Answer
Short Answer: No. The origin of Islam and the Muslims had nothing to do with Hinduism, either as a religion or ethnicity. Islam started in the Arab world, but it is a universal message for all people. The roots of this confusion come from the fact that as soon as Islam came to the Indian Peninsula, people readily embraced it.
Salam Dear Brother,
Thank you for your question and for contacting Ask About Islam.
Actually, your question is rather vague. What exactly does your fiancée mean by Hindu?
Does she mean belonging to the religion of Hinduism or to India as a region? In general both assumptions are far from the truth.
Islam started in the Arab Peninsula, thus the first Muslims were originally ethnically Arabs.
The religion of the Arabs at the time of the revelation of Islam was that of paganism and not of Hinduism.
The origin of Islam and the Muslims had nothing to do with Hinduism, either as a religion or ethnicity.
Islam Is A Universal Message for All
The fact that Islam started between Arabs does not alter its universal message.
The Quran stresses in a number of verses this global nature of the Islamic message.
Allah says,
And We have not sent you except comprehensively to mankind as a bringer of good tidings and a warner. But most of the people do not know. (Quran 34:28)
He also says,
Blessed is He who sent down the Criterion upon His Servant that he may be to the worlds a warner- (Quran 25:1)
Thus it is clear that from the very beginning the call for Islam was never meant to be confined to Arabs or to any other ethnicity.
Islam: The Continuation of Christianity and Judaism
Nowadays, praise be to Allah, you find Islam in Asia, Africa, Europe, the two Americas and Australia embraced by peoples of different colors, who recite the Noble Quran.
In this feature, Islam bears a resemblance to the two heavenly religions that came before it – namely Christianity and Judaism.
Though Christianity started in Palestine and Judaism in Egypt – where Moses received revelation at Mount Sinai – the two religions extended allover the world to spread guidance for all humanity.
They were not meant to be restricted to the people of Egypt or that of Palestine.
The Roots of This Confusion
I think the reason behind your fiancée’s confusion about the relationship between Islam and Hinduism is that when the Indian Peninsula was opened to Islam in the tenth century—at the hands of the great Muslim conquerers Sakuktegin and His son Mahmoud of Ghazni—most people converted to it.
It is because this part of the world is heavily populated, a majority of Muslims now belong to this part of the world, which is the Indian Peninsula.
The Muslims of this part have always been active da`is (callers for the religion).
You can always feel their dynamism in spreading Islam everywhere you go in Europe and America.
The first modern Quranic translation that helped millions to understand Islam was accomplished by the Indian Yusuf Ali.
So were the first recognized translations of the two famous books of Hadith (sayings of the Prophet) were achieved by the two Pakistanis, Farouqi and Muhsin Khan.
There are other examples that are beyond number of the participation of the Indian Muslims so that they, as well as we, must be proud of and that may cause this confusion in the minds of non-Muslims that Muslims are from Hindu origin!
Thank you again for writing to us and many congratulations for your coming marriage. Please always keep in touch.
Salam.
(From AboutIslam’s archives)
Read more…