Lenin and Islam: An Aborted Encounter - Pr. Muhammad Hamidullah

Birthdays and Memories: Lenin

By Professor Muhammad Hamidullah

Excerpt from *France-Islam*, n°45-46, 1970, pp. 10-11

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Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, known as Lenin (1870-1924), is what he is in the communist religion. Obviously, the centenary of his birth was celebrated with a splendor appropriate to the place the USSR occupies in international life. The posthumous memoirs of someone who knew him personally deserve to be known and meditated upon.

This is about 'Ubayd Allah Sindhi. During the British domination of the Indian subcontinent, he expatriated himself and took refuge in Russia. At the time of the First World War, he was there. So he knew the Bolshevik revolution, and he knew the leaders who ultimately won it. 'Ubayd Allah Sindhi later settled in Mecca, then, after the departure of the British, returned to Pakistan to die there. He is venerated there as a saint and a great scholar.

He reports that, once in power, Lenin one day gathered an ultra-secret assembly of his most intimate friends, and told them: "The rise to power of communism is not an end in itself; we must also think about its survival. This will only be possible if it takes into consideration the great laws of human nature. Man is composed of both his body and his spirit. Our doctrine takes charge of his body. We must also think about his spiritual needs. What religion should we choose to marry with communism? I have studied all religions, past and present, and I have found that only Islam seems to conform to communism..."

Shouts and howls disturbed the assembly. Then Lenin told them: "My dear friends, we have come here for something serious, for the future of our movement, and not for passionate questions. I expect from you an attitude worthy of our movement. I have not made a decision; I wanted to consult you to make a decision. Nor can the question be decided on the spot. I give you a year of reflection: on this same date, in a year, we will meet here and then we will make the decision."

The news reached the British secret service, which saw a danger in the alliance of Islam with communism and with Russia. Immediately, a question was drafted: "What do the ulemas say about a religion that denies the existence of God, that usurps people's property, etc.?" The fatwa signed by the ulemas of al-Azhar and others — not knowing the background of the question — minced no words in declaring that such a doctrine is against Islam [sic]. Hundreds of thousands of copies of this fatwa were printed — and there are still some that were distributed worldwide. A copy even reached Lenin, and he declared: "I was mistaken, Muslim theologians are no better than the leaders of other religions." For him, the matter was closed.

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Reference: Original article published in *France-Islam*, n°45-46, 1970, pp. 10-11

Author: Professor Muhammad Hamidullah (1908-2002)