Which scholars claimed Buddha was a messenger of God?

Hamza Yusuf in *Buddha in the Qur'an* (viewed at Scribd.com ) writes: > In classical Muslim literature on religions and sects, we find many references to "al-Badadah," meaning the Buddhists, as well as "al-Budd," the Buddha himself. Ibn al-Nadim (d. 998), an Iraqi bookseller and author of the famous work entitled *The Compendium* (*al-Fihrist*), who catalogued existing authors and their subjects of study, records books that deal with Buddhism, including *The Life of Buddha* (*Kitab al-Budd*). In his chapter entitled "Notes on the Buddha," Ibn al-Nadim delineates the different scholarly views of the Buddha: some believed he was the divine incarnate, **while others claimed he was a messenger of God**; still others thought Buddha to be a generic name for those who guided others onto the right path. ... This makes me curious as to which Islamic scholars claimed that Buddha was a messenger of God. The paper continues: > Perhaps the most significant classical Muslim description of Buddhism is found in Imam Muhammad b. 'Abd al-Karim al-Shahrastani's (d. 1153) comprehensive survey entitled, *Religions and Sects* (*al-Milal wa al-nihal*). ... In this work, he also makes a rather stunning--and intriguing--statement connecting the Buddha to a character in the Qur'an. ... > > > Based upon their description of the Buddha, if they are accurate, it would seem that he is none other than al-Khadir , whom Muslims acknowledge, upon him be peace. The phrasing suggests that al-Shahrastani did not hold this belief true, but rather acknowledged it as a possibility. Therefore, I'm not sure who Hamza Yusuf is referring to. **Question**: Which scholars claimed Buddha was a messenger of God?