THE HISTORY OF IN THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF ABDULLAH BIN NUH’S WORKS1

Mohammad Noviani Ardi Fatimah Abdullah

AbsAbstracttract TThehe topictopiic on ttheheh ccomingommini g of IIslamslam ttoo ththehe MalayMalay worldworld hahass bebecomeecome an iintellectualntellectual debatedebatte amongammong scscholarsholal rss aroundaroounu d ththee worldworlld forfof r bobboththh MMuslimuslim and WeWesternsts ern scholars.schoh lars. ThereThT ere are at least fourfour elementsele emennts ofof debatedebatet on ththeseese isissues,ssues, in pparticular,articular, on the orooriginalityiginality of IIslamicsls ammic ddoctrinesoctrinnes in the MaMMalaylal y world,world,d the ttheoryheoro y of tthehhe ccomingommini g of IIslamsls am ttoo thtthee MaMalaylay woworld,orld,d ttheheh ttimesimess of the comingcoomim ng ofof IsIslamlam as wellwell as ttheheh sspreadingprreae did ngg ofof IsIslamlaam in tthehehe Nusantara.Nusantara. ThisThis reresssearcheaarcr h willwill be ono aattemptttt eme pt iinn exexplicatingxplicattinng AbdullahAbA dullah binbinn Nuh’sNuhu ’s’ worksworrkss particulaparrtiicuculal rly in hhisiss discoursesdiscouru sees of thetheh comingcomo ing of IslamIslamm toto thethe Nusantara.Nusaanttara a.a ItIt focusesfocuses on threethreee worksworksk byby AbAbdullahdudulllah binbini Nuh,Nuh, enentitledtitled SeSejarahejarah IsIslamlal m did Jawa BaBaratrat hihhingganggag ZaZamanmaan KeKKeemasanemmassan BanBanten,teen,n RRingkasaninngkg assana SSejarahejara ah Wali Songo,Songgo,o al-al-IsIIsllām Fi IIndnddūnīssiyyiyyā, and his ararticlesrtit clc ese ddeliverellivi eredd in the SeminarSeminan r on TheTheh AdAdventdveentn ooff IslamIsI laam inin heldheld inin MedanMedan in 1963.196363. TheThhe approachapprroao chc ofof ththisis studystuudy iiss babasedsed on ttextualextual analysis, using ddescriptive,esscripptive, anaanalyticalala ytici al memethodsthods frffromomm vvariousarrioous wworksoro ksks ooff ththee susubjectbjecct unuundernded r ststudy,udy,y ccomparisonompap rir son and cocontrastnttrast iinn ororderder too ggetett aadditionalddd iti ionaal ininformationformmation frffromom ttheheh other ulama’ inin thethe samesame eraera asas AbdullahAbdullaha binbin Nuh.Nuh. ThisThhisi studystudy cconcludesoncludes that AbdulAbdullahlaah binbiin NuhNuh bebbelieveslilievvess thatthah t IslamIslaam camecamee toto NusantaraNusantara in particular to IndonesiaIndoneesia sincesince 7thh centurycec nturry CE eevenven though there is a claim that says IslamIslam camecamme mumuchchc eearlierarrliiere ffromrom the Arab Peninsula pluslhhfhlhh encounters the theory most of Western scholars who view that Islam came in 12th century CE.

Keywords: Colonization, Civilization, Culture, and Nusantara

1 Article received: March 2017; Article accepted: April 2018.

247 MOHAMMAD NOVIANI ARDI

Introduction Islam is not just the name of a religion as the final revelation, but, it was also revealed to all human beings as the model of guidance for life including its doctrines, virtues, values, civilization and culture based on the Al-Qur’an and Hadith of His messenger. Seyyed Hossein Nasr in his book Islam: Religion, History and Civilization, stated that Islam is religion (al-Dīn) and civilization: IslamIslam is not onlyonlly a religion;rer liigion; it isis alsoalsoo thetheh creator andand livingliving spiritspiriit of a majormaja oro worldworldd ccivilizationivvillizizattioon withwiw th a long historyhistory stretchingsttrer tchih ngg ooverver fofourteenuru teteen ccenturies.ene turir es. IslamIslam createdcrc eae ted a civilizationciviv lil zazatiion thatthah t hashah s coveredcoc vev reed ththee middlemiiddlel beltbeelt ooff the OlOOldld WoWorldrlr d for ovoverere a mmillenniumili leennniuum (N(Nasr,Nassr,r 1996).19969 ).

IslamIslal m hahass a great cicivilizationviv liization aandndd vvaluesalueu s with wwhichhih ch iitt hahass bebbeeneen ableabble ttoo prproduceroduce MuslMuslimimm iintellectualsnttelllectc ualss wwithitth diddiversevev rse prproficiencyofici ieency in tthehe fieldfiiele d of knowledgeknoowllede ge ofof eithereiitht er sciencessciences oro IslamicIsllamicc thoughtthoughtt basedbasa edd onon thethe Al-Al-Qur’anQuQ r’ana andand HadithHadith inn oorderrder ttoo rerrepresentprrese ennt anandnd inteinterrpretprett tthehe versesverses orr sisignsgnns of AAllahllah in His creationcrreaatit onn ofof thetht e universe.unnivverse. In tthehe earlyearly pperiod,ere iod,d IsIIslamlaam bebecamecamem a ggreatreat forforcecec wwithith ititss cicivilizationvilizazatiiono arounaroundd thtthee woworldrld anaandd ththehe consistencycoonsn issttencn y of the iintellectualntn elleecttuaal culture.culture.e TherefoTherefore,ree, ththousandsousaands of bobooksokks wewereree wwrittenritttten by MuMuslimuslim scholarsschc olars who wewererer eexpertsxperts iinn asastronomy,trronomy, ggeology,eoe loogy, Sufism, arithmetic, memedicine,ediicic nen , mamarine,rinee, lallaw,w, jurijurisprudence,sppruuded ncnce,e language,language,e philosophy,philosophy, and otherothere fieldsfiei ldds ofof knowledge.knowlw eddgeg . Moreover,MoM reovere , thethe advancementadvancn ememennt off MMuslimsusu lilimsm hhadad iinspirednspired nnon-Muslim,on-Musls imm, paparticularlyrttici ullara lyy WesternWesternr sscholarschollarrs anandd ininventors.nveentn oro s. TheTheyy attempted to taketaka e creditcrredit fforor tthehe aadvancementsdvanancemem nts by tthehee MMuslimuslim world and change iitt inn favorfava oror ofof thethhe WesternWeW stern civilization.civilizaz tiion. Colonization and iimperialismmperialism was appliedappllieed by WesternWestern nnations,atioions, particularparticularlyly in the MuMuslimslim worldworld ininor orderdertog to globalizelobalize theirtheh ir ideologies.ideologies ColonizationColonizationan andd imperialism here does not mean only physical colonization, but also the colonizing of civilization, culture, ideology, and history. All these elements of colonization aim to weaken the Muslim world and get rid of its legacy. Finally, history has also been altered by them, particularly the history of the coming of Islam to the Nusantara archipelago by Dutch scholars.

248 THE HISTORY OF ISLAM IN THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF ABDULLAH BIN NUH’S WORKS

This paper presents an attempt to rediscover the history of the coming of Islam to the Nusantara particularly Indonesia with reference to works by Abdullah bin Nuh2 who is seen to have had major impact on Indonesian Muslim scholarship along with M. Hamka, Aboebakar Atjeh, and M. Rasidji. The special aspect of Abdullah bin Nuh’s writing can be seen in his referring to the turath books (the previous ulamas works) and using semantic method in order to facilitate assimilationassimilatiion ofof Arabic language with Nusantara llanguageanguage at that period.period.d

AAbdullahbdullah bbininn NNuh:uhuh: BiBBiography,ogo raphp y,y WWorksoro ks aandndd CContributionono trribi ution to InIndonesiadonesia AbAbdullahduulllahh binbin NuhNuhu waswas bornborn onon 3 JuJummādā al-Ūlā 1313243244 HH/30/3/30thth June 191905,055, in ttheheh smallsmam lll towntown of Cianjur, surroundedsurroundded bbyy thtthehe hihhighlandsghlaands of WeWestst ooff JaJava.vava.3 HeHe grew up ini ttheheh high religireligiousous mimilieuilieuu wwithitth hihhiss fafamilyamily andandd inin ana IslamicIslamicc environment.envvironnmentn . HiHHiss father waswas K.H.K.H. RadenRaaded n MuMuhammadhammm add Nuh,Nuhh, one ofo thethe prominentprorominen ntt ulamasullammasa in Cianjur.Ciannjuj r.. HisHisis ffatherattheh r wawass alsoala so anan adadherentherent ooff ththehe Ṭaarrīqaqqahh ala -TiTTijijāniyyahniyyy ah ffromrom ShShaikhhaikhk AAlili ThThoyib,hoyyib, anaandd ininfluencednflf uenced himhimi ttowardsowo ardsd Sufism.Suffissm.m Moreover,Moreover, K.H.K.HH. RadenRaR den MuMMuhammadhahammm add NNuhuh was ffamousammouus fofforr hihisis knknowledgeowwledgd e of IhyaIhhya UUlumuddinlumum ddd in (G((Ghazhazālī’s greatgreatt book), whichwhicch waswawas subsequentlysuubsb eqe uenttlyl learnedlearned bbyy AbAAbdullahbdullahh bibbinn NuNNuh.h.h AAbdullahbdb ulu lah bibinn NuNNuh’suh’h s momothertherr wwasas ‘Aisy‘Aisyah,ah, whowho waswas a dadaughteraughtterr ooff AhAhmad,mam d, who ddescendedescended ffromrom a grgreateaat sasaint,aini t, ‘‘AbdulAbA dud l alal-Muhyi-MMuhu yi (the(ththe greatgrg eat ulama ooff Pamijahan in the WeWWestst JJava).avva)). ‘A‘AbdulAbdul alal--MuMuhyi’suhyi’i s descendantdesccendad ntt was Syarif Hidayat, amongamom ngng thetheh veneratedvennerata ed ululamaama at tthathaat pepperiod.riiodd.4

2 Among his worksworkss arearee SejarahSeS jaj rah IslamIslam did JawaJawa a BaratBaarat hinggahih ngggaa ZamanZamaman Keemasan , RingkaRingkasansaan SeSejarahjaraah WaliWaW lil SSongo,ono goo, alal-Isll-IIsllām Fī IndInI dūnīsiyysiyyy ā, anandd hishis workwork withwith AA.. Shahab in the SSeminareminarr ooff thtthee HiHistorysttoro y ofo ttheheh CComingomo inng ofof IslIslamama to Indonesia held at Medan tahun 1963. 3 AiiSjhA.P.B., Panitia Sejarah, ArabanAb Press Board: dS Sejarah hd dan Perjuangannya. (: Panitia Sejarah A.P.B., 1986); A. Z. Dahlan, Al-Hijrah min Allah Ila Allah. (Bogor, 1987). 4 N. H. Lubis, “Pustaka Unpad.” Last modified November 30, 2015, http://pustaka.unpad.ac.id; M. Muhsin, “Penyebaran Islam di Jawa Barat.” (paper presented at National Workshop Sejarah Perjuangan Syaikhuna Badruzzaman, 2010); S. Antonio, Al-Ghazali dari Indonesia: KH. Abdullah bin Nuh. (Jakarta: Tazkia Publishing, 2015).

