru Nanak dev ji did not support khatna(changing the god creature) and all other faiths like parda(women to be in burqa) for women,killing people in the name of religion(jihad),kill the disbeliever(kafirs), we believe in equality, is that equality is present in ur religion?
So why dont u accept sikhism so u can achieve heaven.sikhism respect all religions not like ur's religion order's to kill like happening in iraq and syria
And one thing i want tell you many great people like dalai lama and some philosophers told that if whole world follows the sikhism no world war will happen in future this is the teaching of our guru's, we dont cut hairs as our gurus told to us but u even cant maintain a beard which is clearly mention in hadis that every muslim should maintain a beard of minimum equal to their fist without that cant say urself muslim,so how many muslims are their in the world?if count considering this thing in the india or world may be sikhs will be more than muslims and many thing are there which i cant explain u in a single comment
so it is enough for u to get a overview idea of our great historical religion sikhism(saint & soldiers )
How can you say that women status is very much worst in Islam. Do you have any proof?
And also what do you mean by "mostly muslims are like this"?
How can you prove that Sikhi is 100% true?Guru Granth Sahib is not a book of God. It was written by humans whereas Quran is a book of God . You should read Quran first before saying anything wrong about it. Go read Quran and if you find any mistake in it let me know
Well said
Well said
Dear Anonymous @Islam, you are just fighting and arguing without any valid points, I think you must first read Quran yourself and then comment/debate here, if Quran preaches love, then you must not argue and fight with anyone.
You say Quran is written by God..... Really? How?
Prohpet Muhhamad's divine revelations is Quran, Am i right? And Prophet Muhammed was a......God? Ofcourse no.
That's why it is said to be divine. But so is Bhagvat Gita, Bible, Vedas and Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji and many others. Many Saints/Gurus/Prophets were able to attain God and the deeper they dived into the Ocean of Meditation, the more pearls (experiences) they were able to find. These pearls are compiled in these Granths, so that humans like me and you read them, practice them and become divine ourselves. Its Simple!
So how does that make Quran the only true book? Or Prophet Muhammed the only last true messenger of God?
For your historical reference, and please bear this in Mind in Bold, that - Quran was compiled after Prophet's death, not by himself or during his lifetime. So there is a greater chance of ........ you know what i mean right?
For you Knowledge the history says this about compilation of Quran - "Based on earlier transmitted reports, in the year 632, after the demise of Muhammad a number of his companions who knew the Quran by heart were killed in a battle by Musaylimah, the first caliph Abu Bakr (d. 634) decided to collect the book in one volume so that it could be preserved"
No wonder so many scholars question its authenticity. And i can give you numerous examples of fights within various Islamic sects about the authenticity and different versions. It seems you have a long way or probably no way of resting such arguments to peace.
Whereas, Sri Guru Granth Sahib is the only Holy Book in the whole world which was compiled by the Guru's themselves and gave made Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji - as living Guru....... you know why because it has all the experiences/wisdom about merging or becoming one with God.
Please bear in Mind - there is no if and but within Sikhs (even among sects) about authenticity of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.
Sikhism doesn't say whether it is better than any other religion in the world or not, It is one of the true paths to Salvation and so is Islam and others.
My dear friend, Guru Nanak's message was simple: "Everyone is equal, and we are with everyone and anyone, who, believes in One and only One Almighty, the Lord (Ik Oangkaar).
Sikhs were never against Muslims or Islam, they simply fought against the tyranny which was "Mughals" who were trying to convert anyone & everyone to Islam by force. Sikhism is against all this. Force conversion is not right and is un-Godly, un-Holy and in-Human.
Our Guru's led the whole India by an example, that, even if I do not agree with your faith or practices, I will give my life to protect you freedom and faith, because my brother you have been granted every right to freedom of speech and practice.
Sikhism is Secular, You know why?
Because for our Gurus and their Sikhs all humanity is one and belong to One GOD. No one is special, we become special is Lord's court only by contemplation of His name and by devotion.
Sikh belongs to Waheguru, Akal Purakh, Ram, Allah & God...... These all are his names and with time many more names will come as more divine souls will tread this earth and reveal their experiences.
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh.
Wat da fuck r u on about the guru granth sahib is not a book of God???? It was written by humans dat had god incarnation inside of dem,in other words god was inside of em n every word they spoke was straight from God,our gurus were half god sent n god was inside em,they wer no meer prophets but actually gurus part of God,their value far exceeds dat of any Muslim phrophet who claimed to b speaking on gods behalf but actually had no proof dis was even true, wat proof av u got dat quran is buk of God??? U av no miracles or other proof!! In quran it says world dousnt spin n it is flat now dats really gods buk aint it lol,Sikhism has got everything right scientifically n its da only religion dat has dun dat weras quran cums no way close,n u telling us dat its da buk of God,plse mate dnt make us laugh,u lot r idol worshippers u no dat black box am talking bout dats an idol with Hindu godess Inside it,learn about sikhi b4 u chat shit n shame urself up mate plese,any Sikh who knows about his or her religion wud never even dream bout converting to Islam let alond doing so,da ones dat do usually no nothibout sikhi n if they do usually bee's completely wrong
Is Sikhism similar to Rastafaraianism?
No it is not similar to Rastafarianism. Sikhism believes in "One True Lord" and believes that everything emancipates from "Him". Everything includes everything.
I would suggest you to go to the following link in order to get a basic understanding of Sikhism - http://www.sikhismguide.org/
The Guru Granth Sahib has passages from other religions such as Hindusim and even Islam moreso from Sufi saints who also admired the gurus and weren't out to convert them, for example, Mian Mir and Baba Buddah Shah Ji.
In the Vedas, the Hindu scriptures, it actually predicted the coming of Sikhiskm, Guru Nanak Dev ji and the 10 Gurus. It predicted Vishnu, Brahmah and Shiv Ji will manifest itself as a human in the form of one whose name will be Nanak...
Guru Nanak Dev ji was sent during the Kali Yuga (age of the demon), he was sent by God.
When I bow down to the Guru Granth Sahib, I do not bow down to a mere book, I bow down to God himself manifested in all these holy forms.
For those who don't know much about their religion, do ur homework and those who are out to convert each and everyone, respect other faiths for there is only one God no matter how you choose to believe...
These so called "Lully" khan of the world just think there's the only religion of this world, everyone else needs to follow islam.
You people claiming Islam as the best ....go read other religious books and then see what your Islam is ?
I too had an encounter today. My Ola driver started off by praising Sikhism and the Khalsa Panth. Then he went on to find a common ground by discussing how the Indian State has conspired to bring Sikhs and Muslims down and how Sikhs should re-start an armed struggle for freedom from India.
He quoted the unfortunate 1984 incident, and even advocated the implementation of Sharia in India.
I politely asked hims to focus on the road and drop me on my destination. But guy went on and on. Until I had to advise him to focus on the positives in India, and on the fact that we all are Indians first. He replied by saying that I am an ignorant and I will keep getting bashed by Hindus. I requested the guy to stop worrying about Sikhs and keep his 'Victim Mentality' to himself.
i told the guy that Sikhs are 1.5 crore in India and have produced Army/Navy/Air force chiefs. Many IPS and IAS officers, and in business we Sikhs are considered as successful entrepreneurs. Why should I feel victimised.
What a shame that Muslims are not able to produce healthy and self-respecting individuals who can contribute positively to the society.
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