THE CONCEPTION OF LᾹ MA'BU>DA IN TASAWUF: A QURANIC INTERPRETATION

This article aimed to explore the concept of la> ma'bu>da from the Sufistic interpretation perspective. La> ma’bu>da was one of the basic Sufism maqamat that must be passed by the salik therefore they can wus}u>l ilalla>h (reach to Allah). This maqa>ma>t was the keyword in tasawwuf and most of tarekat developed in Indonesia, such as the qadi>riyah, syadhiliyah, naqshabandiyah, shattariyah and so on. La> ma'bu>da in the tarekat was defined as the activity of self-purification (tazkiyah al-nafs) from all materialism forms, hence he is able to purify his monotheism only to Allah. In the Sufistic interpretation perspective, la> ma'bu>da was interpreted as ‘nothing is worshiped except Allah’. This interpretation was similar with the terms of Shari'a in the worshipping process and takhalli> in the Sufi maqa>ma>t. La> ma'bu>da or shari'a or takhalli> was the initial stage for the salik to wus}u>l ilalla>h. This maqa>ma>t required an effort to purify oneself from all forms of bad behavior (takhalli>) and adorn oneself with all praiseworthy qualities (tah}alli>).


Introduction
This article is written to answer the fundamental questions about the conception of la> ma'bu> da in a Sufistic interpretation and its implications for the salik in articulating the stages or paths taken to achieve their ultimate goal, namely wus} u> l ilalla> h. In the tarekat, there are three main terms, namely la> ma'bu> da, la> mauju> da and la> maqs} u> da. In other terms, it is mentioned as takhalli, tah} alli, and tajalli. These three maqa> ma> t are the keywords in most of tarekat developed in Indonesia, such as qadiriyah, syadziliyah, naqshabandiyah, shattariyah and etc. 1 However, the focus of this article is to review one of these concepts, namely la> ma'bu> da. La> ma'bu> da in the tarekat tradition is the basic thing for the salik before passing the next stage. This stage obligate formal worship rituals as directed by the Prophet Muhammad -as a Sufi master -who always did not ignore the aspects of sharia and formal worship. It is important to discuss initially, since in Sufi history, Sufis have always been accused to ignore the physical aspects of the Shari'a law and prioritizing the spiritual aspects. Although it is undeniable that there was a Sufi minority group who "divorced" the Shari'a like the Malamatiyyah 2 , but it cannot be generalized to all Sufis. 3 Several previous studies, for example, Rubaidi, who described three assemblies of shalawat which later bring out to new variants of Sufi practice which called the reduction, data presentation and resulted in conclusions without negating the interpretation nuance in this study.

The Origin of La Ma'buda
The word la> ma'bu> da consisted of two words, la> (not) and ma'bu> da (who is worshiped). Lafadh ma'bu> da was the isim maf'u> l of the word "abd". Whereas 'abd came from the word 'abada-ya'budu-'ibadah,' 'ubu> diyah that means worship. The reference to 'abd and its derivatives in the Quran was repeated 275 times. 13 With the details of 'abada 4 times, ya'budu 80 times, u'bud 37 times, worship 9 times, 'abida 12 times, 'abd 131 times, and 'abbada and yu'badu were mentioned once in the Quran. 14 In Lisa> n al-'Ara> b, 'abd meant two resistance things, namely free human beings or slaves. Al-'abd was also interpreted as the anonymity of the word al-mamluk, free man. 15 There was also a lafadh similar to 'abd, it was 'abuda, which was interpreted as slave and lafadz 'abida, which meant regret, anger, hatred and greed. 16 The mention of lafadz 'abid in Al-Quran was used to refer to His servants who were wallowing in sin, while lafadz 'ibad referred to His servants who were obedient or sinful but aware of their mistakes. 