Muhammad Rashid Rida - Muhammad Rida or Rashid Rida or Rasheed Rida (September 23, 1865, August 22, 1935)

was an Islamic reformer, the most important disciple of Muhammad Abduhand of Jamal_al-Din Al-Afghani, an early radical Islamist, and the inspiration for Hassan al-Banna and Sayyid Qutb, founder and leader, respectively, of the Muslim Brotherhood. Live of Muhammad Rashid Rida Rida was born in in the small village of al-Qalamun about 5 KM from Tripoli, then in the Syrian province of the Ottoman Empire and now in Lebanon. He was supposedly descended from a very pious family of outstanding Muslim Ulema, as well-versed in Islamic knowledge. Many of his family were called sheikhs. Rida started his education at a Kuttab (traditional Qur'anic School) in his village where he learned the Qur'an, Arabic writing, and elements of arithmetic. After graduating, he was sent to the Rushdiyya National Primary School in Tripoli. There he studied Arabic grammar, math, the basics of geography, Islamic Belief, Islamic rituals, and Turkish. He left the school after a year, because most of the teaching was in Turkish. He then studied at the National Islamic School (al-Madrasa al-Wataniyya al-Islamiyya) in Tripoli, founded by Shaykh Husayn al-Jisr. There he was taught both traditional Muslim theology and at least some "secular" content such as European languages and mathematics and philosophy. He was exposed to the writings ofMuhammad Abduh and Jamal_al-Din Al-Afghani in the short-lived pan-Islamic anti-colonialist journal al-`Urwa al-wuthqa (the firmest bond) which Abduh and al-Afghani published in Paris in 1884. In 1894, Abduh visited Tripoli briefly and Rida was his constant companion. In 1897 he moved to Cairo to work with Muhammad Abduh. In 1898, they launched al Manar, which may have been Rida's idea - a journal of Islamic reform. Al Manar supposedly comprised "Quranic commentary" (Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World Thompson Gale (2004), p.597) but it also included political articles and propaganda that had no relation to religious subjects. Rida died in 1905 en route to Suez. Ideology of Muhammad Rashid Rida Rida's philosophy evidently represented a transition from the modernist, rational, liberal and reformist tradition represented by Muhammad Abduh and Jamal_al-Din AlAfghani to the radical, violent, reactionary, racist and Muslim supremacist philosophy of Hassan al-Banna andSayyid Qutb. Following the death of 'Abduh's in 1905, Rida came to be regarded as the leading disciple of Abduh and exponent of Islamic reform, after he published an extensive biography of Abdu. He also continued the Tafsir (commentary) of the Quran begun by Abdu. Most of Rida's energies were focused on publication of al-Manar. However, he also wrote at length, both in Al-Manar and various books. Despite extensive actual departures from Abduh, Rida's ideas were viewed as a legitimate continuation of 'Abduh's thought, and a pathway for reinvigorating Islam and

demonstrating its compatibility with modernity. In common with Abduh and Afghani, Rida blamed Muslim decline on the Ulema (Muslim authorities), excesses of some Sufi sects which were opposed to political involvement(apparently he joined the Naqshbandi Sufi) and taqlid (imitation of previous jurists), and abandonment of what he considered the original Islamic writ. Like them, he called himself a Salafi, in the sense that he wanted to return to "first principles" as he saw them, and reinterpret Islam according to reason and first principles. He was convinced that the "correct" Islam lay not in the pronouncements of the Ulema of alAzar and other prestigious places, but rather in the rulings of village elders and notables such as his own family. But Rida diverged from Abduh and Afghani in very significant ways. Rida was, or became a pan-Arab advocate as much or more than a pan-Islamic advocate and used al-Manar to promote pan-Arabism with an Islamist slant. During and following World War I, he opposed the breakup of the Ottoman Empire because he correctly foresaw that it would mean the end of the Caliphate, and he likewise opposed the British sponsored Pan-Arab movement of Feisal, especially when it was defeated in Damascus.(ref) Rida's version of Ittihad - Islamic unity - called for a Caliphate as Maududi had. Rida was profoundly affected by the dissolution of the Caliphate by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. He believed that the abolition was part of a conspiracy by the west to sow disunity among Muslims and weaken them. He cited Lord Cromer as stating the unity of Muslims was a challenge and a source of resistance to the forces of the Christian countries and that it had to be watched carefully (Dawoody, Ahmad Mohsen al-, The Intellectual Repercussions of the Abolition of the
Caliphate in Egypt, unpublished MA thesis submitted to Leiden University, 1999, p. 25.)