249 MOHAMMAD NOVIANI ARDI

In addition, beside his family, Abdullah bin Nuh’s teachers also had a significant influence in shaping his personality in an academic manner. Sayyid Muhammad bin Hasyim bin Thohir al-Alawi al-Hadromi was Abdullah bin Nuh’s teacher who strived and sacrificed to teach his students.5 He also taught Abdullah bin Nuh other skills in life, such as public speaking, da’wah, writing skill, and journalism. This skill was used fully by Abdullah bin Nuh in his dada’wah wah work and acaacademicded mim c writinwriting.g. The spirit of strivingststriivingng andandn sacsacrificingrificingn bbyy his teacher affected hhimim throughothroughoututu hhisisis llife.ifife. BBesideessidde AbdullahAbA duulllaha bbininn NNuhuhh bbeingeie ng active iinn dada’wah’wah aandndd tteaching,eaachhini g,g hhee wawwass alalsoso ssociallyocialll y activeactivev through participparticipationatioon inn severalseve ere ala socialsoco ial organizationsorganin zatiiono s suchsuch asas SyarikatSyyarrikkat IslamIslam and MaMMasyumi.syummi.i AbdullahAbddulu lah binbin NuhNuuh alsoallsoo devoteddevvotted hishisi lifelife throughthrough partparticipationiccipata ion inn tthehe IIndonesianndn onesian military strugglestruggglg e agagainstgainsnst cocolonizers.lol nizez rs. He becamebece ame thethe leaderleadder of DefendersDefendderrs of The HomelandHomo ele ana d (Pembela(P( emmbeb la TaTanahnah Air/PETA)AiA r/PETA) or DaidanchoDaidaanchoho iinn thethhe regionreegig on of Cianjur,CiC ana juur, Bogor,Boggor, anandd SuSukabumiukak bumim dduringurring 1943-191945.9455. LaLater,ater,r hhee alalsoso participarticipatedpaatet d inn PPeople’seoeoplle’s SeSecuritycuurir ty AArmyrmmy (T((Tentaraentara KKeamananeamam nan n RaRRakyat/TKR)kyatt/TKRK ) duriduringngn 11945-1946.9445-5 1946.6 However,HoH wever,r inin severalses veral IndonesianIndod neesiiana historyhistooryry booksbooksk writtenwrittenn byby WesternWeW sts errn scscholars,cholarss, the rorolele of ulamasullammas andandd kykyaiyaiai inin thethhe DaidanchoDaiidancho waswas notnon t givengiven duedue atattention.teentioon.n Only a fefeww kykyaisaia s werewere e mentionedmementn ioi ned by tthemhem ini tthehe hihistorystorry of Indonesia.Indn onnesia. It wwasass pprobablyrobaably ononee off their sstrategiestratategiees ini oorderrdder to obscureobsscure ttheheh ccontributionono tribution off thethe uluulamasammas dduringuring IndonesianIndonen sianan strugglestrugu gle foforr independence.inndepeenddencee.7 In fact, by thethee endendn of occupation,occupap tion, ththee JavaneseJaJ vaanenese hhadad bubuiltuilt 666 suchsuch babattalionsatttala ions in JavaJava and three inin .Baalii.8 BeingBeB ining ththee leleaderada er ofof DaidancoDaidanco did notnot decreasedecreasse hishih s passionpap ssssion iinn tteachingeachingn aboutaboout IslamIslam toto hishih s studentssttuddennts oorr duduringringg hhisisi eescapescs ape frfromom the NetherNetherlandlandd IndiesIndn ieies CivilCiviil AdministrationAdA minists raationn (NICA).(NIN CAA).) AbdullahAbdulu lah bin Nuh

5 A.A. I. Al-KafAl-Kaf,, KitabatKiK taabab t ShSShaikhaiikhkh aal-Shahabahl-Shahhababaha aal-Hadramiyyahl-Hadrammiyyyah alaal-Ustadz-Ustadz MuhammadMuhammad ibn HHashim.ashim. (Yaman:(Yaman: MarkazMarkaz IbIbadada aal-Dirasatl-l Dirasat waw aal-Nashr,l-l Nashs r, 22008).00008). 6 Dahlan, AlAl--HijrahHijrah……; A.P.B., ArArabanaban PPressreess Boaoard…ard… 7 Sulasman, “Kyai Haji Sanusi: Berjuang dari Pesantren Hingga Parlemen”, Jurnal Pendidikan Sejarah, 2, 2008, 71; Sulasman, “Heroes From Pesantren: A Brief Biography of K.H. Ahmad Sanusi: A Patriot of Indonesian Independence”. Journal International Review of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2014, 182. 8 B. R. Anderson, in a Time of Revolution: Occupation and Resistance 1944-1946. (London: Cornel University Press, 1972).

250 THE HISTORY OF ISLAM IN THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF ABDULLAH BIN NUH’S WORKS was captured and became the fugitive of NICA because he was active in the Indonesian military and also was a journalist in Asian Press Board (APB)9 and spread the information about Dutch colonizers with anti-colonialized.10 He announced the Indonesian independence to the whole world through broadcasting and writing news in APB particularly to the colonized Muslim countries using Arabic language. However, in several references, as evidence of his passion in education, Abdullah bbininn NNuhuhu was listed in the names of the initiatorsinitiators of Indonesia IsIIslamiclamimic UnUniversityniversiity ((UII)UII) JJogjakartaogjakarta after beinbeingg movedmoved from JJakartaaka artat bbecauseecauuses ooff mimilitaryilitaaryr aaggressionggrer sss ion II bbyy Dutch and theirtheir alliallies.es.11 AbdullahAbbdulll ahh bbinin NNuhuh wwasas a mmasterasa tet r ini iinterdisciplinarynterdid scipplinan ry knowledgeknon wledge iinn bothboth IslamicIslamiic andand sciescience.ncn e.e TTherefore,hereforer , duduringringng hhisisi pparticipationartit cipaatit on iinn IIndonesianndoneesian strugglingstrrugglini g forfof r independence, hehe alsoalso continuedcocontn innueu d his ccontributionsontriibuutions inn tthoughthoh ught to MuslMuslimsimms around tthehee wworldorrld tthroughhrh oughg hhisis wrwritingitinng ini magazines,magazzines, book,bookk, andand diddiscourses.scs ouourssess. His coconcernoncn errn foforor thtthehe rirightght ttoo informationinformam tit onon waswas evidentevideentnt whenwheh n heh andand his friendsfriiennds A.A. ShahabShS ahhabb fofoundedunnded d ththee IsIslamiclaamic ReResearchesearch IInstitutenstiituutet ((IRI)IRIRI) aatt Jakarta in 11962.9662.2 UUsingsingn ititsts library,librb ary,y AbdullahAbdb ullah binbib n NuhNuuh wrotewrrote manymam nyy articlesartr ici les andand publishedpup blb isisheed ini PePPembinambm ina magazinemaggaza ine peperiodically,eriiodo ically, particularlypap rtticicullarly oonn momoderndeern iideologies,deeologgies,, ssuchuch aass MaMarxism,rxism, MatMaterialism,eriai lil smm, anandnd CoCommunismmmmunnism inn oorderrderr ttoo sasaveve InIndonesiansndoonen sians frfromom tthehe gglobalizationlol baalilization ooff momoderndeernr iideologiesdeollogo ies popost-independencest-indn ependencn e throughthrough internationalinteernr atationanal communistcommunist nenetworks.tworo ks.

9 AArabianrabib an PressPrer sss BBoardoard ((APB)APB)B was the first Indonesia massmasa s mediameedia thattht at connectedconnen cted IIndonesiandonesia withwithh countriescouo nttrir es aroundarounu d the AsAAsianiai n andand AfAAfricarica regionsreggioonsn forfor thethe exchangeexchangn e of nnewsews and iinn ororderded r to ggetett ssupportuppoortr fforor tthehe iindependencenddepenndeencn e off IIndonesia,ndonnese iai , anandd tot iinfluencenfluence AAsiansian and AfricaAffricaa countriescouo ntriese againstagaini sts colonization.colono izzata ion. OnOn 2th2t2 h SeptemberSeS ptembeb r 1945,199455, APB held and contacted withwiith yyoungouo ngn IndonesiansInddonnesiaanss inin Hejaz,Hejaz, IIraq,raq, EEgypt,gyptt, SaSSaudiudi Arabia, and Suriname. In addition,addditioon,n AAPBPBPB aalsolsl o hahadd connectioncoc nnnece tit on withwiti h thetht e dailydailly news time in Egypt, Lebanon and Aden since bbeforeefe oro e ththee inindependencedependdenencee of InIndonesia.dod nesia. APB had aann important role in IndonesiaIndonesia’s’sstru struggle.gglel . AfAAfterftet r IndonesiaIndonesia’s’s independence, APB changed to Asian Press Board which frequently informed the Indonesian people and government on the risk of Indonesian communism. As a result, in the guided democracy period under Sukarno and in the coalition with Indonesian communism party, APB was officially dissolved by Sukarno on 13th December 1962. 10 A. B. Nuh, Kantor Berita Nasional (A.P.B., 1968). 11 Dahlan, Al-Hijrah…; A.P.B., Araban Press Board…

251 MOHAMMAD NOVIANI ARDI

Among his works were Anā Muslimūn Sunniyyūn Shāfi‘iyyūn, Zakat dan Dunia Modern, Islam, Communism, dan Kapitalisme: Soal Kerdja dan Buruh, Islam Dizaman Modern, Agama Dalam Pembahasan (Wanita), Ringkasan Sejarah Wali Songo and other works and articles have been published in Pembina and Mimbar Agama magazines.

