Daily Archives: 16th August 2014

Vedic Past of Pre-Islamic Arabia – Part 8

There was a price one had to pay if one wanted to live in the Arabia of the Prophet of Islam . That price was the
surrender of one’s ancestral heritage, and all the values that one held sacred, of forcible subjugation, of curtailment of the individual right to choose one’s god and method of worship. To live in Muhammad’s Arabia, one had to give up the most cherished possession of human existence; that of the individual right to freedom of religion.

Arabia’s Vedic culture had been slashed and ravaged to a state of tatters. In place of the tradition of spiritual tolerance and growth that defined Sanatan Dharma, Arvasthan was now the political center of a fanatical creed that ruled by the sword and held dear the values of extortion, greed and murder.

The huge Kalash atop Ad-Deir, an ancient Vedic shrine in Jordan Source: The Art of Jordan

As we have seen, the Prophet was completely unsuccessful in his Siege of the city of Taif . He therefore ended the campaign with the bitterly vituperative act of arson. Mohammad gave vent to his rage by setting fire to every tree around Taif, knowing fully well that such an act was defined as mass murder in the dry desert environs of Arabia. The Prophet was determined not to allow the Tribe of Thaqeef to survive. In order to implement his murderous intentions, Muhammad exhorted the subjugated Tribe of Hawazin (refer to Battle of Hunayn, Vedic Past of Pre-Islamic Arabia Part VII) to mercilessly harass the fortified city. All of the Thaqeef’s herds were stolen at their pastures and all links to the trade with Mecca were severed. Isolated, starved and surrounded by death on all sides, the brave Thaqeef held on to their beliefs and subsisted on dry dates and water for at least one year. The morale of the Tribe collapsed steadily as they watched their children die day by day succumbing to starvation and disease. Those who were of the weakest character, gave in and secretly set out to negotiate terms with Muhammad. Their deputation was led by Urwa Bint Masud Al Thaqafi . Urwa the traitor accepted Islam and emboldened by his new found lease on life, ventured back to Taif to “invite his people to the true faith”. Upon his return, when Urwa “went up to the room to show his people the Way of Islam”, he was bombarded with arrows and died a traitor’s death. The ferocious Thaqeef fought like heroes to the last to preserve the sacred honor of their beloved Mother Goddess, Al-Lat.

In the end of course, even the mighty Thaqeef could not last, they were compelled to send a deputation of six chiefs to negotiate peace with Muhammad. The chiefs were clear in their demands to the Prophet . In exchange for peace, they demanded that their holy territory of Wajj remain untouched, they would not break the idols of their beloved goddess Allat, no more trees could be cut down and the Thaqeef would retain their vineyards. Muhammad in his greed for the prosperous prize of Taif agreed, he even signed the treaty as Muhammad Ibn Allah foregoing the usual status of “Messenger of God” Allah at the insistence of the Thaqeef . It is another story of course, that he had ulterior motives in mind.

The Thaqeef were satisfied with the terms of the treaty and prepared to return home. Muhammad insisted that one of the traitors of Taif ,Al-Mughira, Abu Sofyan the traitorous leader of Mecca and a sizeable, Muslim army be allowed to follow them. The Thaqeef although suspicious, agreed in good faith. Upon reaching Taif, the Muslims showed their true colors. Al Mughira and his army surrounded the Temple of Allat and started smashing the idols with axes. Abu Sofyan even in his traitorous element was moved to cry out “Alas O Goddess! Alas!” Hundreds were massacred in sight of their families. The women of Taif collected in the streets, dishevelled and bare-headed, beating their breasts and weeping at the loss of their protectress, and the the inadequacy of their men who failed to protect her. As the unprepared Thaqeef were slaughtered, the anguished women cried out:
Weep! Weep for our protector!
Poltroons would neglect her
Whose swords need a corrector.

Every scrap of gold, jewellery and gems was plundered. Women and children were enslaved, the only ones who survived were those who were weak enough to bend at the threat of the Muslim sword and convert to Islam.

Al-lat (Durga) of Amman Source: The Art of Jordan

There were many other Temples in the vicinity of Taif , all of which were plundered, then destroyed or converted into mosques. Most of the temple fragments were buried underfoot so that the Prophet could satisfy his constant burning need to vituperate and insult the religion of his own ancestors. Among the temples that fell prey, were most of the shrines of Ruda (Rudra or Lord Shiva), Allat and Al-Uzza (forms of Shakti).

The consistent appearance of Temples dedicated to the divine couple of Shiva-Shakti throws light on the essential spiritual principles that the Hindus of Pre- Islamic Arabia upheld. Numerous instances support the preeminence of Shiva-Shakti worship in Arabia. The most obvious example is that of the Kaaba in Mecca.

Allat of Palmyra Source: Palmyra & its Empire

The Kaaba was dedicated to Al-lat and Al-Uzza both of which are forms of the Mother Goddess Shakti. The structure of the temple attested to the fact that it was based on the Tantric iconography of Devi Durga . The verses as written in the Devi-Mahatmya texts of the Markandeya Purana describe the formation of her physical body and iconographical attributes:

Born out of the bodies of all the Gods, that unique efflugence, combined into a mass of light, took the form of a woman, pervading the triple worlds with its lustre. In that efflugence,
the light of Shiva formed the face. The Tresses were formed from the light of Yama and the arms from the light of Vishnu Bhagwan

The two breasts were formed from the moon’s (Somanath’s) light, the waist from the light of Indra, the legs and thighs from the light of Varun, and hips from the light of the Earth (Bhoodev)

The feet from the light of Brahma
and the toes from Surya’s (sun) light,
the fingers of the hand from the light of the Vasus(the children of Ganga)
and the nose from the light of Kuber .

