Formation of Muslim Identity in the Millennial Era (An Analysis of Ibn ‘Athaillah al-Iskandari’s al-Hikam)

This paper aims to examine the thoughts of Ibn Athaillah al-Iskandari in his book of al-Hikam on the formulation of Muslim identity in the millennial era. Muslims have been currently considered facing the problem of identity crisis resulted in the decline of Islamic civilization and the non-competitiveness in various fields of life despite the historical fact that it had played an important role in changing the course of world civilization. The paper argues that the Muslim identity determines the course and purpose of life with all its dynamics as Muslims are obliged to take a role in life. This research is qualitative in which it seeks to examine the thoughts of Ibn Ibn Athaillah al-Iskandari on the formulation of Muslim identity. This study is based on the author’s critical accounts of his al-Hikam as the primary source and its explanatory (syarh) as the secondary source. The data was collected through a documentation technique, which was then analyzed using a hermeneutic approach. This study found that Ibn Ibn Athaillah al-Iskandari divided the formation of Muslim identity into three categories: (1) rabbaniyya, (2) insaniyya, and (3) akhlaqiyya, all of which show a unique and independent feature of Muslim identity having its relevance with the Millennial era.