Let s read about the Legacy of Islam in China

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China’s Forgotten Legacy Of Islam
original source :
http://www.ikim.gov.my/new-wp/index.php/2018/09/18/chinas-forgotten-legacy-of-islam/



by Muhammad Syafiq bin Borhanuddin September 18, 2018

According to traditional Chinese Muslim sources and narratives, although, the Prophet Muhammad himself and Muslims during his time must have known of the existence of China as indicated in the well-known statement attributed to the Prophet (“Utlubu al-‘ilm walau bil-sin” [Seek knowledge even unto China]), the earliest Chinese contact with Islam was reported to be some years after the Prophet’s passing, when the companion of the Prophet, Sa‘d ibn Abī Waqqās (d. 674) and three other companions embarked on a mission to China, as documented by two men of moral integrity in Chinese Muslim history: the accomplished scholar, Liu Sanjie, and his son, the famed expounder of Sufi metaphysics, Liu Zhi (d. 1739).

The subsequent major Muslim personality to have made a significant impact to the early cultural legacy of Islam in Chinese history is Syed Umar Shams al-Din (Sayyid al-Ajall) (d. 1279). He is the 27th generation descendent of Prophet Muhammad and one of the most highly regarded Muslim officials in imperial court during the Yuan Dynasty. He was appointed imperial minister of finance as recorded by Marco Polo in the 13th century. Sayyid Ajall was subsequently tasked to govern Yunnan and was described by one contemporary historian to have brought ‘civilisation’ to Yunnan.

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During his time in Yunnan, Sayyid Ajall interestingly not only propagated Islam through his words and deeds but also promoted the praiseworthy elements from the indigenious tradition that is compatible with the teachings of Islam and strengthened the solidarity of the community through the establishment of Confucian schools.  In addition, Rashīd al-Dīn Faḍlullāh Hamadānī (d. 1318), the Persian historian recorded in his Jami’ al-Tawarikh that out of 12 districts in the Yuan Dynasty at the time, eight of those were governed by Muslims while the remaining four had Muslims as vice-governors.

Then during what is considered one of the great epochs in Chinese history, that is, the Ming Dynasty, Muslims gained unprecedented acceptance at the highest level. Islam’s significance and prominence during the Ming Dynasty period is perhaps best encapsulated in the “One Hundred Words of Praise” by Emperor Hongwu (d. 1398), founder of Ming Dynasty in 1368 (and copied in 1375):

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“The universe began with the heavenly tablet recording
his name. The religion-delivering great sage, born in the western realm.
Conferring and receiving heavenly scripture in thirty
parts, universally transforming all created beings.

Master of the trillion rulers, leader of the ten thousand sages.
Assisted by destiny, protector of the community. In each
of the five prayers, he silently supplicates for their total
well-being. His intention is that Allah should remember
the needy. Deliver them from tribulations to safety,
Knower of the unseen.


Exalted above every soul and spirit, free from any
blameworthy deeds. A mercy to all of the worlds, whose
path is preeminent for all time.
Renounce spiritual ignorance; return to The One – that
is the religion called Islam.
Muhammad is the most noble sage.”

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In addition, during the Ming Dynasty period, a great Muslim administrator, diplomatic officer and navy commander began to emerge by the name of Admiral Zheng He (d. 1435) who came from the lineage of the aforementioned Sayyid al-Ajall.

It is during the Qing period however, that we can see for the first time, the emergence of a few generations of Chinese Muslim theologians, metaphysicians and thinkers who created a distinctive philosophical school later to be named the ‘Han Kitab’ tradition that seeks to Islamise Confucian thought without rejecting the praiseworthy elements from the Confucian tradition which had begun with Wang Daiyu (d. 1660) who was regarded as a ‘wali’ or a great saint of the Qing period.

Imperial recognition of Islam continued even after a century in the Ming Dynasty, based on the imperial edict by Emperor Zhengde (d. 1522) as recorded by Wang Daiyu (d. 1660) in his Zhengjiao Zhenquan (Genuine Interpretation of the Right Teaching):

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“The Confucian study can begin things and complete tasks (in society),
but it is inadequate for penetrating the Spirit or understanding
transformations (of Nature). The study of the Buddhists or Taoists
can get close to penetrating the Spirit and understanding
transformations, but it cannot comply with Heaven’s decree or
reach to the truth. The Way of each teaching grasps but a slanting
view. It is only the teaching of the Pure and True (i.e. Islam), which
recognizes the Lord and can penetrate to the principle of things.
That is why it will last for 10,000 generations.”

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This edict is meaningful as it may indicate the influence of the local Muslims who were Court officials or administrators at a time when Ming policies were in place barring foreigners from coming into the kingdom. More importantly, this was an imperial recognition of the philosophical differences between two worldviews, Islam and Han Chinese, in that Islam was a revealed religion coming from a higher source than creation itself.

The next great man during Qing Dynasty is Ma Zhu (d. 1710), who was educated in the Neo-Confucian and Islamic tradition. His masterpiece—the voluminous Qingzhen Zhinan (or al-Murshid ilā ‘Ulūm al-Islām, or The Guide to the Sciences of Islam) was intended for both non-Muslim elites and Muslims literate among the Chinese. He too describes Prophet Muḥammad as a Sage (sheng), while simultaneously calling him the “culmination of the achievements of the ten thousand generations of former [Chinese] sages.” Ultimately, Ma Zhu argued, Islam could help Neo-Confucianism complete its civilising mission (i.e. the fulfilment of Principle).