Rida's caliphate would be be a collection of states, with a supreme Mujtahid to rule as an expert on matters of religion, with the consensus of a Shura council (Zubaidi, 1989, p. 15). As Bassam Tibi points out, (Tibi, p. 153) and as others have pointed out (especially Raziq), there was no Caliphate in the time of Muhammad, and the Caliphate as such is not mentioned in theQuran (the word Khilafah appears, but in another context). Therefore there is a contradiction between the supposed return to "first principles" on the one hand, and the insistence on aCaliphate or Islamic rule on the other. Rida identified many defective Muslim traditions with "Israiliyyah" - traditions that were supposedly inserted into Islam by converted Jews, and that were therefore suspect. Both from his early life history, in which he abandoned a Turkish school for an Arabic language one, and from his writings, it is apparent that Rida advocated Arab supremacy within the Islamic world. In his Fatwa against the translation of the Quran, he argued that parts of the Quran were untranslatable, and that only Arabic speakers could fully comprehend it. Translations of portions of the Quran could be made for those who required it for ritual purposes. However, a translation would produce a variant meaning. He explained: The Qur'an prohibited taqlid [imitative reasoning] in religion and denounced the

imitators. Deriving [the rulings of] religion from the translation of the Qur'an is an imitation of its translator, so it is a deviation from the guidance of the Qur'an and is not in accordance with it.(Al-Munajjid and Khuri, Fatawa al-Imam Muhammad Rashid Rida, Dar al-Kitab al-Jadid, Beirut, 1970, vol. 2, pp. 642-650. Tr by Mohamed A. M. Abou Sheishaa ref) In theory, at least, Rida's philosophy was liberal. He pleaded for Ijtihad (innovation). He stressed that Islam is based on reason and claimed that the Islamic Sharia is founded on the basis of Ijtihad. Without Ijtihad, in his view, Islam could not adapt and could not be an an eternal religion. Thus, anyone who is opposed to Ijtihad is undermining the basis of Islam and of Sharia. "What a heinous crime is being committed, then, by these ignorant persons who call themselves the Ulema of Islam," he wrote. (Tafsir al-Manar vol. IV Cairo, 1375 (1956) p.240). The call for perpetual and free Ijtihad could hardly sit well with Sunni Ulema who believe that the gates ofIjtihad are closed, and especially not with traditional Salafi theologists. In apparent contradistinction to those who view Islam as prescribing a whole way of life to the smallest details, Muhammad Rashid Rida claimed that Islam gave great liberty to order the affairs of every day life. Islam requires that issues should be settled by consultation, The restrictions on Ijtihad placed by the ulema are not warranted, according to him. (Tafsir al-Manar vol. V Cairo, 1374 (1955) p.189). Rida must have been among the first to become aware of Zionism and to warn of the dangers of Zionism as he saw them. In 1898, he wrote in Al Manar: Apathetic people, lift up your heads and see what is happening. Consider what people and nations are doing...Does it please you that the newspapers around the globe are reporting that the impoverished of the most miserable people [the Jews] whom all governments are expelling from their countries, have so mastered knowledge and civilization that they can come to your country, colonize it and transform its masters into wage laborers and its affluent men into paupers... Ponder this problem [Zionism] and make it the subject of your conversations, to ascertain if it is just or unjust, true of false. If it is clear that you have neglected to defend the rights of your fatherland and the interests of your nation and your religious community, ponder and study, debate and examine the matter. It is a worthier subject for consideration than focusing on shortcomings, spreading slander and insulting the innocent. It is more worthy of discussion than ridiculing and accusing your [Muslim?] brothers. (Rida, Muhammad Rashid, Khabar
wa itibar (News and Views) al-Manar (April 9, 1898), p 108)

Works by Muhammad Rashid Rida Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Hakim known as Tafsir al-Manar (Continuation of the commentary on the Qur'an begun by 'Abduh. Rida continued up to surat Yusuf XII, verse 100) Al-Tafsir al-Mukhtasar al-Mufid (Intended as a summary of the Tafsir, begun by Rida and published by Muhammad Ahmad Kan'an and Zuhayr al-Shawish as Muhktasar Tafsir al-Manar, 3 vols, Beirut-Damascus, 1984)

