Sabtu, 10 Mei 2008

Amal lahiriyah adalah seperti kerangka, sedangkan ruuhnya adalah adanya ikhlas di dalamnya.

Amal lahiriyah adalah seperti kerangka, sedangkan ruuhnya adalah adanya ikhlas di dalamnya.

Amal lahiriah diumpamakan seperti kerangka yang tidak memiliki ruh, maka tidaklah ada manfaatnya. Adapun ruh dari amal sehingga amal tersebut menjadi hidup adalah adanya sirri /tersembunyinya ikhlas di dalam amal.
Maka ikhlas itu berbeda-beda menurut berbeda-bedanya maqam dan tingkatan yang dimiliki seseorang. Apabila termasuk golongan abrar, maka keikhlasannya adalah selamatnya amal mereka dari riya’ yang tersembunyi maupun yang terang-terangan dimana semua itu adalah bagian dari tuntutan hawa nafsu. Maka hamba yang ikhlas adalah tidak beramal melainkan hanya karena Allah Ta’ala, mencari apa yang dijanjikan oleh Allah Ta’ala bagi orang – orang yang ikhlas yaitu pahala yang baik dan tempat yang baik di akhirat nanti, dan lari dari apa yang diancamkan oleh Allah Ta’ala bagi orang-orang yang tidak ikhlas dalam beramal yaitu azab yang pedih dan buruknya perhitungan/hisab. Yang demikian ini sesuai dengan firman Allah Ta’ala “Iyya-Ka na’budu” -“Kepada-Mu lah kami menyembah”. Maksudnya tidaklah sekali-kali kami menyembah selain hanya kepada-Mu, dan sekali-kali tidaklah kami menyekutukan-Mu dengan selain-Mu dalam ibadah kami. Kemudian ikhlasnya muhibbiin, muqarrabiin dan ‘arifiin, yaitu beramal karena Allah Ta’ala, karena mengagungkan dan memuliakan-Nya karena sesungguhnya Allah Ta’ala yang berhak dari yang demikian ini. Bukan karena mengharapkan pahala ataupun karena takut siksa-Nya. Oleh karena itu telah berkata Rabi’ah al’Adawiyah, “Tidaklah aku menyembah-Mu karena takut kepada neraka-Mu dan tidak pula karena menginginkan surga-Mu.”
Ikhlas yang demikian ini telah melampaui daripada memandang kepada diri sendiri dalam hal kekuatan dan kemampuan beramal. Pandangannya hanya tertuju pada Al-Haq baik dalam gerak maupun diam mereka tanpa melihat pada adanya kemampuan dan kekuatan dari diri mereka sendiri. Maka tidaklah mereka beramal melainkan biLlah (dengan pertolongan Allah Ta’ala) tidak dengan kemampuan dan kekuatan mereka. Dan yang ini lebih tinggi tingkatannya dari yang sebelumnya.
Orang yang memiliki jalan ini sesungguhnya telah berjalan pada jalan tauhid dan yakin, dan selaras dengan firman Allah Ta’ala, “Iyya-Ka nasta’iin”. “Hanya kepada-Mu lah kami meminta pertolongan”. Artinya tiada pertolongan kepada amal melainkan hanya dengan pertolongan Allah Ta’ala, tidakdengan kekuatan dan kemampuan diri sendiri.
Oleh karena itu amal yang pertama disebut dengan amal liLlah dan yang kedua amal biLlah. Amal liLlah menyebabkan pahala, sedangkan amal biLlah menyebabkan kedekatan dengan Allah Ta’ala. Amal liLlah menyebabkan benarnya ibadah, sedang amal biLlah menyebabkan bersihnya iradah . Amal liLlah merupakan sikap ahli ibadah, sedang amal biLlah adalah sikap para pendamba. Amal liLlah menegakkan dzahiriyah sedangkan amal biLlah menegakkan bathin. Inilah ibarat yang disampaikan imam Abil Qasim Al-Qusyairi RA.
Maka keikhlasan seorang hamba adalah ruh dari amalnya. Dengan adanya ruuh itu akan menjadi hiduplah amal. Dan dengan ikhlas menjadi tanda diterimanya amal serta sebaliknya dengan hilangnya ikhlas maka itu tanda kematian dan gugurnya amal sehingga jadilah amal itu seperti bangkai tak bernyawa. Telah berkata sebagian ulama, “Betulkan amalmu dengan ikhlas, dan berulkan ikhlasmu dengan melepaskan diri dari perasaan mampu dan kuat dalam beramal.
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.THE FAITH OF ISLAM:

