Islam And Buddhism

A person who undertakes the task of da’wah should also have a basic knowledge of his or her addressees. 

It is quite understandable that Muslims have difficulty convincing Buddhists about God, as their religion does not give any significance to the belief in the existence of God. 

But we know every human, whether Muslim or Non-Muslim, knows of God in the depths of their hearts, possibly in a half-forgotten manner. This is the reason why Allah Almighty commands us to remind the non-Muslims of Allah:

The foregoing indicates that our duty is to awaken the people to the truth of their origin as God’s creation. Ask them: where do you come from in an ultimate philosophical sense.  

Whether they give you the right answer or not, you may begin by giving them the Islamic answer. And if your friend is willing to listen, you can give an idea of God as described in the Quran too.

Another point about Buddhists is that they do not believe in heaven or hell. And the concept of karma and rebirth as believed by the Buddhists is quite different. They also deny the existence of the soul.

You can counter the above beliefs by telling them of the psychological need felt by all of us for rewards after good actions. If there is no God, what seems to exist is dangerously unreliable, and there is no real incentive for doing good either.

Is it wrong then to have the desire in us for a better life, for a better world?

Without such a desire and the expectation of good results for our efforts (which is our reward here and now), the world will be a desert of dried up dreams.

As for the soul, it is our self which gives us the feeling of “me”; and without that feeling we have no real identity and we are nowhere. As humans who live in the world of the body and the soul, we strive for satisfaction at both levels.

By way of da’wah, you may also begin by seeking the common ground between Buddhism and Islam.

Anyone who has studied the life of the Last Prophet can see that the above prediction of Maitreya is about a Buddha (an enlightened one) of the future, who could very well be Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) himself.

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) proved to be the supremely enlightened one as he received the whole of the Quran as Divine revelation.

He was the incomparable leader of men as his directives and instructions were followed literally by hundreds of thousands of people belonging to all tribes, races, and nationalities.

And he proclaimed a religious life wholly perfect and pure which can be described as Gautama Buddha’s teaching extended and perfected to guide humans in all areas of life, such as the social, financial, and political spheres.

Buddha’s teaching to renounce the world – in effect to suppress human desires and aspirations – is tempered by the Islamic teaching of ‘seeking the other world through the blessings of this world’.

At the same time the Prophet repeatedly emphasized the transience of this world, and the permanence of the other. Islam is a middle path reconciling this temporal world and the next world of eternity.

Buddhism too is not just renunciation; it does not ignore the practical world of everyday reality; rather it points towards the Middle Path of Maitreya, the merciful one.

And Allah Almighty calls Prophet Muhammad (PBUH):

So, pray to Allah for guidance and begin the da’wah to your Buddhist friend with confidence.

May Allah the All-Merciful help us and guide us in all our efforts in His Way! Salam.