Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Hamka Revisited....Surah al Imran , 3 : 113-114

Friends,

I am a wee bit of a 'comparative tafsir' geek. A term I would use for need of a better word....'Geek' because this is almost 70 % internet activity. In most of my free time after my mundane hospital work, flip-flopping the Quran[ quranexplorer.com ] in between 'Tafseer Ibn Katsir' [ on my link as well ], Prof Muhammad Al Ghazali's 'A Thematic Commentary on the Qur'an' and Hamka's 'Tafsir Al Azhar'.

I still feel Prof Hamka had been very much under-rated in this Nusantara. Ask any 'student' of the Qur'an and not many will give due credit to him.......too tedious,..too long winded..should try Ibn Katsir, it is salaf, just 200 to 300 years after the Prophet [ Ibnu Katsir is 'frightfully dry' my dear, and often times disconnected with time and found wanting for more detail, Sorry ...only just my humble opinion.],...Hamka is 'Jawi' like us ,he cannot be good...etc etc etc and etc....'Have you read him in the 1st place, Sir?...NO!!! ...etc etc and etc...Abdullah Yusuf Ali is a better read...but in my 'book' I do not consider Abdullah Yusuf Ali a 'definitive tafsir'. It is more a 'glorified, prolongated' translation!...

I must concede that Hamka is a long read but so is LIFE my friend....LIFE is a long long read as well.

Let us look at how Prof Hamka 'treated' just one or two ayat from Surah Al Imran. As you know Surah Al Imran in the main, deals with the nascent Muslim Community in Madinah. It revolves around two major issues of that time: the ongoing debate with the People of the Book, the Jews and the Christains, of whom the Jews were Madinah natives, openly and covertly incited to oppose Islam; and a review and assessment of the tragic and humiliating defeat suffered by the Muslims at the battle of Uhud in 625 AC.

"Ignominy shall be their portion wheresoever they are found save (where they grasp) a rope from Allah and a rope from men. They have incurred anger from their Lord, and wretchedness is laid upon them. That is because they used to disbelieve the revelations of Allah, and slew the prophets wrongfully. That is because they were rebellious and used to transgress. (112) They are not all alike. Of the People of the Scripture there is a staunch community who recite the revelations of Allah in the night season, falling prostrate (before Him). (113) They believe in Allah and the Last Day, and enjoin right conduct and forbid indecency, and vie one with another in good works. These are of the righteous." {114}

.......Surah Al Imran , 3 : 112-114

....And what Hamka had to say with respect to 3 : 112-114 ?

"Dan kita pun dapat menghargai pegangan mereka. Meskipun kita berpendapat, bahawa antara kitab-kitab mereka pegang dikatakan Taurat atau Zabur atau Injil itu telah campur aduk; wahyu asli dengan tulisan tangan manusia, namun ayat yang asli itu tentu ada juga. Kalau kita perhatikan apa yang ditulis di dalam Zabur atau mazmur, bertemulah kita dengan berbagai doa dan munajat kepada Tuhan yand dapat mendatangkan khusyu' bagi mereka dan dapat dibaca tengah malam ketika segala sesuatu sepi, sunyi senyap, sehingga hati bertambah dekat kepada Tuhan. Umpama ayat ayat ini:

1.Berbahagialah segala orang yang jalannya betul dan yang melakukan dirinya setuju dengan hukum Tuhan.
2.Berbahagialah mereka itu sekalian yang memeliharakan kesaksiannya serta mencari akan Dia dengan segenap hatinya.
3.Yang tidak berbuat jahat melainkan menuruti jalan Tuhan.
4.Ya Tuhan! Engkau telah menyuruh memeliharakan baik baik segala firmanMu!
5. Hai, kiranya biarlah segala jalanku di patuhkan dengan pemeliharaan syariahmu.
6.Lalu aku tiada beroleh malu, apabila aku memperhatikan segala hukumMu.
Mazmur fasal 119

Dan lain lain yang penuh dengan doa dan pujian. Maka ada ahlul kitab, baik dia Yahudi ataupun Nasrani mengambil penawar jiwa dari doa doa dan munajat Daud dalam Mazmurnya. Mereka duduk tekun tengah malam dan merendahkan diri, bertunduk bersujud menurut upacara ugama mereka.

Ini adalah satu pengakuan jujur, bahawa dikalangan mereka ada juga orang orang yang shalih.

