Tuhfah al-Mursalah ila Ruh al-Nabiy as the Source of the Doctrine Seven Grades of Being in the Malay-Indonesian Archipelago

The doctrine of seven grades of Being (Martabat Tujuh) has been widely known to be a sufi interpretation of God’s Oneness (al-Tawhid). It originated in the subcontinent of India in the early seventeenth century. The doctrine was later introduced in Aceh and gained popularity among the Malay sufi authors and practitioners until the present day. Amid its wide acceptance, the teaching has long been considered by many scholars to be incompatible with the Islamic principle teachings of God’s Unity. The purpose of this article is to give an insight into the background of the writing of the Tuhfah al-Mursalah Ila Ruh al-Nabiyy and to establish its credibility as an authentic Islamic work by a recognized Muslim sufi scholar. To achieve its objectives, data of this writing was gathered through the usage of document analysis and then described using deducted and inducted analysis. This article found that the Tuhfah al-Mursalah was originally written to combatting misinterpretation of the teaching of wahdat al-wujud in the subcontinent India. It was later exported to the Aceh in the early sixteenth century. The work was written by a knowledgeable and important Indian Muslim sufi scholar. His credentials as a Muslim scholar were testified with few commentaries on the Tuhfah al-Mursalah by famous and well-known Muslim scholars in the Muslim world. Therefore, this work occupies an important place in providing a true comprehension of the doctrine of seven grades of Being.

Islamic Authority Figures and Their Religioscapes in Indonesia

In this article I argue that religious authority figures in Indonesia form the core of any given religioscape. A religioscape is a dynamic social space where one religious practice or religious interpretation is predominant. At the same time religious authority figures are influenced by the historically grown religioscape in which they live, and this mutual process affects all the people living in it. With the example of three religious authority figures and their respective learning institutions in Indonesia, I aim to illustrate how Muslim personalities influence and shape the religioscape that surrounds them. The first case study is grounded in the mystic Islam found in Yogyakarta, the second case study explores the mixture of local and Hadhrami influences in the Islamic practice of South Sumatra, while the third case study examines an imported form of reform Islam in a transmigrasi settlement. Of major importance in these case studies will be what influences the religious authority figures and what tools are used to disseminate their thoughts and interpretations of Islam. I argue that the concept of the religioscape enables us to better understand the impact that religious authority figures have on their surroundings and vice versa. It can also serve as a methodological tool to grasp the diverse plurality of Islamic practices in Indonesia.

Applying Ibn ʿArabī's Concept of Tajallī: A Sufi Approach to Environmental Ethics

This article examines the Sufi concept of tajallī and its application to environmental ethics. This study usesdescriptive and productive interpretation to analyze the data which are extracted from the main works of Ibn ͑Arabī, namely Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam and al-Futūḥāt al-Makkīyah. It finds that Ibn ʿArabī’s concept of tajallī can be understood not only in its philosophical sense but also in its spiritual and moral sense to develop a new approach to environmental ethics. This research has valid implications for taking a new direction in the study of mystic Islam and environmental ethic by incorporating tajallī and other Sufi doctrines such as waḥdatu-l-wujūd, maḥabbah, and maʿrifah.

From Central Asia to Kashmir: A Holistic View of Mysticism

Persian spirituality exerted a profound influence on the religious culture of Kashmir. The local Hindu Shaivite monism that went back to the ninth century was propagated by the Rishi ascetics. This paper aims to examine the influence of Sufism on the popular Islamic culture in Kashmir, in particular the role of the fourteenth-century figure of Nund Rishi or Shaykh Nūruddīn. The findings will be based on the qualitative analysis of the historical sources pertaining to the period concerned, with a focus on the Sanskrit epic of Rajatarangini and the poetry of Nund Rishi which explicitly refers to famous Persian mystics. This study has valid implications for the research on the causes of the socio-cultural transformation of Kashmir that were not only initiated but also taken to its completion and fruition by the local Rishi order.

Sir William Jones (1746–1794) and the Early Orientalist Discourse on Sufism

Many theories have been proposed to discuss Sufism in terms of its linguistic origins and its role in spiritual knowledge, its concepts and ideas, and cultural influences. Both Muslim and orientalist scholars have offered opposing views on the beginnings of Sufism. Unfortunately, Western orientalists were the first to research this topic, and their ideas greatly influenced later scholars. This study examines how early British orientalists, particularly Sir William Jones, approached the study of Sufism. Jones represents the early development of British orientalism, which started in the form of personal travel accounts long before orientalist societies were established to support them. Only the later ‘experts on the Orient’ created scholarly circles that followed a more objective and systematic approach to studying Muslim cultures, yet often persisted in the erroneous claim that Sufism was an external and foreign element in Islamic culture.

