Interfaith Dialogue in Islam

T he Veda is supposed to have been transmitted as Shruti (oral tradition). That is, the one who wrote the Vedas was not the ‘author’ of the scripture, instead he wrote what he had heard from others. Before being written, the Vedas existed only as oral tradition. According to Islam, the Quran is the revelation from God that came down to the Prophet Muhammad by means of the angel Gabriel. Whenever the Prophet received a revelation which the angel Gabriel brought to him, he would immediately recite it to one of his companion scribes. These scribes would write down the words recited by the Prophet on leaves, pieces of paper and other material. Many of the Companions of the Prophet also committed the entire Quran to memory. The Quran was not revealed all at once in the form of a book, rather it was revealed in parts depending upon the circumstances and the situations faced by the Prophet and Muslims. Towards the end of the life of the Prophet, the Quran, in written form, was compiled together in its current form. So the whole of the Quran was preserved in two ways: first, in writing and second, in the memory of many Muslims at the time of the Prophet. The Prophet Muhammad did not author the Quran. He was the receiver of the message that God had sent to him. The message of the Quran was not from the Prophet Muhammad, but from God. The Prophet did not start a new religion. The religion he conveyed was the same as that which was revealed to the earlier prophets Adam, Abraham, Moses and Jesus, as has been mentioned in the Quran. Muhammad is only the Last Prophet and the Seal of Messengers. The word ‘Allah’ is simply an Arabic word for ‘God’. When the Bible is translated in Arabic, ‘God’ is written as ‘Allah’ and when the Quran is translated in English ‘Allah’ is written as ‘God’. The Prophet Muhammad did not introduce a new God, he rather referred to the same One God, which in the Arabic language of his time was known as Allah. Can Muslims and followers of other religions live peacefully in the long term, considering the fact that wherever Islam exists there is always a potential for conflict? T here is conflict even between two members of a family. This is because conflict is inherent in human nature; it has got nothing to do with the religion one follows. If people have the right thinking and are able to tolerate, then peace will prevail. What we see in the media regarding Islam is an outcome of selective reporting which is meant to capture only sensational news, so that viewers can get interested. There are many societies and cultures around the world where inter-faith harmony exists and a free secular atmosphere has been established. How can trust be built between Muslims and other communities?