Vedic Past of Pre-Islamic Arabia

Vedic Past of Pre-Islamic Arabia - Part 1 Aditi Chaturvedi

Many centuries before prophet Muhammad and the destructive advent of Islam, Arabia or Arabistan was an extremely rich and glorious centre of Vedic civilisation. In this article, I will prove to you point by point that pre-Islamic Arabia was in fact a flourishing civilisation which revered Vedic culture.

It is the prophet Muhammad and the followers of Islam who are fully responsible for the dissemination and destruction of this once glorious culture.

In learning about this most ancient heritage, let's begin with the word Arabistan itself. Arabistan is derived from the original Sanskrit term Arvasthan which means The Land of Horses. Since time immemorial proponents of the Vedic culture used to breed exceptional horses in this region. Thus eventually the land itself began to be called Arva (Horses) -Sthan (place). The people who lived in this land were called Semitic. Semitic comes from the Sanskrit word Smritic. Arabs followed the ancient Vedic Smritis such as Manu-Smriti as their revered religious guides and thus they were identified as Smritic which has been corrupted into Semitic.

At that time the Uttarapath (Northern Highway) was the international highway to the North of India. It was via Uttarapath that Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries drew their spiritual, educational and material sustenance from India. Besides, this Sea-links were formed with India at least 800 years before the advent of Islam. Basra was the ancient gateway to India because it was at this port that the Arab lands recieved Indian goods and visitors. At that time the spoken language was Sanskrit, which later dwindled into the local variation that we now call Arabic. The proof of this is that thousands of words that were derived from Sanskrit still survive in Arabic today. Here is a sampling of some:

Sanskrit Arabic English

Sagwan Saj Teakwood

Vish Besh Poison

Anusari Ansari Follower

Shishya Sheikh Disciple

Mrityu Mout Death

Pra-Ga-ambar Paigambar One from heaven

Maleen Malaun Dirty or soiled

Aapati Aafat Misfortune

Karpas Kaifas Cotton

Karpur Kafur Camphor

Pramukh Barmak Chief

Even various kinds of swords were referred to as Handuwani, Hindi, Saif-Ul-Hind, Muhannid and Hinduani. The Sanskrit Astronomical treatise Brahma-Sphuta-Siddhanta in Arabic translation is known as Sind-Hind, while another treatise Khanda-Khadyaka was called Arkand. Mathematics itself was called Hindisa .

The Arabs derived technical guidance in every branch of study such as astronomy, mathematics and physics from India. A noted scholar of history, W.H. Siddiqui notes:

"The Arab civilization grew up intensively as well as extensively on the riches of Indian trade and commerce. Nomadic Arabtribes became partially settled communities and some of them lived within walled towns practised agriculture and commerce, wrote on wood and stone, feared the gods and honored the kings."

Some people wrongly believe that Arabs used the word Hindu as a term of contemptuous abuse. Nothing could be further from the truth. The people of pre-Islamic Arabia held Hinduism in great esteem as evidenced from the fact that they would endearingly call their most attractive and favourite daughters as Hinda and Saifi Hindi. The fact that Arabs regarded India as their spiritual and cultural motherland long before the damaging influence of Islam is corroborated by the following poem which mentions each one of the four Vedas by name: (The English translation is in black)

"Aya muwarekal araj yushaiya nohaminar HIND-eWa aradakallahamanyonaifail jikaratun"

"Oh the divine land of HIND (India)(how) very blessed art thou! Because thou art the chosen

of God blessed with knowledge"

"Wahalatijali Yatun ainana sahabiakha-atun jikra Wahajayhi yonajjalur-rasu minal HINDATUN "

"That celestial knowledge which like four lighthouses shone in such brilliance - through the (utterances of) Indian sages in fourfold abundance."

"Yakuloonallaha ya ahal araf alameen kullahum Fattabe-u jikaratul VEDA bukkun

malam yonajjaylatun"

"God enjoins on all humans, follow with hands down The path the Vedas with his divine

precept lay down."

"Wahowa alamus SAMA wal YAJUR minallahay Tanajeelan Fa-e-noma ya akhigo mutiabay-an Yobassheriyona jatun"

"Bursting with (Divine) knowledge are SAM &YAJUR bestowed on creation, Hence brothers respect and follow the Vedas, guides to salvation"

"Wa-isa nain huma RIG ATHAR nasayhin Ka-a-Khuwatun Wa asant Ala-udan wabowa masha -e-ratun"

"Two others, the Rig and Athar teach us fraternity, Sheltering under their lustre dispels darkness till eternity"

This poem was written by Labi-Bin-E- Akhtab-Bin-E-Turfa who lived in Arabia around 1850 B.C. That was 2300 years before Mohammed!!! This verse can be found in Sair- Ul-Okul which is an anthology of ancient Arabic poetry. It was compiled in 1742 AD under order of the Turkish Sultan Salim.

That the Vedas were the religious scriptures to which the Arabs owed allegiance as early as 1800 B.C. proves not only the antiquity of the Vedas but also the existence of Indian rule over the entire region from the Indus to the Mediterranean, because it is a fact of history that the religion of the ruler is practised by his subjects.

Vedic culture was very much alive just before the birth of Muhammad. Again let's refer to the Sair-Ul-Okul. The following poem was written by Jirrham Bintoi who lived 165 years before the prophet Muhammed. It is in praise of India's great King Vikramaditya who had lived 500 years before Bintoi. (The English translation is in red).

"Itrasshaphai Santul

Bikramatul phehalameen Karimun

Bihillahaya Samiminela

Motakabbenaran Bihillaha

Yubee qaid min howa

Yaphakharu phajgal asari

nahans Osirim Bayjayholeen

Yaha sabdunya Kanateph natephi

bijihalin Atadari Bilala masaurateen

phakef Tasabahu. Kaunni eja majakaralhada

walhada Achimiman, burukan, Kad, Toluho

watastaru Bihillaha yakajibainana

baleykulle amarena

Phaheya jaunabil amaray Bikramatoon"

- (Sair-ul-Okul, Page 315)

"Fortunate are those who were born during King Vikram's reign, he was a noble generous, dutiful ruler devoted to the welfare of his subjects. But at that time, We Arabs oblivious of divinity were lost in sensual pleasures. Plotting & torture were rampant. The darkness of ignorance had enveloped our country. Like the lamb struggling for its life in the cruel jaws of a wolf, we Arabs were gripped by ignorance. The whole country was enveloped in a darkness as intense as on a New moon night. But the present dawn & pleasant sunshine of education is the result of the favour of that noble king Vikram whose benevolence did not lose sight of us foreigners as we were. He spread his sacred culture amongst us and sent scholars from his own land whose brilliance shone like that of the sun in our country. These scholars & preceptors through whose benevolence we were once again made aware of the presence of god, introduced to his secret knowledge & put on the road to truth, had come to our country to initiate us in that culture & impart education."

Thus we can see that Vedic religion and culture were present in Pre-Islamic Arabia as early as 1850 B.C., and definitely present at the time of Mohammed's birth. In his book Origines, Volumes 3 & 4", Sir W. Drummond adds: "Tsabaism was the universal language of mankind when Abraham received his call, their doctrines were probably extended all over the civilized nations of Earth."

Tsabaism is merely the corruption of the word Shaivism which is Vedic religion. On page 439 of this book, Sir Drummond mentions some of gods of pre-Islamic Arabs, all of which were included in the 360 idols that were consecrated in the Kaba shrine before it was raided and destroyed by Muhammad and his followers. Here are some of the Vedic deities and their original Sanskrit names:

Arabic Sanskrit English

Al-Dsaizan Shani Saturn

Al-Ozi or Ozza Oorja Divine energy

Al-Sharak Shukra Venus

Auds Uddhav -

Bag Bhagwan God

Bajar Vajra Indra's thunderbolt

Kabar Kuber God of wealth

Dar Indra King of gods

Dua Shara Deveshwar Lord of the gods

Habal Bahubali Lord of strength

Madan Madan God of love

Manaph Manu First Man

Manat Somnath Lord Shiv

Obodes Bhoodev Earth

Razeah Rajesh King of kings

Saad Siddhi God of Luck

Sair Shree Goddess of wealth

Sakiah Shakrah Indra

Sawara Shiva-Eshwar God Shiva

Yauk Yaksha Divine being

Wad Budh Mercury

The Kaba temple which was misappropriated and captured by Muslims was originally an International Vedic Shrine. The ancient Vedic scripture Harihareswar Mahatmya mentions that Lord Vishnu's footprints are consecrated in Mecca. An important clue to this fact is that Muslims call this holy precint Haram which is a deviation of the Sanskrit term Hariyam, i.e. the precint of Lord Hari alias Lord Vishnu. The relevant stanza reads:

"Ekam Padam Gayayantu

MAKKAYAANTU Dwitiyakam

Tritiyam Sthapitam

Divyam Muktyai Shuklasya Sannidhau"

The allusion is to the Vamana incarnation of Lord Vishnu whose blessed feet were consecrated at three holy sites, namely Gaya, Mecca and Shukla Teertha. Worshipping such carved, holy foot impressions is a holy Vedic custom which convert Muslims are inadvertently perpetuating. But in doing this they delude themselves and mislead others that these foot-impressions which are on reverential display in several mosques and tombs around the world are in fact Muhammad's own. There are several snags in this argument. Firstly worshipping a foot -impression amounts to idolatry and should therefore be taboo for a true Muslim. Secondly Muhhamad disclaimed having performed any miracles. Therefore there can be no foot-impression of his on stone. Thirdly foot-impressions must always be in pairs like shoes. Yet in most of these shrines, it is usually a single footprint which suggests that Muhammad walked on only one foot. Another question that crops up is whether the foot-impression is of the same size and foot in all the shrines. The fact appears to be that when the Vedic Kaba shrine in Mecca was invaded by Muhammad, the pairs of foot impressions of Vedic deities there were plundered and later traded to the gullible and devout as Muhammad's own footprints for some favour, reward or personal gain by unscrupulous muslims. That is why they are single and not in pairs.

Figure 1.

The Shiv Ling at The Kaba. It was broken in seven places and now is held together by a silver band.

The Black Stone which is the Shiv Emblem (also known as Sange Aswad which is a corrupted form of the Sanskrit word Sanghey Ashweta--meaning non-white stone) still survives in the Kaba as the central object of Islamic veneration. All other Vedic Idols could be found buried in the precincts or trampled underfoot in labyrinthine subterranean corridors if archaeological excavations are undertaken. The Black Stone has been badly mutilated, its carved base has disappeared and the stone itself is broken at seven places. It's parts are now held together by a silver band studded with silver nails. It lies half buried in the South Eastern portion of the Kaba Wall (Refer to Figure 1). The term Kaba itself is a corruption of the Sanskrit word Gabha (Garbha + Graha) which means Sanctum.