The teeth were formed from the light of Prajapati, the lord of beings; likewise the Triad of her eyes was born from the Light of Agni (fire). The eyebrows from the two Sandhyas (sunrise and sunset) ; the ears from the light of the wind(Vayu). From the lights of other gods as well, the auspicious goddess was born.

Projecting an overwhelming omnipotence the three eyed goddess adorned with the crescent moon with her eighteen arms each holding auspicious weapons, emblems, jewels and other gifts offered by individual gods, emerged. With her pulsating body of golden color shining with the splendour of a thousand suns, standing erect on her lion vehicle (vahana) and displaying her triumph over the dark forces (shown in the form of a demon under her feet), she stands as the most spectacular personification of cosmic energy.

Among the 360 idols which surrounded the main shrine of the destroyed Kaaba were 16 magnificient ones that bordered the sanctum sanctorium. We know the names of the gods that inhabited these 16 important shrines. Every single one of these deities matches the Devi-Mahatmya’s textual description of Devi Durga:-

Suwa which apparently stood for Lord Shiva
Ayam which stood for Lord Yama
Bag which stood for Bhagwan Shri Vishnu
Manat which stood for Somnath (Moon)
Sakiah which stood for Sakra (another name for Indra)
Al-Debaran which stood for Dev-Varun
Obodes which stood for Bhoodev (Earth)
Awal (first) which stood for Brahma
Shems which stood for Surya (Sun)
Wajj (pronounced “Vazz”) which stood for the Vasus who were the seven sons of Ganga (corrupted to Zamza in the form of the ZamZam spring in the Kaaba)
Kaber which stood for Kuber
Aja which stood for Prajapati
Makha which stood for Agni (fire) (in Sanskrit Makha means a fire-sacrifice (Yagna), the city of Mecca got its name because of the fact that it was the site of the fire sacrifice)
Sunrise and
Sunset, called the two Auses which stood for the two Sandhyas (probably taken from Ushas)
Ha’uw which stood for Vayu (the wind)
The architectural elements of the Kaaba Temple consisted of a square block of black stone, crested by a crescent and sphere, which is encircled by 360 shrines. This is an exact representation of the Tantric Cit-kunda Yantra. Each element of the Yantra was represented in the Kaaba complex. The circle or Bindu symbolizes Shakti , it is embraced by the crescent or Shishu which symbolizes Shiva. This divine marriage shows the pure pre-creative stage of evolution. The beginning of creation is an omnipotent all-pervading cosmic principle – Shiva embracing his potential power -Shakti . Thus the crescent and moon symbol is the sign of the Self, which is aware of its inherent dynamic power. The four points of the square stone represent the four aspects of one’s psyche: the pure self (atman), the inner self (antaratman), the cognizant self (jananatman) and the supreme self (paramatman) . The circle around these symbols represents both the wheel of time (the Vedic year consisted of 360 days) as well as the astronomical map of the universe and its 360 major heavenly bodies. The Kaaba in its symbolism therefore represented all the cosmic principles of the universe. It is the height of absurdity to call proponents of a culture that was capable of producing monuments such as these, as “superstitous polytheists and uncivilized pagans”. The fact is that the Prophet of Islam destroyed a culture that was vastly superior in all scientific, spiritual, humanistic and symbolic respects, to his brand of theocracy. Ironically the word “Pagan” which has come to mean animalistic, has its very roots in the malpronounciation of the word “Bhagwan” (Divine God).

Cit-Kunda-Yantra the Tantric pattern that the Kaaba is based upon.

There is even more evidence that clearly suggests the conclusion that the Arabs used to worship different forms of the Divine Couple, Shiva-Shakti in many forms. Archaeological remnants of the Nabataeans who inhabited Arabia in the Pre-Islamic era, demonstrate that the chief deities were Dhu-Shara and Al-Uzza. As we already know Uzza was none other than Oorja or Shakti and since Du-Shara was her husband, it is quite logical to conclude that Du-Shara is a corruption of “Deveshwar” which is a Sanskrit synonym for Lord Shiva . Herodotus in his Histories also says of the Arabs ” They deem no other to be gods save Dionysus and Heavenly Aphrodite … they call Dionysus Orotalt and Aphrodite Alilat” (Negev 101). Alilat was again the corrupted version of Allat who as we know represented Alla (Durga). Dionysus her husband has all the traits of Shiva as well. Lord Shiva was known to have intoxicated followers called “Ganas”. He was also known as “Pashupati” (lord of the beasts). He is always depicted wearing a Tiger Skin. The greatest clue to the Shaivite origin of Dionysus lies in the undeniable title of “fertility god”. Just as the Shivling represents the creative energy, so too were phallic symbols made to represent Dionysus, the fertility God. Another clue that supports this conclusion is the fact that Du-Shara is represented as being surrounded by dolphins, as is Dionysus. It is quite plausible to suggest that Du-Shara and Dionysus were names for Lord Shiva and that their spouses Al-Uzza and Al-lat respectively, were names for Shakti.

Astrological references in the Vishnu Puran describe the shape of space in the following way:

“The heavenly form of the mighty Lord is made of stars and shaped like a dolphin with Dhruva (the Pole Star) in its tail. This dolphin shaped constellation which is the pathway of the stars’ fixed abodes has its hub in the heart of the Lord. The sun, moon, stars and nakshatras together with the planets are bound to Dhruva in the tail of the Dolphin by fetters made up of a series of winds”.

