Rituals of Islamic Spirituality A STUDY OF MAJLIS DHIKR GROUPS IN EAST JAVA Rituals of Islamic Spirituality A STUDY OF MAJLIS DHIKR GROUPS IN EAST JAVA Arif Zamhari THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY E P R E S S E P R E S S Published by ANU E Press The Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200, Australia Email: [email protected] This title is also available online at: http://epress.anu.edu.au/islamic_citation.html National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Author: Zamhari, Arif. Title: Rituals of Islamic spirituality: a study of Majlis Dhikr groups in East Java / Arif Zamhari. ISBN: 9781921666247 (pbk) 9781921666254 (pdf) Series: Islam in Southeast Asia. Notes: Includes bibliographical references. Subjects: Islam--Rituals. Islam Doctrines. Islamic sects--Indonesia--Jawa Timur. Sufism--Indonesia--Jawa Timur. Dewey Number: 297.359598 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Cover design and layout by ANU E Press Printed by Griffin Press This edition © 2010 ANU E Press Islam in Southeast Asia Series Theses at The Australian National University are assessed by external examiners and students are expected to take into account the advice of their examiners before they submit to the University Library the final versions of their theses. For this series, this final version of the thesis has been used as the basis for publication, taking into account other changesthat the author may have decided to undertake. In some cases, a few minor editorial revisions have made to the work. The acknowledgements in each of these publications provide information on the supervisors of the thesis and those who contributed to its development. For many of the authors in this series, English is a second language and their texts reflect an appropriate fluency. v  Contents Foreword xiii Dedications xv Acknowledgement xvii Abstract xxi Abbreviations and glossary xxiii Transliteration xxxi Chapter I 1 1.1. The Significance of the Study. 1 1.2. The Understanding of Tasawuf, Tarekat and Majlis Dhikr Group in Indonesian Islam. 10 1.3. The Variety of Majlis Dhikr Groups in Java. 14 1.4. Meaning and Implications of the Classification: Mu’tabarah . 17 1.5. Sufism in the Pesantren Tradition. 21 Chapter II: Innovation or Aberration: Majlis Dhikr in Contemporary Indonesian Islamic Discourse 25 2.1. Source of Disputes: Understanding the Concept of Bid’ah (innovation within Islam) within Indonesian Islam. 26 2.2. Theological Debates on Dhikr Ritual. 35 2.3. Conclusion. 46 vii  Chapter III: The Intellectual Response of Indonesian Majlis Dhikr Groupso t Some Aspects of Their Ritual Practices 49 3.1. S {alawa>t As a Means to Approach God. 49 3.1.1. Majlis Dhikr Groups’ Understanding of S {alawa>t. .54 3.2. The Concepts of Sainthood (Wali) and Miracle (Karamah). 58 3.2.1. The Concepts of Sainthood (Wali) and Miracle (Karamah) as Understood by Majlis Dhikr Groups . 64 3.3. The Concept of Tawassul. .69 3.3.1. Understanding the Concept of Tawassul Among Majlis Dhikr Groups . 76 3.4. Sending the Merit of Pious Deeds to Deceased Persons. 80 3.4.1. The Majlis Dhikr Groups’ Understanding of Sending the Merit of Pious Deeds to Deceased Persons . .84 3.5. Seeking Blessing (barakah, tabarruk). .86 3.5.1. The Concept of Tabarruk As Understood by Majlis Dhikr Groups. 90 3.6. Conclusion. 93 Chapter IV: ‘Turn to God and His Prophet’: The Spiritual Path of the S{alawa>t Wa>h{idiyat Group 95 4.1. The Foundation of S {alawa>t Wa>h {idiyat. 95 4.2. External Conflict in Wa>h {idiyat . 107 4.3. Internal Conflict in Wa>h {idiyat. 115 4.4. The Teaching of Wa>h {idiyat. 125 4.5. The Ritual of Muja>hada in Wa>h {idiyat: Spiritual Pilgrimage . 133 4.6. The Strategy to Preaching S {alawa>t Wa>h {idiyat (Da’wah Wa>hidiyat{ ) in Implementing Sufi Tolerance: The Role of Pesantren. 145 viii 4.7. Spiritual Experience and Spiritual Authority in Wa>h {idiyat .. 157 Chapter V: The Veneration of Wali and Holy Persons: The Case of Istigha>that Ih{sa>niyyat 165 5.1. The Foundation of Istigha>that Ih {sa>niyyat . 165 5.2. Local Rivalry and Challenges ............................... 176 5.3. The Ritual of I h {sa >n iy ya t ................................... 180 5.4. The Structure of the Group ................................. 188 5.5. From Tombs to Mosques: Implementing Sufi Dakwah and Religious Tolerance ....................................... 192 Chapter VI: The Awakening of the Negligent: The Dhikr al- Gha>fili>n Group 207 6.1. The Foundation of the group ................................207 6.2. The Ritual Practice of the Group ............................ 212 6.3. Gus Mik: a Living Saint and Controversial Kyai ................ 