Tawhid and Humanity as the Prophetic Missions
A. Tawhid and Humanity as the Prophetic Missions
Tawhid is the heart of Islamic teachings. It is also the heart of the entire teachings of divine religions brought by all messengers of God from Adam to Muhammad. It is the heart of their Prophetic missions. Tawhid is not only understood as declaration of one’s liberation from servitude to other than God, but also the one that defies deification of men as idols of power and wealth. It also liberates one from pride to oneself on the basis of religion, race, gender and ethnicity. In the ha nds of the Prophets, the principle of recognizing the oneness of God and denying the divinity of others except Him alone was like breath taken continuously in every step of human life. Tawhid influences the system of life, not only when one interacts with Allâh, but also when he or she interacts with his or her fellow human beings. The history of the Prophets was not full of resistance against mustakbirin, namely tyrannical rulers, proud princeses who loved to make others suffer, fraudulent businessmen, and religious leaders who abused religion for their own interests. In a power relation in society, religious leaders and communities who hold monotheism should not belong to a group power that tend to corrupt, but should be with the weak ( dlu’afa’) and the attenuated (mustadl’afin), since these two parties often experience injustice. Tawhid as the heart of Syari`ah should be reinterpreted and at the s ame time placed back in its urgent position.
Generally, Islamic teachings are divided into three categories. First, the doctrine of tawhid (al-ahkam al-i’tiqadiyah), the teachings related to matters that must be confessed and believed such as faith in God, the Holy Books, God’s angels, all God’s prophets, the day of resurrection, and in the predeterminism ( Qadla-Qadr). Second, the ethical-moral teachings (al- ahkam al-khuluqiyah), i.e., the teachings associated with proper conducts with which people should behave and with despicable attributes that should
be carved out of one’s attitudes. In tasawwuf, this Islamic teaching involves al-takhalli,al-tahalli, and al-tajalli. Al-takhalli means emptying one’s heart from despicable attributes such as al-hasad (malice, envy), al-hiqd (resentment) , al-kibr (proud), al-takabbur (vanity), and al-kidzb (lying). Later on, in the stage of al-tahalli, this clean heart would be adorned with be carved out of one’s attitudes. In tasawwuf, this Islamic teaching involves al-takhalli,al-tahalli, and al-tajalli. Al-takhalli means emptying one’s heart from despicable attributes such as al-hasad (malice, envy), al-hiqd (resentment) , al-kibr (proud), al-takabbur (vanity), and al-kidzb (lying). Later on, in the stage of al-tahalli, this clean heart would be adorned with
These dimensions of Islamic teachings are integrated into a single and unified entity. Al-ahkam al-i’tiqadiyah is the foundation and the theological basis of Islamic teachings, al-ahkam al-khuluqiyah as the moral foundation of human conducts, and al-ahkam al-amaliyah works at the practical level. Working in harmony, al-ahkam al-amaliyah should be based on the two previous dimensions. Performing prayers, giving alms, making pilgrimage to Mecca and other practical ( amaliyah) teachings must be based on moral values of ethics and on faith in God the Almighty. Amaliyah teachings of any kind which are not based on moral values of ethics and faith are useless. In the context of hudūd and qishas, for example, an implementation of Islamic law is meaningless if separated from its ethical and moral values as well as its theological basis. This three-dimension unity of Islam is called the law of God, Syari`ah, or fiqh. Thus, the terms Islam, God’s law, Syari`ah and fiqh are united Islamic teachings revealed by God to the Prophet Muhammad in the form of aqidah, akhlaq, and amaliyah. Hanafiyah School of law calls these united Islamic teachings al-Fiqh al-Akbar. 29
Of the three dimensions of Islamic teachings, al-ahkam al-i’tiqadiyah, commonly referred as tawhid (monotheism), is believed to be the core, the heart and soul of religiosity, that is, the entire teachings of Islam is built upon the foundation of monotheism. Tawhid for Muslims is a worldview or paradigm that consitutes a starting point, foundation and goal of all religious quests. Therefore, monotheism has always been the vision and mission of all the Prophets and Messengers who have been sent to their community. The
28 Abdul Wahhab Khallaf, Ilmu Ushul al-Fiqh (Misr: Dar al-Ilm, 1978), pp. 32-33. 29 Wahbah al-Zuhaili, Ushul al-Fiqh, v.1, p.29.
tawhid vision of these Prophets was intertwined with a vision of humanity, so th a t the doctrine of monotheism whi c h they brought was in struggle against inhumanity such as tyranny, injustice, oppression, slavery, despotism, economic inequality, discrimination against women, all defamations against human i ty and all sources of destructio n on earth. All the prophetic and apostolic missions always start from the basic teaching of monotheism.