Islam, in Arabic, means "submission" - submission to the will of God. Faithful Muslims, therefore, submit unreservedly to God's will and obey His precepts as set forth in the Quran and transmitted to mankind by Muhammad, His Messenger.

Muslims believe that theirs is the only true faith. Islam, they say, was revealed through a long line of prophets inspired by God. Among them are Ibrahim (Abraham), patriarch of the Arabs through his first son Isma'il (Ishmael); Musa (Moses), who received the Torah (Tawrah); Dawud (David), who spoke through the Psalms (Zabur); and 'Isa (Jesus), who brought the Gospels (Injil). But the full and final revelation came through Muhammad, the last of all prophets, and was embodied in the Quran, which completes and supersedes all previous revelations.

Photo: A youth in the pilgrim's simple robe reading the Quran.

As the chief source of Islamic doctrine and practice, the Quran is the main foundation of the shari'ah, the sacred law of Islam, which covers all aspects of the public and private, social and economic, religious and political lives of all Muslims. In addition to the Quran the shari'ah has three sources: the sunnah, the practice of the Prophet; ijma', the consensus of opinion; and qiyas, reasoning by analogy. The sunnah - which supplements and complements the Quran, the Word of God, and is next to it in importance - embodies the meticulously documented acts and sayings of the Prophet recorded in a body of writings called the hadith. Ijma' is the consensus of - qualified jurists on matters not specifically referred to in the Quran or the sunnah. Qiyas is the application of human reasoning to extend the principles found in the two primary sources - the Quran and the sunnah - to cases involving matters unknown in the early years of Islam.

Systematized in the second and third centuries of the Muslim era (the eighth and ninth centuries A.D.), the shari'ah later developed into four major schools of jurisprudence: the Hanafi School, founded by Abu Hanifah; the Maliki School, founded by Malik ibn Anas; the Shafi'i School, founded by Muhammad al-Shafi'i; and the Hanbali School founded by Ahmad ibn Hanbal. Each of these men, all exceptional scholars, wrote or dictated long and learned commentaries upon which their schools of law were founded. Based on one or the other of these schools, learned officials called qadis administer the law in shari'ah courts. Despite the great body of tradition and law, however the practice of Islam is essentially personal - a direct relationship between individuals and God. Although there are imams, who lead prayers and deliver sermons, there are no priests or ministers.

To practice their faith, Muslims must accept five primary obligations which Islam imposes. Called the Five Pillars of Islam, they are: the profession of faith (shahadah), devotional worship or prayer (salah), the religious tax (zakah), fasting (sawm), and the pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj).

The first pillar, the profession of faith, is the repetition of the statement, "There is no god but God; Muhammad is the Messenger of God" - in Arabic the euphonious "La ilaha illa Allah; Muhammadun rasul Allah." It is a simple statement, yet also profound, for in it a Muslim expresses his complete acceptance of, and total commitment to, the message of Islam.

The second pillar, devotional worship or prayer, requires Muslims to pray five times a day - the dawn prayer, the noon prayer, the afternoon prayer, the sunset prayer, and the evening prayer - while facing toward the Ka'bah, the House of God, in Mecca. Like all Islamic ceremonies, prayer is simple and personal, yet also communal, and the wording of the prayers, the ablutions which are required before prayers, the number of bows, and other parts of the ritual are set out in detail.