Ṣadaqa and ‘Spirituality Gene’ Expression: The Qurʾan and Advances in Epigenetics

Charity (ṣadaqa) is commonly given for religious reasons: Muslims donate voluntarily to earn Allah’s pleasure and receive His blessings. However, there have been changes in the way Muslims perceive charity and what significance it has in their life. Many studies have addressed this issue but failed to explore the connection between ṣadaqaand mental state. This paper was aimed to complement the existing studies by analyzing the process of the shifting interpretation of charity and its positive effects on the donors. This study used qualitative analysis of primary and secondary data. The data was processed through descriptive methods and content analysis. In particular, it focused on analyzing the religious background of the donors, including the biological processes underlying their tendency to give generously. The study concluded that the practice of giving ṣadaqa increases social, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing, depending on the level of spirituality of the donors and their intention.

The Doctrine of Tawḥīd and its Practical Manifestation by a Living Sufi Practitioner

This article explores new pathways of understanding the theological doctrine of tawḥīd from a Sufi theological perspective. It is evident that Sufism has expanded the inherent meaning of tawḥīd from the relatively simple idea of the Oneness of God to the philosophically complex phenomenon that reality is best expressed through an absolute unity of all existence. Instead of engaging in a dialogue about this important doctrinal principle with only written texts, this article intends to combine both traditional sources but also the actual voice of one contemporary Sufi practitioner. This original approach aims to circumvent the tendency of a top-down approach to the study of religion, provide a grassroots perspective, and a concrete example of how a theoretical concept can be practically manifested in the life of ordinary believers. Such a contribution is important, for it adds to wider empirical studies of Sufism a localized example that underlines the importance of investigating religion not merely through written texts, but also by a nuanced exploration from the point of view of spiritual seekers themselves. Since Sufis ultimately embark on a spiritual journey and long to attain proximity to God, abstract theory must be met with experiential satisfaction.

From Hard Rock to Hadrah: Music and Youth Sufism in Contemporary Indonesia

Many studies on Islam in Indonesia usually focus on Islamic movements from social, economic, or political perspective. One missing viewpoint that does not get much attention or even completely ignored is the spiritual life of the Muslim youths. This study would examine and analyze the growth of the Syeikhermania and their attachment to Hadrah music of Majelis Shalawat Ahbab al-Musthofa led by Habib Syeikh Abdul Qadir Assegaf, an Arabic-descent Muslim preacher. Unlike Muslim youth organizations that are enthusiastically active in political movements that tend to be radical, Syeikhermania plays a role in creating harmony and tolerance. They transform spiritually from Hard Rock to Hadrah music. Therefore, this study disclosed the participation of the Muslim youths in the Majelis Shalawat Ahbab al-Musthofa which is motivated by the need for spiritual protection and expressing their identity as Muslim youths in contrast to the liberal and secular cultures on the one hand and fundamentalist and radicalist groups on the other hand.

Critical Analysis on Tasawwuf Schools

As one of disciplines, Sufism has undergone the stages of scientific development. It is difficult to reach an agreement related to the classification of Sufism schools from the first time it appeared until today. However, by taking the characteristics of each thought into account, Sufism can be classified into several schools, namely Rajā 'wa khauf Sufism, Maḥabbah Sufism, Happy Sufism, Al-Ḥallāj Sufism, Al-Gazzālī Sufism, Philosophical Sufism, and Ibn Taimiyyah Sufism. Sufism that grew in the early days, in the first and second centuries of Hegira, such as Maḥabbah and Rajā' wa khauf Sufism, was in general undisputed because it was still far from the influence of foreign elements and had strong attachments to Al-Qur'an and Sunah. Sufism in the third and fourth centuries of Hijra, although from the scientific side is more established, systematic, and structured, the symptoms of conflict with Fiqh began to grow which reached its peak in the time of Al-Hallāj. Sufism in the fifth century, at the time of Al-Gazzālī, was the most beautiful period in the history of Sufism because Sufism and Fiqh could be integrated. Sufism in the next period began to had another conflict because of the influence of philosophy until the time of Ibn Taimiyyah who wanted to return Sufism to its origin. This paper conducted a literature review on the history of Sufism to capture the schools that have emerged since its inception. In the final section, a critical analysis of the Sufism schools was carried out and it was closed with a few ideas on how to eclectically adapt the results of this critical analysis for the Islamic Education learning.

Becoming a Meaningful Human in The Contemporary Era: Isyari's Interpretation of Human Fiṭrah in Risālah Al-Nūr According to Said Nursi

This paper wants to prove how Said Nursi's efforts to persuade humans to become meaningful (ma’nawi) humans through his interpretation of Risālah al-Nūr. This tafsir, which is more Kalam and Isyāri (Sufi) in style, was Nursi's answer to his anxiety in facing the challenges of modernity in Turkey at that time (and is still relevant today). In the context of human nature, Nursi is aware that modernity has made humans fall into an attitude which he calls tafrid and ifrat in using his every senses (outer and inner senses). Therefore, with the characteristics and originality of his interpretation, he describes how people can return to their nature, namely by behaving 'adl or tawasut in all things. This is the man that he later calls as a meaningful human being. The methods that the author used in this research are descriptive-analysis methods and library research, by making tafsir Risālah al-Nūr and tafsir Isyārāt al-I’jāz as primary sources, then supported by other secondary books which are still related to the theme.