It is quite obvious that the Dolphin shaped constellation which represents the Hindu concept of the cosmos is the basis for Nabatean representations of dolphins in their sacred temples. They represented Du-Shara wielding a trident along with his consort Al-Uzza seated on a lion, surrounded by dolphins. The entire divine scene thus symbolized Shiva-Shakti and the shape of the spatial universe as envisioned by Vedic culture.

Du-Shara, the, Nabataean version of Lord Shiva. Source: Deities and Dolphins

Dhruva himself was venerated in many Arab temples. He was worshipped as Duar in the Kaaba complex, where many other astronomical deities were revered. The Navagrahas or nine planets of Hindu cosmology each had an individual shrine dedicated to them in the Kaaba. We know the Arabic names for at least five of them.

Sanskrit – Arabic – English
Budh – Wad – Mercury
Surya – Shems – Sun
Somanath – Manat – Moon
Shani – Al-Dsaizan – Saturn
Shukra – Al-Sharak – Venus

he parallels are far too numerous to overlook. The Vedic theme that underlies the Kaaba and many Arabic temples, is apparent, when we add up all these fragments of evidence and consider them as a whole.

The fact that Muslim scholars have over the centuries tried their best to erase all such pieces of evidence speaks volumes. These irrefutable testaments to the Vedic origins of Arabia, were erased off the face of the earth by the Prophet of Islam in his quest for supremacy. Although only a few traces could survive the destructive assault of Islam, the truth still echoes from the silent remains of Nabataea, Sabaea, Palmyra and Dura-Europos, which eloquently tell of Arabia’s past.

The stories that these ruins whisper have been ignored for centuries, it is time that they too were heard and given their rightful place in the history of Vedic civilization and the world.

Aditi Chaturvedi

Note: The Works “The Life & times of Muhammad” by Sir John Glubb, “Mohammed” by Anne Carter, “Yantra, the Tantric symbol of Cosmic Unity” by Madhu Khanna, “Deities and Dolphins by Nelson Glueck, “Classical Hindu Mythology” by Dimmitt and Buitenen, and “Hindu Temples: What Happened to Them? – Volume 2” by Sita Ram Goel have been used to compose this article.

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Vedic Past of Pre-Islamic Arabia – Part 7

The innumerable strokes of Mohammad’s bloody sword, still could not sever Arabia’s ties to its ancient Vedic heritage. When the tribe of Hawazin heard that the Muslims had taken Mecca, they made preparations to fight. They were led by Malik Ibn Auf, chief of the clan of Bani Nasr and accompanied by the Beni Saad and Thaqeef tribes. The Prophet of Islam in his usual insidious way had planted spies among the unsuspecting tribespeople to discover all their plans for attack. He was determined to teach these insolent rebels a lesson. Armed in full armour and protected by an impenetrable cohort of defenders, he descended upon the Hawazin with an army of 12,000 fresh converts, who were drooling at the prospect of fresh loot & women.

The brave Hawazin numbering 4,000 hid out in the ravines around the valley of Hunain and lay in wait. As the Muslims poured down the valley in the twilight of dawn, men suddenly sprang out from the hills on both sides & took them completely by surprise.

Map of areas in Muhammad’s path of conquest

Cries of “Victory to Al-lat!!” filled the air. In a scene which strikes one as something straight out of Rajput history, the sounds came from the front guard of the Thaqeef who held the Black banner signifying a fight to the death in honor of their Vedic goddess .

The leading contingents of the Muslims panicked & fled back wildly up the valley towards the pass by which they had entered it, throwing into complete chaos those behind them who were still coming. The Prophet & his cohort of defenders were caught by the retreating mass & swept away, but somehow managed to flee to the foot of the hills on one side of the valley. Muhammad clung to a rock, trembling with fear & fury. “Where are you going! Where are you going! Rally to me! I AM the Apostle of God! O citizens of Medina! O helpers! Which one of you will become a martyr for the sake of Muhammad, the Messenger of God!”, he screamed pathetically. The traitorous chief of Mecca, Abu Sofian was secretly delighted & whispered gleefully to a fellow Meccan, “Nothing can stop these Muslims from fleeing now, except the Sea.” His companion joyfully exclaimed ” Indeed has not this evil sorcery (Islam) come to an end today! ” At this point a group of the forcibly converted Meccans in the Prophet’s army, pushed their way forward in a desperate attempt to kill him. An alarmed fully armoured Muhammad cowered behind a rock as his bodyguards fought them off. Gradually however the sheer advantage of numbers turned the tide in the Muslims’ favour. They started beheading all the tribesmen. The Women & children of the Hawazin , had accompanied their men to watch & cheer them on from the caves on the hills. The Muslims attacked these innocents immediately, much to the Prophet’s glee, who leered ” Now the oven is hot for you”. Upon seeing their loved ones being beheaded before their eyes, the Hawazin Tribesmen lost heart & readily gave up their lives. Thousands lost their lives & the ones who survived were enslaved in the customary Islamic fashion.

After this victory Muhammad turned his attention to the Thaqeef who had taken such an active part in the Battle of Hunain . He was enraged at their bravery and persistent loyalty to their beloved goddess Al-lat(Durga). The Thaqeef were from Taif, a small but extremely prosperous town. In 619, the Prophet had tried to persuade the people of Taif to shelter him when he was fleeing from Mecca in fear, but they had clearly refused. Muhammad was determined to get his revenge on them, one way or another.

