Wasatiyyah Concept

Wasatiyyah is a moderate concept in Islamic practice. The word wasatiyyah is derived from the word wasatan (وسطا) found in the Qur'an: And so, we have made you a people “wasatan” (the best) to be a witness to mankind, and the Messenger to you a witness. Al-Baqarah: 143. Imam Ibn Kathir (1998: 1/362) interpreted the word wasatan (وسطا) at the verse as al-khiyār or the best as the Arabic word; “al-Quraisyu ausathu al-‘Arabi nasaban wa dāran” (the Quraysh was the best Arab of his lineage and his village).

Wasatiyyah is not to be between the best and the worst (Al-Luwaihiq, 2003: 6), because Islam demands its people to be the best, as Allah said: To each of you We prescribed a law and a method. Had Allah willed, He would have made you one nation [united in religion], but [He intended] to test you in what He has given you; so race to [all that is] good. Al-Maidah: 48.

Qardhawi (2010) defines wasatiyyah as the position between al-tazamut (fanatic) and al-tanatthu’ (extreme), with al-tasayyub (reckless) and al-tahallul (liberal), he stated: Indeed in my view, the wasatiyyah is always convenient, it is the middle of the fanatical and extreme attitude on the one hand and the liberal and liberal on the other.

In other words, wasatiyyah is the middle position between the extremists. The extreme right is, ghuluw (radical) or extreme, like the religious understanding followed by ISIS terrorists. The left extremists are those who understand taqshīr (simplified), or better known as liberals who hold on to religious pluralism, the belief that all religions are true.

Furthermore, Qardhawi in Kamal (2010) also mentioned several terms that interpret the word wasatiyyah, namely; i) al-adl (justice), ii) al-istiqamah (consistent), iii) al-khairiyah (kindness), iv) al-amn (peacefulness), v) al-quwwah (strength), vi) al-wahdah (unity). 

There are several terms used to refer to the concept of wasatiyyah, namely; moderate, inclusive, progressive, and even moderate in Islam. However, not everyone agrees that the word moderate is the same as wasatiyyah. Among them is Kamal Hassan (2011), where he opined that the word ‘moderate’ is part of the wasatiyyah itself. Moderate terms are often used by Westerners to distinguish between pro-Western Muslims and anti-Western Muslims. According to them, moderate Muslims are "non-Western Muslims" (Afrizal Nur, and Mukhlis Lubis, 2015). 

In Singapore, the term moderate in Islam came about with the backdrop of the 9/11 tragedy and the arrest of members of the Jemaah Islamiyah (IJ). The moderate expression is a match (contrast) to the portrayal of terrorism that colored the 9/11 incident and the members of the IJ group (PERGAS, 2017). 

In order to emphasize the concept of wasatiyyah, in response to two concepts of ghuluw (radical and liberal) that do not conform to Islamic teachings, there must be certain feature that can be used as a benchmark against the beliefs and practices of wasatiyyah. 

Among the features of understanding and practice of Wasatiyah are some of the things that ‘Ulamā’ (Islamic scholars) from different countries have mentioned in a seminar entitled High Level Consultation of Muslim Scholars on Wasatiyyat Islam, on May 3, 2018, in Bogor, Indonesia, that is: Tawāsuth (middle path), which is not an exaggeration (ifrath) nor make it easy (tafrith). 

• I’tidāl (upright), that is to put things in place, and to exercise their rights and fulfil their obligations evenly.
• Tasāmuh (tolerance), recognizing and respecting differences, whether in religious matters or otherwise.
• Syūra (consultation) each issue is resolved by deliberation by adhering to the principle of mutual benefit.
• Ishlāh (reform), which is the focus of reformative principles for betterment, is adapted to change and the advancement of the times and hold to the general benefit.
• Qudwah, contributing inspiration and leadership to human welfare. Muwāthanah, accept the state and nation, and respect citizenship.

Sharia Practices in Singapore

The implementation of Sharia in Singapore is a unique phenomenon. It is said, Singapore is a secular country, with the Muslim community as a minority. However, Muslims in Singapore can perform their religious obligations without any hindrance. There are some of Islamic aspects, that Singapore has "advantages" over other countries all around the world. As reported in The Telegraph newspaper on June 10, 2014, a research done in George Washington University, involving 208 countries, found that Singapore was ranked 7th as the “Most Islamic Country”. Whereas the neighbouring country, Malaysia, was ranked at 37th. As compared to other countries with Muslims as their major population, Malaysia was at the highest position.

In the same article, Hossein Askari, a Professor in International Business and International Relations said;“Looking at an index of Economic Islamicity, or how  closely the policies and achievement of countries reflect Islamic economic teachings –Ireland, Denmark, Luxembourg, Sweden, The United Kingdom, New Zealand, Singapore, Finland, Norway, and Belgium round up the first 10. If a country, society, or community displays characteristics such as unelected, corrupt, oppressive, and unjust rulers, inequality before the law, unequal opportunities for human development, absence of freedom of choice (including that of religion), opulence alongside poverty, force, and aggression as the instruments of conflict resolution as opposed to dialogue and reconciliation, and above all, the prevalence of injustice of any kind, it is prima facie evidence that it is not an Islamic community.