In addition, in the inscriptions from Hajja and its neighborhood was found a votive vessel dedicated by members of two tribes called Rama and Somia. Rama and Soma are Vedic deities, Rama is of the Solar dynasty and Soma is of the Lunar Dynasty. The moon god was called by various names in pre-Islamic times , one of them was Allah. Allah had 3 children, Al-Lat, Al-Uzza and Manat. Al-Lat and Al-Uzza were both feminine deities. Alla is another name for the Hindu goddess Durga. It is obvious that the goddess Al-Lat was Alla (Durga) and Al-Uzza was Oorja (energy or life force also known as Shakti). Manat was none other than Somnath which is another name for Lord Shiva. One significant point to note that Soma in Sanskrit means Moon and Nath means Lord. Thus the Kaba itself was dedicated to the Moon God Somnath alias Shiv and the word Somnath was corrupted to Manat. The famous Black Stone is none other than the ShivLing of Makkeshwar alias Mecca. Lord Shiva is always shown with a crescent Moon on his head and every Shiva temple is supposed to have a sacred water spring representing the Ganges. The Crescent Moon pinnacle of the Kaba and the Zamzam spring (actually Zamza from Ganga) are irrefutable testaments to the Vedic origins of the Kaba.

Figure 2 below depicts the image of Maqam-E-Ibrahim in the Kaba.

Figure 2. Maqam-E-Ibrahim or more appropriately the pedestal of Brahma.

Muslims from all over the world pay homage to this shrine. This shrine is actually the pedestal of Brahma. Notice that the word, Ibrahim is actually a corruption of the word, Brahma. The octogonal grill which is a Vedic design, protects the holy footprints which represent the start of the creation nearly 2000 million years ago. Before it was captured by the Muslims it was an international shrine of the Vedic trinity.

In fact the names of the holiest of Muslim cities Mecca and Medina come from the Sanskrit words Makha-Medini which means the land of Fire-Worship. Even the most ancient names of these 2 cities were Mahcorava- which came from Mahadeva (Lord Shiva) and Yathrabn - which came from Yatra-Sthan (place of pilgrimage).

Islam came into being about 1372 years ago. It is well known that over 7500 years ago, at the time of the Mahabharat War, Kurus ruled the world. The scions of that family administered the different regions. Prophet Muhammed himself and his family were adherents of Vedic culture. The Encyclopedia Islamia admits as much when it says: "Muhammed's grandfather and uncles were hereditary priests of the Kaba temple which housed 360 idols!"

According to Arab traditions, Muhammad is a title. We do not know what name his parents had given him. We do however know that the central object of worship which survives at the Kaba today is a Shivling. That was allowed to remain there because that was the faceless family deity of Muhammad's family. One of the original names of Lord Shiv is Mahadev (The Great God) therefore it is entirely possible Muhammad came from Mahadev. This appears fairly certain because the Arabs still have a Mahadevi sect. Moreover the title Mehdi of a Muslim chief is also a malpronounciation of the term Mahadeva. According to Sanskrit etymology the term Muhammad implies 'a person of great inspiration' - 'Mahan Madah yasya assau Muhammadah' In a hostile sense it also implies 'a person of a proud and haughty temperament'.

The Qurayshi tribe into which Mohammed was born was particularly devoted to Allah and and the three children of the Moon God. Therefore when Muhammad decided to create his own Divine religion, he took innumerable aspects of the daily Vedic culture that surrounded him and corrupted them to suit his needs. It was with the advent of the Prophet and Islam that the death-knell of the glorious Arab culture was sounded. With Islam came the flood of destruction, murder, plunder and crime that destroyed the great Vedic heritage of Arabs. The Prophet merely took some existing artefacts and terms and corrupted them so profoundly that no one would be able to discover their actual origins.

In my next article, I will elaborate further on the Vedic Heritage of Arabia.

Note: Works of P.N. Oak and Robert A. Morey have been used to compose this article.

Vedic Past of Pre-Islamic Arabia - Part 2       Aditi Chaturvedi

In 570 AD, the year of Muhammad's birth, Arabia was a thriving, rich and varied Vedic culture. Although monotheism in the forms of Christianity and Judaism were known to the people of Arvasthan, they were undeterred in their uncompromising faith to the religion of their ancestors: Hinduism . Every household had an idol of a Hindu god or goddess. There were hundreds of sacred groves, places of pilgrimage, and temples which were sanctuaries containing images of the entire range of Vedic gods. The temples in addition to being the religious focus of the Arabs, were also the cultural centres of learning. It was the temples that were the venues of literary and poetry competitions, of glorious festivals.

The virtues most highly prized by people of Arvasthan were bravery in battle, patience in misfortune, loyalty to one's tribe, and generosity to the needy and the poor. They proudly upheld the value of tolerance in matters of religious practice and belief. The respect they showed towards other people's religions was fully in keeping with their Vedic spiritual tradition.

The status of women was that of pride and equal respect. How could it be otherwise with a people whose chief deity was the goddess Durga (Alla). Women married men of their choice and were financially independent. They were entrepeneurs, artisans, poets and even warriors! Later on Muhammad would marry Khadija, who was not only a wealthy merchant but also in the position to choose her own husband. This clearly demonstrates the level of freedom women enjoyed in Vedic Arabia. Hind, who was the wife of Muhammad's chief enemy Abu Sufyan, herself participated in the battlefield.

Hind opposed Muhammad tooth and nail. She followed her husband to the battlefield and when Abu Sufyan surrendered Mecca to Muhammad without a fight she caught hold of him in the marketplace and cried:

"KILL this fat greasy bladder of lard! What a rotten protector of the people"

When Muhammad tried to baptise her & asked her not to commit adultery , She spat out the bitter words:

"A free woman does not commit adultery!"

How proud this woman was of the rights and privileges that her Vedic society had invested to her!

It was Islam that extinguished the light of knowledge in Vedic Arabia. It is ironic that the man who brought about such darkness himself belonged to the Qurayshi Tribe of Mecca. The Qurayshi were particularly devoted to Allah (Durga) and the famous Shivling of the Kaaba Temple. The fact that the Shivling remains to this day in the Kaaba is solely due to the fact that it happened to be the Qurayshi tribe's faceless Family Deity. As I mentioned before Muhammad's name itself came from Mahadeva, which is another cognate for Lord Shiva. Muhammad's own uncle, Umar-Bin-E-Hassham was a staunch Hindu and fervent devotee of Lord Shiva. He was a renowned poet and wrote many verses in praise of Shiva. One of these has survived on page 235 of Sair-Ul-Okul and reads as follows:

Kafavomal fikra min ulumin Tab asayru

Kaluwan amataul Hawa was Tajakhru

We Tajakhayroba udan Kalalwade-E Liboawa

Walukayanay jatally, hay Yauma Tab asayru

Wa Abalolha ajabu armeeman MAHADEVA

Manojail ilamuddin minhum wa sayattaru

Wa Sahabi Kay-yam feema-Kamil MINDAY Yauman

Wa Yakulum no latabahan foeennak Tawjjaru

Massayaray akhalakan hasanan Kullahum

Najumum aja- at Summa gabul HINDU

which translates as: The man who may spend his life in sin and irreligion or waste it in lechery and wrath If at least he relent and return to righteousness can he be saved? If but once he worship Mahadeva with a pure heart, he will attain the ultimate in spirituality. Oh Lord Shiva exchange my entire life for but a day's sojourn in India where one attains salvation. But one pilgrimage there secures for one all merit and company of the truly great.

Muhammad's uncle was one of the resident priests of the Shiv temple known as "Kaaba". This sacred sanctum was decorated in an extremely rich and beautiful fashion. The Kaaba was astronomically oriented to face the winds. The minor axis of the rectangular base of the Kaaba was solistically aligned towards summer sunrise and winter sunset. It contained 360 statues of Vedic deities and was a shrine primarily associated with sun worship. The temple was an architectural representation of an interlocking set of theories covering virtually all creation and comprehending chemistry, physics, cosmology, meteorology and medicine. Each wall or corner of the Kaaba was associated with a specific region of the world. Thus this glorious Hindu temple was made to symbolically represent a microcosm of the universe. The Arabs would face east when praying. This representation of a microcosm demonstrated by the eight directional structure was derived from the Tantric pattern (Refer to Figure 1) of Hinduism. Right at the centre of the Kaaba was the octogonal pedestal of Bramha the creator. Today this very pedestal is called Maqam-E-Ibrahim by the Muslims.

Figure 1. A tantric pattern which defines the structure of Kaaba

However, more significant was the fact that the Kaaba was an extremely rich and ornate temple. On its walls hung innumerable gold plaques commemorating the winners of the annual poetry competition known as the Okaj fair. There were gold, silver and precious gems everywhere. It is no wonder that Muhammad armed with his facade of a new brand of religion set out to capture the immense wealth of the Vedic shrine of Mecca. After plundering the riches of the Kaaba, the wealth enabled him to systematically destroy all traces of the religion that threatened him so directly. It is an indisputable fact that money will make any low criminal devoutly religious in a hurry.

Despite the fact that Muhammad had to destroy all traces of Hinduism in order to make his "new religion" work, he knew that in order to fool people convincingly he would have to borrow from the Vedic culture that surrounded him. Being illiterate he picked out rituals and symbols that he didn't understand and distorted and falsified them for his own ends. Here is a list of these distortions:

Muhammad destroyed all 360 idols, but even he could not summon the courage to completely obliterate the Shivling in the Kaaba. He entered the temple and kissed the black stone. The Shivling was so sacred that the man who so detested idol- worship ended up kissing the largest idol in the Kaaba. Later his followers in a fit of piety broke the Shivling and then out of remorse repatched it together again. Today it lies broken at seven places and held together by a silver band studded with silver nails, bearing the name "Sangey Aswad" which came from the Sanskrit Ashwet meaning non-white or black stone.

He jumbled up the Sanskrit words Nama and Yaja (which meant "bowing and worshipping" respectively) into a combination word Namaz and used that to describe his prescribed method of prayer.

Because the Vedic custom was to pray facing the East, in his hatred for all things Hindu, he directed his followers to pray facing only the west.

The method of circling around a shrine seven times in a clockwise direction is an ancient Vedic custom. Muhammad with his lack of originality decided that the 7 ritual perambulations should be retained but again in his hatred of all things Vedic decided the direction of the perambulations should be anti-clockwise.

With his phobia of all things Vedic, Muhammad knew that the greatest reminder and threat to his forced brand of religion were the beautiful Vedic idols of Arabic temples. Thus he destroyed every idol he could find and made idol worship the greatest crime for a Muslim. Such a man could never have comprehended how an abstract concept can be conveyed through a symbolic representation in the form of an image. Thus he made all image representation a sin as well.

Vedic religion is known for its ancient oral tradition. It is well known that the Vedic culture emphasized oral debate and expression far more than the written word. In adition the oral recitation of Vedic scriptures was always done in a lyrical fashion, utilizing music and thus reaching a height of expression. In fear of this musical tradition Muhammad decided to forbid Music.

All Arabic copies of the Koran have the mysterious figure 786 imprinted on them . No Arabic scholar has been able to determine the choice of this particular number as divine. It is an established fact that Muhammad was illiterate therefore it is obvious that he would not be able to differentiate numbers from letters. This "magical" number is none other than the Vedic holy letter "OM" written in Sanskrit (Refer to figure 2). Anyone who knows Sanskrit can try reading the symbol for "OM" backwards in the Arabic way and magically the numbers 786 will appear! Muslims in their ignorance simply do not realise that this special number is nothing more than the holiest of Vedic symbols misread.

Figure 2. Read from right to left this figure of OM represents the numbers 786

There are many such instances where the symbols and rituals of Vedic culture were completely distorted and falsified by Muhammad in his bid to "create" his brand new religion. However in his haste to deceive and because of his ignorance and illiteracy, thousands of Vedic symbols still remain. Although they have been distorted beyond imagination, they still remain as solemn reminders of Arabia's glorious Vedic past. They can never be supressed.

