International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology Vol. 29, No. 3, (2020), pp. 2040- 2050 The Continuity of Classical Islamic Thinking in Indonesia Ris’an Rusli Universitas Islam Negeri Raden Fatah Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia [email protected] Abstract The continuity of Islamic intellectualism in the modern era in Indonesia consists of the concept of understanding the attributes of God and the relation of Allah to the universe or commonly known as Islamic theology. The field of ethics in Islam or how a person engages in society, human servitude in his duties on earth and how humans treat nature, are all the field of this study. Field of physics; includes discussion of the nature of growth and development. Field exact sciences will discuss about science such as; mathematics, geometry, astronomy and so on. Thus this research is expected to be useful in adding to the repertoire of historical studies and intellectual thinking while at the same time contributing to the preservation of scientific traditions in Indonesia that are directly or indirectly related to Islamic thought. The results of the Islamic thoughts about these four things have brought considerable development to human science and civilization. This has important values in human life. Regarding the problem of divinity, many concepts of thought arise. This is because divinity is fundamental in Islamic teachings the problem is very complex and unique. Keywords: continuity, classical Islam, Islamic thought 1. Introduction Since prehistoric times, the population of the Indonesian archipelago is known as a sailor who is able to navigate the high seas. Since the beginning of the century, there have been shipping and trade routes between the Indonesian archipelago and various regions in Southeast Asia. Even two centuries before Christ, Indonesia (Archipelago) especially Sumatra was known in the world map at that time. The oldest world map compiled by Claudius Ptolemaeus [1], a Governor of the Kingdom of Greece based in Alexandria (Egypt), compiled a map entitled Geographies that has referred to and included the Archipelago as Barousai. What is meant is of course the West Sumatra coast which is rich in camphor. Arab, Persian and Indian Muslim traders also arrived in Indonesian archipelago to trade since the 7th century AD, when Islam first developed in the Middle East [2]. This trade relationship also became the relationship of the spread of Islam which was increasingly more intensive. Since the first century, the archipelago produced the commodity, such as spices which is favored in Europe (Roman). This commodity caused traders of Arabian stalls to stop on the West coast of Sumatra and the Strait of Malacca that connected the Eastern empire (imperial China). Arab traders have acted as regulators of the East-West trade route. Thus, Indonesia has been known since ancient times by nations both in the East and in the West, because it has become a traffic route for trade trips. As an area 2040 ISSN: 2005-4238 IJAST Copyright ⓒ 2019 SERSC International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology Vol. 29, No. 3, (2020), pp. 2040- 2050 that has been reached and produces a lot of produce, it is very logical if Indonesia becomes an area to gain influence and including to the spread of Islam [3]. The arrival of Islam in the archipelago, there was a long discussion and debate among experts regarding three main problems, namely the place of origin of the arrival of Islam, its bearers, and the time of its arrival. Various theories and discussions that attempt to answer these three main problems are clearly incomplete, not only because the lack of data that can support a theory certainly emphasizes the specific aspects of the three main problems, while ignoring other aspects [4]. Therefore, most theories in certain aspects fail to explain the coming of Islam, the conversion of religion that occurred, and the processes of Islamization seen in it. This conditions force some experts to bring up theories in relation to Islamization and the development of Islam in Indonesia. There are at least four theories which are raised, such as Indian Theory, Arab Theory, Persian Theory and Chinese Theory [5]. One of the holders of Indian theory, Pijnappel [6], stated that Islam which came to Indonesia (Archipelago) did not originate directly from Arabia or Persia, but originated from India, especially from the West Coast from Gujarat and Malabar. Before Islam arrived in the archipelago, many Arabs who lived in the Safi'i mazhab immigrated and settled in India. From there, Islam then spread to the archipelago. With the existence of several differences regarding Islamization in Indonesia (Archipelago), the synthesis of several opinions is sought. Among these efforts is to make phases or stages about Islamization in Indonesia. It should be emphasized that the theories presented above, in essence, do not discuss the entry of Islam into every island in the archipelago. These theories only analyze the entry of Islam on the island of Sumatra, especially Aceh and the island of Java. These two are considered to have an important role in the development of Islam on other islands in Indonesia [7]. Any theory about Islamization of the Malay Archipelago will always be demanded to explain why the process originated from a certain period and not how many centuries before or afterwards. Muslims from foreign countries may have settled in trading ports in Sumatra and Java for centuries. But it was only towards the end of the 13th century that there were traces of indigenous Muslims. 