The Qur'an Doesn't Speak Alone

 

The Qur'an Doesn't Speak Alone

I quoted the title above from Ali bin Talib's statement when he was involved in an argument with the Khawarij, before the group finally killed him. The Khawarij sect, as is commonly known, claims to be the purest enforcer of Allah's law, with the slogan la hukma illa lillah (There is no law except Allah's law).

On that basis, they disbelieved the Caliph Ali and Mu'awiyah bin Abu Sufyan's camps, because both parties took tahkim (arbitration) to end the Shiffin War. Such arbitration, for the Khawarij, is tantamount to ruling by man-made rules and ignoring Allah's rules. And guided by human law for the Khawarij is an act of kufr. The culprit deserves to be killed. So on the 17th of Ramadan 40 Hijriyah, a Khawarij activist named Abdurrahman bin Muljam killed Caliph Ali. There were also two other Khawarij activists who tried to kill Mu'awiyah bin Abu Sufyan and 'Amru bin 'Ash, but were thwarted. 

Why did the Khawarij, who were so passionate about defending the rule of God's law, end up spreading takfir (paganism) which led to murder? Here it may be useful to examine the "polemic" between Ali and the Khawarij some time after this group declared its departure from the camp of Ali's followers. (It was this secession that led to them being called "Khwariz": a splinter group). 

In 'Tarikh al-Tabari ' it is told, Caliph Ali had a meeting with the Khawarij. There he deliberately brought the Qur'an. When in front of them, Ali then shouted to the Qur'an he was carrying: "Speak to us!" Cash only those present were surprised and confused to see the act of the Caliph. How could an inanimate Qur'an speak, they thought. Ali finally retorted: “Wa hadza al-Qur'an innama huwa khatthun masthur bayna daffatayn la yanthiq. Innama yatakallamu bihi al-Rija l." Meaning: “And the Qur'an is nothing but a written text flanked by two covers. The Qur'an cannot speak for itself. It is humans who speak through it."

 

Through this statement, Ali decisively refuted the accusations of the Khawarij who disbelieved in tahkim which they considered to be ruling by human rules, not God's law. But how do we know God's law? From the Qur'an, right? The problem is, “The Qur'an cannot speak for itself. It is humans who speak through it.” That is, God's law cannot just emerge from the womb of the Qur'an without the intervention of humans who formulate it.  

In addition, Ali actually confirmed the role of reading as an inevitable means when we interact with the Qur'an. The Qur'an is indeed the Qadim Divine Word, but it is also “a written text sandwiched between two covers.” As a text, the Qur'an can only be read through the practice of reading, whether it is in the form of translation, interpretation, pantakwilan or others. And keep in mind, the reading of the Qur'an is not equal in status to the Qur'an itself, because humans as readers are not qadim.

The textual character of the Qur'an, which requires the presence of humans as readers, is what the Khawarij reject. Because for them, the Qur'an can speak for itself. That is, in their eyes, their reading of the Qur'an is not really a recitation, but the Qur'an itself. In this way, they not only do not recognize the diversity of interpretations of the Qur'an, but also reject the idea of ​​interpretation itself. For the Kharijites, what applies is only this: or follow the Qur'an or oppose it. God's law versus human law. This I think is the reason why they are so easy to disbelieve the Companions of the Prophet who are different from them.

One thing to remember, the driving factor for the Khawarij movement was not the will to power, but the desire for piety. This is reflected, for example, from the composition of his followers, who in fact mostly come from the qurra' who have dedicated their whole lives to the Qur'an. 

However, their background, mostly from a nomadic Bedouin Arab culture, makes it difficult for them to digest Ali's view that “the Qur'an does not speak for itself. Humans speak through it.”  As a result, the movement to uphold Allah's sovereignty from the Khawarij was finally recorded in the black pages of Islamic history. It is not surprising that Ali bin Talib called the Khawarij version of the defense of Islam as al haqq urida bihi al-bathil (the truth used for false purposes).