Sungguh amat marak pernyataan kawan kita Muslim dalam mengatakan bahwa Kekristenan adalah "agama pagan". Mungkin mereka perlu melihat tafsir Al-Quran mereka untuk menyadari hal ini.A. PENGANTAR
Surah Ar-Rum (Makkiyah)B. DALIL QURAN (1)
1. alif-laam-miim
2. ghulibati alrruumu
3. fii adnaa al-ardhi wahum min ba’di ghalabihim sayaghlibuuna
4. fii bidh’i siniina lillaahi al-amru min qablu wamin ba’du wayawma-idzin yafrahu almu/minuuna
5. binashri allaahi yanshuru man yasyaau wahuwa al’aziizu alrrahiimu
6. wa’da allaahi laa yukhlifu allaahu wa’dahu walaakinna aktsara alnnaasi laa ya’lamuuna
1 Alif Laam Miim
2 Telah dikalahkan bangsa Rumawi , [1162]
3 di negeri yang terdekat [1163] dan mereka sesudah dikalahkan itu akan menang , [1164]
4 dalam beberapa tahun (lagi) [1165]. Bagi Allah-lah urusan sebelum dan sesudah (mereka menang). Dan di hari (kemenangan bangsa Rumawi) itu bergembiralah orang-orang yang beriman,
5 karena pertolongan Allah. Dia menolong siapa yang dikehendaki-Nya. Dan Dialah Yang Maha Perkasa lagi Maha Penyayang.
6 (sebagai) janji yang sebenar-benarnya dari Allah. Allah tidak akan menyalahi janji-Nya, tetapi kebanyakan manusia tidak mengetahui.
Keterangan:
[1162] Maksudnya: Rumawi Timur yang berpusat di Konstantinopel
[1163] Maksudnya: terdekat ke negeri Arab yaitu Syiria dan Palestina sewaktu mendjadi djadjahan keradjaan Rumawi Timur.
[1164] Bangsa Rumawi adalah satu bangsa yang beragama Nasrani yang mempunyai Kitab Sutji dan bangsa Persia adalah beragama Madjusi, menyembah api dan berhala (musyrik). Kedua bangsa itu saling perang memerangi. Ketika tersiar berita kekalahan bangsa Rumawi oleh bangsa Persia, maka kaum musyrik Mekkah menyambutnya dengan penuh kegembiraan karena berpihak kepada orang musyrikin Persia. Sedangkan kaum Muslimin berdukacita karenanya. ...
[1165] Ialah antara tiga sampai sembilan tahun. Waktu antara kekalahan bangsa Rumawi (614-615) dengan kemenangannya (tahun 622) ialah kira-kira 7 tahun.
(Alif. Lam. Mim. The Romans have been defeated in the nearer land") [30:1-3].C. ASBABUN NUZUL (2)
The commentators of the Qur"an said: "Chosroes sent an army under the command of a man called Shahryaraz to Byzantium. This man marched on Byzantium and defeated them. He killed the men, destroyed their cities and demolished all their olive trees. The Caesar had entrusted the command of his army to a man called Juhannas. The latter fought against Shahryaraz at Adhri"at and Busrah, which are the closest parts of Syria to the land of the Arabs. The Persian defeated the Byzantines. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, and his Companions heard this while in Mecca and felt sad about it. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, disliked that the Magians, who did not have a revealed Scripture, have the upper hand over the Byzantines who were people of the Book. The disbelievers of Mecca, on the other hand, were exultant and spiteful. When they met the Companions of the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, they said to them: "You are people of the Book and the Christians are people of the Book. We are without a revealed Scripture and our brothers the Persians have defeated your brothers the Byzantines. If you ever fight us, we will defeat you too". Therefore, Allah, exalted is He, revealed (Alif. Lam. Mim. The Romans have been defeated in the nearer land) to the end of these verses".
