Short answer
Muslims do not call the Buddha a prophet, and they do not call him a false teacher. The Qur'an says God (﷾) sent a warner to every people, but it names no prophet in India. It also says God (﷾) has not told us the story of every messenger. So Muslims make no claim about the man, and his judgement belongs to God (﷾). But the early Buddhist texts have him argue against a Creator, and no messenger of God (﷾) taught that. Muslims therefore weigh every teaching by the Qur'an. What agrees with it, such as doing good and meeting anger with kindness, is right wherever it is found, and Islam answers what does not. The message Muslims set before you to examine is the Qur'an, brought by Muhammad (ﷺ) to all mankind.
Full explanation
A warner to every people, and not every one named
The Qur'an says no people was left without a warner. It also says that God (﷾) has told the story of some messengers and not of others. So the Qur'an does not claim to give a full list, and it names no prophet sent to India. The Buddha taught in northern India. Muslims therefore cannot say that he was one of the warners, and they cannot say that he was not. As the Pali texts stand, the teaching they give him argues against a Creator. Every messenger called his people to serve Allah (﷾) and shun evil (16:36). So Muslims cannot take that teaching as a message from God (﷾). Of the man himself God has told them nothing, so they say nothing. Ibn Kathir reads these verses to mean that no nation of the children of Adam went without a warner.
“Verily We have sent thee in truth, as a bearer of glad tidings, and as a warner: and there never was a people, without a warner having lived among them (in the past).”
“For We assuredly sent amongst every People a messenger, (with the Command), "Serve Allah, and eschew Evil": of the People were some whom Allah guided, and some on whom error became inevitably (established). So travel through the earth, and see what was the end of those who denied (the Truth).”
“To every people (was sent) a messenger: when their messenger comes (before them), the matter will be judged between them with justice, and they will not be wronged.”
“Of some messengers We have already told thee the story; of others We have not;- and to Moses Allah spoke direct;-”
“We did aforetime send messengers before thee: of them there are some whose story We have related to thee, and some whose story We have not related to thee. It was not (possible) for any messenger to bring a sign except by the leave of Allah: but when the Command of Allah issued, the matter was decided in truth and justice, and there perished, there and then those who stood on Falsehoods.”
Explains the verse: no nation of the children of Adam has passed without God sending warners to it and removing every excuse. He sets beside it 13:7, "to every people a guide", and 16:36, "We assuredly sent amongst every People a messenger". He says there are many verses on this.
The man himself: courtesy, and judgement left to God (﷾)
The Qur'an tells Muslims to invite others with wisdom and to argue in the best and most gracious way. It says that every people will be judged with justice and that no one will be wronged. It says too that God (﷾) does not send His punishment until a messenger has come. Muslims have no word from God (﷾) about the Buddha himself, so they pass no sentence on him. They speak of him with respect, and they do not mock him or his followers.
“Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for thy Lord knoweth best, who have strayed from His Path, and who receive guidance.”
“To every people (was sent) a messenger: when their messenger comes (before them), the matter will be judged between them with justice, and they will not be wronged.”
“Who receiveth guidance, receiveth it for his own benefit: who goeth astray doth so to his own loss: No bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another: nor would We visit with Our Wrath until We had sent a messenger (to give warning).”
Two branches of Buddhism, and what the Buddha says of himself
Buddhism has two great branches. Theravada, found mostly in South and Southeast Asia, follows the Pali texts, which it holds to be the Buddha's word. Mahayana, found mostly in East Asia, adds further sutras and honours many Buddhas and bodhisattvas (beings vowed to become Buddhas and to save others). Zen and Pure Land are Mahayana schools. This page quotes the Pali texts and says when a claim belongs to one school. In the Dhammapada, a collection of verses that Theravada holds to be the Buddha's teaching, the Buddha points away from himself. His followers must do the work themselves, and the Buddhas only show the way.
“You yourselves must do the work, the Realized Ones just show the way.”
