By Muhammad Talha Amin Baruah
The Tai-Ahom religion, known as Phuralung, is an early faith practiced by the Tai-Ahom community of Assam. Scholars have long explored its similarities with Hinduism and Christianity, noting shared values and worldviews. Yet, the similarities between Phuralung and Islam have rarely been discussed, leaving a fascinating area of comparative religion largely untouched.
This article aims to bridge the gap in scholarship by highlighting these lesser-known parallels. By examining the beliefs, rituals, and ethical frameworks of Phuralung and Islam side by side, we can uncover surprising common ground that transcends cultural and historical boundaries. Such a study not only enriches our understanding of both religions but also encourages interfaith dialogue and respect.
The Ahom Buranji gives us the view of the era when the universe didn’t exist “In the beginning there were no Gods and men. The world was void and surrounded by the water of the ocean. There was no air, no animals, no land, no rulers, no countries and no living beings. Also the sun, the moon and the stars did not exist. There was neither the earth nor the heaven. There was only one omnipotent being, the Great God.”¹
“Both Tai-Ahom cosmology and Islamic scripture begin with the same profound silence of existence — when there was nothing but the Almighty and water. It is in this shared void that both faiths locate the first stirrings of creation.”
This is very similar to Islam. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said “Allah ordained the measures of the creation fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth, as His Arsh was upon water.” (sahih muslim #2653b)
We can notice that both Tai-Ahom text and hadith say something very clear, which is that when the universe wasn’t created, there were only two entities, the Almighty God and water. Though the Tai-Ahom text thus say that “there were no gods…. “ This refers to demi-gods and what we examine is that they are counterparts of Angels in Islam.
The Tai-Ahom text mentions that “He (God) created a deity, known as Khuntheukham, from his breasts.”¹ Dr Padmeshwar Gogoi has explained that Khuntheukham was a human since ‘Khun’ means ‘man’.² From here we can learn that possibly Khuntheukham is the very first human, according to Islam that is none other than Adam (a.s).
The text further goes on to say that after the creations of the Heavens and Earth, “They (the spiders made by God) finished making of the heaven in the shape of a gold throne.”¹ This concept of throne is very similar to Islam, as is the concept that the throne was assumed after the creation of heavens and earth.
Quran says “Surely your Lord is Allah Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days, then established Himself on the Throne, conducting every affair.” (10:3)
“The Tai-Ahom belief that Khuntheukham was the first man created by God mirrors the Islamic account of Adam (a.s), the first human formed by Allah. Across cultures, the story of human origin begins with divine intent and a single breath of life.”
Going forward “Shengkampha mistakenly acted against the will of God. He met death and became an evil spirit for his fault.”¹ This highly resembles iblees who acted against the will of Allah and was made the Satan.
Furthermore “Now, Lengdon was ruling in the wide country of gods. There eight lakhs of gods paid him homage and his country was full of riches. The countries in heaven were under his rule.”³ Since we previously mentioned that Demi-Gods are the counterpart of Angels, we can easily figure out that this Lengdon is none other than Jibril (a.s) who is the leader of all angels.
There is a figure in the Tai-Ahom mythology about a man named Thao Lip Ling, who was a saint. Lengdon wanted to punish the people of earth due to their sins by flooding the earth with hot water. Thao Lip Ling was thus chosen to be the point where the human race will begin once again.
Thao Lip Ling was pre-informed about it. The next, Lengdon ordered the God of rain Chao-Phun to flood the earth with hot boiling water and it happened. The only survivor was Thao Lip Ling who sailed on a raft till it reached on a peak of a mountain. Thao Lip Ling stayed on earth, preaching the religion of God.⁴
This narrative is almost the same as that of Nuh (a.s) in Islam. Almost every religion on earth some way or the other narrate the story of the great flood in their own way, the Tai-Ahom religion was not an exception. Thao Lip Ling was informed about the flood and he sailed during the great flood, and ended up on a peak of a mountain, we can find the same about Nuh a.s in the Quran “and do not plead with Me for those who have done wrong, for they will surely be drowned.” (11:37) “The floodwater receded and the decree was carried out. The Ark rested on Mount Judi…. “ (11:44)
Clearly it can be seen that Thao Lip Ling is indeed Nuh a.s as he too was informed about the great flood, both the narratives state that the great flood was sent to punish the evildoers and both of them ended up on a mountain by the end of the rain which devastated the world. Nuh a.s is known as the second Adam because he restored human population on earth and Thao Lip Ling is considered by Tai Ahom mythology to be the point where human civilization restarted.
Interesting the God of Rain named Chao-Phun is a counter part of Angel Mikail (a.s) in Islam as both of them have the command on rain.
Let us discuss some beliefs in which Tai-Ahoms are somewhat similar with Islam. First is that Tai-Ahoms believe in the existence of one supreme God named Pha Tu Ching Phrong Hum who is said to be impersonal and without any defined shape. He is the ultimate creator, sustainer and destroyer of the world.⁵ The same is said about Allah In Islam, the only difference is the name.
