Islam and Sikhism

Sikhism believes that God is formless (nirankar).[5][15] It has been called a form of pantheism,[6] as well as monotheism.[5] God in the nirgun aspect is without attributes, unmanifest, not seen, but all pervading and permeating, omnipresent. God in the sargun aspect is manifest has attributes, qualities, and seen in the whole creation. [Ik Onkar There is only one God, he is the eternal truth, he is without fear, he is without hate, immortal, without form, Beyond birth and death...]

Similarly, Islam believes in one God which means it's monotheistic (tawḥīd).[16][17] This Islamic doctrine is a part of its Shahada.[17]

[Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; (1) Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; (2) He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; (3) And there is none like unto Him. (4)] (Quran Al-Ikhlas)[18]

Sikhism reveres Guru Nanak as the teacher that taught of the One Divine Creator, Lord on Earth, which is manifest in the ten forms of the ten Gurus of Sikhs. Sikhism accepts that there were divine messengers, including Moses, Jesus and Mohammed in other religions.[5]

Islam believes that before Muhammad there were many messengers of God, Muhammad was the last messenger, and Quran was the last revelation to the last prophet.[19][20]

The Five Pillars of Islam are duties incumbent on every Muslim. These duties are Shahada (testimony that "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of God"),[21] Salat (prayers), Zakat (Giving of Alms), Sawm (Fasting during Ramadan) and Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca). These five practices are essential to Sunni Islam; Shi'a Muslims subscribe to eight ritual practices which substantially overlap with the five Pillars.[22][23]

The three duties of Sikhs are Naam Japna (meditating on Waheguru's name), Kirat Karni (earn honest living) and Vand Chakna (sharing one's earning with others).[24] Baptized Sikhs, the Amritdharis, belong to the Khalsa Panth. They wear the five articles of faith, known as 5 K's: (1. Kes, uncut hair and beard, 2. Kangha, a wooden comb, 3. Kara, a bracelet worn around the wrist, 4. Kirpan, a small dagger and 5. Kachera, a special underwear). Non-baptized Sikhs, the Keshdharis, wear three of these 5 K's: Kesh, Kanga, and Kara. The Khalsa Panth was created on Vaisakhi 1699 by the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh. On this day, the 5 K's and the distinct dastaar(Sikh turban) were made an official part of the Sikh lifestyle. Sikhs have a set of seven Sikh prayers, called Nitnem, which they practise on a daily basis, and this is mandatory.

Sikhism has an ambivalent attitude towards miracles and rejects any form of discrimination within and against other religions.[25][25] Sikhism does not believe in rituals, but is permissive of traditions.[8]

Sikhism rejects asceticism and celibacy.[26] The Sikhism founder Guru Nanak adopted the Indic ideas on rebirth, and taught the ideas of reincarnation.[26] Adi Granth of Sikhism recognizes and includes spiritual wisdom from other religions.[8][27] Islam warns against wrongful innovation (bid‘ah) to what is revealed in the Quran and the Hadiths.[8]

Islam considers itself to be a perfect and final religion.[27] It warns against innovation (bid‘ah) to what is revealed in the Quran and the Hadiths.[8]

Islam believes in miracles and a final judgment day (Qiyaamat).[28]

Apostasy, that is abandonment of Islam by a Muslim and conversion to another religion or atheism, is a religious crime in Islam punishable with death.[21][29] According to the Hadiths, states John Esposito, leaving Islam is punishable by "beheading, crucifixion or banishment", and Sharia (Islamic legal code) traditionally has required death by the sword for an adult sane male who voluntarily leaves Islam.[21] However, adds Esposito, modern thinkers have argued against execution as penalty for apostasy from Islam by invoking Quranic verse 2:257.[21] Islam does not actually explicitly advocate for capital punishment for apostasy.

Sikhism allows freedom of conscience and choosing one's own path.[30]

The traditional Islamic interpretation of the Qur'an forbids intercourse, but not physical intimacy, during a woman's menstrual period. The Qur'an explicitly prohibits a menstruating woman from sexual intercourse. If a man is engaged in sexual intercourse with his wife and discovers that her period has started, he must immediately withdraw.[31]

Menstruating women are also prohibited from engaging in tawaf during Hajj. When A'isha wept to Muhammad when she was not able to perform tawaf on her menses, Muhammad responded, "This is a thing which Allah has ordained for the daughters of Adam. So do what all the pilgrims do with the exception of the Tawaf (Circumambulation) round the Ka'ba."[32] Islam shows a lot respect to women and menstruation is a blessing in Islam as it gives birth to humans and a basic phenomenon for reproduction of humans. Menstruating women are provided with every kinds of privilege and are suggested to rest.

Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, condemned the practice of treating women as impure while menstruating.[33] The Guru makes it very clear that the menstrual cycle is a God-given process. The blood of a woman is required for the creation of any human being.[34] Those who are impure from within are the truly impure ones.[35] In The Feminine Principle in the Sikh vision of the transcendent, Nikky Guninder Kaur-Singh writes:

'The denigration of the female body "expressed in many cultural and religious taboos surrounding menstruation and child-Birth" is absent in the Sikh worldview. Guru Nanak openly chides those who attribute pollution to women because of menstruation'.[36]

Sikhism teaches that all religious traditions are valid, leading to the same Waheguru, and it rejects that any particular religion has a monopoly regarding absolute truth for all of humanity.[37]

Islam teaches that non-Islamic religious traditions have been distorted by man to suit their desires.[38][39] However, it warns against mistreatment or intolerance of those of other religions.

Islam believes in predestination, or divine preordainment (al-qadā wa l-qadar), God has full knowledge and control over all that occurs.[40][41] According to Islamic tradition, all that has been decreed by God is written in al-Lawh al-Mahfūz, the "Preserved Tablet".[42]

Sikhism somewhat believes in predestination. What one does, speaks and hears is not truly pre ordained, but rather determined through one's actions via free will. Each action accounts for an individual's Karma (good or bad) and the person faces the due consequences of their deeds as a result of God's Hukam. [43]

Jannah (Arabic: جنّة‎) is the Muslim equivalent of Heaven. It is the final abode of the righteous and the Islamic believers.[44] Firdaws (Arabic: فردوس) is the literal term meaning paradise, but the Quran generally uses the term Jannah symbolically referring to paradise. However "Firdaus" also designates the highest layer of heaven.[45] Jahannam (Arabic: جهنم‎) is the Muslim equivalent of Hell. It refers to an afterlife place of punishment for evildoers. The punishments are carried in accordance with the degree of evil one has done during his life.[46][47]

In Sikh thought, heaven and hell are not places for living hereafter, they are part of spiritual topography of man and do not exist otherwise. They refer to good and evil stages of life respectively and can be lived now and here during our earthly existence.[48] For example, Bhagat Kabir rejects the otherworldly heaven in Guru Granth Sahib and says that one can experience heaven on this Earth by doing company of holy.

He claims to know the Lord, who is beyond measure and beyond thought; By mere words, he plans to enter heaven. I do not know where heaven is. Everyone claims that he plans to go there. By mere talk, the mind is not appeased. The mind is only appeased, when egotism is conquered. As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven, He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this? The Company of the Holy is heaven.

— Bhagat Kabir, Guru Granth Sahib 325 [49]

Similarly, Guru Arjan explains that people who are entangled in emotional attachment and doubt are living in hell on this Earth i.e. their life is hellish.[50]

So many are being drowned in emotional attachment and doubt; they dwell in the most horrible hell.

— Guru Arjan, Guru Granth Sahib 297 [50]

Fasting in Islam is the practice of abstaining, usually from food, drink, smoking, and sexual activity. During the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, fasting is observed between dawn and nightfall when the evening Adhan is sounded.[51] Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim lunar calendar and fasting is the fourth of the five pillars of Islam.[52] Fasting, in Islam, is considered an exercise of devotion to willingly renounce oneself, for a definite period of time, from all bodily appetites in order to form spiritual discipline and self-control.[53]

Sikhism does not promote fasting except for medical reasons. Fasting as an austerity, as a ritual, as the mortification of the body by wilful hunger is condemned as Sikh Gurus proclaimed that it "brings no spiritual benefit to the person".[54] The Sikh Scripture, Guru Granth Sahib proclaims:

Fasting, daily rituals, and austere self-discipline – those who keep the practice of these, are rewarded with less than a shell.

