Chief Justice Anwar Usman opening the Musabaqah Tilawatil Qur'an in Lewintana Village, Soromandi Subdistrict, Bima Regency, West Nusa Tenggara Province, Saturday (21/08/2021). Photo by Humas MK/Agung.

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Sunday, August 22, 2021 | 09:08 WIB

BIMA CITY, Public Relations—Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court (MK) opened the Musabaqah Tilawatil Quran (MTQ) in Lewintana Village, Soromandi Subdistrict, Bima Regency, West Nusa Tenggara Province, Saturday evening, August 21, 2021. Bima mayor H. Muhammad Lutfi, Bima City police chief AKBP Haryo Tejo Wicaksono, Dompu Regency police chief AKBP Syarif Hidayatullah, Lewintana village chief Hidayat, as well as religious figures and community members of Lewintana Village were in attendance.

Afterward, Justice Anwar delivered a keynote speech on “Islam and the Constitution,” in which he said that Pancasila—the national ideology and source of the values in the Constitution—was the ijtihad of Muslim leaders during the struggle for independence. In fact, many figures and scholars stated that Pancasila was the greatest gift from Muslims and Islamic leaders to the republic. The history of the formation of Pancasila was recorded in the Jakarta Charter. The first precept of Pancasila originally read, “The belief in the One Supreme God, with the obligation to abide by Islamic law for adherents of Islam.”

The phrase “with the obligation to abide by Islamic law for adherents of Islam” was then removed on the basis of maintaining national unity and integrity, as well as respecting Indonesian citizens of other religions. This great spirit of Muslims was seen by many to have a very high national value. In fact, the formulation of Pancasila values, which became the basis of the Constitution, by Muslim scholars bore similarities with the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah at the time of the Prophet Muhammad SAW.

The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah was signed in 628 CE when Muslim residents of Madinah wanted to perform haj pilgrimage in Mecca. The Mecca Quraysh at the time, who were not Muslims, mistook the Muslims’ pilgrimage from Medina to Mecca as a sign of attack.

A meeting between the Medina Muslims and the Mecca Quraysh then resulted in the treaty. The Muslims, represented by the Prophet Muhammad SAW, and the Quraysh, represented by Suhail bin Amr, entered a very difficult meeting. The prophet showed gentleness and wisdom, which his companions often considered lax and yielding. At the time, with the large number of Muslims were well-trained in war, so it wouldn’t have been difficult for the Medina Muslims to subdue the Quraysh in a short time using force. However, the prophet preferred a gentler, patient, and yielding approach in negotiating.

The proposal to begin the treaty by bismillahirrahmanirrahim (“In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful”) was denied by bin Amr as rahman and Rahim were not known by the Quraysh. They then settled with bismikallahumma (O Allah, with Your Name). Bin Amr also rejected the phrase “Muhammad Rasulullah,” something his people did not acknowledge. It was then changed to “Muhammad bin Abdullah.”

The prophet’s gentleness and patience brought great blessings, one of them being proselytizing of Islam to all corners of the Arab country became easier. Had force and violence been used in place of negotiation, it would certainly have had a bad impact on the spread of Islam.

When Pancasila was discussed by Indonesian Muslim leaders, the Muslim majority yielded for unity and togetherness. Pancasila values in all of its precepts are in line with Islamic teachings.

The first precept “The belief in the One Supreme God” is in line with tauhid (the oneness of God), which is laid in surah Al-Ikhlas in the Quran. The second precept “Just and civilized humanity” is in line with the surah An Nisa verse 135. The third precept “Indonesian unity” is in line with surah Al-Hujurat verse 13. The fourth precept “Democracy led by wisdom in deliberation/representation” is in line with surah Asy Sura verse 38. The fifth precept “Social justice to all Indonesian people” is in line with surah An Nahl verse 90 “Indeed Allah enjoins justice and kindness.”

Writer        : Agung Sumarna
Editor        : Nur R.
Translator  : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 8/23/2021 14:33 WIB

Disclaimer: The original version of the news is in Indonesian. In case of any differences between the English and the Indonesian version, the Indonesian version will prevail.

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