The Myth of the "Golden" Time in the Periodization of Islamic History

 

The Myth of the "Golden" Time in the Periodization of Islamic History

It has been generally accepted that the history of Islam, as a civilization, can be divided into several phases (periods), namely, the time of emergence and development, the golden age, the time of decline, and the time of the revival of Islam. The time of the emergence and development of Islam began at the time of the first preaching of the Prophet until the Ummayya dynasty, the golden age during the Abbasid period (mainly the 9th to 11th century AD), the period of decline from the fall of Baghdad from the 13th century AD to the 18th century, and the century of Islamic renaissance since the 19th century M until now.

Of course, there are various variations of periodization, but it is generally accepted that Islam experienced a golden age of civilization (through the development of philosophy and scientific breakthroughs), but then along with the harsh criticism of conventional scholars (especially Imam Al Ghazali) who received the patronage of the ruler at that time until its peak. The Mongol attack that devastated Baghdad (as the center of Islamic civilization at that time) ended the golden era of Islamic civilization, and for centuries after that the people were in stagnation or stagnation of thought.

In the writer's opinion, the historical periodization as above is not entirely correct. No historian has the right to "judge" one period as better than another, considering that the two historical periods have different challenges. Various periodizations colored by the assessment above must occur because a historian sees a certain historical period from his current position (i.e. in the modern century, and a secular and materialistic Western perspective) and not from the perspective of the historical period itself (from within).

As a result, there is confusion in capturing the true "fire" of history (the inner aspect of history, in Ibn Khaldun's terms) which allows us to learn from it, but only to justify the primacy of our own historical period. Because, isn't it by saying that the golden age of Islam occurred in the 9-11 century AD, we also indirectly say that the modern era is colored by various scientific discoveries and freedom of thought (by forgetting about various problems, such as environmental and moral crises) as the best period. and more important than ever before.

Thus, the writer analyzes that the periodization of the golden age of Islam (and the decline of Islam on the other hand) is nothing more than a historical myth created by positivist modern historians. As is well known, August Comte, the father of modern Positivism (as the current scientific paradigm), divides the history of human civilization into several periods, namely, the period of mythology and theology (where religious doctrine is the reference for truth), the period of philosophy (where speculation is -Rational speculation becomes a coherent reference of truth), and finally the period of positivism (where science and the proof of correspondence are the reference).

On this basis, it is not surprising if the period of development of philosophy and science that occurred throughout the 9th to 11th century AD is considered a golden age, while the period after which Sufism and sects flourished (which in the perspective of positivism is considered unscientific) is considered a century of decline and Islamic decline. .

As an alternative to the periodization of Islamic history which is filled with the positivism bias above, the writer tends to view each period of Islamic history as the golden age of Islam (and on the other hand also a period of decline). Because there are always positive (besides negative) aspects of each period that can be learned from the current ummah, where the various periodizations above are complementary (rather than negating and contradicting as positivism perspective) as a framework for forming a more modern Islamic civilization. integral.

Thus, the early period of the emergence and development of Islam was the "golden" period of belief and morals; the Abbasid period as the "golden" period of Islamic philosophy and science; about the period after the fall of Baghdad as the "golden" period of Sufism and Islamic preaching, and so on. Through periodization like this, the hope is that all of us (readers in general and students of history in particular) can learn positive (and negative) lessons from each period—not just glorify a certain period and look down on other periods, but also be able to criticize every period (including the highly exalted golden period of philosophy and science,

Wallahu 'alam bi showab.