17 In addition, 'iba> d had the same meaning as a servant who active in worshiping and remembering Allah whatever the circumstances might be. The inclusion of the word 'iba> d was given only to people who always worship to Allah SWT. 18 Quraish Shihab, as quoted by Dawam Rahardjo, said that the word 'abd came from three words, namely 'ain, ba' and dal, which meant something belongs to it, a kind of fragrant plant and arrows. 19 Abi al-Husain Zakariyya interpreted 'abd with a number of meanings, including refinement, friendliness, humility, humiliation, violence and cruelty. 20 Apart from that, Quraish Shihab also said that at first the word 'abd was an adjective, then it was used as a name. If 'abd included in the verb, it means to bow down, to show humility (al-'ubu> diyyah). 21 Al-Asfaha> ni added that worship has a higher value than'ubudiyyah. Since human beings are servants, their nature is to show the height of their submission and obedience through their humility to God in worshipping without refusing, opposing, and even resisting His commands. Jurnal At-Tibyan: Jurnal Ilmu Alqur'an dan Tafsir, Vol. 6 No. 1, Juni 2021 In al-Mufrada> t fi> Gha> ri> b al-Qura> n, the reference to al-'abd or servant in the Al-Quran was related to several things, they were (1) The servant who associated with the Sharia Law as in the Q.S. Al-Baqarah [2]: 178 and al-Nahl [16]: 75; (2) the servant who associated in creation as in Q.S. Maryam [19]: 93; (3) a servant who associated with devotion and service. It is divided into two groups, namely servants who are sincere to Allah SWT as in Q.S. al-Furqan [25]: 63 and a servant whose soul becomes a world "slave". They are what the Prophet Muhammad saw meant in his words, "Woe to the servant of the dirham, woe to the servant of the dinar". 23 From the explanation above, the essence of la> ma'bu> da which means la> ma'bu> da bih} aqqin illalla> h (no one has the right to be worshipped but Allah swt)was to abandon all materialism in humans as the first form of tazkiyah al-nafs (soul purification). The term la> ma'bu> da was also equivalent to the term's sharia and takhalli. Sharia, in the Sufi view, was a procession of worship. 24 The form of sharia was to worship Allah by abandoning the prohibitions and carrying out His commands. The goal was to achieve a state of repentance, piety, and istiqa> mah.
According to Sheikh Abdussamad al-Palimbani in the book Arba'i> n fi> Us} u> l al-di> n, takhalli> meant to clean up all evil traits and disgrace in the heart. These diseases were very numerous, but Imam Ghazali summarized them into ten kinds as the mother of all mental illnesses, as follows: (1) sharah al-t} a'a> m (like to eat more); (2) sharah al-kala> m (talkative); (3) gha> d} ab (angry, emotional); (4) h} asad (envy); (5) al-bukhlu wa al-ma> l (stingy, exaggerated love to the world); (6) al-jah (love of splendor or hedonism); (7) al-dunya> (love the world); (8) takabbur (arrogant); (9) 'uju> b (self-proud); (10) riya' (demanding higher respect from human beings). 25 La> ma'bu> da or sharia or tah} alli was the initial stage for the salik. This stage aimed to get closer to Allah swt (taqarrub ilallah) by trying to rid yourself from all humiliation forms (takhalli) and adorn yourself with a praiseworthy qualities (tah} alli). In the stage of sharia or la> ma'bu> da, sufi was still bound by the provisions of selfpurification, as explained above.

La> Ma'bu> da: A Quranic-Sufistic Interpretation
In this sub-chapter, four verses of the Quran displayed as follows Q.S. al-Fatihah  These four verses served as findings that the conception of la> ma'bu> da was semantically legitimized from the Qur'an as well as indicating that formal worship remained as the main basic for salik in achieving the highest goal, namely wus} u> l ilalla> h.
Translation: "It is You we worship and You we ask for help". (QS. al-Fatihah [1]: 5) Al-Sha'rawi put it in his interpretation that na'budu was taken from the word 'iba> dah, which meant obedience and submission which was exalted by admiration for the greatness of Allah Swt as a God worthy to worship and has unlimited power.
