Volume 3, No. 5 May
2024 (574-585)
p-ISSN 2980-4868 |
e-ISSN 2980-4841
https://ajesh.ph/index.php/gp
Harun Nasution's
Theological View
Mir'atun Nisa'
Universitas
Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia
E-mail:
miratunnisa@umy.ac.id
ABSTRACT
This research delves into Harun Nasution's theological perspectives and the reforms
he advocated, particularly within the framework
of Rational Islam. It explores the
historical context surrounding the concept of destiny,
encompassing interpretations
from the Jabariyah and Qadariyah theological schools. Employing a descriptive analysis methodology, the study elucidates Nasution's rational and scientific theological framework, emphasizing the pivotal role of
reason in human actions while maintaining a symbiotic relationship with revelation. Drawing from Nasution's
intellectual lineage, notably influenced by the Mu'tazilites
and Muhammad Abduh, the research uncovers Nasution's paradigm shift from Traditionalist
to Rationalist theology, a significant development in the Indonesian context. Nasution's reforms, detailed within, represent a departure from dogmatic interpretations, advocating instead for a nuanced understanding
that reconciles intellect with revelation. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of Nasution's legacy
as a modern reformer and offers insights into the evolving
landscape of Islamic theology, particularly in
Indonesia, by comprehensively
examining his theological views and reforms
and their implications for the interplay between
reason and revelation in Islamic thought.
Keywords: Destiny, Aaron Nasution's Theology, Paradigm Shift.
INTRODUCTION
Religion
introduces man to life after
death. Religion also introduces Destiny (God's provision)
Harun
Nasution, who is known as a reformer, believes that Qadariyah theology will lead
humans to high creativity and productivity. Harun reinforces this view by looking
at Islamic history at a time when
Islam was triumphant in philosophy, medicine, and other fields.
According to him, classical Muslims would not have made progress
if they had adhered to Jabariyah
ideology. It was Qadariyah that led Muslims to
glory and progress.
Reflecting
on the triumph
of classical Muslims, Harun offered a rational Islam. So, this paper will
discuss how Harun Nasution's theological views in the book
Rational Islam. What is Harun Nasution's renewal offer?
This
paper will reveal how Harun Nasution's views in terms of theology
with a historical approach. Lexically, history is the
knowledge or description of events and events
that actually happened in the past. In terminology, history is the
story and events of mankind's
past, whether related to political,
social, economic events or natural phenomena. This definition explains that history is
nothing more than a record of
human past events with all its
dimensions. History is a fact that
actually happened, not what should have
happened. It is reality, not ideality. Therefore, a historical approach is needed in an
effort to conduct Islamic studies.
History is a scientific discipline that aims to unearth
knowledge about a society's past, considering the dimension of time.
Its characteristics are evident in three intertwined orientations. Firstly, history entails the documentation
of events, occurrences, and human conditions in the past, which are then juxtaposed with present circumstances.
This facet of history is
termed traditional history (tarikh naqli). Secondly,
history involves uncovering the laws that governed
past lives through the investigation
and analysis of historical events.
This aspect is known as rational
history (tarikh aqli). Thirdly,
history serves as a philosophical exploration into societal changes.
In essence, it is the study of
a society's evolution over time. Engaging in historical inquiry prompts individuals to transition from
the realm of idealism to
that of empiricism
and global awareness. This transition allows one to
discern the dissonance or harmony
between the idealistic realm and the empirical
and historical realms (Murtadha Mutahhari,
1998).
RESEARCH
METHODS
The
method in this paper is descriptive
analysis. Descriptive analysis is the
exposure of what is or
is meant by the text
by paraphrasing it with the
language of the researcher. This analysis reflects
the researcher's understanding of the text in question.
Therefore, this analysis is used
in various literature studies regardless of the methods
and approaches applied to it.