The religious tax, the third pillar, is zakah in Arabic, a word that in the Prophet's lifetime came to suggest an obligatory religious tax. Like prayer, zakah is considered a form of worship. It enshrines the duty of social responsibility by which well-to-do Muslims must concern themselves about those less fortunate. The zakah prescribes payments of fixed proportions of a Muslim's possession for the welfare of the community in general and for its needy members in particular, whether Muslims or non-Muslims. This tax is often levied and disbursed by the state, but in the absence of a government collecting system it must be disbursed by the taxable Muslims themselves. In addition, all Muslims are encouraged to make voluntary contributions to the needy called sadaqah.

The fourth pillar is fasting during Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim year. Ordained in the Quran, the fast is an exacting act of deeply personal worship in which Muslims seek a richer perception of God and in which, as one writer puts it, Muslims assert that "man has larger needs than bread."

Ramadan begins with the sighting of the new moon, after which abstention from eating and drinking, as well as physical continence, is obligatory every day between dawn and sunset. It is a rigorous fast, but its object is not mere abstinence and deprivation; it is, rather, the subjection of the passions and the purification of one's being so that the soul is brought nearer to God. Fasting is also an exercise in self-control and self-denial whereby one learns to appreciate the pangs of hunger that the poor often feel. The exercise of self-control extends far beyond refraining from food and drink; to make one's fast acceptable to God, one must also refrain from cursing, lying, cheating, and abusing or harming others.

Although rigorous, however, the fast, by Quranic injunction, also admits of a warm compassion. Those who are ill, or on an arduous journey, for example, may fast the prescribed number of days at another time; those for whom fasting is impossible may forego it if they give stipulated alms to the needy.

The month of fasting is also joyous. In Muslim regions, in modern times, the faithful - at the sound of the sunset cannon or the call of the muezzin - break their fast, perform voluntary nocturnal worship (tarawih), and throng the streets in moods that are at once festive and, in the spirit of Ramadan, communal. For those who retire and rest after the day's fast there are, in some areas, men called musahhirs who, in the silent, predawn darkness beat muted drums and call the faithful to awake and eat before the long day's fast begins again.

The last ten days of Ramadan are particularly sacred because they include the anniversary of the night on which Muhammad received his first revelation from God - "the Night of Power" - and the appearance, on the final day, of the thin edge of the new moon announcing the end of Ramadan. At that moment the favor of God descends upon Muslims and, in a spirit of joyous achievement, they begin the three days of celebration called 'Id al-Fitr, the Feast of the Breaking of the Fast. To cement social bonds further, Islam has instituted zakat al-fitr, an obligatory levy in the form of provisions or money for the poor, so that they can share in the joy of 'Id al-Fitr.

The fifth pillar of Islam is the pilgrimage to Mecca - the hajj. One of the most moving acts of faith in Islam, the hajj is, for those Muslims who can get to Mecca, the peak of their religious life, a moment when they satisfy a deep yearning to behold at least once the Ka'bah - the House of God and the physical focus of a life time of prayer. The hajj is at once a worldwide migration of the faithful and a remarkable spiritual happening that, according to Islamic tradition, dates back to Abraham, was affirmed by Muhammad, and then, by Muhammad's own pilgrimage, systematized into rites which are simple in execution but rich it in meaning.

Photo: Dressed in their simple ihram garments, all pilgrims are equal in the eyes of God.

The hajj proper must be made between the eighth and thirteenth days of the 12th month - Dhu al-Hijjah - of the Muslim year, but in one sense it begins when a Muslim approaches Mecca, bathes, trims his nails and hair, discards jewelry and headgear, and puts on the ihram dress. This consists of two simple white seamless garments symbolizing a state of purity; in donning it pilgrims make a declaration of pilgrimage and pronounce a devotional utterance called the talbiyah: "Here I am, O God, at Thy Service" - in Arabic the joyous cry "Labbayk!" After donning the ihram dress, the pilgrims may enter the haram, the sacred precinct surrounding Mecca, and then Mecca itself, where they perform the tawaf - the circling of the Ka'bah - and the sa'y - the running between two hills at al-Mas'a in Mecca. All this can be part of the 'umrah or "lesser pilgrimage," often a prelude to the hajj but not an integral part of it. One of the main distinctions between the hajj and the 'umrah is that the 'umrah can be done at any time of the year, while the hajj must be performed on specified dates.

