SSUNDANIZATIONUNDANIZATION OFOF ALAL-Q-QURUR’’ANAN: :

A PA PORTRAITORTRAIT OFOF S SUNDANESEUNDANESE-M-MOSLEMOSLEM

EEFFORTSFFORTS ININ C COMPREHENDINGOMPREHENDING ANDAND

AACTUALIZATIONCTUALIZATION OFOF ALAL-Q-QURUR’’ANAN

by: Dadan Rusmana

AbstrakPersentuhan Sunda dengan al-Qur’an ketika terjadi proses Islamisasi, dalam artian konversi, di Tatar Sunda sekitar abad ke-13, sebuah masa ketika politik Islam di Baghdad mengalami kehancuran. Ketika bahasa Arab al-Qur’an dihadapkan kepada bahasa Sunda (sepertihalnya dengan bahasa Jawa dan Madura), bahasa Arab telah diperkuat oleh ideologi ‘diglosia’. Ideologi ini telah menempatkan bahasa Arab al-Qur’an sebagai bahasa sakral yang tidak dapat “tersentuh” atau “terpahamkan” oleh siapa pun. Oleh karena itu, untuk jangka waktu tertentu, Sunda-Muslim meyakini bahwa memahami al-Qur’an tidak dapat dilakukan secara langsung, tetapi harus bermediasikan bahasa lain. Dalam kanyataannya, mereka kemudian menggunakan bahasa Jawa atau kemudian tafsir-tafsir berbahasa Arab dalam memahami al-Qur’an. Barulah pada awal abad ke-20, Haji Hasan Mustapa memelopori untuk menerjemahkan dan menafsirkan al-Qur’an menggunakan bahasa Sunda. Sejak itu, bermucullanlah beberapa karya dalam bidang serupa yang menunjukkan “gelait” orang sunda-muslim untuk memahami ajaran

Islam dari sumber utamanya, yaitu al-Qur’an. Apa yang dilakukan oleh Hasan Mustapa dan lainnya juga pada dasarnya ditujukan untuk “mendobrak” kebiasaan sunda Muslim yang membaca al-Qur’an tanpa diikuti oleh pemaknaan, seperti terlihat pada tradisi pembacaan al-Qur’an dalam ritus-ritus yang menyebar di kalangan Muslim.

Keywords:Islam, al-Qur’an, Islamized-Sunda, Sundanized-

Islam, Sundanese-Moslems,and Sundanize al-Qur’an

A. Introduction: Standardization and

Perspective

Sundanization of al-Quran represented by the

above title means a depiction, a comprehensive

portrait, of events, of processes, of both conscious

and unconscious efforts undertaken by Sundanese

communities in such a way to comprehend and to

apply al-Qur’an in daily life. The point this essay is

trying to make, however, may not as much

bombastic as its title seems to be, since the

dynamics of Sundanization of al-Qur’an has its own

distinguished features, comes along through a

great history, embraces every element in society,

and includes vast geographical boundaries. The

idea proposed in this essay is merely as tiny as a

little ice spot upon the peak of a frozen mountain

amid a great ocean. It is hence true that, in this

field, there are so much works left to do in further

observation.

The term Islamized-Sunda, as reflected in the

above title, as well as the use of the term

Sundanized-Islam, which is circling in the whole

discourse of Sundanese communities, might

hitherto be seen as somewhat abstract and

obscure. This situation is exacerbated by a fact that

both terms are frequently misunderstood and

confused with the use of the most spread-out

jargon in Sundanese communities, Sunda teh Islam,

jeung Islam teh nyunda (being Sundanese is being

Islamic, and being Islamic is being Sundanese). The

latter statement in the jargon may either sound to

have a religious political tendency or seem to be of

mere cultural political views, as well as can be in

both inclinations. In this essay, both terms

Islamized-Sunda and Sundanized-Islam are of

course positioned in different sense, despite their

close relationship in this study. The term Islamized-

Sunda refers simply to Sundanese cultures

influenced by Islam, as opposed to those influenced

by other religions. On the other hand, the term

Sundanized-Islam is used to represent a

distinguished mode of Islam exists in Sundanese

communities.

This essay, in light of the aforementioned two

terms as its framework, explores certain responses

the Sundanese peoples have in seeing,

comprehending, and functioning al-Qur’an.

Reciprocal dynamics (inter-correlation and

influence on each other) does indeed exist here

between al-Qur’an and Sundanese life (as

described in chart 1). First, al-Qur’an has had its

values absorbed by the social order of Sundanese

cultures and communities. Consequently, to a

certain extent, there do emerge new cultures which

are influenced by Qur’anic values. Or at least, in

such a situation, old cultures are reformulated by

the new emerging values. However, the common

problem comes to appear in geographical spread of

al-Qur’an (Islam) is that how the Holy Book (or the

religion itself) which comes from such a strange

world can be admitted and embraced by its

believers or by its believers-to-be in a way that they

feel it as something tightly bound to their world. Is

the acceptance of the Holy Book (and Islam itself)

requires the Sundanese peoples to sacrifice all

what have been possessed in their own? Or should

it be seen as a further episode in their cultural

progress? This problem is of course of common

natures in the process of acculturation. The more

the admitter feels sacrificed, the more difficult the

process of acculturation goes (Grunebaum, 1973:

20).

Second, the world view (weltanschauung) of

Sundanese communities and cultures has to a

certain extent influenced them in grasping,

interpreting, and actualizing (including

functioning) al-Qur’an. That there will be

interruption with each other within the relationship

between the universality of Qur’anic values and the

locality of Sundanese social order is really so much

possible. It is frequently stated that, in the process

of the acculturation, al-Qur’an (Islam) has to rule

its objects as well as ought to rule itself. Clashes

between Islam and Sundanese cultures, as those

between Islam and other local cultures in

Nusantara and many other areas, require al-Qur’an

(Islam) to get a new real social environment and

proper symbols harmonious with the communities’

cultural comprehending which is to be converted

into the world of Islam. Islam, in a certain

condition, has also to allow the emergence of

various interpretations that might be somewhat

loosely related to the ultimate revelation. This will

lead to diverse embodiments of Islam, each of

which does rely heavily on the structural mode of a

certain community, though still departures from

the same starting point of eternal and authentic

revelation (Taufik Abdullah, 1987: 3).

It is evident that al-Qur’an, as described in the

above chart, influences Sundanese cultures and

communities not so much in direct ways, but it has

firstly to pass through various cultural and

intellectual realms. In other words, it is as well true

that Sundanese-Muslim’s comprehension and

interpretation upon al-Qur’an take place largely

through others’. Some factors are here seen. First,

al-Qur’an came to Arabs, not Sundanese, in a long

period of time (al-Qur’an began in sixth-seventh

century, while Sundanese had in touch with al-

Qur’an in thirteenth-fourteenth century). Second,

al-Qur’an used Arabic, such a unique language

which is strange in the eye of the majority of

Sundanese peoples. This therefore made al-Qur’an

difficult to be directly understood by Sundanese

peoples. Third, Islam came to the land of Sunda is

not the one that came directly and straightly from

Arab, but it had diffused with various cultures in

such areas as India, China, Persia, Campa, and

Cultural Realm

Intellectual Realm

Changes of time and

space

Aceh. Fourth, Islam came to the land of Sunda, as

did to other lands in Nusantara, at a period when

the supreme political power of Islam in Baghdad

(under the rules of Abbasids) had just been

destroyed. This period of time led to the middle age

of Islam which is remarked by the stagnation of

science. Characteristics of Islam coming to the land

of Sunda are therefore distinctly signified by

ritualism, tasawuf, and determinism.

Al-Qur’an Sunda Sundanese cultures

influenced by Qur’anic values

Sunda al-Qur’an Locality of Comprehending and Functioning al-Qur’an

Figure 1: Reciprocal Dynamics of Sundanized-Qur’an

Like the majority of Muslim communities,

especially ‘ajam (non-Arabs), Sundanese

communities grasp and interpret al-Qur’an not in

direct way. They do instead get to access

interpretation books of al-Qur’an in their own

mother tongue in order that they can understand

the Holy Book. Moreover, they listen thoroughly to

what their teachers say concerning the

interpretation of al-Qur’an, or search other medias

to explore and comprehend al-Qur’an. It is thus,

again, obvious that al-Qur’an has its influence on

Sundanese communities and cultures not in a

direct and straight way. Al-Qur’an does instead

involve other medias. In this context, the

elaborated comprehension and interpretation

initiated by kyai or ajengan have had played a great

role in influencing Sundanese cultures and

communities.