The History of the CominComingg of IIslamslam to Indonesia

TThehe Theories on ththee CoComingmiing ooff IslaIslamm to IIndonesiandn onnessia There are manymam nyy theoriestheeoriees inn determiningdete ermim niing thetheh comingcoming off Islam to IIndonesiandonesiia whichwhich areare famousfaamoous amongamong iintellectuals,ntellleectuau lsl , bothbob th MuslimMusu lil m and WWestern,estern,n incincludingluudingg ttheoryheh orry off Gujarat,Gujarat, Persia,PeP rsr ia, anaandd ArAArababa oorr MeMecca.cca. In addiaddition,tion, ththee didifferencefferrene cec also appears in the determiningdettermim niingg ofof thethe ageagge of tthehe comingcoomim ngn ofof IslamIslal m to Indonesia.Indono essiaa. Perhaps, thesetheeses differencesdifi ferencn ess aarere bebecauseecausu e IsIslamlal m caccameame to InIndonesiandod nesis a ini tthehe ddifferentifferent placesplaces anandnd dididd nonnott ccomeome iinn onoonene titime,mem , but in differentdiffef rent pperiods.errioi ds. The diffdifferenceerrence ppoliticalolitici ala cicircumstanceircumu stanncee ooff evereveryy plplaceacce alalsosoo ccontributedonntribbutu ede to ththee spspreadingpreeada inng of IsIslamslam inin IIndonesiandono ese ia becausebeccauses ttherehere wwereere e Hindu-BuddhaHiH ndu--Buddha eempiresmpm irrese iinn ththehe anaancientnciennt NuNusantarausas ntn ara andand HiHHinduismndduismm aandnd BBuddhismuddhd ism wewereere ttheheh aancientncientt rerreligionsliigionns of NNusantara’susantara’ss fforefathers.orefe atthersr . ThTherefore,ere eforre,e the ddebebataateseses iinn orderoro deer to determinedeterminee thetheh historyhistoryy ooff thtthehe cocomingmingn ooff Islam too IndonesiaInddonesiaa areare ssometimesomem tiimemes babasedased ono the polpoliticaliti iccall iinterest.nterest.t ThTThehe GuGujeratjej rar t TheoryTheory explainsexplains that Islam ccameamme anaandd spspreadprer add to NuNusantara,santara,a particularlypara tit cularly the IndonesiaIndonesia archarchipelagoipellaga o frfromrom MMuslimusslim GuGujaratjaraat in ttheheh 1133tht Century.CeC nturu y. AAccordingccc ordiing to ththisis ttheory,heeoro y,y MMuslimusu liim trtradersraders from GujaratGujarrat hadhad aann imimportantpop rtr ant rorroleolee iinn spspreadingpreeaddinng IsIslamlal m too IIndonesianddonesia because bebesidessides coccomingmim ng fforor ttrading,radingn , ththeyheye aalsolso brbroughtouughht mimissionsissions to iintroducentroduce anandd tetteachacch ababoutouout IIsIslamlam too llocaloccal rresidentsessidi ennts pparticularlyartiicularly in the cocoastast ofof Indonesia.Indonesiaia.122 TThishih s theorytheoeoryy waswasa byby C.C SSnouchnooucu h Hurgronje, the

12 U. Tjandrasasmita, Sejarah Nasional Indonesa III. (Jakarta: PN. Balai Pustaka, 1984); B, Yatim, Sejarah Peradaban Islam: Dirasah Islamiyah II. (Jakarta: PT. Raja Grafindo Persada, 2005). If this theory is investigated more, the district or region which was meant by Indonesian coast and there was a Muslim population here was in the Coast of Aceh in 13rd Century. This fact can be resulted that these were the first communication or contact between local residents of Aceh with Muslim traders from Arab, Persia, and India as well. Therefore, it could be understood that the first

252 THE HISTORY OF ISLAM IN THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF ABDULLAH BIN NUH’S WORKS famous of Dutch orientalist, who gave much recommendations to Dutch government related to discriminative policies during colonization of the Indonesian Muslim. This theory had significant influence on the West historians after him who quoted him in their works, such as Stutterheim (De Islam en Zijn Komst in De Archple), Bernard H.N. Vlekke (Nusantara A ), Clifford Geertz (The Religion of Java), Harry J. Benda (A History of Modern South East Asia),), Van LeurLeur (IndnoesianIndnd oesian Trade and Society), T.W.T.W. ArnoldArnold (TheThe PreachingPreachinng of IslamIsls ama ) (Negara,(NNegarra, 2002)2002) asas wellwell asas Dr.Dr. Gonda,Gonda, Van RRonkel,onnkel,l MMarrison,ara risoson, RR.A..A. KeKKern,rnn, daddanan C.C.A.O.A.O. VaVann Nieuwinhuize.Nieuwinhuizee.13 TheThhe PersianPeP rssian TheoryThT eooryy waswass initiatedinin tiated byby HosseinHosseie n Djajadiningrat.Djajjaddiningrat. He was famouslyfammouuslly knownknk own asa thethe FatherFatheh r ofo HistoryHisistooryy andand expertexpert on rresearchesearch mmethodetthohod inn IIndonesiandn onesia and had googoodd ememotionalmotionaal rerelationelaation wwithith SnSnouchouchc HHurgronjeuru gronnje during the colocolonizationnin zaz tion era. Inn ffact,act,t tthishis ththeoryeoory is iinn llineinne withwith ttheoryheoro y of GGujarat.uju aratat. HoHHowever,wew vev r,r HosHosseinseein oobservedbsbserrved moremoorer ssimilarityimilariity ofof ththee MuMuslimsllimm cultureculturer bbetweenete weeen in InIndonesiadod nen sia wiwiththt ttheheh MuMMuslimsusls imims ini Persia.Perrsis a. ForForr instance,insn taancnce,e tthoshosee ssimilaritiesimi ilarritties are asaassociatedsociiated wwithith ththehe traditiontradititioon anaandd cucultureltturu e in ccelebratingele ebbraatiingn 1100tht MuharamMuharamm iinn IndonesiaIndonen siia wiwwithth mostmoso t adherentaddheh rent ooff ShShi’isi’’is aatt PePersiaersr iai aass ththehe cocommemorationmmmemmoratioon off KaKarbalarbrbala tragedy,trt aggeddy, TasaTasawwufwwuff teachingteachhing inn NusantaraNusu ana tara archipelagoarchipelagoo wwasas sisimilarimiilaar to teachingteachini g with thetheh ofof SunniSunnni adherentsaddheh rentn s at IraIran.n.. ThTThee TheoryTheoryr of MeccaMeccca isi a theorytheh oro y inn which itit is believedbele ieeved ththathata tthehe spreadingspreeadding off IslamIslam to NuNusantarasanttarra was directlydirectlyl fromfrorom ArabiaArabiai oror MeMecca.ccc a.a. Therefore,Theerefof re, thtthee proponentsprp oponents of this theorytheorry havehave beenbeen rejectingreejecting tthehe theoriesthheoe riieses ofof GujaratGujaj rat andana d Persia.PeP rsia. ThThisiss ttheoryheeoro y hahass bebbeenenn uusedses d bbyy sseveraleveral IndonesianIndooneesis an sscholarscholo ara s suchsuuchh aass M.M HamkaHamkaa inin hishih s speechspeech in Dies

IslamicIslamic empire inin NusantaraNusantn ara archipelagoarrchchipi ele ago waswaas SamuderaSamudera PasaiPassaii at Aceh at 13rd CCentury.entury. After SamuderaSamudderra PasaiPasas i becamebeecame stable,staablb e,e MuslimMuslim empiempirere at Malaka founded at 1155thh Century.Century. HoweveHowever,r, earlierearlil err thanthah n itit,, in thethe JavaneseJavvannese coastcoc asst IsIIslamizationlamization movement had begun at 11st Century, it can be provedprovev d fromfromm a grave of Fatimah binti Maimun at Leran Gresik with lettered 475 AH/1082 AD. Most of historians particularly Western observed that the shape of tombstone of Fatimah binti Maimun and the first of Samuderai Pasai empire were same with Hinduism design of tombstone at India. Therefore, this evidence underlie their theory that the original Islam in Indonesia were coming from Gujarat India. 13 D. Supriyadi, Sejarah Peradaban Islam. (Bandung: Depag, 1998).

253 MOHAMMAD NOVIANI ARDI

Natalis PTAIN 8th at Jogjayakarta. Hamka also presented this theory in his article seminar in the seminar of the coming of Islam to Indonesia held at Medan in 1963. Abdullah bin Nuh also delivered his article in this seminar with the same theme with Hamka that Islam came to Nusantara in 7th Century and directly from Mecca. Afterwards, Abdullah bin Nuh explored this theory more in his academic works, particularly in his book Sejarah Wali Songo, Sejarah Islam di Jawa BaratBarat anandd alaal--Islām Fī Indūnīsiyyā. This theory also supported by cocontemporaryonttempop rar ryr MMuslimusslim scscholars,choh lars, such as Syed Naquib Al-AlAl-Alatasata as iinn hishih s bookbookk PrPPreliminaryele iminara y StStatementata emmene t ono A General TTheoryheory of ThTThee IsIslamizationslaamim zation pprocessrorocec sss ooff ThThee MaMMalay-Indonesianlay-y Indonesian ArchipArchipelagoellaggo.

TThehe HiHistorysts ory off tthehe CComingomini g of Islam to InIndonesiadod neesia AccordingAcA coc rdr ining too AAbdullahbdud lll ahh bbininn NuhNuh ThThee stsstudyuddy ababoutouut ththee comingcomiingn ooff IslamIsI lam tot IIndonesiandndono esia iiss notnon t a new;nen w;w therethere are manymaanyy studiesstudid es aavailable.vaaili ablel . BuButt ththishis sstudytudy is veveryery iimportantmpportantn paparticularlyarticicularly inin orderoro der too ggainain adadditionaldid tiionnal kknowledgenon wlededge on thtthishis iissuesssue ffromrom ththehe otherotheher aspects.asspects. IndonesianIndonesian scholarsscholaars aalsolso hahaveve bbeeneeen didiscussingscs ussiingg abaaboutbout ththishis issueisss ueu sincesince tthehee mmiddleiddle of 2200thh Century.Centut ry. AmAmongonong thtthememm wwereerre HaHHamka,mkm a,a AAbdullahbddulu lal h bin Nuh,Nuh,h andandn AboebakarAbob ebakarr Atjeh. TheThe IndonesiaIndonen siia MiMinistrynistry ofof ReligionReR lil gion AffairsAfff aia rsrs alsoalslso heldheld a sseminareminar aaboutboout tthishih s isissuesue at MeMedanedad n in 196319663 whwwhichhich have rrecommendationseccommmem ndations regardingregardiingn thethe historyhistoryy ofof IsIslamlaam inn Indonesia.Indonnesesiai .1414 In sseveralevveral discussionsdisscuc sssions about the history ofof thethhe comingcocomim ngg ofof IslamIslal m ttoo IndonesiaInddono esiaia byby bothbotht thethe IndonesianIndn onnese iaan MuMuslimusls im aandnd WWesternese ternr sscholars,cholo ars, tthehe focus hahasas bebbeenen iinn ththreehreee mammajorjor isissues.sueses. AmAmongonng ththemhemm aarerer ttheheh time of tthehe coming ooff IsIslamlam to tthehe IIndonesianndonesesian ararchipelago;chipi ellago; tthehe ooriginalityriginality of IIslamicslamic teachingteachiingng iinn thethe earliereaarlr iei r Indonesia,InI dod neesia,, andand howhoww IIslamslslam spread iinn IIndonesia.ndonesia. AbdAbdullahulllal h bibinin NuNNuhh alaalsosoo ffocusedocusedd oonn ththoseoso e three important iissuesssues in his study.study.

The Origin of Islam in Indonesia

14 This seminar held at Medan (North Sumatera) in 17th – 20th March 1963 which was discussing on the method of the coming of Islam to Indonesia, the originality of Islam in Indonesia, the bearer of Islam to Indonesia, the first region Islamized in Indonesia.

