The following is an analysis featured in the blog, 'elhakimi', which is a continuation of the earlier article. May it be useful and able to remove the doubt of the ummah regarding the urgency of jihad, Insha Allah!

Busy In Blaming The Enemies

When the Islamic ummah receive attacks from the enemies, there are still many who are busy blaming the enemies. America is made as a target of revilement. America is evil, the government of SBY is arrogant and etc. These are all true, there is nothing wrong with the expressions.

The problem is, this attitude tends to make us accustomed to covering our weakness and failures by scapegoating other parties. Blaming the enemies who are cleverer. Whereas, the genuine errors depend on the weakness of the Islamic ummah themselves.

As an illustration, the soccer team of Indonesia is having a match against the soccer team of Brazil. If defeated in the match, Indonesia could not blame Brazil. Because, it is natural that the one and only task of the Brazil players in the match is to beat Indonesia, just as Indonesia's highest obsession in the match is to defeat Brazil. When defeated, every soccer team would surely be busy in fixing its squad, not blaming the cleverness of the opponets or blaming the referee. The attitude of always blaming the enemies is a stupidity which will be laughed at by the world. A childish sentimentality.

Unfortunately, a lot of Muslims are always busy blaming the Densus 88, the police and government – whoever the president is. Those apparatuses are paid to defend the ideology of Nationalism, Democracy and the non-Shari'ah law. How could we be in the imagination that they would give love and mercy to the Mujahideen who are 'paid' by Allah to defend the Tawheed, the Islamic ummah and the Shari'ah law. The two camps are having opposing ideologies. Victory or defeat will defend wholly on the mechanisms of the struggle, without having to whine so that the enemies will soften their resistance. We can only busy ourselves in lamenting over our internal weakness, evaluating our mistakes and rectifying whatever had been mistaken.

Why are the Islam ummah easily invaded by America? Why could the Mujahideen, who should have been strong, be easily furled by the Densus 88?

The paradigm has to be reversed. Not blaming the Densus 88, the government of SBY, Israel or America. But blaming one's own; what has been wrong that the Mujahideen could be finished that easily? What mistaken strategy had been used that caused them to be defeated ? What had been ignored? and so on.

As for blaming the Densus 88 as a strategy to weaken the Densus 88 in front of the ummah, this could be justified. Because, by weakening the image of the Densus 88 in the eyes of the ummah, the support for the Densus will lessen. With that, the ummah could be invited to support the Mujahideen, not supporting the Densus 88.

So from here, the Islamic ummah should be busy in evaluating what had been done by the Acehnese Mujahideen. It needs to combed strand by strand, so that in the future it would become a group of lessons to be used for reflections. If we were to do the same thing, what needs to be improved.

So, stop blaming the enemies, but blame one's self (the self of the Islamic ummah where we are a part of it together) .

The Yardstick of Muhasabah: The Sustainability Of Jihad and The Victory of Islam

We, before doing a muhasabah, must agree on the yardstick that would be used. Because, choosing the wrong yardstick would make a defeat seen as victory.

For example, if we use to die shaheed as the yardstick, then the Aceh jihad 2010 is considered successful enough. Successful in what? In presenting the shuhada's! Because, the fact is, there had been reasonably many who fell as shuhada's (kama nahsabuhu wala nuzakki 'alallah ahadan).

If the yardstick is the ability to kill the enemies, the Aceh jihad could also be considered as quite successful because for the first time it could reverse the facts: normally the Densus 88 and their stooges are in the position of the killers, but now they could be made in the position of the killed. And the number is also fantastic! Kompas reported that 5 were killed.

If the yard stick is the arrest by the Densus 88, the Aceh jihad is also relatively “successful”. Because it presented cadres of jihad in a number that is quite high, as occupants of “Prodeo hotel” (prodeo = free i.e. local term for prison – ed). And their arrest was also relatively easy.

If the ability to emulate Al-Qaeda in the style of its propaganda, the Aceh jihad was also quite successful. They were able to record their propaganda with a beautiful background; the forest and its dense hills. Its call was also clear; inviting the Islamic ummah to unite with them in the forest. Only a little difference from Al-Qaeda, they did it by undervaluing da'wah and the social development of the ummah conducted by the elements in the ummah themselves. They carry off anything else except jihad. THE MAIN THING IS JIHAD!

It seemed that Al-Qaeda has become the most important inspiration. This could not be avoided, because anybody who discusses about jihad, cannot neglect the phenomenon of Al-Qaeda which is getting more global with the expansion of the internet. Al-Qaeda has become a dream model for all activities obsessed with jihad. Available on the internet, its messages are very potent in the “black-white” style and burning the adrenalin of the young people. They do not need to climb the hill sides. Their adrenalin are already burning just by sitting down in front of the internet.

All of these, according to yours truly, are not the yardsticks for the success of the Aceh jihad. Though, generally, we must appreciate the jihad that they had proclaimed. There is no do'a from us to them except all their 'amal ibaadah are accepted by Allah. And there is no choice in the reaction for us, except to become the cadres who would one day continue their jihad, of course without repeating their “mistakes” after doing some evaluations. But continuing doesn't mean it has to be in Aceh or other Indonesia territories. The continuing that we mean is the continuing of its jihad, not its Aceh, let alone the "mistakes”. Meaning, we must become the chain links and network of the global jihad of the Islamic ummah, after they had, before us, ascertained themselves as one of the rings that makes up the chain of the global jihad.