In fact the rise of Islam put a full stop to all the previous knowledge of Arabia. The imperialistic message of Islam diverted all energies into raiding, looting and destruction. The incentive to learn and preserve the Vedic wisdom that had thrived in Arabia for so many centuries, was wiped out by the brutal pressure of Islam. Making easy money through loot and massacre was far more appealing than upholding the tenets of ancient knowledge. Gone were the schools, teachers, libraries, poets, artists, philosophers and scholars that had littered the Vedic landscape of Arabia like stars. Everyone had to become a raider if not from choice then for the sake of surviving the absolute intolerance of dissenters, that Islam preached. Thus was the light of learning extinguished in Arabia. All that remained was the Koran, the Kalma and the murderous hatred of anything Non-Muslim.

In my next article I will explore how the Arabs fought to keep the integrity and pride of their Vedic culture alive in the face of the violent, unjust and murderous destruction caused by the followers of Islam.

Note: Works of P.N. Oak, Sita Ram Goel, Arun Shourie, Jay Dubashi, Harsh Narain and Ram Swarup have been used to compose this article.

Vedic Past of Pre-Islamic Arabia - Part 3  Aditi Chaturvedi

The Hindus of Arabia lived in a land where their forefathers had lived and prospered for ages past. They were proud inheritors of the ancient Vedic culture and religion. Mecca was a city whose commerce was expanding greatly and whose power and prestige were well established. Meccans were content, prosperous and devoted to the religion of their ancestors. The Kaaba temple drew thousands of devotees from around the world. Trade and barter flourished greatly, due to the immense number of visitors who came to Mecca on pilgrimage. The members of the Qurayshi tribe to which Muhammad belonged, were the priests who performed the rites and rituals for these pilgrims, thereby deriving their very livelihood from the Vedic gods of the Kaaba. It is no wonder that the majority of them later rejected Muhammad's new religion and paid for it with their lives. In any case the Meccans were exceedingly devoted to their gods and very satisfied with the state of their lives. They were not at all on the lookout for a new cult or savior who could rescue them from a miserable state or lead them into a promised land. They had rejected Monotheism wholeheartedly during the short lived Jewish regime in Yemen and their Vedic gods had protected them very well against the Abyssinian Invasion. They were skeptical and amused by prophets foaming at the mouth and dismissed them as magicians or just plain lunatics. They did not want to hear any so called "revelations" or so called heavenly "messengers". In short the Arabs were noble, content people, who felt spiritually enriched and materialistically satisfied. It is only in such successful societies that the qualities of tolerance, equality of the sexes, independence, love of free thinking, and cultural enrichment can exist.

When Muhammad first started preaching his "new" religion the Meccans tolerated it as they had tolerated many such propounders of "new" religions before. However they were startled out of their tolerance when the small band of Islamists started to publicly ridicule the Vedic heritage of the Meccans and threatened to break down the idols, which were the pride of Mecca. At first they proceeded in a calm manner to Muhammad's uncle Abu Talib and told him that his nephew had "cursed our gods, insulted our religion, mocked our way of life and accused our revered forefathers of error. We request you to restrain him."

It should be pointed out that the Meccans NEVER said Muhammad could not preach his religion, all they asked was that in the true spirit of tolerance, he ought to respect their way of life and religion, just as they were willing to let him uphold his.

Figure 1.

But Muhammad continued insulting the Vedic heritage of the Meccans. He considered his epileptic fits as periods of divine revelation and his bitter invectives against the Vedic religion grew stronger. The Arabs of Mecca were now convinced that Muhammad was a lunatic who deserved only pity. This charge stung Muhammad to such an extent that he retorted bitterly "By him who holds my life in his hand, I bring you slaughter". and came up with revelations such as:

"And they will see which one of you is demented. Therefore obey not your rejectors who would have you compromise; Neither obey you each feeble oath-monger,detractor, spreader of slander, hinderer of the good, an aggressor, malefactor, greedy therewithal, intrusive. We shall brand him on the nose!" (Quran 68:5-6, 68:8-13).

The Meccans were now stunned and convinced that such virulence and hatred could only come from one who is possessed by an evil spirit. They sent Utba B. Rabia one of their chiefs to Muhammad. Utba kindly explained to him that " If this ghost which comes to you is such that you cannot get rid of him, we will find a physician for you and exhaust our means in getting you cured, for often a spirit takes possession of a man until he can be cured of it." Muhammad reacted violently and warned the Meccans to leave him alone. The patience of the Arabs had come to an end, they decided it was time to fight back.

In the spirit of their Vedic culture , they invited Muhammad to an open debate. It was soon obvious from the debates that Muhammad could not present arguments in a logical manner. He would lose his temper and resort to violent and insulting answers to the questioners. Soon after he claimed a divine revelation that instructed him not to participate in open debate, to evade questions, and if questioned by unbelievers to retire! (Quran 6:68-70)

Now the Meccans were amused that a man like Muhammad who was distinguished neither by birth or education should go around proclaiming himself to be a prophet. When he started producing revelations about Moses and Jesus having performed miracles, they asked Muhammad to do the same. Unlike Moses and Jesus however, Muhammad could not produce a single miracle. Instead he came up with a revelation that the Meccans were not likely to believe in a miracle even if it were shown to them!

Now the Meccans were convinced about the falsity of Muhammad's claims. Their faith in their Vedic deities was absolutely unshaken. Moreover they were enraged by the fact that Muhammad had taken their principal god Allah (Durga) and made her into the jealous deity of his new religion. They met him and said:

"Muhammad either you will stop cursing our gods or we will curse this Allah of yours."

Muhammad then threw a challenge to the Meccans to produce revelations such as his. The challenge was accepted by Al Nadr B. Harith, a Meccan chief who said

"I can tell better stories than him...In what respect is Muhammad a better story teller?"

Al Nadr proceeded to tell several stories in verses, which were even better than the verses of the Quran. Muhammad was enraged and never forgave Al Nadr for this defeat. Later on Muhammad had Al Nadr brutally executed.

Muhammad had started preaching about how Judgement would come and bring destruction to the Non-believers. The Meccans however were not cowed down by mere threats. They challenged Muhammad to hurry up and bring down the Doom upon them. They said:

"You have disputed with us and multiplied disputation with us. Now bring down upon us that wherewith you threaten us, if you are truthful O Allah! If this indeed be the Truth from you, rain down stones on us or bring us some painful Doom...Our Lord! Hasten us for our fate before the Day of Reckoning...When will it come to port? When will the promise be fulfilled if you are truthful? When is the Day of Judgement?.."

The Meccans threw this challenge again and again. Muhammad had to wriggle out of the situation somehow. He came up with another convenient revelation:

"Knowledge thereof is with My Lord, He alone can manifest it at the proper time...It comes not to you save unawares...But Allah will not punish them while you (Muhammad) are with them... For every nation there is an appointed time...It is (only) then when it has befallen that you will believe.. And it is in the Scriptures of the men of Old..Is it not a portent for them that the doctors of the Children of Israel know it? You (Muhammad) are but the warner sent to them...So withdraw and await the event" (Quran 50:4 , 75:3-4, 79:13-14, 56:49-57)

It was obvious that the Prophet had begun contradicting himself, the paradox was in the verse itself, for how could Allah tell Muhammad to await the Event of the Day of Judgement when he had made it clear that it would not happen while Muhammad was alive!

The knowledgable Meccans had by now realized that Muhammad was only stealing things that he had learned from the Jews and the Christians. He was taking Biblical lore and conveniently twisting it to conform with his own "divine" religion. Moreover it was obvious that Muhammad was coming up with "holy verses" whenever the occasion demanded for his convenience. The incident that confirmed their suspicion was the Satanic Verses which say:

"Have Ye thought of Al-Lat and Al-Uzza and Manat the third, the other, these are the Gharaniq whose intercession is approved."(Quran 53:19-27)

The Satanic Verses of the Quran clearly state that Al-Lat and Al-Uzza and Manat (Alla = Durga, Oorja = Shakti (life-force) and Somnath = Shivji) are exalted and their intercession is approved. The Meccans were overjoyed that Muhammad had finally endorsed the Vedic deities, but because of the pressure of his followers, Muhammad had to withdraw the verses.

Figure 2. Sculptures of Pre-Islamic gods

This was the last straw. The Meccans were now convinced of the lies perpetuated by Muhammad. Their chieftains said:

"We can surely see your foolishness and we deem you as a liar, It is all the same to us whether you preach or not, Our hearts are protected from your words and our ears are deaf to you, Between us and you there is a veil drawn."

and to their people: "Heed not this Quran and drown the hearing of it!"

Muhammad's mission at Mecca had failed. The Arabs with their fierce love for their Vedic heritage and intelligence had seen through the "Prophet's machinations and rejected him whole-heartedly. Thus it was an embittered, furious and vengeful Muhammad who was forced to flee to Medinah.

It is no secret what the Prophet did after this "migration" to Medinah. The story has been documented in detail by his biographers, - surprise raids on trade caravans and tribal settlements, the use of plunder thus obtained for recruiting an ever growing army of greedy desperados assassinations of opponents, expropriation, expulsion and massacre of the Jews of Medinah, attack and enslavement of the Jews of Khybar, rape of women and children, sale of these victims after rape, trickery, trachery and bribery employed to their fullest extent to grow the numbers of his religion Islam which ironically was supposed to mean "Peace"! He organised no less than 86 expeditions, 26 of which he led himself.

The motives of the converts to Islam was never in any doubt. As D.S. Margoliouth states in his book Muhammad and the rise of Islam

"Of any moralising or demoralising effect that Muhammad's teaching had upon his followers we cannot say with precision. When he was at the head of the Robber community, it is probable that the demoralising influence began to be felt.; it was then that men who had never broken an oath learnt that they might evade their obligations, and that men to whom the blood of their clan had been as their own, began to shed it with impunity in the "cause of god". And that lying and treachery in the cause of Islam received divine approval. It was then too that Moslems became distinguished by the obscenity of their language. It was then too, that the coveting of goods and wives possessed by Non-muslims was avowed without discouragement from the Prophet...."

On another occasion Muhammad was greatly criticised by his followers when he compromised his principles completely. After feeling very confident about the consolidation of his position in Medinah, Muhammad decided the time had come to take Mecca. But he soon realized that he had miscalculated the timing of his attack and at the last moment entered into negotiations with the Meccans. The Treaty of Hudaibiya permitted Muhammad to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca the following year, but in return he had to refrain from calling himself the "Prophet" and to refrain from preaching the formula of Islam. Muhammad agreed to all the conditions, and broke the Treaty much later. No wonder Dr. Magoliouth refers that:

"Muhammad's career as tyrant of Medinah is that of a robber chief, whose political economy consists in securing and dividing plunder, the distribution of the latter was carried out on principles which fail to satisfy his follower's sense of justice. He is himself an unbridled libertine and encourages the same passion in his followers. For whatever he does he is prepared to plead the express authorization of the deity (Allah). It is however impossible to find any doctrine which he is not prepared to abandon in order to secure a political end. At different points in his career he abandons the Unity of God and his claim to the title of Prophet. This is a disagreeable picture for the founder of a religion and it cannot be pleaded that it is a picture drawn by an enemy...", this is the character attributed to Muhammad in the biography by Ibn Ishaq.

In my next article, I will describe the trail of murder, mayhem and destruction that was effected by the Prophet after he had recruited enough people in his fold.