254 THE HISTORY OF ISLAM IN THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF ABDULLAH BIN NUH’S WORKS

Abdullah bin Nuh rejected those who argued that Islam came from Gujarat (India) and Persia. According to him, Islam in Indonesia came directly from the Arabs through the Arabian ulamas and Arabian Muslim traders in the earlier years of Hijra. His argument was that because the Arab peninsula was surrounded by three seas; Red sea, Arab sea, and Persian sea, and hence, the development of maritime activities at those regions might have occurred particularly in the Arab archipelago.archipelago. TheThee southsoutht regionreggion of Arab peninsula (Yaman) iiss the most fertile. TTherefore,heherefooree, theythey tthenhen hahhadd communication and ccontactontact with ttheheh ancientancn ient civilizationcivillizzata ion att EgyptEgyyptp andandd IndiaIndn iaa through Iran (Persia) and tthenheh n rerreachedacheed too NNusantaraususantatara archipelago.arcchipelagog .151 Furthermore,Fuurtthermmore,e iinn ththehe gloriousglg orious pperiodere iood of IIslam,sllamm, ththee Muslims vvoyagedoyaged in thethe IndianIndiaan seasea fromfromm thethe MalaccaMallaca ca toto Nikobar,Nikobaar,r Andaman,Andaman, MaMaldives,lddivves, etc,ettc, andandd ttheheh oothersthhers changed ththeireiir vovvoyageoyay ge ttoo MaMadagaskardad gaaskar anandd NuNNusantara.sas ntarra. TThishis can be proven by the similarsimilarityity off ttheheh ggoodsoodsd aandnd ccommodityommmoddity amamongonng them ssuchucu h asa wangi-wangianwawanggi-waw ngian (perfume),(ppere fumem ),) mustakimum staki, kakayuyu mmanisanisis (cinnamon),(cic nnamonn),) and rerempah-rempahempahh-reme pah ((spices).sppicess).) 161 AAfterftere MuMMuslimusls imim ttradersrar ded rss had a ccontactoontat ctct ttradingrar did ng wwithith lolocalscalsl in ththee NuNusantara,saantarra, ttheheh uluulamasammas ffromrorom ArAArabiaabia wwhoho wwereere e exeexpertspertts ini tasawwuftat sas wwuff andand AAlawilawi aalsolsso trtravelledravvelled to ttheheh East anandnd brbbroughtoughht ththeirheiir mimissionsssion fofforr dada’wah’wwahh (spread(sppread tthehee IIslam).slaam)m . KaKKambaimbai dan GujaratGujara ata aatt ththatatt pperioderrioiod wawwass ththee cecentrentre ooff ththehe asassemblysseembm ly ofof ArabianArA abian trtradersadere s frfromomm IIran,raan, HHadramaut,adramaut, anandnd PePersianrsr ian GuGulf.ulfl .177 Therefore,Theh refoorer , it can bebe cocconcludednclul ded ththatata Islam ooriginallyriginaally dididd nonott ccomeomee ffromrom GuGujaratujaj rar t and Persia,Persia, bubutt it ccameame to NusNusantaraanntaarar aarchipelagorcchih pelalagog brbroughtouught byy ululamaslammas fromfror m Arab peninsula wwhohoh wwereere jujuststs ppassingassis ng tthroughhrouggh PePersiaersiai aandnd GGujarat.ujarrata .

TThehe PePeriodriiodd ooff CoCComingmim ngg ooff IsIslamlam to IndonesiaInddonnessiai SSomeome other writerswriiterss oorr hihhistorianssts oriansn bbelievedelievev d thtthatat IIslamslslam came to NNusantarausantara sincesince thetht e 133tht centuryceenturu y CE.CE.18 TheirTheeirr aassumptionssumu ption was based

15 A. B. Nuh, Sejarah Islam di Jawa Barat Hingga Zaman Keemasan Banten. (Bogor: Majlis Ta'lim al-Ihya, 1978). 16 Ibid. 17 Ibid. 18 For instance: H.J. de Graaf and Th. G. Th. Pigeaud in his book Kerajaan-Kerajaan Islam Pertama di Jawa, translated from Dutch by Pustaka Utama Grafiti and KITLV, Lukman Thaib, in his book, Acheh Sumatera dalam Dimensi Sejarah, stated that the

255 MOHAMMAD NOVIANI ARDI on the document of Marco Polo after voyaging and reaching Indonesia. He wrote that in North Sumatera an Islamic empire was founded at the time and famously known as Peruerulla (Perlak).19 However, Abdullah bin Nuh had a different view. According to him, Islam came to Indonesia since 7th Century early on in the Hijra calendar.20 Abdullah bin Nuh rejected Marco Polo’s statement. He even supported the restudy of hhistoryisstooryy ooff the first king of Samudera Pase,Pase, Malikus Saleh. AccAccordingoro ding ttoo him, MMalikusallikkusus Saleh died in 635 AAH/1297H/1297 CE aapproximately,pproroximam teelyy, babbasedsed onn hhisis ttombstone.ommbsstoonen . AbAbdullahdullah bibinn Nuh stated tthathah t babasedaseed ono tthishis dedetermination,etermrminnata ion,n iitt wawwass ilillogicalllogicac l that the ggraverave off MMalikusala ikkus SSalehaleh eexistedxists ed oonlynly fifivevee yyearsears aafterftf err tthehee aarrivalrrival of IIslamslam tot IndonesiaInddonnesia becausebece ausee accordingacccordid ngn toto MarcoMaM rcco Polo,Pololo, whowho arrivedarrrir ved at SuSumaderamaderar PasePasse inin 12921292 2 CE, Islam just arrarrivedivived aatt ththathatat pplace.lacee. In adaddition,ditionn, AbAAbdullahdulll ahh bbinin Nuh said ththatat it was popossibleosss iblel tthathaat MaMalikusaliikuk s SaSalehleeh mimightghht be onlyonln y an immigrantimmiggraantn whowhoh hadhada powpowererr iinn a plpplaceaca e nanamedamed SiSila.la.212 In llineinne withith AbdullahAbbdullahh binbini Nuh’sNuhu ’s statementstateement aabove,bovev , SuSutjiptotjipi tot WiWWiriosupartoriosupparrtoo in his bookbooko SejarahSejaj rah DuDDuniania (TheThe HistoryHistoro y off WWorldoro ldd) mentionedmentn ionen d ththathata in Sumatera,Suumam tet raa, bebeforeefoore thethe arrivalarrival ofof MaMarcorcco PoPPolo,lo, immigrantimmimigrrana t ArArabsabs were aalreadylrreaeadyy tthere.herer . MoMMoreover,rer ovo er, a bobookok eentitledntn itleed GatotkatjarayaGaG totkt atjarayay written byby MpuMpM u PanjuluPanjulu alsoala sos had ccontainedontainnedd AArabicrar bic words.woords.s TThishih s bookbooko was wwrittenriitttenn iinn thtthee eaearlierrlieer part of ththee 122thh century.cenntury. ThTherefore,erefe ore,, tthishiis vivviewiew strengtstrengthenhen the ththeoryeoe ry that ArabArab iimmigrantsmmiigraantn s anandd IIslamslam hahadd araarrivedrivev d too IIndonesiandn onesia before that perperiod.iood.d 222

AchehAcheh SultanateSuS ltanatte wawwass ththehe fifirstrsrst IsIslamiclamic emeempirempiirer iinn ththee SoSouthuth EaEaststst AAsiasis a whwhichich most of tthehe Arab ttradersrar deersr visitedvisi ittedd toto AchehAcA heh h anandnd spspreadrer add IIslamsls am tthereheh re ssinceince 1111stst tilltilll thtthee eendnd ofof 1212nd CE.CE. 19 T. M. Jamil,Jamil, TaTawarikhwaariikhh Raja-RajaRaja-Rajaj KerajaanKere ajaaa n AcAcehehh. (Banda(Banndaa Aceh,Aceeh,h n.dn.d).). PPeureulakeureulak Empire was situatesituatedd ini thethe easteasa t of AAcheh.chc ehh. ItIItsts KingKiK ng waswasa ancestryancn estrry of the King of SiaSiamm which famous with Syahir Nuwi.Nuwu i.i 20 Nuh,h SejarahShl Islam…; A.Ah B. Nuh, RingkasankShlS Sejarah . (Surabaya:(S b Teladan, n.d); A. B Nuh, & D. Shahab, Sedjarah Masuknja Islam ke Indonesia. Risalah Seminar Sejarah Masuknya Islam ke Indonesia, (Medan: Panitia Seminar Sedjarah Masuknja Islam ke Indonesia, 1963), 145-150; A. B. Nuh & M. D. Shihab, Al-Islam fi Indunisiyya. (Saudi: al-Darul as-Su'udiyyah Lin al-Nasr wa al-Tauzi', n.d). 21 Nuh, & Shahab, Sedjarah Masuknja Islam ke Indonesia…, 145-150. 22 Ibid.

256 THE HISTORY OF ISLAM IN THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF ABDULLAH BIN NUH’S WORKS

The spreading of Islam in Indonesia was not at one time together, but it spread gradually, because the majority of the practive of the ancient religion of Indonesia archipelago was based on animism, dynamism, and Hindu-Buddha. Even after they believed in Islam, most of them still practiced the worship of their ancient religion. Instead, the existence of Islam in Indonesia recognized the other Hindu empire, such as the King of Pase Zainul Abidin, who recognized the existence ooff MaMajapahitjaj pahit as the Hindu empire at that period. Once also the MaMMalaylay emempirempip re hadhadd sentsennt ththeireie r Muslim delegatiodelegationn ttoo Indonesia, ata 11281281 ADD aapproximately.pproxix mateelyy. ThTherefore,herreforo e,, it might be believed thatthat IsIIslamlam spspreadreeadd bbeforeeforre MaMMarcorco PoPololol rreachedeachc edd IIndonesia.ndono esia.2323 AbdullahAbbdulll ahh bbinini NNuhuhh in hihhiss bobookooko iinformednforo mem d alalsosoo tthathah t thethe king of MajaMajapahitpahih t onooncecec ggaveave a mamandateandn ate tot AliAlil binbin IbrahiIbrbraha i (Raden(Raddene RachmatRaca hmat SuSunannaan AmAAmpel)peel)) ffororo vvillageillaage of Ampel and he wwasass ggiveniven mmandateanndaatet bbyy the kkinging ooff MaMajapahitjaapahih t tot spread Islam. TThehe king of MMajapahitaja apa ahahitt aalsolso ononcece ggaveavev a mmandateanndate toto Raden FaFFatahtah2424 f foror BintaraBinntaara regionregioon andannd MoMMohammadhah mmmada bibinn IsIshakhaak foforr Giri.Girir .2525 TheThe shshortorort dedescriptionsccriptp ion abaabovebovve shsshowshows that ttheheh pprocessror cec ss ooff IsIslamizationslaamizaatit ono iinn the earliereaarlr ieer stagesttagge ofo IIslamsllama iinn IndonesiaIndonesia wawwass acacceptedcceeptede wewwellll byby thethe locallolocal society,society,y pparticularlyarrtiicuc lal rlrly thethhe locallocac l kingdoms.kingdooms. ItIt ccanan bbee prpprovenoven tthathahat ththereere was coco-existence-eexiistenencec aandnd hhighigigh toleratolerancence of MMuslimusu lim imimmigrantsmmigrg antss amongamoong the llocaloco alal ssociety,ococieety, eveevenen ddespiteespite ddifferentififfereentt bbeliefsele iei fs amamongmong ththehe MuMuslimsls im immigrantsimmigraantn s andana d thethe MajapahitMajapahit Empire.Empip re. IslamIslaam sspreadpread ppeacefullyeaacefully in IndonesiaIndonesiai wwithoutiti hout any culculturalturaal clcclashassh wiwwiththh ttheheh llocalocaal societysocic ety andanand lollocalcac l traditions.traditions. The failurefailurre of mmanyany InIndonesiadonesia anciancientenent emempiresmpires wawwass nonott bebbecausecac usu e of IslIslam,amm, bubutut iti mmightigi ht bebe ononene amamongong mmanyany ffactors.acctoors. AbAbdullahbduulll aha binbinn NuhNuh alsoalsso adaddeddded in hhisisi aanalysisnan lyysis ththathatt tthehe aargumentsrguments bbasedased oonn tthehee ttombstonesommbsstones of FFatimahata immahah bbintiintii MMaimunaimum n nennearar wwithith LiraLirann

