Methodology is different from method of study, since methodology is the philosophical framework and the philosophy of the research process which involves assumptions, values and analysis, as well as the background of the researcher. Turning to the method there is not much controversy, as the method is only a research technique used to gather the data.54 A methodology is meant to be inductive: it is a new approach to analyzing the material, not a confīrmation. It is
52 Ibid., 4. See also, Mohammad Nazir, Metodologi Penelitian (Bogor: Ghalia Indonesia,
2005), 37-43.
53August Comte, The Positive Philosophy of August Comte, Freely translated and
condensed by Harriet Martineau with an Introduction by Frederic Harrison Vol.Two (London: Geroge Bell and Sons, 1975), 241. See also, Lewis A. Coser, Masters of Sociological Thought, Ideas in Historical and Social Context (USA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1977), 5-6.
supposed to be a discovery that enables the researcher to question established views.55 It is for this reason that the researcher needs to explore a problem thoroughly, critically and systematically in order to undertake a deeper analysis that allows for greater understanding of the subject.56 Therefore it is important to have a theoretical foundation, which is also known as methodology.57 A theoretical foundation firstly helps the researcher to explore new interpretations of the phenomena and the data. Secondly, it helps the researcher to predict things about the object being researched based on his or her observations. Thirdly, it relates one study to another in order to fīnd the connections. The fourth advantage is to give a wider framework for further research based on the fīndings of a current project.58
In relation to this, this subject is being approached by means of a total historical method. Total historical approach tries to approach history in terms of all aspects of social and cultural life of society, as well as to explore the causes and effects of the phenomena which occurred in society. In addition it is important for historians to analyze and explore the development of ideas, as well as all the factors that have shaped and affected those ideas; thus the writing of history will not only be in narrative form, but will also include analytical studies
55Johan Galtung, Theory and Method of Social Research (Oslo: Universitetsforlaget,
1967), 27.
56 Christine A. Hult, Researching and Writing in Humanities and Arts (New York: Allen
and Bacon, A Shimon and Chuster, 1996), 1.
57 Noeng Muhadjir, Metodologi Penelitian Kualitatif, edisi IV (Yogyakarta: Penerbit Rake
Sarasin, 2002), 3-4. Winarno Surakhmad, Pengantar Penelitian Ilmiah, Dasar, Metoda, Teknik
(Bandung: Penerbit Tarsito, 1989), 30-35. Dedi Mulyana, Metodologi Penelitian Kulitatif, Paradigma Baru, Ilmu Komunikasi dan Ilmu Sosial lainnya (Bandung: Remaja Rosdakarya, 2003) , 147. Dolet Unarajan, Pengantar Metode Penelitian Ilmu Sosial (Jakarta: Grasindo, 2000) , 21. Lexy J. Moleong, Metodologi Penelitian Kualitatif, edisi Revisi (Bandung: Remaja Rosdakarya, 2007), 56-90.
to offer new interpretations and a better understanding of the life of the people. Therefore, a total historical approach requires data compiled by other scholars from different fīelds, so that the researcher can reconstruct and analyze the subject concerned.59
In the humanities, especially in those areas that relate to the origin of concepts, texts are considered to be very important. In religious and social studies for example, a failure to understand the texts can result in misunderstanding the meaning of important concepts. Those who do research in the humanities use a standard research method to represent human life based on data from the written record. This written record is called a primary text. Primary texts can be in the form of poems, manuscripts, plays, letters, diaries, etc.60 All of the sources available - either primary or secondary - will be used in this thesis to help the writing to be a ’descriptive analysis’. The ’descriptive analysis’ approach is extremely important in writing since a deep analysis must be based on”thick description.”61 Therefore, using a qualitative method to understand the behavior of human beings in depth, and the social and cultural interactions which formed the way of life of a society and its religious and philosophical understanding of God and the universe, becomes crucial. For this the researcher has to rationally see all the problems from different perspectives in order to be able to present a deep and good analysis.62
59 Christine A. Hult, 7-8. 60 Ibid., 59-60.
61 Clifford Geertz, The Interpretation of Cultures, Selected Essays by Clifford Geertz
(New York: Basic Books, 1973), 3-30.