— Guru Arjan, Guru Granth Sahib 216 [55]

The Qibla (Arabic: قِبْلَة‎‎) is the direction that should be faced when a Muslim prays during ṣalāh (Arabic: صَلَاة‎). It is fixed as the direction of the Kaaba in the Hejazi city of Mecca.[56] Most mosques contain a wall niche that indicates the Qibla, which is known as a miḥrâb (Arabic: مِحْرَاب‎). Most multifaith prayer rooms will also contain a Qibla, although usually less standardized in appearance than one would find within a mosque.[57]

In Sikhism, there is no particular direction which one should face while offering prayer.[58] For example, in the following hymn of Guru Granth Sahib, Bhagat Kabir explained that God is in every direction rather than in any one direction.

The God of the Hindus lives in the southern lands, and the God of the Muslims lives in the west. So search in your heart - look deep into your heart of hearts; this is the home and the place where God lives.

— Bhagat Kabir, Guru Granth Sahib 1349 [59]

Ramadan (Arabic: رمضان‎) is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting, prayer, reflection and community.[60][61] A commemoration of Muhammad's first revelation, the annual observance of Ramadan is regarded as one of the Five Pillars of Islam and lasts twenty-nine to thirty days, from one sighting of the crescent moon to the next.[62][63][64] The spiritual rewards of fasting are believed to be multiplied during Ramadan.[65]

Sikh Gurus rejected the theory that certain days are auspicious while some others are not.[66] For example, in the following hymn of Guru Granth Sahib, Bhagat Kabir rejects the belief that month of Ramadan is more auspicious than other months.

The Brahmins observe twenty-four fasts during the year, and the Muslims fast during the month of Ramadaan. The Muslims set aside eleven months, and claim that the treasure is only in the one month.

— Bhagat Kabir, Guru Granth Sahib 1349 [67]

According to Bernard Lewis, slavery has been a part of Islam's history from its beginning. The Quran like the Old and the New Testaments, states Lewis, "assumes the existence of slavery".[68] It attempts to regulate slavery and thereby implicitly accepts it.[69] Muhammad and his Companions owned slaves, and some of them acquired slaves through conquests.[68][70]. However, Muhammad himself freed his slaves before his prophethood, even going so far as to adopt one of them, and many converts to Islam such as Abu Bakr spent much of their lives freeing slaves. The Quran does not forbid slavery, nor does it consider it as a permanent institution.[71]. But, it does repeatedly say no man isn’t above another. The Quran assigns the same spiritual value to a slave as to a free man, and a believing slave is regarded as superior to a free pagan or idolator.[72][73][74] The manumission of slaves is regarded as a meritorious act in the Quran, and is recommended either as an act of charity or as expiation for sins.[72][75][76] While the spiritual value of a slave was same as the freeman, states Forough Jahanbakhsh, in regards to earthly matters, a slave was not an equal to the freeman and relegated to an inferior status.[77]

Sikh Gurus vehemently protested against the institution of slavery and preached that the multitudes of slaves were not supposed to toil and sweat in the tireless service of privileged one.[78] Many Sikh warriors of 18th century played an important role in fight against slavery and freeing of slaves. For example, Banda Singh Bahadur is known to have halted the Zamindari and Taluqdari system in the time he was active and gave the farmers proprietorship of their own land.[79] The Zamindars, or landlords, were usually from the higher castes. Lower caste individuals borrowed money against their holdings from the landlords for marriage expenses, housing, or farming costs. On defaulting, they would find themselves obliged to repay the debt through labour. Hereditary relationships continued between debtors and their masters, as generations found themselves in debt bondage, leading to slavery. [80] During Ahmad Shah Abdali's invasion of 1757, Sikhs, under the leadership of Baba Deep Singh, not only plundered his loot and but also rescued captive Hindu women. These women were captured by Ahmad Shah Abdali to sell them as maidens and slaves.[81]

The Khalsa panth among Sikhs are guided by the five Ks. They keep their head hair long (kesh) and men wear turbans (head hair cover) Women may also wear a turban by their choice. They carry a wooden comb, wear an iron bracelet, wear a cotton underwear, and carry a kirpan (steel sword).[82] Non baptized Sikh women are free to dress as they wish in Sikhism. Sex segregation is not required in public places or Sikh temples by Sikhism.[83]

Muslim males are encouraged to grow their beards and trim the moustache.[84] Men in some Muslim communities wear turban (head cap).[85] Muslim men, as well as women, must dress modestly. For Muslim women, it is highly recommended to cover their hair. Muslim women are required to cover body in public,[86] with some Islamic scholars stating that the Islamic Hadiths require covering the face too.[87][88] Islam encourages gender segregation in public, and Muslim men and women do not usually mix in public places such as mosques. These restrictions are part of 'Adab'.[84]