23 Ibid.Ibid. 24 According to Mataram story told that Raden Fatah was a first King of Demak empire. He was the youngest child of the last King of before Islam. 25 D. H. Graaf, & T. Pigeaud, Kerajaan-Kerajaan Islam Pertama di Jawa. (P. U. Grafiti, Trans.), (Jakarta: PT Pustaka Utama Grafiti, 1989); Nuh & Shihab, Al-Islam fi Indunisiyya…

257 MOHAMMAD NOVIANI ARDI

Gresik who died in 475 AH/1101 AD having Arabic words. He identified that if Fatimah binti Maimun died in that year, it was during the empire of Kediri period. However, most of theories of the coming of Islam to Indonesia were through the Malay Peninsula and North while Fatimah binti Maimun was in Java. Therefore, it might be before Fatiman binti Maimun, Islam had arrived to Indonesia through Sumatera and Kalimantan.26 In order for AbdullahAbdullah binbin NuhNuN h to strengthen his argument on tthosehose issues, he referredreferreed to aancientnccieent AArabicraabic bobbooksoko s (kutub alal-Turats-Turats).2727 AccordingAccording to somesome MuslimMuM slimm historians,histot riians,s thetheh communicationscommmumunin cations betweenbetween Muslim ArabsArabsb andandd IndonesianIndn ono essian archipelara chchippelagoago oro tthehee EEastasa t AsAsiaiai was ververyy oold.ld. In ththehe ininitialnitial stagests age eaearlier,rlieer, itit waswaas justjujusts tradetradee rrelationship,ele atioonsn hip, but afterwards theretherer wwasas missionarymissiionarry mimmissionsss ioon ini sspreadingprpreaadingg ooff IsIIslam.lam.m It cacann be eestimatedstimmatedd thatthahat thethhe ArabArA abb tratradersders anandd ththee mmissionariesisi sis ono ariees hahadad rerrelationslatit ons wiwithth localloccall rresidentsesidene ts of East Asia, pparticularlyarticularly IndonesiaIndonen sis a sisincencn e ththehe 2nd centurycentury of HHijra.ijra. Likewise,Likewisee, ththehe relationrerelal tion bbetweenetween AArabrab trtradersada ere s wiwithitht TiTiongkokiongkok hhadad bbeeneee n ththereerre sissincencn e ththehe 1stst ccenturyennturyr of HiHijra.ijrra. TTherefore,heh rer foree, iti couldcoululd be ssaidaia d thtthatat tthereheere wwasasas a rrelationelatioon wiwithth llocalocal rresidentsese idenntss iinn ththee IndonesiaInndooneesia archipelagoara chipelago araaroundouo ndd tthathaat peperiodriiodo ttoo,ooo, bebbecausecause InIndonesiadonesia waswaas locatedloocated ini vveryerry a strategicstrateegiic positionposiitit onn inin thethe tradingtrt adding routeroute betweenbeb tweee n EastEaE stt andand WeWest.sts . SyiakhSyiakh RabwahRabwah al al-Dhimasqi-DhDhimassqi iinn hishiis bookbob ok NukhbatNuukhk baat alaal-Dahr-Dahr wrotewrrote aboutabout SantSant (Champa),(Champa), a llandand in VietnamVietnnam in whichwhhich therethherere wawwass an empireempirer iinn 7thh centurycec nttury CE (approx(approximately).immata ele y). He narratednarrateed ththatat IIslamsls amm hhadada rereaachcchedhed tthereheere dduringurinng thtthee time of the third cacaliph.liiph. UtUUtmanman bibbinn ‘A‘‘Affanfff an

2626 NuhNuh & ShSShahab,ahhabb, SedjarahSedjarrah MasuknjaMasuknjn a IslamIsslal m ke InIndonesia…dooneesis a…a 145-150.1445-1550. 2727 The Arabic bbooksoooksk wwhichhiichc AAbdullahbdulu lah binbibin NuhNuN h referredreferred werewerre SulaimanSulaaiman SulaimanSulaiman Al-Basari,Al-Basari, from SirafSiraf at TelukTele ukuk Persia,Perrsia, 2372377 AHAH (851(851 CE)CE) hee arrivedarrrrivi ed to Tiongkok, IndiaIndia and the East ArchipelagoesArchipep laagog ese tthroughhrhrouo ghh sseaeae llane,anne, hehe wrotewrrote booksbob oks entitled SilsilatuSilsilatu al-al- TTawawārikhrikh andand AkhbAkhbārulrul alaal-Hindl-HHind WaW aas-s-Ṣinin; al-ala -Mas’udi from Baghdad, he traveledldd during i 25 2 years old ld and d wrote books b k entitled ild Murudjudl al-Dzahab hb 330 AAH (941 CE) and At-Tabin wa Isyraf; al-Biruni in 931 AH/1000 CE in Sina and India; Ibnu Batutah from Tanger, he traveled more than 25 years and reached Indonesia in 1350 CE, his book done in 751 AH; Ibnu Churdazbeh Abdullah bin Achmad, he wrote a book Al-Masālik wa al-Mamālik in 850 CE and died in 912 CE; Al-Ja’qubi wrote al-Buldan, and he died in 292 AH (835 CE), Ibnul Faqih in 903 CE with his a book Mukhtaṣor Kitab al-Buldan; Buzruk in 10th century CE wrote ‘Ajaibu al-Hind, Syaikhu Rabwah ad-Dimashqi with his work Nukhbatu al-Dahr, etc.

258 THE HISTORY OF ISLAM IN THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF ABDULLAH BIN NUH’S WORKS sent a delegation at that time to Tiongkok.28 In his mission to Tiongkok, there was a possibility that Utman bin ‘Affan also sent a delegation to Nusantara archipelago because in 30 AH Islam was in Indonesia and the envoy spent four years in his mission.29 Likewise, another way through which Islam reached Indonesia was from the immigrants of Alawiyyin genus who escaped from their country because of persecution by Umayah genus and al-Hajjaj bin Yusuf had arrived at the Zefti sea zonezone anandd stsstayedayyed there.30 Zefti was situated at SSumateraumatera lands. BBasedased ono ttheheh ddescriptionescrripptiion above,abob vee, AbdullahAbdulllahh binbin NuhNuh believed tthathat the comingcommini g ofo IIslamslslamm ttoo InIndonesiadoonenesis a anandd NuNNusantarasantn arra in ggeneraleneral was nonott in thethee 1212tht or 1313thh centuriescene tuturies CECE as describeddesscribed byby mostmost Western writers. AccordingAccordid ng toto him, IslamIsls amm camecame to IndonesiaIndono esesiaa veryvere y early.eae rlly.y IslamIslam ccameamee andandn sspreadprp eaead tot IndonesiaInddonesia during the delegationded lelegag tiionn ofof Sa’adSa’ad Ibn WaWaqqasaqqas (R.A.)(R.R A.) too thetheh East. Hence,Hencee, his views refuterefuf tee thethee viewsviews of WeWesternesttere n ththeoryeoryy ooff the cocomingmiingn ooff IsIIslamslal m too IIndonesiandonesiaa iinn 1313rdd CECE whichwhich araree basedbab sed on proofspror ofs suchsuuchh as thethhe tombstonetombstono e physicallyphysiccally sspreadpreae d ini sseveraleveeraal reregionsegig ono s of IndIndonesiaonese iaa aandnd tthroughhrouughg MMarcoarrcoco Polo’Polo’ss documents.docuumem nts.s IInn ththishiss regard,regara d,d AbdullahAbdullah bibbinin NuNuhh rereferredeferrrredd ttoo thtthee anancientciient woworksorkks ofo MuMuslimsls imm wandererswanded rers beforebeffore MarcoMarcco PoloPoP loo reachedreaachhedd Indonesia.Indonesia. AbAbdullahduullaha bbinin NNuhuhh llistedistet d thtthee sisimilarimilalar nannamesamem s ooff ccountriesountn riese ooff ththehe EaEEaststt wwhichhichh wwereere tatakenken fromfromo aancientncn ieent MMuslimsuslims books:books:3131

2828 Nuh,Nuh,h RiRingkasannggkasaan SejarahSeS jarah Wali SanSangaga… 2929 M.M Y.Y. Owadally,OwO ada allyly, Sa'adSaa'aad Ibn Abi Waqqas. (Kuala LumLumpur:pup r:r: AA.S..S. NoNNoordeen,oro deen, 20 2006).006). Most ofof thethhe MuslimMuMusllim historianshisi tooriana s includingincluding the Chinese MuMuslimslslim hhistoriansisi tot riana s havehave provedproved tthathat Sa’adSa’ada bbinin AAbibib WaqqasWaqqqas (r(r.a)r.a) cacamemee ttoo ChChinahinna too sspreadpread ththehe IsIslamslaam (d(da’wah)da’waw h) undeunderr tthehe instructioninstruction ofof MuhammadMuhhammad SAWSAAW moremoore thanthan 13001300 yearsyearsr ago.agog . WhileWhW ili e duringduuring the CCaliphatealiphate off UUtsmantssman a delegationdeeleegag tit on wwasas ssentent to ChinaChinan aalsolsl o unuunderder thtthee leleadershipadership ooff Sa’ad ibn Abi WaWaqqasaqqqas aandnd it caccann beb pprovenrooveen wiwwithth tthehe aancientncient ggravesrar vev s in Guangzhou. CChinahina particularparticularlyly GGuangzhouuau ngzhhouu hhasass a llongono g hihhistorysttory off IIslamsllam ssinceincec 1300 years ago and SSa’ada’ad built the first fammousous MosqueMoso quue inn ChinaChinaa byby thethe namenaamem HuaishengHuaisheng Mosque.Mosque. 30 A. Ajteh, Sekitar Masuknya IIslamsllam keke InIndonesiandod neesia. (Solo: Ramadhani, 19851985).). This statement is in line with theory of Aboebakar Atjeh in his works that the hostility between Bani Ummyah and Bani Hasyim caused to the cruel acts by Mu’awiyah to Alawiyyin groups of descent of Ali (r.a.), and then famous with Shi’I sect al-Haddah. Therefore, most of them run away to save their life to East lands, and they arrived to East archipelago in particular Indonesia lands. 31 Nuh & Shahab, Sedjarah Masuknja Islam ke Indonesia…145-150.