Note: Works of P.N. Oak, D.S. Margoliouth and Sita Ram Goel have been used to compose this article.

Vedic Past of Pre-Islamic Arabia - Part 4 Aditi Chaturvedi

Musalmans roamed the deserts of Arabia, centuries before the Prophet Muhammad descended from his heavens and decided to steal the term. A Musalman was none other than the Vedic term for a Man (Sanskrit Manas) who lived in the land of missiles (Sanskrit Musal). The Land of Arabia was called Musal because according to ancient Vedic texts, this was the area where most of the missiles used during the Mahabharata War are supposed to have exploded, resulting in the death of all vegetation and the emergence of the deserts of Arabia. However the year was 622 AD and Muhammad had already started his tirade against the very Vedic Culture which was responsible for his and his family's sustenance, in the form of payment by the Pilgrims that thronged to the Kaaba. However as I had described in my last article, the Prophet's concerted efforts to severe the Arabs' ties with their ancient heritage, had resulted in an unmitigated Fiasco. This left him fuming, ranting and spewing the bitterest sort of vitriol against the Vedic Gods. It had gotten to the point that the Meccans could no longer suffer this man's diatribes.

The time for diplomacy was over. The Meccans had exhausted every tolerant and diplomatic method of requesting Muhammad to stop insulting and denigrating the religion that was so beloved to them and their ancestors. The proud Meccans had decided that it was now time to make it abundantly clear to Muhammad that not only were they vehemently opposed to giving up their Vedic heritage, but also that they could defend their beloved deities such as Al-Uzza, Al-Lat, etc.(different names for Durga) with force if it was necessary.

Figure 1. Al-Uzza as the Grain Goddess

Thus it was on the night of 15th June, 622 AD, that an embittered and vengeful Prophet of Islam fled for his life from Mecca in the dead of night. The Prophet could not conjure up any angels or miracle to freeze the Meccan's swords, instead it was a terrified and panicky man who slipped out in the safe blackness of night to escape from the people who had had enough of his intolerance and disrespect for the religion of their ancestors. On the way he was joined by small bands of highwaymen and nomads who belonged to his group of followers. They numbered 76 and of these, only 3 were women because the women of Mecca had blatantly rejected the religion preached by the Prophet for the simple reason that they enjoyed complete independence and equality within their own Vedic religion and society.

Soon after Muhammad reached Medina, his repressed vengeance and bitterness against the Hindus started manifesting itself. He purchased a garden in which there were graves of people who had followed Vedic culture, some dilapidated old shrines, and date trees. The Prophet had all the graves dug out and desecrated, all the shrines destroyed and the Palm trees cut down. This site was none other than a sacred grove and some isolated temple that had been left untended. This is how Muhammad showed utter contempt and disrespect for the souls of dead people. He had a mosque constructed on that very site. Through the ages, Muhammad's followers would preserve this tradition of desecration of non-muslim graves and emulate his example devoutly by consistently building mosques on graveyards or on top of destroyed places of worship. This first act of desecration was followed by innumerable raiding expeditions and the successive history of loot, plunder, rape and destruction that Muhammad went on to create in Medinah.

One of the first such encounters was the ambush of Nakhla. A Quraish caravan carrying nothing but dried raisins and skins was making its way from the town of Taif to Mecca. The little convoy was escorted by only four men. They had set out to do business during one of the four sacred months. Rejeb was one of the months which was considered auspicious for trade in Arabia. Any form of warfare or violence was strictly abhorred. The Arabs being men of honor, never violated this rule, and thus the sacred months were the time when most people set out on their caravans to trade. The Muslims mercilessly murdered the hapless UNARMED merchants and plundered all their goods as booty, of which Muhammad got one fifths.

Many more such raids would follow to satisfy the Prophet's bloodlust. He fed his bitterness and vengefulness with the sight of his murdered victims. After the Battle of Badr, the Prophet sent his servant to search the field for one of his strongest opponents, Abu Jahal. When the servant found Abu Jahal's corpse, he cut off the head and threw it down at the feet of Muhammad, who cried out in ecstasy:

"Rejoice! The head of the enemy of God! Praise God, for there is no other but he!"

The Prophet then ordered a great pit to be dug and had the bodies of the "unbelievers" dumped into it after the Muslims had unceremoniously hacked them into pieces. As the bodies were thrown into the pit, an excited Muhammad screamed"

"O People of the Pit, have you found that what God threatened is true now? For I have found that what my Lord promised was true! Rejoice O Muslims!"

One of the prisoners taken was the defiant Al Nadr Ibn al Harith, who had earlier taken Muhammad's challenge of telling better stories than him. Muhammad ordered Ali to strike off Nadr's head in his presence, so he could watch the beheading of the man who had insulted him. Another prisoner Uqba ibn Abi Muait was decapitated in front of the Prophet, upon seeing him, the prisoner cried out:

"O Prophet, who will look after my children if I should die?"

"Hellfire", replied Muhammad coldly as the blade came down and spattered his clothes with Uqba's blood.

Upon his return to Medina, a number of the Vedic poets of Medina composed poems that talked of the Prophet's cruelty. It was the poets who acted as the conscience of society at that time and had the most freedom of expression. Muhammad was infuriated at the criticism. The most popular poet was Asma Bint Merwan, a married woman with five children. One night as she lay in her bedroom suckling her newborn child, a group of Muslims broke into the house to plunge their swords into the breast of the woman. The newborn infant was hacked to pieces. Soon afterwards an elderly poet, Abu Afek, who was respected for his distinguished sense of fairness, met the same fate.

Living with a Jewish tribe called Beni Al Nadheer, was an Arab by the name of Kaab Ibn Ashraf of the Tribe of Tai. Kaab is obviously the Sanskrit word Kayva which means poetry . Kaab was true to his Vedic name, a renowned poet who had composed a lament for the Leaders of Quraysh who had been massacred in the battle of Badr. One day the Prophet proclaimed:

"Who will rid me of Kaab Ibn Al Ashraf?"

A certain Muhammad Bin Maslama replied that he would do it, adding "we shall have to tell lies to do it". The Prophet immediately gave him the divine authority to lie as necessary. Muhammad Maslama bribed the foster brother of Kaab, a man called Silkan who had openly become Muslim. The following night Kaab was visited by his loving foster brother and spent a pleasant evening reciting poetry. Needless to say, after dark, Kaab was dragged out of his bed screaming, and stabbed repeatedly by Muhammad Maslama, Silkan and two other devout Muslims, in full view of his family. Such was the example of tolerance set by the Prophet of God.

On another occasion , the tribe of Beni Quraidha was besieged and when they refused to convert to Islam, the Prophet meted out another merciful sentence.A huge trench was dug around the main market of Medina. The men were rounded up & their hands tied behind them. Then one by one, they were led to the trench and forced to kneel. They were offered one last chance to convert to Islam & upon their refusal, had their heads chopped off. As soon as one head would roll off, the headless body would be dumped into the ditch, until the pile of bodies, heads and blood had filled up to the brim. Yet, none of the Jews chose to compromise their religion. Eight Hundred innocent Jews were beheaded bloodily in this manner, for the simple reason that they chose to retain their fundamental human right, to choose their God. Helpless women & children screamed as they watched their fathers, husbands & sons die. Later they too were tied up & bundled off as slaves. The Prophet forced the Jewess Raihana Bint Amr to convert and marry him, hours after he had murdered her father, brothers and clansmen before her very eyes. To this day Muslim scholars claim, that Raihana willingly chose Islam and wifehood with the Prophet.

Figure 2. Khayber - The Jewish Settlement which was besieged by Muhammad and his followers

The Battle of Badr had given Muhammad the wealth to bribe more people into accepting Islam. In addition the increase in power enabled the Muslims to rule by terror. Even the same Jews who had helped the Muslims in their moments of deepest crisis with food as well as military assistance, were subjected to conversion by the sword or not spared. Muhammad's reign of terror continued with the Battle of Uhud, Khayber and numerous other expeditions which helped the Muslims to gain Booty and slaves. Most of these slaves were women and children, These were victimised and raped. Khayber was a settlement of neutral Jews who were known for their business acumen. Muhammad simply had to satisfy his greed, by attacking this peaceful settlement. Although the Jews fought bravely, they could not stop the Mob of Muslims, who were in a bloodthirsty frenzy of Greed. The Prophet forced another Jewess Safia Bint Huyay to convert and marry him, in exactly the same manner as Rehaina Bint Amr. She had to watch her Husband, father and brother hacked to pieces before her eyes. Immediately after the battle, the Prophet's eye fell on this woman of intense beauty, and he threw his cloak on her to claim her as his booty. Indeed the Prophet had committed himself to saving widows in need by marrying them! The remaining women and children who were'nt attractive enough to keep as personal slaves, were rounded up to be traded in the slave market or retained to be brought up as brainwashed servants of Islam.

Figure 3. Al-Uzza as the Fish Goddess

By now Muhammad had gathered enough followers to vent his final and most massive burst of vengeance : The capture of Mecca. The city of Vedic culture that had rejected him so contemptuously, and contained the Kaaba temple of Al-Lat, Al-Uzza, and Al-Manat beckoned him with its immense wealth and splendour.

Al-Lat, Al-Uzza and Al-Manat and all the other Vedic deities of the Hindu pantheon, were the Prophet's deadliest enemies. It was their presence that invalidated all his claims and threatened his monopoly; therefore all visible signs of it had to be obliterated at any cost. His passionate hatred against any sign of Vedic culture was so intense, that he condemned the wearing of any garment that had even come in contact with Saffron or Turmeric, because these are the two spices that are used most often in Hindu rites of worship. One day, a man, wearing a vest dyed with some yellow colour, approached the Prophet to ask him about 'umra rites. Sure enough, an immediate revelation came down and the Prophet had to be covered in an overgarment (they used to do this to restrain the violence of his epileptic fits). Raising a corner of the garment, Umar saw the Prophet's face had gone red and he was snuffling like a young camel. "Wash off all traces of the yellow and put off the vest", the Prophet screamed!

The Prophet's mission now was to strike at the very roots, that had sustained him, the roots of Vedic culture in Arabia. His hatred for the religion of his forefathers had multiplied a hundredfold, because it was the Arabs' love for those very deities and spiritual traditions that stood in the way of Muhammad's vision : the vision of absolute subjugation of Arabia, and Muhammad's self-exaltation to the title of Divine Messenger

As Sitaram Goel puts it :

"The conquest of Mecca by Muhammad was the most significant event in the history of Islam. The success of the enterprise settled the character of Islam for all time to come. The lessons drawn from the success constitute the core of Islamic theology as taught ever since in the sprawling seminaries. The principal lessons are two: The first is that Muslims should continue resorting to violence on any and every pretext till they triumph; setbacks are temporary. The second lesson is that Islam should refuse to coexist or compromise with every other religion and culture, and use the first favourable opportunity to wipe out the others completely so that it alone may prevail."

In my next article, I will relate the details of the destruction and carnage, effected by Muhammad in the Capture of Mecca.

Note: The Works "The Life & times of Muhammad" by Sir John Glubb, "An Introduction to the Hadith" by John Burton and "Hindu Temples: What Happened to Them?" by Sita Ram Goel have been used to compose this article.