Photo: Crowds at the small town of Mina cast pebbles at pillars that symbolize evil.

The major rites of the hajj begin on the eighth day of Dhu al-Hijjah when, with thunderous cries of "Labbayk!" the pilgrims pour out of Mecca to Mina, where, as the Prophet did, they meditate overnight. On the next day they proceed en masse to 'Arafat, even farther outside Mecca, and pray and meditate in what is the central rite of the pilgrimage: "the standing" - a few precious hours of profound self-examination, supplication, and penance in which, many say, a Muslim comes as close to God as he can, on earth.

At 'Arafat many actually do stand - from just after noon to just before sunset - but some also visit other pilgrims or the Mount of Mercy, where Muhammad delivered his farewell sermon. The standing is not the end of the hajj, but is the culmination of a Muslim's devotional life. As the Prophet said, "The best of prayers is the prayer of the Day of 'Arafat."

After sunset the pilgrims move to a place called Muzdalifah, where they gather stones for the "throwing of the pebbles" or "stoning of the pillars," and then pray and sleep. The third day of the pilgrimage, back at Mina, they enact a repudiation of evil by throwing the pebbles at a pillar held by many to represent Satan. According to one tradition it was in this area that Satan urged Abraham to disobey God's command to sacrifice his son Ishmael. At Mina too, begins 'Id al-Adha, the great worldwide Feast of Sacrifice during which the pilgrims sacrifice animals - partly to commemorate Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son and partly to symbolize a Muslim's willingness to sacrifice what is dearest to him. As Muslims throughout the world perform identical sacrifices on the same day, the Muslims at Mina in effect share their pilgrimage with Muslims everywhere.

Photo: A pillar marks the Mount of Mercy the rocky hill rising from the plain of Arafat.

As the pilgrims have now completed much of the hajj, Muslim men now clip their hair or shave their heads and women clip a symbolic lock to mark partial deconsecration. The pilgrims may also, at this point, remove the ihram dress and bathe.

In Mecca the rites are concluded by the tawaf of the return, the Circling of the Ka'bah seven times on foot, an act implying that all human activity must have God at the center. After the last circuit the pilgrims worship in the courtyard of the Mosque at the Place of Abraham, where the Patriarch himself offered prayer and, with Ishmael, stood while building the Ka'bah. The tawaf of the return is the last essential devotion of the pilgrimage; now the pilgrims have become hajjis - those who have completed the hajj. Most pilgrims also attempt to kiss, touch, or salute the Hajar al-Aswad, the Black Stone of the Ka'bah, a fragment of polished stone revered as a sign sent by God and a remnant of the original structure built by Abraham and Ishmael. Many also make the sa'y or running, a reenactment of a frantic search for water by Hagar when she and Abraham's son Ishmael were stranded in the valley of Mecca until the Angel Gabriel led them to water in the Well of Zamzam.

It is also customary for pilgrims to return to Mina between the eleventh and thirteenth days and cast their remaining pebbles at the three pillars there and then, in Mecca, make a farewell circling of the Ka'bah. Some may also visit the Mosque of the Prophet in Medina before returning to their homes throughout the world in the "sudden, glad stillness" of those who have stood at 'Arafat.



Photo: Symbol of the oneness and centrality of God, the Ka'bah stands in the courtyard of Mecca's Sacred Mosque where at the season of the hajj the faithful gather for rituals that precede and end their pilgrimage.



Photo: Symbol of the oneness and centrality of God, the Ka'bah stands in the courtyard of Mecca's Sacred Mosque where at the season of the hajj the faithful gather for rituals that precede and end their pilgrimage.



Photo: Pilgrims at the climax of their hajj, "standing" before God at 'Arafat near the spot where Muhammad delivered his farewell sermon.



Photo: Hajjis spend one night camped at Muzdalifah between 'Arafat and Mina.



Photo: In the ceremony of sa'y they reenact the search for water by Hagar, wife of the patriarch Abraham.