In fact, though, like in other societies, legal

measurement used by some of Sundanese peoples

is not whether or not a rule is Qur’ani (Qur’anic; in

accordance with Qur’an). Some of Sundanese

peoples make a measurement by determining

whether or not a rule is Islami, whether or not a

rule is nyunnah (in accordance with the Prophet’s

Tradition), even in the narrower sense whether or

not a rule is nyunnah in terms of its accordance

with the view of Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah).

Tentatively, the term Ahl al-Sunnah wa al Jama’ah

is attached to those who are ASy’ariyah in

theology, Syafi’iyah in legal code, and Ghazalian in

ethics. The adagio of whether or not a matter is

Qur’ani applies only to a few groups in society

since the adagio is still a strange one for the

majority of Sundanese Muslim.

B. Sundanization of al-Qur’an: Continuity and

Change

1. Exploration Problematic

It is not an easy task to investigate when

Sundanese people, both as individuals and as tribal

societies, begins to keep in touch with al-Qur’an.

This is due to a fact that researches concerning

early Islamization of Sunda has still hitherto been

in uncertainty. The problem of who is the first

Sundanese man being a Muslim and when is

exactly the time he lived is still really unanswered.

Was the first Sundanese Muslim is Haji Purwa?

Was he Subanglarang? Was he Cakrabuana or Kean

Santang? The answer still cannot be revealed. This

is caused by the limitedness of written sources of

history. In spite of the rapid growth of Islamization

in the thirteenth century Nusantara, the literal

tradition in Sundanese societies belonged only to

the aristocrats and is not massive. For instance, the

history of Prabu Siliwangi, the most prominent

King that was so well-known among Sundanese

folks and was believed to have had a close

relationship with Muslim peoples, is available only

in orally-told stories. Concerning this famous King

of Pajajaran, written sources are hardly found. This

is so much different with what happened in the

world of Islam (Middle East) that, at the time, had

been so productive and rich of written works,

which can even be traced to the seventh century.

This problem needs to be elaborated here

since this essay is aimed at portraying the

Islamization of Sunda. Islamization of Sunda is of

course not an incidental event, but it is a process.

The process may entirely be depicted as a

sequence of events classified vertically and

horizontally. Such an Islamization is undertaken by

Muslims, and its target is non-Muslims. For a

Muslim, this process relies heavily on religious

quality, while for a non Muslim, it does on religious

quantity. The Islamization is then classified into (1)

Islamizing non-Muslims (infidels) in order to

increase Muslims’ quantity, and (2) Islamizing

Muslims in order to increase Muslim’s quality.

Generally, based on the above explanation, the

process of Islamization in West Java is divided into

four stages. They are (1) the stage of introducing

Islam to those who are not embracing Islam (non-

Muslims), (2) the stage of giving lessons

concerning Islam to enforce the existence of

Muslims, (3) the stage of learning deeply Islam and

applying its concepts in the life of society, and of

opposing the infidel ruler, (4) the stage of

reconstructing the thoughts and life of Islam in

society (Ekajati, 1988: 1).

As to the spread of Islam in Java Island, history

records that Pasundan got in touch with Islam later

than Java did through the influence of Demak that

expanded its imperial power to Cirebon (1526) and

Banten (1527). This is in accordance with the

stories in Sundanese ancient script Carita

Parahyangan written in 1580s. Kitu, kawisesa ku

Demak deung Cirebon [So be it, (Pasundan) was

ruled by Demak and Cirebon]. One thing proves

this statement would be that Javanese language

(precisely Cirebonese dialect-speaking group) is

still used as mediator language between Arabic and

Sundanese in the process of learning in boarding

schools, especially those in East Priangan. It is

hence evidently seen that Sundanese folks had

their touch with Islam through Javanese, while

Priangan Sundanese accepted the religion from

Cirebon, as did western Sundanese from Banten.

Here a question raises, why did Pasundan,

which is geographically far more western than

Java, become the latter to have in touch with Islam,

while it is commonly known that newcomers from

outside either from China or from Gujarat came

from west (Sunda) to east (Java)? This significant

question would remain unanswered if we pay

attention merely to some hesitating historical

records. It would be better if elements of folklores

are taken as a ground of thought in researching the

roles Islam played in Pasundan, as contained in the

story of Syekh Qura, the founder of a boarding

school in Karawang, or also narrated in the story of

Walangsungsang, or the story of Kean Santang

(Wibisana, 2001: 2).

Syekh Qura’s tombstone in Karawang, which is

believed to be not far enough from the boarding

school he founded, is now lied in somewhere far off

the Java Ocean. Some stories mention that the

boarding school is near the offshore. It is hard to

know how long the place is separated from the

offshore areas since the early process of

sedimentation in Java Ocean which, in the days to

come, became a vast land stretched from Syeikh

Qura’s tombstone to the shore of Java Ocean. It is

as well not an easy task to figure out how many

years Syaikh Qura preached spreading Islam in

Karawang, one of districts in West Java. According

to some folklores, one of Syaikh Qura’s disciple was

a woman named Nyi Subang Karancang. The

woman, still according to the folklores, was

married by Prabu Siliwangi, the King of Pajajaran,

right after he embraced Islam. This story is the one

still strongly lives in the north coast of West Java

concerning the influence of Islam upon the royal

families at that time (Wibisana, 2001: 3).

These stories are similar with Cirebonese

folklores about Pangeran Walangsungsang and Nyi

Mas Rara Santang. The latter figure (woman) was

married by a king of Egypt. Her descendant was

Syarif Hidayatullah who, in the days to come,

became the ruler of Cirebonese kingdom (Islam).

Walangsungsang and Rara Santang are also

believed as brother and sister, the son and

daughter of Prabu Siliwangi. Walangsungsang and

Rara Santang is considered to have embraced

Islam former than their father. Both versions of

folklore signifies that Islam had for so long been

there in Pasundan far more before Cirebon came to

be an Islamic kingdom, precisely at the time when

Prabu Siliwangi ruled as King of Pajajaran (1474-

1513, in Moh. Amir Sutarga, 1966).

Another folklores narrate the similar issue are

those about Kean Santang (in Priangan) and Pucuk

Umun (in Banten). Keang Santang, the son of Prabu

Siliwangi, had a long journey to Mekkah. In the

holy city, he met Ali the Majesty. Ali tested Kean

Santang’s strength and bravery. Ali stabbed a stick

straightly upon ground, and Kean Santang was

asked to remove the drowned stick from the

ground. Kean Santang, after struggling to his feet,

could not make it anyway. He then bowed to his

knees before Ali and declared an obedience. Kean

Santang learned Islam from Ali the Majesty. Unlike

Kean Santang, Pucuk Umun came face to face

against Sultan Hasanuddin. Both of battling

persons had a cock match on a deal: Sultan

Hasanuddin would be allowed to freely preach

Islam if Pucuk Umun’s cock had been defeated.

Pucuk Umun’s cock was the loser of the game so

that he resigned his position as the ruler of Banten

and set off to Ujung Kulon (Wibisana, 2001: 5).

Sunda’s close relationship with Islam is also

accounted in other folklores, such as those came

from Ciamis about the origin of Situ Lengkong,

Panjalu. It is told that the King of Panjalu named

Cakradewa had his son, Sanghyang Borosngora, to

take water using a made-of-coco-tree holly bowl.

Borosngora succesfuly did it after he went to

Mekkah. The water he had taken, zamzam water,

was then dropped by him in Panjalu. The drops of

water shaped a lake, which was afterward named

Situ Lengkong. In Garut, there is a more extremely

told tale. This tale told about the Prophet

Muhammad with some local areas as its settings.

The little Muhammad, the story told, got a toy, a

kind of blower, which was given from a Batara in

that area. After becoming a Prophet, Muhammad

still remembered the kindness of the BAtara. To

commemorate the Batara, he erected several

mosques in Garut (Wibisana, 2001: 6).