Isma"il ibn Ibrahim al-Wa"iz informed us> Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Hamid al-"Attar> Ahmad ibn al-Husayn ibn "Abd al-Jabbar> al-Harith ibn Shurayh> al-Mu"tamir ibn Sulayman> his father> al-A"mash> "Atiyyah al-"Awfi> Abu Sa"id al-Khudri who said:
"When the Battle of Badr took place, the Byzantines had also defeated the Persians. The believers rejoiced and so these verses were revealed (Alif. Lam. Mim. The Romans have been defeated) up to His words (" believers will rejoice in Allah"s help to victory), i.e. the believers will rejoice in the defeat of the Persians by the Byzantines".
JalalaynD. TAFSIR (3)
2 The Byzantines — who are among the People of the Scripture — have been vanquished; the Persians vanquished them, and they are not people of a scripture, but worship graven images. The Meccan disbelievers rejoiced in this [defeat of the Byzantines] and said to the Muslims, ‘We shall vanquish you as the Persians vanquished the Byzantines’;
4 in a few years (bid‘, [usually means] between three and nine or ten years). So the two armies met again seven years after this former encounter and the Byzantines defeated the Persians. To God belongs the command before and after, that is, before the defeat of the Byzantines and thereafter, that is to say, the Persian victory at first and the Byzantine victory later were [the result of] God’s command, in other words, His will, and on that day, the day when the Byzantines will be victorious, the believers shall rejoice
5 in God’s help, to them against the Persians. They [the believers] indeed rejoiced in this, as they came to know of it on the day that it took place, on the day of [the battle of] Badr, when Gabriel came down with this [news] thereon, in addition to their rejoicing in their victory over the idolaters on that [same] day. He helps whomever He will; and He is the Mighty, the Victor, the Merciful, to believers.
6. The promise of God (wa‘da’Llāhi is the verbal noun substituting for the [full] verbal construction; it is actually wa‘adahumu’Llāhu al-nasr, ‘God promised them victory’). God does not fail His promise, of such [help], but most people, namely, the disbelievers of Mecca, are not aware, of His promise to help them [to victory].
Ibn ‘Abbâs
2 (The Romans have been defeated) the Romans, who were people of the Book, were defeated by the Persians who were worshippers of fire.
3. (In the nearer land) close to Persia and, as a consequence, the believers were aggrieved while the idolaters rejoiced, saying: " We shall defeat the believers just as the Persians defeated the Romans ", but then Allah proceeded to mention their victory (and they) i.e. the Romans, (after their defeat) at the hand of the Persians (will be victorious) over the Persians.
4 (Within a few years) at the beginning of the seventh year from now; Abu Bakr al-Siddiq betted ten camels on this against Ubayy Ibn Khalaf al-Jumahi (Allah's is the command) victory and the upper hand to Muhammad (pbuh) (in the former case) before the Persians defeated the Romans (and in the latter) and after the Persian defeated the Romans; it is also said that this means: before and after the victory of the Romans against the Persians; it is also said: to Allah belongs knowledge, power, will, before the beginning of creation and after the evanescence of creation; and it is also said that this means: Allah was Commander before and after the creation of those He commanded just as He was Creator before and after the existence of creation, and Provider before and after the existence of those for whom He provided, and Master before and after the existence of His subjects (and in that day) when the Romans will defeat the Persians and also when He gives victory to Muhammad (pbuh) over the disbelievers of Mecca, on the Day of Badr, or on the Day of al-Hudaybiyyah, (believers will rejoice
5 In Allah's help to victory) for Muhammad (pbuh) against his enemies and giving the upper hand to the Romans over the Persians. (He helpeth to victory whom He will) i.e. Muhammad (pbuh). (He is the Mighty) in retribution against Abu Jahl and his host on the Day of Badr, (the Merciful) towards the believers in Muhammad (pbuh) and his Companions.
6 (It is a promise of Allah) that victory and the upper hand will be for Muhammad (pbuh). (Allah faileth not His promise) to His prophet that victory and the upper hand will be his, (but most of mankind) the people of Mecca (know not) that Allah will not fail His promise to His Prophet.