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Mata para wali memandangimu dari tempat mereka masing-masing

Syaikh Abdul Qadir Al-Jilli berkata, “Ibadah haji pertamaku aku lakukan pada saat aku masih muda dan sedang melaksanakan tajrid (Pelepasan). Saat aku tiba di daerah Umm A-Qurn aku bertemu Syaikh Uday bin Musafir yang juga masih muda. ‘Mau kemada engkau ?’ Tanya syaikh Uday kepadaku.
‘Makkah Al-Musyarafah’. Jawabku.
‘Apa engkau bersama seseorang ?’
‘Aku sedang melaksanakan tajrid jawabku.’
‘begitu juga diriku’. Ujarnya. Kemudian kami berdua melanjutkan perjalanan.
Ditengah perjalanan kami berjumpa seorang wanita kurus dari habsyi. Dia berhenti di depanku dan memandangi wajahku lalu kemudian berkata, ‘Anak muda, dari manakah engkau ?’
‘Orang ‘ajam yang tinggal di Baghdad’. Jawabkku.
‘Engkau telah membuatku lelah hari ini’.
‘Kenapa?’.
‘Satu jam yang lalu aku berada di Habsyi (Ethiopia) kemudian Allah Ta’ala menunjukkan hatimu kepadaku sekaligus anugerah-Nya kepadamu yang belum pernah aku saksikan diberikan-Nya kepada selain dirimu. Hal itu menyebabkan aku ingin mengenal dirimu. Hari ini aku ingin berjalan bersama kalian melewatkan malam bersama kalian’. Katanya kepada kami.
‘itu merupakan kehormatan buat kami’. Jawabku.
Setelah itu dia mengikuti kami berjalan di sisi lain wadi tersebut. Ketika tiba waktu maghrib dan saat makan malam tiba, sebuah nampan turun dari langit berisi 6 potong roti beserta lauk pauknya. ‘SubhanaLlah segala puji dan syukur bagi Allah Ta’ala yang telah memuliakan aku dan tamuku’. Kata perempuan tersebut.’ Karena setiap malam biasanya aku hanya diberi dua potong roti. Maka enam potong yang diturunkan pada malam ini tentulah sebagai bentuk penghormatan kepada tamuku’. Malam itu, setiap dari kami memakan dua potong roti.
Selesai makan, datanglah tempat air dan kami meminum air yang kesegaran dan rasanya tidak ada di dunia ini. Setelah itu, perempuan itupun pergi meninggalkan kami.
Di Makkah, saat kami melakukan tawaf, Allah Ta’ala berkenan menurunkan Nur-Nya kepada Syaikh Uday. Sang Syaikh pingsan seketika sampai orang-orang mengatakannya telah mati. Saat itu aku melihat perempuan yang pernah bertemu dengan kami di wadi. Dia membalikkan kepala Syaikh Uday dan berkata, ‘Engkau akan dihidupkan oleh Yang Mematikanmu. Maha Suci Dia yang menjadikan segala sesuatu yang menampakkan cahaya keagungan-Nya sebagai bukti keberadaan-Nya. Maha suci Dia yang menjadikan manifestasi sifat-sifat-Nya di seluruh alam semesta sebagai pengokoh eksisteni-Nya. Dia sembunyikan Ke-Mahasucian-Nya dari pandangan mata, namun dada orang-orang yang terpilih dapat mencerap Ke-Maha-Indahan-Nya. Allah lah Yang Maha Tinggi dan kepada-Nya segala puji-yang menurunkan sinarnya kepada orang ini’.
Kemudian di dalam diriku ada sebuah suara yang mengatakan, ‘Wahai Abdul Qadir, tinggalkan jajrid (pelepasan) lahiriah dan beralihlah kepada tafrid (pemisahan), maka angkau akan melihat berbagai keajaiban dari ayat-ayat (kauniyah) Kami. Jangan pernah membandingkan kehendak Kami dengan hasratmu. Kokohkan kakimu di hadapan Kami dan jangan pernah beranggapan kemusyrikan akan melanggengkan penyaksian. Duduklah agar orang-orang dapat mengambil manfaat. Di tanganmu lah hamba-hamba Kami baik yang khusus maupun yang awam akan mencapai kedekatan bersama Kami’
Perempuan tersebut kemudian berkata kepadaku, ‘Hai anak muda, aku tidak tahu apa yang terjadi pada dirimu hari ini. Hari ini aku melihat kami dilingkupi oleh kemah dari cahaya dan engkau dikelilingi oleh para malaikat ‘alaihimussalaam, hingga ke atas langit. Mata para wali memandangimu dari tempat mereka masing-masing dan juga memandang anugerah yang diberikan kepadamu’. Setelah iru dia menghilang dan aku tidak pernah lagi bertemu dengannya”.

