Scholars who have done extensive research comparing Hinduism and Islam and their major works

1. Maulana Abdul Haq Vidyarthi


Maulana Abdul Haq Vidyarthi was a renowned scholar of his time who wrote the book "Muhammad in World Scriptures" first published in 1940 in Lahore. The book is based on extensive research and shows the prophecies about prophet Mohammad in many religious books of different religions including the Hindu, Cristian and Hebrew religious texts. To do his researh on different religious texts, he learned many languages including Hebrew and Sanskrit to comprehend the sense and meaning of the religious books directly. He also published a part of Yajur Veda (the religious book of the Hinduism) translated into Urdu. He toured many countries doing research, visiting libraries and giving lectures. He also visited USA during 1959-1962.

"Muhammad in World Scriptures"

Maulana Abdul Haq Vidyarthi wrote the book originally in urdu in 1936 titled "Mithaq-un-Nabiyyeen". The book was translated into English and published in 1940 titled "Muhammad in World Scriptures". The author expanded the English versions considerably afterwards between 1966 and 1975. The new versions came out in three volumes. The books is published in India by Adam Publishers in 1990.

2. Acharya Maulana Shams Naved Usmani


‘Acharya’ and ‘Maulana’ are two titles that rarely, if ever, go together. The former is a term generally reserved for Brahmin teachers of the Hindu scriptures, particularly the Vedas. ‘Maulana’ is a title of respect for an Islamic scholar. Few sholars in India, except some noted medieval Sufis, could have claimed to have mastered both the Vedas and the Quran, and the late Acharya Maulana Shams Naved Usmani was one of these rare personalities. He also had a Bachelor’s degree form one of the modern institutions- the Lucknow University.

Author of numerous books on the Hindu and Islamic scriptures, Acharya Maulana Usmani was a passionate advocate of Hindu-Muslim inter-faith dialogue, spawning a new trend in Indian Muslim literary and activist circles. Here we seek to explore Acharya Maulana Usmani’s contribution to inter-religious dialogue in contemporary India, examining its major thrust and its underlying agenda. Acharya Maulana Usmani’s thought inspired the writing of a number of texts by his disciples. He started a major movement, which gained a massive momentum due to simple yet deep comparative religious study of Hinduism and Islam and whose associate Hindus and Muslims have worked to change the hearts of thousands of people towards communal brotherhood.

Acharya Maulana Usmani chartered a new course in Islamic literature in India, seeking a commitment to inter-faith dialogue. His spirit is the moving force behind his disciples’ pens.

Life and Works

Shams Naved Usmani was born in 1931 at the town of Deoband in northern India, the centre of a powerful movement of Islamic reform. His family, the Usmanis, claimed descent from the third Caliph of the Sunnis, Usman (d.35/656), and was known for the numerous scholars it had produced. Among the well-known ulama who belonged to the family were such figures as Allamah Shabbir Ahmad Usmani (d.1369/1949), who later went on to become one of the foremost Islamic scholars in Pakistan and Maulana Amir Usmani, a well-known writer and editor of the Urdu monthly, Tajalli.
He began his education by studying Arabic and Persian at home, after which, at the age of ten, he enrolled at the Dar ul-Ulum at Deoband in order to train as an aalim, graduating in 1945. Later he recived a Bachelor’s degree form the Lucknow university. In 1954 he was appointed as an English teacher at the Government Oriental College, Rampur.
Acharya Maulana Usmani was a gifted writer, and began contributing articles to various Urdu periodicals at a young age.
Usmani believed that it was the principal duty of Muslims to actively work to present God’s message to others. He lived in a small two-room rented apartment in Rampur, spending much time in prayer and meditation.

Following in the path of numerous Sufis before him, Acharya Maulana Usmani took an interest in the scriptures of other religions. He spent several years learning and mastering Sanskrit, the language of the Brahminical scriptures, after which he is said to have made a detailed study of the Vedas, the Upanishads and the Gita, in addition to the Bible. Like many Sufis, he came to believe that the most appropriate way to carry on the Islamic daawah in India was to express Islam in terms that the Hindus would find familiar and intelligible, and to this concern he focussed much of his attention. He gathered a number of close disciples around him, several of whom later went on to popularise his views through their own writings. He also set up the World Organisation of Religion and Knowledge at Rampur in order to promote research on other faiths from a distinctly Islamic perspective and to launch a programme of publications. Presently, the organisation is headed by Acharya Maulana Usmani’s chief disciple, Sayyed Abdullah Tariq who is an engineer by professional training. The organization regularly organizes programs and lectures delivering the precious knowledge largly unknown to both hindus and muslims. The organization can be contacted for organizing a program in your area.

The address of World Organisation of Religion and Knowledge, India:

World Organisation of Religion and Knowledge,
Abdullah Tariq
Bazar Nasrullah Khan
Rampur, U.P, India -244901.
Email: tariqsa@sancharnet.in satariq92@yahoo.com

“Agar ab bhi na jaage toh (If You Do Not Wake Up Now Then)”
(English translation: Now or Never by Abdullah Tariq)

Having been through over ten editions and translated into several Indian languages as well as English, Acharya Maulana Usmani’s Agar Abhi Na Jage To (If You Do Not Wake Up Now) is his most well known work. It is said to have been the product of fifteen long years of research, first coming out in the form of several instalments in the Delhi-based Urdu paper, Akhbar-i Nau. It is, to summarise its contexts, a heart-rending plea to the Muslims to wake up to the fact that the Hindus are the community of Noah (called prophet Nooh in Islam and Nyooh or Manu in hinduism) and that the Vedas are the divine scriptures, which Noah was commissioned by God to deliver to his people.

3. Pundit Vedprakash Upadhyay

The scholar was a learned and famous Hindu professor. He wrote many books. Pundit Vedprakash Upadhyay was a Hindu Brahmin of Bengali origin. He was a research scholar at Allahabad University.

“Kalki Avatar aur Mohammad sahib”

After years of research, he published the book “Kalki Avatar aur Mohammad sahib” in 1969, and no less than eight pundits have endorsed and certified his points of argument as authentic.

What the author says is that Hindus, who are still anxiously awaiting the arrival of Kalki Avatar, are simply subjecting themselves to never ending pain. Because, such a great messenger has already arrived and departed from this world fourteen centuries ago. The author produces sound evidences in the book from the Vedas and other holy books of the Hindu religion in support of his claim.