Bullying is frequently minimized as mere teasing or a transient conflict between peers, yet its capacity to inflict deep, long-lasting psychological trauma on victims remains a critical public health and humanitarian crisis. In an exhaustive analysis recently published in the September 2026 edition of Suara Muhammadiyah, Ruslan Fariadi, a prominent member of the Tarjih and Tajdid Council of the Central Board of Muhammadiyah, addressed the multifaceted dimensions of bullying. Titled “The Psychological Impact of Bullying,” the publication breaks down the definition, categorizations, and severe aftermath of harassment while bridging modern psychological insights with classical Islamic jurisprudence and prophetic traditions.
The discourse surrounding peer victimization has evolved significantly over the past decade. No longer viewed simply as a harmless rite of passage among youth, bullying is now internationally recognized as a systemic form of violence that breaches fundamental human rights. Fariadi’s academic intervention highlights that the repercussions of peer abuse extend far beyond immediate physical injuries, frequently anchoring deep-seated mental health disorders that persist well into adulthood. By examining the issue through both sociological frameworks and the ethical warnings of Hadith literature, Muhammadiyah’s analysis calls for a unified, preventative approach across all educational tiers—ranging from primary schools and secondary institutions to universities and Islamic boarding schools (pesantren).
Defining the Spectrum of Harassment and Modern Categorizations
To accurately diagnose and combat the phenomenon, Fariadi anchored his operational definition in the Indonesian Dictionary (KBBI), which characterizes bullying as continuous disturbance, molestation, and affliction. Terminologically, the definition expands to encompass any intentional act of troubling, annoying, or injuring another person—either physically or psychologically—through intimidation, humiliation, degradation, harassment, or social ostracization.
Based on the medium, target, and intent, Fariadi categorizes contemporary bullying into five distinct forms:
- Physical Bullying: Direct acts of physical violence inflicted upon the victim.
- Verbal Bullying: The deployment of harsh language, verbal threats, intimidation, and public insults.
- Social Bullying: Deliberate exclusion and isolation of the victim from their peer circles and community networks.
- Emotional Bullying: Actions specifically designed to destabilize the victim’s mental state, induce sadness, anxiety, and fear, often compounded by the dissemination of malicious rumors.
- Cyberbullying: Harassment conducted via digital communication channels and social media platforms, including WhatsApp, Instagram, and TikTok, which allows torment to follow victims seamlessly into their private spaces.
These manifestations transcend socio-economic backgrounds and geographic locations, infiltrating formal and informal educational ecosystems globally. Because modern technology has erased traditional safe spaces, the boundary between school hours and personal time has dissolved, rendering cyberbullying an omnipresent threat that amplifies psychological vulnerability.
The Islamic Perspective: Prophetic Warnings on Zulum and the "Bankrupt" Soul
To underscore the gravity of peer harassment from a religious standpoint, Fariadi examined bullying through the framework of Islamic ethics, linking abusive behaviors to severe spiritual and moral transgressions. Although classical texts do not utilize the modern terminology of "bullying," the underlying principles of oppression (zulum), transgression of rights, and harm against humanity are heavily addressed in Hadith literature.
Fariadi drew specific attention to the well-documented Hadith regarding the "muflis" (bankrupt person) on the Day of Judgment, recorded in Sahih Muslim. In this narration, Prophet Muhammad SAW questioned his companions regarding the identity of a bankrupt person. While the companions identified financial destitution, the Prophet clarified that the truly bankrupt individual from his ummah is one who arrives on the Day of Judgment having accumulated extensive good deeds—such as prayers, fasting, and charity—yet has spent their lifetime verbally abusing others, falsely accusing individuals, unjustly consuming wealth, shedding blood, and physically harming their peers.