In the complex of this issue, it could

tentatively be considered that the problem of

Sundanese peoples’ bound to al-Qur’an is more

obscure than the problem concerning the

Islamization of Sunda in the sense of religious

conversion. Is it true that a Sundanese, either when

he/she she encountered Muslim preacher for the

very first time or when he/she had embraced Islam,

can be considered as having a touch with al-Qur’an,

both in values and in material dimensions of al-

Qur’an? It is of course not as simple as it seems to

be. The situation is also complicated by, for

example, the limited availability of mushaf (scripts)

of al-Qur’an.

2. Sundanese Peoples’ Encounter with Qur’anic

Language

In the opinion of Zeimer (2000: 4), Arabic

language of al-Qur’an, being introduced into the

main languages in Java Island (Sundanese,

Javanese, and Madurese), had been enforced by the

ideology of ‘diglosia.’ Arabic, in light of such an

ideology, is placed as a high (H) quality language,

even to some extent is considered as sacred, while

other languages are said to be of lower quality.

Arabic is surely not the first language came

enforced with the so-called diglosia ideology.

Sanskrit had previously so long been playing the

role. Since the first millennium, when the influence

of India was profoundly seen in Java, Sanskrit had

been highly appreciated as a prestigious written

language, though had never been uttered in daily

conversation. Sanskrit was introduced through

educational centers by educated peoples, either

poets or religious preachers. Sanskrit became the

light of civilization as well as the mark of highly

praised royal cultures in Java. The use of Sanskrit

was assumed to signify that a speaker or a writer is

a well-educated person who has so much learned

from abroad. Zoetmulder (1994: 14) argues that

the use of Sanskrit words was a method, a

particular sign, to imply that someone was not old-

fashioned, that someone was capable and open-

minded to take influences from other higher

cultures, so that he or she could consequently have

a higher prestige and dignity.

The dominating Sanskrit language, which was

so strange in Java, had afterward been imitated by,

and absorbed into, local regional languages. The

term basa or bahasa derives from Sanskrit, bhasa.

Especially for Hindus and Buddhists, ‘ba(ha)sa’

(language) uttered in communication should be

similar or identical with Sanskrit. Basa Sunda

(Sundanese language), as basa, was assumed as

reflecting the truth and wisdom, only because it

referred so much to Sanskrit. Even after the fall of

such Hindus kingdoms as Majapahit and Pajajaran,

Sanskrit was still considered as the main reference

for linguistics. Sundanese language, like Javanese

and Balinese, maintains varieties relied on

Sanskrit, which is commonly named Kawi. The

variety of Sundanese Kawi is hitherto still insisted

and maintained as the most praised linguistic

source performed and uttered in the Sundanese

wooden-puppet (wayang golek) show. In addition to

this Kawi variety, Sanskrit words had been

absorbed into Sundanese language of daily

conversation, represented especially in the creation

of polite utterance. The hierarchical system of

Sundanese language (undak-usuk basa) was

developed at the peak of Javanese language

imperialism in seventeenth and eighteenth century,

when the kingdom of Mataram was expanding its

territories to Sunda, precisely to Priangan. Menak

(nobles) of Priangan are sent every year to the

palace of Mataram to receive an order of spreading

basa lemes (polite language). As in Javanese,

Madurese, and Balinese, the polite lexicons in

Sundanese polite language commonly constituted

words derived from Sanskrit and were formed

analogically from Sanskrit. The use of Sanskrit

words did therefore remark a measurement of

behavioral politeness of language (Zeimer, 2000:

5).

Like Sanskrit, Arabic came to Java had since

the beginning been praised with the ideology ‘H’ as

a magnificent and everlasting language, a highly

appropriate language to convey religious wisdom

and knowledge. Arabic, as did Sanskrit, served

commonly not to be used for daily conversation in

Java Island, for it was spread particularly in

educational groups. Arabic was moreover localized

in lexicons of regional languages that borrowed

and absorbed thousands of Arabic words. A great

bulk of these borrowed words still refer to the

nature of Islam, though some of them had

transformed, expanded, and changed, in their

meaning. Javanese Christians, for example, use to

utter such Arabic terms as ‘iman,’ takwa,’ ‘kitab,’

and even ‘Allah.’ Yet these words are still assumed

as ‘Islamic,’ as proved in the Congress of Partai

Amanat Nasional in February 2000. One of groups

in PAN wanted to change the platform of the party

by introducing such words as ‘iman’ and ‘takwa,’

but the top leaders of the party considered the

terms as insisting religious exclusivism (Zeimer,

2000: 6).

Arabic

Javanese

Sundanese

Sanskrit

The abundance of Arabic words transferred

and localized into other languages relied heavily to

an assumption that the words of al-Qur’an were

revelations and cannot anyway be translated. The

spread of Qur’anic Arabic in Java through many

boarding schools was, however, depicted as merely

a kind of memorizing without thinking. On a letter,

R.A. Kartini once wrote, ‘since al-Qur’an is too

sacred, it must not be translated into any other

language. No one here knows Arabic. Peoples here

are well learners of al-Qur’an, but they do not

understand what they read’ (Suryanegara, 1995:

182). Clifford Geertz, in this context, states that

many students of Javanese boarding schools

learned the high magnificent language which they

cannot understand at all (Geertz, 1976 [1960]: 82).

In some cases, however, this does not mean that

Arabic in Java is a mere ‘sound without meaning.’

Despite the absence of direct translator, the

localization of Arabic translation has raised some

new questions, which will be answered in the case

of Sundanized-Islam. To what extent does the

interpretation of Arabic allow al-Qur’an to be

conquered and to what extent is Qur’anic language

taken away? In what way are the methods of

interpretation used to explain al-Qur’an word by

word, sentence by sentence, verse by verse? And in

what way is the method used to put al-‘arabiyah

into Sundanese and so otherwise?

Interpretation of Arabic may take place in the

level of lexical, in the sense of word by word. One

of lexical interpretation methods in developed

firstly in Sundanese language to interpret Sanskrit

names and terms is kirata basa, a method which

explains the meaning of a word by fragmenting the

sounds of it. The word kirata itself can be kiratized:

dikira-kira sugan nyata (a word is guessed and

fragmented its sound to find the approximate

meaning). The method of kirata is used, for

instance, in wayang golek (wooden-puppet) shows

to explain Sanskrit names of characters and terms,

though this method can as well be used in everyday

conversation, precisely in humorous utterance and

nyindir (satirical expression). Sundanese peoples

make kirata not only upon Sanskrit words, but also

upon Arabic words borrowed into Sundanese

language. This process occurs in two ways

direction, which means that the similarity among

languages is considered as inter-illuminating upon

each other.

The lexical interpretations which illuminate

each other can be seen not only in the relationship

between local and foreign language, but also

between two foreign languages as Sanskrit and

Arab. In stories commonly performed in wayang,

Yudistira had a magical stuff called Kalimasada.

Kalimasada is a book composed of unreadable

script, which could also metamorphose into a holy

weapon. Coincidentally, the name Kalimasada

sounds identical with kalimah syahadat. This

similarity plays an important role to explain the

myth about how Yudistira accepted Islam as his

religion. Yudistira met Sunan Kalijaga, the famous

preacher who came to spread Islam. Sunan

Kalijaga was able to read the book, for its script

was written in Arabic. Yudistira repeated reciting

kalimah syahadat and then embraced Islam. This

story might be interpreted as an example of

Islamization of Javanese-Hindus, or Javanization of

Islam. The tale does in any respect portray how

lexical interpretation can illuminate Sanskrit and

Arabic. Either Sanskrit or Arabic has the ideology

‘H,’ an ideology which indicates that a particular

language, though its words cannot be directly

translated, contains wisdom, just like magical

words recited by Yudistira. The coincidental

similarity of such word sounds as Kalimasada—

kalimah syahadat may become a much significant

point to illuminate the dominance of foreign and

strange languages (Zeimer, 2000: 10).

