Some Indians Are Also Among the Lost Tribes of Israel

A report recently gained public attention concerning 250 Indian Jews who arrived in Israel and were formally received. This report is important because it suggests that the Jews themselves acknowledge the existence of a group of people associated with the Lost Tribes of Israel, namely the tribes of Bani Israel that are said to have disappeared from the mainstream historical record.

The matter has, in fact, drawn global attention. However, that is not the principal issue I wish to address in this writing. My initial focus is not merely on the report itself, but on the reactions of people around the world, especially among Malaysians.

Let me state this at the outset. I am not writing this in support of the Jews. I am not writing to defend Zionism. I am not writing to recognize the illegal State of Israel. I am writing because I wish to articulate a truth that already exists in the Qur’an. Therefore, maintain decorum in the comments. There is no place on this page for those who cannot conduct themselves with basic manners.

When the report spread, I noticed that many people mocked the Indians who claimed descent from Bani Israel. Those who mocked them were not Muslims only. Some Christians and Hindus also ridiculed the claim.

I do not claim deep expertise in Hindu scriptures because they are extensive and the tradition itself is broad. However, I can say that I frequently read the Bible for the purpose of comparing its contents with the Qur’an.

From the comments I read, one thing became very clear. Many of those who mocked the Indian Bani Israel had not seriously read the Bible, nor had they seriously read the Qur’an. In short, they may identify as Muslims or Christians, yet they have not truly read their own religious scriptures.

Their pattern is simple. When something appears strange, they laugh first. When a report does not fit their mental framework, they ridicule first. When something does not align with their shallow knowledge, they comment first without thinking.

In the end, they think they are exposing the foolishness of others, while in reality they are exposing their own. This is the condition of the world today, a world filled with people of jāhiliyyah. They imagine themselves intelligent while remaining ignorant, because they do not even know what exists in their own scriptures, yet they behave as if they are knowledgeable. They enjoy provoking matters they have not understood, when in truth the provocation is against their own minds.

Empty Yourself and Become Neutral

I will try to explain this as briefly as possible, but I do not promise that it will be short. This is a large issue, and it cannot possibly be resolved in one or two sentences.

What we understand about Bani Israel today has largely come through a Jewish lens, not through a fuller perspective of Bani Israel themselves. The various versions of the Bible have constructed a narrative that excessively elevates the Jews and excessively centers the story on Jerusalem, until the older and broader history of Bani Israel has been submerged.

Many Muslims have also inherited the same framework. What the Jews hold, some Muslims repeat. The Jews themselves have long searched for their Lost Tribes. Their Lost Tribes too became bewildered after being punished by Allah for forty years. Yet we do not even realize that they are searching for the lost tribes of Bani Israel. Then, when reports emerge about some Indians being linked to the Lost Tribes of Israel, we laugh at them.

What is even more regrettable is that we do not seek the traces of these Lost Tribes, even though the basis of the discussion exists in the Qur’an. Why do we not search? Perhaps because part of the original nature of Bani Israel was indeed arrogance, quickness to belittle others, quickness to mock and slowness in submitting to truth. Therefore, it is not impossible that those who enjoy mocking this matter may themselves possess a lineage connected to what Israeli Jews and Indian Israelites are searching for.

The Jews do not represent all of Bani Israel. They are only one small portion of Bani Israel. Just as some Indian communities may be linked to Bani Israel, the Jews are likewise only one branch within a much broader Bani Israel lineage.

The problem is that the Jews have written the history of Bani Israel as if they themselves constitute the entirety of Bani Israel. In reality, they are only a fragment of the larger picture. That is why, when Jews hear about the Lost Tribes, they become deeply interested. They search for the traces of the lost people because it concerns their own historical roots. They are not the totality of the ancestors of Bani Israel. They are only one strand within that lineage.

I know that some readers find it difficult to think logically about this issue because their thinking has long been bound to Jerusalem. It is not an exaggeration to say that some among us even consider our Muslim brothers and sisters in Palestine to be Bani Israel in order to justify Jerusalem and condemn the illegal State of Israel. This orientation of thought was shaped by the Jewish narrative that seeks to make Jerusalem the absolute center of the story of Bani Israel.