God’s prophets began with the command to declare the oneness of Allâh, which immediately connected with the command to do concrete struggle against anti-humanity, and realize humanity in any way possible everywhere on earth. For instance, the command of Allâh to the Prophet Shoaib in the Quran, al-A’raf /6:85:
And (remember) when I sent their brother, the Prophet Shoaib, to residents of Madyan. Shoaib said, “O my people! Worship Allâh. There is no other god but Him. It has come to you a clear evidence of your God, then fulfill the measure and weight, do not cheat the wealth of others, and do not do mischief on the earth after being repaired. If you believe, this instruction will be better for you (to follow)”. (QS. al-A’raf, 6:85)
This passage shows that God first asserts that monotheism was the basis for the Prophet Shoaib’s struggle to save his people from social problems they faced, namely, economic arbitrariness committed by his people, marked by rampant fraud measures and weights, as well as from the indulgence of his people to destroy the environment in which they lived. The same notion was also asserted by God to other prophets, including Noah (the Qur’an, al-A’raf/6:59, al-Mukminun/23: 23; 71: 1-4), Hud (al-Araf, 6: 65), Salih (al-
Araf /6: 73, Hud/11:61), Hud (Hud/11: 50), Ibrahim (al-Ankabut/29:16). Sim i la r mission was also instructed to the Prophet Muhammad. Tawhid message appears here and there in the Qur’an through the declaration هنمألعاف هللا لاإ هلإ لا or وه لاإ هلإ لا or انأ لاإ هلإ لا, that there is no god but Him, there is no God except Allâh, and there is no God except Me. The most popular among Muslims, however, is an expression of monotheism هللا لاإ هلإ لا (laa ilaha illa Allâh).
In the history of divine religions, the spirit of monotheism has always been present in the midst of decadent public morality, corrupted civilization and tyrannical culture, where injustice, oppression, slavery, despotic authorities, economic inequality, and discrimination against women are rampant. The en d o f everything is defamation and negation against humanity. Prophet Muhammad was present as a messenger in the context of society that had blurred its own portrait with the mission of monotheism and brought them back to the nature of humanity together with its sacred divinity in place. The Prophet Muhammad was present not to bring a new religion, but to revive human divinity commitments that have tied them and their God from all eternity, the primordial commitment to deify Allâh, as in Sura al-Araf/6:172: Alastubirabbikum? Qaaluubalaa (Am I not your Lord? They answer: Yes, You are).
The monotheistic phrase la ilaha illa Allâh (there is no god but Allâh) contains two aspects: negation ( al-nafy) and discernment (al-istbat). Laa Ilaha (no god) means the negation of everything deified, worshiped, glorified
a n d worshiped. In a society whose ideology is polytheism ( shirk), people deify and glorify stones, idols, wealth, ancestry, ethnic superiority, race, class,
a n d language supremacy. In Arab society, people glorify male dominance over female.
W h at to be negated not only individual creed, polytheism, idolatry,
b u t also socio-economic, political, and cultural glorification because laa ilaha also means the negation of all forms of slavery of human by human. Enslavement of human by human can be caused by the absolute power of the oppressive, excessive control of economy by a handful of people, cultural and structural poverty, the claims of the absolute truth and unequal social b u t also socio-economic, political, and cultural glorification because laa ilaha also means the negation of all forms of slavery of human by human. Enslavement of human by human can be caused by the absolute power of the oppressive, excessive control of economy by a handful of people, cultural and structural poverty, the claims of the absolute truth and unequal social
Wahbah al-Zuhaili said:
Freedom cannot be separated from the glory of humanity. Freedom is a natural right for every human being. Freedom is the most valuable and the most precious thing that God sanctified and championed. Caliph ‘Umar bin Khattab said to t h e governor of Egypt when this governor’s son slapped a poor farmer: “Since when have you enslaved humanity, while he was born by his mother a free man?” The state must guarantee the fulfillment of freedom in various aspects of religion, thought, politics and civilization within the confines of the law and Syari`ah. The Quran has proclaimed freedom of faith, freedom of conscience, religious freedom, freedom of thought and freedom to voice opinions. 30