2. Methodology This study uses library research (literature review research) by carefully examining various literatures relevant to the type of qualitative data. Research approach using scientific concepts, such as: historical. While, the data sources are primary and secondary. The data collection techniques in the study were heuristic techniques, verification, interpretation, and historiography. 3. Results and Discussion One thing that has become a hot topic of debate among theologians until now is the problem of human actions. The problem of human deeds is closely related to the belief in tawhid, the aspect of wahdaniyah al-Khaliq, and the problem of justice in the accountability of human beings for all their deeds in the Hereafter. In the history of the development of Islamic thought, the discussion around human 2041 ISSN: 2005-4238 IJAST Copyright ⓒ 2019 SERSC International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology Vol. 29, No. 3, (2020), pp. 2040- 2050 actions has given rise to two kinds of opinions which are extensively different from each other, namely the Jabariyah sect and the Qadariyah sect. In subsequent developments, the problem of human action is still discussed by the Kalam sect, which was born later, especially by the Mu'tazilah, Asy'ariyah and Maturudiah sect. But the opinion expressed by the Kalam sect is basically no different from the previous understanding. The tendency of this understanding is also seen in the ulama in archipelago, among them according to Muhammad Natsir in the context of human actions, he views that humans are free to act actively, creatively and dynamically tend to Qadariyah. Humans have the freedom to choose and do good or bad deeds as they want. But according to Muhammad Natsir, the freedom of human action remains in the corridor of the Sunnah of Allah (the law of nature) created by God, and is also closely related to the causes of humanity. And this also shows that what happens to human beings is not a fate or fate that has been determined by God since the beginning. But everything is related to effort, endeavor and human actions [8]. Basically the views of Mu'tazilah, Asy'ariyah and Maturidiah are not different from Jabariyah and Qadariyah that existed before. The Mu'tazilah adhered to and were more inclined and stronger in maintaining Qadariyah, while the As'ariyah were considered to adhere to or, at the very least, lean towards Jabariyah understanding. In the context of the Islamic Archipelago, the establishment of the Nahdlatul Ulama (abbreviated as NU) is a representation of Islamic style that is typical of the archipelago, which has been formed and developed in the region. NU preserving traditional Islamic traditions of the archipelago, inheriting the religious thoughts of the archipelago ulama, classical books by ulama who are representations of local styles are still being taught, studied and implemented in the NU community. Historically, the birth of NU was very different from the birth of the Muhammadiyah organization in Indonesia, if Muhammadiyah was born from the influence of the modernization movement in the Islamic world which was echoed by Muhammad Abduh and the purification voiced by Muhammad bin Abdul Wahab (founder of Wahabi) greatly influenced the development of Islam in Indonesia, especially towards the reformer group. The pesantren group has become disturbed because they are judged by reformers as TBC sufferers (Taqlid, Bid'ah and Churafat), resulting in the debate about khilafiyah and the issue of furu'iyah (issues of branches of religion). The birth of NU was as a response to Islamic boarding school clerics to the issue of global Islam after political turmoil in the Middle East, where Abdul Aziz ibn Saud the Wahhabi was in power and would organize the city of Makkah and Madinah which included cleaning up the teachings of the school and cleansing the cemetery during this time pilgrimage to pilgrims included the cemetery of the Prophet because it was considered a nest of heresy or bid’ah. It was this group of Islamic boarding schools which later joined the Hijaz Committee which subsequently submitted a protest note to the Saudi government to keep respecting the school and cancel the dismantling of the cemetery of the Prophet. At the insistence of the pesantren gathered in the Hijaz Committee and the challenges from across the Muslim world, King Ibn Saud then abandoned his plans, the results to date in Mecca and Medina, Muslims were free to worship according to their respective schools.