I want you to think openly first. Remove, for the moment, the orientation that the original land Allah promised to Bani Israel must be in Jerusalem. That comes from the framework of an unpreserved Bible. The Bible is not necessarily the original Torah and Injil. Set that framework aside before approaching the Qur’an.

Set that orientation aside. God willing, you will begin to see what the Qur’an actually says. I will present the Qur’anic evidence, but you must read it with a neutral mind. If you continue to hold on to the Jerusalem orientation before examining the verses, then even if a thousand verses were presented, you would remain veiled from seeing. That is because you would already have rejected the guidance of the Qur’anic verses while your heart and mind remain bound to that Jewish orientation.

The Promised Land Is the East and the West of the Earth, Not Palestine or Jerusalem

In the Qur’an, Allah SWT mentions that Bani Israel were made heirs to the regions of mashāriq al-arḍ and maghāribahā, meaning the regions of sunrise and the regions of sunset of the earth, which Allah had blessed.

Pay close attention to the Arabic wording. This verse does not mention Palestine. It also does not mention Jerusalem. The verse states:

مَشَٰرِقَ ٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَغَٰرِبَهَا

Therefore, do not rush to read this verse through a translation already shaped by an inherited orientation. Look first at the Arabic wording used by Allah.

This divine promise relates to Bani Israel while they were still in a state of oppression under the power of Pharaoh in Egypt. They were an enslaved people. They had no land of their own. They had no clear direction after liberation from slavery except the direction of inheritance and destination determined by Allah Himself.

Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta‘ala says:

وَأَوۡرَثۡنَا ٱلۡقَوۡمَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَانُواْ يُسۡتَضۡعَفُونَ مَشَٰرِقَ ٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَمَغَٰرِبَهَا ٱلَّتِي بَٰرَكۡنَا فِيهَا ۖ وَتَمَّتۡ كَلِمَتُ رَبِّكَ ٱلۡحُسۡنَىٰ عَلَىٰ بَنِيٓ إِسۡرَٰٓءِيلَ بِمَا صَبَرُواْ ۖ وَدَمَّرۡنَا مَا كَانَ يَصۡنَعُ فِرْعَوْنُ وَقَوْمُهُۥ وَمَا كَانُواْ يَعْرِشُونَ

“And We made the people who had been oppressed inherit the eastern regions of the earth and its western regions, which We had blessed. And the good word of your Lord was fulfilled upon Bani Israel because of their patience, and We destroyed what Pharaoh and his people used to produce and what they used to build.”

Surah al-A‘rāf 7:137

The East Became the Destination

After that, Bani Israel were threatened by Pharaoh and departed in order to save themselves. Their movement was no longer toward the west, but toward the east by crossing the sea. Thus, the west was no longer the principal direction. The east became the route of deliverance and the destination of their journey after liberation from slavery.

Read the following verse as evidence.

Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta‘ala says:

وَجَٰوَزۡنَا بِبَنِيٓ إِسۡرَٰٓءِيلَ ٱلۡبَحْرَ فَأَتَوْا عَلَىٰ قَوْمٍ يَعْكُفُونَ عَلَىٰٓ أَصْنَامٍ لَّهُمْ ۚ قَالُواْ يَٰمُوسَى ٱجْعَل لَّنَآ إِلَٰهًا كَمَا لَهُمْ ءَالِهَةٞ ۚ قَالَ إِنَّكُمْ قَوْمٞ تَجْهَلُونَ

“And We brought Bani Israel across the sea, then they came upon a people who were devotedly attending to their idols. They said: O Musa, make for us a god just as they have gods. He said: Indeed, you are a people who are ignorant.”

Surah al-A‘rāf 7:138

This verse narrates the event after Bani Israel crossed the sea. They had left the power of Pharaoh and were moving along a route of deliverance determined by Allah. Within this framework, Prophet Musa was not leading them toward the Palestinian narrative as commonly imagined. Rather, he was leading them out of Egypt through a direction of travel opened by Allah in the mashriq.