The city of Taif was principally famous for its gardens & vineyards. Due to its location among the mountains, the city had a temperate climate that was ideal for growing grapes and pomegranates. Taif was famous for these fruits as well as for honey. Muhammad set out with his army and besieged the city. But a few catapults and the siege of a prosperous fortified city such as Taif were not going to affect the courageous Thaqeef. After eleven days of the siege had passed, they calmly sent out a messenger to tell Muhammad that the city had enough rations to last them 2 years of siege. An enraged Muhammad then made an exceptionally cruel decision. The Prophet decided if he couldn’t have the spoils of Taif, no one else could and therefore “ordered his glorious companions to fell the date trees and to destroy every vineyard of this place”. Such an action is equivalent to mass murder in the dry environs of Arabia where it is difficult to find vegetation. Thus a unique ecosystem that had been carefully nurtured by the sweat and blood of the brave Thaqeef was ruthlessly obliterated. They were left with heaps of ash in place of the fruit of years of hard work, thanks to the “Messenger of Peace”! After a fortnight Muhammad had to raise the siege on Taif. An enraged & frustrated Muhammad swore that he would teach a bitter lesson to the Thaqeef who had defied him so persistently. He was forced to retreat and head back towards Medina.

Present day town of Taif, still famous for its superb grapes

n the meantime the Prophet had not lost sight of his primary goal of destroying every remnant of Vedic culture. His “holy & prophetic lordship” had sent out many of his glorious companions to destroy any traces of Vedic culture that still existed. Every idol was shattered, every temple burned, every Priest massacred. To describe the horrendous effect of such an assault on the existent culture of a religion, is impossible. So many temples were destroyed that no count remained. Later Muslim historians ensured that the world never got to know about the magnitude of the cultural genocide that the Prophet had perpetuated. To this day we know about only a handful of the desecrated shrines. Some of these accounts are listed below:-

1) The Temple of Dhu-l-Khalasa:
This temple was dedicated to Lord Shiva, Dhu-L-Khalasa stood for “The One of Kailash”. It was situated in Yemen and called “Al Kaba Al Yamaniya” meaning the Yemeni equivalent of the Meccan Kaaba. The Prophet’s helper Jarir set out with a force of 150 cavalrymen from the Ahmas Tribe. In Jarir’s words: ” We dismantled it and burnt it to the ground and killed whoever was present there.” Jarir also sent a message to Muhammad saying ” By Allah, I did not leave that place till it was like a scabby camel!”. Plenty of valuables and rare perfumes were robbed. The beautiful statue of Dhu-L-Khalasa (Shiva), a white piece of marble in which a crown was carved, was used as the stepping stone under the mosque at Tabala.

2)The Temples of Fils & Ruda in Tai:
Ali Bint Abi Talib went to the Temple of Fils to destroy it by order of Muhammad. He took 200 horsemen with him. Ali tortured and murdered many people present there, and then enslaved the survivors. This Temple stood on Mount Aja’ (“Aja” is another name for Brahma) and contained images of the Mother Goddess. Ali obtained two swords from the temple, one named Rasub and another called Makhzam, both swords were extremely valuable. The Temple of Ruda was looted & destroyed in the same manner.It was dedicated to Lord Rudra (Shiva) and contained a beautiful jet black Shivling. The Shivling was smashed into its base and the temple razed.

3) The Temple of Al-Uzza of Banu Sulaim: The leader of the Tribe of Banu Sulaim was a treacherous man who was bought out by Muhammad. The Prophet gave him a huge estate to bribe him.Ghadi Bint Abd Al Uzza thus went to the Temple of Al-Uzza belonging to his tribe and smashed the image to pieces in front of his horrified Tribespeople. All the protesters were killed on the spot.

4) The Temple of Uzra:
The Tribe of Banu Uzra had a Temple for their God Uzra. Uzra is derived from the Sanskrit word “Ujras” which means “the month of Kartik”. Since we know that Lord Shiva’s son Kartikkeya was worshipped in the Kaaba, it is plausible to assume that this Temple was dedicated to none other than Kartikkeya . The Priests of this Temple turned out to be quite intelligent, They sent a group to the Prophet & appealed to his Ego by saying that the idol of Uzra had spoken & declared Muhammad to be the True Prophet. Immediately Muhammad said ” This looks to be a believing Jinn”. In this way the Banu Uzra ensured their survival. There is no indication of whether this particular Temple survived or not.

Arabic sculptures of Lord Shiva who was called “Suwa” & “Ruda” and Al-Uzza (Goddess Durga)

This was of course only the tip of the iceberg. Thousands of accounts of the destruction of Vedic Temples, remain unrecorded and thus unknown to us. The Prophet of Islam was at his most powerful at this period. His Megalomania was beginning to manifest itself in the extreme. Muhammad’s desire to be treated as the ultimate Lord of the world was being fulfilled. He surrounded himself with the sycophants who grovelled the most and himself started believing that he was indeed God on earth. Allah had already started taking second place to Muhammad in the Koranic Surahs. The following two examples reveal how his megalomania had taken over Muhammad’s mind.

1)This is a Hadith (#118) from Sahih Bukhari, one of the respected books that accounts the Prophet’s behaviour:
“Allah’s Apostle came to us at noon and water for ablution was brought to him. After he had performed ablution, the remaining water was taken by the people and they started smearing their bodies with it (as a blessed thing). The Prophet offered two Rakat of the Zuhr prayer and then two Rakat of the ‘Asr prayer while an ‘Anza (spearheaded stick) was there (as a Sutra) in front of him. Abu Musa said: The Prophet asked for a tumbler containing water and washed both his hands and face in it and then threw a mouthful of water in the tumbler and said to both of us (Abu Musa and Bilal), “Drink from the tumbler and pour some of its water on your faces and chests.”

