Auditorium of Prof. Dr. Suwito, MA SPs UIN Jakarta, SPs NEWS: The Graduate School of the State Islamic University (SPs UIN) Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta held the 1626th Doctoral Promotion Exam in the Auditorium Room of Prof. Dr. Suwito, MA SPs UIN Jakarta on Monday, June 30, 2025 with promovendus Muhammad Asgar Muzakki.

Muhammad Asgar Muzakki is a student of the Doctoral program in Islamic Studies with a concentration in Hadith and Prophetic Tradition. He wrote a dissertation entitled "Hadiths with Antisemitism (Fazlur Rahman's Hermeneutic Review of Conflicting and Predictive Hadith)"

Asgar's dissertation carries three main comprehensive objectives: first, to examine and classify hadiths that are characterized by antisemitism; second, to analyze in depth Fazlur Rahman's hermeneutic review of conflicting and predictive hadiths that are often associated with antisemitism, and their implications; and third, reviewing an alternative historical-allegorical hermeneutic approach to understanding these predictive hadiths. This approach is expected to be able to unravel the complexity of religious texts that are prone to misinterpretation.

This research adopts a qualitative method through literature studies, relying on canonical hadith books (Kutub as-Sittah) as a primary data source, supported by various relevant academic books and articles. The main key to this research lies in the application  of Fazlur Rahman's double movement hermeneutics  . This approach allows researchers to dive into the historical context of hadith in order to reconstruct its meaning, then adapt it to be relevant and applicable today.

The results of Asgar's research are very enlightening. He succeeded in categorizing hadiths with antisemitism into two main groups: conflict hadith and predictive hadith. The conflict hadith, according to him, reflects the historical interaction of the Prophet Muhammad with the Jewish community in Medina, which was motivated by socio-political and theological factors. The rejection of the prophethood of Muhammad by some Jewish tribes at that time was considered a clash of revelational authority. Rahman's hermeneutics shows that the Prophet's response, such as exile and legal abrogation, was a strategic response to a multidimensional situation to affirm the prophetic mission and maintain political stability.

No less interesting is Asgar's findings regarding predictive hadiths, which predict the dynamics of Muslim-Jewish relations in the future. Such hadiths, according to Rahman, tend to be rejected because they are considered reflections of post-prophetic thought and not authentic sayings of the Prophet. Asgar then offers a historical-allegorical approach as an alternative construction of understanding. This approach not only puts the hadith in its historical context, but also understands the predictive hadith as a moral and political allegory, rather than a literal prophecy that triggers eternal hostility.

This dissertation expressly rejects literal readings that can justify hostility to Jews. Instead, he returns the understanding of the hadith to the historical context of the Prophet in Medina as the main reference, not to the rhetoric of modern antisemitism that flourished in the post-colonial Arab world. The contribution of this research is very significant in the discourse of eye criticism and the expansion of the ethical interpretation framework for hadiths that are prone to ideological bias.

Asgar corroborates the arguments of scholars such as Michael Kiefer, Torkel Brekke, Reuven Firestone, and Bassam Tibi, who assert that antisemitism is not an intrinsic part of Islamic teachings, but rather a political construct. Instead, he refutes the narrative of Bat Ye'or, Gudrun Kramer, and Andrew Bostom who argue that Islam is ideologically hostile to Jews. Asgar's research proves that the Prophet's conflict with the Jewish community in Medina is historical and cannot be used as a theological basis for anti-Semitism in Islam. Thus, this dissertation is expected to be able to provide a clearer and more balanced understanding of this sensitive issue.

Muhammad Asgar Muzakki successfully defended his dissertation under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Said Agil Husin Al Munawar, MA, Prof. Dr. M. Suparta, MA and Dr. Fuad Jabali, MA, and was tested in front of a board of examiners consisting of Prof. Dr. Zulkifli, MA, Prof. Dr. M. Suparta, MA, Dr. Fuad Jabali, MA, Prof. Dr. Asep Usman Ismail, M.Ag, Prof. Dr. Yusuf Rahman,  MA and Dr. Idris Thaha, M.Si.

After paying attention to the writing of the dissertation, the comments of the examiner team and the answers of the promovendus, the examiner team determined that Muhammad Asgar Muzakki was declared to have graduated with the title of Very Satisfactory and became the 1626th Doctor in the field of Islamic Studies at the Graduate School of UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta. (JA)