Since the study of the concepts of Jihād, Sharī’ah, and Sufism has a close relation to human beings as the agents of these concepts, it is vitally important to examine these concepts based on primary texts as a starting point. The next step is to examine to what extent specifīc ‘cases’ follow the original concept or have deviated. Thus by knowing about the concepts in terms of their legal defīnitions and legislation, from both primary texts and secondary sources, as well as understanding them from an historical perspective and in relation to their development, the researcher can observe which of the ‘cases’ is closer to the message presented.
The transmission of concepts is always affected by power relations (e.g. scholars or politicians: the way groups in society view power differently in order to influence the thinking of citizens or disciples), it is necessary to investigate events historically from the very beginning in order to understand how the ‘mechanism of power’ has played its role in disseminating the understanding of fundamental concepts among the followers of the world-view concerned.63
As this human factor is also related closely to the behavioral sciences, one can learn much from them about the external forces affecting man.64 Additionally, the sociological theory of human behavior aids understanding of many aspects of human behavior such as the social, cultural, political and
63 Michael Foucault, Two lecture, Lecture one on 7 January 1976.and lecture two 14
January 1976 in Michael Kelly (ed.) Critique and Power, Recasting the Foucoult/Habermas debate (USA: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1994), 38.
64 David Potter, History, the Behavioral studies and the science of man, in Mary Lee
Bundy et.all.(eds.) Reader in Research Methods for Librarianship ( Ohio, USA: Microcard editions, Dayton, 1970 ) , 35-37.
philosophical background of the subject under study. These tools certainly will lead to a better hypothesis and analysis.65
In conducting this research, various factors concerning Jihād movements and Sufism (both religious and social movements) in Muslim society should be taken into consideration. This is what is known as a ‘total historical approach’. A total historical approach takes into consideration a range of factors that have an impact on the event in question. In general terms, these factors may be grouped into religious, cultural, social and intellectual categories.
The idea of total history formulated by the French philosopher Michel Foucault (1926-1984) is as follows: the aim of total history is to formulate all aspects of civilization and culture, including causes and effects in society. A total history will show that every aspect of human life has its own importance, and is linked to all the others. It is by understanding all aspects of the social and cultural background of society that history can be understood as a large interrelated unity of the phases of the development of human civilization.66 Various theories and concepts of sociology, culture, anthropology, politics and Jihād taken from Muslim and non-Muslim scholars alike will be utilized to elaborate on this issue. Thus the theoretical framework of this thesis covers intellectual discourse and historical process based on cultural and sociological contexts.67
65 Robert K. Merton, The Bearing of Sociological Theory on Empirical Research, in
Mary Lee Bundy et.all.(eds.), 41-48.
66 Michel Foucault, L’archeologie du savoir, English translation by A.M. Sheridan Smith,
Archeology of Knowledge (London: Routledge Classics, 2003), 10-11. Prior to Focoult, a prominent Muslim sociologist, Abdurrahman Ibnu Khaldunhas suggested different and various approaches to understand history of society. See Abdurrahman Ibnu Khaldun, Muqaddima (Prologomena) (Lebanon: Dar al-Fikr, no date), 9. See also the English translation by Franz Rosenthal, volume one (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1958) , 15-16.
The importance of learning from history is grounded in the fact that all that has happened in the past will indeed have an impact on the future.68 In relation to the history of Islam, a Canadian Scholar, Wilfred Cantwell Smith, has commented:
We should suggest also that the historical process in general is special for Islam and is more significant for Muslims than it is for almost any other group69.
