Kultum Quraish Shihab : Back to the Qur'aan and Sunnah

Before talking about the challenges facing the Muslim Ummah in detail, it should be underlined that the challenge and be faced opposition not only from outside but also from within ourselves. Presumably that was the cause why the Prophet, when he returned from a battle, asserting that: "We just got back from the small jihad toward a great jihad, i.e. against ourselves."

It is reported also that Sayyidina Ali once said: "o man, there is illness you have on you, but you do not know, and the cure is in you, but you cannot just ignore."

If now we have been aware of the challenges, then the challenge was first to look at ourselves before looking for it on others. In this regard, we should learn from our own fingers when pointing. Only one finger we point out, that the index finger, while the other three fingers are pointing to the US and one of them pressed by thumb.

First the Muslims respected by the world community. They learn from us. But, now we are lagging behind in all areas, we even got a challenge from all directions.

There is a saying: If Baghdad does not fall into the hands of the Mongols in 1258 M, which was followed by the destruction of the science centres; and if the words of the Western world do not find trade routes at the 15th century AD, of course, the State of the Islamic world not as it is today. But, what's the point of the needle because suppose time can not be played back. Since then, little by little but for sure, the Islamic world has experienced a slump, and it continues to this day.

Now the Islamic world experiencing contact with the West, not the Islamic world before the collapse of Baghdad, or the collapse of the Almohad Dynasty and his clan were driven from Spain in a Muslin 1235 M. In fact, the challenges faced now is not only in the political sphere and the economy, but also in the field of ideology and the materialistic philosophy, which not infrequently contradict Islamic teachings.

Awareness about the existence of the challenge has long appeared. A variety of recipes and step change has been attempted. Anyone taking the apathy or indifferent to the progress of it, that may be because they are not aware of the impact of the poor against the people on the one hand, but sometimes due to be lulled by the triumph of the past on the other side. They are producing what was then named the al-Adab wa al-fakhr Tamjid, i.e. pointing the golden age that has passed and the elated at her. The impact of this attitude is often when there are other party's scientific discoveries, we spoke up: "that already exist in the Qur'an."

There also are trying to face trials (odds) it with a religious purification, such as, among others, performed by the Wahabiyah movement in Saudi Arabia, al-Sanusiyah in Libya, and Jemaah Islamiyah in Pakistan. They contended that the Prophet Muhammad, is the best based on the Hadith of Prophet Muhammad. (It's "the best of generations is 3 "). Anything received from the Apostles SAW, without considering the cultural factors and the positive development of the community. They forget, or perhaps don't want to know, that the Apostle of Allah, also once said, "my people like rain, it is not known whether the beginning, middle, or ultimately the best."

With the logic of the "Apostle of ALLAH., and friends, as well the generation", they steadfastly deny everything that comes after that time, both sourced from within their own community, all the more that comes from outside of the community and other Nations.

Here, once again, they forgot the advice of Prophet Muhammad SAW, that: "Al-Hikmah (i.e. the scientific and science charity amaliah is) and yearning of a Muslim, no matter where it is found then the Muslims that's reasonably take it."

There is another group of Muslims who argued that the challenges that must be faced by learning from the West and take things from there. However, they often forget their own cultural roots as well as the teachings of Islam. This, for example, reached by Ahmad Khan in India or Kemal at-Taturk in Turkey.

There is also a small group who tried to learn the various progress made Western society and implement it without leaving the personality and the principles of Islam. The third view above still have supporters supporters respectively.

Thus, we know that when we are sick, but the drugs that we use have not been right. What has been done over the years, most recently as an infusion to maintain life, not to the treatment that can relieve the ailment.

Now, if we had been unaware that the Islamic community were in the challenge and failed, whereas formerly jaya, then guiding the Scriptures demand that we look for the cause of that change. Why we changed so that derailed in the State challenged? Why nowadays we become consumers of civilization, is the past we are producers?

Some experts said that to realize the civilization required three elements that fused the man + land/territory + time. Also the availability of elements of all three adhesives namely religious and spiritual values.

All civilization was born the third of these, which is of course accompanied by an adhesive.

According to some experts, such as Max Weber, that the revival of Europe was born of Protestant ethic, in which they stressed that heaven can be obtained through the success in the world, and because of that they meant it to build themselves and society in the life the world to reach for heaven ukhrawi. Compare this with the spiritual values of view most Muslims are contrary to those values.

In the observations of many experts, the spiritual values or religious teachings always accompanies the birth of civilization. Even the great civilization of the fifteen known in history, starting from the Sumerian Civilisation until this immature American Civilization, all of them born out of defending the values which they do with forced to emigrate to other places .

Muslims today have all three elements above civilization, human, material, land and time. Muslims also have religious teachings, but our state turned out to be not as expected. If so, we have to find the root of the problem as well as being our challenge on the elements of civilization, human being, lands, and time, as well as on the values of perekatnya, i.e. the understanding and practice our religion.

Is there anything wrong? The number of Muslims, many of which have extensive land, and the time available is not less than the time of others. If so, what about the teachings of his religion? Is there anything wrong?

Every Muslim will surely say: no! Therefore, be so understanding and our experience against the Qur'an. From this was born the slogan: Let's return to the Qur'an and Sunnah.