Vedic Past of Pre-Islamic Arabia - Part 5      Aditi Chaturvedi

We have already seen how the "Prophet" of Islam had made it his mission to eradicate anyone and anything that stood in the way of his quest for power. Even the slaughter of 800 Jews at "the Pit" and the numerous victims of Khayber were not sufficient to slake his thirst for blood. The loot, plunder and power, only served to enhance his self-aggrandizement. The Merciful Messenger of the God of Islam had not enough. Day by day, executions of Jews colored the Town Square of Medina bloodier.

A few days after the siege of Khayber, a Jewess called Zainab invited Muhammad to dinner. She had enquired beforehand about what part of a roast sheep he liked best and had been told that it was the shoulder. She accordingly slaughtered and roasted a lamb, taking care to insert a lethal dose of poison in the shoulder. One can only imagine what the extent of her suffering must have been, to drive her to attempt such a foolhardy assassination, for the Prophet never went anywhere without a full coterie of his "followers" to defend him. However the plan was foiled when a man who was sitting next to Muhammad swallowed a mouthful of the meat and began writhing in pain. Muhammad had just taken a mouthful when he saw the man's agonies and spat it out immediately. Zainab was tied and brought before him. The brave woman readily admitted to the accusation and spat out:

"Do you know what you have done to my people! I said to myself if you are just a tribal chief, then we ought to get rid of you and if you are a Prophet then you would have known that the poison was in the meat before eating it!"

Three years later when Muhammad would die an agonizing death, he would scream that the agonies of his last illness were due to the Jewess's poison, thereby conveniently winning for himself the title of martyr, as having been killed by an unbeliever!

By now, Muhammad had supressed all opposition in Medinah & turned his attention to the final goal of conquering Mecca. His strategy of breaking the morale of the Hindus began with slaughter and rapine and now had moved on to their places of worship. He had amassed all the booty and ransom that was necessary for financing his military machine. Coupled with his greed for the immense wealth & power of Mecca, was the bitterness and anger that had been festering inside him so long. Both of these motivations would now be unleashed in a violent burst of vengeance against the Gods which stood in his way. The ultimate challenge to Muhammad was the irrepresible Vedic culture that pervaded the life of the Meccans. The only way he could achieve total control of Arabia was by striking at the very core of religious worship.

On 1st January AD 630, the Prophet of Islam and 10,000 of his followers set out on the expedition to conquer Mecca. Their sole purpose of mind was to subvert all traces of the ancientmost religion of their forefathers. Nothing was to be considered sarcosanct, anything that was connected with Arabia's glorious Vedic heritage was to be defiled and distorted. Before setting out for Mecca, Muhammad had managed to turn his father-in-law and previous enemy Abu Sofian, leader of the Quraysh, into a traitor. Abu Sofian rode ahead of the Prophet's army into Mecca. Upon reaching he screamed at the townspeople, "Muhammad is coming, Muhammad is coming, he will be here with a force that we cannot resist". At this his own wife, the irrepresible Hind was moved to drag him to the marketplace and cried out:

"Kill this fat greasy Bladder of Lard! What a rotten protector of the people."

Abu Sofian had turned traitor, because his daughter was now Muhammad's wife. Once again the Prophet's underhanded habit of marrying the daughters of his enemies to obtain the power to blackmail them, had borne fruit. Abu Sofian, a man of weak moral character, sacrificed his city and gods, in order to save his own skin and family. It was one of the costliest sacrifices in history.

It was only after the city had been fully occupied, and the silent pall of death and fear hung over Mecca, that the Prophet of Islam ventured out on his camel. He headed straight for the Kaaba. The first thing he found there was the wooden Dove, the symbol of peace. He crushed it with his own hands and threw the broken fragments to the ground. Then he kicked the pieces with his foot and stomped the remains into dust. This very first action of Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam symbolizes for all time the destructive nature of the religion that he had created. Next he turned to the idols housed in and around the temple. The eyes of the statues seemed to stare into him, with silent equanimity. Muhammad took up his Lance and lunged towards them, he struck repeatedly at the eyes of the idols, in a fit of fear and rage. Then he screamed at his followers to drag down every one of the statues. Each one of the sacred images was dragged down and stripped of the rich jewels and gems that ornamented them. Then like a man possessed, Muhammad started slashing at the stripped images with his sword. He stopped only when all that remained was a pile of wood fragments and dust. Then he took a flaming torch and threw it upon the pile, his eyes glittering with profane triumph at the eerie blaze of the fire. The burning of the idols gave rise to another story in Islamic lore. Muslim historians claim "Upon the conquest of Mecca, the Prophet cut open some of these idols with his sword and black smoke is said to have issued from them, a sign of the psychic influence which had made these idols their dwelling place" One wonders what else except smoke could have come out, when objects made of wood and stone were burnt! It is the privilege of Islamic lore to invest smoke with psychic power.

Figure 1. The Pre-Islamic deity "Hubal" was derived from the red  skinned Ba-Hubali, another name for Lord Hanuman

His attention then turned to the large statue of Hubal on the roof of the temple. Hubal is none other than Ba-Hubali, another name for Hanuman. The First Encyclopaedia of Islam relates that "Hubal was an idol, made of red carnelian, in the form of a man". These clues cannot be overlooked. Anybody who is familiar with Hindu temples knows that BaHubali (Hanuman) is the great Monkey God, the son of the Wind-God. He is always represented in red, and adorns the roof of the temple pinnacle. This is because in the great Hindu epic Ramayana, BaHubali was rewarded for his great devotion to Lord Rama, by being accorded the privilege of always carrying the Hindu flag, which is poised on the pinnacle of temples. Thus the image of Hubal, was none other than the red colored image of BaHubali holding the saffron "Dhvaj" or flag of Hinduism on the roof of the Kaaba temple.

This image of BaHubali was dragged down from the roof, and the saffron flag that it held was trampled into the dirt by the "Holy Prophet". The icon itself was buried in the sand and used as a doorstep. This particular practice of the Prophet, of taking down the sacred idol of a temple and using it as a doorstep to trample on set a precedent that would be extensively followed by the pious adherents of Islam in the future. One has a hard time believing in the "tolerant" nature of Islam, when the Prophet of Islam himself desecrated and insulted another religion in such a disrespectful fashion.

Like a devouring fire, Muhammad's malevolence fed off the innumerable defilements and desecrations that he and the Muslims committed that day. All the other stones that were worshipped in the Temple were used as cornerstones of the Kaaba Mosque structure that was raised. The only idol that Muhammad spared was the black stone known today as "Sangey Aswad", which I have explained before as being the Shivling. The only reason this was spared is that, it was the family deity of Muhammad's clan. In addition, the Prophet was cunning enough to realise that in leaving the Shivling there, he would be garaunteed a sizeable and constant income, by charging pilgrims who would throng to worship the sacred stone. This act by itself invalidates all of Muhammad's pompous claims about idolatry and exposes the self-contradictory nature of Islam. If indeed his new religion was violently opposed to idolatry in any form, why did the founder of Islam decide to invest a mere Black stone with divinity? In fact, Muhammad is said to have circambulated the Shivling seven times and then to have kissed it, in an exact replication of the manner in which the Vedic Arabs used to pay homage to it.

Idols however were not the only abominations, that the Prophet had to destroy in the Kaaba. There were many holy paintings in the Kaaba as well. According to another Muslim historian's account,"Umar began to wash out the pictures with the water of the Zamzam well, when Muhammad placed his hand on a picture of Jesus and Mary and said: "Wash out all except what is below my hands". This is an absolute anomaly. The Pre-Islamic Arabs were known for their abhorrence towards Christianity and in fact had even fought off the Christian Ruler of Yemen, an Abyssinian by the name Abraha. Abraha had massacred the Jews of Yemen and sold a third of them as slaves. He had sworn to destroy the Kaaba and in 570 AD, he attacked Mecca for this very reason. However a miracle which the Meccans attributed to their beloved Allah (Durga), is supposed to have turned away Abraha and his hordes. It is ludicrous to imagine that the Meccans would then proceed to put up a painting of the Christian icons, Mother Mary and Jesus, in their sacred precinct of the Kaaba. Muhammad's God himself admits as much in the Quran, where he says the disbelievers show great disrespect for Isa (Jesus).

Figure 2.  The only painting that was not destroyed in the Kaaba probably depicted Goddess Parvati and the child-god Kartikkeya Source: Amar Chitra Katha

Therefore we can safely conclude that the Painting described by Muslim historians couldn't possibly have depicted Jesus and Mary as claimed. This painting probably depicted the divine motherly representation of Durga(Allah) as Shiva's wife Parvati with the child Kartikkeya. Kartikkeya was named after the six Kritikkas, which are actually the six stars known as Pleiades. Since the Kaaba is based on an astronomical plan, it's quite possible that the Kritikkas and the son of God named after them, Kartikkeya would be depicted along with the Mother-goddess in a Temple paintings. The presence of a Shivling in the Kaaba which represents Lord Shiva, the father of Kartikkeya is also significant in this regard. Also one may remember that Muhammad's family were primarily Shiva worshippers and that his name "Muhammad" is derived from the word "Mahadev" which is another name for lord Shiva. Perhaps Muhammad could not dare to demolish this one last reminder of his family's polytheistic past.

In any case, we can confidently assert that the Painting of Mary and Jesus was simply another myth concocted by Muhammad and company, to woo the Christians. A favourite ploy of Muhammad was to bandy the idea that Islam and Christianity were in fact one and the same, and that he was simply the last in the line of Prophets. The Prophet conveniently distorted many aspects of Christian religion and "Islamized" them to suit his purposes. But due to his lack of knowledge and ignorance about the real precepts of Christianity, Muhammad ended up with a confused and unconvincing portrayl of the relationship between Christanity and Islam

The initial destruction of all 360 images in the Kaaba, was only the beginning of Muhammad's horrendous rampage. Within a matter of days, he would attempt to destroy as much of Arabia's Vedic heritage as possible.

In my next article, I will detail the unfolding of subsequent events which tell the story of the Prophet's ultimate aim: The Genocide of Arabia's Vedic culture through the systematic eradication of the religion and culture of Pre-Islamic Arabs.

Note: The Works "The Life & times of Muhammad" by Sir John Glubb, "An Introduction to the Hadith" by John Burton and "Hindu Temples: What Happened to Them?" by Sita Ram Goel have been used to compose this article.

Reply  Vedic Past of Pre-Islamic Arabia - Part 6 Aditi Chaturvedi

"Ashriq thabir kaima nughir"

"Enter the light of morning O Thabir so that we may hasten on (with the daily work)"

These were the prayerful words that would greet the Dawn at Arabia during the days of pilgrimage, before the dark clouds of Islam had settled on Mount Thabir in the horizon. Mount Thabir and Mount Quzah were situated in Muzdalifah, a place between Mina and Arafat in Arabia. Muzdalifah was a place of fire worship. Great Yagnas used to be performed there. Even Muslim historians refer to this hill as the hill of the holy fire. The god of Muzdalifah was Quzah, the thunder god who brought life giving rain to the parched lands of Arabia. Quzah apparently represented the Vajra (Thunderbolt) of Indra, the Vedic god of rain. The forces of nature have always been worshipped in Vedic culture, so it was quite natural for the Meccans to indulge in this form of worship.

The Prophet, who was apparently not very creative, subverted the meaning and purpose of the Hajj or pilgrimage in his usual fashion. Muhammad in a deliberate attempt to suppress this association with the Hindu solar rites changed the time of prayer to after sunset and before sunrise, when the sun was not visible! Thus what used to be a time of prayer inundated with love for nature and reverence for existence, was distorted into a fear-filled ceremony of throwing stones at imagined devils and insidiously connected to falsified historical accounts about the Semitic Prophet Abraham.