Al-Manar Journal (The first volume was published in 1315A.H. [1898], the second section of the last volume (volume 35) was published and distributed after his death on 29th Rabi' II, 1354/1935) Tarikh al-Ustaz al-Imam al-Shaykh Muhammad 'Abduh (A biography of his teacher published in three volumes) Nida' lil Jins al-Latif or Huquq al-Mar'ah fi al-Islam )"A Call to the Fair Sex" or "Women's Rights in Islam"). Al-Wahy al-Muhammadi (Rational and historical proofs that the Qur'an is a Divine Revelation). Tarjamat al-Qur'an wa ma fiha min Mafasid wa Munafat al-Islam, Matba'at al-Manar, Cairo,1344/1926. al Naqd Dhikra al-Mawlid al-Nabawi (Summary of the Prophet's biography and the foundations of Islam al-Manar 20, 1336/1918). Al-Wahda al-Islamiiyya ([Islamic Unity]. Most of this work was first published under the titleMuhawarat al-Muslih wa al-Muqallid ["Debates between the Reformer and the Imitator"]) Yusr al-Islam wa Usul al-Tashri' al-'Amm ("The Accommodating Spirit of Islam and the Sources of General Jurisprudence" published in 1928.) Al-Khilafa wa al-Imama al-'Uzma ("The Caliphate and the Greater Imamate" Cairo, Manar Press.) Al-Sunna wa al-Shari'a ("The Prophetic Tradition and Islamic Law") Al-Muslimun wa al-Qibt ("Muslims and the Copts") Al-Wahhabiyyun wa al-Hijaz ("The Wahhabites and the Hijaz") Al-Manar wa al-Azhar ("Al-Manar and al-Azhar"]+ Ami Isseroff References and bibliography Abou Sheishaa, Mohamed Ali Mohamed, A Study of the Fatwa by Rashid Rida on the Translation of the Qur'an, Journal of the Society for Qur'anic Studies, No 1, Vol 1, October 2001. Enayat, Hamid, Mottahedeh , Roy P. Modern Islamic Political Thought, London, I.B.

Tauris, 2004. Rizq,Yunan Labib Al Ahram: A Diwan of Contemporary Life(305): Looking toward the Levant, Al Ahram weekly, No 449, Sept. 30- Oct 6, 1999. Tibi, Bassam, The Challenge of Fundamentalism, UCLA, Berkeley, 2002. Zubaidi, Sami, Islam, the people and the state, London, Routledge, 1989.

Synonyms and alternate spellings: Mohamad Rashid RIda, Muhammad Rasheed Rida Further Information: Al-Banna, Hassan Muslim Brotherhood Qutb, Sayyid History of Islam and the Arabs Islamism Jihad Maududi, Abul ala Abduh, Muhammad
| Abduh Study Group, Islamic Renaissance Front Muhammad Rashid Ridha (1865-1935) adalah sosok pembaharu yang telah melakarkan sumbangan bermakna dalam gerakan pembaharuan di dunia Islam. Pemikiran islah yang digagaskannya merumuskan fikrah tajdid yang ideal yang terkesan daripada gagasan panIslam yang dicetuskan oleh Jamal al-Din al-Afghani dan Imam Muhammad Abduh. Ideide brilian yang dikemukakan Al-Afghani dan Abduh dan tulisan-tulisan radikal yang dimuatkan dalam jurnal al-Urwat al-Wuthqa telah memberikan impak yang signifikan terhadap aspirasi dan cita-cita pembaharuan Ridha yang dilanjutkan lewat Majallah al-Manar.

Asal usul
Rashid Ridha dilahirkan di daerah Qalamun, berhampiran wilayah Tripoli, Lebanon pada 27 Jamadil Awal 1282/1865Muhammad

Rashid Ridha dilahirkan di daerah Qalamun, berhampiran wilayah Tripoli, Lebanon pada 27 Jamadil Awal 1282/1865. Beliau mengikuti pengajian awalnya di madrasah tradisional (kuttab) di desa Qalamun, dan seterusnya melanjutkan pengajiannya ke Madrasah al-Wataniyyah al-Islamiyyah yang didirikan oleh pemerintah Uthmani di kota Tripoli. Madrasah ini diselenggarakan oleh Syaikh Husayn al-Jisr (1845-1909), yang terpengaruh dengan agenda pembaharuan dan modernisme. Di sini, Ridha mempelajari ilmu alam, geografi, matematik, bahasa Arab, Perancis dan Turki dan berjaya menamatkan pengajiannya dengan memperoleh diploma alim pada 1897. Beliau menceburi bidang kewartawanan, sebagai kerjaya utamanya setelah dinobatkan sebagai shaikh dan alim, dan menghasilkan al-Manar yang menganalisis falsafah pemikiran dan perkembanganperkembangan yang signifikan dalam dunia Islam. Rida merupakan penulis yang prolifik, yang telah menghasilkan karya-karya besar dalam pemikiran tafsir, hadith, politik, dakwah, kalam, perbandingan agama, fiqh dan fatwa.