Experts of kirata, as in wayang golek, always

thoroughly be demanded to find out similarities

among languages. These experts of kirata can

hence find Sundanese within Arabic and so

otherwise. An example of kirata is korsi (chair):

cokor di sisi, means ‘leg in the edge.’ This is

humorous kirata, because the origin of the word

cokor (leg), in Sundanese tradition of language, use

to be attached to chicken’s leg. Surely this is not a

serious etimology. An expert of kirata knows

exactly that the word korsi derived from Arabic.

Related to this fact, all Muslims knows Ayat Kursi.

In Kirata, it may also be clearly seen that Arabic

words lurk in Sundanese language. R.H. Tjetjep

Supriadi, a famous dalang (a performer of puppet

show) from Karawang, commented that wayang

golek is a good media to spread Islam. One

significant thing proves this is that many terms in

wayang golek can be equalized and made identical

with Arabic words which sound Islamic. The word

‘dalang,’ for example, can be made similar with

Arabic word dalla, yadullu, dallan, which means

‘guide, give a clue, counsel,’ so that the role of

dalang might be seen as giving a guidance to

others.

A third language is sometimes used to relate

between Sundanese and Arabic. The word ‘golek,’

for example, has a complicated etymology. Here

the story goes: In fifteenth century, there was a

Indo-Chinese named Jimbun (believed to be Raden

Patah, the first king of Demak). Jimbun used to

have a trip around Java with Sunan Kalijaga. One

day, both of them watched wayang golek. Jimbun

did not know the name of this art performance, but

he did indeed realize that this artistic show can be

used as a media of teaching five basic elements of

Islam and six basic elements of Iman. In Chinese

language, five is go and six is lak. Both words are

combined into golek.

Arabic interpretation presented in Sundanese,

both in complete translations of al-Qur’an and

explanations of particular words, has led to a great

opportunity to incorporate the elements of foreign

language into the system of local linguistics. Here a

paradoks exists: such an incorporation of the

elements of foreign language can either create a

close relationship between Arabic and Sundanese,

or at the same time causes both languages to be far

away with each other. The process of interpreting

Arab undertaken in Sundanese will remind an

interpreter about the gap both languages have to

bridge to cross to each other, that is, the gap

between H and L which opposes the process of

translation. Within this process of domestication

and alienation, both the ideology of basa Sunda and

of al-’Arabiyah still keep themselves in equal

position within dialectical tension (Zeimer, 2000:

11).

3. The Scripts of al-Qur’an in Sundanese

Communities

In the last catalogue concerning old scripts

about West Java, six are counted and categorized

as manuscripts. They are history, Islam, literature,

custom, primbon (magical book containing various

mystical clue about human’s fortune), and

mujarobat (book of medicine) (Edi S. Ekadjati,

1999: 8). This category is much fewer than that

introduced in previous scripts (1982/1983), as well

as fewer than categories mentioned in Javanese

scripts. In the last script, for instance, there is no

single writing which can be categorized into such

fields as law, acts, usada (health), and religion (in

general, not only Islam).

The script put into the category of Islam in the

last catalogue consists of manuscript of al-Qur’an,

Islamic story, fiqh, (legal code), tasawuf (Islamic

mysticism), manakib, tawhid, adab, and prayer. All

of them are 546 scripts, and there are many other

collection of scripts in other categories. They are

history (233 scripts), literature (122 scripts),

custom (15 scripts), mujarobat and primbon (66

scripts), and others (30 scripts). But if Islamic

stories are withdrawn and put into literature, the

amount of the those scripts come to decrease. Even

some stories which actually cannot be said as

Islamic are joined into the category of tasawuf, one

of which is Dewaruci, a story used to convey the

teaching of tasawuf.

Manuscripts (mushaf) of al-Qur’an are some of

Islamized-Sundanese heritage from the past. The

existence of these manuscripts among Sundanese

communities comes to be so urgent for its position

as historical evidences of the spread of Islam in

Sundanese land. Moreover, related to this essay,

the existence of the Qur’anic manuscripts in the

past can be helpful to find out the time when

Sundanese peoples began to have in touch with al-

Qur’an, especially with its physical shape.

Some manuscripts of al-Qur’an can still be

traced. They are (1) those in Balubur Garut which

are believed to exist since the age of Kian Santang

(around 1445, see Yuyus Suherman, 1995: 15), (2)

those in Cangkuang Garut which are considered to

be the heritage of Pangeran Arif Muhammad, and

(3) those in Sumedang which are said as the

heritage of Pangeran Santri, and many others.

According to what Edi S. Ekajati and Ayat Rohaedi

told, Qur’anic manuscripts in West Java is actually

so abundant, but they still cannot be collected,

especially in some areas inhabited by Muslims, in

some boarding schools, and in several places of

ziarah. Pamijahan, where the tombstone of Syeikh

Abdul Muhyi Pamijahan exist, for example, is a

place believed as having religious manuscripts,

including Qur’anic ones. So are other places such

as Cirebon, Bandung, Cianjur, Banten, Sumedang,

and Tasikmalaya. These centers of the classical

manuscripts have not hitherto been researched and

leave a lot of works to accomplish.

In the era when printing machine had not been

invented, the manuscripts of al-Qur’an were, as

commonly known, hand-written. It is not so hard to

imagine that writing al-Qur’an was a very difficult

task to do. Its accomplishment would always take

much time and were undertaken by professionals

and experts. Touching Qur’anic manuscripts

physically was rarely experienced by peoples at

that time, because, in Sundanese communities at

the age, existed an assumption that having a

manuscript of al-Qur’an was a unique prestige and

achievement, even the Qur’anic manuscript was

praised so much as highly sacred thing.

Nonetheless, Muslim preachers in the past

used various medias to introduce al-Qur’an into

Sundanese communities. They wrote short

passages of al-Qur’an and even explained verses of

al-Qur’an on Daluang (some kind of writing-media,

some kind of paper, made of wood), on weapon,

and on other tools. It is told, for example, that Kian

Santang (a figure considered as one of those who

spread Islam, the son of Prabu Siliwangi) gave

Pangeran Pancer (Cipandar) a giant manuscript of

al-Qur’an a sekin (Arabic knife) which had Arabic

words la ikraha fi ad-din sculptured on it. The

limited availability of Qur’anic manuscripts had

driven peoples at that time to master the method of

memorizing al-Qur’an as an alternative choice in

introducing and attaching the holy book into the

mind of other Sundanese-Muslims. Memorizing

passages of al-Qur’an, like those from juz ‘amma,

yasin, al-waqi’ah, and ayat kursi are taught

precisely to fulfill religious needs of rites.

4. Translation and Interpretation of al-Qur’an

Unlike the tradition of translating al-Qur’an

into Malay language which was pioneered by al-

Sinkili’s translation in seventeenth century,

translation or interpretation in Sundanese had just

begun in twentieth century. Before twentieth

century, the translation and interpretation of al-

Qur’an in regional languages are very rarely found.

This might be caused by the dominance of

Syafi’iyah thought as well as by colonial rule which,

at that period, prohibited publishing Islamic books.

In the case of Sundanese language, this situation

was exacerbated and more complicated due to a

fact that Sundanese was rarely used as written

language among the educated groups. These

educated elites preferred to write in Javanese, even

in Dutch or Malay. It was only later in nineteenth

century that the printing of Sundanese works

written in Latin scripts come to surface, and this

was supported by a counselor of the colonial

government, Karel Holle.

Yet, still at that time, Sundanese translations

of al-Qur’an had not been existed. This does not

mean that there was no Sundanese scholar well

educated in the field of Arabic language of al-

Qur’an. After centuries of cultural domination

carried forward by Javanese and Dutch

imperialists, Sundanese language was presumably

felt inappropriate to be a media of interpreting

Qur’anic language. Sundanese language, at that

period of time, was still in the position ‘L’ in the

paradigm of diglosia, and was hence regarded

inappropriate enough in expressing deep thought.

When Karel Holle told a district-head that there

were poems written in Sundanese by a head-clerk

of marital affairs, the district-head replied, ‘it is

impossible! Sundanese is not a language!’ (Zeimer,

2000: 6).

