Rib'ah: The Concept of Local Tradition Guarantee in Early Islam

RIB'AH: THE CONCEPT OF LOCAL TRADITION GUARANTEE IN EARLY ISLAM Ahmad Natsir*, Hawwin Muzakki, Diana Lutfiana Ulfa Sayyid Ali Rahmatullah State Islamic University, Tulungagung, Indonesia Abstract This article aims to express a word in the Sahifah Yathrib (Medinah Charter), namely rib'ah. This word contains quite a crucial meaning, however, it is rarely used daily by academics. Meanwhile in Indonesia, religious practices of peace and moderation still experience quite dangerous obstacles in society. All destruction of religious facilities, traditions, and even opposing cultures adhered to by the majority. This research is a literature study using the ma'na cum maghza framework initiated by Sahiron Syamsudin . With this framework, this research produces three main conclusions, namely: first, rib'ah has the basic meaning of dividing the spoils of war. However, in practice, the Prophet Muhammad guaranteed not only commerce but also religion. Second, rib'ah had its initial purpose as an effort by the Prophet Muhammad to unite the Muhajirin and Ansar, as well as for the development of a stable country. Third, the guarantee of freedom of religion and belief contained in this word can be used as a basis for hifz al-din, which means protection of security and comfort for a person to freely choose their religion and belief. Keywords: Islamic history; Medina charter; Ummah wahidah. INTRODUCTION In early 2022, a video went viral on social media. While reciting the takbir slowly, a young man threw away and kicked the offerings deliberately placed by the residents. The incident occurred on Mount Semeru, in the Lumajang area, East Java. It was Hadfana Firdaus, a young man who deliberately kicked it and thought that the offerings placed there were a source of disaster. Before this incident, a volcanic eruption occurred in Semeru. This incident resulted in several locations in Lumajang district being completely dark (Hastoro, 2021) The young man was finally arrested by the authorities and stated that he was ready to serve the sentence which the court sentenced to 10 months in prison. (Media Indonesia, 2022) On the surface, the problem of kicking out offerings has been resolved. However, can the ideology of the Youth that resides in the minds of other people just disappear? As a Muslim, of course, it can be said that this young man has practised al-amr bi al-ma’rūf wa al-nahy ‘an al-munkar, enjoining virtue and preventing evil things (QS 3:110), as well as deeds what he did was in line with the revelation that Allah sent down. Moreover, this act seems to gain legitimacy from - for example, the actions of the Prophet Ibrahim when he destroyed the idols in the city centre and left the largest idol among them, (QS 21:59-69) (Al-Damashqi, 1997a, pp. 332–334)or the decision of the Prophet Muhammad during the Makkah fathu which decided to destroy all the idols around and inside the Kaaba. (Al-Damashqi, 1997b, p. 571) Furthermore, the destruction of local culture also occurs through a religious ritual, ruqyah. Ruqyah is a healing process that has existed since the time of the Prophet Muhammad SAW. However, there are some Islamic schools of thought that use the medium of ruqyah as their da'wah, especially by insulting pre-existing traditions, such as the keris tradition (traditional weapons of the Javanese), to the tradition usually carried out by Javanese people to welcome the birth of a baby, tedak siten. (Natsir, 2019) *Correspondance Author: Article History | Submited: 22 Februari, 2024 | Revised: 07 Juni, 2024|Accepted: 20 Juni, 2024 |Publish: 03 Juli 2024 HOW TO CITE (APA 6th Edition): Natsir, Ahmad., Muzakki, Hawwin., Ulfa, Diana Lutfiana. (2024). Rib'ah: The Concept of Local Tradition Guarantee in Early Islam. Juspi: Jurnal Sejarah Peradaban Islam. 8(1), page.89-100 DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.30829/juspi.v8i1.19404 89 Ahmad Natsir, Hawwin Muzakki, Diana Lutfiana Ulfa The legitimacy of the war against local traditions is due to an understanding of sīrah alnabawiyyah that is not deep and complete. Meanwhile, the concept of rib'ah stated in Sahifah Yathrib is believed to be a translation of the word "customs" and has received many distorted Indonesian translations and given rise to various interpretations. The translation of al-Raḥīq alMakhtūm by Kathur Sunadi converts the Sahifah Yathrib from fifty chapters to only sixteen chapters, and translates the rib'ah with "customs prevailing among them" which are attributed solely to the Quraysh. (Al-Mubarakfuri, 2011, pp. 213–214). Rib'ah does not even appear in the book Sirah Nabawiyyah written by Muhammad Sa'id Ramadhan al-Buṭi. (Al-Buti, 2002, p. 180)Until a translation of al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah by Ibn Hisyam translated the word rib'ah with "customs legalized by Islam", (Hisyam, 2000, p. 454) how rationalization of the translation, while new legal verses were published after the Prophet Muhammad migrated to Yathrib? Even new legal verses were published after the Prophet Muhammad declared the sahifah. For example, after the agreement was written, Surah Al-Baqarah verses 1 to 25 came down. Distorted translations, including the Ṣahīfah Yathrib manuscript being truncated or even eliminated, made the study of this text increasingly marginalized, only to live in dim light. Thus, this study focuses on the word rib'ah contained in Ṣahīfah Yathrib. This research uses a hermeneutic approach by borrowing the cum-maghza theory initiated by Sahiron Syamsudin. The use of this theory is not without reason, but rather so that the spirit of Ṣaḥīfah Yathrib can shine a light on contemporary times and can also become an inspiration for religious moderation education which is being campaigned massively in Indonesia. By providing an adequate study of the word rib'ah in Ṣaḥīfah Yathrib and its historical scope to its contribution to religious moderation education and the use of cum-maghzā analysis, this research makes a serious effort to answer the following questions: (1) How does al-ma'nā al-tārīkhī (historical meaning) of the word rib'ah in Ṣaḥīfah Yathrib? (2) What is the maghzā al-tārīkhī (historical phenomenal significance) of the word rib'ah in Ṣaḥīfah Yathrib? (3) How does al-maghzā al-mutaḥarrik (dynamic phenomenal significance) of the word rib'ah apply to the context of religious moderation education? RESEARCH METHOD In this case, the author places the text of the ṣaḥīfah Yathrib to explore its objective meaning, and then the author wants a "meaningful meaning" that has value for the present or the future. The researcher adds the historical meaning of a word in the form of rib'ah which he wants to extract from ṣaḥīfah Yathrib. For this reason, researchers need a theory that can accommodate these three objectives. Thus, the correct choice of theory to use in this case is ma'nā-cummaghzā which was initiated by Sahiron Syamsudin. Sahiron confirmed that ma’nā-cum-maghzā focuses on the meaning (ma'nā) and main message/significance (maghzā) which may ha (...truncated)