During that journey, some among Bani Israel saw a people who were devotedly attending to their idols. They saw a visible, tangible and ocular form of worship. They then asked Prophet Musa to make for them a god just as that people had gods.

Observe the reply of Prophet Musa to his people:

إِنَّكُمْ قَوْمٞ تَجْهَلُونَ

“Indeed, you are a people who are ignorant.”

Those are not my words. Those are the words of Prophet Musa to his own people. He described them as a people of ignorance because, after being saved by Allah from the slavery of Pharaoh, there were still some among them inclined toward idol worship.

This is the important matter that must be observed. The verse shows that within Bani Israel themselves there already existed an inclination to request a visible form of worship. They had only just emerged from oppression. They had only just witnessed the help of Allah. Yet the mentality of slavery had not fully left their souls.

They had been liberated, yet their mode of thought remained bound. They had left the power of Pharaoh, yet their souls were still easily attracted to the worship systems of other peoples. They were supposed to be a community guided by revelation, yet some among them still wanted to imitate a people who worshipped idols.

This is what must be scrutinized. Former slaves, still carrying a slave mentality, had been made into a liberated people. They were in the company of a prophet who brought revelation. They belonged to a chosen group that had witnessed the signs of Allah. Yet some still wished to descend again into becoming ordinary people who worshipped something made and exalted by human beings.

That is why the prohibition of associating partners with Allah became the most fundamental command to Bani Israel. It is not a minor matter. It is the root of all corruption. In the Qur’an, Prophet Musa himself rebukes this inclination with great severity. In the Bible as well, the prohibition against worshipping anything besides God is placed as the primary command for Bani Israel. This is because their greatest problem was not merely land, ethnicity or history. Their greatest problem was tawḥīd, which was easily contaminated by an inclination toward idols.

Having Allah, Yet Wanting Idols

In the verse of al-A‘rāf 7:138, two human groups are actually being displayed.

The first group is a people who were already worshipping idols.

The second group is Bani Israel, who had not yet worshipped idols at that moment, but had begun to request idol worship.

This is highly important for us to understand. Allah is not merely narrating that Bani Israel crossed the sea. Allah is not merely narrating that they arrived upon a foreign people. Allah is showing a confrontation between two orientations of belief. One people had already become immersed in idol worship. Another people had only just escaped the slavery of Pharaoh, had only just been saved by Allah, had only just been led by Prophet Musa, yet suddenly there appeared within them a desire to imitate that idolatrous people.

This is where we must think. If Bani Israel were moving out of Egypt and their route was directed eastward, then the east was not merely a geographical direction. The east became a zone of trial. The east became a route of encounter. The east became the region where Bani Israel began to encounter peoples who possessed their own systems of worship, customs, cultures and idols.

The verse states:

فَأَتَوْا عَلَىٰ قَوْمٍ يَعْكُفُونَ عَلَىٰ أَصْنَامٍ لَّهُمْ

They came upon a people who were devotedly attending to their idols.

Pay attention to the word يَعْكُفُونَ. It does not simply mean that they happened to see statues. It conveys devotion, attachment, repetition and ritual absorption. They did not merely possess idols. They sat, gathered, devoted themselves and attached their worship to those idols.

Then Bani Israel said:

ٱجْعَل لَّنَآ إِلَٰهًا كَمَا لَهُمْ ءَالِهَةٌ

“Make for us a god just as they have gods.”

This is not an ordinary statement. It is a statement that reveals what was within their souls. They had not yet built a state. They had not yet possessed the promised land. Their journey had not yet been completed. Yet the desire for a visible object of worship had already emerged.

They saw a people who had idols. They felt that this people possessed something they did not. They too wanted a god that could be seen, touched, encircled and made the center of ritual. This is the mentality of slavery. A slave who has just been freed sometimes does not yet know the meaning of freedom. His body has left Pharaoh, but his mind still searches for a new form of authority. Their bodies had crossed the sea, but their souls still wanted to submit to something visible. Allah had saved them, yet their eyes were still attracted to the idols of another people.