" Merekapun percaya kepada Allah dan hari kemudian" [ pangkal ayat 114 ]. Sebagai dasar yang pokok bagi iman. Kalau kiranya mereka belum percaya kepada Nabi Muhammad s.a.w , hanyalah kerana belum mereka dengar keterangan yang benar tentang diri beliau. " Dan Merekapun menyuruh berbuat baik dan melarang perbuatan mungkar dan merekapun berlumba lumba didalam kebaikan. mereka ini adalah golongan orang orang yang shalih."

Meskipun ada pertikaian ahli ahli tafsir tentang tujuan ayat ini, ada antara mereka yang mengatakan, bahawa yang dimaksud ini ialah orang orang Yahudi dan Nasrani yang telah memeluk islam pada zaman Nabi Muhammad s.a.w, kemudian menjadi orang Islam yang baik, tetapi ada ahli tafsir mengatakan, bahawa yang telah masuk Islam telah terkumpullah dalam ayat ayat " Kamulah yang sebaik baik umat" tadi. kata ahli tafsir golongan yang kedua itu yang di maksud di sini benar benar Yahudi dan Nasrani yang ikhlas dalam agamanya, tidak mencari selisih dan tidak fasik, tetapi inti agama mereka sendiri mereka pegang dengan baik. menjadi Yahudi yang baik dan Nasrani yang baik.

Sebagaimana tersebut didalam kitab 'al Iqdul Farid', bahawa seketika Marwan bin Muhammad, khalifah Bani Umaiyah yang paling akhir berperang dengan tentera Bani Abbas, setelah terdesak lalu melarikan diri dan sampai ke negeri Naubah [ sekarang terletak di antara Mesir dengan Sudan ]. Raja negeri itu berugama Kristian dan usianya sudah agak tua. Ketika dia tahu bahawa yang datang melindungkan diri ke negerinya itu, ialah seorang raja islam, memakai gelar khalifah, Raja Bani Umaiyah yang besar, tetapi hampir kalah itu, disambutnya dengan baik, di hormati dan diberinyanasihat yang jujur, sebab ketika khalifah Marwan bin Muhammad datang, baginda ajak bersama duduk di hamparan, padahal singgahsana ada. Beliau beri nasihat, bahawasanya kejatuhan kerajaan Bani Umaiyah tidaklah dapat dihambat lagi, sebab raja raja Bani Umaiyah, terutama Marwan, tidak berpegang teguh kepada agama ajaran Muhammad yang murni. Lalu dicelanya pakaian Marwan yang terjadi dari sutera yang mahal mahal bertatah bertakad emas. Kata beliau, Islam mengajarkan, bahawa raja adalah khadam rakyatnya, padahal Marwan telah memperbudak rakyat. Sedang dia sendiri, meskipun orang nasrani menjalankan ajaran Muhammad tentang kesederhanaan raja sebagai pemimpin rakyat. Dan dimintanya supaya Marwan segera meninggalkan negerinya, supaya bala bencana yang dibawanya jangan menular pula ke negerinya.

Terlepas dari penilaian kita terhadap riwayat ini, dari segi shahih atau lemahnya, tidaklah mustahil ada orang yang jujur sebagai raja Naubah itu dan tidak pula mustahil ada raja Islam, bergelar khalifah, Amirul Mukminin, jatuh dari kekuasaan kerana telah mengabaikan nilai nilai ajaran agama. Maka raja Naubah yang Kristian itu, teranglah tidak sama dengan ahlul kitab yang fasik yang digambarkan di atas tadi. Mereka percaya kepada Allah dan hari kemudian, sebab inti segala agama yang dia itulah. Mereka menyuruh berbuat ma'ruf dan melarang perbuatan mungkar, merekapun berlumba lumba berbuat baik, kerana agama mereka pelukpun menyuruh demikian. Dan lagi mereka shalih, peribadi sendiri baik dan bercerita baik.

Dengan ayat ini Tuhan membuka mata kita untuk adil dan menghargai orang lain. Agar kita mengakui, bahawa orang baik demikian ada dalam agama lain. Dan kitapun mengakui, nischaya orang itu akan lebih baik lagi, jika dia memegang agama menyerahkan diri yang sebenar benarnya kepada Tuhan. Kita mengakui, bahawa jika sampai kepada mereka dakwah yang benar dari Islam dan diterimanya, kedudukannya, akan lebih baik lagi dunia dan akhirat. Tetapi sudah terang dia lebih baik daripada orang yang mengaku dirinya Islam, tetapi hanya pengakuan mulut atau keturunan saja, padahal hatinya tidak pernah benar benar menyerah[ Islam ] kepada Tuhan."

