Wahdat al-Adyan: Sufi Idea or Western Thought?
By Angga Arifka
24/05/2022
Wahdat al-adyan (transcendent unity of religions) is one term. The term refers to the ideas of the Sufis who suggest that all religions essentially culminate in a transcendent or esoteric unity. Although not a few scholars who reject it, this term continues to be discussed. Let's also discuss it briefly.
Penisbatan Wahdat al-Adyan
Generally, the term wahdat al-adyan is first attributed to the tenth century Sufi martyr, al-Hallaj. One of his famous poems is:
Truly, I have thought carefully about religions,
And I have found the source, to whom all mankind is gathered.
You should never force a religion on someone,
Because truly it is a denial of eternal sources.
Only the eternal Source determines it,
Only to Him all majesty and meanings can be understood
(Mukti Ali, 2015: 324).
The context of this statement is that during his lifetime in Baghdad , al-Hallaj witnessed the disharmony of relations between Muslims and non-Muslims.
As the majority community, Muslims often recklessly harass non-Muslims. Al-Hallaj at that time, to be exact, saw a Muslim harassing a Jew.
The next day, when he met the Muslim, al-Hallaj said, “O my son, all religions belong to God. Know that Judaism, Christianity, Islam and other religions are just different symbols and names, while the target is not different." (Ibid.).
From his statement, al-Hallaj was later considered to be the originator of the idea of wahdat al-adyan , although the term itself never came out of his mouth.
Ibn Arabi's view of Wahdat al-Wujud
Not only did al-Hallaj, the great Andalusian Sufi, Ibn Arabi, in many of his views, imply the idea of the esoteric or inner unity of religions.
In fact, he doesn't just imply it. Instead, he made this view explicit in one of his poems. A poem that is often quoted by many people.
My heart can hold all forms,
to the deer is the savanna, to the monks is the monastery,
Temples for idols, Kaaba for pilgrims
Torah sheet, Al-Qur'an manuscript
I embrace the religion of Love;
wherever the camels of Love tread,
that's where my religion and faith roam
(Ibn Arabi, 1978: 67).
Also Read The Meaning of Happiness According to Philosophers
It cannot be denied that Ibn Arabi himself never mentioned the term " wahdat al-adyan ". Nevertheless, the verse we have just quoted shows that Ibn Arabi appears to be inclusive in accepting the truth of other religions.
Apart from being so inclusive, Ibn Arabi also did not hesitate to negate exclusivity.
Syair Wahdat al-Wujud dari Jalal al-Din Rumi dan Ibn al-Farid
Besides Ibn Arabi, the most worthy of mention is Jalal al-Din Rumi. he hums,
What can I do, O Muslims? I don't know myself.
I'm not a Christian, not a Jew, not a Zoroastrian, nor a Muslim.
Not from the East, not from the West. Not from land, not from the sea.
(Idries Shah, 1968: 103).
Just like Ibn Arabi's poem that we have quoted, Rumi also shows his position walking on the path of love. Ibn al-Farid, the Sufi poet from Egypt, nicknamed "sultan al-'ashiqin" (lord of the lovers), hummed,
The burning fire of the Qur'an is the light of the mosque's mihrab
it does not undermine the Bible which is the light of the Christian church
[and] the teachings of the Torah that speak to his people
who every night sings the prayer of prayer
prostrating, prostrating, and worshiping in front of the stone statue in the sculpture,
will not be blocked by the disobedience of fanaticism
I have issued a warning to those who deviate from the truth
and have expressed my apologies to all groups
no deviant religious doctrines,
and there are no deviant beliefs
Magi worshiped fire, and never went out,
Like a thousand blasphemy roar thundered.
(Mukti Ali, 2015: 349-350).
***
I think there are not a few Sufis who voice similar ideas. Hakim Sanai, for example, the twelfth century Persian Sufi poet, hums,
At his door, what is the difference between Muslim and Christian,
the good and the bad?
At its door all are seekers and He is sought.
And there are still many Sufi poets who will hum a similar idea, an idea called wahdat al-adyan .