This leads to another major question. If one group among Bani Israel had already demonstrated an inclination toward idols from the earliest stage of the journey, is it impossible that some among them later became left behind, divided, mixed, intermarried, assimilated and eventually disappeared into idolatrous nations?

Is it impossible that, after thousands of years, the bloodline of Bani Israel became mixed with the great nations of the east?

Is it impossible that some of the Lost Tribes of Israel no longer looked Jewish, no longer spoke Hebrew, no longer read the Torah, but had been absorbed into other peoples and religions?

This is what many people refuse to think about. They imagine that Bani Israel must look Jewish. They must have a Jewish appearance. They must have Jewish names. They must wear Jewish clothing. They must have a connection to Jerusalem. They must have the symbols people are accustomed to seeing in films, news and Western media.

Yet the Lost Tribes are called lost precisely because they were lost from easily recognizable records.

If they still looked Jewish, that would not be called lost. If they still preserved their old identity without change, that would not be the Lost Tribes. If they could still be easily identified by ordinary people, that would not be a lost tribe.

Lost means they have entered into another people.

Lost means they have taken on another name.

Lost means they have adopted another culture.

Lost means they may have worshipped the objects of worship of the people into whom they were absorbed.

Therefore, when it is said that some Indians may belong to the traces of the Lost Tribes of Israel, do not be quick to laugh. Do not be quick to react with anger. Do not be quick to wear the face of someone who thinks he knows. The issue is not that because they carry an Indian identity today, it is therefore impossible for a Bani Israel lineage to exist within them. Remember, they were once slaves. Would they want to say openly, “I was once descended from slaves”?

The essential question is this. How could a people who once left Egypt, moved eastward, encountered an idolatrous people, already showed interest in idols, with evidence in the Qur’an, later disappear from history for thousands of years?

If one wants to identify a great nation strongly associated with traditions of deities, statues and idol worship, India cannot be excluded. This is not because we are insulting Indians. It is not because we are insulting Hindus. We are reading a pattern. We are observing the effects of thousands of years. We have to ask whether some of the lost Bani Israel assimilated into the eastern nations that practiced idol worship.

The Qur’an has already shown that inclination from the beginning. One people were already worshipping idols. Another people had not yet worshipped, but had already requested to worship.

Therefore, when after thousands of years a claim emerges that some Indians are connected to the Lost Tribes of Israel, it is not something that should be laughed at immediately. It should be examined. It should be considered. It should be reread alongside the verses of the Qur’an, not rejected simply because our minds have been locked within the Jewish and Jerusalem narrative.

We must understand one thing. The lost Bani Israel did not necessarily disappear into the desert. They could disappear into a nation. They could disappear into customs. They could disappear into religion. They could disappear into caste. They could disappear into a social system larger than themselves.

They may no longer know that they descended from Bani Israel. They may no longer know that their ancestors once departed with Prophet Musa. They may no longer know that the inclination toward idols that appeared in the verse eventually became an opening for large-scale assimilation in human history.

That is why we should not easily laugh at people. Sometimes the people we laugh at are searching for their origin. The one who laughs may in fact be laughing at the history of his own blood. This is the problem of ignorant people.

They do not read the Qur’an seriously. They do not read history carefully. They do not understand the meaning of the Lost Tribes. They know only one thing. If something appears strange, laugh first. If it does not fit their mind, condemn first. If it does not align with the narrative they are used to hearing, reject first.

That is what we are opening here. Not to support the Jews. Not to defend Zionism. Not to elevate another religion. We are reading the Qur’an more broadly than the Jewish framework that has long confined Muslim thought. This framework continues the original draft concerning the Lost Tribes, Bani Israel and the event after crossing the sea in al-A‘rāf 7:138.

Therefore, the report concerning 250 Indian Jews who arrived in Israel should not be mocked. It may be read as an indication that some Indians may indeed originate from the lost lineage of Bani Israel. They did not suddenly become Bani Israel. Rather, they may be part of an ancient lineage that had been left behind by Prophet Musa and Harun, then assimilated for thousands of years within the Indian people.