Figure 1. The Pleaides Constellation

Every morning, in complete accordance with their Vedic heritage , the Quraysh and other Meccan tribes would pay reverential homage to the sun, moon, planets, stars and all the heavenly bodies that made up the visible universe. The Kaaba temple, which was the heart of Mecca was their biggest testament to astral worship. It was a shrine devoted to the Sun, Moon, Planets and Galaxies. Besides the shrines of Shams (Surya or Sun), Manat (SoManath or Moon), Uzza (Oorja, Shakti as Venus), Dharrih (Suryoday or rising sun), etc. There were many shrines dedicated to stars and constellations such as the Krittikas (the Pleaides). There were 24 doorways to the temple, these doorways represented the 24 hours of the day. The 360 shrines represented the days of the year and each image was made to symbolically represent the ruling planet, in astrological terms. The seven circambulations (parikrama) symbolized the orbiting of the seven major planets. The first three circuits were done fast and the remaining four slowly, in exact imitation of the planetary movements around the sun.

Figure 2. The six celestial sisters called Krittikas represented a cluster of six stars, called the Pleaides by the Greeks Source: Amar Chitra Katha

This beautiful Vedic temple was a cosmological representation of the visible natural universe. It was made in the same tradition of ancient Indian temples such as Someshwar (Somnath), in Prabhas Patan, Gujarat, which also contained 360 shrines and was built by the Moon God SoManath, (Manat to the Arabs).

One of the shrines in the Kaaba was also dedicated to the Hindu Creator God, Brahma, which is why the illiterate Prophet of Islam claimed it was dedicated to Abraham. The word "Abraham" is none other than a malpronounciation of the word Brahma This can be clearly proven if one investigates the root meanings of both words.

Abraham is said to be one of the oldest Semitic Prophets.His name is supposed to be derived from the two Semitic words "Ab" meaning "Father" and "Raam/Raham" meaning "of the exalted", In the book of Genesis, Abraham simply means "Multitude". The word Abraham is derived from the Sanskrit word "Brahma". The root of Brahma is "Brah"which means -"to grow or multiply in number". In addition Lord Brahma, the Creator God of Hinduism is said to be the Father of all Men and Exalted of all the Gods, for it is from him that all beings were generated. Thus again we come to the meaning "Exalted Father". This is a clear pointer to the fact that Abraham is none other than the heavenly father Brahma .

In fact the Abraham story about the origin of the Kaaba was a fabrication invented by the Prophet, after he had quarreled with the Jews of Medinah. He took an ancient Jewish legend about the heavenly and earthly Jerusalem and conveniently twisted it into a false myth about Abraham. Respected Jewish scholars such as Snouck Hurgronje and Aloys Sprenger agree that the association of Abraham with the Kaaba was Muhammad's personal invention and it served as a means to liberate Islam from Judaism. Sprenger comments:" By this lie Muhammad gave to Islam all that man needs and which differentiates religion from philosophy: a nationality, ceremonies, historical memories, mysteries, an assurance of entering heaven, all the while deceiving his own conscience and those of others."

Earlier, we have already seen how thorough Muhammad was in his destruction and desecration of this grand center of worship. He deliberately tried to destroy all traces of the Vedic origins of the temple. The day after the destruction of the Kaaba was the darkest dawn in the history of Mecca. The darkest moment came when Bilal, one of Muhammad's henchmen, stood on top of the roof of the Kaaba and called out the Muslim Azan of prayer.

The Prophet of Islam had finally achieved the ultimate ambition of his greed and hatred. He had desecrated the sacred religion that threatened his very existence and seized the richest treasure in the country all in one attempt. Besides the hundreds of rubies, diamonds, silver, pearls and precious stones that had ornamented the idols, the Prophet's loot also consisted of the Seventy Thousand Ounces of Gold contained in the storehouse of the Kaaba. A new twisted mythology was substituted for the old and all the previous ceremonies and rites of the people were subverted and distorted through Islamization. Such immense wealth and political control immediately made Muhammad the most powerful man in Arabia. He was now free to unleash the final and most brutal assault against the culture that had plagued him throughout his life.

Figure 3. One of the few remaining Vedic temples in Petra. It was built by the Nabataeans. Note the conical shape of the rooftops which is so typical of Hindu temple architecture Source: "Art of Jordan" by Piotr Bienkowski

The Prophet immediately gave orders to leave no stone unturned, any place that had the slightest trace of Vedic culture was to be razed to the ground and destroyed. The most sacred idols were to be turned into footstones or buried under entrances of mosques, so that every time a Muslim stepped into his place of worship, the idols of the Hindus would be desecrated and insulted again and again. This Islamic tradition is alive even today in India, where under the doorstep of every Mosque, lie the remains or portions of images of innumerable Hindu Gods and Goddesses.

"Leave no idol unbroken! In whatever settlement you do not hear the Azan or see no mosque, SLAUGHTER the people of that place." , the Prophet's words rang out amongst his zealous followers. Drunk with power and the dizzying piles of loot they had acquired, they set out in a frenzy of bloodthirstiness to the sorrounding tribes and their shrines. One of Muhammad's favorite followers, Khalid ibn al Waleed went to the Beni Jadheema clan of Beni Kinana on the coastal plain south west of Mecca. Upon reaching the settlement Khalid told them to lay down their arms as the war was over and everyone had now accepted Islam . When they had done so, he rounded up the Men and had them tied up in a group. The women were raped in front of their helpless relatives. Children had their limbs hacked off. Then one by one the Men were beheaded in the exact manner as the "Apostle of Peace" had done at "The Pit" of Medinah.

An Arab horseman related how one of the men shouted to his beloved amongst the frightened women, "Goodbye my love Hubaisha, my life is at an end now". At this the poor girl lost control and broke her bindings, she ran screaming to her love and bent over him to protect him. The Muslims hacked her to pieces and then beheaded her horrified lover.

Thousands were killed as they defended their beloved gods. Muhammad's message was clear: destroy all the Vedic temples or images, become a Muslim or die, build mosques using remains of the temples & pay a sizeable tax, any defiance would mean slaughter. When some tribes like the Bani Tamim refused to pay Zakat, the men were slaughtered, & the women and children were bound and dragged across the blazing sands all the way to Medinah. One of the favorite characteristics Muslims attribute to Muhammad is his immense love for children. Indeed one wonders just where his love for the innocent children went, when he had so many of them mercilessly tortured and slaughtered to death.

Innumerable temples were destroyed and their remains used to build mosques. There were many others besides the Kaaba around Mecca itself. Here is a list of some of them:

1.Temple of Isaf & Naila:

Isaf was an image in the shape of a man & Naila in the shape of a dark skinned woman. The images of the divine couple were shattered to bits.

2.Temple of Uzza(Oorja or Shakti) in Nakhla:

When the disheartened priest heard the Muslims coming with Khalid as their leader, he hung his sword on her, and cried out:

"O Uzza make an annihilating attack on Khalid Throw aside your Veil & Gird up your train O Uzza, if you do not kill this man Khalid Then bear a swift punishment, or become a Christian" Khalid cut the idol into bits with his sword and grabbed all the gold and jewels in the temple, then he chopped off the head of the Priest with the same sword, that still had fragments of Uzza's image on it.

3.Temple of Suva (Shiva) of the Hudayl:

The Apostle sent Amr Bint al As to this temple. Upon his arrival the Priest asked Amr why he was there, to which Amr replied that he had come to destroy the image. At this the brave priest calmly said "Go back! For you cannot harm a hair on his head!" "Why not?", fumed Amr, "Because there is none so well- protected as he" said the faithful priest. An enraged Amr screamed "You still believe in this evil! Greet your death!" He then proceeded to smash the idol and the Priest's skull. The temple was demolished when Amr found no treasures there.

4.Temple of Manat (Somnath or Shiva):

This was a beautiful temple of Black stone It had a crescent pinnacle and a Shivling made of reddish volcanic rock. Upon seeing the Muslims, the priests were moved to pray "O Manat, please display your might!" They too were cut down & the Shivling smashed. Once again however, the Muslims could not find any of the treasures that were supposed to be in the temple.

In the coming days, many more such temples would be destroyed, thousands more innocents would be murdered, for the Prophet had the power and might of his ill-gotten gains and loot behind him. Although the Prophet had reached his ultimate ambition, his bitterness and hatred against the Vedic culture had hardened so much within him, that ultimately it would consume him. The same man who had so confidently declared his divinity whilst alive would die an agonizingly painful death. His last words were a prayer of fear begging for forgiveness for all the sins he had committed in his lifetime.

Indeed the Prophet of Islam was successful in his attempt at genocide. The Vedic culture of the Arabs was mercilessly eradicated through the use of the sword. Let us not forget the bravery of those who fought in the face of such despair, as that which surrounded those who dared to oppose Islam.

Men of such mettle as that of the Tribe of Tai, defied the advent of Islam bravely. Although their chief Zaid Al Khair was one of Muhammad's favorite followers, when the tribesmen were forced to greet Muhammad and listen to his sermon, one of them proudly stood up among the packed crowd of Muslims and declared :

"I see here a man who wishes to gain ascendancy over all people and even the gods through his trickery, but by my ancestors and the religion they have left me, NOBODY shall rule over me but MY SELF!"

Only a man who has discovered true spirituality and enrichment of his soul through his religion could utter these words in its defense. Only a religion which shows a man the divinity in his own SELF can foster such strength. Although the traces of Vedic culture among the pre-Islamic Arabs were wiped out by the bloody sword of Muhammad, the message of the Vedas and the conviction displayed by its followers in the land of Arvasthan can never be forgotten.

In my next article I will further describe the unfolding of Prophet Muhammad's genocidal plan against the Vedic culture of the Pre-Islamic Arabs.

Note: The Works "The Life & times of Muhammad" by Sir John Glubb, "Mohammed & the Rise of Islam" by D. S. Margoliouth, "The Art of Jordan" by Piotr Bienkowski, "Deities & Dolphins" by Nelson Glueck and "Hindu Temples: What Happened to Them?- Volume 2" by Sita Ram Goel have been used to compose this article.

Vedic Past of Pre-Islamic Arabia - Part 7       Aditi Chaturvedi

The innumerable strokes of Muhammad's bloody sword, still could not sever Arabia's ties to its ancient Vedic heritage. When the tribe of Hawazin heard that the Muslims had taken Mecca, they made preparations to fight. They were led by Malik Ibn Auf, chief of the clan of Bani Nasr and accompanied by the Beni Saad and Thaqeef tribes. The Prophet of Islam in his usual insidious way had planted spies among the unsuspecting tribespeople to discover all their plans for attack. He was determined to teach these insolent rebels a lesson. Armed in full armour and protected by an impenetrable cohort of defenders, he descended upon the Hawazin with an army of 12,000 fresh converts, who were drooling at the prospect of fresh loot & women.

The brave Hawazin numbering 4,000 hid out in the ravines around the valley of Hunain and lay in wait. As the Muslims poured down the valley in the twilight of dawn, men suddenly sprang out from the hills on both sides & took them completely by surprise.

Figure 1. Map of areas in Muhammad's path of conquest

Cries of "Victory to Al-lat!!" filled the air. In a scene which strikes one as something straight out of Rajput history, the sounds came from the front guard of the Thaqeef who held the Black banner signifying a fight to the death in honor of their Vedic goddess .