Sikhism does not require circumcision of either males or females, and criticizes the practice.[89]

In Islam, no verse in the Quran supports male or female circumcision (FGM/C).[90] Male circumcision is a widespread practice and considered mandatory for Muslim males according to Sunnah.[91] Muslim scholars disagree whether any authentic Sunnah in the hadiths supports the practice of female circumcision.[92][93][94] The Ijma, or consensus of Muslim scholars, varies by the Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) on whether circumcision is optional, honorable or obligatory for Muslim male and females.[note 1] Prominent Islamic scholars have both supported and opposed FGM/C for female Muslims.[95][96][note 1][note 2]

Islam has Quranic restrictions on food, such as how the meat is prepared.[100] Halal meat is required in Islam, prepared by ritual slaughter that involves cutting the jugular veins of the animal with a sharp knife. This leads to death, through bleeding, of the animal.[101] Meat from animals that die of natural causes or accident is not allowed, unless necessary.[100] Beef is a religiously acceptable food to Muslims, but pork and alcohol is not.[102] Muslims fast for the month of Ramadan.

The tenets of Sikhism do not advocate a particular stance on either vegetarianism or the consumption of meat, but rather leave the decision of diet to the individual.[103][104] The only restriction is that Sikhs are prohibited from eating any type of meat like Islamic halal or Jewish kosher style meat because to them, this manner of obtaining meat involves a ritualistic component and a slow death of the animal. This is known as Kutha meat.[105][106] The official Sikh Code of Conduct Sikh Rehat Maryada only forbids the consumption of Kutha meat.[106] Charity meals distributed at a Sikh Gurudwara, called a langar, is only lacto-vegetarian.[105][107] Some groups[108] of Sikhism disagree with the consumption of meat altogether.[109] In practice, some Sikhs eat meat, while some Sikhs avoid meat.[106]

Muslim rulers in history, compelled the payment of a special tax called Jizya from dhimmi, those who refuse to convert to Islam but live in a Muslim state. Dhimmis were excluded from having to pay Islamic religious tax such as zakat and excluded from observing other Islamic religious obligations.[110][111] Jizya was a tool of social stratification and treasury's revenue from non-Muslims.[111] Jizya was a reminder of subordination of a non-Muslim under some Muslim rulers, and created a financial and political incentive to convert to Islam.[111][112]

Sikhism has never required a special tax for non-Sikhs.

The Harmandir Sahib (also known as the Golden Temple).

The Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib) in Amritsar, India is central religious place of the Sikhs. The four entrances of this holy shrine from all four directions, signify that people belonging to every walk of life are equally welcome. The Golden Temple is a holy site for Sikhs and is welcome to people of any faith.[113]

Masjid al-Haram Mecca.

Mecca in Saudi Arabia is the central religious place in Islam.[114][115] Mecca is regarded as the holiest city in Islam,[116] and a pilgrimage to it, known as the Hajj, is one of the pillars of Islam. Non-Muslims are prohibited from entering the city.

Gyani Janam Singh (Pakistani Sikh Leader) presenting Siropa (robe of honour) to Farhan Wilayat Butt (Muslim Philanthropist) during the ceremony of Peace Symposium between Sikhs & Muslims of Pakistan

In South Asia alone there are over 200 million Muslims who are followers of Sufi traditions, the most notable being the Barelvi movement.[141] The Sikh Gurus had cordial relations with many Muslim Sufi Saints, and in the Sikh Holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, many Sufi and other Muslim scholars’ quotes and wisdom are featured..[13]

In December 1588, a Sufi saint of Lahore, Mian Mir, visited Guru Arjan Dev at the initiation ceremony before the construction of the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple).[142]

Ahmadiyya, a minority reform sect that arose within Islam, believe that a certain form of prophethood within Islam continues after Muhammad and consider themselves to be Muslims.[143] They are, however, not recognized as Muslims by mainstream Sunni and Shia Islam, and are treated as blasphemous and persecuted.[143][144] Since the 18th century, Sufis and ancestors of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad – the founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement – had cordial relations with Sikhs, and they fought with Sikhs to resist the persecution by Sunni-based Mughal rule in northwest region of South Asia.[145] However, as Ranjit Singh established the Sikh Empire, there were conflicts between the Sikhs and the Jagir of Ahmad's father.[145]