Bani Israel Once Worshipped the Calf

The second case is even clearer. Bani Israel did not merely see an idolatrous people during their journey. They themselves fell into the worship of the calf when Prophet Musa was not present among them. This is not a marginal story. It is not an external historical claim. It is a story recorded by Allah Himself in the Qur’an.

Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta‘ala says:

وَٱتَّخَذَ قَوْمُ مُوسَىٰ مِنۢ بَعْدِهِۦ مِنْ حُلِيِّهِمْ عِجْلًا جَسَدًا لَّهُۥ خُوَارٌ ۚ أَلَمْ يَرَوْا۟ أَنَّهُۥ لَا يُكَلِّمُهُمْ وَلَا يَهْدِيهِمْ سَبِيلًا ۘ ٱتَّخَذُوهُ وَكَانُوا۟ ظَـٰلِمِينَ

“And the people of Musa, after his absence, took from their ornaments a calf, a body that had a lowing sound. Did they not see that it neither spoke to them nor guided them to any path? They took it, and they were wrongdoers.”

Surah al-A‘rāf 7:148

Pay close attention to this verse. Allah mentions عِجْلًا جَسَدًا, a calf in bodily form. It was not merely an ordinary animal. The calf became the focus of attraction, the center of fascination and eventually an object of worship. They produced it from their own ornaments. This means that the idol emerged from what they themselves possessed, after which that object was elevated into something before which they submitted.

In another verse, Allah mentions that they had been deceived by Samiri:

قَالَ فَإِنَّا قَدْ فَتَنَّا قَوْمَكَ مِنۢ بَعْدِكَ وَأَضَلَّهُمُ ٱلسَّامِرِىُّ

“He said: Indeed, We have tested your people after you, and Samiri has led them astray.”

Surah Ṭāhā 20:85

Then Allah mentions the form of that trial:

فَأَخْرَجَ لَهُمْ عِجْلًا جَسَدًا لَّهُۥ خُوَارٌ فَقَالُوا۟ هَـٰذَآ إِلَـٰهُكُمْ وَإِلَـٰهُ مُوسَىٰ فَنَسِىَ

“Then he brought out for them a calf, a body that had a lowing sound, and they said: This is your god and the god of Musa, but he forgot.”

Surah Ṭāhā 20:88

Here we see a highly important pattern. In the first case, Bani Israel saw a people devoted to idols and asked Prophet Musa to make for them an object of worship like theirs. In the second case, they did not merely ask. They actually fell into the worship of the calf when Samiri deceived them. Now there are two pieces of evidence.

Thus, the inclination did not occur only once. It recurred. First, they were attracted to the idols of another people. Second, they themselves accepted the calf as an object of worship.

Now look at the world today. Which people and civilization are most famously associated with the veneration of the cow? The answer points toward India, especially the Hindu tradition that venerates the cow. I am not insulting Indians. I am also not saying that all Indians worship cows. What I am showing is a pattern that already exists in the Qur’an.

Bani Israel were once attracted to an idolatrous people. Bani Israel once fell into the worship of the calf. In the east, there exists a great civilization strongly associated with the veneration of the cow.

Therefore, when a report emerges concerning 250 Indian Jews linked to the Lost Tribes of Israel, it should not be mocked without thought. It should be read more seriously. It is possible that some strand of the lost Bani Israel had long assimilated into eastern peoples, including peoples who lived within traditions of cow veneration for thousands of years. That is why we must read the Qur’an more broadly, rather than reading the history of Bani Israel only through the lens of Jews and Jerusalem.

Bani Israel Were Once Punished by Being Turned into Apes

The third evidence concerns the account of Bani Israel being punished by being turned into apes. This is not a human insult. It is not a fairy tale. The Qur’an itself mentions that some among them transgressed the Sabbath, and Allah punished them with an extremely severe punishment.

Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta‘ala says:

وَلَقَدْ عَلِمْتُمُ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱعْتَدَوْا۟ مِنكُمْ فِى ٱلسَّبْتِ فَقُلْنَا لَهُمْ كُونُوا۟ قِرَدَةً خَـٰسِـِٔينَ

“And you certainly knew those among you who transgressed concerning the Sabbath, so We said to them: Be apes, despised and cast away.”

