Beginning of Contemplation in Sight of St. John of the Cross and Ala Al-Dawla Semnani

Contemplation is a central topic in the gnostic customs of Christianity and Islam. Christian and Islamic mystics, however, dissent on whether or not contemplation is a kind of position or an emotional mood. St. John of the Cross and Ala Al-Dawla Semnani are among the mystics of Christianity and Islam who have talked on contemplation, and comparison of views of these two can bring new sights on the subject. According to Ala Al-Dawla Semnani, disciples must strive to reach gnostic excellence by praising verbally and heartily. That is, the disciple must schedule praising around the clock and give all his or her attention to the God and heartily pray for the gloriousness of the exalted God. According to John of the Cross, however, one must keep going forward only and only by heeding the God without doing anything else. Both mystics have different views about how to enter the course of contemplation. Ala Al-Dawla Semnani has covered this topic by outlining more features and in a more transparent manner. But according to John of the Cross, entry to a course of contemplation is a vague experience of the God that we receive passively not as a result of our efforts.

THE The Reflective-Accommodative Approach to the Quran: Ahmad Syafii Maarif’s Contribution towards Contemporary Approach to the Quran`

This paper aims to examine Ahmad Syafii Maarif’s inclusive thought and reveal the epistemological basis of interpreting the Qur’an. It further explores to what extent Maarif’s thought has contributed to the development of contemporary Quranic studies. Although Maarif is not an expert of Quranic commentator (mufassir) and does not author works related to the Qur’an, he is well-known as an inclusive-pluralist Muslim scholar who is concerned with promoting the moral-ethical values of the Qur’an. In formulating the ideas of the Quranic epistemology, Maarif consistently embarks from an in-depth exploration of historical knowledge and then refers to the Qur’an to examine a contemporary reality. This approach was connected by forming the world-view of the Qur’an in order to propose the spirit of moral ethics and the principle of justice as a theological lens which he then use to generate creative-alternative solutions dealing with the nation’s problems through a process of contextualization. Maarif’s Quranic epistemology affirms his project to achieve an idealistic Islam, namely the realization of a Muslim community that is consistently guided by the spirit of the moral ethics of the Qur’an.

A Qur'anic Concept of Sadness: Implication for CBT-Q Content Supplement (Part 1)

This study develops a Qur’anic culturally-adapted psychoeducational content supplement on sadness (ḥuzn) for the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Approach in preventing or treating depression among Muslim clients. The content of the concept derived from a Qur’anic Thematic Exegetical Analysis (al-Tafsīr al-Mawḍu’ī). It is a support towards religious psychotherapy from the Islamic Studies field. CBT approach is compatible with the religion of Islam provided complying with the Islamic methodologies e.g., the epistemological aspects of constructs/absolute or relative reality. It is educationally important for Muslims’ existential needs to resiliently face the challenges of life in general.

How to Deal with the Verses of War: Abdullah Saeed’s Instructional Values on Reading the Qur’an

The connection between violence and religious principle from time to time has been an essential topic discussed among Muslim scholars. Many radical movements, such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syiria (ISIS), referred to the Qur’an and hadith for justifying or rationalizing their violent acts. They consumed the verses of the Qur’an in order to graps and spread their mission. They hijacked the scripture in their behalf. This article aims to describe the verses of war in the Qur’an which structurally consists of social and political nuances. This article also discusses what so-called “permissive-structure” or “instruction-structure” and elucidates several verses of war, based on Tafsīr al-Qur’ān al-‘Aẓīm written by Imam al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū al-Fidā’ and al-Mīzān fī Tafsīr al-Qur’ān written by Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-Ṭabāṭabā’ī. Using hermeneutical approach and discourse-analysis, this study argues that the verses of war in the Qur’an have been contextually misinterpreted by the radical groups to achieve their political interests.

Al-Naẓm Stylistic Discourse in I’jāz al-Qur’ān Based on Al-Jurjānī’s Perspective: Analysis of Arabic Literature Criticism on the Qur'an Studies

This article discusses Arabic literature criticism during the classical period represented in al-Jurjāni’s naẓm (poetic) theory. It aims to analyze al-Jurjānī's thoughts in the field of balāgha (Arabic rhetoric) in revealing the miracles of the Qur'an in terms of its language beauty. Al-Jurjānī argues that one of the miraculous aspects of the Qur'an is concerned with its naẓm. Although the theory of naẓm had been previously proposed by Arabic literary scholars, such as al-Jāhiẓ, al-Baqillānī and al-Rummānī, al-Jurjānī, however, elaborated and developed the theory naẓm in great details. His theory contributes to the development of the meaning of balāgha and introduces it to public audience amongst scholars of the Qur’an. Al-Jurjānī concludes that naẓm is determined by the meaning of the Qur'anic verses as well as the structure in the discipline of naḥwu (grammar). The naḥwu and naẓm theory work together to generate meaning of the spoken sentence. Al-Jurjānī’s concept of naẓm supersedes later experts' and even modern Western linguists' discoveries and knowledge in the field of Arabic literary criticism.

Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (Pas) in Malaysia Politics: A History of Tuan Guru Nik Aziz’s Scholarship and Leadership in Establishing an Islamic State in Kelantan

The study seeks to examine the brief history of political Islam in Malaysia with a focus on Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party/Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS). The emergence of PAS in the early 1950s marks the beginning of the involvement of Islamic Movements in politics as a platform for the revivalism of Islam in the region. In addition, the role of PAS leaderships also briefly discussed with a great emphasis on the leadership of PAS political maestro, Tuan Guru Nik Aziz bin Nik Mat. His piety in Islam is translated into his political thought which are influential during his involvement in politics. Tuan Guru’s upbringing and his education background had biggest influence towards his worldview on politics. This study described his contribution on Islam and in Malaysian politics, especially his grand idea on the establishment of Islamic state in Kelantan. The idea of ideal Islamic model of a state was established in Kelantan. It is in line with his perspective of how a society should operate and the functions of government in micro-managing the society. As a conclusion, Tuan Guru Nik Aziz plays an important role within PAS and to the establishment of the model of Islamic State in Kelantan.

Quraish Shihab’s Quranic Exegesis on Interreligious Harmony and its Relevance to the Contemporary Western Hermeneutics

This paper discusses Quraish Shihab's Quranic Exegesis and its relevance to the hermeneutics framework of Martin Heidegger and Jurgen Habermas to trace Islamic moderation in Indonesia. The issue of interreligious harmony is the main theme of discussion. The type of library research is used in this research, where data is drawn from books, journal articles, and audio-video files. This paper is divided into three parts. The first part presents Quraish Shihab's qur’anic exegesis on inter-religious harmony, which was delivered at Lentera Hati and written in some of his works. The second part of the paper discusses Heidegger's facticital hermeneutics and Habermas's critical hermeneutics. The third part tries to integrate the qur’anic exegesis of Shihab with the hermeneutics concepts of Heidegger and Habermas. This effort of relevance is divided into two points of analysis. The first point juxtaposes Shihab and Heidegger in existentialist philosophical analysis. The second point juxtaposes Shihab and Habermas in intersubjective communication analysis. The paper shows the stringing network of meaning expressed by Quraish Shihab with contemporary western hermeneutics. Therefore, the paper argues that the religious thought of contemporary Indonesian exegete, M. Quraish Shihab, is relevant to the philosophical thoughts of contemporary philosophers, such as Heidegger and Habermas.

‘Abd al-Karīm al-Jīlī and The Praxis of Ḥadīth

The article provides a study of the use of ḥadīth in the works of al-Jīlī, the author of, e.g., al-Insān al-Kāmil. The article offers a fresh look on the use of ḥadīth in pre-modern Sufi writings. Esp., al-Kahf al-Raqīm a less studied work of al-Jīlī is analyzed. The study will help to precise analysis of ḥadīth in pre-modern times among Sufis. The study is not focused on the criticism of the way Sufis use ḥadīth by ḥadīth scholars. It is a reconstruction of one aspect of the thought and works of al-Jīlī as an exponent of the later school of waḥdat al-wujūd. Thus, it widens the field of ḥadīth studies to other approaches than those shared by ḥadīth scholars. It is the praxis of ḥadīth in Sufi writings that can be studied this way and not claims for authority.

The Problem of Contextualizing a Prestigious Yet Non-Divine Jesus of Islamic Tradition: Theorizing a Radical Transition in the Course of Christology from the New Testament to the Qur’an

This article addresses the question of the messianic motif of Christianity making its way into the Qur’an without wearing a badge of high New Testament Christology. It attempts to explore and understand a potentially underlying connection among the Islamic ‘Isā, the New Testament Jesus, and the Jewish messiah in a quest for the configuration of a historical Christ through the ideological and historical minefields that exist between the Islamic and the Judeo-Christian Scriptures. The person of Jesus is, therefore, understood to be historical in the article without positing a response to the fundamental questions raised by the historical Jesus skepticism. What I will try to avoid in the following pages, on the contrary, is to treat and brand the Qur’anic portrayal of Jesus as a “stand-alone” concept—indifferent to the historical context of the Bible—hanging in a theological balance, as some critics would be inclined to call it. The article is linearly structured according to the major Qur’anic precepts and concepts developed around the person of Jesus through its text, which originally do not follow a particular sequence. A comparative study of Islamic Jesus against a two-pronged history of the concept is carried out for a critical analysis of the characterization of Islamic Jesus and the received concept of messiah. Such an analysis is important particularly on two fronts: comparison with the Judeo-Christian Bible and comparison with the orthodox Islamic position in certain aspects that fall outside the Qur’anic provenance. The life and ministry of Jesus pictured in the present article is, for the most part, a reconstruction of the important notion of Christology from within the Qur’an without breaking it down to a form of reductionism capitalizing on rudimentary borrowing from an external source.

The Religious Court's Decisions on Divorce: A Maqāṣid Sharīʿa Perspective

Maqāṣid sharīʿa is considered as a theory that can be applied to analyze the objectives of Islamic law. One of the developments of Islamic law in Indonesia, and in the Muslim world in general, is concerned with religious courts’ decision made by judges. This study analyzes court decisions from the maqāṣid sharīʿa perspective. This qualitative study focused on the divorce cases from the religious court of Salatiga district, Central Java. Twenty percent of the cases in 2017 were proportionally selected. This study shows that there were various reasons of divorce, ranging from constant quarrels to spousal negligence. The other reason was conversion, where one couple left Islam. The court decisions on those divorce cases suggest that the judges attempt to uphold the principles of maqāṣid sharīʿa, such as the preservation of life, descendant, asset and religion. Depending on the respective case, the judges may grant the petition if it will give a greater benefit to the parties concerned that does not contrary to the maqāṣid sharīʿa.