Sundanization of al-Qur’an was presumably

pioneered by Haji Hasan Mustapa, a Sundanese

man of letter as well as a master of tasawuf. He

lived from the second half of nineteenth century

until the middle of the first half of twentieth

century. Beside well-known as a great Sundanese

man of letters, even may be said as the greatest of

all, Haji Hasan Mustapa was also a prominent

religious preacher in his time. He had ever settled

in Mekah for years to learn religious knowledge as

well as to teach, even to preach in Masjid al-Haram

concerning the interpretation of al-Qur’an.

Moreover, he had for many years been a head-clerk

of marital affairs (hoofd-penghulu) in Kutaraja

(Aceh) and Bandung (West Java).

Wendy Solomon (1986: 11) juxtaposes the

greatness of Haji Hasan Mustapa in the world of

literature with that of Ranggawarsita, a well-known

Javanese poet from the royal family of Surakarta.

G.F. Pijper (1977: 91) even considered Haji Hasan

Mustapa’s magnificence in religious preaching and

thought as equal with that of Imam al-Ghazali.

As a well-known poet as well as a widely-

respected man of letters, Haji Hasan Mustapa had

written a lot of works, in the form of either poetry

and prose. The works commonly dealt with various

matters, including mysticism (tasawuf),

autobiography, and customs. Tasawuf was however

the most outstanding theme in Haji Hasan

Mustapa’s writing. He had never written a

complete interpretation of al-Qur’an, but just

interpreted some selected verses. In 1920, Haji

Hasan Mustapa chose 105 Qur’anic verses he felt

relevant with the life of Sundanese folks. He

translated the verses in the form of dangding. In

his preface, he obscurely preached:

Jeung tangtu aya nu nanyakeun: ieu pakeun iraha? Jawabna: Ti babaheula ngaula ka indung-bapa dijangjian:Jaga mah geus baleg, maneh kudu babalik pikir. Umur sabaraha nurutkeun Rosululloh dijasmanikeun cara jelema sakeun rasiah agama. Baheula ku basa Sunda akhirna ku basa Arab; jadi kaula nyundakeun Arab nguyang ka Arab, ngarabkeun Sunda tina bahasa Arab (Rosidi, 1989: 394).

Haji Hasan Mustapa took into his writings the

codes of Sundanese (Priangan) local cultures, and

this was undertaken in order that the values of al-

Qur’an and Islam can be absorbed and accepted by

Sundanese (Priangan) communities, especially

among the nobles (menak) of Priangan. One of his

efforts is clearly seen in the introduction of his

interpretation of al-Qur’an:

Kaula Haji Hasan Mustapa, tedak Sunda Pikampungan Priangan, Garut. Ayeuna netepan jangji nepungkeun pusaka ti indung-bapa jeung akhirna jimat tina Qur'an awal pusaka akhir pusaka, tepi ka ayeuna 70 taun Hijrah 1337 sarta ieu dina sisi Qur'an ku kaula digurat lebah-lebah ayat wekasan ti Qur'an nu disusuhun ku kaula ti umur 7 taun, dibaca jeung hartina Sunda, nekanan saur karuhun hatamna Qur'an ti Sunda ka Sunda deui, rasiahna kasimpen ku Toret: sindir, siloka prawira perlambang nu dibuka rasiahna ku Rasulullah salallahu alaihi wasallam, kapinding ku injil-injil babad pancakaki, ku Zabur suhuf,

dibukana ku patonah (7 titi surti budiman bijaksana Rasulullah) ku balaghah ma'ani (tarbuka rasiah eusi omongan) atawa carita rasiah dina Qur'an jeung Toret, Injil, tangtu dibuka rasiahna ku Muhammad pandeurieun Toret, Injil, nu matak katelah Rasulullah nu boga hak muka rasiah siloka prawira perlambang teori nu ti heula-heula, Rasul-Rasul nu heulaeun anjeuna (Hasan Mustapa, t.t.:1).

The words nekanan saur ka karuhun hatamna

Qur’an ti Sunda ka Sunda deui have its particular

meaning related with Sundanese (Priangan) view of

life which is tightly connected to cosmological

things and Sundanese genesis. The italic words are

also related with political issues of language amid

Sundanese communities.

Since 1920s, other Sundanese men of letters

followed Haji Hasan Mustapa’s campaign to

‘Sundanize Arabic’ and ‘Arabicized Sundanese.’ In

1926, D.K. Ardiwinata insisted that Sundanese had

to be used in all schools of religion in Pasundan. In

other words, he asserted that Arabic had not to be

left as the only learned-language in schools.

Sundanese, in this situation, had to come forward

to accompany Arabic. The pedagogy of boarding

school was at that time rethought, and this was

influenced by the renewal movement pioneered by

reformist Islam. The reformists relied their struggle

more heavily on individually rethinking of al-Qur’an

than on using former texts and heritages of

previous generation. According to G.F. Pijper, a

counselor of colonial government, the first Friday

preach conveyed in regional languages had just

begun in 1920s. Before this period of time, all of

Friday preaches throughout Hindia were conveyed

in Arabic. In Pasundan, this change happened

slower than that did in Middle and East Java. But in

1982, seventy percents of whole mosques in West

Java had used Sundanese as the language of

preaching. Yet recently Arabic preach is seen to

have revived in Sundanese villages dominated by

the tenets of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah.

Another change in ‘Sundanization’ is the use of

Sundanese Qur’anic interpretation books in

boarding schools. According to several sources,

boarding schools throughout Pasundan in

nineteenth century used Javanese Qur’anic

interpretation books as mediating texts which

bridged between Arabic and the students’ mother

tongue, Sundanese. The use of Javanese Qur’anic

interpretation books is connected to the existence

of Cirebon as the first center of Islamic education

in West Java. It is obvious that the spread of Islam

from Cirebon to Sunda was carried through

Javanese dialect. The dialect was used in

memorizing Javanese Qur’anic translation books,

and was commonly called Cirebonese Javanese

dialect. During this century, most boarding schools

in Priangan (for example in Tasikmalaya and Garut)

changed their mediating language from Javanese to

Sundanese, though some others in northern Sunda

(Bogor-Karawang-Cirebon) kept using Javanese.

The use of Javanese Qur’anic interpretation

books in Sundanese boarding schools seems to be a

factor making the Sundanization of al-Qur’an went

Al-Qur’an

Qur’anic interpretation books

written in Arabic

Books concerning explanations of

Qur’anic interpretation

written in Arabic Translating the explanations of

interpretations in Javanese

Translating the expanations of

interpretations in

slower. Though Haji Hasan Mustapa had translated

the selected verses in 1920, complete translation of

al-Qur’an was just made in 1940s. A prominent

noble as well as a district-head of Bandung, R.A.A.

Wiranatakoesoemah V, wrote translation of Surat

al-Baqarah in the form of dangding, while Ahmad

Sanusi (the founder of Gunung Puyuh Boarding

School in Sukabumi) and K.H. Muhammad Ramli

published the complete translation of al-Qur’an.

But the Sundanese translations had not widely

been spread until 1970s. Al-Ma’arif Publisher

published Ramli’s translation of al-Qur’an entitled

Al-Kitabul-Mubin: Tafsir Basa Sunda, while CV

Diponegoro published Al-Amin al-Qur’an Tarjamah

Sunda written by K.H.Q. Saleh. Since 1970s, other

works of translation came to be published, some of

which were one written by a poet, Sayudi, and

another written by Moh. E. Hashim entitled Ayat

Suci Lenyepaneun published in 30 edition.

A somewhat distinguished Sundanese

translation of al-Qur’an was composed by R.

Hidayat Suryalaga. In 1994, Hidayat published his

translation of al-Qur’an part 1, 2, 3, and 30, and

later he translated another parts of the holy book.

His work was entitled Saritilawah Basa Sunda. Like

Haji Hasan Mustapa and R.A.A.

Wiranatakoesoemah V, Hidayat used the

composition of dangding in his translation.

Hidayat’s work of translation is so much unique

and distinct for being specially written to be

performed in tembang Sunda, a Sundanese music

art performance. Saritilawah Basa Sunda, in its

publishing, had tembang Sunda tapes enclosed in

it. The verses contained in the work were recited in

an art performance by Sundanese artists, and their

performance was broadcasted on TVRI Bandung in

the fasting month of 2000.