In 2017, Singapore has added into their historical record where they have elected Mdm Halimah Yacob as the first female President, who dons a hijab. As compared to the Muslim countries, Mdm Halimah Yacob has broken the record where she is the first Muslimah leader who wears the hijab.

The Singapore government says they basically are not anti-Islam, but they refer the ‘abangan’ Muslim community, a religious concept practiced by some Muslims in Indonesia, especially in Java (PERGAS, 2017). ‘Abangan’, in Singapore government's perspective is seen as moderate and tolerant. That matter is exactly what was said by Lee Kuan Yew (2002), the Singapore founding father: “There are more than 230 million Muslims in South East Asia. Nearly all were tolerant and easy to live with. The majority of the 200 million Indonesian Muslims were abangans, Muslims who have fused Islam with Buddhism, Hinduism, and other beliefs. They were not intense and strict Muslims of the Arabs in the Middle East.”

The Muslim community in Singapore consist of various streams of schools of thought such as the Shafi’ee school (which forms the majority of Muslims), the Hanafi, and the Hambali. There are Muslims who do not ‘follow’ the practices from any of them. Apart from the schools of the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama'ah (Sunni), there is also a group of Shi’as and Ahmadiyya followers (Ahmad Nizam, 2012).

To ensure that there is peace between fellow Muslims in different schools of thought of Islam or between Muslims and non-Muslims, the Singapore Muslim scholars and leaders have launched a campaign for the concept of kesederhanaan (simplicity) in Islam. A concept which was later recognized as the concept of wasatiyyah. The concept of simplicity is the response of Singapore's Muslim leaders to the balancing symptoms of the emergence of two extreme understandings, namely radical and liberal understandings.

Lately, the concept of wasatiyyah has become popular among Muslims when many personages are writing about this concept. Even political figures are also making this concept as their political manifesto. There are several terms used to refer to the concept of wasatiyah, such as Islam Hadhari, Islam Nusantara, and Kesederhanaan dalam Islam (Moderation in Islam).

In Singapore, MUIS (2006) presents the features of the moderation of Singapore's Muslim community, then named 10 Features Singapore Muslim Community excellence: 1) Holds firm to Islamic principles while adapting itself to changing context. 2) Appreciates Islamic civilization and history, and has good understanding of contemporary issues. 3) Appreciates other civilizations and is self-confident to interact and learn from other communities. 4) Morally and spiritually strong to be on top of the challenges of modern society. 5) Progressive, practices Islam beyond forms/rituals and rides the modernization wave. 6) Well-adjusted as contributing members of a multi-religious society and secular state. 7) Inclusive and practices pluralism, without contradicting Islam. 8) Believes that good Muslims are also good citizens. 9) Be a blessing to all and promote universal peace. 10) Be a model and inspiration to all.

Waqf (Sadaqah Jariyah)

Waqf is one of the holy Islamic teaching, it is referred to as sadaqah jariyah, derived from Prophet s.a.w saying: When someone passes away, he is cut off from him his ‘amal (well doing) except three things; sadaqah jariyah, useful knowledge, righteous children who pray for him. Narrated by Abu Dawood: 2494

In English waqf is called a voluntary charitable endowment. 

As compared to other forms of sadaqah waqf has its own uniqueness. Sadaqah in general is giving wealth and its benefit to someone/people as beneficiaries. Only after the wealth has been gifted to the beneficiaries, the giver gets his reward.

On the other hand, if waqf is given to someone specifically, only he/she benefits, not the object. Once the wealth is given away as waqf, its object is perceived as Allah’s belongings until the judgment day. Therefore, the giver always gets his reward as long as the object of waqf still exist and can be utilized.

To understand simply, there is a simple illustration about comparation between ordinary sadaqah and waqf or sadaqah jariyah:

Ordinary Sadaqah

Someone donating $100 from his pocket money to a poor person. He gets his reward from his well doing, only at that specific time.

Waqf

Someone doing the same thing, but he donates $100 from his pocket money for the development of educational institution or for buying the asset of the institution. As long the institution exists and is being utilized, the giver shall reap his rewards, even after he passes away. As we can see waqf from sahabah (companions) of our beloved Prophet s.a.w, especially waqf from sayyidina Uthman bin ‘Affan still exist until today.

The waqf concept adopted by Western institutions, one of them being Harvard University in USA. Today the institution is the richest university in the world as proved by its endowment asset value, $40 billion. This stays true to its credentials as that is the value when this article was being written at that point of time.

Who knows, one day in the future, we might have an Islamic educational institution commensurate with Harvard for its educational quality and endowment value. One can only hope.