In practical terms, this analysis attempts
to infer the meaning of
a text.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Harun Nasution's Biographical Background
Harun
Nasution was born on Tuesday, September 23, 1919 in
South Tapanuli, North
Sumatra. He was counted as part of an
elite family in his area at
that time. His father, Abdul Jabbar Ahmad, learned
a lot about Islam from scholars in his area. His father was also socially
competent, so the Dutch government
appointed him as the head of
religion, qodhi, penghulu, religious judge, and imam of the
mosque in Simalungun regency.
Harun
Nasution learned religion from his father and from local
scholars through the study of the
Yellow Book in Malay. In addition to studying religion,
Harun Nasution also studied
at a Dutch school (HIS), a rare opportunity for indigenous children. From HIS school for seven years
continued at MIK (Modern Islamiche Kweekschool) in 1934 in
Bukit Tinggi. From there he
became acquainted with Hamka, Zaenal Abidin, and
Jamil Jambek. He experienced a dynamic
development that his parents considered deviant.
When Harun went to school
in Egypt, there was a less dynamic
relationship between
Indonesia and abroad due to colonialism,
which disrupted his concentration, so Harun Nasution was determined to work in Egypt.
With his expertise in English, he was accepted as a clerk in the British armed
forces based in Egypt until he worked in the foreign department
(1953).
At a time of Harun's
dissatisfaction with studying in Egypt, an offer came
from the Embassy to study at Mc. Gill
(Canada) at a time when Indonesian students needed to study in Canada. It was there
that he became interested in modernist thinkers such as Muhammad Abduh and Shayyid Ahmad Khan these thinkers influenced Harun Nasution's way of thinking.
He was the first
Indonesian son to achieve a doctorate at the Islamic Studies University in Montreal, Canada, and in 1968, Harun Nasution also
had an important role in the establishment
of the ICMI organization Indonesian Muslim Scholars
Association in 1990.
The Thought of Harun Nasution
Historical
Map of Theological Schools
In
simple terms, theology is defined
as a science that discusses problems related to God
and His relationship with the universe,
especially His relationship
with humans
The
same is true
of what Harun Nasution did with his theological
views. He understood, compared, and tried
to reform the pattern of
theological thought of Muslims in Indonesia after seeing the
history of Islamic theological thought from time to
time.
Harun
Nasution, in describing theological
thoughts and schools in Islamic history, first refers to
the periodization of Islamic history, namely the classical
era (650-1250 AD), the middle
age (1250-1800 AD), and the modern era (1800-until now)
Classical
Age (650-1250 AD)
This
era is an age of progress
and is divided
into two phases: the expansion
phase (65-1000 AD) as the integration phase and the peak
of progress. At this time, Islam extended through North Africa to
Spain in the West and through Persia to India in the East. At this time,
science also developed and peaked,
both in the field of religion
and non-religion and culture. This
era gave rise to great scholars
such as Imam Malik, Abu Haneefah,
Shafi'i, and Ahmad ibn Hambal in the
field of law. Imam Ash'ari, Imam al-Maturidi, Mu'tazilite leaders such as Washil ibn Atha', Abu al-Huzail, Al-Nazzam, and al-Jubba'i
in the field of theology. Al-Hallaj in Sufism, al-Farabi, al-Kindi in philosophy, as well as Ibn Hayyan, al-Khawarizmi,
and Al-Razi in science
In
classical times, Sunnatullah theology emerged with the
following characteristics
a. High
position of reason
b. Human
freedom in will and deed
c. Freedom
of thought is bound only
by the basic
teachings of the Qur'an and
the few hadiths
d. Belief
in sunnatullah and causality
e. Taking
a metaphorical meaning from the text
of revelation
f. Dynamic
in attitude and thinking.
What
caused Sunnatullah's theology to appear
in classical times? This theology arose
because, First, the scholars of that
time were aware of the high
position of reason in the Qur'an
and hadith. Second, they encountered Greek science and philosophy
found in the centers of Greek
civilization. Third,
rational, scientific, and philosophical methods of thinking.
This method is the method
of Qadariyah philosophy.
