The Al-Sunnah Method in Protecting The Environment: Hadith Perspectives

Abstract: This article studies the Sunnah (including what the Prophet is saying and conducting) regarding crucial global issues, namely the environment. Prophet Muhammad had given directions to humankind to maintain the environment (including earth, water, air, and living things) from any corrupted acts. The Hadith books contain information on these issues. This study uses a qualitative methodology with a descriptive approach, collecting hadiths on the environment and maintenance, accompanied by the views of classical and contemporary scholars. The findings indicate that Prophet had talked about contemporary global issues like water protection, living things protection, including protection of plants, tree planting and reforestation, prohibition of tree cutting, animal protection and the means for not harming them, earth and land protection, a special topic on reviving dead land, air protection, and prohibiting polluting the air. If the world had implemented these directives, there would not be a current catastrophic environmental condition.Abstrak: Artikel ini membahas tentang Sunnah (dalam arti: ucapan dan perbuatan) Nabi terkait isu global yaitu isu lingkungan. Nabi Muhammad SAW. sudah memberikan arahan kepada umat manusia untuk menjaga lingkungan (mencakup: bumi, air, udara dan makhluk hidup) dari berbagai tindakan yang merusak. Hal itu tertuang di dalam hadits-haditsnya yang masih dibaca oleh setiap orang hingga hari ini. Studi ini menggunakan metodologi kualitatif dengan pendekatan deskriptif, mengumpulkan hadits-hadits yang terkait dengan lingkungan dan cara memeliharanya, disertai pandangan ulama klasik dan kontemporer. Temuan penelitian ini, Nabi telah berbicara seputar isu global saat ini, seperti perlindungan air, makhluk hidup – termasuk tumbuhan, penanaman pohon, penghijauan hutan, larangan pemotongan pohon- perlindungan hewan, tindakan menyakitinya, perlindungan tanah, serta topik khusus tentang peremajaan tanah tandus, perlindungan udara, dan larangan mengotorinya. Andai dunia menerapkan arahan ini, niscaya tidak terjadi malapetaka yang menimpa lingkungan sekarang.

The Writing of Hadith in the Era of Prophet Muhammad: A Critique on Harun Nasution’s Thought

The discussion regarding the writing of hadith during the life of the Prophet is a contentious topic within the area of Islamic and hadith studies both in the West and in the Islamic world. Orientalists write their work on hadith with a presumption that hadith has never been written during the life of Prophet Muḥammad. They contend that hadith text only emerged in the third century of Hijrah, i.e. in the era of al-Bukhāri. A few others believe that it started in the era of Malik of the Umayyad. This orientalist’ mindset affects some Muslim intellectuals who accept this premise. One of them is Harun Nasution, a well respected great mind who wrote a book entitled Islam Ditinjau Dari Berbagai Aspeknya (Islam Viewed from Various Aspects). However, historical evidence demonstrates that the writing of hadith was carried out at the time when the Prophet was still alive. A number of sheets were discovered, which contain hadith text compilations narrated by the companions of the Prophet, such as the Ṣahīfah of  ͑Ali bin Abi Ṭalib, Ṣahifah of Jābir bin  ͑Abdillah, and others. Some scholars have misunderstood the message in a saying of the Prophet that prohibited the writing of hadith. They have ignored other hadith that negated the previous hadith by which the Prophet allowed the writing of hadith in his life time. Even though there are a number companions who did not write hadith in this period, it does not mean hadith were not allowed to be written, but it was due to their own preference not to write the hadith.[Perdebatan tentang penulisan hadits masa kehidupan Nabi tetap menjadi tema yang hangat dalam kajian keislaman dan kajian hadits, baik di barat maupun di dunia Islam sendiri. Beberapa orientalis berpendapat bahwa hadits tidak ditulis pada masa Nabi Muhammad. Mereka menyebutkan teks hadits mulai muncul abad ketiga hijriah, misalnya pada era Bukhari. Lainnya percaya bahwa teks hadits dimulai pada masa Malik al Umayyad. Perspektif seperti orientalis ini diterima oleh beberapa intelektual muslim Indonesia, salah satunya Harun Nasution yang menulis buku Islam ditinjau dari Berbagai Aspeknya. Bagaimanapun bukti sejarah menunjukkan penulisan hadits sudah dimulai ketika Nabi masih hidup. Sejumlah lembaran yang mengandung kompilasi teks hadits dari beberapa sahabat Nabi seperti, Ṣahīfah dari Ali bin Abi Ṭalib dan Ṣahifah dari Jābir bin  ͑Abdillah. Sejumlah akademisi keliru dalam memahami pesan Nabi yang melarang menuliskan hadits. Mereka mengabaikan hadits yang menegasikan hadits sebelumnya yang membolehkan penulisan hadits selama hidup Nabi. Meskipun ada sejumlah sahabat yang melarangnya, namun ini bukan berarti hadits tidak diijinkan untuk ditulis, tetapi hal ini lebih terkait dengan masing-masing referensi untuk tidak menuliskannya.