Rabu, 30 Oktober 2024
Bandung – BANDUNGMU.COM, Bandung – Seminar “Living Al-Quran: Study of Al-Quran Interpretation and Problems of Islamic Da’wah in the West” which was held on Friday, 25 October 2024, at the KH Ahmad Dahlan Auditorium, UM Bandung, one of which discussed the deep differences between views Muhammadiyah and Ahmadiyah in interpreting the Koran.
Apart from presenting the Amir of the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Jamaah and two Ahmadiyah preachers, the resource person from UM Bandung was represented by the Deputy Dean of the FAI UM Bandung Cecep Taufikurrohman MA PhD.
In opening his presentation, Buya, Cecep’s nickname, emphasized that the differences between Ahmadiyah and Muhammadiyah are not only related to furu’iyyah (branch of worship), but also touch on ushul al-aqidah which can lead to disbelief. In his presentation, Buya reminded that even though they appear similar in appearance, Ahmadiyah’s beliefs regarding creeds are fundamentally different from Muhammadiyah’s, especially in matters of prophethood
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Fundamental Error
According to Buya, Ahmadiyah is aggressively translating the Koran into various world languages with a target of up to one hundred languages. However, he pointed out that there were fundamental errors in several translations of the Ahmadiyah version which could mislead the understanding of Islam among lay people. For this reason, Buya found several fundamental confusions in the translation and interpretation of the Ahmadiyah version of the Al-Quran. “There are ethical and methodological errors in the translation and interpretation of the Ahmadiyya version of the Koran. The Ahmadiyya version of the translation of the Al-Quran was not carried out directly from the Arabic text, but from the English and Urdu translations. "So, this is not a translation of the Al-Quran, but a translation of the translation of the Al-Quran," said Buya. “This can cause distortion of the meaning of words in the Koran. "The reason is, translators or interpreters will not be able to capture the deep meaning of each sentence used in the Al-Quran (Arabic)," added Buya.
“This can cause distortion of the meaning of words in the Koran. “The reason is, translators or interpreters will not be able to capture the deep meaning of each sentence used in the Al-Quran (Arabic),” added Buya. Apart from that, Buya added, one of the very serious methodological errors in the translation and interpretation of the Ahmadiyya version of the Al-Quran was when translating and interpreting the events of the crucifixion and murder of the Prophet Isa (QS An-Nisa: 157-158). “How could Ahmadiyah translators and commentators conclude that the Prophet Jesus was captured and crucified, but did not die at the crucifixion site? This is a very wrong and misleading conclusion. “Because, the verse above clearly and unequivocally confirms that ‘they did not kill Jesus and did not crucify him’, how come the Ahmadiyah conclude that Prophet Isa was captured and crucified?” Buya asked.
This conclusion, said Buya, clearly contradicts the text of the Al-Quran verse itself. This conclusion is exacerbated by the use of references to Ahmadiyah interpretations. Instead of using mu’tabar interpretations (the validity of which is accepted by all groups) such as Al-Thabari, Al-Qurthubi, and others, stressed Buya, Ahmadiyah interpreters mostly quote the New Testament. “In fact, in the reference list, Ahmadiyah claims to use these interpretations as references,” added Buya.
One example of erroneous interpretation due to the use of inappropriate references, according to Buta, is when Ahmadiyah interpreted the concept of khataman nabiyyin in surah Al-Azhzab verse 40. Methodological confusion in the translation and interpretation of the Ahmadiyah version, said this alumnus of Egypt’s Al-Azhar University , can be seen from the Ahmadiyah’s inconsistent attitude in applying the method of interpreting the Koran that the Ahmadiyah themselves believe in.
"Earlier we all listened to the explanation from Mr. Amir JAI that one of the characteristics of Ahmadiyah Tafsir is using the sunnah as a second tool for interpreting the Koran. "However, in fact, when interpreting the words khataman nabiiyin in surah Al-Ahzab verse 40, Ahmadiyah does not refer to the explanation of authentic hadiths that the meaning of khataman nabiyyin is the last prophet, where Rasulullah emphasized that there were no prophets after him," explained Buya.
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“Ahmadiyah instead makes their own interpretations that are in accordance with their beliefs, even though they clearly conflict with the authentic Hadith,” added Buya while explaining the authentic hadith that correlate with the meaning of the Prophet’s Khataman in the verse above.
Apart from that, continued Buya, the inconsistency of the Ahmadiyah version of the interpretation method is very visible in applying Arabic language rules. For example, when Ahmadiyah used surah Al-Haj verse 75 as an argument that prophethood was still ongoing.
According to them, in this verse there are the words “yashthafi” which is a fiil mudhari sentence which means moderate and will/continuous. So, the meaning of this verse according to Ahmadiyya is that Allah is and will continue to choose his messengers from among angels and humans. So, in the Ahmadiyya view, the prophethood did not end with the death of the Prophet.
“However, in other places, to confirm that Mirza Gulam Ahmad (MGA) is a prophet after the Prophet Muhammad, Ahmadiyah uses surah Yasin verse 21 which reads ‘wa ja’a min Ahlil madinati rajulun yas’a.’ ja’a (and has come) fiil madhi (past) sentence. The Ahmadiyya version of the interpretation emphasizes that the word rajulun (a man) is MGA, even though in the verse it is emphasized ‘has come’, the sentence above uses f’il madi (ja’a) past tense. The distance between this verse and the MGA declaration is 1,350 years. Where is the consistency?” Buya asked.
Prophetic Concept
Buya also highlighted the contradictions in the use of the concept of prophethood in Ahmadiyya. On the one hand, Ahmadiyah stated that the Prophet Isa had died to confirm that MGA was Al-Masih Al-Mau'ud. On the other hand, they use the proposition that Isa Ibn Maryam will descend at the end of time to justify their view that the prophethood has not yet been closed. “This is a clear contradiction. "Again, this started from Ahmadiyah's mistake in interpreting the word khataman which only means the most important/jewelry," said Buya while citing the reference he used. In the Al-Quran, the word khatama has no less than five meanings, including closing, ending and locking. Ahmadiyah only chooses one of these meanings without qarinah. In fact, in the science of interpretation, sentences that have ambiguous meanings (double meanings), as long as they do not contradict each other, all these meanings can be used to strengthen each other. "From this rule, the meaning of Khataman Nabiyyin is the most important prophet, the leader of the prophets, the adornment of the prophets, as well as the cover and lock of the prophethood so that there are no other prophets after him. "This is the source of the confusion in the meaning of the Ahmadiyah version of the Prophet's khataman," said Buya Cecep, ending his presentation.
For this reason, at the end of his presentation, Buya emphasized the importance of being careful in interpreting the Koran so that religious understanding does not deviate. Buya believes that differences in views between Muhammadiyah and Ahmadiyah must be approached through dialogue. However, it is still necessary to pay attention to the fundamental principles of Islamic faith.***
google translate being used…
Categories: Ahmadis, Ahmadiyyat: True Islam, Asia, Indonesia, Quran
Anyway, an interesting joint effort. It is up to the reader to reflect on whose interpretation may be correct. My understanding of the above that the ‘complaints’ are more related to interpretation than actual errors in translation. Your comments are welcome too.