Zeimer (2000: 8) is, however, so much

astonished of seeing that the publishing and the art

performance of Saritilawah Basa Sunda did not

provoke a controversy. Opposed to this, in 1978,

when H.B. Jassin, a famous critic as well as a

respected author of literary works, published his

poetic translation of al-Qur’an entitled Al-Qur’an

Bacaan Mulis, the Indonesian Ministry of Religious

Affairs and MUI reacted severely against the book,

and they rejected giving permission of its

publishing unless it had been analyzed and

censored by the team of experts. Similarly, in 1992,

as Jassin wanted to publish Al-Qur’an Berwajah

Puisi, a version of al-Qur’an written in the

composition of poetry, still MUI and the Ministry of

Religious Affairs disagreed it and, consequently,

the work could not be allowed. Both governmental

institutions decided that the book might only be

distributed to limited group of readers (despite a

fact that 200 leading Muslim figures had given

their support for Jassin). Saritilawah Basa Sunda

was anyway limitedly published to prevent severe

reaction throughout the country. Hidayat, on the

other hand, when he published his work, carefully

enclosed in each edition a piece of legal written

license he had from MUI West Java, ICMI, and

Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Still according to Zeimer, one interesting

aspect is that Saritilawah Basa Sunda used the

style of tembang Sunda which was referred to the

art tradition of Priangan nobles, especially those in

Cianjur and Bandung. Tembang Sunda, pantun

Sunda, as well as Javanese macapat, are introduced

in Priangan in the age of Mataram, when Sanskrit-

Javanese language and cultures did still strongly

dominate. Though the nobles (menak) are no longer

believed as a real social class, their tradition of art

still prevails and is considered as an element of

Sundanese high cultures. Qur’anic translation

written in the style of tembang sunda was relied on

a juxtaposition between the majesty of Qur’anic

Arabic and the majesty of the disappearing nobles’

style. It seems to be that because the majestic

values of former nobles had entirely no longer

existed, the Ministry of Religious Affairs and MUI

considered Saritilawah Basa Sunda as not so much

dangerous as was H.B. Jassin’s work.

C. Sense of al-Qur’an among Muslim

Sundanese Folks

1. Comprehending Terms of Reciting al-Qur’an

Sundanese folks use to call activity of reciting

al-Qur’an by such names as maca Qur’an, maos

Qur’an, ngaos Qur’an, ngaji Qur’an, ngaderes

Qur’an, qura, qiraah, tadarus, and tilawah al-

Qur’an. Of all the terms, maca Qur’an is the one

used the most among Cileunyi communities, among

either common folks, students, and educated

preachers and priests. In the making sense of those

terms of reciting al-Qur’an, the majority of

respondents, especially the common folks, stated

that there is no difference among the terms. They

tended to assume that those terms have similar

meaning and are synonymous. The synonymy is

represented, for example, in such expressions as

aosanna mani sae and ngaosna mani sae. The

words aosan and ngaos here are understood to be

recital or recite. Another example is aos heula bilih

lepat! (recite it first, lest you wrong!)

Some Sundanese-Moslems, especially the

Muslim priests, said that there are differences of

meaning and purpose reflected by the terms. Maca

Qur’an means ‘reciting’ al-Qur’an in the general

sense. Maos is frequently assumed as euphemism

or polite utterance of the word maca, as supaya

becomes supados, or pribadi becomes pribados.

But if the word maos is regarded as bare infinitive

of mamaos, either maos or mamaos is not identical

with the word recite, because mamaos use to mean

tembang, kawih, or song. If we trace the origin of

the term, maos Qur’an can mean an activity of

reciting al-Qur’an in a lagam, in a certain arranged

tone. Maos Qur’an, in this sense, is identical with

the term qura.

The word qura is derived from Arabic qurraa

(plural of qari, means ‘reciter’) which means

‘reciters.’ This word is deviated and narrowed its

meaning when it is uttered by some of Sundanese

communities, and understood as reciting in a

certain tone and rhyme, as well as in a high quality

voice. This sense is represented in, for example,

qurokeun atuh maca Qur’an teh or si eta mah juara

qura dina MTQ taun kamari.

Some respondents argues speculatively that

the bare infinitive of maos is similar with that of

ngaos, yet both have their distinct meanings. Both

words derived from aos which means price, value,

or essence, as reflected in the meaning of pangaos

(price), pangaosna sabaraha? (how much is the

price?). According to K.H. Uus, one of kyai in

Cileunyi-Bandung, ngaos Qur’an in this sense

means an activity of reciting al-Qur’an to find

something valuable or to seek the essence of

certain verses within the holy book. In another

sense, pangaosan, as a derivation of the word

ngaos, can be understood as valuable activity or an

activity undertaken to grasp the essence of al-

Qur’an and of Islam.

The term pangaosan is also frequently made

identical with the word pangajian. The latter word

derived from ngaji which means ‘observe,’

‘recognize,’ ‘grasp,’ or ‘try to understand’

something, as represented in such utterances as

kudu bias ngaji diri (one has to be able to recognize

and grasp him or herself). The bare infinitive of

pangajian derived as well from the word aji (self-

pride, self-esteem), similar with either ajen or

pangajen diri which means self-pride or self-

esteem. The word aji can also means ‘essence,’

related with one of its derivations, ajian, which

means ‘the essence of a prayer.’ Ajian is equalized

with such terms as mantra and jangjawokan.

Equivalent with the sense of ngaos Qur’an, ngaji

Qur’an means an activity of reciting al-Qur’an in

order to find something valuable or to seek the

essence of al-Qur’an. In this context, some priests

assume the activity of reciting al-Qur’an as an

effort to find out aci ning acina al-Qur’an, means

‘the very core, the deepest essence, of al-Qur’an.’

Another term for the activity of reciting al-

Qur’an is ngaderes Qur’an, which is often used in

the context of reading, reciting, or learning al-

Qur’an. This sense is reflected in, for instance, such

expressions as ngaderes heula sorangan al-Qur’an

teh! or deres heula Qur’an teh ku sorangan ngarah

engke ari dipapatahan tinggal menerken! The term

ngaderes derived from Arabic darrasa (learn). In its

origin, ngaderes is similar with the word tadarrus.

The bare infinitive of both words is Arabic darrasa,

though the latter is absorbed from Arabic with no

change or affixation, as implied in tilawah and

qira’ah.

Such terms as tadarus, tilawah, and qira’ah al-

Qur’an are commonly used in boarding schools by

either priests or their disciples, and have their own

distinguished meaning and pragmatics. Tadarus al-

Qur’an, for example, is widely used to refer to the

reciting of al-Qur’an done in Ramadhan, though

other students of boarding schools refer the word

tadarrus to an activity of reciting al-Qur’an not only

during Ramadhan but also within any other month.

The term tilawah al-Qur’an is so familiar since it is

contained in the acronym MTQ (Musabaqah

‘Tilawah’ al-Qur’an) and STQ (Seleksi ‘Tilawah’ al-

Qur’an), so that tilawah is often made identical

with MTQ or STQ. Some students of UIN even

relate the term with praktek tilawah, one of

practicums at UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung.

Qira’ah, on the other hand, emerged later as a term

referred to reciting in general, and in particular

referred to reciting al-Qur’an. Among the three

loan words, tadarrus is the most well-known to

refer to the activity of reciting al-Qur’an. Yet just

like other loan words, these three terms had been

deviated and narrowed. Tadarrus, tilawah, and

qira’ah use to frequently perceived merely as an

activity of physically reciting al-Qur’an, whereas

they actually have an emphasis on the problem of

learning, understanding, and contemplating al-

Qur’an.

b. Comprehending the Stratification of Reciting al-

Qur’an

In such terms used to refer the activity of

reciting al-Qur’an as ngaos, ngaji, and tadarrus al-

Qur’an, there exist some values higher than merely

reciting, and they are studying, understanding, and

contemplating. While the term maca Qur’an

emphasizes heavily on physical meaning, that is

articulating voice to utter the sound of letters, the

term ngaos, ngaji, and tadarrus al-Qur’an are much

in higher sense for they are related to feelings,

understanding, and contemplation on the meaning

of al-Qur’an. According to sundanese-moslems,

ngaos, ngaji, and tadarrus al-Qur’an are aimed

heavily at understanding and manifesting the whole

verses of the holy book. The ultimate goal of all is

realizing the manifestation of Qur’anic values and

the embodiment of Qur’anic rules of life. In other

words, the final end is toward taqwa, which means

imtitsalu awamirih wajtinabu nawahih (obeying

Allah by doing what He order to and abandoning

what He forbid to).