The leading contingents of the Muslims panicked & fled back wildly up the valley towards the pass by which they had entered it, throwing into complete chaos those behind them who were still coming. The Prophet & his cohort of defenders were caught by the retreating mass & swept away, but somehow managed to flee to the foot of the hills on one side of the valley. Muhammad clung to a rock, trembling with fear & fury. "Where are you going! Where are you going! Rally to me! I AM the Apostle of God! O citizens of Medina! O helpers! Which one of you will become a martyr for the sake of Muhammad, the Messenger of God!", he screamed pathetically. The traitorous chief of Mecca, Abu Sofian was secretly delighted & whispered gleefully to a fellow Meccan, "Nothing can stop these Muslims from fleeing now, except the Sea." His companion joyfully exclaimed " Indeed has not this evil sorcery (Islam) come to an end today! " At this point a group of the forcibly converted Meccans in the Prophet's army, pushed their way forward in a desperate attempt to kill him. An alarmed fully armoured Muhammad cowered behind a rock as his bodyguards fought them off. Gradually however the sheer advantage of numbers turned the tide in the Muslims' favour. They started beheading all the tribesmen. The Women & children of the Hawazin , had accompanied their men to watch & cheer them on from the caves on the hills. The Muslims attacked these innocents immediately, much to the Prophet's glee, who leered " Now the oven is hot for you". Upon seeing their loved ones being beheaded before their eyes, the Hawazin Tribesmen lost heart & readily gave up their lives. Thousands lost their lives & the ones who survived were enslaved in the customary Islamic fashion.

After this victory Muhammad turned his attention to the Thaqeef who had taken such an active part in the Battle of Hunain . He was enraged at their bravery and persistent loyalty to their beloved goddess Al-lat(Durga). The Thaqeef were from Taif, a small but extremely prosperous town. In 619, the Prophet had tried to persuade the people of Taif to shelter him when he was fleeing from Mecca in fear, but they had clearly refused. Muhammad was determined to get his revenge on them, one way or another.

The city of Taif was principally famous for its gardens & vineyards. Due to its location among the mountains, the city had a temperate climate that was ideal for growing grapes and pomegranates. Taif was famous for these fruits as well as for honey. Muhammad set out with his army and besieged the city. But a few catapults and the siege of a prosperous fortified city such as Taif were not going to affect the courageous Thaqeef. After eleven days of the siege had passed, they calmly sent out a messenger to tell Muhammad that the city had enough rations to last them 2 years of siege. An enraged Muhammad then made an exceptionally cruel decision. The Prophet decided if he couldn't have the spoils of Taif, no one else could and therefore "ordered his glorious companions to fell the date trees and to destroy every vineyard of this place". Such an action is equivalent to mass murder in the dry environs of Arabia where it is difficult to find vegetation. Thus a unique ecosystem that had been carefully nurtured by the sweat and blood of the brave Thaqeef was ruthlessly obliterated. They were left with heaps of ash in place of the fruit of years of hard work, thanks to the "Messenger of Peace"! After a fortnight Muhammad had to raise the siege on Taif. An enraged & frustrated Muhammad swore that he would teach a bitter lesson to the Thaqeef who had defied him so persistently. He was forced to retreat and head back towards Medina.

Figure 2. Present day town of Taif, still famous for its superb grapes

In the meantime the Prophet had not lost sight of his primary goal of destroying every remnant of Vedic culture. His "holy & prophetic lordship" had sent out many of his glorious companions to destroy any traces of Vedic culture that still existed. Every idol was shattered, every temple burned, every Priest massacred. To describe the horrendous effect of such an assault on the existent culture of a religion, is impossible. So many temples were destroyed that no count remained. Later Muslim historians ensured that the world never got to know about the magnitude of the cultural genocide that the Prophet had perpetuated. To this day we know about only a handful of the desecrated shrines. Some of these accounts are listed below:-

1) The Temple of Dhu-l-Khalasa:

This temple was dedicated to Lord Shiva, Dhu-L-Khalasa stood for "The One of Kailash". It was situated in Yemen and called "Al Kaba Al Yamaniya" meaning the Yemeni equivalent of the Meccan Kaaba. The Prophet's helper Jarir set out with a force of 150 cavalrymen from the Ahmas Tribe. In Jarir's words: " We dismantled it and burnt it to the ground and killed whoever was present there." Jarir also sent a message to Muhammad saying " By Allah, I did not leave that place till it was like a scabby camel!". Plenty of valuables and rare perfumes were robbed. The beautiful statue of Dhu-L-Khalasa (Shiva), a white piece of marble in which a crown was carved, was used as the stepping stone under the mosque at Tabala.

2)The Temples of Fils & Ruda in Tai:

Ali Bint Abi Talib went to the Temple of Fils to destroy it by order of Muhammad. He took 200 horsemen with him. Ali tortured and murdered many people present there, and then enslaved the survivors. This Temple stood on Mount Aja' ("Aja" is another name for Brahma) and contained images of the Mother Goddess. Ali obtained two swords from the temple, one named Rasub and another called Makhzam, both swords were extremely valuable. The Temple of Ruda was looted & destroyed in the same manner.It was dedicated to Lord Rudra (Shiva) and contained a beautiful jet black Shivling. The Shivling was smashed into its base and the temple razed.

3) The Temple of Al-Uzza of Banu Sulaim: The leader of the Tribe of Banu Sulaim was a treacherous man who was bought out by Muhammad. The Prophet gave him a huge estate to bribe him.Ghadi Bint Abd Al Uzza thus went to the Temple of Al-Uzza belonging to his tribe and smashed the image to pieces in front of his horrified Tribespeople. All the protesters were killed on the spot.

4) The Temple of Uzra:

The Tribe of Banu Uzra had a Temple for their God Uzra. Uzra is derived from the Sanskrit word "Ujras" which means "the month of Kartik". Since we know that Lord Shiva's son Kartikkeya was worshipped in the Kaaba, it is plausible to assume that this Temple was dedicated to none other than Kartikkeya . The Priests of this Temple turned out to be quite intelligent, They sent a group to the Prophet & appealed to his Ego by saying that the idol of Uzra had spoken & declared Muhammad to be the True Prophet. Immediately Muhammad said " This looks to be a believing Jinn". In this way the Banu Uzra ensured their survival. There is no indication of whether this particular Temple survived or not.

Figure 3.

Arabic sculptures of Lord Shiva who was called "Suwa" & "Ruda" and Al-Uzza (Goddess Durga)

This was of course only the tip of the iceberg. Thousands of accounts of the destruction of Vedic Temples, remain unrecorded and thus unknown to us. The Prophet of Islam was at his most powerful at this period. His Megalomania was beginning to manifest itself in the extreme. Muhammad's desire to be treated as the ultimate Lord of the world was being fulfilled. He surrounded himself with the sycophants who grovelled the most and himself started believing that he was indeed God on earth. Allah had already started taking second place to Muhammad in the Koranic Surahs. The following two examples reveal how his megalomania had taken over Muhammad's mind.

1)This is a Hadith (#118) from Sahih Bukhari, one of the respected books that accounts the Prophet's behaviour:

"Allah's Apostle came to us at noon and water for ablution was brought to him. After he had performed ablution, the remaining water was taken by the people and they started smearing their bodies with it (as a blessed thing). The Prophet offered two Rakat of the Zuhr prayer and then two Rakat of the 'Asr prayer while an 'Anza (spearheaded stick) was there (as a Sutra) in front of him. Abu Musa said: The Prophet asked for a tumbler containing water and washed both his hands and face in it and then threw a mouthful of water in the tumbler and said to both of us (Abu Musa and Bilal), "Drink from the tumbler and pour some of its water on your faces and chests."

Muhammad would give the dirty water from his abolutions to the Muslims, who would in turn smear it all over themselves as if it were holy water!

2) Muhammad used to have a secretary by the name of Abdallah Ibn Saad who used to take down the sayings of the Koran at his dictation. At one point Muhammad was coming up with a divine verse & could not finish it. Abdallah absent-mindedly completed it for him and was shocked when Muhammad said "Yes that's it", since the Koran was supposed to be a divine revelation from Allah himself & only Muhammad was supposed to be privy to those words. Abdallah immediately abjured Islam & fled to Mecca. During the conquest of Mecca his name was on top of the list of people to be killed. However his foster-brother Uthman pleaded for his life, at which the prophet kept silent. After Uthman had gone, Muhammad shouted at his followers "By God I kept silent all this time so that one of you may go upto that dog & cut off his head!" The bewildered followers asked Muhammad why he had not made a signal to them to do this. At this Muhammad gritted his teeth and hissed "A Prophet does not kill by making mere signs"

Figure 4.

Madain Saleh, one of the few temple remains of Arabia's Vedic past

By now the first pilgrimage season after the Muslim Occupation of Mecca had come round. Muhammad came up with new revelations which were read out to the assembled crowds at Mina. In short, the declaration was that idolaters had four months in which to convert, after these 4 months, Muhammad was free of all responsibilities towards them. They would be attacked, killed & plundered wherever they were found. Next he stipulated in the usual cruel manner, that only Muslims could attend the pilgrimage, henceforth non-muslims would not be allowed to enter the confines of Mecca. With this the Prophet snatched away one of Sanatan Dharma's holy shrines and closed it from the world forever. In my next article I will relate the subsequent horrors committed by Muhammad in the name of Islam.

Note: The Works "The Life & times of Muhammad" by Sir John Glubb, "Mohammed" by Anne Carter "The History of Al-Tabari, Volume 7" by Michael Fishbein and "Hindu Temples: What Happened to Them? - Volume 2" by Sita Ram Goel have been used to compose this article. www.swordoftruth.com www.hinduunity.org

Vedic Past of Pre-Islamic Arabia - Part 8 Aditi Chaturvedi

There was a price one had to pay if one wanted to live in the Arabia of the Prophet of Islam . That price was the surrender of one's ancestral heritage, and all the values that one held sacred, of forcible subjugation, of curtailment of the individual right to choose one's god and method of worship. To live in Muhammad's Arabia, one had to give up the most cherished possession of human existence; that of the individual right to freedom of religion.

Arabia's Vedic culture had been slashed and ravaged to a state of tatters. In place of the tradition of spiritual tolerance and growth that defined Sanatan Dharma, Arvasthan was now the political center of a fanatical creed that ruled by the sword and held dear the values of extortion, greed and murder.

Figure1.  The huge Kalash atop Ad-Deir, an ancient Vedic shrine in Jordan Source: The Art of Jordan

As we have seen, the Prophet was completely unsuccessful in his Siege of the city of Taif . He therefore ended the campaign with the bitterly vituperative act of arson. Muhammad gave vent to his rage by setting fire to every tree around Taif, knowing fully well that such an act was defined as mass murder in the dry desert environs of Arabia. The Prophet was determined not to allow the Tribe of Thaqeef to survive. In order to implement his murderous intentions, Muhammad exhorted the subjugated Tribe of Hawazin (refer to Battle of Hunayn, Vedic Past of Pre-Islamic Arabia Part VII) to mercilessly harass the fortified city. All of the Thaqeef's herds were stolen at their pastures and all links to the trade with Mecca were severed. Isolated, starved and surrounded by death on all sides, the brave Thaqeef held on to their beliefs and subsisted on dry dates and water for at least one year. The morale of the Tribe collapsed steadily as they watched their children die day by day succumbing to starvation and disease. Those who were of the weakest character, gave in and secretly set out to negotiate terms with Muhammad. Their deputation was led by Urwa Bint Masud Al Thaqafi . Urwa the traitor accepted Islam and emboldened by his new found lease on life, ventured back to Taif to "invite his people to the true faith". Upon his return, when Urwa "went up to the room to show his people the Way of Islam", he was bombarded with arrows and died a traitor's death. The ferocious Thaqeef fought like heroes to the last to preserve the sacred honor of their beloved Mother Goddess, Al-Lat.