Nasta'i> n (ask for help) taken from the word isti'a> nah, which meant waiting for help to be able to complete a job. The phrase na'budu meant that Allah swt limits worship to Himself alone. With this verse, a servant is obliged to worship and worshipping the one, namely Allah SWT. Worship is also a form of human submission to Allah in order to follow His commands and prohibitions. 26 As-Sulami interpreted this verse as follows, Translation : "Al-Isbahani told us, al-'Anbary said that I heard Sahlan said, "We submit, we humiliate ourselves, we acknowledge Your divinity and Your oneness, and on Your name, I am sent down to this earth." Some scholars said, "Only to You do we worship through our words, to You do we also perfect our worship, since it is part of our outward and inward worship to You." Al-Sulami also revealed, "It is only to You that we worship (only with and in You that we worship) and it is to You that we ask for help and sincerity in worship." In another interpretation, for example, Al-Tustari interpreted the Surah al- Al-Qushairi began by mentioning the name of Allah, the Almighty, and his characteristics, that is, he has the right to be worshiped and asked for help. It means that He always bestows His blessings and is understand to the needs of His servants. Worship is to come to an end with complete submission. While the Shari'a still exists, worship will continue during that time until the obligations of the Shari'a are fulfilled. In this context, al-Qushairi emphasized that worship referred to sincerity and its result was a gift of pleasure. In the meantime, isti'a> nah (help) indicated a long journey of this blessing. Worship meant the glory of a servant, and isti'a> nah produced the tenderness of a servant. The essence of all this to strengthen and support one another, "when a servant approaches (read: be pious) as closely as possible, then he is within His grasp, then Allah will strengthen and raise his level because of his obedience to Allah SWT. Imam al-T} aba> ri> in his interpretation 30 28 Abu Muhammad Sahl bin Abdullah bin Yunus bin Rafi' al-Tustari, Tafsir Al-Quran al-Karim  Here al-Ţabari interpreted iyya> ka na'budu by quoting a narration from Abu Ja'far which stated that, "Ta'wil iyya> ka na'budu" is for you, O Allah, we are khusyu, we are insulting ourselves, and bow in acknowledgement of You. O Lord, O the Almighty, there is none other than you.
As Abu Kuraib told us, he said: Uthman bin Sa'id told us, he said: Bashar bin 'Umarah told us, he said: Abu Rawaq told us, from Dahhak, from Abdullah bin Abbas, he said: Jibril said to Muhammad, "O Muhammad" (to You we worship), do monotheism, fear and hope in Us, Our God is none other than Him.
Q.S. al-Baqarah [2]: 21 Ibn 'Arabi interpreted u'budu with a call to monotheism to Allah swt. The first Mara> tib (composition) in worship is tauh} īd af'a> l, namely by worshiping Him. Since Allah has bestowed His favors on His servants as He created this universe for human needs. Humans must be thankful. Therefore, one form of gratitude to Him for Ibn 'Arabi was by worshiping Him and purifying the intent so that the veil may be revealed. It was the hijab that closes the eyes of the human heart. Hijab itself was divided into three parts, namely h} ija> b al-af'a> l (deeds), nature and essence. The meaning of worship was the willingness to execute orders. In that sense, by emptying all the power that surrounded a human being to find the essence of life , hence, the light of tawhid came to the heart, the light of sirr will appear, purify the intent, subdue the lust, and surrender to the will of Allah SWT. Al-Qushairi also said that worship means abandoning all prohibitions, firm for carrying out obedience and fulfilling obligations as a servant of the Almighty God. Slightly different from al-Alu> si> , al-Qa> simi> divided the level of u'budu into three groups, namely groups that always guard themselves, groups that maintain Islamic law, and groups that punishing Islamic law.   It has no significant different from Ibn 'Arabi, al-Qushairi in his Lat} a> if revealed the meaning of fa'budu> hu that was knowing the verses of Allah, recognizing His attributes, and kashf (revealing) the essence of His Essence. It was the meaning of fa'budu> hu (then worship to Allah). The word la> ila> ha illalla> h is a tauhid sentence that shows the greatness of Allah as the Lord of the Universe. While the sentence kha> liqu kulli syai-in means that He knows all knowledge and microcosmic things.  Al-Razi in Tafsi> r al-Kabi> r interpreted that he would worship Allah the Almighty by not worshiping anything except Him, for He is the One who covers all 'iba> d. He is the One who hears every prayer, sees the obedience of His servant, and knows all the desires.

