A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ Why are there many similarities between Sufi Islam and Sikhism? ”   Sikhism is a syncretic faith of Islam and Hinduism, a credible attempt to bridge the divide between two great faiths.   From Puratan Janamsakhi , the biography of Guru Nanak Nankana Swahib, the founder of Sikhism, which was composed two centuries after his death, we know that Guru Nanak was born in a Hindu family and had Muslim neighbours.   We know, from Sikh sources, that he served one of these Sufi shuyukh , although there is nothing in the text to explicitly state that he was a murid .   This is an inference.   We know, also, that he went to Makkah twice.   A Muslim would state that this was likely the haj , whereas Sikh scholars would state it is because he went there to spread the religion.   From a textual examination, within the historical context, no one denies the strong influ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ Guru Nanak, founder of Sikhism, visited Makkah twice.   At one time were non-Muslims allowed to enter Makkah? ” By the time of Guru Nanak Nankana Swahib, non-Muslims were no longer allowed to enter Makkah or Madina, the Haramayn .   This prohibition arose in the time of the swahabah , the companions; and the tabi’un , the successors; from just after the time of the Prophet ( s.a.w. ). The decision to restrict the non-Muslims from Makkah was always a jurisprudential one, based on a specific tafsir , exegesis, of certain verses.   Imam Abu Hanifah Nu’man ibn Tsabit ( r.a. ) was of the opinion that non-Muslims can enter Makkah and even the Sacred Mosque, al-Haram, but they cannot do so in imitation of the pilgrimage, as was the practice of the polytheists, prior to the advent of the Prophet (s.a.w.).   And this has been the general position of the Hanafi madzhab un...