What is the Islamic view of Buddha?

Question

Is he regarded as a teacher? wise man? prophet? false prophet? etc.

Answer 1

  Not an expert on Buddha or Islam. But I do not believe they care anything about him and refer back on him in a bad thought as his teachings are absent of mention of Allah!

I also find it interesting Islam considers jesus as a holy man or even a prophet but not God However another holy man Buddha is regarded as an abomination!

Go figure

Answer 2

From available information we can conclude that he is not a prophet sent from God, but then this information could have been altered over the years just like what happened to judaism and christianity. So we have no way to tell truly but at least he can be considered as a  philosopher.

Answer 3

i'm not certain,

but i want to address Safayah,  you said "and man made religions with phony gods are hugely forbidden in islam"  don't you know that Islam is a man made religion, with a man made god?  how can you be certain that your religion is accurate, while Buddhism, Judaism or Mormonism isn't?  what about the ancient Greeks and all their gods?   or the Nordics, or Romans?  why is it that your religion is the only "true" religion, but all these others are wrong?  Why cannot people believe in what they want, and still be equal as humans in your eyes?  

Answer 4

There is no mention of the Buddha in Islamic scripture, but many of the teachings of Buddha overlap with Islam for example the saying "To know the self is to go beyond the self". The Buddha called his way "The Middle Path" and so did Mohammed (pbuh). Both the teachings of the Buddha and the Prophet had the effect of massively reforming society in India, with people beginning to focus on conscious awareness and good behavior rather than blindly making offerings to idols. Buddha taught that the Truth is within. But like Jesus (pbuh) about 300 years after his death people started worshipping him instead of obeying his teachings.

It could be that he was one of the 144,000 prophets mentioned in the Quran who came with a previous, incomplete teaching. But we can't say for sure since we don't have any mention of it in the Quran or hadith.

Answer 5

wise man only..........

Answer 6

He isn't even mentioned in the Quran... so there are no regards

He's the prophet of Buddhism, they have theirs, we have ours

Leave it at that. Just show respect and we'll get along.

Answer 7

Maybe I'm dense but I didn't think Buddha was a real person. Wasn't he just a mythical character? Sorry to offend with my ignorance.

Answer 8

In Afghanistan the Taliban destroyed one of their most valuable tourist attractions because they were giant Buddha statues.... so I think they see him as an evil being.  

Answer 9

My friend some scholars have argued that Buddha fits as Dhul-Kifl. Others have argued that Ezekiel is in fact Dhul-Kifl. However, even that fact that Buddha is mentioned shows how pious he was.

The way he lived was completely in line with how prophets have lived.

The fact that Buddhism is seen as a religion which negates God is something that has been interpretation by sects which had already allowed themselves to succumb to the belief of no God. Even western scholars rely on these interpretations, books, etc. In Tibet there is a form of Buddhism where there is a belief in demons and etc. which is complimented by a belief that communication is possible with these beings.

"On the Eastern bank of the river Katak, twenty miles from Jagan Nath, there is a rock by the name of Pardohli upon which is written:

'Much longing after the things (of this life) is a disobedience, I again declare; not less so is the laborious ambition of dominion by a prince who would be a propitiator of heaven. Confess and believe in God (Is'ana) who is the worthy object of obedience. For equal to this (belief), I declare unto you, ye shall not find such a means of propitiating heaven. Oh strive ye to obtain this inestimable treasure.'3"

Answer 10

its nothing but a stone  

Answer 11

good question. I dont know for sure, but I think he would be classified as a teacher and very wise man. He was never worshiped as a prophet , not even by buddhists. However, Islam forbids worshiping statues and idols and they made buddha into one, which would make him a false idol.

Best bet is to ask a muslim pries or scholar. there are many sites online that you can do this.

Answer 12

we do not take it lightly when people create false gods to "rival" Allah. there is one God, and man made religions with phony gods are hugely forbidden in islam, obviously

edit for the guy below-

i dont believe that i said human beings are anything in my eyes besides human beings. i believe we were all created equal, and that God guides only whom HE wills.

we know that islam is the truth , because the QURAN tells us that it is the truth. anyone who can read and see the beauty of this book that is truely only from ALLAH to those with the sense to follow it, knows that we are on the right religion. we know , from your example- the jews are certainly not on the right religion, because it is documented history that they have changed their taurat , torah, whatever, time and time again. it like the bible has been edited to the whims of the rulers of the time, while the quran is the only untouchable book of its kind. there are so many miracles in the quran, why dont you look into it and find some truth for yourself?