The
implications of these causes appear
in many fields. Advances in politics, for example, made
the city of Medina a city that had great influence. The economic sphere was the
trade of spices, silk, and
others that passed through the cities of
Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Persia. The field of science
has also experienced rapid progress, such as medical science, chemistry, mathematics, and others. In addition, progress with productivity
in these areas is accompanied by an attitude
of not abandoning spiritual
life. Religious science also developed
in this era. Tafsir scholars
such as Al-Thabari, al-Zamakhshari, Fakhruddin al-Razi
appeared in this age. Likewise, in the field of
creed, philosophical thought emerged, which gave birth
to the science
of kalam or theology with its
schools: Kharijites, Murji'ahs, Mu'tazilites, Asharites, and Maturids.
Sunnatullah
theology in classical times, with rational,
philosophical, and scientific thinking, has made scholars and
Muslims productive in worldly life and
the afterlife (Harun
Nasution, 1991).
Middle
Ages
Harun
Nasution, through historical
tracing, holds that the theology
of Sunnatullah in classical times then disappeared from the Islamic world and moved
to Europe through Western students who came
to study in Andalusia and also through the
translation of Islamic books into Latin. Europe developed by bringing Ibn
Rushd's rational thinking that gave
birth to the Renaissance in Europe to the
modern century with rapid advances in science and technology
During
this time, the Islamic world entered the Middle
Ages, an age of decline.
The rational, philosophical,
and scientific theology of Sunnatullah
was lost and replaced by
the theology of God's absolute
will (Jabariyah or fatalism), which
had a great influence on Muslims in the
world.
The
characteristics of the theology of
God's absolute will are
a. Low
position of reason
b. Man's
unfreedom in will and deed
c. Freedom
of thought tied up with
many dogmas
d. Distrust
of Sunnatullah and causality
e. Bound
to the textual
meaning of the Qur'an and
hadith
f. Static
in thinking and behaving.
If,
in classical times, productivity increased, then on the contrary,
in this age, Muslims experienced setbacks in various fields. The implications of the theological
view of God's
absolute will today are: First, the orientation of the hereafter and
the view that the world
is not important (unbalanced); second, because of the orientation
of the hereafter,
the attitude of life is
an attitude of spiritual life and prioritizes tawakkal and patience (passive), third, the absence of belief
in the sunnatullah that governs nature
affects the disappearance of science in this era.
Modern
Times
At this time, the
Islamic world began to realize its
lag with Europe, so Islamic thinkers and scholars
with ideas that advanced the
Islamic world began to emerge. One of their paths
was to return
to Sunnatullah theology with the
rational, philosophical and scientific thinking of the
classical age. They also felt the
need to revive
the seriousness of Muslims in the
field of science lost in medieval times
Reason
and Its Role
What
became Harun Nasution's point of emphasis
in his explanation of the historical periodization of the three epochs
in terms of theology was between
the rational, philosophical, and scientific theology of Sunnatullah and the theology
of God's absolute will (Jabariyah fatalism). Harun
Nasution carried the first theology (Qadariyyah). The main themes
that color Harun Nasution's beliefs and thoughts are: first, the position
given to man's intellect is not as a rival but as a companion to revelation;
second, man's ability and duty
to determine his actions (free will, free act)
without denying God's destiny and
will.
Harun
Nasution, on many occasions, admired the thought of
Muhammad 'Abduh. Nurcholis Madjid called Harun
Nasution as "'Abduhis" because his ethos towards rationality and science was
very strong
The
intellect, in the view of Islamic theologians, is the power for
acquiring knowledge. Besides gaining knowledge, the intellect also has the power to
distinguish between good and evil.
In other words, especially for the Mu'tazilites, reason has a moral function and duty. Reason
is the guide
for man and
what makes man the creator
of his actions (Harun
Nasution, 1989).
The
power of reason lies in the following:
a. Knowing
God and His attributes
b. Knowing
the existence of life in the
afterlife
c. Knowing
that the happiness of the
soul in the afterlife depends on knowing God
and doing good, while its
misery depends on not knowing God and evil
deeds
d. Knowing
man's obligation to know God
e. Knowing
the obligation of man to
do good and
the obligation to shun evil
deeds for happiness in the hereafter
f. Make
laws regarding those obligations.
