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External
Sources of Islamic Influence for Southeast Asia
The Abbasid Empire of 750 A.D was
curcial in the development of Islam that would eventually find its way yo
Southeast asia. It was during this period that Islam was viewed universally and
not ethnic based. It was a lso a period of Islamic Renaissance where the Quran
was written as we know it today. For example, the picture 2 is the beginning of
Tafsir al-Qur’an by Abdullah al-Razi, vol. 7, in an Abbasid manuscript, a
commentary on the Qur’an copied in 569 H / 1174 CE. Specific modes of islamic
learning like sufism, theology and philosophy and science all developed during
his period like picture 1, a manuscript page (c. 1250) from the Abbasid period,
depicting a fanciful representation of the archer associated with sagittarius
positioned between the moon and Jupiter, reflects the interest in astrological
science that thrived. The fall of the abbasids at the hands of the mongols
triggered a ’snow ball effect’ in the spread of islam and its syncretization
with new cultures which eventually finds its way to Southeast Asia and its own
brand of islam.
This is the tomb of Ibn Arabi,
who wrote over 350 works including the Sufi philosophical monism wahada
al-wujud (wujuddiyah) later adopted by Southeast asian scholars like Hamzah
Fansuri. It became popular with Southeast asians because the spirituality of
sufism appealed to the previously hindu/animistic locals. Sufism later became
the target of reform and violence from people like Al-raniri and during the
Padri wars.
This is the tomb of Imam Shafi’i
whose sunni school of taught is predominantly adhered to in Southeast asia.His
full name was Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Idris Ibn al-Abbaas Ibn ‘Uthman Ibn
Shaafi’ Ibn al-Sa’ib Ibn ‘Ubaid Ibn Abd al-Yazid Ibn al-Muttalib Ibn Abd Manaf
and he was the grand son of Muhammad. He argued that the only valid sunnah wer
those passed down from the prophet himself. The other 3 schools of taught
include Hambali, Maliki and Hanafie. The School of taught found its way here thanks
to prominent scholars who were of this orientation. Examples include Al-raniri,
a mixed race hadhrami (Shafi’i law was adopted by the hadhramis) who actually
made the shafi’i law prominent in his work al sirat al mustaqim -
propagating the shafi’i way. Source: Sayyid Jamal ad-Din
“Al-Afghani” A Political Biography, University of California Press, Keddie,
Nikki (1972). This is the image of Sayyid Jamal
ad-Din or simply known as “Al-Afghani”, a significant figure of 19th century
Islamic history. Jamal ad-Din was one of the leading intellectuals to
re-interpret traditional Islamic ideas in the face of the increasing incursion
of the West and western ideas into the Muslim world. He is also known as a key
ideologist of the “Pan Islamism” ideal that was developing and incresingly
prevalent during the time. His ideas undoubtedly had a significant role in
influencing the way Muslims in Southeast Asia viewed and interpreted the
religion. His student, Muhammad Abduh (below) would be instrumental in
revolutionizing how Islam was conceptualized in the early 20th century
Al-Azhar University was arguably
the birth place of Islamic modernism - the place where Muhammad Abduh studied
and disseminated his most important work the Risālat at-Tawhīd in
1897. Some suggested that he was the Luther of Islam. His works promoted a
rational and practical Islam and the concept of Ijtihad and challenged the
exclusive ight of established scholars ro interpret the Quran . Spin-offs of
his teachings later included salafism which was founded by his disciple Rashid
Rida. His teachings resulted in a reconfiguration of Islam around the world including
Southeast Asia. By the 20th century, Islamic Modernist magazines like Al-Imam
and Al-Munir were widely distributed in Southeast Asia, perpetuating the
practice of ijtihad. Navigator: · Map
of Muslim Southeast Asia · External
Sources of Islamic Influence for Southeast Asia · Foreign
Observers of Islam in Southeast Asia · Facilitators
of Islam in Southeast Asia · The
Muslim Royals of Southeast Asia · Mosques
from Early Muslim Southeast Asia · Islamic
Artefacts and Rituals in Early Muslim Southeast Asia Published in:
The opening of Risālat
at-Tawhīd on 20 March, 2008
at 4:55 pm http://sejarahnusantara.wordpress.com/2008/03/20/external-sources-of-islamic-influence-for-southeast-asia/ |
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