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y 7Ï 9≡s OEu ρ ß ƒÏ Š Ï πy ϑÍ h Šs )ø 9$ # ∩∈∪ Ibn 'Ara> bi> interpreted this by devoted to Allah only in a sincere way, purifying the intention of falsehood and everything other than Allah, so that a servant may  Al-Sula> mi> quoted Ibn 'At} a> 'illa> h that worship sincerely is needed. On the other hand, some scholars say that sincerity is occurred when we see nothing but Him. Abu Hafs said, "Ikhlas is to isolate Allah when doing charity". Al-Tustari said that the form of worship to Allah the Almighty is underlying every human movement with knowledge, thus it will bring out a sincere attitude, since sincerity will lead to tuma'ninah (tranquility). Whoever does good deeds with knowledge and sincerity will go to Allah with three things, namely lament will be replaced by patient, ignorance is replaced by knowledge, and knowledge is replaced by Ikhtiyar (goodness). He gives all of these to the servants of God. These two narratives explicitly explained that tawh} i> d (Oneness of Allah) is la> ila> ha illalla> h and Prophet Muhammad has been directly affirmed its meaning through wakafara bima yu'badu min dunillahi, "... and disbelievers (renouncing) towards worship other than Allah ... " This text show that tawhi> d means worship of Allah alone and denial of worship anyone or anything than Allah. Therefore, presumably not only Quran, but the Prophet's hadith also explained that the phrase la> ila> ha illalla> h show three meanings, namely la> ma'bu> da, la> mauju> da and la> maqs} u> da.
In this context, the essence of the meaning of la> ila> ha illalla> h brought by all the prophets and apostles is to purify worship only to Allah. This meaning is very close to la> ma'bu> da as the initial stage of salik in climbing the tarekat (t} ariqa) path. And la> ma'bu> da is a logical consequence of faith and recognition of the Oneness of God Almighty.
La> Ma'bu> da: The First Basic in Tasawuf As a basic ascent in Sufism, la> ma'bu> da necessitates a physical surrender to Allah swt to be willing to leave everything He forbids and carry out everything He commands. This meaning is very close to the Shari'a. Ibn Taimiyah, for example, said that the Shari'a is the main goal of the mystical journey, tasawwuf must be based on Shari'a, and must also end with Shari'a. 50 Furthermore, before moving to a higher level (maqamat) in Sufism and tarekat, a salik or student must climb the basic tarekat ladder, namely repentance. Repentance has substantial roots, namely takhalli> and tah} alli> . 51 These two terms are the essence of la> ma'bu> da. The principle of la> ma'bu> da is purifying Allah from everything. The principle of the phrase "la> ila> ha illalla< h" is holistic and include many terminologies. The terminologies conveyed by Yunahar Ilyas can be seen as follows: 52 6. La> waliya illalla> h, means no one is the Protecting Associate except Allah. 7. La> h} a> kima illalla> h, means no one is the Giver of Justice except Allah. 8. La> gha> yata illalla> h, means no one is the Sustainer except Allah. 9. La> maqs} u> da ilalla> h, means no ultimate goal except Allah. 10. La> ma'bu> da illalla> h, means no one is worthy of worship except Allah.
The meaning of la> at the beginning of the tawh} i> d sentence is la> na> fiyatu li jinsi, which means the letter na> fi which denies all kinds of gods. Illa> is an istithna> (exception) letter which excludes Allah the Almighty from all kinds of neglected gods. Such a form of sentence is referred to a manfi sentence. In Arabic grammar, ithba> t after nafi means al-hashru (limiting) and ta'ki> d (strengthening). Thus, the phrase la> ila> ha illalla> h contains the true term that there is no God who has the right to worship except Allah the Almighty.
The declaration of negation or al-nafyu is the entry point and the first process of liberating one's faith from all forms of shackles of "divinity" other than Allah. As the Qur'an has said about the Quraisy who is known as kufr (non-Moslem or unbeliever). The fact said that they were not disbelief of God (atheists) at the time, but there were other beliefs that pollute and destroy the belief in Allah the Almighty.
Therefore, the stage of al-nafyu la> ma'bu> da is an absolute prerequisite for tawh} i> d in Islam.