Antara tulisannya termasuklah Tarikh Al-Ustadh Al-Imam Al-Syaikh Muhammad Abduh (Biografi Imam Muhammad Abduh), Nida li Jins al-Latif (Panggilan terhadap Kaum Wanita), Al-Wahyu Muhammadi (Wahyu Nabi Muhammad), Yusr Al-Islam wa Usul At-Tashri Al-Am(Kemudahan Islam dan Prinsip-prinsip Umum dalam Syariat), Al-Khilafah wa AlImamah Al-Uzma (Khalifah dan Imam-Imam yang Besar), Muhawarah Al-Muslih wa AlMuqallid (Dialog Antara Kaum Pembaharu dan Konservatif), Zikra Al-Maulid AnNabawiy (Memperingati Hari Kelahiran Nabi Muhammad), dan Haquq Al-Marah AsSalihah (Hak-hak Wanita Muslim). Dalam kiprah politiknya, beliau memperlihatkan pengaruh yang luas dengan keanggotaan yang aktif dalam organisasi Islam, seperti menjadi Presiden Kongres Syria (1920), menganggotai delegasi Palestin-Syria di Geneva (1921), Jawatankuasa Politik di Kaherah (1925), dan menghadiri Konferens Islam di Mekah (1926) dan Jerusalem (1931). Ridha turut menyumbangkan peranannya dalam bidang pemikiran, pendidikan dan agama. Dalam bidang pendidikan, beliau menekankan pembangunan institusi-institusi pendidikan bagi memajukan ide dan mengembangkan praktis dan kurikulum pendidikan yang menyatukan pengetahuan agama dan sains. Dengan matlamat ini, beliau mendirikan Jamiyyat Ihya al-Kutub al-Arabiyyah pada tahun 1318/1880 bersama Muhammad Abduh dan Madrasah al-Dawah wal-Irshad (Society for Propaganda and Guidance) pada tahun 1912 di Kaherah.
Ridha menggesa umat Islam untuk menumpukan usaha mereka kepada kerja kebajikan yang paling murni itu, yakni, mendirikan sekolah..Tentang

aspirasi pendidikan yang digagaskan ini, Charles C. Adams menyebut dalam bukunya Islam and Modernism: A Study of the Modern Reform Movement Inaugurated by Muhammad Abduh: Rashid Ridha, dalam setiap penulisan dan pidato umumnya, seperti juga Muhammad Abduh sebelum beliau, menggesa umat Islam untuk menumpukan usaha mereka kepada kerja kebajikan yang paling murni itu, yakni, mendirikan sekolah. Mendirikan sekolah, katanya, adalah lebih baik daripada mendirikan masjid, kerana solat orang yang jahil dalam sebuah masjid adalah tidak bernilai, sementara, dengan pembinaan sekolah, kejahilan dapat dibanteras dan dengan itu keduadua kerja agama dan dunia (sekular) dapat dipenuhi dengan sempurna . Warisan dan legasi pemikiran Ridha banyak mempengaruhi corak dan kerangka pemikiran ulama dan idealog Islam yang terkemuka seperti pengasas Ikhwan, al-syahid Hasan alBanna, dan pendiriJamaat Islami, Abul Ala al-Mawdudi, pengasas Muhammadiyyah Ahmad Dahlan dan mantan Presiden Parti Islam se-Malaysia PAS - Dr Burhanuddin al-Helmy, Pengaruh yang besar ini diungkapkan oleh Shaykh Mustafa al-Maraghi (1881-1945) yang pernah menjawat jawatan Rektor al-Azhar tentang kesan perjuangan dan fikrah pembaharuannya mengatakan: as-Sayyid Rashid berjaya dan para pendukung dan pengikutnya telah bercambah, ketika mana pernah beliau hanya meraih beberapa kalangan pengikut dan murid, dan dalam lingkungan akademik ditemui mereka yang mengusung prinsip dan mengikut jejaknya, dan di kalangan orang awam yang pandangannya telah terbuka kepada cahaya, dan awan kejahilan dan kebatilan terluput daripada hati mereka.

