Social Inclusion in Society: Historical Analysis of the Concept  of Qabā'il in Q.S Al-Hujurat Verse 13

Abstrak

Humans are social creatures, they need others and tend to live in groups, which raises social exclusion. Although this issue gained attention among sociologists only in the late 20th century, pre-Islamic Arab societies had already experienced it due to the tribal (kabilah) system. This paper discusses the shift in the concept of kabilah from exclusion to inclusion and the inclusive values that Islam offers through this verse to foster harmony in diverse societies based on Q.S. Al-Hujurat verse 13. The research uses qualitative methods, including literature research and historical approaches. Primary sources include the Qur'an, while secondary sources are derived from tafsir, historical books, scientific articles, and other sources. Data analysis applies the tahlili technique for Qur'anic verses and content analysis for the other data. However, there is plenty of academic research concerning the social exclusion issue; the author has not found any research that specifically explores the change in the basis of Qaba ̅'il social function into the concept of social inclusion. Results show that social exclusion in pre-Islamic Arab society arose from inherited stereotypes and changes in social customs. Islam overcomes tribal exclusion through the concept of ta'aruf (mutual recognition) and rejects discriminatory hierarchical social stratification, promoting an inclusive society without social classes. The application of social inclusion values obtained through the analysis in this paper is expected to be one of the solutions to overcome forms of social exclusion in contemporary society. This study is limited to historical literature and does not involve field or archaeological research.