Try Hamka. It is a compendium of related hadith, pearls and gem of life, world political history, 'comparative tafseer', and story telling ,all rolled into one. But do it as the Kelantanese says it: 'koho koho ', yes, just ' koho koho '. A bit at a time. Then you will find the earth from below you moves...That is how one moves 'mountains': 'koho koho',first changing the 'hearts'.

Allahualam.

Dr Nik Howk
Subang Jaya,
Selangor.

8 comments:

RahmatHarounHashim said...

dear dr nik,
2/52 ago,I was looking for at SDMC. Are you stil working there? now, i'm at KMC, ALOR STAR for endoscopic arthroplasty to repair my biceps tendon tears, bleeding gastric ulcer, LAD PROXIMAL STENOSIS. salam.

Pearls and Gem said...

Rahmat,
I am still very much alive in SDMC. You should give me a call. I am not worried about your bicep tear and even the bleeding peptic ulcer[..from too much NSAID, I guess], these are garden variety problems.

Your LAD stenosis need to be taken care of. That could be quite threatening....along with your recent bleeding peptic ulcer, we have to walk a tight rope across the 'Zambezi River' if we were to offer you angioplasty and stenting.

Please do call me when you have solved your bleeding ulcer with 'proton pump inhibitor' like NEXIUM or CONTROLLOC.You have my number I am sure.

Just back from a short holiday at Redang Island, and old battery now fully recharged!! I am ready to face your LAD stenosis, insyaallah..

dcontrarian said...

Salam

Just open your blog after our last meeting. Remember my old man whom you compared with Dr M? Anyway both my parents are back in Perak. My dad's situation is now deteriorating rather badly. We are praying very hard that Allah will lessen the suffering he has to undergo to.

Anyway, thanks for all your time and kindness with them.

Reading your Pearls & Gems are really interesting. Hope I can follow them all.

RahmatHarounHashim said...

Dear Dr Nik, Salam.

I am on controlloc. No more malena. it was a bad bleeding, multliple ulcerations over the anthrum. a solitary ulcer at the gastro-esophageal junction.

Pearls and Gem said...

Thanks Dcontrarian for your kind words. I hope your father will improve insyaallah......if things get more dreadful and chronic ,often times death is a release...how ironic, coming from one who is supposed to HEAL.But I have seen suffering in many , and in some circumstances, when death does come it is a relief for all...ILLNess is always a test for the one suffering and also the offsprings and loved ones....That is why there is this concept of 'kaffarah' in our Din.I hope your dad is not beyond 'chronic' yet and 'salvageable', if he is beyond than a big dose of TLC and prayer will be good all round for everyone..We are being watched!

Rachmat, let your bleeding ulcer heal 1st thoroughly well and that may take a couple of weeks on full dose Controlloc. I leave to you with whom and where you want the proximal LAD stenosis done. It is pretty bread and butter stuff except that since this is 'single vessel' angioplasty and stenting, it would be 'criminal' to send you to the surgeons!This is a pure plumbing job!

Having said that,we are still looking at walking across the Zambezi river on a tight rope because having opted for angioplasty and stenting, we are commited to starting you on a dual anti platelet therapy, and that poses a'possible rebleeding tendency which may be much reduced by maintainence controlloc.

Drop over with the CD and let me have a look. I will send you to my 'friend'. I do not enjoy doing this things on friends. I will send you to the best pair of 'hands' in town!

dcontrarian said...

Dear Dr Nik

Your words of wisdom were indeed pearls and gem. The night I posted my comment last week, my father was called home to his Creator. He passed on peacefully at about 8 pm on 2/5/2010 at the age of 87 y.o., mourned by the loved ones. He was laid to rest in our hometown. Thank you very much for taking care of him for the past two years. Both my parents had very wonderful memories meeting you at your clinic. I am forever grateful to Allah for that. Indeed 'from Him we cometh and to Him we shall return'.

Pearls and Gem said...

Inna lillah hiwainna illai hirojiun..

From Him we come. To Him we return.
Takziah.

"... To Him is the journeying "

RahmatHarounHashim said...

http://rahmatharounhashim.blogspot.com/2010/05/apologi-buat-jantungku.html