The study of the schools of thought that have developed in a society at a certain time is important to understanding the dynamics of Jihād movements in society a certain times. It is for this reason that all social and cultural factors are an integral part of any discussion. The interactions between teachers and students, and between social and political life, as well as their incorporation with cultural values are also matters of importance to be studied thoroughly. In relation to this, it is interesting to note that from the beginning of history until the nineteenth century, scholars have been curious about the origins of ideas. This curiosity is driven by the common view that to know and understand an idea is to know its source or origin.70
(Prologomena) (Lebanon: Dar al-Fikr, no date) . In relation to Khaldun’s opinion on this matter, Ritzer gives a short explanation in his Sociological theory. See George Ritzer, Sociological theory
(USA McGraw-Hill companies, 2000) , 8. Some other articles discussing the important of sociological thought and historical observation can be found in Jacque Havel (ed.), Main trends of research in the social and human sciences part two volume one: Anthropological and historical sciences Aesthetics and the sciences of art (Paris: Mouton publishers/Unesco, Place de Fontenoy, 1978), especially chapter one and three. Chapter one is written by Maurice Friedman on Social and Cultural anthropology, 1-138. Chapter three is written by Geoffrey Barraclough on History, 229- 277. Some other good examples for the historians and their works of history linking sociological studies and historical observation worth mentioning are: Arnold Toynbee, A study of History, 12 Vols (London: Oxford University Press, 1979) . Ira M. Lapidus, A History of Muslim Societies
(London: Cambridge University Press, 1988) . Will Durant, The story of civilization 11 vols, Our Oriental Heritage (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1963) .
68 Arthur Marwick, The Nature of History ( London: Macmillan, 1989 ) , 1.
69 Wilfred Cantwell Smith, Islam in Modern History( Chicago: Mentor books, American
Library,1987 ) , 22.
70 W. Montgomery Watt, What is Islam? (USA: Frederick A. Praeger, 1968) , 12. One of
The theory of the sociology of knowledge developed by Karl Mannheim is also an important tool or paradigm used in this research. The main theme of Mannheim’s ideas is that scholars will not be able to understand a way of thinking if its social background is unknown. This is because the thinking that has stimulated a person is not considered to have originated from him or herself. Rather, the social context and the dominant thinking of the time will shape a person’s thinking.71
Since Mannheim’s approach implies that a person cannot think independently from his or her own environment, thus, it is important to understand how attachment to a group influences a person’s ideas.72 The approach of the sociology of knowledge does not start with a single individual and his or her thinking. Rather, it tries to understand ideas in an actual socio-historical situation. According to Mannheim, it is not people in general who think, or even isolated individuals who do the thinking, but people in certain groups who have developed a particularity of thought in an endless series of responses to certain typical situations characterizing their common position.73
origin of species. Although Darwin’s work is on biological sciences, nevertheless it is one of the good examples how the curiosity to know the origin of the problem will take to the better understanding of that problem. See for example Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection ( UK: Senate an imprint of Tiger Books International, 1998 ) . This is also can be applied in other sciences.
71 Mannheim, Ideology and Utopia, an Introduction to the Sociology of Knowledge with
new preface by Bryan S. Turner (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd, 1972) . To have a comprehensive concept developed by Mannheim see also other works by Mannheim such as
Structures of Thinking and Essays of the Sociology of Knowledge (London: Routledge, 1972) . See also Michael Mulkay, Science and the Sociology of Knowledge (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1979) .
72 Karl Mannheim, Ideology and Utopia, An Introduction to the Sociology of Knowledge (
London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd, 1972 ) , 2.
In addition to the role of social groups in influencing the individual, it is worth mentioning the intelligentsia as a group. The work of this intelligentsia group is to offer interpretations of the world for their society. This intellectual stratum varies according to the society in question, but includes such fīgures as magicians, scholars, Brahmins, tribal leaders, and spiritual leaders as well as clergy.74
Antonio Gramsci elaborates the term intelligentsia in terms of ‘organic’ and ‘traditional intellectuals’. According to Gramsci, all people basically have the talent or capacity for intellectual thinking: they have an intellect and they use this intellect. However, in functional terms, there are two groups of intellectuals, traditional and organic intellectuals. Traditional intellectuals have always existed in society: they function as professional intellectuals, such as literary, religious or scientifīc scholars. Their position in society has a certain inter-class character to offer solutions for social problems. Organic intellectuals are distinguished less by their profession - which may be any job characteristic of their class - than by their function of directing the ideas and aspirations of the class to which they naturally belong.75
In relation to the sociology of knowledge being used in this study, it is very important to examine the role of both traditional and organic intellectuals and their works in the development of the understanding the concept of Jihad in Islamic society over the course of time. Therefore in approaching the works
74 Ibid., 9.
75 Antonio Gramsci, Selection from the prison note books of Antonio Gramsci, edited and
translated by Quintin Hoare and Geoffrey Nowell Smith, Lawrence and Wishart, London, 1971, 3- 23. See also Anne Showstack Sasson (ed.) Approaches to Gramsci (London, England: Writers and Readers Publishing cooperative Society Ltd, 1982) , 14.
written in the language used at the time that the concept was revealed and developed, the study of philology is extremely important.