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The most profound figure in the intellectual history of China is arguably Liu Zhi (d. 1739). At the age of 15 and for the next 15 years, he read up on Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism and Islamic classics. Liu Zhi perhaps represents the intensification phase of Islamisation in China as he re-articulates Sufi metaphysics from the line of the great Sufi master, Ibn ‘Arabi (d. 1240) in Confucian idiom. For instance, he asserted in his biography of the Prophet Muhammad (Tiānfāng zhìshèng shílǜ or Veritable Account of the Utmost Sage) that the Prophet is the “most sagely” of all types of sages. In his book on Islamic ritual practice (Tiānfāng diǎnlǐ or Rules and Proprieties of Islam), he states that “observing and practicing the proprieties (adab) of Islam is like observing and practicing the teachings of the ancient sages and kings,” and in his Tiānfāng diǎnlǐ, Liu Zhi called the shari’ah as the “Vehicle of Ritual […] for the one who is diligent in cultivating virtue.”

The contemporary authority on Confucianism and former professor at Harvard University, Tu Weiming, expressed the following regarding his view of Liu Zhi:

“My first reading of Liu Zhu’s Tianfang xingli (Nature and Principles of Islam or the Metaphysics of Islam) evoked in me an electrifying feeling that was unfolding in front of my eyes might be one of the most comprehensive articulations of the meaning of life in Chinese intellectual history… I was convinced that Liu Zhi’s accomplishment is rare in Chinese philosophy and unique in Ming-Qing thought.”

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The last major figure in this line of Sino-Muslim intellectual tradition is perhaps Ma Dexin (d. 1874). Another descendent of Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din Omar, who continued the intellectual tradition of Ma Zhu (d. 1710) and Liu Zhi (d. 1739). He published over 30 books on tafsir, tasawwuf, history, grammar, as well as the earliest translation of the Qur’an into Mandarin. His unique articulation of the significance of Prophet Muhammad in history is perhaps the first of its kind in the Sino-Muslim intellectual tradition:

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“The world was full of omens

when the Prophet was born—

the Sage of Sages;

combining all achievement in himself.

To contemplate the symbols of sanctity

is to transcend past and present;

he expounded the ancient doctrines

with the utmost clarity;

the seeds of a great renewal

broke through the decadence;

what had not flowered even in the past

now blossomed forth.

Nothing in the First and Second Heavens

remained obscure.”

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The intellectual and spiritual or cultural legacy of Islam in China demonstrates that Islamisation as a process of intellectual and spiritual liberation did not entail rejection of praiseworthy elements of the indigenous people, but rather it enriched and invigorated the people with spiritual, social and cultural refinement. The Islamisation through language and thought as undertook by profound sino-Muslim sages such as Wang Daiyu and Liu Zhi illustrates the possibility of building bridges with traditions such as Confucianism. Therefore, the course of action that we must follow today in countries such as Malaysia and China if we are to pave the way for a more enlightened future is a deeper understanding between traditions that is based on its best representatives.

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assignmentprofs replied at 22-9-2018 12:45 PM
I love reading the history of how Islam reached in China and how the beloved companions of our holy  ...

yeah, well, chinese civilisation has been established thousands  years ago and they too, have contributed to a lot of science and technological  innovations during their golden age. On mentioning  about  how we muslms now have somewhat 'forgotten' to emulate what  the sahabi of  rasulullah saw , well then again this very realisation is not so e according to Pew Research  October 2017 , i just happened to come across the figures on Prof Dr Wan Mohd Wan Noor FB , it is stated that the religious awareness  has lessened among Muslim over a given period of years.



The sampling population in the research was from many countries.

Apabila pandangan alam berubah kerana kejahilan, kekeliruan atau ketakutan (sebab tekanan masyarakat yg dominan), sikap terhadap agama dan tiang2 utamanya juga akan ikut berubah. Contohnya, kajian agensi penyelidikan penting Pew Research Center di Washington AS pada Oktober 2017 melaporkan sikap umat Islam terhadap Islam sudah kelihatan menurun.

Peratus umat Islam dewasa yang disoal selidik (dlm bahasa Inggeris, Arab, Urdu dan Parsi) menganggap Islam sangat penting dalam hidupnya telah menurun: 73% pada tahun 2007, 69% pada 2011 dan 65% pada 2017. Sehubungan ini pandangan mereka terhadap dosa-pahala juga kelihatan berubah. Satu contoh sangat penting dan penuh implikasi pada aspek2 akidah, akhlak dan syariah: peratus yg mengatakan masyarakat harus menerima kegiatan homoseks juga telah meningkat: dari 27% pada tahun 2007, meningkat ke 39% pada 2011, dan 52% pada 2017.

Sama2lah kita mengambil iktibar bermenafaat dari tren yang membimbangkan ini.

so, it is boiled down to us , as parents , as muslims to inculcate good, stout and strong muslim cultures.

Islam as the  ' DEEN ASSALAM'  when you read the above history, right?

so Islam is liberating, fath....

gigahertz

Negara China dengan khalifah abasiyah kalau tak salah pernah berperang sekali. Di kenali sebagai perang Talas
Dalam peperangan ni China kalah. lepas kalah China minta pertolongan dinasti islam tu hapuskan pemberontakan di wilayah china