Harun Nasution tries
to compare the role of
reason from the perspective of the theological
school, as will be seen in the
following picture;
Figure
1.
Information
M.T. =
Knowing God
M.T.S =
Knowing God and His attributes
M.H.A =
Knowing the Life of the Hereafter
M.B.J =
Knowing Good and Evil (deeds)
M.W.T.T= Knowing
the Duty of God
M.W.B.J= Knowing
the Obligation to do Good
or shun Evil
M.H =
Make laws.
The
two main issues, knowing God and
knowing the obligation to do
good and shun bad deeds, are broken down into
four in the theology of the
golden age, namely, first, knowing God, second,
knowing the obligation to thank
God, third, knowing good and
evil, fourth, knowing the obligation
to do good
and the obligation
to shun evil
deeds.
The
Mu'tazilites and Muhammad
Abduh had similarities in their
views of reason and revelation.
Both view revelation as having no function in all four fundamental religious issues. When compared between
the Mu'tazilites, 'Abduh, the Maturidiah of Samarkand, the
Maturidiah of Bukhara and the
theology of Ash'ariah, it can
be seen that
Muhammad Abduh placed the most reason in a high portion, while
the lowest was Asharite theology
Harun
Nasution, among these theological schools, tended towards 'Abduh and the Mu'tazilites.
His inclination towards the Mu'tazilites was relevant to
two things: rationality and recognition of Qadariyah's capacity .
Rational
Theology; Efforts for Renewal and
Development (Indonesian Context)
Harun
Nasution argues that Islam came to Indonesia in the first centuries
of the Hijri, namely the seventh
and eighth centuries AD, but only developed in the thirteenth century AD. In other words, in medieval Islam. Thus, what developed
was not the theology of classical
Sunnatullah but the theology of
the absolute will of God
in the Middle Ages with its
traditional, nonphilosophical,
and non-scientific thoughts
Many
Indonesian Muslims strongly
believe that fate lies absolutely
in the hands of God. People
are helpless and only surrender to qadha and
qadar alone. People pray more
and do not try much, so
their productivity weakens. Even if a Western model school with a scientific rational approach has been established, it has little influence
to a large extent. The existence of renewal in Indonesia, according to Harun Nasution, is only limited
to the issue
of furu'. It was fifty
years late from India. The factor that drives reform
in Indonesia is not the awareness of past
Islamic successes in Egypt,
Turkey, and India. However, the factor
is the knowledge
and experience of Indonesians who study in Egypt, where renewal grows
and develops. Therefore, it is
not surprising that the model of renewal
is not on the issue of
ushul (understanding
human freedom in will and deed) but
on the issue
of furu' only, namely the
problems of ablution, qunut, adhan because their
apostle is still the same,
namely Asharite theology.
Harun
Nasution's offer was a change in theology from traditional
to rational in education, law, and social culture.
Reflection
Readings
1. Harun
Nasution's Method and Approach
The
scholarly construction offered by Harun Nasution is a paradigm shift
from the paradigm of 'Traditional
Islam' to the paradigm of 'Rational
Islam', which offers rational principles or Islamic rationality that have been
tested in Islamic history.
Like most Islamic reformers,
their main anxiety is the decline
of Muslims and the revival
of Muslims. Similarly, Harun Nasution looked at the history
of Muslim civilization and hoped for
change. What caused this decline
was a fundamental reduction
and distortion of Islamic teachings. The implication is the inaccuracy in understanding the teachings of Islam that are flexible, dynamic and have
many aspects of being a static,
narrow, and exclusive Islam
Harun
Nasution adheres to a philosophical view on how he understands
and interprets the nature of
this reality. How he interprets and understands being in Islamic studies
his Rational Islamic model is
very influential on him. The approach
is indeed philosophical with a pressure point on ratio (reason).