Buddhas in the plural
The Pali texts speak of Buddhas, not of one. A Dhammapada verse calls the call to do no evil and to purify the mind the instruction of the Buddhas. In a long discourse the Buddha names six Buddhas before him and says that he too has arisen in the world. In another verse he says that he knows for himself and asks whose follower he should be. A Buddhist reader may see a likeness to the Qur'an's warner to every people. The likeness is real in one respect: both speak of many teachers in many ages. What the teachers are, and who sends them, is where the two differ, as the next sections show.
“Not to do any evil; to embrace the good; to purify one's mind: this is the instruction of the Buddhas.”
At Savatthi the Buddha tells the mendicants about past lives. He names six Buddhas before him: Vipassi, Sikhi, Vessabhu, Kakusandha, Konagamana and Kassapa. Each, he says, arose in the world "perfected and fully awakened". He adds that in the present eon he too has arisen in the world, perfected and fully awakened. The sutra then describes the first of the six in detail.
“I am the vanquisher of all, the knower of all, unsullied in the midst of all things. I've given up all, freed in the ending of craving. Since I know for myself, whose follower should I be?”
Dhul-Kifl, and what the commentators say
Some Muslims have guessed that the Buddha was Dhul-Kifl, a man the Qur'an names twice among the patient and the good. The verses give no place, people or time for him. The classical commentators Ibn Kathir and al-Tabari discuss him at length. They differ on whether he was a prophet or a righteous man, and the reports they give tie him to Elisha and the Israelites. None of them links him to India. The Qur'an and the authentic reports say nothing that makes him the Buddha, so Muslims should not say it, and this page does not.
“And (remember) Isma'il, Idris, and Zul-kifl, all (men) of constancy and patience;”
“And commemorate Isma'il, Elisha, and Zul-Kifl: Each of them was of the Company of the Good.”
Ibn Kathir says Isma'il is the son of Abraham and Idris was mentioned earlier. Of Dhul-Kifl he says the plain sense of the verse is that he is named beside the prophets because he is a prophet. He adds that others held he was a righteous man, a just king and judge, and that Ibn Jarir (al-Tabari) held back from deciding. He quotes Mujahid: a righteous man, not a prophet, who undertook for the prophet of his people to manage their affairs and judge between them justly; and a report that Elisha, grown old, chose such a man as his successor. He quotes Ibn Abbas that he was a judge among the Israelites, and Abu Musa al-Ash'ari that he was not a prophet but a righteous man among them. He then gives a report with an unusual chain about a man called al-Kifl, and says that, if the name there is al-Kifl, it may be another person.
Al-Tabari says Dhul-Kifl was a man who undertook a task for some people, either for a prophet or for a king among the righteous kings. He kept faith with what he undertook, and God praised him and counted him among those commended for patience in obedience. He gives early reports to this effect. In one, a prophet asks who will undertake to fast by day, pray by night and not lose his temper, and a young man does so and takes his place. In another from Mujahid, Elisha, grown old, chooses such a man as his successor.
Weighing a teaching by the Qur'an
Muslims hold the Qur'an to be the preserved word of God (﷾), and they weigh every teaching by it. The Qur'an calls itself a guardian over the earlier books. Ibn Kathir records the early reading: what agrees with it is true, and what differs from it is false. A Muslim applies the same measure to any teaching from outside the Qur'an. What agrees is right wherever it is found. Where the early Buddhist texts argue against a Creator, Islam answers them on the page "Did the Buddha believe in God?" The Qur'an does not ask to be taken on trust. It says that had it come from anyone but God (﷾), much contradiction would be found in it. It also challenges the doubter to bring a chapter like it.