Syaikh Abu Muhammad Shaleh bin Wairuzzan Az-Zakaali bercerita, “Syaikhku Abu Madyan berkata kepadaku, ‘Pergilah ke Baghdad dan temui Syaikh Abdul Qadir. Dia akan mengajarkan faqr kepadamu.’ Aku kemudian pergi ke Baghdad. Saat melihat beliau, aku mendapati diriku tidak pernah melihat orang yang memiliki karisma sedemikian besar. Beliau kemudian memerintahkanku untuk berkhalwat di depan pintu rumahnya. Setelah dua puluh hari, sambil memberikan isyarah ke arah ka’bah beliau berkata kepadaku, ‘Hai Saleh, lihat ke sini. Apa yang engkau lihat’.
‘Ka’bah’ Jawabku.
‘Coba ke sini, apa yang engkau lihat ?’ Tanya kepadaku sambil memberikan isyarah dengan tangannya ke arah barat.
‘Syaikhku Abu Madyan’. Jawabku.
‘Mana yang engkau pilih, Syaikhmu Abu Madyan atau Ka’bah.’
‘Syaikhku Abu Madyan’. Jawabku. Kemudian beliau berkata, ‘Ya Shaleh, engkau tidak akan mencapai faqr kecuali menaiki tangga menuju kondisi tersebut yaitu tauhid. Dan orang yang telah menguasai tauhid akan dapat menghapuskan semua yang muncul dari pembicaraan yang bersumber dari kepicikan pandangan’
‘Tuanku, aku memohon pertolonganmu untuk menularkan sifat ini kepadaku’. Pintaku kepada beliau. Beliau lalu memandangku dan aku merasa hasratku terpisah dari hatiku seperti malam yang hilang ditelan kecemerlangan fajar”.
Syaikh Umar Al- Bazaar berkata, “Suatu hari aku duduk di hadapan Syaikh Abdul Qadir dalam khalwatnya. Beliau berkata kepadaku, ‘Jaga punggungmu karena akan ada kucing yang jatuh di punggungmu’. Dalam hati aku berkata, ‘ Dari mana datangnya kucing ? Tidak ada lubang di atas dan.....’ sebelum aku sempat menyelesaikannya tiba-tiba seekor kucing jatuh ke punggungku. Kemudian beliau memukulkan tangannya ke dadaku dan aku mendapati cahaya terbit dari dalam dadaku bak mentari. Dan aku menemukan Al-Haq pada saat itu. Dan sampai sekarang, kuantitas dinar tersebut terus membesar”.
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.THE GOLDEN AGE:

The early 'Abbasids were also fortunate in the caliber of their caliphs, especially after Harun al-Rashid came to the caliphate in 786. His reign is now the most famous in the annals of the 'Abbasids - partly because of the fictional role given him in The Thousand and One Nights (portions of which probably date from his reign), but also because his reign and those of his immediate successors marked the high point of the 'Abbasid period. As the Arab chronicles put it, Harun al-Rashid ruled when the world was young, a felicitous description of what in later times has come to be called the Golden Age of Islam.

The Golden Age was a period of unrivaled intellectual activity in all fields: science, technology, and (as a result of intensive study of the Islamic faith) literature - particularly biography, history, and linguistics. Scholars, for example, in collecting and reexamining the hadith, or "traditions" - the sayings and actions of the Prophet - compiled immense biographical detail about the Prophet and other information, historic and linguistic, about the Prophet's era. This led to such memorable works as Sirat Rasul Allah, the "Life of the Messenger of God," by Ibn Ishaq, later revised by Ibn Hisham; one of the earliest Arabic historical works, it was a key source of information about the Prophet's life and also a model for other important works of history such as al-Tabari's Annals of the Apostles and the Kings and his massive commentary on the Quran.