Rational
Islam is the antithesis of Traditional
Islam, which is the paradigm of
Islam in Indonesia. Harun Nasution has presented the model of Islamic studies in the field of
kalam by providing many historical facts of the
Mu'tazilites that many circles do
not like and view negatively. He tried to dilute
this view because kalam is often considered to contain rigid
and exclusive metaphysics. Rational Islamic thought in this kalam was constructed by Harun with a philosophical method on the logic
of natural law (sunnatullah) or the logic of
God's justice and the view
of human freedom (indeterminism)
In
Aaron's view, the rise of
Muslims was not only marked by
an overabundance of religious emotions
but also based on deep,
thorough, and comprehensive thought. Harun had an obsession to
bring Muslims towards rationality and cultivate human capacity as human beings endowed with potential.
This obsession made him the
foundation of modern Islam
in Indonesia. Aaron's efforts,
known as Aaron's breakthrough, included three things. The first was to
lay down a basic and thorough
understanding of Islam.
Islam consists of absolute teachings, namely the Qur'an
and Hadith. In addition, there is ijtihad ulama, which is not absolute
but relative. The truth of ijtihad can be reformed.
Second, when he served as rector of IAIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta (in 1973), Harun changed the previously
fiqh-oriented curriculum, which, according to him, clogged
students' thinking, into a new curriculum
by including introductory courses in religion, sociology, research methods, philosophy, and science. Third, Harun
sought the establishment of a graduate faculty (1982) in the hope of
producing rational leaders in the future.
2. Mind
Map
Harun
Nasution, in the book Rational Islam, related to the discussion
of theology using a historical approach. The history of the renewal
of thought in the Islamic world (Arabia, Egypt, India, Turkey, Indonesia) has been going on since
the 18th or early 19th century. In Arabia marked by
the movement of Muhammad Abduh bin Abd al-Wahhab
by carrying the spirit of purification
of the creed.
Then in Egypt with the rise
of Al-Afghani, Muhammad Abduh, Rashid
Ridha. Al-Afghani promoted pan-Islamism
as a response to European domination accompanied by the weakening of
Muslim unity. Muhammad Abduh took
steps of purification combined with the renewal
of the education
system.
In
Indonesia, the Islamic renewal
movement in institutions or religious organizations
has emerged since the turn of
the 20th century to the 21st century
ago. One of the organizations that played a role
in this was Muhammadiyah in
1912 by K.H.A.Dahlan by establishing schools. Individual and significant movements for the renewal
of thought began in the second
half of the
20th century. Names that need to
be mentioned include Harun Nasution
The
theological reform promoted by Harun Nasution is, in fact, not without criticism. For example, Eka Putra Wirman wrote the book "Restorasi Teologi:
Rectifying Harun Nasution's
Thoughts," in which it is said
that Harun Nasution is incorrect when saying that 'Abduh is an admirer
of the Mu'tazilites.
The results of the study of the
Hasya book and the Tawhid Treatise
show clearly that Sheikh Muhammad Abduh was
not a Mu'tazilite believer
but a believer of the Sunnah
and a defender of the Imam Ash'ari. In fact, repeatedly, in his book, Shaykh Muhammad Abduh referred to the
Mu'tazilite logic as "superficial," "unphilosophical,”
and "foolish" (man laaaqlalahum). In
addition, H.M. Rasjidi wrote
"Correction to Harun
Nasution on Islam in Various
Aspects," which also criticized Aaron's thoughts, which were considered 'dangerous'. H.M. Rasjidi views that Harun Nasution's theological thinking is too critical
and rational, so it is
considered dangerous for the power
of faith (Abdus Syakur,
2015). Apart from the supporters and critics of
Haru Nasution, as long as the thought
is not aimed at forcing Muslims
to be fanatical
about one's thoughts and even
consider his thoughts to be authoritarian,
then the fruits of thought
are legitimate and become relative, open to criticism and
criticism.
CONCLUSION
Harun
Nasution's theological view is a rational
and scientific theology in which reason occupies a large portion of
human action. Man, based on his intellect, can determine his actions. However, by no means
is detached from revelation. The intellect toward revelation has a confirmative relationship. His views were influenced by the
views of the Mu'tazilites and Muhammad Abduh. Thus, he offered a paradigm shift from Traditionalist
to Rationalist, especially for Indonesia.
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