“To thee We sent the Scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in safety: so judge between them by what Allah hath revealed, and follow not their vain desires, diverging from the Truth that hath come to thee. To each among you have we prescribed a law and an open way. If Allah had so willed, He would have made you a single people, but (His plan is) to test you in what He hath given you: so strive as in a race in all virtues. The goal of you all is to Allah; it is He that will show you the truth of the matters in which ye dispute;”
Explains muhaymin ("guarding it in safety") from the early authorities. In one report from Ibn Abbas, the Qur'an is trustworthy over every book before it. In another it is a witness over them, and in a third a judge over them. He reports Ibn Jurayj: whatever in the earlier books agrees with the Qur'an is true, and whatever differs from it is false. Ibn Kathir says the word includes all these meanings. He adds that God made the Qur'an, the last of the books, trustee, witness and judge over them all. God undertook to guard it Himself (15:9).
“Do they not consider the Qur'an (with care)? Had it been from other Than Allah, they would surely have found therein Much discrepancy.”
“And if ye are in doubt as to what We have revealed from time to time to Our servant, then produce a Sura like thereunto; and call your witnesses or helpers (If there are any) besides Allah, if your (doubts) are true.”
What the Pali texts urge
A Dhammapada verse tells the hearer to defeat anger with kindness, villainy with virtue, stinginess with giving, and lies with truth. Muslims read this with respect. It is a call to character, and it is not what separates Islam from the Buddha's teaching.
“Defeat anger with kindness, villainy with virtue, stinginess with giving, and lies with truth.”
What the Qur'an urges, and the call behind it
The Qur'an commands justice and the doing of good. It tells the believer to repel evil with what is better, so that one who was an enemy may become a close friend. Muslims therefore say freely that such teaching is right. They go on to ask who made us and what follows death, because every messenger came with one call: serve Allah (﷾) and shun evil. In Islam belief, worship and character are one way of life, and none of the three is complete without the others.
“Allah commands justice, the doing of good, and liberality to kith and kin, and He forbids all shameful deeds, and injustice and rebellion: He instructs you, that ye may receive admonition.”
“Nor can goodness and Evil be equal. Repel (Evil) with what is better: Then will he between whom and thee was hatred become as it were thy friend and intimate!”
“For We assuredly sent amongst every People a messenger, (with the Command), "Serve Allah, and eschew Evil": of the People were some whom Allah guided, and some on whom error became inevitably (established). So travel through the earth, and see what was the end of those who denied (the Truth).”
The last messenger, sent to all
The Qur'an says that Muhammad (ﷺ) was sent to all mankind, and as a mercy to all creatures. That is why Muslims invite everyone, Buddhists too, to look at what he brought. They do not ask anyone to take it on trust. The Qur'an asks to be examined. The page "How can we tell if a holy book really comes from God?" sets out tests that apply to any book.
“Say: "O men! I am sent unto you all, as the Messenger of Allah, to Whom belongeth the dominion of the heavens and the earth: there is no god but He: it is He That giveth both life and death. So believe in Allah and His Messenger, the Unlettered Prophet, who believeth in Allah and His words: follow him that (so) ye may be guided."”
“We sent thee not, but as a Mercy for all creatures.”
Six replies answered
Dhammapada 276 — The Path, verse 276
“You yourselves must do the work, the Realized Ones just show the way.”
Cited for
The Buddha only showed the way and told us to walk it ourselves. He needs no prophet's rank, and Islam has nothing to add to what he taught.
The response
Muslims give the Buddha no rank and take none away. Islam says it has no word from God (﷾) about him, and it sets him neither above nor below anyone. What it says is that God (﷾) sent guidance to every people, calling them to serve Allah (﷾) and shun evil (16:36). The last of it came with Muhammad (ﷺ). The Qur'an too says that each soul answers for its own deeds and none carries another's burden (6:164). Where the way leads is the question the other Buddhist pages take up.
Where it lands — Islam tests the teaching, not the man. It neither raises the Buddha to a prophet nor lowers him to a false teacher.
Dhammapada 183 — The Buddhas, verse 183
“Not to do any evil; to embrace the good; to purify one's mind: this is the instruction of the Buddhas.”
Cited for
Your warner to every people is just our Buddhas in every age. We already agree, so there is nothing more to say.