Another meaning of the phrase la> ila> ha illalla> h is al-Wa> h} id.  explained the concept of the meaning of the name Allah, al-Wa> h} id as, "Whereas when we say Allah is wa> h{ id, this expression means two interpretations: first, His substance is not composed of parts, and this cannot be understood without explaining that Allah does not occupy space (laisa mutah} ayyizan) and does not exist in a certain direction (laisa fi> jihah); second interpretation is that Allah the Almighty has no match and allies.
Moreover, in al-Mafa> tih Razi's al-Ghai> b explained that when interpreting the meaning of "Oneness" in Surah Al-Ikhlas, "The point of al-'ah} a> diyyah is the form of God as the One, far from all forms of persistence ...". 53 Al-Jurjani defined, "Tawhid consist of three things: knowledge of Allah's rubu> biyah, recognition of His wahdaniyah (oneness) and denying andad (equal partners) with Him." 54 Meanwhile, scholars of kalam and philosophy tend to interpret tawhid as the Oneness of God, namely the denial of what they term "Nafyu al-Kammiyah al-Muttas} i> l wa al-Kammiyah al-Munfas} i> l", which means that the meaning of tawhid is limited to denial of tathniyah or ta'addud (duality or multiplicity) of God as well as the denial of tab'i> d, tarki> b, tajzi'ah (sharing, composure, orderliness) of God's substance. On this basis, they deny God's khabariyah qualities (such as rid} a> , gad} ab, rah} mah, wajh, yad, and so forth) which according to them refer to the meanings of tarkīb and tab 'īd. 55 Similar to the scholars of kalam and philosophy, al-Ghazali has proposed another meaning, 'al-Wa> hid sometimes means that he is not divided, there are no numbers, no parts and no measure. So, al-Ba> ri (Allah) is Wa> h} id in the sense of denying the quantity that causes it to be divided, because it is impossible to divide... And sometimes (al-Wa> h} id) means incomparable in position, like the saying: the sun is the only one, and al-Bari is alsoWa> h} id (one) with this meaning, because nothing compares to Him." 56 Tawhi> d scholars agree that the meaning of la> ila> ha illalla> h is la> ma'bu> da bih} aqqin illalla> h (no god is worshiped with haq except Allah) and not la> ma'bu> da illalla> h (no God is worshiped but Allah). If the meaning of la> ila> ha illalla> h were la> ma'bu> da illalla> h, the reality would be a lie, because we still assume that there are other gods worshiped, such as the god of wealth, the god of the throne, the god of materialism, the god of children, and other gods of matter. 57 Indeed, all these "gods" are vanity, except Allah the Almighty. It can therefore be ascertained that the meaning of "la ilah" is no God haq except Allah. There is no God who has the right to be truly worshiped except Him. 58 Grammatically, tawhid sentence is presented in the qas} r nafyi and ithba> t,a style of language that limits meaning by negating others and specifying one of them, in this case, the negation of la> ila> ha, then is determined by the sentence illalla> h. That is the meaning of the word tawhid to affirm Allah. If only ithba> t (determination) is used, this means that it does not prevent the participation of other gods. Likewise, if only nafyi is used, then it will be neglected completely. Hence, when la ilaha (no god) is uttered, all gods are neglected except Allah. Likewise, if we say Alla> hu ila> hun (Allah is God), then we have not performed tawhid, since the sentence is weak and does not deny the involvement of other gods. Therefore, when the sentence ithba> t (determination) is used, Quran also affirms it with characteristics such as the sentence wa ila> hukum ilahun wa> h} id (and your God is the Almighty God) (Surah al-Baqarah [2]: 163). Characteristic in this context refers to One and Only God. However, the sentence still continues to la> ila> ha illa huwar rahma> nurrah} i> m (There is no God but He is the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful) (Surah al-Baqarah [2]: 163). 59 55 Sabir Abdurrahman Ta'imah, Al-Mutakallimu> n fī Dha> tilla> h wa Sifa> tihi wa al-Raddu 'Alaihim La> ma'bu> da bih} aqqin illalla> h (there is no god who has the right to worship but Allah) is not merely means as tawhid, it also means la> mauju> da bih} aqqin illalla> h (there is no manifestation of God besides Allah) and la> maqs} u> da bih} aqin illalla> h (there is no meaning of haq other than Allah). The meaning of la> ma'bu> da itself has been emphasized in several verses above, in surah al-Fatihah for example, iyya> ka na'budu (only to You we worship), here the grammatical language used is the qas} r form. As explained above, la> ila> ha illalla> h is in a form of qasr nafyi and ithba> t, and then iyya> ka na'budu with qas> r taqdi> m ma> h} aqquhu al-ta'khi> r (prioritizes the part of the sentence that is usually put in the end of the sentence), and If the sentence is used without a qas} r, the phrase says na'buduka (we worship You).