Some of Sundanese communities consider that

the activity of ngaji, ngaos, and tadarrus al-Qur’an,

in their ultimate sense, have significant values

(especially related to reward and punishment)

higher than merely undertaking maca Qur’an.

These Sundanese folks cannot agree to a fact that

most Muslims, including those in Cileunyi, are still

trapped in the narrow formal sense of maca Qur’an

as well as are not encouraged and less aware to

improve the quality of their reciting of al-Qur’an so

as not just stuck in merely doing ngaos, ngaji, or

tadarrus. Nonetheless, all respondents regarded

that most communities do merely maca Qur’an,

though such an activity will still be rewarded by

Allah on one condition: maca Qur’an must be done

for the sake of Allah only (lillahi ta’ala). The

reasons are as below.

First, the Prophet once said that when one

recites alif lam mim in a time, the reward of this

reciting will not be counted as one, but be counted

respectively one reward for alif, one for lam, and

one for mim. Reciting only one letter of al-Qur’an

which, according to the Prophet’s saying, belongs

to huruf al-Muqathah, is determined as a deed that

will be rewarded, though the verses or the letters

themselves are not understood by the reciter, let

alone if the reciter comprehends what he or she

recites.

Second, they refer to ta’rif (definition) of al-

Qur’an introduced by former Muslim priests (their

names were not mentioned) that al-Qur’an has an

attribute of mu’tabbadu bitilawatihi (reward will by

Allah be given on merely reciting al-Qur’an). Here

the sense of tilawah is understood as merely

reciting, whereas the Arabic lexicon implies a far

wider meaning than merely reciting al-Qur’an.

Tilawah would be better to be understood as ngaji,

ngaos Qur’an, or tadarrus al-Qur’an. Departing

from the narrow understanding of tilawah, these

Sundanese Muslims believe that reciting al-Qur’an

without comprehending it will anyway get

rewarded by Allah and is considered as amal saleh1

(good deed).

Third, they refer to dalil ‘aqli (logics) that

Muslims who recite al-Qur’an, though they do not

understand what it means, are much more noble

than other Muslims who never, or seldom, recite

the holy book. In this context, Sundanese proverb

1 The word ‘amal (Arabic) has been narrowed its sense in Sundanese Muslim lexicon and in Indonesian language. This term is understood as identical with ‘good deed’ or ‘amal saleh. Consequently, most Sundanese Muslims often say, ‘amal we atuh,’ ‘si et amah loba amalna,’ ‘si anu mah loba amal-amalanana,’ etc., in spite of a fact that the word amal in Arabic is divided into two kinds, ‘amal salih (good deed) and ‘amal sayyi’ah (bad deed).

saperti monyet ngagugulung kalapa absolutely

cannot be attached to the Muslims who recite

Qur’an but do not understand the meaning of what

they recite, because the reciting is surely

considered as worship to Allah, for the sake of

Allah, and will be rewarded by Allah.

In maca Qur’an, there are two kinds of reciting

which lead to the difference of reward level. First,

jahr. This means that one recites the holy book

loudly. Second, khafi. This means that one recites

al-Qur’an softly in low tones, even he or she does

not articulate his or her voice, or recites it in her

mind. Kyai Agus Badruddin said that jahr reciting is

more rewarded than khafi reciting. The reason is,

according to him, that jahr reciting constitutes

articulating letters, words, or verses, in the

determined patterns of tajwid (a set of rules of

reciting al-Qur’an). So that one can have much

more reward for his or her ‘voice’ and ‘reciting,’

while in khafi there is no reward for the ‘voice.’

Moreover, K.H. Agus Badruddin, head of

Pesantren Nailul Kiram Cileunyi-Bandung, said that

collective reciting of al-Qur’an done together by

several Muslims can be in three ways, each of

which has its own good and bad aspects. First, one

recites while the others listen and pay attention to.

This kind of reciting is commonly found in boarding

schools, as in al-Ihsan and al-Mardiyyah al-

Islamiyah, at the time of tadarrus in Ramadhan.

The good aspect of this first way is that everyone

can listen carefully to someone’s reciting and can

give a correction if the reciter is wrong. And the

bad aspect is that, in such a collective reciting,

those one who recites are always the same persons.

This is because not everyone attending the reciting

is able and eager to recite in crowd.

Second, each person recites such certain

passages as al-Ikhlas, al-Falaq, and an-Nas

together at the same time and led by someone. This

method is commonly used in hadharah, tahlilan,

tawajjuh, or tawassul, whether in tasyakur or in

death ceremony. This method allows each person to

recite the same verses together at the same time in

certain tone, speed, and rhyme. Such a kind of

reciting can guide those who have not memorized

certain passages or verses so that they can follow

the reciting. Ngagaeng is the name given to this

method. According to a Muslim priest, ngagaeng is

so effective especially for children who are taught

and asked to memorize such passages or verses in

al-Qur’an as ayat kursi, short passages in juz

‘amma, Yasin, al-Waqi’ah, and al-Mulk. Yet, in this

method, the reciting of every single reciter cannot

be controlled at all, whether or not his or her

reciting is in accordance with tajwid (a set of rules

and pattern in reciting al-Qur’an). It is also true

that this method often makes the reciters apal

cangkem (memorizing only, no understanding).

Third, everyone recites al-Qur’an. This method

is called jama’ah (done together collectively in the

same place and at the same time). Kyai Agus

Badruddin argued that this third way of collective

reciting is not better than the first and the second.

This third method is used frequently in tahlilan,

tadarrus (in the target of accomplishing reciting

the whole verses of al-Qur’an in one or more

accomplishments), death ceremony, opat bulanan,

and nujuh bulan, and other rites or ceremonies

held on a certain purpose.

According to some Muslim priests, those who

recites al-Qur’an will be rewarded if the intention

of their reciting is for the only sake of Allah (lillahi

ta’ala). The concept of lillahi ta’ala is the main key

to gain reward from Allah, as mentioned in the

Prophet’s saying innama al-a’malu bi an-niyyat

(each deed is counted by its purpose). Lillahi ta’ala

in reciting al-Qur’an means that a Muslim recites

al-Qur’an on the purpose of gaining ridha and

reward from Allah, not of expecting salutation from

human, not of seeking prizes as happening to those

who participate in MTQ, STQ, and not of struggling

to be a winner of a reciting contest.

Lillahi ta’ala is, K.H. Agus Badruddin

commented, the essence of religious sincerity.

Some Sufis said that lillahi ta’ala contains higher

values than those efforts to gain a mere reward.

Reward is, still according to him, a good

consequence of all good deeds, and is given by

Allah. Reward is often made identical with

paradise. As one recites al-Qur’an on the purpose

of reaching paradise and fearing hell, he or she has

thus no sincerity in such a doing since he or she

still seek something beside Allah. The true faith is

reflected entirely when one does something for the

sake of only Allah. As of paradise, some Muslim

priests said that the word is an equivalent for

Arabic jannah, which can physically be understood

in accordance with what al-Qur’an says about it: a

place ornamented with green fruity trees; rivers

made of milk, honey, and wine. But the paradise

can also psychologically be meant as comfort,

beauty, and peace.

Beside lillahi ta’ala, another aspect a reciter of

al-Qur’an must pay attention to is tajwid, a set of

rules and patterns in reciting al-Qur’an. According

to Irmansyah, tajwid is the formal order of reciting

al-Qur’an, including makharij al-huruf. Every

reciter of al-Qur’an, Kyai Uus explained, kudu

bener makhrajna jeung panjang-pondokna, sajabina

kudu pasehat (have to recite correctly based on

such aspects as makharij al-huruf, long-short tones,

and eloquence of articulation [fasihat al-kalam]).

Mistakes in tajwid will, said he, lead to mistakes in

meaning.