Al-Urwa Al-Wuthqa
Pendedahan awal Ridha terhadap gerakan politik dan islah tercetus setelah terbaca jurnal al-Urwa alWuthqaPendedahan

awalnya terhadap gerakan politik dan islahtercetus setelah terbaca jurnal al-Urwa al-Wuthqa yang diterbitkan pada tahun 1884 (yang dikeluarkan secara berkala selama 8 bulan) di Paris, oleh Jamal al-Din al-Afghani yang mengungkapkan ide-ide pembaharuan dan mengapungkan faham anti kolonialisme, pemberdayaan reformasi dan pemacuan ijtihad. Ridha menjelaskan tentang idealisme pemikiran yang dizahirkan dalam al-Urwa alWuthqa dengan katanya: Aku menemui salinan al-Urwa al-Wuthqa daripada kertas-kertas dalam simpanan ayah. Setelah aku membaca artikel-artikelnya yang menyeru kepada gagasan Pan-Islamisme, meraih semula kegemilangan, kekuatan dan keunggulan Islam, penemuan semula ketinggian dan kedudukan yang pernah dimilikinya, dan pembebasan umatnya daripada dominasi luar, aku sangat teruja sehingga seperti memasuki fasa baru dalam hidupku. Dan aku sangat tertarik dengan metodologi yang diketengahkan dalam artikel-artikel ini dalam melakar dan membuktikan hujahnya dalam perbahasan dengan bersandarkan ayat-ayat al-Quran, dan tentang tafsirnya yang tiada seorang mufassir telah menulis sepertinya. Ridha turut menghuraikan kekuatan al-Urwa al-Wuthqa sebagai hasil pemikiran yang penting yang menggariskanmanhaj perjuangan yang berkesan dalam menangani kepincangan budaya dan politik dan mengangkat harakat pemikiran dan menggarap permasalahan umat yang mendasar: antara poin yang terpenting yang menzahirkan keunggulan al-Urwa al-Wuthqa dan kekuatannya yang tersendiri adalah: (1) (penekanannya terhadap) ketentuan Allah terhadap makhlukNya dan sistem aturan dalam masyarakat manusia, dan sebab kebangkitan dan kejatuhan sesuatu bangsa sepertimana juga kekuatan dan kelemahan mereka; (2) penjelasan bahawa Islam adalah agama yang mempunyai kedaulatan dan kuasa, yang merangkul kebahagiaan di dunia dan di akhirat, dan menegaskan bahawa ia adalah agama yang menggabungkan nilai spirituil dan sosial, sivil dan militer, dan bahawa kekuatan militernya adalah untuk melindungi keadilan undangundang, petunjuk dan wibawa umat, dan bukan untuk mengerahkan kepercayaan dengan paksa; dan (3) bagi umat Islam tidak ada faham kebangsaan dan nasionalisme kecuali terhadap agama mereka, oleh itu mereka semuanya bersaudara di mana perbezaan ras dan darah keturunan tidak harus memisahkan kesatuan mereka, tidak juga perbezaan bahasa dan kerajaan mereka. Semangat yang dipugar daripada pembacaan al-Urwa al-Wuthqa ini terus menggilap karakter dan mengukuhkan daya perjuangan Ridha, yang mengilhamkannya untuk berhijrah ke Mesir dan bergabung dengan al-Afghani dan Abduh bagi melanjutkan perjuangan Pan-Islamisme: Setelah beliau [al-Afghani] meninggal, harapanku semakin tinggi untuk menemu wakilnya Shaykh Muhammad Abduh untuk meraih ilmu dan pandangannya tentang reformasi Islam. Aku menunggu sehingga terbukanya peluang pada bulan Rajab tahun 1315 (1897) dan itu adalah sebaik saja aku menamatkan pengajian di Tripoli, memperoleh status alim, dan tauliah untuk mengajar secara bebas, daripada mentor-ku, Shaikh Husayn al-Jisr. Kemudian itu aku lansung berhijrah ke Mesir dan melancarkan al-Manar untuk menyeru kepada pembaharuan.

