Hamka's discourse on Christianity in Tafsīr al-Azhar

This article explores HAMKA‘s (d. 1981) approach in his interpretation of Qur‘anic verses on Christianity in his Tafsīr al-Azhar. HAMKA produces many literary works. Tafsīr al-Azhar is HAMKA‘s magnum opus produced in Malay language. As a scholar and social activist, HAMKA‘s Qur‘anic exegesis embedded a broad range of contextualized local issues. The focus of this article is on HAMKA‘s responses towards Christianity portrayed in his commentaries of the Qur‘anic verses related to Christianity. A thorough textual analysis was conducted on those verses from his Tafsīr al-Azhar. The study deals with three categories of discussions on Christianity in HAMKA‘s interpretation, which are Christian beliefs and doctrines, attitudes of Christians narrated in Al-Qur‘ān, and self-reflection and critics to the Muslim community. This research finds that his commentaries on Christianity reflect the Muslim-Christian polemics in the context of the socio-political milieu of Indonesia in the 20th century. This research indicates that HAMKA applies an analytical approach when dealing with Christian beliefs. He adopts an argumentative approach when he highlights the flaws in Christian beliefs and counter-argues the beliefs from the Islamic perspective. In dealing with verses related to the attitudes of the Christians, HAMKA is stern in his criticism as he responds to the Christians in Indonesia. He also applies criticism when dealing with verses on Christianity but transcends as reminders to the Muslim community. The research found that HAMKA‘s interpretations reflect his awareness and his grave response and critics on the threats of Christianity that interfere with Muslim affairs in Indonesia