Back to this book Azan Terakhir di Andalusia [re: The Last Prayer Call in Andalusia], alhamdulillah Allah has given me the chance to finish the second chapter (out of 9, I know, still a long way to go). Oh the past me would never know how trying to advance the way in reading a book is such a blessing from Allah! If it's not for His blessing, I would never be here right now, writing about what I've got in the second chapter. Masyaallah. I'd probably still stuck in the first one.
So, the title for today's writing is a little controversial hehe because that's just what I thought when finishing this chapter. Yes, a discriminative mother-in-law must have 'ashabiyah in her heart.
What is 'ashabiyah?
If you're familiar with Islamic history and politic, you might have heard about 'ashabiyah. In general term it is used to describe a feeling produced out of tolerance in a community one lives in. Some Islamic scholars label 'ashabiyah as a bad thing. Is it?
According to Ibn Khaldun in his book, Muqaddimah a nation will strive if it upholds 'ashabiyah. Well, then it is not necessarily a bad thing. However, it is important to highlight what Ibn Khaldun claims as 'ashabiyah differs greatly to what contemporary Islam (secular, liberal, moderate, etc.) describes.
'Ashabiyah according to Ibn Khaldun should born under the context of Islam, meaning the true spirit of upholding the Islamic sharia and community could produce a strong nation that govern the world in an 'adl manner. So what he allows people to have is simply Islam in itself. Islam is the only thing that people could be proud and make a bond of.
Whereas 'ashabiyah in the context of contemporary Islam is chauvinistic. Back to the original book we're talking about here, the authors describe 'ashabiyah as whatever bond not based on the Islamic aqeedah (creed). It is just like how secular people describe it; based on nationalities or ethnicities, race, fate, skin colors, and such... and those bonds ARE NOT legitimate in Islam. In fact, people should stop bonding based on these!
Why? Because it's problematic. It's selfish and narcistic, and would stop us, Muslims from seeing the bigger picture.
Even Rasulullah called this type of 'ashabiyah a jahilliyah act (stupid act done by foolish people before the came of Islam).
In this book, the authors explained how 'ashabiyah contributed greatly to the downfall of Islam in Andalusia under the reign of the Umayyad Caliphate. And not just Andalusia, though, before that it happened first to the other region of Islam; the north Africa.
As some of you readers might've known already, Islam had been expanded across north Africa since the era of Rasulullah to the Rashidun and finally to the Umayyad Caliphate. Because it was a wulat (sort of province) under the Caliphate, it was natural for the central government which were Arabs-held to put some of their people on prominent positions. Sadly, some of those officials had 'ashabiyah in their hearts that they would put Arabs' interests over the Berbers' (the ethnic groups who predominantly lived in the northern Africa) and being discriminative towards them.
Even though it's recorded as clear as the sky how Rasulullah hates 'ashabiyah like this, and how Allah too put a lot of verses in the Qur'an to stop people from being chauvinistic, some people in our history still managed to have it and spread it like a germ?!
It would definitely lead to a calamity if not for Allah's fate that put a wali (governor) named Musa ibn Nushair in Ifriqiya (north Africa). He stopped 'ashabiyah and gave chances 'adl to both Arabs and non-Arabs, as long as they're capable. That's why name like Thariq ibn Ziyad rose as a prominent general in his reign even though Thariq was a Berber, something most of Ifriqiya's prior government would not allow.
The unified Islam under the reign of Musa brought Islam to the next continent, the Andalusia (now part of Spain and Portugal). By the next decades, Islam even reached France to a point a lot of historian said just 10 kms away from what's now Paris! Masyaallah, right? Islam had reached Avignon, Carcassonne, Bordeaux, and perhaps more if not for the loss in the battle of Tours-Poitiers! Well, Allah's willing.
However, instead of trying for more, the defense of Muslims became more weakened and weakened thanks for this 'ashabiyah. Again! Right?
There's this wali in Andalusia named 'Abdul Malik ibn Qatn al-Fihri who rose to power by being a member of a prominent Arab clan from Hijaz. He was crazy discriminative towards people who were not just non-Arabs, but Arabs too if they're not from his clan! He brought the spirit of ethnicities and thus, far from 'adl in his reign.
Across the sea in Ifriqiya, there also existed a calamity created by 'ashabiyah after the reign of Musa ibn Nushair ended. Well it was not a calamity anymore, it's a catastrophe! The Khawarij (or people who rebelled against the government who uphold the true Islamic sharia) incited the other Berbers to join their rebellion after the discrimination they'd been through for centuries. Even though they'd been long Muslims, they weren't treated the same. They lived under the injustices and that too was another 'ashabiyah (the bond based on fate).
Instead of thinking for a logical solution, the Berbers who were emotional after the incitement of the Khawarij started to seize cities in Ifriqiyya until only Ceuta had left.
The Umayyad general sent to defend Ceuta seek help overseas to Andalusia. But alas, the bad wali of Andalusia, 'Abdul Malik would not care for Ceuta's plea because it was NOT his land to govern and he was AFRAID the Khawarij would see him as an enemy too for helping Ceuta.
This is the most heart-wrenching part of this chapter. The authors wrote that in the midst of this agony, a wealthy Muslim merchant in Andalusia heard about Ceuta's condition and sent two ships of reliefs. However, those ships were captured by the bad wali of Andalusia, that hateful 'Abdul Malik and not just that, he captured the merchant and cut his head off as punishment! Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi raajiun.
Well, readers, that's how far an 'ashabiyah could get you into...
The ibrah / teaching I've got that I want to tell you in this writing is that 'ashabiyah still exists today, between us, in this world. Or I'd rather say 'ashabiyah is purposely created and maintained to wreck Muslims!
I was born in Surabaya and it's still fresh in my mind how the fanatic soccer supporters of Surabaya and the other city, Malang would hurt each other just because of... their cities. Like is it even worth it?
We could also see the hate spreads between Indonesian and Malaysian. Or the Chinese ethnicity from the non-Chinese ethnicities in Indonesia. Or how the Sundanese and the Javanese secretly gossip each other.
Or between the rich and the poor.
Dear readers, we could see 'ashabiyah fueled our every aspect of life and created numerous wrecks in our society. And it's stopped us from being unified and to be a better, stronger ummah!
As a Muslim who understands a lot about the bad effect of 'ashabiyah, the thing that scared me the most is not having a mother-in-law who is not in the same ethnicities as me.
But a mother-in-law who has 'ashabiyah in her heart instead.
A mother-in-law who discriminates against the poorer me if she were from a richer family, the Javanese me if she were non-Javanese, the lesser-educated me if she were more educated, etc.
Because a mother-in-law who really understands Islam and trashes out 'ashabiyah would not do that even if she were richer, non-Javanese, or more educated than me. She would embrace me, advise me, and criticize me not for the worldly aspects innate to me, but for the better understanding of Allah and Islam.
I believe mother-in-laws like that still exist.
And I hope Allah would give me one.
And I also hope my mother, too, would be a good mother-in-law who believes in Islam more than the shallow 'ashabiyah.
Aamiin, insyaallah.
Until next time, see ya!
Wassalamu'alaikum warrahmatullah iwabarakatuh.
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Bekasi, 7 September 2024
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