As narrated in his al-Umm, one day when Imam Shafi’i finished his
30 Wahbah, Al-Fiqh al-Islami, vol. 8, p. 330.
te aching, he was approached by one of the students, who asked him for advice:
“Give me advice,” said one of his students. Imam Shafi’i replied: “O my son, God has created you free, then be free as the way God created you. 31
All this indicates Islamic guidance of equality of human before God and before their fellow human beings. Everyone has freedom of belief, thought and opinions. It is not allowed to curb others, even more to punish someone on the basis of differences in belief and thinking, and also to curtail freedom of expression. Being restrictive, judgmental, exerting faith and truth, let alone punishing on the basis of these, lead the way to the enslavement and destruction of humanity. The glory of humanity, thus, should not be deprived on any basis whatsoever and by anyone. Islam protects the nobility of human with laws that shelter and thwart efforts to humiliate it. Respecting all humans was reflected in qishas and hudūd when these are properly understood. The se cond phrase of tawhid is illa Allâh (but God). It is an affirmation and confirmation that the only powerful, the owner of the truth, the owner of glory, even the owner of the universe is God. To claim that truth and glory belong only to a person or a group of elect persons is unduly acts of taking God’s rights. This second phrase of tawhid shows that the concept of tawhid prevents something from emerging and doing harm to people. Tawhid means not only to free men from bondage, but also to call to do justice to all human beings, to protect the oppressed, to eliminate all forms of injustice, and to make brotherhood among people. Human brotherhood ( al-ukhuwwah al- insaniyyah) is one of the most tangible manifestations of monotheism. Did humans come from the same source, take the same primordial pledge, and
31 Abu Abdillah Muhammad bin Idris al-Syafi’i, al-Umm (Beirut:Dar al-Ma’rifah, 1990), vol. 1, p. 14.
return back in the end to the place where they previously came from? If so, why do people have to kill, degrade, and hostile to each other? Do killing,
de grading and being hostile to other people mean killing, degrading and being hostile to ourselves? With la ilaha illa Allâh, Muslims have no excuse to set fire on worshipers praying at a mosque other than yours, to assassinate a president accused of being thaghut, to be anti-democratic, anti-pluralism, anti-religious tolerance, an ti-peace, anti-freedom of speech, thought and belief, anti-science, anti- civilization, to preserve the outdated teachings of the past, to kill each other in the name of religion, to knock down and burn places of worship where God is called inside, to campaign inequality between men and women, to lay off women, to veil and confine women to merely domestic spheres. La ilaha illa Allah is a tribute to humanity. Even long before the birth of human ri ghts, Islam had recognized the humanity of human ( insaniyat a-l insan qabla huquq al-insan). Humanitarian relations, both individual and social di mensions, either in the areas of worship, mu’amalah, social, political,
ec onomic and cultural, should be based on humanitarian values derived from the spirit of monotheism La ilahailla Allâh. Hamzah Fansuri, a mystic and seeker of the true God born in Aceh, in his beautiful poem Perahu (Boat) illustrated the meaning of La ilaha illa Allah as follows: 32
La ilahaillAllâh itu kesudahan kata Tauhid ma’rifat semata-mata Hapuskan hendak sekalian perkara Hamba dan tuhan tiada berbeda La ilahaillAllâh itu tempat mengintai Medan yang qadim tempat berdamai Wujud Allâh terlalu bitai Siang dan malam jangan bercerai
32 Budhi Munawar Rahman, Islam Pluralis: Wacana Kesetaraan Kaum Beriman (Jakarta: Paramadina, 2001), p. 10.
Translation: La ilahailla was the end of the word Tauhid solely ma’rifat (high, perennial knowledge) End all cases later on Servant and Lord are not different La ilahaillah is a place to lurk Terrain qadim (ancient) a place to reconcile Existence of God too bitai (far) Day and night, do not depart
Th is Hamzah Fanzuri’s poem reveals the depth of monotheism as reflected in the phrase La ilahailla, which emphasizes to eliminate human will or personal interests for power to conquer, dominate, control people,
a nd hurt anyone standing in the way. Tawhid is essentially a concept of how to eliminate lust or human will, then replace it with God’s will ( iradah
A llâh). The God’s will is nothing other than manifestation of humanity
i tself, justice, peace, compassion, love, prosperity and happiness now and Hereafter. This is seen in the above Fansuri’s words “ hamba dan Tuhan tiada berbeda” (Servant and Lord are not different) and Ibn Arabi’s statement “fal- insanu ‘abdun wa rabbun ma’an” (humans are servants on one side and God on the other side). Tawhid is indeed a tribute to the values of divinity, which in the same time are the values of humanity.