259 MOHAMMAD NOVIANI ARDI

1. Selahath, Salamath, Silahi Al-Qaswini Zakaria bin Muhammad in his work ‘Ajaīb al-Makhlūqāt said that Silasilahi’s Island was composed of many islands. Those who came there, did not have the desire to go out from there because of its prosperity. In the Silasilahi there was gold. Abdullah bin Nuh supposed the Silasilahi’s island were the islands of Sulu and the Philippines. 2.Kalah, Kal, Kelabar, KKelahelahh Bar.Bar. Ad-DimashqiAd-Dimashqi inn hhisis wworkoro k talktalkededd ooff ththehe KaKalah,lah, Kal, Kelabar, Kelah BarBaB r situatedsituattedd betweenbete weeene RandaRanndad aandndn SSarbazah.ara babazaz h. AAccordingccording to AbdullahAbdullaha bbinini Nuh,Nuh, RaRRandindi wawwasas KaKalimantanaliimantan aandndd tthehe ssurroundingurrounding islandisland ooff SaSarbazaharbazzaha wwasas SSriwijaya;rir wijaaya; ththerefore,erefe orre, KalahKala ah was situatedsitut ated aaroundroound MaMalaylaay PePeninsulaninsnsulu a orr iitt mimmightghht eveevenene mmeanean KeKKedah.dah. 3.3. Za Zarbazah,rbazzahh, SaSarbaazah,rbaaa zah,h Sarirah accoraccordingdid ngg ttoo AbAbdullahbdulll aha bbinin NuhNuh werewerere originallyorigig naalll y derived fromfromm thethe word Sriwijaya,Sriwwijayya, a ccountryountn ryy iinn SumateraSuumamaterar centuriescene turies ago.agog . 4.4 WaW Waqq – WaqWaqa ThisThisi wordworord mentionedmentioneed in thethee ancientancncieent ArabicArabic books.bookks. InIn thethe “ÑAjÉib“ÑAjA Éiib al-MakhlËqÉtal-Makkhlh ËqË Étt” it wwasasas summarisedsummmam rised thatthhat WWaqaq-Waq-Waq IslandsIsslal nds had a rerelationshipelatit onshipp withwitith RandiRaR ndi IslaIslandndd wwhichhiich wwasass governedgooveernnede by a femalefemalel monarch.mononara ch. AbdullahAbdudulllah bin NuhNuh comparedcommpap reed thisthis withwith the seseveralverar l IslandsIsI landds inn WestWesst Irian (w(westest regionreegig ono ooff Indonesia)InI dod nesia) namely Fak-FakFak-Fak andand Wewak.Wewaw k. 5.La Langalusngn alusu IIsland,slland, al-Dimaal-Dimashqishqiq ssaidaia d in his boobookk thtthatat tthishis islandisslalandn waswas situatedsituuated nneareae r with .Sumatra. 6.TrT Trii Islands,Isslalands,s al-Dimashqial-DiD mam shhqiq said that thesethesee islandsisls ana ds wwereere sissituatedtuated underunndeer thethhe equatorequatoor line.lil nee. AbdullahAbA duulll aha bbinin NNuhuhh aanalysednalyseed ththatat this meantmeeannt iti mightmigi htt bebe nearnearr toto SabahSabaah isiislandslandn s (1(1001000 mmil)ili ) named Alawiyah,Alawiyyaha , soso,o, ththishis islandislannd waswas mightmiight bee NorthNorrthh KKalimantan.ala imantan. 7.Maga Magaskarskkar waswasa probablyproobably Makasar.Makasas r. 8.8. Fansur was PantjPantjururu oror BarusBarur s inn SSumatra.ummatatraa. 9.9 Sth Samthar was a reference f tSd(O)tto Samudra (Ocean), etc.

The Spreading and Development of Islam in Indonesia The coming of Islam to Indonesia based on the above description was brought by ulama from Arab, among them were Alawiyyin who escaped the cruelty of Umayah dynasty in that period, ulama who

260 THE HISTORY OF ISLAM IN THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF ABDULLAH BIN NUH’S WORKS came from Mecca as the delegation of Muhammad SAW and Caliph of Rashidin, and the Muslim travellers or traders from Arab peninsula who reached to Nusantara Coasts particularly Indonesia. Some of the historians stated that Islam came to Indonesia in peace. This account is in line with the result of national seminar of the coming of Islam to Indonesia that Islam came to Indonesia peacefully through the trading route, because of the Muslim missionary (dā‘ī), who wwasasa aalsolsso a merchant. 32 The process of IIslamizationslamization was also rerecognizedcogngnizzedd by sosomeomem ululamaslama as by peaceful eveevenn tthoughhough there werewere e Hindu-BuddhaHiH ndndu-Buddhah eempiresmpm ireses atat thatthata period.pererioi d. AAbdullahbdullaha bbinin NuhNuhu ddescribedescribbeded thethe spreadsprp eae d off IslamIsllam toto Indonesia without anyany resistancerer sists ana ce ffromrom ththee lolocalocal society;sos cietty; ttherefore,heh refof rer , IslaIslamm devedeveloped,lopep d, wwasasa aaccepted,ccc epepted, aandnd wwasass hhonouredonnouured byy tthehehe llocaloccala rresidents.esidents. AAccordingccoording too him,him, IslamIsI laam was accepted by ththehe lollocalocac l reresidentsesis ded ntn s becausebecacause IIslamslaam cacameamem toto villagesviillllages in the NusantaraNuusaantara coastscoastss withwitth goodgoood vvirtue,irrtut e, mmoral,oraal,l courtesy,courtesy,y andand culture.cultuurer . MoMoreover,rereovver, lollocalcal reresidentssided ntnts bebecameecaamee ttheheh ssoftoftf powerpower iinn ththee sprespreadingadini g of IIslamsllama ttoo alaalll levelevelsls ofof lolocalccal sosocietyociety bebecausecaausu e ofo thethe teachingsteachingsg ooff Islam.Isslam.m InIn thethe mindmind ofof the peoplepeeoplee theretheh re waswasa ththehe desiredesiirere ttoo geggett momoreree kknowledgenon wlw ede gee aaboutbooutu IIslam.slamm. InflueInfluencencn e dudduee too ttheheh chccharacteraracteer ooff ttheheh dā‘ī hadhada a ccrucialruciial rolerolo e throughtht roougu h out thethe spreadsppread ooff IsIslamlaam to rruralurral aareas.reas.33 In ttheheh historyhisstory of thethe spreadsppreadd ooff IsIslamlam to IndIndonesiaonesesia tthereheerer wwereere e ununiqueiquee methodsmethods usedused bbyy ulamasulamas, fofforr instanceininstanance the mmethodetthod of WayangWayay ng. WaWayangyaangg isis thethhe oldolo d art traditiontradition off JavaJava a used by SunanSunanan KalijagaKalil jagag inin oorderrdeder too ddeliverellivi er tthehee mmessageese sage of Islam to local rresidentsese iddennts iinn thtthehe vivillagesllaga es ooff Java.Javva.a HeHe triedtrried to ccompileompip le IIslamicslamic traditiontraditiion aandndn tteachingseae chinngs wwithitth lollocalcal ttraditionradition off Java,Java a,a whereby,wheerer by, heh insertedinssere teed thethe valuevaluue off IslamIsls am in the perperformanceformaancce ofo WaWayangayaang too getgete acceptanceaccc eptancce frfromomm tthehee llocaloco ala people.peoople. The ininterestnteereest ooff inindigenousdidigeg noous ppeopleeople totowardsowaw rdds IsIslamlalam as the new rreligioneligion or bebelieflieff wwasas mmuchucu h ststrongerrongere tthanhan ththeireieir ololdd bebbelief.lief. Majority of IIndonesianndonesian indigenous peoplepeeople at thatththata periodpere ioiod mainly inland, still adhereddh d tto animism i i and d dynamism d i or sometimesti KejawenKj . KejawenKj was a compilation between indigenous beliefs influenced by Hindu-Buddha teachings. As a result, most of adherents of idol

32 Nuh & Shahab, Sedjarah Masuknja Islam ke Indonesia…145-150. 33 Nuh & Shihab, Al-Islam fi Indunisiyya…

261 MOHAMMAD NOVIANI ARDI worship begun to convert to Islam and Islam developed at the period because of high social acceptance by indigenous people.34 The short description above can be evidence that Islam came, spread, and developed in Indonesia peaceafully without any cruelty and force. The battles among empires in that century were not because of the coming of Islam or because of differences of beliefs. For instance, the battle conducted by R. Fatah with Majapahit was not because of the rise of Islam,Islamm, but because Raden Fatah had a mmandateandate to rebuild thethehe previousprer viv ouo s empireemmpiree ofof his predecessor. InIn addition, the babbattlettle bbetweenete weenn MMuslimusu lim emempirespip rees ofo DDemakeme ak with Hindu Padjadjaran wawwass becausebeb causse PaPPadjadjarandjaddjaj raran alalliedlliiedd withwith PortuguesePoP rtr ugueese in ordeorderr ttoo rule anandnd mommonopolizenon polizee tthehe ttradinrar dingng iinn SundaSuS nda KeKelapalal pap ((currentlycurrently famous witwithh JaJayakartayaakartr a or Jakarta).Jakarrtat ).355 Furthermore,Furtheermmoro e, toto explainexplain the process off IIslamizationsls ammizi ata ioi n in JJavaava lland,and, AbdullahAbbdulllah binbin NuhNuh explainedexplainedd that the KingKing ooff CaCakarabuanaakaraabuana a ttravelledravvellel d fromfrom tthehee PasunPasundandaan lalandndd ttoo MeMMeccaccca for HaHajjjjj withwitth hishih s daughterdadaugghttere anandd hihhiss yoyyoungeroungeer brotherbrother andana d sistersiisttere whosewhoses name RatuRaR tu MasMasa LaraLara a SaSantangntntanng anaandd KiKKianan SSantang.anntang. ShSShee goggott mamarriedrrr ied wiwwithth SSultanulu tan MaMakhmudkhmud SySSyarifara iff AbdullahAbdbdulullaah of Egypt,Egyptp , thetht e 21stt descentdese cent ofof ProphetPropheet MuhammadMuM hahammm ada S.A.W.S.S A.A W. RatRatuu Mas LaLararar SSantanganntaangn aandndd SSultanulu tat n MaMakhmudkhmud SySyarifyariff AbdullahAbdudulllahh hadhad two sonsons,s,, SSyarifyay rif HidayatHidayat andana d SyarifSyS arif Nurullah.Nurulu lah.h Then,Then,n SyarifSyariff HidayatHidi ayata becamebecame a grggreateae t ‘alalimlimm aandnd ccameame to tthehe JavaJava a Island.Islal ndd. He livedlivev d in GunungGunung AngasaraAngasaran,n,n ,Cirebbono , WWeWeststs Java, aandnd llivedivved wwithiti h hihiss familyfamily ofof Cakrabuana.Cakrk abbuana. Pengeran RRajaaja a Sengara or tthehee ffamousamouo s wiwithth KianKiann SantangSantaang366 alsoalsso caccameme back to his fatherlfatherlandannd of JJava,ava, aandndn bbroughtror ugu ht a mimissionsss ioi n to IslamiseIsllamise hishih s familyfaf milyy and community,como munity, butbuut thethhe kingkik ngn of PadjPadjadjaranaddjajarar n rejectedreejej cted hhisis mmessageese sas geg ooff IsIIslam.lam.m HHee wawwass ththenhene eexpelledxpelled from PadjadjaranPaddjaadjd ara ana ttoo CiCirebon.rebob n. AAccordingccc orrdiingg ttoo AbAbdullahbdulllahh bbinin NNuh,uhu , if this sstorytory was basedbaseed on ffact,aca t, KKianian SaSantangntn anang mimightghht bee sstorytoory of Haji Purwa iinn Cirebon.Cirebon.37 Abdullah bin Nuh’sNuuh’h s argumentationarrgumenttata ion iss in line with PangeranPangeran

34 Nuh & Shahab, Sedjarah Masuknja Islam ke Indonesia…145-150. 35 Ibid. 36 Kian Santang also had several nicknames such as Walgn Sungsang, Sangiang Lumajang, Pangeran Gagak Lumaji, Garangtang Setra, Haju Duliman (Dzul-Iman), Sunan Rahmat, Baanullah, etc. 37 A. B. Nuh, Ringkasan Sejarah Wali Sanga. (Surabaya: Teladan, n.d); Sulendraningrat, Sejarah Cirebon. (Jakarta: Balai Pustaka, 1985).