Under the jurisprudential rule of al-‘ibrah bi ‘umum al-lafzhi la bi khushush as-sabab (lessons are derived from the general implication of the wording, not the specific occasion of its revelation), Fariadi mapped this theological warning directly onto modern bullying behaviors. This framework identifies four primary categories of peer-induced offenses:
- As-Syathmu wa al-Qadzfu (Verbal Abuse and Defamation): Inflicting psychological pain through derogatory name-calling, bestowing humiliating animal monikers, spreading malicious gossip, and instilling intimidation. Fariadi reinforced this by citing a Hadith from Sahih al-Bukhari, narrated by Abu Syuraih, wherein the Prophet Muhammad SAW emphatically swore three times that a person is not a true believer if their neighbor—or by extension, their peer—does not feel safe from their harmful actions.
- Akl Māl al-Ghair bi Ghairi Haqq (Unjust Appropriation of Rights): Seizing or extorting another’s belongings without a legitimate right. Beyond material loss, this act intentionally induces feelings of powerlessness, humiliation, and psychological distress.
- Ad-Dharb (Physical Violence): Direct physical assaults, including beating, kicking, slapping, and trampling vulnerable individuals who pose no threat. Fariadi emphasized that such actions cause profound compounding trauma across physical, mental, and psychological dimensions.
- Safk Dam wa al-Qatl (Severe Harm and Homicide): Extreme escalation of physical abuse resulting in severe permanent injury or loss of life, frequently perpetrated through mob violence or group bullying. Fariadi stressed that both direct perpetrators and passive bystanders who knowingly enable or ignore such crimes share criminal culpability for crimes against humanity.
The Prolonged Psychological Fallout and Psychiatric Implications
The intersection of sustained verbal abuse and physical intimidation creates a toxic environment that severely disrupts cognitive and emotional development, particularly in children and adolescents. Fariadi detailed a comprehensive catalog of psychological pathologies stemming from prolonged peer victimization.
Initially, victims frequently manifest acute anxiety, chronic sadness, persistent insomnia, loss of appetite, low self-esteem, and severe paranoia. Over time, unaddressed trauma frequently solidifies into Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Victims of PTSD experience intrusive, repetitive memories, recurring nightmares, severe sleep disturbances, and debilitating flashbacks of the abusive episodes.
Furthermore, the psychological toll alters cognitive processing and mood regulation. Victims often develop severe emotional volatility, internal defense mechanisms characterized by hyper-isolation, and a total withdrawal from social engagement. This social alienation impedes essential communication skills, making normal interpersonal interactions with peers and family members extraordinarily difficult. In extreme scenarios, victims develop profound social phobias, pervasive mistrust of community networks, and clinical paranoia.
Fariadi issued a stern warning regarding the long-term prognosis of untreated trauma: without timely, specialized psychiatric intervention, chronic bullying victims face a heightened risk of developing severe mental health disorders, potentially culminating in conditions recognized clinically as severe psychological impairment (ODGJ – Orang Dengan Gangguan Jiwa).
The somatic manifestations of psychological distress are equally alarming. Clinical data indicates that chronic victims frequently present with stress-induced medical complaints, including persistent tension headaches, migraines, gastrointestinal disorders, and psychosomatic illnesses that elude straightforward biological diagnoses.
Institutional Implications and the Urgent Need for Preventative Action
The comprehensive analysis published by Suara Muhammadiyah serves as an urgent wake-up call for educational institutions, policymakers, religious leaders, and parents alike. Because bullying touches upon fundamental human rights and psychological well-being, passive observations or institutional cover-ups are no longer ethically or legally defensible.
From a sociological and public health perspective, addressing peer victimization requires a multi-layered preventative strategy. Schools and Islamic boarding institutions must implement zero-tolerance policies, robust reporting mechanisms that protect whistleblowers, and mandatory mental health literacy programs for both students and faculty. Concurrently, parents and community leaders must cultivate environments of open communication, ensuring that children possess the emotional vocabulary to articulate distress before it cascades into clinical trauma.
Fariadi concluded his analysis by emphasizing that eradicating bullying is a shared societal obligation. By integrating modern psychological safeguards with the timeless ethical imperatives found within prophetic traditions, communities can construct a protective framework that preserves human dignity, ensures psychological safety, and halts the generational cycle of peer abuse.