Majalah al-ManarAl-Manar

Al-Manar, adalah majalah bulanan yang membahaskan idealisme pembaharuan dan tajdid di Kaherah. Ia mengungkapkan tradisi pemikiran yang segar yang diasaskan daripada ide-ide pembaharuan yang dipelopori oleh Jamal al-din al-Afghani dan Muhammad Abduh dalam alUrwa al-Wuthqa. Fokusnya adalah usaha pembaharuan dan dakwah. Sementara akhbar lain membicarakan kebobrokan dan kegawatan di dunia Islam, AlManar mencadangkan penyelesaiannya yang umum, dan memberikan formula yang mendetil. Pengaruh al-Manar yang signifikan ini diungkapkan oleh Shaykh Husayn al-Jisr ketika mengulas tentang keluaran pertama al-Manar dan ketahanan gerakan islahyang dibawa oleh Ridha: Al-Manar telah muncul, menyerlah dengan cahaya yang luar biasa dan menyenangkan, hanyasanya cahaya ini telah dipantul oleh sinar yang kuat yang hampir mencederakan pandangan. Al-Manar menggerakkan perbincangan tentang dakwah, idealisme dan islah, menerangkan dasar-dasar Pan-Islamisme, meneroka persoalan-persoalan yang berkait dengan ajaran aqidah dan hukum, membincangkan faham modernisme, sekularisme, nasionalisme dan mempelopori dialog dan pertukaran ide antara budaya, dan meneropong pemikiran baru berkait dengan falsafah agama dan budaya dan menangani isu-isu sosial dan peradaban. Al-Manar pertama kali diterbitkan pada 21 Shawal 1315 H (17 Mac 1898) sebagai jurnal mingguan yang memuatkan lapan halaman, menyiarkan telegram-telegram mingguan dan berita-berita mutakhir, di samping artikel-artikel utama yang ditulis oleh ketua editor iaitu Ridha sendiri. Bermula pada tahun kedua, ia dikeluarkan setiap bulan, dan tersebar dengan meluas ke seluruh jajahan Islam dalam wilayah Turki, India, Mesir, Syria, Maghribi dan turut diseludup ke arkipelago Melayu dan Tanah Jawa. Pada tahun kedua belas keluarannya (1909), salinan-salinan yang berbaki daripada keluaran pertama telah dijual empat kali ganda daripada harganya yang asal. Dalam mukaddimah ringkasnya memperkenalkan al-Manar, Ridha menulis: Demikian ini adalah suara yang menyeru dengan lidah Arab yang jelas, dan seruan kepada kebenaran yang sampai ke telinga mereka yang bercakap dengan huruf dad [masyarakat Arab] dan ke telinga seluruh penduduk Timur, memanggil dari tempat yang dekat [Mesir] dari mana kedua-dua bangsa di Timur dan Barat dapat mendengar, dan ia menyebar luas supaya dengan itu penduduk Turki dan Parsi juga dapat menerimanya. Ia menyeru: Wahai, bangsa timur yang sedang lena dibuai mimpi yang enak, bangun, bangun! Tidurmu telah melampaui batas rehat. Menurut C.C. Berg dalam kajiannya tentang sejarah Indonesia, gerakan pencerahan yang dicetuskan oleh al-Manartelah melahirkan kelompok pembaharu yang mempelopori perjuangan kaum muda di Indonesia: Al-Manar tidak memberikan pencerahan kepada masyarakat Mesir sahaja. Ia mencerah pemikiran masyarakat Arab di dalam dan di luar; umat Islam dari rantau arkipelago Melayu yang menuntut di Universiti al-Azhar atau di Mekah, dan bekas pelajar dari Indonesia yang masih memelihara keakraban hubungannya dengan dunia Islam setelah pulang ke sempadan negaranya di Dar al-Islamdan kesemua orang-orang ini kini melihat Islam dalam rangka cahaya yang barukalangan yang telah menyelami dan mempertahan cahaya al-Manar di Mesir, menjadi kelompok Manar kecil

untuk lingkungannya, setelah pulang ke Indonesia.

Al-Manar: Tafsir yang menekankan metode al-adabi al-ijtimai (sosial dan budaya)Tafsir