The response
The likeness is in the idea of many teachers over time. In the Pali texts a Buddha is one who has awakened and shows the way. In the Dhammapada the Buddha says that he knows for himself and asks whose follower he should be (353). In Islam a messenger receives God's (﷾) word (18:110); the Buddha of the Pali texts claims none. All of them called to the same thing: serve Allah (16:36). Because Islam names none in India, it does not say the Buddha was one.
Where it lands — Many teachers in many ages is a shared idea. What the teachers are, and who sends them, is where the two differ.
Qur'an 21:85 — Surat al-Anbiya (The Prophets), verse 85
“And (remember) Isma'il, Idris, and Zul-kifl, all (men) of constancy and patience;”
Cited for
Some Muslims say the Buddha was Dhul-Kifl, or that Maitreya is Muhammad (ﷺ). So Islam honours him as a prophet after all.
The response
The Qur'an names Dhul-Kifl twice, among the patient and the good, and says nothing of where he lived or who his people were. Ibn Kathir reports him as a man among the Israelites, and both he and al-Tabari give reports tying him to Elisha. Scholars differ even on whether he was a prophet. Nothing in the Qur'an or the authentic reports links him to India or to the Buddha, or links Maitreya to Muhammad (ﷺ). So Muslims should not say either, and this site does not.
Where it lands — What is not in the Qur'an or an authentic report is not claimed. Islam says only what it can say with certainty.
Qur'an 3:85 — Surat Al Imran (The Family of Imraan), verse 85
“If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (submission to Allah), never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter He will be in the ranks of those who have lost (All spiritual good).”
Cited for
Islam says only Muslims are saved, so it must say the Buddha is lost. That is hard to square with calling him a good man.
The response
Muslims have no word from God (﷾) about the Buddha himself, so they pass no sentence on him. The Qur'an says God (﷾) sends no punishment until a messenger has come (17:15), and that every people is judged with justice and not wronged (10:47). It also says: "If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (submission to Allah), never will it be accepted of him" (3:85). That is why Islam asks every reader who hears its message to weigh it. The page "What happens to people who never heard of Islam or of Jesus?" takes it up.
Where it lands — The judgement of any man is God's (﷾). The Qur'an promises justice and no wrong.
Qur'an 5:48 — Surat al-Ma'ida (The Table), verse 48
“To thee We sent the Scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in safety: so judge between them by what Allah hath revealed, and follow not their vain desires, diverging from the Truth that hath come to thee. To each among you have we prescribed a law and an open way. If Allah had so willed, He would have made you a single people, but (His plan is) to test you in what He hath given you: so strive as in a race in all virtues. The goal of you all is to Allah; it is He that will show you the truth of the matters in which ye dispute;”
Cited for
Weighing my teaching by the Qur'an proves nothing. You are assuming the Qur'an is true.
The response
That is fair, and Muslims do not ask you to start there. They weigh by the Qur'an because they hold it to be God's (﷾) word, but the Qur'an asks to be examined first. It says that had it come from anyone but God (﷾), much contradiction would be found in it (4:82). It challenges the doubter to bring a chapter like it (2:23). The page "How can we tell if a holy book really comes from God?" gives tests that apply to any book, the Qur'an included.
Where it lands — The Qur'an asks to be tested before it is believed. Muslims do not ask for trust.
Dhammapada 223 — Anger, verse 223
“Defeat anger with kindness, villainy with virtue, stinginess with giving, and lies with truth.”
Cited for
The Pali texts already teach kindness, truth and self-restraint. I do not need another religion for that.
The response
Islam welcomes the agreement and says so plainly. It commands justice and the doing of good (16:90), and it tells you to repel evil with what is better (41:34). But good conduct is not the whole question. Who made us, who hears us and what follows death are also asked, and the Qur'an answers them. Every messenger called to serve Allah (﷾) and shun evil together (16:36). Islam is that whole way, with belief, worship and character as one. The page on why a Buddhist might consider Islam takes it up.