Surah al-Baqarah 2:65

In another verse, Allah mentions the same matter:

فَلَمَّا عَتَوْا۟ عَن مَّا نُهُوا۟ عَنْهُ قُلْنَا لَهُمْ كُونُوا۟ قِرَدَةً خَـٰسِـِٔينَ

“Then when they arrogantly defied what they had been forbidden from, We said to them: Be apes, despised and cast away.”

Surah al-A‘rāf 7:166

Observe this expression:

قِرَدَةً خَـٰسِـِٔينَ

Apes, despised and cast away.

Thus, within the pattern of Bani Israel, we now see three major facts. They were once attracted to an idolatrous people. They once fell in love with the calf of Samiri. They were also once punished by being turned into apes because they transgressed the command of Allah.

Now look at the eastern world. Among the great civilizations that preserve powerful legends of ape figures are India through Hanuman in the Hindu tradition, and China through Sun Wukong or the Monkey King in Chinese legend. I am not saying Hanuman was Bani Israel. I am not saying Sun Wukong was Bani Israel. Think about that for yourself. That is not my point. What I am showing is a pattern.

This is not conclusive evidence. It is a pattern that deserves our attention. The Qur’an mentions that Bani Israel were once punished by being turned into apes. The eastern world also preserves major memories of ape figures in religion, legend and culture.

Therefore, when discussing the Lost Tribes of Israel, do not confine the search merely to Jewish faces, Jewish names, the illegal State of Israel and the Jerusalem narrative. The Jews are only one part of the story. It is possible that the traces of Bani Israel no longer remain merely as a national name, but as cultural residue, animal symbols, ancient stories, assimilations and memories that have merged with other civilizations over thousands of years.

Closing

These Qur’anic evidences are sufficient for now. I do not wish to extend this further in a single article because the history of Bani Israel is indeed vast. Those who sincerely wish to investigate must continue examining it themselves. If you want to follow my writing, you must have patience. The foundation is already present. The verses have already been presented. The pattern is already clear. It is not difficult once the heart is open.

Bani Israel left Egypt. They crossed the sea. They moved eastward. They encountered a people who worshipped idols. They themselves once fell into the calf of Samiri. Some among them were also punished by being turned into apes because they transgressed the command of Allah. There are many other narratives as well. None of this is myth. All of it exists in the Qur’an.

Therefore, do not hastily return to the old narrative that Prophet Musa led Bani Israel toward Palestine or Jerusalem alone. Remember, Prophet Musa was a prophet of Allah. He would not violate the command of Allah. If Allah opened the direction of travel in the mashriq, then Prophet Musa would not lead his people toward a direction that contradicted that guidance. Palestine is not mashriq. Jerusalem is not mashriq. That framework must be examined again, not swallowed whole merely because it appears in the Bible.

That is why the report concerning 250 Indian Jews who arrived in Israel is not something we should laugh at. It may be only a small fragment of the larger story of Bani Israel who were left behind in Prophet Musa’s mission to lead his people out of slavery. Some successfully continued the journey. Some may have been left behind. Some may have assimilated into eastern nations. Some may have lost their name, their language, their scripture and their memory of origin.

Moreover, the Qur’an itself mentions the account of their punishment through bewilderment for forty years. Within such a period, generations can change. Direction can be lost. Memory can be severed. Origins can become obscure. Furthermore, they became separated from Prophet Musa and Prophet Harun. After thousands of years, do not be surprised if there are descendants who no longer recognize themselves as Bani Israel, then appear within another nation, another custom, another religion and another civilization.

This is what the Qur’an reopens as a matter of evidence. Not because we want to support the Jews or defend Zionism, far from it. Not because we want to recognize the illegal State of Israel. This is so that we learn to read Bani Israel through the Qur’an, not through the lens of Jews, the Bible, Jerusalem and Western media.

Laugh if you wish. Just do not be surprised if what is being laughed at is actually a trace that the Qur’an had already indicated long ago. The amusing thing is not the Indian people. The amusing thing is the one who claims to read the Qur’an and the Bible, yet when the Qur’an opens a door of knowledge, he chooses to laugh before thinking.