262 THE HISTORY OF ISLAM IN THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF ABDULLAH BIN NUH’S WORKS

Sulaiman Sulendraningrat in his book on Sejarah Cirebon. Sulendraningrat was the 35th descendant of Sunan Gunung Djati. Sulendraningrat told of an empire of Banjaransari in the swamp of Lakbok, Banjar, and Ciamis in the early 7th CE with its king named Raja Admulya or Pangeran Lelean Anom. Throughout his leadership, Raja Adimulya was famous with his community as a king with just and wise character; therefore, his society lived in prosperity. HoweverHowever,, they still adhered too SangSang Hiang or Hindu-Buddha beliefs.beliefs. Then, his reign transferredtransferrreed too hishiss first sonson PangeranPangeg ran Ciungwanara and ccontinuedontinued to ffirstirrstt daughterdauughteer of CCiungwanaraiuungwaw nan raa nnamedama edd RatuRata u Purbasari. Ratu PurbaPurbasarisaarii ttransferredrar nsfeerrr ed tthehee ccapitalapapitall ooff BaBanjaransarinjjaransari Empire ttoo Pakuan BBogorogor aandnd cchangedhanggeded iitsts empireemppiri e tot Padjadjaran.Pada jadjarana . RatuRatuu PPurbasariurbasari hhadad dedescendentsscended ntn s ununtiltiil RaRajajaa SSiliwangi.illiwanngig . RaRajajaj SSiliwangiililiwwangi mmarriedarrriedd with a PrinPrincesces ofo MMangkubumianngkgkubummi SiSSingapura/Mertasingangapura/Mertasingaa CarubanCara ubbann namednammedd RaraRara SuSubangbangn Larang,Larang,g whowhoh was a Muslim.Muslim.m RajaRaja SiliwaSiliwanginggi andannd RaraRaara SSubangubana g LaLarangrar ng hhadad ttwowoo sons anaandd a dadaughter,augu hth er, whowho werewew ree PangeranPana geran WaWalangsungsanglanggsus ngsasangg Cakrabuana,Cakrabuana, RRatuata u MaMMass LaLararar SantaSantang,ngg, anandd PaPangeranngn errann RaRRajaajaa Sengara/KianSengagara/KKian Santang.SaS nnttanng.g TThesehesee rrelativeselativese of RaRRajaja SiliwangiSili iwwangig ininspirednsppired theirtheeiri societysociety toto adhereadadhere to Islam.IIslam.m 3838 Furthermore,Fuurthermore, RatuRata u MaMass LaLaraara SantangSana taang hhadad two ssons.onns. OOnenen ooff tthemhemm waswasa SyarifSyarir f HidayatHidayaat whwwhoo bebecamecaame ffamousammouous as SunanSunnan GGunungununng JaJatiti SySyarifariff Hidayatullah.Hiddayyatulu lah. PangeranPangeraan CakrabuanaCakrk abuaanaa in 14791479 CECE gaggavevev a mamandateandate tot SunanSunu ana Gunung DjDjatijati tot sstoptot p gigivingiving any ttaxaxa oorr trtributeibutu e to HiHindu-Padjadjarannddu-u PaP djd addjaj raan Empire. ThisThhis decisiondeccisision had a crucialcruciaal impactimmpaact overovev r tthehe controlcoontror l off PPadjadjaranaddjadjd aran Empire over the SSultanateultaanatee ooff CiCirebonreebob n becabecauseusu e withwiw th thatthah t decision,ded cision, de factofacto SulSultanatetaanan tee ooff CiCCirebonreeboon prproclaimedroclaimi ed iindependencendepeenddenncec aandndd bbecameecame ththehe fiffirstrst IsIIslamiclaamic emempirepiirer iinn thtthee JaJavavav land whereas DemakDeemak becamebeecaamem tthehe ssecondecond IsIIslamiclamic emeempirepiiree aafterftf err MajapahitMajapahit ccollapseollapse in 1515175171 CCE.E.E IItsts mmightighth bbee sassaidaidd tthathah t PaPPadjadjarandjjada jaaraan was the seed ooff CirebonCirebon 39 andand tthehehe SultanateSultaanaatee ofof CiCirebonrebob n wawasas next stage of Padjadjaran after beingbeing IslamizedIslalamized (Sulendraningrat,(S( ulu enndrdranini grat, 1985).1985). ThenThen,, CiCirebon b proclaimed l i d ththe IIslamic l i EiEmpire as the thbif basis of spreading dif of

38 Sulendraningrat, Sejarah Cirebon. (Jakarta: Balai Pustaka, 1985). 39 Cirebon has changed from Syarumban, then Caruban, Carbon, Cerbon, Crebon and finally Cirebon. Afterwards, Cirebon was became a center of Islam in the Java island famous with Negara Puser Bumi, the country which situated in the middle of Java island.

263 MOHAMMAD NOVIANI ARDI

Islam in Java with Sunan Gunung Djati Syarif Hidayatullah as the leader with support from the Wali Sanga. The short description above about the beginning of Islam in Java can be concluded with statement that Islam spread and developed in Java Island peaceably without use of force. However, according to Herman Sjohannes De Graaf, Islamization process in Java land by Muslim missionaries was filled with violence and force.force. HisHiss quotedquou ted to Tome Pires,Pires, a Portuguese aadventurerdventurer in hishis bookbookk SuSumamam OrientalOrir ental wwhichhih chh sstatedtated that ththereere wewerere ttwowo ways ofof politicalpooliticac l powerpower exchangeexchana ge fromfror m ththee IndonesiaIndonesiann iindigenousndigenous toto rulerulee Muslim;Musslim;m firfirst,stt, JaJavanesevav nese aaristocratsristoco ratst wwhohoho were still hheatheneathen convertedcoonvn errtet d too Islam;Islamam; thenthen theythey hadhah d auauthorityuthority inn theirtheirr region,region, as a resultresultl of ththehe MuMuslimsls imi merchantsmerrchhannts ffromroom foforeignoreiggn lallandsnds anandnd inintellectualteelll ectual MuMuslimssllims attainedattaainned hhighigi h didignity.ignity. Second, tthehe MMuslimusu lim imimmigrantsmmigrrana ts wwhoho ccameamem ffromroom ththee diddifferentffferent countries bubutt lived in thethe ccountryouo ntryy ssideidde anaandd ccitiesitiess ofof thethe JavaJava ccoast.oast. ThTheyheye builtbuiuiltlt defencedeffene cec buildingsbuildingsg andandnd attackedatttackek d anandd ccapturedaptured villagesvillagees where mostmom stst of peoplepep opo le wwereere stsstillill heheathen.atheh n.400

ColonizationCoC lol nin zazatiionn ooff IslaIslamicmim c CivilizationCiviv liization andandd CultureCulu tut re in IndonesiaIndonesia TheThThe gloryglg ory andannd influeinfluencencce of IIslamslamm wwasas eerasedraased slslightlyigghth ly wwithitth ththehe invasioninnvaasis onon of somesos mem coloniserscolonnisserrs suchsus ch asas PortuguesePoP rtugguese andand Dutch.Dutchc . TheThe prpprosperity,osperityy, peppeacefulness,aca efulnesss, tottolerance,lel rar nce,e andand harmoharmonynyy cchangedhaanged wwithiti h crueltycruelty andand strugglestruruggg le withwith colonisers.cooloonin ses rs. UlamasUlamas andand IIndonesianndonese iai n MuslimsMuusllimi s unitedunited wwithiti h one mission against colonicolonisersseers iinn ththee babbattlettle ffieldield withwithh strongstrt ono g resistanceresistannce bbecauseecause resisting the ccolonisersololoniserers wawwass akakininn to goinggoing toto a hhololy wawar.ar.r IInn ororderder tot ddecreaseecreasse MuMMuslim’sslim’s rresistance,esistance,e the coloniserscoloniserss bbroughtrougughtt oorientalistsrir entaliists to IIndonesia.nddononessia. OrOrientalistsriei ntalists ssucceededucceeeded iinn destroying localloccall traditiontrar ditit on whichwhichh containedconntat inned IslamicIsllammicc cultureculture and civilizationcivilization withwitith theirthheie r policypop lil cy recommendationrece ommeendatioon too the colonial government.government. ObObviously,viiouusls y,y ttheheh ccolonisersolo onnissere s cacameme ttoo InIndonesiandod nesia not only to monopolisemonopolise the traditionaltraditionall productpror ductc suchsucuch as herbsherbs and sspices,pices, but also they brought mission for Glory, Gold, and Gospel. The indigenous Muslims became enslaved by colonisers and were forced to convert their beliefs. Some places in Indonesia with