Where it lands — Shared goodness is where the road starts. Islam adds whom we serve, and the whole way of life that follows.
Perspectives
Buddhist teaching (the Pali texts)
A Buddhist reader may answer from the Pali texts, which Theravada holds as the Buddha's word. The Buddha points away from himself, and Buddhas arise in many ages. Islam's verdict on non-Muslims and its use of the Qur'an as the measure are also questioned.
The Dhammapada, a Theravada text, has the Buddha say that his followers must do the work themselves and the Buddhas only show the way. He claimed no message from a creator, so "was he a prophet?" is the wrong question.
Rebuttal
Granted, and Muslims do not call him a prophet. The Qur'an's claim is about what God (﷾) did: He sent a warner to every people and named few of them. Whether any teaching is complete is weighed by the Qur'an, which invites examination.
The Pali texts speak of Buddhas in many ages who give one instruction (Dhammapada 183; Digha Nikaya 14). That is the Muslim idea of a warner to every people, so Muslims should honour the Buddha as a prophet.
Rebuttal
The likeness is only in the idea of many teachers. A messenger in Islam is a man to whom God (﷾) reveals His word, and he calls his people to serve Allah (﷾). Islam names no messenger in India, so it cannot say the Buddha was one.
Some Muslims say the Buddha was Dhul-Kifl, or that Maitreya, the Buddha who is to come, is Muhammad (ﷺ). So Islam already honours him as a prophet.
Rebuttal
The Qur'an names Dhul-Kifl twice and gives him no place or people. Ibn Kathir and al-Tabari give reports tying him to Elisha, and Ibn Kathir reports him among the Israelites. Scholars differ on whether he was a prophet. Nothing in the Qur'an or the authentic reports links him to the Buddha, or Maitreya to Muhammad (ﷺ), so Muslims should not say it.
Islam says that a religion other than Islam will not be accepted (3:85). So Islam must say the Buddha is lost.
Rebuttal
Muslims have no word from God (﷾) about the Buddha himself, so they pass no sentence on him. The Qur'an says God (﷾) sends no punishment until a messenger has come, and that every people is judged with justice and not wronged. The judgement is God's (﷾).
Weighing my teaching by the Qur'an proves nothing, because Muslims assume the Qur'an is true.
Rebuttal
Muslims do hold the Qur'an to be God's (﷾) word, but they do not ask you to start there. The Qur'an says it would show much contradiction if it were not from God (﷾). And it challenges the doubter to bring a chapter like it.
The Islamic perspective
Muslims neither call the Buddha a prophet nor a false teacher. God (﷾) sent a warner to every people and has not named them all, and the Qur'an names none in India. Muslims pass no sentence on the man and weigh every teaching by the Qur'an. They invite everyone to examine the Qur'an and the last messenger, sent to all mankind. Belief, worship and character together make one way of life.
The Qur'an says every people had a warner, and that each messenger called his people to serve Allah (﷾).
God (﷾) has not told the story of every messenger, and the Qur'an names no prophet in India.
Muslims therefore neither claim nor deny that the Buddha was a messenger. They have no word from God (﷾) about him, so they pass no sentence on him and speak of him with courtesy.
The Qur'an names Dhul-Kifl without a place or a people. Ibn Kathir reports him among the Israelites, he and al-Tabari give reports tying him to Elisha, and neither links him to India.
Muslims weigh every teaching by the Qur'an. What agrees with it is right wherever it is found. Where the early Buddhist texts argue against a Creator, Islam answers them.
The Qur'an asks to be examined. It says it would hold much contradiction if it were not from God (﷾), and it challenges the doubter to bring a chapter like it.
The Dhammapada calls the hearer to defeat anger with kindness and to embrace the good. The Qur'an commands justice and tells the believer to repel evil with what is better.
Muhammad (ﷺ) was sent to all mankind, and as a mercy to all creatures.