In the end of course, even the mighty Thaqeef could not last, they were compelled to send a deputation of six chiefs to negotiate peace with Muhammad. The chiefs were clear in their demands to the Prophet . In exchange for peace, they demanded that their holy territory of Wajj remain untouched, they would not break the idols of their beloved goddess Allat, no more trees could be cut down and the Thaqeef would retain their vineyards. Muhammad in his greed for the prosperous prize of Taif agreed, he even signed the treaty as Muhammad Ibn Allah foregoing the usual status of "Messenger of God" Allah at the insistence of the Thaqeef . It is another story of course, that he had ulterior motives in mind.

The Thaqeef were satisfied with the terms of the treaty and prepared to return home. Muhammad insisted that one of the traitors of Taif ,Al-Mughira, Abu Sofyan the traitorous leader of Mecca and a sizeable, Muslim army be allowed to follow them. The Thaqeef although suspicious, agreed in good faith. Upon reaching Taif, the Muslims showed their true colors. Al Mughira and his army surrounded the Temple of Allat and started smashing the idols with axes. Abu Sofyan even in his traitorous element was moved to cry out "Alas O Goddess! Alas!" Hundreds were massacred in sight of their families. The women of Taif collected in the streets, dishevelled and bare-headed, beating their breasts and weeping at the loss of their protectress, and the the inadequacy of their men who failed to protect her. As the unprepared Thaqeef were slaughtered, the anguished women cried out:

Weep! Weep for our protector! Poltroons would neglect her Whose swords need a corrector.

Every scrap of gold, jewellery and gems was plundered. Women and children were enslaved, the only ones who survived were those who were weak enough to bend at the threat of the Muslim sword and convert to Islam.

Figure 2. Al-lat (Durga) of Amman Source: The Art of Jordan

There were many other Temples in the vicinity of Taif , all of which were plundered, then destroyed or converted into mosques. Most of the temple fragments were buried underfoot so that the Prophet could satisfy his constant burning need to vituperate and insult the religion of his own ancestors. Among the temples that fell prey, were most of the shrines of Ruda (Rudra or Lord Shiva), Allat and Al-Uzza (forms of Shakti).

The consistent appearance of Temples dedicated to the divine couple of Shiva-Shakti throws light on the essential spiritual principles that the Hindus of Pre- Islamic Arabia upheld. Numerous instances support the preeminence of Shiva-Shakti worship in Arabia. The most obvious example is that of the Kaaba in Mecca.

Figure 3. Allat of Palmyra Source: Palmyra & its Empire

The Kaaba was dedicated to Al-lat and Al-Uzza both of which are forms of the Mother Goddess Shakti. The structure of the temple attested to the fact that it was based on the Tantric iconography of Devi Durga . The verses as written in the Devi-Mahatmya texts of the Markandeya Purana describe the formation of her physical body and iconographical attributes:

Born out of the bodies of all the Gods, that unique efflugence, combined into a mass of light, took the form of a woman, pervading the triple worlds with its lustre. In that efflugence,

the light of Shiva formed the face. The Tresses were formed from the light of Yama and the arms from the light of Vishnu Bhagwan

The two breasts were formed from the moon's (Somanath's) light, the waist from the light of Indra, the legs and thighs from the light of Varun, and hips from the light of the Earth (Bhoodev)

The feet from the light of Brahma  and the toes from Surya's (sun) light, the fingers of the hand from the light of the Vasus(the children of Ganga) and the nose from the light of Kuber .

The teeth were formed from the light of Prajapati, the lord of beings; likewise the Triad of her eyes was born from the Light of Agni (fire). The eyebrows from the two Sandhyas (sunrise and sunset) ; the ears from the light of the wind(Vayu). From the lights of other gods as well, the auspicious goddess was born.

Projecting an overwhelming omnipotence the three eyed goddess adorned with the crescent moon with her eighteen arms each holding auspicious weapons, emblems, jewels and other gifts offered by individual gods, emerged. With her pulsating body of golden color shining with the splendour of a thousand suns, standing erect on her lion vehicle (vahana) and displaying her triumph over the dark forces (shown in the form of a demon under her feet), she stands as the most spectacular personification of cosmic energy.

Among the 360 idols which surrounded the main shrine of the destroyed Kaaba were 16 magnificient ones that bordered the sanctum sanctorium. We know the names of the gods that inhabited these 16 important shrines. Every single one of these deities matches the Devi-Mahatmya's textual description of Devi Durga:- Suwa which apparently stood for Lord Shiva

Ayam which stood for Lord Yama  Bag which stood for Bhagwan Shri Vishnu Manat which stood for Somnath (Moon)  Sakiah which stood for Sakra (another name for Indra) Al-Debaran which stood for Dev-Varun  Obodes which stood for Bhoodev (Earth) Awal (first) which stood for Brahma Shems which stood for Surya (Sun) Wajj (pronounced "Vazz") which stood for the Vasus who were the seven sons of Ganga (corrupted to Zamza in the form of the ZamZam spring in the Kaaba) Kaber which stood for Kuber Aja which stood for Prajapati Makha which stood for Agni (fire) (in Sanskrit Makha means a fire-sacrifice (Yagna), the city of Mecca got its name because of the fact that it was the site of the fire sacrifice) Sunrise and Sunset, called the two Auses which stood for the two Sandhyas (probably taken from Ushas)

Ha'uw which stood for Vayu (the wind)

The architectural elements of the Kaaba Temple consisted of a square block of black stone, crested by a crescent and sphere, which is encircled by 360 shrines. This is an exact representation of the Tantric Cit-kunda Yantra. Each element of the Yantra was represented in the Kaaba complex. The circle or Bindu symbolizes Shakti , it is embraced by the crescent or Shishu which symbolizes Shiva. This divine marriage shows the pure pre-creative stage of evolution. The beginning of creation is an omnipotent all-pervading cosmic principle - Shiva embracing his potential power -Shakti . Thus the crescent and moon symbol is the sign of the Self, which is aware of its inherent dynamic power. The four points of the square stone represent the four aspects of one's psyche: the pure self (atman), the inner self (antaratman), the cognizant self (jananatman) and the supreme self (paramatman) . The circle around these symbols represents both the wheel of time (the Vedic year consisted of 360 days) as well as the astronomical map of the universe and its 360 major heavenly bodies. The Kaaba in its symbolism therefore represented all the cosmic principles of the universe. It is the height of absurdity to call proponents of a culture that was capable of producing monuments such as these, as "superstitous polytheists and uncivilized pagans". The fact is that the Prophet of Islam destroyed a culture that was vastly superior in all scientific, spiritual, humanistic and symbolic respects, to his brand of theocracy. Ironically the word "Pagan" which has come to mean animalistic, has its very roots in the malpronounciation of the word "Bhagwan" (Divine God).

Figure 4. Cit-Kunda-Yantra the Tantric pattern  that the Kaaba is based upon.

There is even more evidence that clearly suggests the conclusion that the Arabs used to worship different forms of the Divine Couple, Shiva-Shakti in many forms. Archaeological remnants of the Nabataeans who inhabited Arabia in the Pre-Islamic era, demonstrate that the chief deities were Dhu-Shara and Al-Uzza. As we already know Uzza was none other than Oorja or Shakti and since Du-Shara was her husband, it is quite logical to conclude that Du-Shara is a corruption of "Deveshwar" which is a Sanskrit synonym for Lord Shiva . Herodotus in his Histories also says of the Arabs " They deem no other to be gods save Dionysus and Heavenly Aphrodite ... they call Dionysus Orotalt and Aphrodite Alilat" (Negev 101). Alilat was again the corrupted version of Allat who as we know represented Alla (Durga). Dionysus her husband has all the traits of Shiva as well. Lord Shiva was known to have intoxicated followers called "Ganas". He was also known as "Pashupati" (lord of the beasts). He is always depicted wearing a Tiger Skin. The greatest clue to the Shaivite origin of Dionysus lies in the undeniable title of "fertility god". Just as the Shivling represents the creative energy, so too were phallic symbols made to represent Dionysus, the fertility God. Another clue that supports this conclusion is the fact that Du-Shara is represented as being surrounded by dolphins, as is Dionysus. It is quite plausible to suggest that Du-Shara and Dionysus were names for Lord Shiva and that their spouses Al-Uzza and Al-lat respectively, were names for Shakti.

Astrological references in the Vishnu Puran describe the shape of space in the following way:

"The heavenly form of the mighty Lord is made of stars and shaped like a dolphin with Dhruva (the Pole Star) in its tail. This dolphin shaped constellation which is the pathway of the stars' fixed abodes has its hub in the heart of the Lord. The sun, moon, stars and nakshatras together with the planets are bound to Dhruva in the tail of the Dolphin by fetters made up of a series of winds".

It is quite obvious that the Dolphin shaped constellation which represents the Hindu concept of the cosmos is the basis for Nabatean representations of dolphins in their sacred temples. They represented Du-Shara wielding a trident along with his consort Al-Uzza seated on a lion, surrounded by dolphins. The entire divine scene thus symbolized Shiva-Shakti and the shape of the spatial universe as envisioned by Vedic culture..

Figure 5. Du-Shara, the, Nabataean version of Lord Shiva. Source: Deities and Dolphins

Dhruva himself was venerated in many Arab temples. He was worshipped as Duar in the Kaaba complex, where many other astronomical deities were revered. The Navagrahas or nine planets of Hindu cosmology each had an individual shrine dedicated to them in the Kaaba. We know the Arabic names for at least five of them.

Sanskrit Arabic English

Budh Wad Mercury

Surya Shems Sun

Somanath Manat Moon

Shani Al-Dsaizan Saturn

Shukra Al-Sharak Venus

The parallels are far too numerous to overlook. The Vedic theme that underlies the Kaaba and many Arabic temples, is apparent, when we add up all these fragments of evidence and consider them as a whole.

The fact that Muslim scholars have over the centuries tried their best to erase all such pieces of evidence speaks volumes. These irrefutable testaments to the Vedic origins of Arabia, were erased off the face of the earth by the Prophet of Islam in his quest for supremacy. Although only a few traces could survive the destructive assault of Islam, the truth still echoes from the silent remains of Nabataea, Sabaea, Palmyra and Dura-Europos, which eloquently tell of Arabia's past.

The stories that these ruins whisper have been ignored for centuries, it is time that they too were heard and given their rightful place in the history of Vedic civilization and the world.

Note: The Works "The Life & times of Muhammad" by Sir John Glubb, "Mohammed" by Anne Carter, "Yantra, the Tantric symbol of Cosmic Unity" by Madhu Khanna, "Deities and Dolphins by Nelson Glueck, "Classical Hindu Mythology" by Dimmitt and Buitenen, and "Hindu Temples: What Happened to Them? - Volume 2" by Sita Ram Goel have been used to compose this article.