40 Graaf, & Pigeaud, Kerajaan-Kerajaan Islam Pertama di Jawa…

264 THE HISTORY OF ISLAM IN THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF ABDULLAH BIN NUH’S WORKS

Islamic names were changed to Western names by colonisers, and many Muslim leaders were influenced by them with worldly temptations, and Islamic empires collapsed gradually because of their rapacity. Therefore, the colonisers followed the above in order to colonise local civilization, tradition, and culture from the influence of Islamic values. Moreover, eventhough Indonesia has been independent from the colonization, the western powers still make efforts to dissociate IslamicIslamiic valuesvalul es from the Indonesian Muslim particularly with adventadventnt ofof WesternWeW stere n idideologies.eoologig ess. Hamid FaFFahmihmi ZaZZarkasyi,rkkasa yi, in hishiss bookbooook LiberalisasiLiibeeraralisaasi PPemikiranemikiran IIslamslam explainsexplainns ththathata tthereheh rer arearer at leleasteasast ththreereee agagentsgentst or memmediumsdiums used bbyy tthehe WesternWestern inn oorderrdrder ttoo glglobaliseobalise or westernisewesesteernise MuslimMuslimm countries,countries, iincluding;ncludini g;g Missionaries,Missiionarriei s, OOrientalism,riientat lism, andana d CoColonization.lonin zatiion. OrOrientalismieentn alism uusedsedd ttoo unuunderstanddeersstaandd IIslamslama with Western perspectiveperspectctivve whwhichicch hahasas imimpactmpap ct oonn pproblematicroobllemematic interpretationinterpretation of IslamicIsllamic values. MissionariesMisi sis ono arries playedplp ayed rroleolee toto expandexpaand WesternWese tern wworldvieworrldviieww aandndd ttheirheh iri ideolideologiesoggiei s tot bebe acceptedacacceeptede byy llocalocala culture.cultuuree. ColonizationColonizaatiion aagentsgentn s coconquerednqueu red ththehe IsIslamiclaamiic woworldorlld ththroughhrouggh alaallyinglyying with orientalismorientatalil sm aandnd mmissionariesisssionnaries foforor popoliticaloliitiical anandd ececonomycono omy pupurposes.rposes.4141 ThoseThose threethhree agentsagene tsts wwereere ususedsedd mmassivelyasssis veely by DuDutchutch cocolonisersoloniserss duduringring ccolonizationolonizi ation in IndonesiaInddononesia aandnd wwereere e hehhelpedlped wwithith thethe DutchDuD tcch scscholarschoolaars wwhoho wwereere exexpertspeertr s inn IIndonesiannddonessian cucultureultl ure andand IslamIslam suchsus ch asas PrProf.of. Dr.DrD . C.C SSnoucknouck HurgHurgronje.roonje. Moreover,Moreoe vev r,r Dutch alsoalso invitedinnviviteed Prof.PrP of. CC.. VVanana VVollenhoveollleenhhovo e who was ann expertexpxpert in Hindu-BuddhistHindu-BBudddhd isst bebbeliefliief cucultureltture andannd cicivilization.viililizaatit ono .42 Basically,BaB sisically, tthehe DDutchutchch rresearcheresearcher focusedfocuuses d onn aanalysingnaalyysingn the weaknessweakneesss ooff IsIslamslal m in IIndonesiandono ese iai aandndd aafterwardsftf erwards dedestroyedsttroyed it iinn ordeorderr toto decreasedecreasase thethhe influenceininflf uencn e off IIslamicslama ic vvalues,ala uees, rrule,ule,, llaw,aw, anaandd culture. Therefore, ttheyheh y investigatedinvestigi ata edd thethehe locallocall traditiontradid tit on andandd IslamicIsls amic law and thenthen replaced it wwithitith ththehe lolocalocal lalawaw orr loclocalal ttraditionrar did tionn law. As a result, thethe influences of IslamiIslamicc lalawaw or ShaShariariia inn ttheheh Muslim society became weakkddi and disappeared. dAft After llocallt tradition diti llaw was settled ttld and d applied in the society level, the Dutch scholars offered to help develop mysticism doctrines (aliran kebatinan) which changed to

41 H. F. Zarkasyi, Liberalisasi Pemikiran Islam: Gerakan bersama Missionaris, Orientalis dan Kolonialis. (Gontor: CIOS ISID, 2008). 42 A. M. Suryanegara, Api Sejarah 1. (Bandung: Salamadani, 2012).

265 MOHAMMAD NOVIANI ARDI cults in the era.43 In fact, the weakening of Sharia Islam was not the ultimate goal, but applying the Western law gradually was the real aim. In history of civilization side, the Dutch scholars researched the teaching of Hindu-Buddhist belief with its culture; afterwards they showed that the culture, tradition, and civilization was better than Islam. These works were attempted in order to distort the crucial role of Islamic civilization inin indigenousindid genous Indonesian traditiontradition.. As a rresult,esult, when Islam becamebece ame wewweak,aka , the coccoloniserslolonises rs found it easier to ttakeake control andand attackattaca k thethe MuslimMuM sllimm ccountryouo ntn ryr llikeikike InIndonesiandod nesia frofromm sseveraleveral sides,sidees,s suchsucu h ass economy,ecoc nomym , culture,culture, civilization,civili izata ioi n, law, rule, vvalues,alues, andand dodoctrines.ctc rinenes.s ForForor instance,instaance,e ssometimesommetetimes thethe WesternWesesteernn historianshistorians wrote thethe historyhiisttoro y off IndonesiaIndonnessiaa subjectively,subbjeecttivi ele y, bbecauseececausee ttheyheey ererasedased the rorolele ofof ulamasulamamas aandndd hhisisi students agagainstaiinst coccoloniserslonin ses rsr wwhereasheereas IIndonesianndonen siianan MMuslimsusu lims played a crcrucialucial rolerolee inin encounteringencoc unntet rir ng ccolonization.oloonizationon. ThTherefore,ere efore, ttheheh ddistortionisstotortr ioon ofo the hhistoryisi toryy ooff IsIslamslal m ini InIndonesiadod nesia waswas alsoala so ddoneonne alaalonglong wiwwithth ddistortionistortr ion off iitsts ccivilization,ivi ili izi atioon,n cculture,ulture, ttradition,rar did tiono , vavalues,luues, anandnd lallaw.w.w 44 TTheyhey blbblurredurred the historyhih sts ory ofo cocomingomim ngng ooff IsIIslamslaam to IndonesiaIndononesia andand alsoalsso itsiti s spreadspread andandd development.deve elopmem ntn . SoSSo,, the imiimportantpoortr ant imimpressionmpresessis on ooff ththehe grgreatnessreae tnnese s of IIslamicsllammic rruleule inn IIndonesiandonesiia waswaw s also lost throughthhrougu h thethe orientalistorriei ntalalist mimmission.ssion. FuFurthermore,rtr hermore, ttwowoo ootherthher EEuropeanuropean hihistoriansistorians wwhoho wwroteror tee tthehe hihistorysts ory off IndonesiaIndonesia specificallyspeciificaally duringdud ring colonizationcolo onization werewew rer J.C.J.CC. VanVan LeLeurur aandnd BB.. ScSchrieke.hrrieke. AccoAccordingrdini g too SSyedyey d Naquib aal-Attas,l-AtA tas, ttheheh viewsvieiewsw ooff DDutchutch sscholarscholars mammagnifiedgng ified the role of ChChristianityriisttiaanin ty andandnd WWesternestet rn ccolonialoloniialal eexpansionxpxpana siion wwithiti h reregardegard to spsspreadreeadad ooff IsIslamslam ini the IIndonesia-Malayndoneesia-a MaM lay ararchipelago.chipi ele ago.o MMoreover,orreoe ver, ttheyhey drddrewewe ssomeome similasimilarr iidenticaldentical teachingteeacchih ngn betweenbetweene IslamIsllamm andandd HHinduism,innduisi m,, aandnd rroleolo e of both IsIslamlam anandd HiHinduismndduism wwereerere nonotot eseestablishedtablisheed babasedaseed oonn firm facts.facts. HoweverHowever,, Van LeLeur’sur’s rrefutationefutattioon ofo othothererr hhistoriansisi tot rianns with regard to Hinduization seems qquiteuitete vvalid,alid, bubutt whwhenen he talked about IIslamization l i ti iin the th Indonesia-Malay I d i M l archipelago, hi l hihis ththeory was not t based on objective true facts and contradiction. Therefore, in the final

43 Ibid. 44 Ibid.

266 THE HISTORY OF ISLAM IN THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF ABDULLAH BIN NUH’S WORKS conclusion in his result, Van Leur concluded that Islam did not bring a better civilization.45

CONCLUSION This study has discussed that Abdullah bin Nuh was an Indonesian scholar who had a great contribution in the revival of Indonesian intellectual heritage and in documenting the struggle of Indonesian independence.independence. HHee was a sscholarcholo ara wwithith iniinterdisciplinaryteerdisciplinary kknowledgenowledge who had a dreadreamm fofforr IsIslamiclaamim c brbbrotherhoodoto heerhrhoood (ukuhwwahuku uhwwah Islamiyyah) among MuslMuslimim bbrotherroothere iinn ththisis worldworrldd withoutwitthout aanynyy ffanaticalannattical issues of madhab.madhab. AbdullahAbdullahh binbini NuhNuh alsoalsl o coccontributednttributed agagainstaia nst glgglobalizationobbala izzation and westernizationwesterniization whichwhiichh attackedatttacckek d MuslimMuM slim countries,counttriiese , in pparticularara ticular Indonesia.Indoneesiia. OOnenen ooff hihhiss efeffortsfoforts on tthathat isissuesue wawass ememphasizingmphasa izing the historyhistorry of IslamizationIsllammizatioi n process in Indonesia wwhichhich rreferredefeferrreed toto ancientanccient MuslimMuslimim works.worrks. Ass a result, AbdullahAbdulllaah bin Nuh rerejectedjectedd tthehee oopinionpinion thatthhatt IslamIsllama ccameaame tot IIndonesiandonese ia iinn thtthee 122thh oror 13thh centuriescentuuriiess CE,CE, aandnd hhee sstatedtated tthathah t IsIslamslal m actuactuallyallyy rreachedeae chhede IIndonesiandn onnesiaa ssinceince the 7thh centurycene tutury CECE orr iinn ththehe earlyeae rlly Hijra yearsyeara s directlydid reectc lyl fromfroom thethe MeccaMeM cca oror uluulamaslammass whowho wewerere missionariesmissiionnarries fromfromm thetheh ArabArar b peninsula;pep ninssula;a therefore,theh refore, AbAAbdullahdulll ahh bbinin NuNNuhh rerrejectedejectede ttheheh theory ofo GujaratGujarat aandndn PPersia.ersia. AbdulAbdullahlah bibinn NuNNuhh alalsoso stsstatedatted tthathah t IsIslamlaam sprespreadada aandndn ddevelopedevevellopeded iinn IndoneIndonesiansis an ppeaceablyeaeaceeaba lyy wiwwithoutthouut anyany crueltycrc uelty eveneven tthroughhrhrouugh tthehe majority of iindigenousnddigenouo s IIndonesiansndoneesiians ata thatthahat period werewerre Hindu-Buddhists.Hindn u-u Buddhists. TThishih s ststatementata emment wawwass iinn linelinne withwith thetheh resultrese ulu t of the Seminar of The HistoryHists ory ofo ComingComming of IIslamslam to IndonesiaInddonnese iai inin 1963.191 63. The colonizaticolonizationonn ooff ththee hihhistoryststory of the ccomingoming of IsIslamlam too IndonesiaInddonese iaa andand itsitst ccivilizationivi ili izi ation cacanan beb ffoundoundn iinn lliteraturesiteratures writtenwritittet n by WWesternesteern sscholars,chhololars, iinn papparticularrtticulara tthehe DDutch.utchh. TheiTheirr mmissionission was too deliberatelydelibberata ely blur,blb urr, misleadmim sleaad andand wewweakenakene thethe historyhistory of IIslamicslamic glorgloryy in IIndonesia,ndonese iai , ththenenn rreplaceeplace iitt byy tthehe ccrucialrur cial role of

45 S. N. Al-Attas, Preliminary Statement on a General Theory of the Islamization of the Malay-Indonesian Archipelago. (Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 1969); J. V. Leur, Indonesian Trade and Society. (The Hague: W. Van Hoeve Publishers LTD., 1955); B. Schrieke, Indonesian Sociological Studies. (The Hague: W. Van Hoeve Publishers LTD, n.d).

267 MOHAMMAD NOVIANI ARDI

Christian and Western colonial expansion in the building of higher civilization in Indonesia. Therefore, this study aims to reconstruct it by referring to Abdullah bin Nuh’s works and other Muslim scholars in order to refresh Muslim intellectual heritage, particularly in Indonesia. Moreover, this research aims to resurface the recommendations of the Seminar of the Coming of Islam to Indonesia held at Medan in 1963 due to its importance in the Nusantara Islamic intellectualintellectut ala heritage and in encountering of ccolonizingolonizing of the IslamicIslamimic historyhiststorry in NusNusantara.antaara.

268