Sayyid Uthman and Colonial Fatwas (1)

 

Sayyid Uthman and Colonial Fatwas

Indonesian Islamic scholars must know the name of the famous Betawi mufti: Sayyid Utsman. He was a close friend of Snouck Hurgronje (1857-1936), an orientalist from the Netherlands.

Sayyid Uthman was born in Pekojan, Batavia, on 17 Rabiul Awwal 1238 H/1822 AD. His father, Abdullah bin Aqil bin Umar bin Yahya, was a descendant of Hadramaut who was born in Makkah. Meanwhile, his mother named Aminah, daughter of Sheikh Abdurrahman al-Mishri. He was known as the mufti of Betawi, who was appointed by the Dutch East Indies Government as Honorair Adviseur (honorary advisor) for Arab affairs.

Since childhood, Sayyid Uthman was a follower of the path of knowledge, he was busy with upbringing and lessons from his grandfather, Sayyid Aqil. This is because, his father, Sayyid Abdullah bin Aqil had returned to Makkah when Sayyid Uthman was three years old. Then, Sayyid Uthman also received education from his grandfather from the mother's path, Shaykh Abdurrahman. He spent a lot of time studying nahwu, sharaf, fiqh, hadith, tafseer, tasawuf to astronomy.

When Sayyid Uthman was 18 years old, his grandfather died. He then followed his father to Mecca. In the holy city of Mecca, Sayyid Uthman studied with Sheikh Ahmad bin Zaini Dahlan, Sheikh Ahmad Dimyati, and Sheikh Muhammad bin Husein al-Habsyi. After a long time in Mecca, Sayyid Uthman traveled to his ancestral land in Hadramaut.

In his ancestral land, he studied with Sayyid Abdullah bin Husein bin Tahir, Sayyid Abdullah bin Umar bin Yahya, Sayyid Hasan bin Shalih al-Bahr, Sayyid Muhammad bin Husein bin Thahir and Sayyid 'Alwi bin Saqqaf al-Jufri. As recorded in Suluh Zaman (his biography, compiled by his son, Sayyid Abdullah bin Uthman), Sayyid Uthman also studied with Sayyid Muhsin bin Alwi al-Saqqaf, Sayyid Alwi bin Zein al-Habsyi, Sayyid Abdullah bin Husein bin Syihabuddin, and Sayyid Ahmad Junaid.

Sayyid Uthman then continued his rihlah 'ilmiyyah to Egypt for 8 months. He also married an Egyptian woman, during his travels in that country. Tunisia became the destination of the next trip, by learning from Shaykh Muhammad Abdul Jawad and Shaykh Muhammad bin Manshur. His travels continued to Algeria, Fez (Morocco), Syria, Turkey, Palestine. He studied with Shaykh Abu Bakar al-Jazairi in Palestine, before returning to Batavia when he reached the age of 40.

In Laffan's notes, The Making of Indonesian Islam —translated by the publisher Bentang, History of Islam in the Archipelago , 2015: 72)—Sayyid Uthman's close relationship with the Dutch after the massacre of Dutch and indigenous officials in Cilegon, on July 9, 1888. A Dutch source mentions this incident , carried out by a network of followers of the Qadiriyyah wa Naqsyabandiyah tarekat. The Dutch government supports the publication of Sayyid Uthman's works to be disseminated to the public sphere, to inspire readers.

Among them, the reprinting of the work Manhaj al-Istiqama fi al-din bil-salama (Guidance Towards Religion Making Safe Practices) in 1980, as well as a work that is a reworking of Wathiqa 's work , namely: The Meaning of the Order with its Short Speech (1891) ). In this last book, Sayyid Utsman clearly narrates how followers of the order and Sufi path, directed praise to God, under the guidance of teachers such as Shaykh Baha'uddin Naqsyabandi and Abdul Qadir al-Jilani.

However, Sayyid Uthman was very specific in criticizing the false teachers who hide behind the mask of Sufism. He claims, that "the last forty years", he has witnessed how many fraudsters who wear the robes of the greatness of Sufism. Of course, this criticism was in line with the interests of the Dutch East Indies government to build the perception that the perpetrators of the resistance in Cilegon were 'false teachers'. However, Sayyid Uthman was not a Dutch instrument, nor was he bought for the benefit of Dutch power. Although, his personal closeness with Snouck is unquestionable.

Sayyid Uthman criticized Muslims who did not fully understand the tarekat, but used the tarekat for political purposes. Until, in the end, it injures the image of Islam and harms other Muslim communities. Sayyid Uthman also rejected the claim that the Cilegon uprising in 1888 was a Sabil War, which was based on a jihad fatwa.

In Sayyid Uthman's view, the conditions of jihad have not been fully met. He stated," and likewise thought after the people who were ignorant of the chapter of al-jihad, that they thought that the group rioting in the country was the sabil war mentioned in the chapter of al-jihad, then this is a very big ghurur and very urgent for the people- people," wrote Sayyid Uthman, in Manhaj al-Istiqomah (22-23).

The fatwas of Sayyid Uthman, the Mufti of Betawi buzzed loudly as the voice of Islam. He was close to the Dutch government, and was often seen as a colonial accomplice. Although in fact, he had hidden intentions, related to his close relationship with Snouck and the Dutch East Indies government