248 Syamsuddin Arif
commonly used by the classical mufassirūn before him. That is to say,
he interpreted the similes found in the Koran by referring to other
verses and the Prophetic Hadith as well as to the statements going back
to the Companions (ṣaḥāba). Nevertheless, Ibn al-Qayyim did in a few
cases manage to come up with his own understanding of the verses in
question, so we are told.
Conclusion
One of the results of the Islamization process that has been going on
since the 13th century in the Malay-Indonesian archipelago is the radi-
cal change in the Weltanschauung of the people. As al-Attas rightly
pointed out, following the conversion of the “body” which represented
the first phase of the process (from 1200–1400 CE), the Malay-Indone-
sian Muslims gradually came to understand the fundamental concepts
constituting the worldview of Islam such as tawḥīd and nubuwwa,
albeit in the opaque sense, still influenced by the old Weltanschauung.
In the third phase (from 1700 CE onwards) the Islamization process
was boosted by the cultural influences of the Western colonials who
bolstered the scientific-rationalistic spirit whose philosophical founda-
tions were laid earlier by Islam.^49 Consequently by the late 19th and 20th
centuries, Islam became so entrenched in the souls of the people that
many would consider Islam as an essential part of their ethnic identity;
hence being Malay, Acehnese, Sundanese, Banjarese, Buginese, Mad-
urese was identical to being Muslim, just as being European would
imply being Christian. It should be noted, however, that throughout
these centuries up to the present day the overwhelming majority of
the population of the Malay-Indonesian archipelago was dominated
by Shāfiʿīs and Ashʿarīs. Lay people would consider those who do not
belong to these groups to be deviating from the straight path. There
might have been some Shiites in Sumatra and other parts of the region
but they have left few traces. The same holds true for Wahhabism and
associated doctrines like that of Ibn Taymiyya which have always met
resistance from people.
As regards Ibn al-Qayyim, it is may be concluded from the forego-
ing survey that his influence is quite evident not only in the popu-
49 See al-Attas, Syed Muhammad al Naquib: Islam and Secularism, Kuala Lumpur
1978, pp. 161–162.
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