Indeed, the Sufis, so far, have never explicitly mentioned the term wahdat al-adyan . Before we investigate further about the origins of this term, it is better for us to briefly review how contemporary Muslim scholars respond to the idea of " wahdat al-adyan ". In this case, Muslim scholars are divided into three views (Media Zainul Bahri, 2021: 1-3).
Also Read Three Groups of Sufis According to Ibn Taimiyah
Repon for Sarjanawan
First , a view that even disbelieves the Sufis, which is loudly represented by 'Abd al-Rahman al-Wakil. This first view sees wahdat al-adyan as proof that the Sufis who stand up have slipped into error and have deviated from the true teachings of Islam.
Second , the view that rejects wahdat al-adyan comes from the Sufis. For this second view, the Sufis never actually taught or formulated the idea of wahdat al-adyan . Those who understand this are just misunderstanding the thoughts of the Sufis.
This misunderstanding, according to them, is caused by the influence of Western scholars in reading Sufism and especially by the influence of discussions on pluralism of religions originating from Western scholars. Thus, making Muslim scholars search for their treasures on this matter.
Those holding this second view include scholars from the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC), Malaysia, especially senior Malaysian Muslim intellectuals from Indonesia, Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, and Suad Hakim, an expert on Ibn Arabi from Lebanon.
Third , the view that affirms that indeed the Sufis spoke seriously about wahdat al-adyan . Although terminologically the term did not come from them alone. Scholars who hold this view include Henry Corbin, Nicholson, Annemarie Schimmel, and William C. Chittick.
If all we mention are them, surely we will immediately think that what is said by those who hold the second view is true. That these terms or ideas are the result of the interpretation of Western scholars.
Those who Affirm Wahdat al-Adyan
Let's mention Muslim scholars who affirm wahdat al-adyan . Among them are Ahmad Amin, Muhammad Mustafa Hilmi, 'Abd Qadir Mahmud, and Abu al-Ala Afifi.
Read Also Looking at Gender Equality with the Perspective of Sufism
The latter, Abu al-Ala Afifi, a serious scholar of Ibn Arabi as well as contemporary commentator Fusus al-Hikam , does not use the term wahdat al-adyan in reading Ibn 'Arabi's texts, instead he uses the term "universal religion".
Muhammad Mustafa Hilmi, Professor of Philosophy and Sufism at Cairo University, in his work on Ibn al-Farid, Ibn al-Farid wa al-Hubb al-Ilahi , mentions al-Hallaj, Ibn Arabi, and Ibn al-Farid as adherents of wahdat al -adyan .
Mustafa Hilmi in his work uses references from Western scholars, namely Massignon and Nicholson.
According to Bahri (2012: 35), Massignon and Nicholson's work quoted by Mustafa Hilmi does not clearly mention the term " wahdat al-adyan ". Thus, he concluded that the scholar who first used the term was Mustafa Hilmi.
The Egyptian Sufi scholar Abd al-Qadir Mahmud, in his work al-Falsafah al-Sufīyah fi al-Islam , indeed also uses the term wahdat al-adyan and attributes the term to Ibn 'Arabi, who according to him is one of the natural children of the main teachings Ibn Arabi, wahdat al-wujud . However, he took this term from Hilmi's book.
So, he was not the first scholar to use this term. Thus, regarding the accusation that Muslim scholars misunderstood the idea of wahdat al-adyan which was attributed to Sufis due to the infiltration of Western scholars' thoughts proven to be wrong, it is more or less influenced by the study of religious pluralism that is developing in the West.
According to one researcher, Anis Malik Thoha (2005: 18), discourse on religious pluralism in the West emerged only in the eighteenth century. So, the accusation that wahdat al-adyan was influenced by Western thought or discourse has been proven wrong. The Sufis have echoed, neither discourse nor pluralism, spiritual perceptions that all religions rest and meet in the same "pure space" or "inner space".
Editor: Yahya FR
West sufi
0
0
8 posts
Angga Arifka
ABOUT AUTHOR
Alumnus of Ushuluddin Faculty and Philosophy of UIN Sunan Ampel Surabayaarticles