Ibn Kathir
Foretelling the Victory of the Romans
These Ayat were revealed about the victory of Sabur, the king of Persia, over Ash-Sham (Greater Syria), the adjoining partisan states of the Arabian Peninsula, and the outlying regions of the land of the Romans. Heraclius, the emperor of the Romans, was forced to flee to Constantinople where he was besieged for a lengthy period. Then Heraclius regained the upper hand. Imam Ahmad recorded that Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, commented on this Ayah: (Alif Lam Mim. The Romans have been defeated. In the nearest land,) He said, "They were defeated and then they were victorious.'' He said, "The idolators wanted the Persians to prevail over the Romans, because they were idol worshippers, and the Muslims wanted the Romans to prevail over the Persians, because they were People of the Book. This was mentioned to Abu Bakr, who mentioned it to the Messenger of Allah. The Messenger of Allah said: (They will certainly prevail.) Abu Bakr mentioned this to the idolators, and they said, "Set a time limit for that, and if we prevail, we will get such and such; and if you prevail, you will get such and such.'' So he set a limit of five years, and they (the Romans) did not prevail. Abu Bakr mentioned that to the Messenger of Allah and he said: (Why do you not make it less than) I (the narrator) think he meant less than ten. Sa`id bin Jubayr said: "Bid` means less than ten.'' Then the Romans were victorious, and he said, "That is what Allah said: (Alif Lam Mim. The Romans have been defeated. In the nearest land, and they, after their defeat, will be victorious. In Bid`i years. The decision of the matter, before and after is only with Allah. And on that day, the believers will rejoice -- with the help of Allah. He helps whom He wills, and He is the All-Mighty, the Most Merciful.) This was also recorded by At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa'i. At-Tirmidhi said: "Hasan Gharib.''
Another Hadith
Abu `Isa At-Tirmidhi recorded that Niyar bin Mukram Al-Aslami said: "When the following Ayat were revealed: (Alif Lam Mim. The Romans have been defeated. In the nearest land, and they, after their defeat, will be victorious. In Bid` years.) on the day they were revealed, the Persians were prevailing over the Romans. The Muslims wanted the Romans to prevail over them (the Persians), because they were both people who followed a Book. Concerning this Allah said: (And on that day, the believers will rejoice -- with the help of Allah. He helps whom He wills, and He is the All-Mighty, the Most Merciful.) The Quraysh, on the other hand, wanted the Persians to prevail, because neither of them were people who followed a Book and neither of them believed in the Resurrection. When Allah revealed these Ayat, Abu Bakr went out proclaiming throughout Makkah: (Alif Lam Mim. The Romans have been defeated. In the nearest land, and they, after their defeat, will be victorious. In Bid` years.) Some of the Quraysh said to Abu Bakr: `This is (a bet) between us and you. Your companion claims that the Romans will defeat the Persians within three to nine years, so why not have a bet on that between us and you' Abu Bakr said, `Yes.' This was before betting had been forbidden. So, Abu Bakr and the idolators made a bet, and they said to Abu Bakr: `What do you think, Bid` means something between three and nine years, so let us agree on the middle.' So they agreed on six years. Then six years passed without the Romans being victorious, so the idolators took what they had bet with Abu Bakr. When the seventh year came and the Romans were finally victorious over the Persians, the Muslims rebuked Abu Bakr for agreeing on six years. He said: `Because Allah said: "In Bid` years.''' At that time, many people became Muslim.'' This is how it was narrated by At-Tirmidhi, then he said, "This is a Hasan Hadith.''