Therefore, the yardstick for the success must be agreed by us upon the sustainability of its jihad, the support from the Islamic ummah and the ability to weaken the enemies till they are defeated. If the Aceh jihad 2010 could be furled by the enemies only in a matter of weeks, it means that we must do some evaluations, what was wrong. If the Islamic ummah do not support and feel called to join the caravans of jihad, it means that there is something that needs to be improved (next time better). If the Aceh jihad 2010 was incapable of weakening the enemies, let alone defeat them, it means that there is something that requires serious preparations in order to defeat them.

True, we are not burdened by Allah with the obligation of defeating the enemies, but it cannot be denied that the Shari'ah of jihad is the best tool that Allah provides for us to defeat the enemies. But if its best weapon alone cannot be used , then how else can we defeat the enemies?

Its basic theory is; JIHAD SURELY RESULTS IN VICTORY IF DONE RIGHT. When the result is defeat, it means that we must have the courage to evaluate it gracefully. It might be that, this experiment happens repeatedly and we keep on doing the evaluations in order to achieve the greatest goal: to produce victory. Abu Mus'ab As-Sury exemplified, by writing a reflection on the Syrian jihad, and then a more extensive reflection in his book "Da'wah muqawamah". This book contains reflections on the global jihad, evaluations on its shortcomings and how the forward strategies are, in order to ensure that jihad would produce victory.

Jihad; Objective or Means

One of the stiff debates that is spreading amongst the jihad activists is; is jihad seen as a means to achieve victory or an objective and the last terminal from a series of servitudes to Allah? Though this debate does not stick out to the surface in the form of oral dispute, but it is reflected in the choice of actions.

The “means” mazhab will place jihad parallel with other ibaadahs. Every ibaadah is framed by the maqashid shari'ah which suit its character. Solat is framed by the objective of the union in the ritual of vertical submission. Sawm is framed by the objective of restraining the carnal desires and the personal sincerity to Allah. Zakat is framed by the objective of social solidarity in matters of wealth and the removal of the selfish mentality. Nahi munkar is framed by the objective of the eradication of munkar within the Islamic ummah. Meanwhile, jihad is framed by the objective of personal sacrifices in defending Allah and defeating the enemies of Allah.

Jihad is an ibadah. But in its implementation, it is not merely based on the objective of performing that ibaadah per se. There are a number of requirements in performing it, there are rules that come with it. It is not simply a matter of - “as long as the command of Allah called jihad is accomplished”.

This is the same as the ibaadah of nahi munkar. Not simply doing the nahi munkar per se. If the nahi munkar is predicted to cause greater munkar, then the nahi munkar cannot be carried out.

The followers of the “means” mazhab are inclined to prepare jihad by conducting da'wah, the development of the community, social services, educations and etc. They do not annihilate the role of da'wah as another tool in establishing Islam. Its position is parallel, because the dependability of the ummah upon da'wah is no less than the dependabilityof the ummah upon jihad. Both have to be done simultaneously, none is to be favored over another. It is this paradigm that must be used in viewing the ibaadah called jihad.

Meanwhile, for the followers of the “objective” mazhab, their actions are only focused on the implementation of their jihad as a fardhu 'ain duty. They neglect the little jobs which have the roles of supporting the sustainability of jihad. They want all the Muslim to come in their multitude and accept their call, go to the forest and mountains in Aceh and join them. They are leaving its da'wah, pesantrens, social institutions and everything else that does not have the portrait of “carrying weapons”.
Whereas, jihad requires the support of da'wah, the funds, journalistic, communication and technology experts and other kind of expertises. It requires the continuity of the human resources that will carry the burden of this jihad. How could jihad continue if the Mujahid-supplying machines are abandoned such as the pesantrens, madrassas, Majelis taklim (non-formal Dieniyyah educational institutions) and their like?

A strong effect that came out from the Aceh jihad was the making of jihad as the objective, not the means to achieve the victory of Islam. When jihad becomes the objective, then a Mujahid would neglect the little supports that would influence the success of jihad. For example, da'wah, the supports from the surrounding communities, the support of the mass media and etc.

The focal points are just how to conduct jihad and invite the Islamic ummah to conduct jihad, though the invitation becomes so absurd (blurred) in the eyes of the Islamic ummah who do not understand anything about the discourse of jihad. They are listening to the invitation like a blowing wind that passes by, because they do not understand the purpose of the invitation.

For example, if there are those who welcome the calls, they would still be in difficulties in finding the committees. They are clueless with the address of the secretariats. They still do not know, whether it requires some kind of test in order to participate? They do not know the location of the hills, they also do not know, who the enemies are. This is what we mean by absurd.

In the eyes of the Islamic ummah, jihad against the Densus 88 is something that is difficult to understand. They would say; Islam against Islam. It's natural, as the majority of the members of the Densus 88 are surely Muslim, according to the total number of the Islamic ummah who are the majority in this country.

These problems need da'wah. Moreover, how would jihad gain big support if da'wah is neglected? Da'wah was such undermined in the message released by the Aceh Mujahideen. As if they are living in another planet and are only busy with their own world. In medical terms this is called autism.

To be continued...