The Case of Forgery of Jusuf Kalla's Signature and the Story of the Prophet's Seal

 

The Case of Forgery of Jusuf Kalla's Signature and the Story of the Prophet's Seal

Lately, there have been many cases regarding the forgery of JK's signature by Arief Rosyid which led to the dismissal of the Head of the DMI (Indonesian Mosque Council) Department of Economics. It is known that Arief Rosyid forged the signatures of the DMI General Chair, Jusuf Kalla and the DMI Secretary General, Imam Addaruqutni and the DMI stamp in a letter addressed to Vice President Ma'ruf Amin. The letter contained an invitation to the Ramadan Festival Kickoff, which is a Ramadan festival which was held with various activities, such as the UMKM exhibition, halal culinary, to breaking the fast together.

Talking about forgery of signatures or stamps, it turns out that the Prophet had warned about this. In some narrations it is stated that the Prophet Muhammad SAW had a ring that not only served as jewelry, but also as a stamp. The ring which is also a stamp has an engraving that reads 'Muhammad Rasulullah'.

In the hadith narrated by Imam Al-Bukhari from Anas Ibn Malik ra. he said:

لَمَّا أَرَادَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنْ يَكْتُبَ إِلَى الرُّومِ قَالُوا إِنَّهُمْ لَا يَقْرَءُونَ كِتَابًا إِلَّا مَخْتُومًا فَاتَّخَذَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ خَاتَمًا مِنْ فِضَّةٍ كَأَنِّي أَنْظُرُ إِلَى وَبِيصِهِ وَنَقْشُهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ

"When the Prophet SAW wanted to send a letter to the Romans, they didn't want to read the letter other than having a stamp, so the Prophet SAW made a ring (stamp) out of silver, as if I saw the sparkle and the engraving reads 'Muhammad Rasulullah'." (HR: Bukhari)

The stamp or signature serves as an identification or identity of the sender of the letter which guarantees the correctness of the contents of the document or letter. So do not be surprised, even at the time of the Prophet stamps have become an important thing in correspondence. This is to ensure that the letter really came from the Prophet Muhammad.

Then in another authentic hadith, which was narrated by Imam Muslim, Imam Abu Daud and Imam Ibn Majah from Ibn Umar ra., it is said that when making the ring, the Prophet SAW said:

لَا يَنْقُشْ أَحَدٌ عَلَى نَقْشِ خَاتَمِي هَذَا

"No one can carve writing on a ring like the one on my ring."

Imam Nawawi in his book Syarh Sahih Muslim , explains the reason why the Prophet SAW forbade anyone to engrave a ring with the same engraving as on his ring:

سبب النهى أنه صلى الله عليه وسلم إنما اتخذ الخاتم ونقش فيه ليختم به كتبه إلى ملوك العجم وغيرهم فلو نقش غيره مثله لدخلت المفسدة وحصل الخلل

"The reason for this prohibition is that the Prophet SAW made rings and carved them for nothing but the purpose of stamping his letters which were intended for the kings of 'ajam (non-Arabic) and others. Which if there is someone other than the Prophet who carves (rings) exactly like the Prophet's (engraved rings), then there will be (possibility of) damage and chaos (if anyone misuses the stamp)."

Therefore, the Prophet forbade that no one, in the time of the Prophet, engraves a ring with the inscription 'Muhammad Rasulullah'. Because the engraving is specifically for the Prophet SAW as a stamp that shows his identity that no one else but him can wear it. Just like a signature in today's age which is the identity of each individual, then no one can forge it. Or the stamp of a certain institution, then only that institution can own and use it.

Furthermore, Ibn Umar (still in the hadith above) explains that after the Prophet died, the ring was then worn by Abu Bakr, Umar, then Uthman until finally the ring fell into the well of Aris. Because people had searched but could not find it, Uthman also made another ring and engraved it with the same inscription, 'Muhammad Rasulullah'. That is the ring that was used as a stamp by the Prophet which was then passed on to his companions who became caliphs after the Prophet Muhammad died.