Answer 13

Well, the Buddha is a teacher, a wise man and a prophet.

The Buddha is mostly looked at as a teacher to us Buddhists.

And muslims aren't very nice people when it comes to other religions.

So, therefore their vew on buddhism, just like all other religions to muslims, is that it is wrong, and sick. It's not correct to be buddhist and it's totaly bad.

So, that's what they think about Buddhism, I hope it answerd your question.

Answer 14

We don't know.

Some scholars suggest that he is Zul Kifl mentioned in Quran.

Buddha is called Kapil wastu, meaning resident of kapil.

And zul kifl means man of Kifl, since there is not p in Arabic it is substuited by f.

So, Kapil wastu can means zulk Kifl. But this is just a hypothesis. we can't tell with certianity.

Answer 15

Thank you for your question.

In truth, to sum up the teachings of Buddhism is far beyond the scope of this answer, though there are some excellent Web resources should you desire more information. If I were to try and boil down the entire Buddhist tradition into a few black and white oversimplifications, as many Muslims are unfortunately willing to do, I would be doing a major disservice to both Muslims and Buddhists alike. Oversimplified dismissals of another person’s beliefs are a sure way to get him to dismiss your own beliefs.

The Buddhist religion comprises three major schools, each of which represents a massive intellectual tradition. Finding common ground among the schools in order to designate a particular belief as expressly Buddhist is sometimes difficult. Nevertheless, there do exist concepts of general agreement within the religion that we can contrast with the Islamic faith on a very basic level.

For example, the Buddhist concept of the afterlife is far less defined than the Islamic belief in the Day of Resurrection, the judgment, Paradise, and h**l. Rather, the Buddhist concept of samsara, generally explained as the soul’s migration after death followed by its ultimate rebirth, suggests loss of the individuality that we experience in this world, and is usually explained through the analogy of a flame passing between two candles. This is starkly opposed to the Islamic belief of individual accountability in the hereafter.

On a logical level, it is well nigh impossible to confirm or deny the historical accuracy of what we know today as the Buddha’s teachings. He lived over 1,000 years before the advent of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and any objective historiographer will admit that many accretions, distortions, and apocryphal accounts have affected the accuracy of his recorded teachings. Some Muslim scholars have even suggested that the Buddha was a prophet of Allah, though his message of tawheed (testimony to the oneness of God) would have thereby been lost with the passage of time. On the other hand, the Qur’an has not been altered one letter since its revelation, while the confirmed Sunnah has reached us through the greatest intellectual project ever undertaken by mankind (i.e., the sciences of Hadith classification).

The simplicity of Islam is that a person doesn’t have to necessarily study and reflect upon each and every other religious tradition; rather the faith offers decisive proofs, both rational and experiential depending upon one’s mindset, such that a believer needs simply submit to what he already knows is the truth in order to achieve success in this world and the next. When we are faced with difficulty or despair, our hearts automatically turn to Allah for help. This not only attests to our natural inclination to believe in a single all-knowing, all-controlling personal God, but it also gives the Muslim a peace of heart.

The tone of your question suggests disgust with many people who claim to be acting in the name of Islam. I cannot help but agree with you. I am ashamed to have to defend the name of Islam with the following reminder: Allah and the religion of His final Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) are perfect while Muslims are not. I am ashamed because this may be the first time in history that we have to distance the actions of many Muslims from Islam itself in order to defend the faith. Traditionally, the excellence of character of Muslims, in addition to their exemplary conduct and dealings with others, has always been a source of pride for the Ummah (nation) and has been the primary means of spreading the religion.

I am less interested in analyzing Buddhism from a historical and sociological perspective than in reminding you of the priceless gift that Allah has given you by making you a Muslim. Why should we consider trading in copper when we have been given a mine of gold? Never forget this blessing, dear friend.