al-Quran

Menerusi Majallah al-Manar, Ridha mengusung pemikiran Imam Muhammad Abduh dengan menyediakan ruangan khas, bermula daripada tahun ketiga keluarannya, untuk menerbitkan siri-siri Komentar al-Quran oleh Abduh yang disampaikannya di Jami al-Azhar, Kaherah. Ruangan khas ini turut memuatkan fatwa-fatwa Abduh, atau keputusannya tentang persoalan menyangkut hukum atau agama yang dikemukakan oleh pembaca; selain seksyen yang memuatkan perkembangan dan ide-ide baru di dunia Islam, serta ulasanulasan buku dan publikasi yang lain. Ayat-ayat yang dikupas oleh Imam Muhammad Abduh merangkumi surah-surah pendek yang meliputi tafsir surat al-Asr, tafsir Juz Amma, tafsir surah al-Fatihah, tafsir ayat 78-79 dari surah al-Nisa, tafsir ayat 52-55 dari surah al-Hajj, dan tafsir ayat 37 dari surah alAhzab yang kemudiannya digazetkan dalam Tafsir al-Manar. Manhaj yang digariskan oleh Imam Muhammad Abduh dalam tafsirannya adalah berteraskan metode al-adabi al-ijtimai (sosial dan budaya) yang menekankan hubungan ayat dengan kondisi sosial dan upaya meraih hidayahnya dan kritikan yang keras terhadap budaya taqlid yang membengkak dalam masyarakat. Tekanan yang penting diberikan terhadap tradisi aqliah dan ijtihad, seperti dinyatakan dalam huraiannya terhadap ayat 38-42 daripada surah Abasa: Muka (orang-orang yang beriman) pada hari itu berseri-seri, tertawa, lagi bersuka ria, dan muka (orang-orang yang ingkar) pada hari itu penuh debu, diliputi oleh kesuraman dan kegelapan. Mereka itulah orang yang kafir, yang derhaka. Imam Muhammad Abduh mengulas: Sesiapa yang ketika hidup di dunia berusaha mencari kebenaran dengan akal fikiran yang dianugerahkan kepadanya tanpa terikat dengan titik bengek adat, kebiasaan atau pandangan sesiapa kecuali Rasulullah, serta tidak angkuh dalam menerima kebenaran apabila dihadapkan padanya, akan bergembira di akhirat kelak, kerana hasil usaha mereka dapat dilihat di hadapan mata. Manakala sesiapa yang ketika hidup di dunia tidak menghargai aqalnya, reda dengan kejahilan, enggan terima kebenaran, sekalipun telah terbukti jelas kerana taksub dengan pendapat pimpinannya, malah sedaya upaya mempertahankannya dengan takwil dan penaka helah yang batil, kelak di akhirat akan mendapati segala amalan yang disangka akan menguntungkan sebenarnya menjadi punca kecelakaan dan sengsara, lalu wajah menjadi hitam dan gelap kerana kecewa dan dukacita yang amat . Cahaya Obor al-Manar Perjuangan Shaykh Muhammad Rashid Ridha untuk memimpin perubahan telah memperlihatkan kesan yang dramatik di negara-negara umat Islam. Peranan jurnal alManar dalam mengangkat martabat dan harakah perjuangan cukup dirasai di seluruh rantau Islam, khasnya di Nusantara.

Kemantapan fikiran dan idealisme yang dicetuskan oleh Ridha telah berhasil memperkasa umat dan melahirkan golongan pembaharu yang meneruskan perjuangannya membanteras taqlid, membebaskan fikiran daripada kepercayaan jelek, tahyul dan khurafat, dan memperbaharui tekad ke arah memantapkan solidaritas dan merapatkan perselisihan mazhab. Peranan kita di bumi kita adalah untuk melanjutkan perjuangan dan meneruskan iltizam Ridha untuk mengembangkan pengaruh Madrasah Imam Muhammad Abduh dan menyalakan obor perjuangannya ke seluruh dunia.
The Star has suspended two senior editors indefinitely for approving a photograph of Erykah Badu with a tattoo of the word Allah on her body, and appointed two Muslim associate editors to guide the newspaper on Muslim sensitivities. This comes after the Home Ministry banned Badus concert and issued a show-cause letter to the national daily for the incident. For Current Affairs, Kathleen Tan talks to Islamic Renaissance Front chairman and director Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa for insights into this issue

Warisan dan legasi pemikiran Ridha banyak mempengaruhi corak dan kerangka pemikiran ulama dan idealog Islam yang terkemuka seperti pengasas Ikhwan, al-syahid Hasan al-Banna, dan pendiri Jamaat Islami, Abul Ala al -Mawdudi, pengasas Muhammadiyyah Ahmad Dahlan dan mantan Presiden Parti Islam se-Malaysia PAS - Dr Burhanuddin al-Helmy.

Tentang aspirasi pendidikan yang digagaskan ini, Charles C. Adams menyebut dalam bukunya Islam and Modernism: A Study of the Modern Reform Movement Inaugurated by Muhammad Abduh: Rashid Ridha, dalam setiap penulisan dan pidato umumnya, seperti juga Muhammad Abduh sebelum beliau, menggesa umat Islam untuk menumpukan usaha mereka kepada kerja kebajikan yang paling murni itu, yakni, mendirikan sekolah. Mendirikan sekolah, katanya, adalah lebih baik daripada mendirikan masjid, kerana solat orang yang jahil dalam sebuah masjid adalah tidak bernilai, sementara, dengan pembinaan sekolah, kejahilan dapat dibanteras dan dengan itu kedua-dua kerja agama dan dunia (sekular) dapat dipenuhi dengan sempurna..

Jurubicara umat pewaris ilmu umat Islam namanya diukir dalam tinta perjuangan suci dan mulia. Bekas 'tangan' mereka kekal bahan kajian dan berharga untuk renungan.

