Proof that Guru Nanak Dev ji wasn’t Muslim

It is a recognised trait in our Muslim brother(s) that he will always try to big-up his faith, this may be due to personnel insecurities but this is to such an extent that much time is wasted in false propaganda. They also say that Jesus was a muslim, that Moses was a muslim, that the next incarnation of Vishnu, as Kalki Avatar, is none other than the Prophet Mohammad, it therefore comes as no surprise that they have now turned their attention on the first Guru of Sikhs Guru Nanak Dev Ji.

Again much time has been wasted in false meaningless effort to try to convince the general public that Guru Nanak Dev Ji was muslin. This can easily be dismissed by the simple fact that Guru Nanak Dev Ji himself said that “there is no Hindu and there is no musallman”. But in order to counter these silly arguments we now have to go through the whole rigmarole of laying out in simple language to these people why Guru Nanak Dev Ji was infact the Guru of all mankind.

When Guru Nanak Dev Ji had his first communion with God, the Almighty blessed him and sent him to this world to spread His message, the first words uttered by Guru Sahib Ji was “Neither am I Hindu nor Muslim”.

Guru Nanak Dev Ji was born into a Hindu family, his father was Mehta Kalu and mother was Mata Tripta Ji, Guru Ji was blessed with two sons, Sri Chand Ji and Lakhmi Das Ji. Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s name comes from the prevalent names of the times but cannot by any stretch of the imagination be interpreted as a muslim name.
When a person converts to Islam then the first thing they do is give him a muslim name, so Casius Clay became Mohammad Ali, Cat Stevens became Yusef Islam. Guru Ji was named Nanak Dev and Guru Ji kept this name throughout his life. All preceding Gurus used the name, Nanak as nom-de- plume in their bani or sacred compositions.

So straight away the argument the Guru Ji was muslin falls down in a big heap.

Guru Ji’s children had very traditional names , Siri Chand and Lakhmi Daas, and again in no stretch of the imagination can they be said to be muslim names. Although born into a Hindu family Guru Nanak Dev Ji rejected its customs and traditions. Guru Ji refused to wear the ‘janeu’ sacred thread and refused ‘tilak’ on his forehead. Guru Nanak Dev Ji enjoyed the company of holy persons, be they Hindu or muslim this did not matter because Guru Ji recognised the divine spirit present in all.

When Guru Ji decided to pass on the Guruship to his successor Bhai Lehna Ji, Guru Ji gave him a new name. Guru Ji chose the name Angad Dev. If as our muslim fiends would have us believe that Guru Ji was one of theirs then the name Angad Dev seems a strange choice. The name has no ‘Ali’ in it, no ‘Mohammad’ in it, proving yet again that Guru Nanak dev Ji was no muslim as he was no Hindu, yet the glory of Guru Nanak Dev Ji is that He belonged to everyone.

He did not dress like a muslim as some people try to portray, Guru Sahib Ji dressed as a holy man, which meant a chola or garb of khuddar, rough low grade material, and a pair of wooden sandals or Kharama.

On his travels Guru Sahib Ji did travelled westwards, but never to a Hajj. This is a very important point as many people say that only muslims are allowed to go to Mecca / Madina and Guru Ji would have been barred from entering. Here is an excerpt from a document about the Mughal-ottoman relations during the reign of Akbar:

“No Muslims and believers in the unity of God’, proclaims an Ottoman imperial firman, ‘should be hindered in any way if he wishes to visit the Holy Cities and circumambulate the luminous Ka’ba.” – 42. M.D., vol. 6, f. 17, firman no. 39, 1564-5, quoted by Faroqhi, op. cit. 147.

Notice there not a distinction between muslims and non-muslim monotheists. One of the 4 sunni schools also say that only polytheists (idol worshippers) are banned from the city of Mecca. In the Hanafi school, it is permitted for non-Muslims to enter all mosques, including the Haram of Mecca, as they interpreted the Quranic verse,

O’you who believe! The idolaters only are unclean. So let them not come near the Inviolable Place of Worship after this their year”

The journey to Mecca must be seen in its context; Guru Ji had previously travelled east to the great pilgrimage sites of the Hindus – Haridwar Benaras, Varanasi, and other places of Hindu importance. Guru Ji then travelled into the Himalayas and even as far as Tibet and Nepal to sites of Buddhist importance, always blessing all who flocked to Guru Ji’s feet and showing them the True path. Are we now to also assume that Guru Ji was a Hindu or a Buddhist because he visited these places?

The truth is that Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s mission, as propagated by God, was to travel the four corners of the land and promote the True path.
Guru Ji clearly states:

“I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines. I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2|| I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers. I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||” (Ang 1136)

So from this it is safe to say that at the time of Guru Nanak Dev Ji Mecca was not a closed site to non-muslims, so the notion that Guru Ji was on a Hajj cannot be true.

In some of Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s compositions Guru Ji uses the names Khudda or Allah, however in others Guru Ji uses Har, Raam, Kartaar, all referring to the multi-facets of the Almighty. This is the misconception many Hindu and Muslim friends have, just because Guru Ji uses the names of God that are traditionally used.
This is in total contradiction to what Islam believes which only has knowledge of seven earths and seven skies. So Guru Ji could not have been a muslim because again Guru Ji’s view is totally contradictory to Islam, Guru Ji states that there are numerous, countless earths and countless sky.

“there are numerous patals (earths) and innumerable akashs (sky)”

Guru Nanak Dev Ji spun Mecca, no muslim would do this. Guru Nanak Dev Ji never kept the fast nor faced in any particular direction when praying.

Guru Nanak Dev Ji spoke out against the brutality of the Afghan invaders who forced women into slavery and took them on as consorts. Guru Nanak Dev Ji gave complete gender equality to women. Guru Nanak Dev Ji did not divide the world into ‘believers’ and ‘non-believers’. Guru Ji did not ask his followers to make war on those who did not follow the same path.

Guru Nanak Dev Ji, was the greatest teacher of the world who brought forward true knowledge and made no compromises in his principles. Guru Ji found the prevailing thoughts of the time to be a seething mass of moral putrefaction. He detected among their elements rituals and superstition, and he struck at the root of these problems by demanding truth in faith and spirit in worship. Guru Ji cleared away everything that inhibited the relationship between God and human. Guru Ji held out no promises in this world or even in the next world. Guru Ji taught that the idea of life, the measure of salvation, is not happiness or peace of mind. To serve God and be able to love Him is in itself better than happiness, though it may be with wounded feet, bleeding brows, and laden with sorrow. Guru Ji showed that religion is less a matter of intellect and more a matter of spirit. To him love was active service, and his disciples soon profited from this teaching. There is no higher record of service in history than that shown by the Sikhs, who were taught to annihilate the thought of self and utilize all their energy in the service of God and humility. No one loved God and humanity more than Guru Nanak Dev Ji. By the Guru’s grace, may we all be blessed to carry Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s mission into the future.