Photo: Persian miniature depicts students with a teacher of astronomy - one of the sciences to which scholars of the Golden Age made great contributions.

'Abbasid writers also developed new a genres of literature such as adab, the embodiment of sensible counsel, sometimes in the form of animal fables; a typical example is Kalilah wa-Dimnah, translated by Ibn al-Muqaffa' from a Pahlavi version of an Indian work. Writers of this period also studied tribal traditions and wrote the first systematic Arabic grammars.

During the Golden Age Muslim scholars also made important and original contributions to mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and chemistry. They collected and corrected previous astronomical data, built the world's first observatory, and developed the astrolabe, an instrument that was once called "a mathematical jewel." In medicine they experimented with diet, drugs, surgery, and anatomy, and in chemistry, an outgrowth of alchemy, isolated and studied a wide variety of minerals and compounds.

Important advances in agriculture were also made in the Golden Age. The 'Abbasids preserved and improved the ancient network of wells, underground canals, and waterwheels, introduced new breeds of livestock, hastened the spread of cotton, and, from the Chinese, learned the art of making paper, a key to the revival of learning in Europe in the Middle Ages.

The Golden Age also, little by little, transformed the diet of medieval Europe by introducing such plants as plums, artichokes, apricots, cauliflower, celery, fennel, squash, pumpkins, and eggplant, as well as rice, sorghum, new strains of wheat, the date palm, and sugarcane.

Photo: Muslim scientists developed the astrolabe, an instrument used long before the invention of the sextant to observe the position of celestial bodies.

Many of the advances in science, literature, and trade which took place during the Golden Age of the 'Abbasids and which would provide the impetus for the European Renaissance reached their flowering during the caliphate of al-Mamun, son of Harun al-Rashid and perhaps the greatest of all the 'Abbasids. But politically the signs of decay were already becoming evident. The province of Ifriqiyah - North Africa west of Libya and east of Morocco - had fallen away from 'Abbasid control during the reign of Harun al-Rashid, and under al-Mamun other provinces soon broke loose also. When, for example, al-Mamun marched from Khorasan to Baghdad, he left a trusted general named Tahir ibn al-Husayn in charge of the eastern province. Tahir asserted his independence of the central government by omitting mention of the caliph's name in the mosque on Friday and by striking his own coins - acts which became the standard ways of expressing political independence. From 821 onward Tahir and his descendants ruled Khorasan as an independent state, with the tacit consent of the 'Abbasids.

Al-Mamun died in 833, in the town of Tarsus, and was succeeded by his brother, al-Mu'tasim, under whose rule the symptoms of decline that had manifested themselves earlier grew steadily worse. As he could no longer rely on the loyalty of his army, al-Mu'tasim recruited an army of Turks from Transoxania and Turkestan. It was a necessary step, but its outcome was dominance of the caliphate by its own praetorian guard. In the years following 861, the Turks made and unmade rulers at will, a trend that accelerated the decline of the central authority. Although the religious authority of the 'Abbasid caliphate remained unchallenged, the next four centuries saw political power dispersed among a large number of independent states: Tahirids, Saffarids, Samanids, Buwayhids, Ziyarids, and Ghaznavids in the east; Hamdanids in Syria and northern Mesopotamia; and Tulunids, Ikhshidids, and Fatimids in Egypt.

Photo: Books of fables, often illustrated, served a dual purpose to instruct and to entertain.

Some of these states made important contributions to Islamic culture. Under the Samanids, the Persian language, written in the Arabic alphabet, first reached the level of a literary language and poets like Rudaki, Daqiqi, and Firdausi flourished. The Ghaznavids patronized al-Biruni, one of the greatest and most original scholars of medival Islam, and the Hamdanids, a purely Arab dynasty, patronized such poets as al-Mutanabbi and philosophers like the great al-Farabi, whose work kept the flame of Arab culture alive in a difficult period. But in historical terms, only the Fatimids rivaled the preceding dynasties.

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