Bismillah Walhamdulillah Was Salaatu Was Salaam 'ala Rasulillah As-Salaam Alaikum Wa-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakatuhu Prayer - 4th Rajab 1433 (25th May 2012) Narrated Ibn 'Umar (Radi-Allahu 'anhu): The Prophet (Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wa Sallam) said, "If your women ask permission to go to the mosque at night, allow them." Bukhari Vol. 1 : No. 824 Bismillah Walhamdulillah Was Salaatu Was Salaam 'ala Rasulillah As-Salaam Alaikum Wa-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakatuhu Prayer - 4th Rajab 1433 (25th May 2012) Narrated Ibn 'Umar (Radi-Allahu 'anhu): The Prophet (Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wa Sallam) said, "If your women ask permission to go to the mosque at night, allow them." THE

COW-HEAD LESSON FOR

MERDEKA: DELEGITIMIZE VIOLENCE AND HATRED

We, the undersigned civil society organizations are shocked, angered and saddened by the Cow -Head protest in Shah Alam last Friday, 28 August 09, against a proposed Hindu temple in Section 23 of the city. The carrying of the head of a freshly slaughtered cow, a sacred animal to the Hindus, and the unveiled threat of bloodshed on the eve of Merdeka celebration suggests that all Malaysians need to reflect deeply about our 52 years of nationhood, and the clarion call of 1Malaysia. From the outset, these heinous acts of crime perpetrated by the irresponsible few must NEVER be seen as a conflict between the two faiths or the two faith communities. All major spiritual traditions, Islam and Hinduism included, uphold peace and human dignity as their common and core values. Our spirituality and love for humanity mandates us for the perpetual quest for peace and abhorrence of all forms of hatred and civil disorder. The Shah Alam incident sadly reveals that violence and hatred are still inadequately delegitimized in our society. We exhort all Malaysians to unite in our joint efforts to decry and delegitimize violence and hatred to prevent any individual or grouping from resorting to intimidation and provocation when faced with any town-planning disputes or rows of similar nature. We the undersigned, taking cognizance of the above, do hereby: 1. URGE that all disputes in civil society must be resolved through peaceful means such as peaceful

demonstrations, rational dialogues, extensive consultations and legal suits. The Selangor State Governments plan to hold a town hall meeting to facilitate communication and engagement with all stakeholders is highly commendable. 2. CONDEMN in the strongest possible language any act to humiliate and intimidate any ethno-religious

community, in this case the irreligious and irresponsible display of a cow head. In Shah Alam incident, not only the Hindus are humiliated and hurt but also all thinking Malaysians Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, Sikh, those of other spiritual traditions and atheist. We particularly share the pain and anguish of the Shah Alam Hindu community. 3. URGE all religious authorities, community leaders and political parties to unreservedly condemn the perpetrators of the reprehensible Cow-Head act. Every racial and religious bigot should be shamed and distanced by the general public especially by their ethno-religious community, which they seek to represent. Political parties must also take disciplinary action against members involved in inciting hatred. This would deprive them the pleasure and gratification of self-righteousness and heroism. Legal punishment alone may prove inadequate because it may instead grant the offenders the self-perceived honour of martyrdom. 4. SUPPORT a thorough investigation of those responsible for the Cow-Head protest for threatening violence (not

sedition) on both the local Hindu community and the elected State Government of Selangor. Threats of violence, for whatever reason; has no place in civilized society. Violence must be condemned and can only be completely delegitimized when society has zero tolerance for it and every offender is appropriately punished.

Encyclopedia of the Middle Easttt Note - This encyclopedia is a work in progress. It is far from complete and is being constructed and improved all the time. If you would like to contribute articles or expansions of existing articles, please contact news (at) mideastweb.org. Suggestions and corrections are welcome. The concise version of this dictionary is at our Middle East Glossary.

Spelling - Spelling of words in Middle-Eastern languages is often arbitrary. There may be many variants of the same name or word such as Hezbollah, Hizbolla, Hisbolla or Husayn and Hussein. There are some conventions for converting words from Semitic languages such as Arabic and Hebrew. There are numerous variant renderings of the same Arabic or Hebrew words, such as "Hizbollah," "Hisbulla" etc. It is not possible to find exact equivalents for several letters. Pronunciation - Arabic and Hebrew vowels are pronounced differently than in English. "o" is very short. The "a" is usually pronounced like the "a" in m arket, sometimes as the "a" in "Arafat." The " 'A " is guttural. " 'H "- the 'het ('Hirbeh, 'Hebron, 'Hisbollah') designates a sound somewhat similar to the ch in "loch" in Scots pronunciation, but made by touching the back of your tongue to the roof of your mouth. The CH should be pronounced like Loch, a more assertive consonant than 'het. The "Gh" combination, and sometimes the "G," designate a deep guttural sound that Westerners may hear approximately as "r." The "r" sound is always formed with the back of the tongue, and is not like the English "r." More information: Hebrew, Arabic