In this context, whoever has interpreted this meaning, nothing can prevent them from worshiping, nothing is thought of and implied except Allah. Moreover, mauju> da bih} aqqin illalla> h means that no one will appear in the world that is true except Allah. Everything that exists is not its true essence, but is finite and transitory, the same way with other forms. Everything exists because there is something manifest andthe form of the haq is Allah the Almighty, the Most Existing Essence. The third conception of tawhid, is maqs} u> da bih} aqqin illalla> h which meansno ultimate purpose or goal except Allah. The goal (maqs} u> d) that has been carefully planned and systematic.
Indeed, a salik who has opened his heart's eyes cannot see any maqs} u> d except all visions, forms and goals of Allah alone, and his only view is only for Allah. Al-Hallaj once said, "Ana> al-H{ aqq". Sufism scholars refer to the meaning of la> ma'bu> da as the meaning of sharia, the meaning of la> mauju> da as the meaning of tarekat, and la> maqs} u> da or la> mashhu> da as the meaning of essence (h} aqi> qa). 60 In order to legitimize the above meanings, scholars require eight things, namely: 1) knowledge to deny ignorance; 2) trust to deny doubt; 3) acceptance to deny rejection; 4) obedience to deny disobedience; 5) sincerity to deny shirk; 6) honesty to deny hypocrisy; 7) love to deny hatred; 8) kufr against everything other than Allah. 61 Syekh Yusuf al-Makassari, the murshi> d of the Khalwa> tiyya order of Bugis Makassar in Risa> lah al-Futu> h} ah al-Ila> hiyya, depicting the pillars of Sufism in ten cases. These ten pillars have become significant in the midst of a modernization era that is rigid in the values of Sufism. These ten pillars are: 62 Qur'an and does not write down the hadith then he should not be used as a role model in matters of Sufism, because, according to al-Junayd, the science of Sufism is bound with the Qura> n and the Sunnah. 71 Most of society today performs worship by simply aborting its obligations. Even though they don't realize that their creation is being born as al-'abd. In the meantime, an 'abd is obliged to start first, and they have to climb up with eternal worship.
However, external worship (al-'iba> dah dhahiriyyah) is only a manifestation of devotion to Him, by performing muja> hadah and the riya> d} ah in the way of Allah. They purify themselves, both physically and mentally, from all the dirt of the Basha> riyah, which keeps them from wus} ul to Allah, Rabb al-'A< lami> n.

Conclusion
Nowadays, modern society is increasingly religious in nature. However, being religious, on the one hand, will bring diversity, but on the other hand, it presupposes the diversity as aspects of materialism. Many things are "deified" such as the god of wealth, the god of money, the god of power, and so on. This should be a reflection, hence every Muslim able to protect and sustain his unity only to Allah SWT. This is the realization of the ma'bu> da theorized in the Sufi concept that no one is worthy to worship except Allah the Almighty. La> ma'bu> da means the purification of all aspects that pollute the unity of Allah the Almighty. The meaning of la> mauju> da can be defined as the meaning of tarekat and la> maqs} u> da or la> mashhu> da as the meaning of essence. In this context, the essence of the meaning of la> ila> ha illalla> h is to purify worship only for Allah alone. This meaning is very close to the initial stage of salik climbing the path of tarekat and substance. La> ma'bu> da is a logicalcr consequence of the faith and recognition of the Oneness of God Almighty.