Rituals of Islamic Spirituality: A Study of Majils Dhikr Groups in East Java

303 Pages·2010·8.5 MB·English

by  Arif Zamhari

Rituals of Islamic
Spirituality
A STUDY OF MAJLIS DHIKR GROUPS
IN EAST JAVA

Rituals of Islamic
Spirituality
A STUDY OF MAJLIS DHIKR GROUPS
IN EAST JAVA
Arif Zamhari
THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
E PRESS
E PRESS
Published by ANU E Press
The Australian National University
Canberra ACT 0200, Australia
Email: [email protected]
This title is also available online at: http://epress.anu.edu.au/islamic_citation.html
National Library of Australia
Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

Author: Zamhari, Arif.
Title: Rituals of Islamic spirituality: a study of Majlis Dhikr
groups in East Java / Arif Zamhari.
ISBN: 9781921666247 (pbk) 9781921666254 (pdf)
Series: Islam in Southeast Asia.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.
Subjects: Islam--Rituals. Islam Doctrines.
Islamic sects--Indonesia--Jawa Timur.
Sufism--Indonesia--Jawa Timur.
Dewey Number: 297.359598
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the publisher.

Cover design and layout by ANU E Press
Printed by Griffin Press

This edition © 2010 ANU E Press
Islam in Southeast Asia Series
Theses at The Australian National University are assessed by external examiners and
students are expected to take into account the advice of their examiners before they
submit to the University Library the final versions of their theses. For this series,
this final version of the thesis has been used as the basis for publication, taking into
account other changesthat the author may have decided to undertake. In some cases, a
few minor editorial revisions have made to the work. The acknowledgements in each of
these publications provide information on the supervisors of the thesis and those who
contributed to its development. For many of the authors in this series, English is a second
language and their texts reflect an appropriate fluency.
v


Contents
Foreword xiii
Dedications xv
Acknowledgement xvii
Abstract xxi
Abbreviations and glossary xxiii
Transliteration xxxi
Chapter I 1
1.1. The Significance of the Study ................................ 1
1.2. The Understanding of Tasawuf, Tarekat and Majlis Dhikr
Group in Indonesian Islam ......................................10
1.3. The Variety of Majlis Dhikr Groups in Java .....................14
1.4. Meaning and Implications of the Classification: Mu’tabarah . . . . . . . .17
1.5. Sufism in the Pesantren Tradition ............................ 21

Chapter II: Innovation or Aberration: Majlis Dhikr in
Contemporary Indonesian Islamic Discourse 25
2.1. Source of Disputes: Understanding the Concept of Bid’ah
(innovation within Islam) within Indonesian Islam ...................26
2.2. Theological Debates on Dhikr Ritual ..........................35
2.3. Conclusion ...............................................46
vii