Who were the Romans
(Alif Lam Mim. The Romans have been defeated.) We have already discussed the separate letters which appear at the beginning of some Surahs in the beginning of our Tafsir of Surat Al-Baqarah. With regard to the Romans (Ar-Rum), they are the descendents of Al-`Iys bin Ishaq bin Ibrahim. They are the cousins of the Children of Isra'il, and are also known as Bani Al-Asfar. They used to followed the religion of the Greeks, who were descendents of Yafith bin Nuh, the cousins of the Turks. They used to worship the seven planets, and they prayed facing the direction of the North Pole. It is they who founded Damascus and built its temple in which there is a prayer niche facing north. The Romans followed this religion until approximately three hundred years after the time of the Messiah. The king who ruled Greater Syria along with the Fertile Crescent (semicircle of fertile land from Syrian Desert to Persian Gulf) was called Caesar. The first of them to enter the Christian religion was Constantine the son of Costas, whose mother was Maryam Al-Hilaniyyah Ash-Shadqaniyyah, from the land of Harran. She had become Christian before him, and she invited him to her religion. Before that he had been a philosopher, then he followed her. It was said that this was merely an outward show of belief. Then the Christians met with him. During his time they debated with `Abdullah bin Ariyus (Arius) and great differences arose which could not be reconciled. Then a gathering of three hundred and eighteen bishops reached an agreement, and presented their creed to Constantine. This is what they call the Great Trust, but in fact it is the Worst Betrayal. They presented to him their laws, i.e., books of rulings on what was lawful and prohibited, and other things that they needed. They changed the religion of the Messiah (peace be upon him), adding some things and taking some things away. They began praying towards the East, and changed the Sabbath (Saturday) rites to Sunday. They worshipped the cross, permitted eating of pigs, adopted innovated observances such as the festival of the cross, Mass, baptism, etc., Palm Sunday and other occasions. They appointed a pope, as their leader, and patriarchs, metropolitans, bishops, priests and deacons, and they invented monasticism. The king built churches and places of worship for them, and he founded the city which is named after him, Constantinople. It was said that during his time twelve thousand churches were built, three places of prayer in Bethlehem, and that his mother built the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. These are the ones who followed the religion of the kings. Then after them came the Jacobites, followers of Ya`qub Al-Askaf, then the Nestorians, the followers of Nestorius. There are many groups and sects among them, as the Messenger of Allah said: (They split into seventy two sects.) The point here is that they continued to follow Christianity. Every time one Caesar died, another succeeded him, until the last of them, Heraclius, came to power. He was a wise man, one of the most astute and intelligent of kings, who had deep insight and well-formed opinions. His was a great and glorious reign. He was opposed by Chosroes, the king of Persia and of regions such as Iraq, Khurasan, Ar-Riy and all the lands of the Persians. His name was Sabur Dhul-Aktaf, and his kingdom was greater than the kingdom of Caesar. He was the leader of the Persians and was as stubborn as the Persians who were Zoroastrian fire worshippers.
How Caesar defeated Chosroes (Kisra)
It was previously reported that `Ikrimah said: "Chosroes sent his deputy and his army against Caesar, and they fought.'' It is well-known that Chosroes himself fought in the army that invaded his land, and he defeated Caesar and overwhelmed him until he had nothing left except the city of Constantinople, where Chosroes besieged him for a long time, until things became very difficult for him. He was highly venerated among the Christians, and Chosroes was not able to conquer the city because it was well fortified, and half of it faced the land while the other half faced the sea, from where supplies were able to reach them. After this had gone on for a long time, Caesar thought of a clever trick. He