ABU RAYHAN AL-BIRUNI’S STUDY OF OTHER RELIGIONS: A CASE ON HINDUISM
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol6iss2pp116-132Abstract
Studying other religions is a legacy left by medieval Muslim scholars. As a Muslim scholar, al-Biruni’s Kitab al-Hind was a unique contribution to the study of Hinduism. This study explores al-Biruni’s approaches to studying Hinduism, culture, and civilisation by reviewing related manuscripts and literature. Al-Biruni studied the Hindu scripture in its original language. He investigated Hindu theology and philosophy, their caste system in society, law and ethics, rituals, and festivals. In Kitab al-Hind, an entire chapter is dedicated to Hindu scriptures, which include Veda and Puranas. Concerning religious beliefs and divinity, there were various perceptions between the educated and uneducated people. Murti puja was a form of worship to express love and devotion towards God. However, the educated classes considered that idols were no more than intermediaries, and the idol worshippers were being deluded from the actual worship of God. The Hindu caste system was established upon religious foundations, and every caste used to have its own mode of living and daily routine. Furthermore, Hindu rules, guidelines, and religious laws were developed by divine sages called Rishis, who provided laws of murder and theft, punishment of adultery, treatment for prisoners, and inheritance law. Al-Biruni took an objective, in-depth, scientific, and authentic approach to presenting Hinduism, which made his work accepted by both Muslim and non-Muslim religious scholars. It is hoped that this paper will offer new perspectives to Muslim scholars on studying other religions, which may consequently enhance religious harmony in a multireligious society.
Keywords: Al-Biruni, Hinduism, religion, comparative religion, Muslim scholar.
References
Alatas, S. F. (2016, September 10). Against the grain: Al-Biruni the starting point for improving Hindu-Muslim relations in Malaysia. The Edge Malaysia. https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/against-grain-al-biruni-starting-point-improving-hindu-muslim-relations-malaysia
Allana, G. (1979). Abu Rayhan Muhammad Ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (973 A.D. – 1048 A.D.): A restless genius in search knowledge. In H. M. Said (Ed.), Al-Biruni commemorative volume (pp. 149-157). The Time Press.
Aziz, G. R. (1979). Al-Biruni and his academic conquests In H. M. Said (Ed.), Al-Biruni commemorative volume (pp. 158-159). The Time Press.
Dar, B. A. (1979). Al-Biruni on Hindu religious thought. In H. M. Said (Ed.), Al-Biruni commemorative volume (pp. 336-343). The Time Press.
Gafurov, B. (1974). Abu Rayhan Mohammad Ibn Ahmad Al-Biruni: A universal genius who lived in central Asia a thousand years ago. In the Monthly UNESCO Courier, June 1974, 27th year. UNESCO.
Hadi, M. A. (2015). Biruni’s contribution to the comparative study of religion. VFAST Transactions on Islamic Research, 6(1), 1-9.
Kamaruzzaman, K. O. (1996). Early Muslim scholarship in Religionswissenscaft: A case study of the works and contributions of Abu Rayhan Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Al-Biruni. International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC).
Kamaruzzaman, K. O. (2003). Al-Biruni: Father of comparative religion. Intellectual Discourse, 11(2), 113-138.
Kamiar, M. (2009). Brilliant Biruni: A life story of Abu Rayhan Mohammad Ibn Ahmad. Scarecrow Press Inc.
Madan, G. (1990). India through the ages. Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India.
Markie, P. (2004). Rationalism vs empiricism. In E. D. Zalta (Ed.), Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2017/entries/rationalism-empiricism/
Mir, M. W. (1979). Al-Biruni’s research methodology. In H. M. Said (Ed.), Al-Biruni commemorative volume (p. 227). The Time Press.
Nasr, S. H. (1979). Al-Biruni as philosopher. In H. M. Said (Ed.), Al-Biruni commemorative volume (pp. 400-406). The Time Press.
Sachau, E. C. (2000). Al-Biruni’s India: An account of the religion, philosophy, literature, geography, chronology, astronomy, customs, laws and astrology of India (Vol. 1 & 2). Routledge.
Sachau, E. C. (1879). The chronology of ancient nations, (al-Athar all-bakiyah anil kurun albakiyah) or monuments or vestiges of generations of the past. William H. Allen & Co.
Saffie, S. N. (2012). Methodology of Al-Biruni (973-1051) and Al-Faruqi (1921-1986) in the study of religions: A comparative study. International Islamic University Malaysia.
Said, H. M., & Khan, A. Z. (1990). Al-Biruni: His times, life and works. Renaissance Publishing House.
Said, H. M. (1979). Concluding address. In H. M. Said (Ed.), Al-Biruni commemorative volume (pp. 136-138). The Time Press.
Saleem Khan, M. A. (2001). Al-Biruni’s discovery of India: An interpretative study. Academic Books.
Shamsi, F. A. (1979). Abu Al-Raihn Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Al-Biyruni 362/973 CA. 443/1051. In H. M. Said (Ed.), Al-Biruni commemorative volume (pp. 260-288). The Time Press.
Sharma, A. (2000). Classical Hindu thought: An introduction. Oxford University Press.
Sharma, A. (1983). Studies in Alberuni’s India. Otto Hassassowitz.
Syed, M. H. (2009). Biographical encyclopedia of Islam (Vol. 3). Anmol Publications PVT. Ltd.
Yarshater, E. (1976). Biruni symposium. Iran Center, Columbia University.
Yousuf, A. F. (2000). A socio-cultural, religious analysis of Al-Biruni’s contributions towards the study of Sciences, Mathematics and Philosophy. IIUM Engineering Journal, 1(2), 45-51.