Muhammad would give the dirty water from his abolutions to the Muslims, who would in turn smear it all over themselves as if it were holy water!

2) Muhammad used to have a secretary by the name of Abdallah Ibn Saad who used to take down the sayings of the Koran at his dictation. At one point Muhammad was coming up with a divine verse & could not finish it. Abdallah absent-mindedly completed it for him and was shocked when Muhammad said “Yes that’s it”, since the Koran was supposed to be a divine revelation from Allah himself & only Muhammad was supposed to be privy to those words. Abdallah immediately abjured Islam & fled to Mecca. During the conquest of Mecca his name was on top of the list of people to be killed. However his foster-brother Uthman pleaded for his life, at which the prophet kept silent. After Uthman had gone, Muhammad shouted at his followers “By God I kept silent all this time so that one of you may go upto that dog & cut off his head!” The bewildered followers asked Muhammad why he had not made a signal to them to do this. At this Muhammad gritted his teeth and hissed “A Prophet does not kill by making mere signs”

Madain Saleh, one of the few temple remains of Arabia’s Vedic past

By now the first pilgrimage season after the Muslim Occupation of Mecca had come round. Muhammad came up with new revelations which were read out to the assembled crowds at Mina. In short, the declaration was that idolaters had four months in which to convert, after these 4 months, Muhammad was free of all responsibilities towards them. They would be attacked, killed & plundered wherever they were found. Next he stipulated in the usual cruel manner, that only Muslims could attend the pilgrimage, henceforth non-muslims would not be allowed to enter the confines of Mecca. With this the Prophet snatched away one of Sanatan Dharma’s holy shrines and closed it from the world forever. In my next article I will relate the subsequent horrors committed by Muhammad in the name of Islam.

Aditi Chaturvedi

Note: The Works “The Life & times of Muhammad” by Sir John Glubb, “Mohammed” by Anne Carter “The History of Al-Tabari, Volume 7” by Michael Fishbein and “Hindu Temples: What Happened to Them? – Volume 2” by Sita Ram Goel have been used to compose this article.

Vedic Past of Pre-Islamic Arabia – Part 6

“Ashriq thabir kaima nughir”

“Enter the light of morning O Thabir so
that we may hasten on (with the daily work)”

These were the prayerful words that would greet the Dawn at Arabia during the days of pilgrimage, before the dark clouds of Islam had settled on Mount Thabir in the horizon. Mount Thabir and Mount Quzah were situated in Muzdalifah, a place between Mina and Arafat in Arabia. Muzdalifah was a place of fire worship. Great Yagnas used to be performed there. Even Muslim historians refer to this hill as the hill of the holy fire. The god of Muzdalifah was Quzah, the thunder god who brought life giving rain to the parched lands of Arabia. Quzah apparently represented the Vajra (Thunderbolt) of Indra, the Vedic god of rain. The forces of nature have always been worshipped in Vedic culture, so it was quite natural for the Meccans to indulge in this form of worship.

The Prophet, who was apparently not very creative, subverted the meaning and purpose of the Hajj or pilgrimage in his usual fashion. Muhammad in a deliberate attempt to suppress this association with the Hindu solar rites changed the time of prayer to after sunset and before sunrise, when the sun was not visible! Thus what used to be a time of prayer inundated with love for nature and reverence for existence, was distorted into a fear-filled ceremony of throwing stones at imagined devils and insidiously connected to falsified historical accounts about the Semitic Prophet Abraham.

The Pleaides Constellation

Every morning, in complete accordance with their Vedic heritage , the Quraysh and other Meccan tribes would pay reverential homage to the sun, moon, planets, stars and all the heavenly bodies that made up the visible universe. The Kaaba temple, which was the heart of Mecca was their biggest testament to astral worship. It was a shrine devoted to the Sun, Moon, Planets and Galaxies. Besides the shrines of Shams (Surya or Sun), Manat (SoManath or Moon), Uzza (Oorja, Shakti as Venus), Dharrih (Suryoday or rising sun), etc. There were many shrines dedicated to stars and constellations such as the Krittikas (the Pleaides). There were 24 doorways to the temple, these doorways represented the 24 hours of the day. The 360 shrines represented the days of the year and each image was made to symbolically represent the ruling planet, in astrological terms. The seven circambulations (parikrama) symbolized the orbiting of the seven major planets. The first three circuits were done fast and the remaining four slowly, in exact imitation of the planetary movements around the sun.

This beautiful Vedic temple was a cosmological representation of the visible natural universe. It was made in the same tradition of ancient Indian temples such as Someshwar (Somnath), in Prabhas Patan, Gujarat, which also contained 360 shrines and was built by the Moon God SoManath, (Manat to the Arabs).

One of the shrines in the Kaaba was also dedicated to the Hindu Creator God, Brahma, which is why the illiterate Prophet of Islam claimed it was dedicated to Abraham. The word “Abraham” is none other than a malpronounciation of the word Brahma This can be clearly proven if one investigates the root meanings of both words.