In some boarding schools, the aspects of

tajwid are so much insisted as important things

equalized with other aspects such as tawhid,

akhlak, and tafsir. Tajwid used to be taught when a

student has reached the ability of narabas (reciting

al-Qur’an). Students of boarding schools commonly

achieve the level such an ability in the age of 13-16.

One of compulsory books required as the main

reference in the teaching of tajwid is fath al-aqfal.

On the other hand, child students in TKA

(Taman Kanak-kanak [Kindergarten of al-Qur’an])

or TPA (Taman Pendidikan al-Qur’an [Educational

Playground of al-Qur’an]), use to be taught tajwid

after they can master Iqra 6 or after they reach the

ability of reciting al-Qur’an. In such a system of

education, after accomplishing the whole levels in

TPA, those kids are encouraged to enter TQA

(Taman Qira’at al-Qur’an [Playground of Reciting

al-Qur’an]) in the course of tahsin al-Qur’an. This

course has its emphasis heavily on practical

teaching of applying tajwid, not on mastering the

theory of it. This is so much different with

traditional teaching of tajwid used to be held in

boarding schools or in traditional centers of Islam

learning which have their emphasis heavily on

mastering the theory of tajwid, and not on

practicing it.

3. Religio-Magic among Sundanese Communities

It has previously been mentioned in this essay

that R.A. Kartini and Geertz sees a formalist

tendency and inability to understand the meaning

of al-Qur’an among Javanese communities (as well

as among Sundanese) when they recite the holy

book. Benedict Anderson, in this context, that

Javanese peoples’ effort in memorizing Arabic

language is ‘a sign of Javanese peoples’ defense

against Arabic cultures and of the final conquest

they have on the infiltration of this foreign

cultures.’

The conquest of Islam and Arab by Javanese cultural impulses was undertaken through embodiment of al-Qur’an into the shape of hermeneutic text book filled with paradoxes and confusing things. Arabic was maintained as the language of ‘appointment,’ especially because it was not understood. Islam prohibited the further use of Tantra and Shiva mantra. Javanese folks then reacted to this by changing al-Qur’an into a book of magic spell (Anderson, 1996: 128).

Anderson’s opinion that ‘Java’ opposed ‘the

infiltration of the foreign cultures’ by ‘changing al-

Qur’an into a book of magic spell,’ in some cases,

cannot be said as entirely true. First, he fails to see

that the obscure and mystical natures of al-Qur’an

can as well be from mystic tradition of Persia and

South India. Second, he creates fake dichotomy

between ‘legal’ Sanskrit tradition and ‘illegal’

Arabic tradition. Anderson’s view can be agreed

only when he explains that Muslims in Java

paradoxically ‘conquest’ Arabic language by

‘putting it away’ because Arabic cannot be

translated.

Similar with Anderson’s thought, it is really

true that Sundanese communities also play the role

of al-Qur’an as religio-magic strength. This means

that the holy book is functioned as a source book of

magic strength, of material richness, of power, of

magic spell to defense one’s self against evil spirits,

and as a media of communication with ghosts.

As in other Muslim areas, al-Qur’an reciting by

sundanese-Moslems is represented in various

cultural expressions of Sundanese communities.

These cultural expressions can simply be

categorized into two groups: (1) Reciting al-Qur’an

in Rites of Life Cycle and (2) Reciting al-Qur’an in

Various Traditions related with Religious

Commemoration Days. The first group consists of

(a) tradition of khatam before a marriage, (b) al-

Qur’an reciting in the opening ceremony of

marriage, (c) opat bulanan and nujuh bulan, (d)

nyukuran (ceremonial hair-cut), (e) khitanan, (f)

death ceremony. The second group includes al-

Qur’an reciting in such occasions as (a) Thursday

night, (b) Ramadhan month, (c) Muharram,

Muludan, Rajaban, Asyura, and Rebo Wekasan, (d)

al-Qur’an reciting during nadran (a rite of visiting a

grave, the main ceremony is praying near by the

tombstone) at the time of Lebaran.

Sunda’s relationship with Islam is that close

and is realized in accordance with Sundanese

peoples’ mind, combined with other existing

supporting factors. Magic spells composed in

Sundanese language constitute Sundanese

literature. Such Arabic expressions as bismillah

and astaghfirullah were added in the opening of

those magic spells. Similarly, genealogical scheme

of characters in Wawacan Sulanjana was begun

with that of prophets, from Adam to Sis. This fact

indicates that Sunda has so much intensely

absorbed Islam.

Things elaborated above are beyond the

influence of Arabic language on Sundanese which

had for so long taken place since the end of

sixteenth century. This is reflected in ancient

Sundanese language, as used in Carita

Parahyangan, within which there is no single word

derived from Arabic, except the word ‘Selam’ that

means ‘Islam.’

C. Epilogue

Sunda’s relationship with Islam is that close

and is realized in accordance with Sundanese

peoples’ mind, combined with other existing

supporting factors.

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Grunebaum, G.E. von. 1973. Islam: Unity and

Variety. New York: Ancore.

Kartodirdjo, Sartono. 1993. Pengantar Sejarah

Indonesia Baru: 1500-1900 Dari Emporium

sampai Imperium. Jakarta, Gramedia.

Pijper, G.F. 1977. Studien over de Geschiedenis

van de Islam in Indonesia 1900-1950. Leiden:

E.J. Brill.

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et al. Sejarah Ummat Islam Indonesia. Jakarta:

PP MUI.

Saksono, Widji. 1995. Mengislamkan Tanah Jawa.

Bandung: Mizan.

Taufik Abdullah. 1987. Pengantar: Islam, Sejarah,

dan Masyarakat. Jakarta: Pustaka Firdaus.

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Haji Hasan Mustapa” dalam Indonesia Circle No.

41, November 1986.

Dadan Rusmana adalah editor pada jurnal Dialektika

Budaya dan Al-Tsaqafa milik Fakultas Adab dan

Humaniora. Kini ia aktif di Pusat Studi Lintas Budaya

(PSLB) Indonesia, Talwina Institute, Dan Semiotics

Circle Bandung. Dosen muda yang kini lagi concern

menggeluti “pergumulan” al-Qur’an dan tradisi lokal

ini, menyelesaikan program Magister di PPs Syarif

Hidayatullah IAIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta pada

tahun 200 dengan tesis Al-Qur’an Dalam Pandangan

Islamolog Kontemporer: Studi Terhadap Tesis-Tesis

John Wansbrough dalam Qur’anic Studies (2000).

Beberapa penelitian yang pernah dilakukannya adalah

Al-Qur’an Dan Interpretasi Semiotika Mohammed

Arkoun (Puslit IAIN SGD, 2000), Islam, Kebudayaan,

Dan Integrasi Sosial (Studi Tentang Tradisi "Tahlîl-an"

Pada Masyarakat Kelurahan Melong Kecamatan

Cimahi Selatan Kabupaten Bandung) (Lemlit IAIN

SGD, 2001), Aplikasi Analisis Semantik Dalam Kajian

Al-Qur’an (Studi Terhadap Skripsi Pada Jurusan Tafsir

Hadits Fakultas Ushuluddin IAIN Sunan Gunung Djati

Bandung) (Lemlit IAIN SGD, 2003), dan Ritus Al-

Qur’an Dan Perubahan Sosial (Studi Tentang

Keberlangsungan Dan Perubahan Tradisi Pembacaan

Al-Qur’an Dalam Ritus Yang Menyangkut Siklus

Kehidupan Pada Masyarakat Muslim Di Cileunyi,

Kabupaten Bandung, Jawa Barat) (Lemlit IAIN SGD,

2005). Karya tulis yang dipubilkasikan, di antaranya,

adalah Madzhab dan Pemikiran Semiotik Kontemporer

(Tazkiya Mandiri Utama, 2004) dan al-Qur’an dan

Hegemoni Islamologi Barat: Peta Intelektual Islamologi

Barat dalam Studi al-Qur’an (Pustaka Setia, 2006, in

edisia). Kini, ia sedang menyelesaikan bebarapa

karyanya di antaranya, Sejarah Sastra di Dunia Islam

dan Menggagas Semiotika al-Qur’an..