219 6.4. Gus Mik: His Karamah ....................................227 6.5. Gus Mik: His Teachings ................................... 231 6.6. The Group after Gus Mik .................................. 235 6.7. Conclusion ..............................................244 Conclusion 245 Appendix 251 Bibliography 253 ix  List of Plates Plate 4.1: The text of S {alawa>t Wa>h {idiyat and its instruction how to recite it . 104 Plate 4.2: Sticker of Wa>h {idiyat displaying the logo of the group and Nida>’ Ya> Sayyidi > ya> Rasu>l Allah (the exclamation).. 105 Plate 4.3: The Logo of S {alawa>t Wa>h {idiyat group and Pesantren Kedunglo (Yayasan Perjuangan Wahidiyah dan Pondok Pesantren Kedunglo) in Kediri.. 124 Plate 4.4: The Logo of S {alawa>t Wa>h {idiyat group (Penyiar Sholawat Wahidiyah, PSW) in Ngoro, Jombang.. 124 Plate 4.5: Female participants waiting for a pisowanan session. 137 Plate 4.6: Female participants during a pisowanan session . 137 Plate 4.7: Male participants at a Muja>hada Kubra> waiting for a pisowanan session. 138 Plate 4.8: Male participants kissing their leader’s hand during pisowanan session. 138 Plate 4.9: The participants at a Muja>hada Kubra> praying at the tomb of Kyai Abdul Madjid Ma’ruf (the founder of the Wa>h {idiyat group). 139 Plate 4.10: Children crying during Muja>hada Kubra> ritual in Pesantren Kedunglo, Kediri.. 139 Plate 4.11: Female participants, including young girls, listening to fatwa during Muja>hada Kubra> ritual in Pesantren Kedunglo, Kediri.. 140 Plate 4.12: Female students crying during a prayer session in Muja>hada Kubra> ritual in Pesantren Kedunglo, Kediri. 141 Plate 4.13: The leader of Wa>h {idiyat, Kyai Abdul Latif Madjid giving edicts (fatwa) in Muja>hada Kubra>. 144 Plate 5.1: Gus Abdul Latif (Gus Latif), the founder and the leader of the Istigha>that Ih {sa>niyyat group.. 169 Plate 5.2: People using trucks to get to the Istigha>that Ih {sa>niyyat ritual Banyuwangi . 183 x  Plate 5.3: Female participants at a Istigha>that Ih {sa>niyyat group ritual in Kediri.. 183 Plate 5.4: Gus Abdul Latif (wearing a white hat) and the researcher left) after conducting istigha>that ritual at the shrine of a Muslim saint. 203 Plate 5.5: The Yamisda group holding istigha>that at Kyai Ihsan Dahlan’s tomb. 203 Plate 5.6: The participants of istigha>that at a Muslim saint’s tomb.. 204 Plate 5.7: The Book of Istigha>that Ih {sa>niyyat.. 206 Plate 6.1: Gus Mik meeting with Ir. Akbar Tanjung, the former minister in Suharto era. 223 Plate 6.2: Gus Mik with his followers in a pub in Surabaya. .. 225 Plate 6.3: Gus Mik chatting with Sultan Hameng Kubuwono X (The Ruler of Yogyakarta) . 226 Plate 6.4: The front cover of the Dhikr al-Ghafi >li >n book published by Gus Sabut Panoto Projo. 240 Plate 6.5: The back cover of the Dhikr al-Ghafi >li >n book published by Gus Sabut Panoto Projo. 241 Plate 6.6: The front cover of the Dhikr al-Ghafi >li >n book published by Gus Farih Fauz . 242 Plate 6.7: The back cover of the Dhikr al-Ghafi >li >n book published by Gus Farih Fauzi. 243 xi  List of Figures Figure 4.1: The Organizational Structure of S {alawa>t Wa>h {idiyat. 150 Figure 5.1: Orgnizational Structure of Ih {sa>niyyat Group.. 189 Figure 6.1: Kyai Hamim Jazuli’s (Gus Mik’s) Family.. 238 Figure 6.2: Kyai Ahmad Siddi >q’s Family. 239 List of Maps Map 1: Indonesia . xxxiii Map 2: East Java . xxxiii Map 3: Residency of Kediri . xxxiv Map 4: Pesandren Kedunglo, Kediri . 148 xii Foreword This beautiful study by Arif Zamhari offers a rare glimpse into the practices of Islamic spirituality in contemporary Java. Dr Zamhari focuses on three distinct groups in East Java who gather under the inspired religious leadership of a notable kyai to invoke the Divine Names in the remembrance of God (Dhikr Allah). Each of the groups is remarkably different yet they adhere to a common tradition that has deep historical roots. At present, these groups are the popular manifestation of a resurgent devotional Islam – an open, active, and engaging form of Sufi worship. Dr Zamhari’s study also provides remarkable insights into the working of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) at a grass-roots level. Each of the groups, which Dr Zamhari designates as Majlis Dhikr, has established itself under the broad umbrella of NU orthodoxy. Yet none of Majlis Dhikr has been given the formal recognition of mu’tabarah that NU has accorded tarekat such as Naqshabandiyah, Qadiriyah, Shattiriyah or Tijaniyah. Indeed the issue of recognition has arisen primarily in relation to just one of these groups, the S{alawa>t Wa>h{idiyat; the other two groups, the Istigha>that Ih{sa>niyyat and the Dhikr al-Gha>fili>n, are even less formally constituted.