Abraham is said to be one of the oldest Semitic Prophets.His name is supposed to be derived from the two Semitic words “Ab” meaning “Father” and “Raam/Raham” meaning “of the exalted”, In the book of Genesis, Abraham simply means “Multitude”. The word Abraham is derived from the Sanskrit word “Brahma”. The root of Brahma is “Brah”which means -“to grow or multiply in number”. In addition Lord Brahma, the Creator God of Hinduism is said to be the Father of all Men and Exalted of all the Gods, for it is from him that all beings were generated. Thus again we come to the meaning “Exalted Father”. This is a clear pointer to the fact that Abraham is none other than the heavenly father Brahma .

In fact the Abraham story about the origin of the Kaaba was a fabrication invented by the Prophet, after he had quarreled with the Jews of Medinah. He took an ancient Jewish legend about the heavenly and earthly Jerusalem and conveniently twisted it into a false myth about Abraham. Respected Jewish scholars such as Snouck Hurgronje and Aloys Sprenger agree that the association of Abraham with the Kaaba was Muhammad’s personal invention and it served as a means to liberate Islam from Judaism. Sprenger comments:” By this lie Muhammad gave to Islam all that man needs and which differentiates religion from philosophy: a nationality, ceremonies, historical memories, mysteries, an assurance of entering heaven, all the while deceiving his own conscience and those of others.”

Earlier, we have already seen how thorough Muhammad was in his destruction and desecration of this grand center of worship. He deliberately tried to destroy all traces of the Vedic origins of the temple. The day after the destruction of the Kaaba was the darkest dawn in the history of Mecca. The darkest moment came when Bilal, one of Muhammad’s henchmen, stood on top of the roof of the Kaaba and called out the Muslim Azan of prayer.

The Prophet of Islam had finally achieved the ultimate ambition of his greed and hatred. He had desecrated the sacred religion that threatened his very existence and seized the richest treasure in the country all in one attempt. Besides the hundreds of rubies, diamonds, silver, pearls and precious stones that had ornamented the idols, the Prophet’s loot also consisted of the Seventy Thousand Ounces of Gold contained in the storehouse of the Kaaba. A new twisted mythology was substituted for the old and all the previous ceremonies and rites of the people were subverted and distorted through Islamization. Such immense wealth and political control immediately made Muhammad the most powerful man in Arabia. He was now free to unleash the final and most brutal assault against the culture that had plagued him throughout his life.

One of the few remaining Vedic temples in Petra.
It was built by the Nabataeans. Note the conical
shape of the rooftops which is so typical of Hindu
temple architecture
Source: “Art of Jordan” by Piotr Bienkowski

The Prophet immediately gave orders to leave no stone unturned, any place that had the slightest trace of Vedic culture was to be razed to the ground and destroyed. The most sacred idols were to be turned into footstones or buried under entrances of mosques, so that every time a Muslim stepped into his place of worship, the idols of the Hindus would be desecrated and insulted again and again. This Islamic tradition is alive even today in India, where under the doorstep of every Mosque, lie the remains or portions of images of innumerable Hindu Gods and Goddesses.

“Leave no idol unbroken! In whatever settlement you do not hear the Azan or see no mosque, SLAUGHTER the people of that place.” , the Prophet’s words rang out amongst his zealous followers. Drunk with power and the dizzying piles of loot they had acquired, they set out in a frenzy of bloodthirstiness to the sorrounding tribes and their shrines. One of Muhammad’s favorite followers, Khalid ibn al Waleed went to the Beni Jadheema clan of Beni Kinana on the coastal plain south west of Mecca. Upon reaching the settlement Khalid told them to lay down their arms as the war was over and everyone had now accepted Islam . When they had done so, he rounded up the Men and had them tied up in a group. The women were raped in front of their helpless relatives. Children had their limbs hacked off. Then one by one the Men were beheaded in the exact manner as the “Apostle of Peace” had done at “The Pit” of Medinah.

An Arab horseman related how one of the men shouted to his beloved amongst the frightened women, “Goodbye my love Hubaisha, my life is at an end now”. At this the poor girl lost control and broke her bindings, she ran screaming to her love and bent over him to protect him. The Muslims hacked her to pieces and then beheaded her horrified lover.

Thousands were killed as they defended their beloved gods. Mohammad’s message was clear: destroy all the Vedic temples or images, become a Muslim or die, build mosques using remains of the temples & pay a sizeable tax, any defiance would mean slaughter. When some tribes like the Bani Tamim refused to pay Zakat, the men were slaughtered, & the women and children were bound and dragged across the blazing sands all the way to Medinah. One of the favorite characteristics Muslims attribute to Mohammad is his immense love for children. Indeed one wonders just where his love for the innocent children went, when he had so many of them mercilessly tortured and slaughtered to death.

Innumerable temples were destroyed and their remains used to build mosques. There were many others besides the Kaaba around Mecca itself. Here is a list of some of them:

1.Temple of Isaf & Naila:
Isaf was an image in the shape of a man & Naila in the shape of a dark skinned woman. The images of the divine couple were shattered to bits.

2.Temple of Uzza(Oorja or Shakti) in Nakhla:
When the disheartened priest heard the Muslims coming with Khalid as their leader, he hung his sword on her, and cried out:

“O Uzza make an annihilating attack on Khalid Throw aside your Veil & Gird up your train O Uzza, if you do not kill this man Khalid Then bear a swift punishment, or become a Christian”

Khalid cut the idol into bits with his sword and grabbed all the gold and jewels in the temple, then he chopped off the head of the Priest with the same sword, that still had fragments of Uzza’s image on it.