asked Chosroes to let him leave his city in return for money given as a peace-offering, on whatever terms he (Chosroes) wanted. Chosroes agreed to that and asked for a huge amount of wealth -- gold, jewels, fabric, servant-women, servants, and much more -- such that no king on earth could ever pay. Caesar went along with that and gave him the impression that he had all that he had asked for, although he thought he was crazy for asking for such a thing, because even if the two of them were to combine all of their wealth, it would not amount to even one-tenth of that. He asked Chosroes to let him go out of the city to Ash-Sham and the other regions of his kingdom, so that he could gather that from his storehouses and places where his wealth was buried. Chosroes let him go, and when Caesar was about to leave Constantinople, he gathered his people together and told them: "I am going out on a mission I have decided to do so with some soldiers I have selected from my army; if I come back to you before one year passes, I will still be your king but if I do not come back after that, you will have the choice. Then, if you wish, you may remain loyal to me, or if you wish you may appoint someone instead of me. Signs of Tawhid Allah tells us that pondering His creation will show that He exists and that He is Unique in creating it, and that there is no god nor lord besides Him. So He says:
Perlu menjadi perhatian kita bahwa QS 30:1-6 adalah nubuat tentang kemenangan yang akan diraih oleh Kerajaan Nasrani Trinitarian: Romawi, melawan Kerajaan Persia. Artinya ketika QS 30:1-6 diturunkan yang telah terjadi adalah ayat 2, sedangkan ayat 4-6 masih belum terjadi alias masih berupa janji dari Allah. Menarik untuk disimak bahwa Jalalayn memaknai janji itu sebagai janji yang diberikan Allah kepada Nasrani: "The promise of God (wa‘da’Llāhi is the verbal noun substituting for the [full] verbal construction; it is actually wa‘adahumu’Llāhu al-nasr, ‘God promised them victory’). ..."E. PEMBAHASAN
Kemenangan Persia ini digunakan oleh kafir Mekkah sebagai ejekan kepada umat Islam di Mekkah. Al Wahidi menuliskan ejekan itu begini: "... they said to them: "You are people of the Book and the Christians are people of the Book. We are without a revealed Scripture and our brothers the Persians have defeated your brothers the Byzantines. If you ever fight us, we will defeat you too". ...". Menarik pula melihat ayat 4 ternyata dilatarbelakangi oleh pertaruhan: "... Some of the Quraysh said to Abu Bakr: `This is (a bet) between us and you. Your companion claims that the Romans will defeat the Persians within three to nine years, so why not have a bet on that between us and you' Abu Bakr said, `Yes.' This was before betting had been forbidden." Baik Ibn Kathir maupun Ibn Abbas menuliskan hal itu.
Membaca QS 30:1-6 seharusnya membuat Anda berpikir mengenai pengetahuan 'penulis Quran' mengenai keberadaan Kerajaan Romawi - Byzantine (Konstaninopel) yang adalah jelas-jelas umat berkitab (Injil) dan menuhankan Isa Almasih. Sebab sangat jelas perbandingannya: Kafir Mekkah mendukung Persia yang merupakan kaum pagan penyembah berhala (api) sedangkan umat Islam sebagai umat beriman mendukung Kerajaan Trinitarian Roma. Menjadi tidak sebanding jika menyebutkan bahwa QS 30:1-6 memaksudkan Kerajaan Roma sebagai "penganut agama pagan" karena menjadi model bagi kaum beriman umat Muhammad di Mekkah sedangkan secara jelas terlihat bahwa Persia adalah kaum pagan yang selaras dengan kaum pagan Arab Mekkah.
Kita juga membaca upaya Kathir mengingatkan tentang siapa itu Roma dalam tafsirnya di bagian "Who were the Romans", namun usaha itu sia-sia karena QS 30:1-6 mengisahkan kejadian di tahun 620an Masehi sedangkan yang ditulis Kathir adalah sejarah yang telah terjadi di masa lampau hingga saat ayat itu diturunkan.
Dalam rentang waktu tahun 610-641, Kekaisaran Romawi Timur dipimpin oleh seorang Kaisar Kristen Trinitarian, yaitu: Heraklius. Tidak diragukan lagi bahwa Kaisar Heraklius adalah seorang Kristen yang menyembah Yesus Tuhan. Berikut disampaikan tentang Heraklius dari berbagai sumber:
Jewish Virtual Library (4)
In the beginning of the seventh century, Persia attempted once again to conquer the Fertile Crescent and hoped to defeat the Byzantine Empire.