Though Tai Ahoms do believe in the existence of other demi-gods which makes their religion Monotheistically polytheistic. Further they opposed the worship of Idols except one idol, which is of Chum Deo.⁵ It’s obvious to everyone that Islam opposes Idolatry, which makes somewhat similarity with the religion of Tai Ahoms.
“In both traditions, the divine throne signifies supreme authority — in the Ahom text, heaven is shaped like a golden throne, while the Quran describes Allah establishing Himself upon the Throne after creating the heavens and the earth.”
They believe in the concept of blood sacrifice of domestic animals.⁵ In Eid al Azha, a sacrifice of a domestic animal is required to be given. As the Prophet ﷺ said “The first thing we will do on this day (of Eid al Azha) of ours, is to offer the prayer and then return to slaughter the sacrifice. Whoever does so, he acted according to our Sunnah….” (Sahih al Bukhari #5545)
The concept of rebirth also doesn’t exist in Tai Ahom religion⁵ nor does it exist in Islam.
In the Tai-Ahom religion there is the concept of Heaven but the concept of hell is absent. They believe that instead of hell, the sinner is punished in the world itself.⁶ Heaven and Hell both exist in Islam.
The concept of hell is only what differs, but not completely. There is a Hadith in which the Prophet ﷺ said : “Every consequence of sin is delayed by Allah until the Day of Resurrection, as He wills, except for injustice, disrespect to parents, or severing family ties. He will hasten the punishment of one who commits them in this world before he dies.” (Al Adab Al Mufrad #591)
The hadith means that sometimes some sinners are punished on earth itself just like in Tai-Ahom religion, the difference is that the Tai-Ahom religion considers all sins being punished on earth and the inexistence of Hell in the afterlife.
Heaven in Tai-Ahom religion is explained as a golden throne and that God is in the highest heavens.⁶ This almost very similar to the concept of Arsh in Islam as mentioned previously that Arsh means throne, which is above the heavens. In a Hadith, Prophet ﷺ said “….ask Him for the Firdaus, for it is the last part of Paradise and the highest part of Paradise, and at its top there is the Throne of Beneficent (Allah)…” (Sahih Al Bukhari #7423)
Since we know that Allah is above his throne (which is as what befits him) and this throne is above the highest heavens, it can be established that it is very similar to the concept of the Tai-Ahom in which God is above the highest heavens.
We can also learn that Lengdon is in the highest heavens according to Tai-Ahom mythology.⁶ As previously we identified Legndon to be Jibril (a.s), we can easily figure this from Hadith that indeed Jibril (a.s) can go the highest heavens, as stated in a Hadith that he accompanied Prophet Muhammad ﷺ till the highest heaven (Sahih al-Bukhari 3342) and we can further find that between the highest heaven, there is a barrier between Allah and Jibril (a.s) which he cannot pass through or he would burn (Mishkat al-Masabih 5729, 5730). This practically means that indeed Jibril (a.s) can reach the highest heavens, so it’s possible that he resides there.
Tai-Ahoms do not have the concept of ‘temple’ dedicated to any God or Goddesses of their religion, instead they have a place called ‘Seng-Ren’ to worship God.⁵ Just as Islam has Masjid to worship Allah.
‘Lit Lai Peyn kaka’ which is a holy text of the Tai-Ahom religion begins with the following verse : “Oh! The Lord above head. God is all pervading and is the controller of
Everything in the universe without any limitation. God created the universe, mingled Himself with the living and non-living beings and He let them continue their
Existence. After letting the universe to continue, God returned back and so God transcended the universe after creating it. God is the master of everything. He is the supreme cognition and is Divine. He Is in everything. He is immanent. He pervades time and is the Designer of the future. God is Omniscient, Omnipotent and infinite.”⁷
Every feature told about are the divine features that Allah is also attributed with. Regarding the part that ‘God transcended the universe after creating it’ is also identical to an Islamic belief as the Quran states “He is Allah, other than whom there is no deity, the Sovereign, the Pure, the Perfection, the Bestower of Faith, the Overseer, the Exalted in Might, the Transcendent, the Superior. Exalted is Allah above whatever they associate with Him.” (59:23)
Another verse states ‘Surely your Lord is Allah Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days, then established Himself on the Throne, conducting every affair.’ (10:3)
Ahom people used to bury their dead. It was only after their conversion to Hinduism that they began to cremate. But there are still some groups of Ahoms who still bury their dead.⁸ It is obviously known by everyone that Muslims bury their dead.
References :
1. Ahom Buranji, page 1-2
2. Tai-Ahom Religion and customs, by Dr. Padmeshwar Gogoi, page 2
3. Ahom Buranji, page 5
4. Tai-Ahom Religion and customs, by Dr. Padmeshwar Gogoi, page 56-59
5. Tai-Ahom Religion : a philosophical study, by Shrutashwinee Gogoi, page 19-23
6. Ibid, page 41
7. Ibid, page 32
8. Tai-Ahom Religion and customs, by Dr. Padmeshwar Gogoi, page 88
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