Question:
As-salaam Alaikum Ya Seyyidi and all the other Scholars,
I thank Allah for this opportunity that we can clear out doubts by question to you Directly. Recently e.shaykh has been answering questions regarding prophets in India. I read somewhere that Dhul-Kifl may perhaps be the name of Buddha, the consonant ‘p’ is not present in Arabic, and the nearest one to it is ‘fa’. Hence, Kifl may be actually ‘Kapeel’ which is the place where he was often referred to. Some are of opinion that Dhul-Kifl is an Arabic name for ‘Ezekiel’. Also How authentic is this reference- Mohammad (PBUH) said “There was a prophet of Allah in India who was dark in color and his name was Kahan.”Source:- “Taarikh-i-Hamdaan Dailami” Baab-ul-Kaaf. See Pocket book p: 854 by Malik Abdur Rehman Khadim 6th edition Published in 1952.
Many Thanks for Guiding us Insha Allah
Answer:
wa `alaykum as-Salam wa rahmatullah, and thank you for your questions. Another question to ask might be whether the words nun, qarnayn, or awtad are also to be understood as place names? This linguistic speculation on kifl ignores the Arabic significance of the word, as well as the well-established Islamic traditions concerning Dhul-Kifl, peace be upon him. For the best account of them, illuminated moreover by direct spiritual knowledge, please consult the second volume of Lore of Light.
Your reference to the post on “Siva” allows for an interesting observation: while the 27 chapters of the Fusus ul-hikam are for the most part named for the 27 Qur’anic prophets, there are differences, and in particular concerning the prophet Dhul-Kifl. His name is not found in the Fusus, so his spiritual identity must be related to that of another prophet. Seth, peace be upon him, included among the fusus, is not mentioned by name in the Holy Qur’an.
As far as the Buddha is concerned, and again in reference to the earlier post, it is likely that his spiritual identity may be linked to one or another of the 27. There is in fact a relationship between his historical manifestation and the planet Mercury – Budha in Sanskrit – so perhaps his spiritual affinity may be discovered among those prophets in Islam who are associated with that sphere.
Concerning the hadith you mention, in the words of Shaykh Gibril Fouad Haddad there is no such hadith and Allah knows best.
Mahmoud Shelton