The Jews of Judea, hoping for a better deal than they had with the Byzantines, fought on the side of the Persians. In 611 CE, Persia conquered Syria and Judea. The army entered Jerusalem with the Jews cheering. They and the Jews slaughtered from 60,000-90,000 Christians. They also destroyed the Holy Sepulchre, built by Helena.To their dismay, the Jews discovered that the Persians were even crueler and harder to live with than the Christians had been. They immediately tried to work out a deal with the Byzantine emperor Heraclius to help him retake the Holy Land. The emperor agreed to the terms set by the Jews and, in 629 CE, after a bloody war, the Byzantines succeeded in winning back all of the territory which the Persians had conquered eighteen years earlier. Both countries were exhausted financially by the wars. Neither was in very good condition, but Judea was in even worse shape because so much of the fighting had taken place within her borders. When Heraclius gained control of Judea, the Jews went to him reminding him of his promises. Heraclius, assured by the Christian clergy that it was God's will and that a week of fasting would atone for any possible sins, ordered all Jews killed and all synagogues destroyed. The Jews who didn't get caught and slaughtered at once fled to Egypt and other points north or south. Heraclius ordered forced conversion for all Jews in the Byzantine Empire, but the order was carried out only in Carthage. Heraclius asked the king of the Franks to kill all Jews, but he refused. It looked like the end of Judaism in Judea. However, things were going on in the Arabian desert which, within seven years, would change the picture of the Near East and of the whole world.
Wikipedia (5)
Looking back at the reign of Heraclius, scholars have credited him with many accomplishments. He enlarged the Empire, and his reorganization of the government and military were great successes. His attempts at religious harmony failed (tentang Monothelitism), but he succeeded in returning the True Cross, one of the holiest Christian relics, to Jerusalem.
Orthodoxwiki (6)
Heraclius (Latin: Flavius Heraclius Augustus; Greek: Ἡράκλειος Hērakleios) was Emperor of the Roman (Byzantine) Empire from October 5, 610, to February 11, 641. Often he was also referred to as Heraclius I. Heraclius reorganized the government of the empire after its decay under his predecessors and was able to recover lands lost to the Persians. In an attempt to encourage unity between the Orthodox and the Monophysites, he promoted the compromise doctrine called Monothelitism. He also changed the official language of the empire from Latin to Greek.
◾ Kerajaan Rum seperti yang ditulis dalam QS 30 adalah kerajaan Nasrani Trinitarian yang diakui sebagai umat berkitab. Hal ini berdampak pada pengakuan penulis Quran bahwa Injil yang dibaca kaum Nasrani Trinitarian adalah Injil yang dimaksud Quran.F. KESIMPULAN
◾ Kerajaan Rum berbanding lurus dengan kaum beriman umat Muhammad (Islam) di Arab dan berbanding terbalik (kontra) dengan kaum pagan penyembah berhala. Kecuali Anda berani mempertaruhkan logika bahwa penulis Quran Anda, yaitu Allah Swt, tidak mengetahui bahwa ketika QS 30 diturunkan, Rum adalah kerajaan Nasrani Trinitarian yang dikatakan kafir itu.
◾ Ayat 6 menyebutkan bahwa Allah Swt berjanji memberikan kemenangan bagi Rum yang adalah (seharusnya secara logika) umat beriman dan menjadi model - penyemangat bagi umat Muhammad dalam memerangi kaum pagan Arab di perang Badr. Wahidi: "When the Battle of Badr took place, the Byzantines had also defeated the Persians. The believers rejoiced and so these verses were revealed".
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Footnote
(1) Al-Quran dan Terdjemahanja, Dzuz 21-30, Departemen Agama Republik Indonesia, 1969.
(2) http://quranx.com/Tafsirs/30.1
(3) http://quranx.com/Tafsirs/30.1 dan ayat terkait lainnya.
(4) http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/heraclius.html
(5) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heraclius#Origins
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monothelitism
(6) http://orthodoxwiki.org/Heraclius