3.Temple of Suva (Shiva) of the Hudayl:
The Apostle sent Amr Bint al As to this temple. Upon his arrival the Priest asked Amr why he was there, to which Amr replied that he had come to destroy the image. At this the brave priest calmly said “Go back! For you cannot harm a hair on his head!” “Why not?”, fumed Amr, “Because there is none so well- protected as he” said the faithful priest. An enraged Amr screamed “You still believe in this evil! Greet your death!” He then proceeded to smash the idol and the Priest’s skull. The temple was demolished when Amr found no treasures there.

4.Temple of Manat (Somnath or Shiva):
This was a beautiful temple of Black stone It had a crescent pinnacle and a Shivling made of reddish volcanic rock. Upon seeing the Muslims, the priests were moved to pray “O Manat, please display your might!” They too were cut down & the Shivling smashed. Once again however, the Muslims could not find any of the treasures that were supposed to be in the temple.

In the coming days, many more such temples would be destroyed, thousands more innocents would be murdered, for the Prophet had the power and might of his ill-gotten gains and loot behind him. Although the Prophet had reached his ultimate ambition, his bitterness and hatred against the Vedic culture had hardened so much within him, that ultimately it would consume him. The same man who had so confidently declared his divinity whilst alive would die an agonizingly painful death. His last words were a prayer of fear begging for forgiveness for all the sins he had committed in his lifetime.

Indeed the Prophet of Islam was successful in his attempt at genocide. The Vedic culture of the Arabs was mercilessly eradicated through the use of the sword. Let us not forget the bravery of those who fought in the face of such despair, as that which surrounded those who dared to oppose Islam.

Men of such mettle as that of the Tribe of Tai, defied the advent of Islam bravely. Although their chief Zaid Al Khair was one of Muhammad’s favorite followers, when the tribesmen were forced to greet Muhammad and listen to his sermon, one of them proudly stood up among the packed crowd of Muslims and declared :

“I see here a man who wishes to gain ascendancy over all people and even the gods through his trickery, but by my ancestors and the religion they have left me, NOBODY shall rule over me but MY SELF!”

Only a man who has discovered true spirituality and enrichment of his soul through his religion could utter these words in its defense. Only a religion which shows a man the divinity in his own SELF can foster such strength. Although the traces of Vedic culture among the pre-Islamic Arabs were wiped out by the bloody sword of Muhammad, the message of the Vedas and the conviction displayed by its followers in the land of Arvasthan can never be forgotten.

In my next article I will further describe the unfolding of Prophet Muhammad’s genocidal plan against the Vedic culture of the Pre-Islamic Arabs.

Aditi Chaturvedi

Note: The Works “The Life & times of Muhammad” by Sir John Glubb, “Mohammed & the Rise of Islam” by D. S. Margoliouth, “The Art of Jordan” by Piotr Bienkowski, “Deities & Dolphins” by Nelson Glueck and “Hindu Temples: What Happened to Them?- Volume 2” by Sita Ram Goel have been used to compose this article.

Vedic Past of Pre-Islamic Arabia – Part 5

We have already seen how the “Prophet” of Islam had made it his mission to eradicate anyone and anything that stood in the way of his quest for power. Even the slaughter of 800 Jews at “the Pit” and the numerous victims of Khayber were not sufficient to slake his thirst for blood. The loot, plunder and power, only served to enhance his self-aggrandizement. The Merciful Messenger of the God of Islam had not enough. Day by day, executions of Jews colored the Town Square of Medina bloodier.

A few days after the siege of Khayber, a Jewess called Zainab invited Mohammad to dinner. She had enquired beforehand about what part of a roast sheep he liked best and had been told that it was the shoulder. She accordingly slaughtered and roasted a lamb, taking care to insert a lethal dose of poison in the shoulder. One can only imagine what the extent of her suffering must have been, to drive her to attempt such a foolhardy assassination, for the Prophet never went anywhere without a full coterie of his “followers” to defend him. However the plan was foiled when a man who was sitting next to Muhammad swallowed a mouthful of the meat and began writhing in pain. Muhammad had just taken a mouthful when he saw the man’s agonies and spat it out immediately. Zainab was tied and brought before him. The brave woman readily admitted to the accusation and spat out:

“Do you know what you have done to my people! I said to myself if you are just a tribal chief, then we ought to get rid of you and if you are a Prophet then you would have known that the poison was in the meat before eating it!”

Three years later when Muhammad would die an agonizing death, he would scream that the agonies of his last illness were due to the Jewess’s poison, thereby conveniently winning for himself the title of martyr, as having been killed by an unbeliever!

By now, Muhammad had supressed all opposition in Medinah & turned his attention to the final goal of conquering Mecca. His strategy of breaking the morale of the Hindus began with slaughter and rapine and now had moved on to their places of worship. He had amassed all the booty and ransom that was necessary for financing his military machine. Coupled with his greed for the immense wealth & power of Mecca, was the bitterness and anger that had been festering inside him so long. Both of these motivations would now be unleashed in a violent burst of vengeance against the Gods which stood in his way. The ultimate challenge to Muhammad was the irrepresible Vedic culture that pervaded the life of the Meccans. The only way he could achieve total control of Arabia was by striking at the very core of religious worship.