Chapter III: The Intellectual Response of Indonesian Majlis
Dhikr Groups to Some Aspects of Their Ritual Practices 49
3.1. Sa{lawat> As a Means to Approach God .........................49
3.1.1. Majlis Dhikr Groups’ Understanding of Sa{lawat> ................54
3.2. The Concepts of Sainthood (Wali) and Miracle (Karamah) .........58
3.2.1. The Concepts of Sainthood (Wali) and Miracle (Karamah)
as Understood by Majlis Dhikr Groups ............................. 64
3.3. The Concept of Tawassul ....................................69
3.3.1. Understanding the Concept of Tawassul Among
Majlis Dhikr Groups ..........................................76
3.4. Sending the Merit of Pious Deeds to Deceased Persons ...........80
3.4.1. The Majlis Dhikr Groups’ Understanding of Sending
the Merit of Pious Deeds to Deceased Persons ......................84
3.5. Seeking Blessing (barakah, tabarruk) ..........................86
3.5.1. The Concept of Tabarruk As Understood by Majlis Dhikr Groups ..90
3.6. Conclusion ...............................................93
Chapter IV: ‘Turn to God and His Prophet’:
The Spiritual Path of the Sa{ lawat> Wah> i{diyat Group 95
4.1. The Foundation of Sa{lawat> Wa>hi{diyat .........................95
4.2. External Conflict in Wa>hi{diyat ............................. 107
4.3. Internal Conflict in Wa>hi{diyat .............................. 115
4.4. The Teaching of Wa>hi{diyat .................................125
4.5. The Ritual of Muja>hada in Wa>hi{diyat: Spiritual Pilgrimage ..... 133
4.6. The Strategy to Preaching Sa{lawat> Wa>hi{diyat (Da’wah Wa>hi{diyat)
in Implementing Sufi Tolerance: The Role of Pesantren .............. 145
viii
4.7. Spiritual Experience and Spiritual Authority in Wa>hi{diyat . .......157
Chapter V: The Veneration of Wali and Holy Persons:
The Case of Istighat>hat Ihs{an> iyyat 165
5.1. The Foundation of Istighat>hat Ihs{an>iyyat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
5.2. Local Rivalry and Challenges ............................... 176
5.3. The Ritual of Ihs{an>iyyat ...................................180
5.4. The Structure of the Group ................................. 188
5.5. From Tombs to Mosques: Implementing Sufi Dakwah
and Religious Tolerance ....................................... 192
Chapter VI: The Awakening of the Negligent:
The Dhikr al- Ghafi> lin> Group 207

6.1. The Foundation of the group ................................ 207
6.2. The Ritual Practice of the Group ............................ 212
6.3. Gus Mik: a Living Saint and Controversial Kyai ................ 219
6.4. Gus Mik: His Karamah ....................................227
6.5. Gus Mik: His Teachings ................................... 231
6.6. The Group after Gus Mik .................................. 235
6.7. Conclusion .............................................. 244
Conclusion 245
Appendix 251
Bibliography 253
ix

List of Plates
Plate 4.1: The text of Sa{lawat> Wa>hi{diyat and its instruction how to
recite it ...................................................... 104
Plate 4.2: Sticker of Wa>hi{diyat displaying the logo of the group and
Nida’> Ya> Sayyidi> ya> Rasu>l Allah (the exclamation). .................. 105
Plate 4.3: The Logo of Sa{lawat> Wa>hi{diyat group and Pesantren Kedunglo
(Yayasan Perjuangan Wahidiyah dan Pondok Pesantren Kedunglo) in Kediri. .. 124

Plate 4.4: The Logo of Sa{ lawat> Wa>hi{diyat group (Penyiar Sholawat
Wahidiyah, PSW) in Ngoro, Jombang. .............................. 124
Plate 4.5: Female participants waiting for a pisowanan session ........... 137
Plate 4.6: Female participants during a pisowanan session .............. 137

Plate 4.7: Male participants at a Muja>hada Kubra> waiting for a
pisowanan session .............................................. 138
Plate 4.8: Male participants kissing their leader’s hand during pisowanan
session ....................................................... 138
Plate 4.9: The participants at a Muja>hada Kubra> praying at the tomb
of Kyai Abdul Madjid Ma’ruf (the founder of the Wa>hi{diyat group) ...... 139
Plate 4.10: Children crying during Muja>hada Kubra> ritual in Pesantren
Kedunglo, Kediri. .............................................. 139
Plate 4.11: Female participants, including young girls, listening to fatwa
during Muja>hada Kubra> ritual in Pesantren Kedunglo, Kediri. .......... 140
Plate 4.12: Female students crying during a prayer session in
Muja>hada Kubra> ritual in Pesantren Kedunglo, Kediri ................ 141
Plate 4.13: The leader of Wa>hi{diyat, Kyai Abdul Latif Madjid
giving edicts (fatwa) in Muja>hada Kubra.> ........................... 144
Plate 5.1: Gus Abdul Latif (Gus Latif), the founder and the leader of the
Istighat>hat Ihs{an> iyyat group. ..................................... 169
Plate 5.2: People using trucks to get to the Istighat>hat Ihs{an> iyyat ritual
Banyuwangi .................................................. 183
x