The analysis of thought cannot be separated from the framework of history, as the conception of the world, the philosophy of thought, and religious world views ground that thought. Therefore the development of thought at every level will also be grounded in the historical period of the subject being analyzed.76 The sociology of knowledge is a theory that tries to analyze the relationship between knowledge and existence. It tries to trace the way this relationship has shaped the intellectual development of mankind. Its aim is also to fīnd out the interrelation between thought and action. It is by this approach that the goal of the sociology of knowledge is to offer solutions in terms of the methodology used to solve the problems.77
In connection with the importance of the sociology of knowledge and Islamic history, ( in this case two important elements of Islamic history, Jihād and Sufism) it is necessary to go back to the historiography of Islamic history before the emergence of Ibnu Khaldun. Khaldun is considered to be the first Muslim sociologist as well as an historian who criticizes the method of writing history being done by Muslim’s historians before him.
Before the time of Islam, or the time of Muhammad, there was hardly any historical composition in Arabic. Even one hundred years after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, history was exclusively communicated through spoken language, not in written forms.
76 Karl Mannheim, 14. 77 Ibid., 237.
At the time that Muslim historians - like Ibnu Ishāq78, Ibnu Hishām79, At Tabary80 and Ibnu Athīr81 for example - started to write Islamic history, they just wrote history in the form of narration without deep analysis. It was Ibnu Khaldun82 who stood alone: he apprehended the nature of history and gave it a sociological foundation. This became the basis of historical analysis; it was not merely a collection of data from individual narratives.83 This became important as the writing of history (historiography) is the most effective way in Islam to concretely express factual analyses and observations based on the richness of the valid data of life. The aim is to observe life in its cultural development84 in order to understand the matter concerned even better than before.
The data to be used here are mostly based on manuscripts and literature studies that have been published or remain unpublished (manuscripts, books,
78 Ibnu Ishaq, Sīrat ur Rasūl, English translation by A. Guillaume (London: Oxford
University Press, 1978) .
79 Ibnu Hisham, Sīrah Ibnu Hisham ( Cairo: Maktabah al Mustafa al Babi al Halabi wa
Auladuh, 1955 ) .
80 Ibnu Jarir al-Tabary, Tārīkh al-Umam wa a-l Muluk, 6 Vols ( Cairo: Maktabah
Taufīqiyyah, no date ) .
81 Ibnu Athir, al-Kāmil fi al-Tārīkh, 11 vols, edited by Abil Fidā’ Abdullah al Qādlī
(Beyrut: Dar al Kutub al Ilmiyyah, 2004) .
82 Abdurrahman Ibnu Khaldun writes his famous book Muqaddimah, Prologomena which
is considered by modern sociologists as the basis of sociology. In his book, Khaldun proposes fifty sociological theories. All of these theories could be grouped into six categories. The first is about the nature of changes in humankind in general. The second is about the civilization of the Badawī
or the Arab villagers i.e. the Arabs who live in the mountainous areas, the civilization outside the Arabia, and their social, cultural and spiritual lives. The third is about the dynasties, kingdoms or governments and their problems. The fourth is about the states, cities and their civilizations. The fifth is about the benefits, manual works and their matters. The sixth is about the various kinds of knowledge, their teaching methods as well as their problems. Further detailed explanation about this, see Abdurrahman ibnu Khaldun, Muqaddimah (Bairut: Dar al Fikr, no date) . English speaking people can refer to the English translation of Muqaddimah by Franz Rosenthal, under the title Prologomena in 2 vols, ( Beyrut: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1958 ) .
83 Robert Flint, History of the Philosophy of History, ( New York: Charles Scribner’s