On 1st January AD 630, the Prophet of Islam and 10,000 of his followers set out on the expedition to conquer Mecca. Their sole purpose of mind was to subvert all traces of the ancientmost religion of their forefathers. Nothing was to be considered sarcosanct, anything that was connected with Arabia’s glorious Vedic heritage was to be defiled and distorted. Before setting out for Mecca, Muhammad had managed to turn his father-in-law and previous enemy Abu Sofian, leader of the Quraysh, into a traitor. Abu Sofian rode ahead of the Prophet’s army into Mecca. Upon reaching he screamed at the townspeople, “Muhammad is coming, Muhammad is coming, he will be here with a force that we cannot resist”. At this his own wife, the irrepresible Hind was moved to drag him to the marketplace and cried out:
“Kill this fat greasy Bladder of Lard! What a rotten protector of the people.”

Vedic Past of Pre-Islamic Arabia – Part 4

Musalmans roamed the deserts of Arabia, centuries before the Prophet Mohammad descended from his heavens and decided to steal the term. A Musalman was none other than the Vedic term for a Man (Sanskrit Manas) who lived in the land of missiles (Sanskrit Musal). The Land of Arabia was called Musal because according to ancient Vedic texts, this was the area where most of the missiles used during the Mahabharata War are supposed to have exploded, resulting in the death of all vegetation and the emergence of the deserts of Arabia. However the year was 622 AD and Muhammad had already started his tirade against the very Vedic Culture which was responsible for his and his family’s sustenance, in the form of payment by the Pilgrims that thronged to the Kaaba. However as I had described in my last article, the Prophet’s concerted efforts to severe the Arabs’ ties with their ancient heritage, had resulted in an unmitigated Fiasco. This left him fuming, ranting and spewing the bitterest sort of vitriol against the Vedic Gods. It had gotten to the point that the Meccans could no longer suffer this man’s diatribes.

The time for diplomacy was over. The Meccans had exhausted every tolerant and diplomatic method of requesting Muhammad to stop insulting and denigrating the religion that was so beloved to them and their ancestors. The proud Meccans had decided that it was now time to make it abundantly clear to Muhammad that not only were they vehemently opposed to giving up their Vedic heritage, but also that they could defend their beloved deities such as Al-Uzza, Al-Lat, etc.(different names for Durga) with force if it was necessary.

Al-Uzza Grain goddess

Thus it was on the night of 15th June, 622 AD, that an embittered and vengeful Prophet of Islam fled for his life from Mecca in the dead of night. The Prophet could not conjure up any angels or miracle to freeze the Meccan’s swords, instead it was a terrified and panicky man who slipped out in the safe blackness of night to escape from the people who had had enough of his intolerance and disrespect for the religion of their ancestors. On the way he was joined by small bands of highwaymen and nomads who belonged to his group of followers. They numbered 76 and of these, only 3 were women because the women of Mecca had blatantly rejected the religion preached by the Prophet for the simple reason that they enjoyed complete independence and equality within their own Vedic religion and society.

Soon after Muhammad reached Medina, his repressed vengeance and bitterness against the Hindus started manifesting itself. He purchased a garden in which there were graves of people who had followed Vedic culture, some dilapidated old shrines, and date trees. The Prophet had all the graves dug out and desecrated, all the shrines destroyed and the Palm trees cut down. This site was none other than a sacred grove and some isolated temple that had been left untended. This is how Muhammad showed utter contempt and disrespect for the souls of dead people. He had a mosque constructed on that very site. Through the ages, Muhammad’s followers would preserve this tradition of desecration of non-muslim graves and emulate his example devoutly by consistently building mosques on graveyards or on top of destroyed places of worship. This first act of desecration was followed by innumerable raiding expeditions and the successive history of loot, plunder, rape and destruction that Muhammad went on to create in Medinah.

One of the first such encounters was the ambush of Nakhla. A Quraish caravan carrying nothing but dried raisins and skins was making its way from the town of Taif to Mecca. The little convoy was escorted by only four men. They had set out to do business during one of the four sacred months. Rejeb was one of the months which was considered auspicious for trade in Arabia. Any form of warfare or violence was strictly abhorred. The Arabs being men of honor, never violated this rule, and thus the sacred months were the time when most people set out on their caravans to trade. The Muslims mercilessly murdered the hapless UNARMED merchants and plundered all their goods as booty, of which Muhammad got one fifths.

Many more such raids would follow to satisfy the Prophet’s bloodlust. He fed his bitterness and vengefulness with the sight of his murdered victims. After the Battle of Badr, the Prophet sent his servant to search the field for one of his strongest opponents, Abu Jahal. When the servant found Abu Jahal’s corpse, he cut off the head and threw it down at the feet of Muhammad, who cried out in ecstasy:
“Rejoice! The head of the enemy of God! Praise God, for there is no other but he!”

The Prophet then ordered a great pit to be dug and had the bodies of the “unbelievers” dumped into it after the Muslims had unceremoniously hacked them into pieces. As the bodies were thrown into the pit, an excited Muhammad screamed”
“O People of the Pit, have you found that what God threatened is true now? For I have found that what my Lord promised was true! Rejoice O Muslims!”

One of the prisoners taken was the defiant Al Nadr Ibn al Harith, who had earlier taken Muhammad’s challenge of telling better stories than him. Muhammad ordered Ali to strike off Nadr’s head in his presence, so he could watch the beheading of the man who had insulted him. Another prisoner Uqba ibn Abi Muait was decapitated in front of the Prophet, upon seeing him, the prisoner cried out:
“O Prophet, who will look after my children if I should die?”

“Who will rid me of Kaab Ibn Al Ashraf?”

Aditi Chaturvedi

Note: The Works “The Life & times of Muhammad” by Sir John Glubb, “An Introduction to the Hadith” by John Burton and “Hindu Temples: What Happened to Them?” by Sita Ram Goel have been used to compose this article.