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THE MINANGKABALI TRADITIONALISTS' RESPONSETO THE MODERNIST MOYEMENT

By

Za'im Rais

A Thesis submitted tothe Faculty of Gmduate Studies and Research

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree ofMaster of Arts

Institute of IsIamic StudiesMcGilI UniversityMontreal, Canada

1994

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L'AUTEUR CONSERVE LA PROPRIETEDU DROIT D'AUTEiUR QUI PROTBGESA THESE. NI LA THESE NI DESEXTRAITS SUBSTANTIELS DE CELLE­CI NE DOIVENT ETRE IMPRIMES OUAUTREMENT REPRODUITS SANS SONAUTORISATION.

ISBN 0-315-99926-8

Canad~

~.

Dedicated to

My Beloved Fathel' and Teachel'

RAIS DAMRA DT. R. PENGHULU

Author

Title of Thesis

Department

Degree

ABSTRACT

Za'im Rais

The Minangkabau Traditionalists' R<'Sl'l\llS<'

to the Modernist Movement

The Institute of Islamk Studit's

MeGill University

Master of Arts

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This thesis studies the response of the traditionalist Muslim groups of

Minangkabau, Indonesia, to the modernist movement of the early deeades of this

century. In their effort to lay the foundations of a rational and progressive Muslim society

and rediscovery the true ethics of Islam, the modernists had called for fresh (jtiiJ.Tci. The

tradiuonalists rejected the possibility, or necessity, of new (jtiMd and insisted that Islam

had been perfectly articulated in the authoritative works of the scholars, especially those

of the four schools of law, and that every Muslim must simply adhere to them. The

traditionalists argued that the methods of the modernists' net only endangered the

authority of the four schools, they threatened to undermine the age-old notion of a

harmonious balance between Islam and 'Idllt. the two ideological foundations of

Minangkabau society. To the traditionalists, therefore. the struggle against the modernisls

was at once a defense of the dassical schools of law and of the harmony of Islam and

lIc/lIt in Minangkabau.

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Autcur

Titrc

Départcmcnt

Diplomé

RÉSUMÉ

Za'im Rais

Réaction dcs Traditionalistcs Minangkabaus face

au Mouvement Modcrniste

Institut d'étudcs Islamiques, Université McGill

Maîtrise ès Arts

Cette thèse porte sur l'attitude des groupes musulmans traciitionalistes face au

mouvcment moderniste en territoire Minangkabau (Indonésie), au début du siècle.

Dans leur élan pour jeter les bases d'une société islamique rationnelle et progressive

ainsi que pour redé<:ouvrir les véritables valeurs éthiques de l'Islam, les

modernistes ont <:her<:hé à renouveler le ijtih<Td. Les traditionalistes ont rejeté cette

possibilité de pro<:éder à un renouvellement du ijtihiTd, mettant même en doute sa

né<:essité. Ils ont rappelé que l'Islam s'arti<:ulait parfaitement autour des ouvrages

érudits faisant autorité, en particulier ceux des quatre écoles de loi, et que tous les

musulmans n'avaient qu'à y adhérer. Les tr:iJ:tionalistes ont fait valoir que la

façon de voir des modernistes non seulement mettait en péril l'autorité des quatre

écoles mais aussi risquait de saper ce précepte séculaire à savoir qu'il faut maintenir

un juste équilibre entre l'Islam et l'adat, les deux piliers idéologiques de la société

Minangkabau. En conséquence, du point de vue des traditionalistes, l'affrontement

"vec les modernistes <:onsistait à la fois en une défense des écoles classiques de loi

et à la fois dans le rapport harmonieux entre l'Islam et l'adat en territoire

Minangkabau,

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

ln writing this thesis. 1have receivcd a great deal of 11<'lp l'mm various l",opk.

am very grateful. tirs! of 'III ta Prof. A. Uner Turgay. my supervisor and (hl'

Director of the Institute for h!~ encouragment. support and critical insights. Prof.

Turgay had ta leave for Turkey while my work was yet untïn;shed. and it \Vas Prof.

Charles J. Adams who made its completion possible. 1 wish to extend illY decpest

gratitude ta Pral'. Adams for painstakingly reading tlle thesis and giving v"\u,,hle

advice.

Professors Tautik Abdullah and Karel A. Steenbrink gave much useful advic<:

at the inception of this work, and Prof. A. Syati'i Ma'arif kindly read chapters 1and

Il and made critical comments. Ta these people l ow~ .many thal'!(s. 1should also likc

ta express illY sincere gratitude ta the late Prof. M. Sanusi Latief, for his support and

for making some primary sources available ta me. My eldest sister. Isnawati Rais,

and her husband, Hasnim Fadhly Hadde have helped me locate and secure most of

the other primary materials, for which l am deeply indebted ta tl1em.

The Iibraries of McGill University, and especially the Institute of Islarnic

Studies Library, have been indispensable for my work; l am especially grateful :0

Mr. Adam Gacek and Miss Salwa Ferrahian, and ail other members of the Islamic

Iibrary staff for their assistance. My two years program at McGiIl has been In:lde

possible through the generous funding of CIDA as coordinated by the McGiIl·

Indonesia Project. 1 am grateful ta CIDA, and ta the Director and staff of the latter

Project. 1 should also like to express my gratitude ta the Minister of Religious

Affairs, Government of lndonesia, without whose National Program 1 wouId nut

have been able to pursue my study abroad.

Above ail, however, l owe my sincere and lasting thanks ta my beloved

parents, whose material and moral support have been an invaluable source of

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inspiration and energy for me. This thesis is dedicated to the memory of my beloved

father and my teacher, the late Rais Damra Dt. R. Penghulu, who passed away during

my tirst year at the Institute of IslamÎc Studies. 1also owe my sincerest gratitude to

my beloved nl0ther for the patience that she has shown and to ail of my brothers and

sisters for tneir consistent support.

Last but not least, my thanks go to a large number of friends both in Montr~al

and Indonesia. While it is impossible to mention ail of them here, 1 should like

especially to thank Imam Roft 'i, Agusni Yahya and Didin Syafruddin for theil'

generous help and moral support. 1 must aiso thank Mul;1ammad Qasim Zaman, a

good l'riend and neighbor and Richard Coo~er for their help in editing this thesis so as

to make it more readable, and Denis Rovard for the french translation of the abstract.

v

•NOTE ON TRANSLITERATIaN

ln this study. the Arabie names and lslamie tenns are transliterated aL'L"llrdill!! tll

the system used by the 1l1stitute of lslamie Studit's l\kGiII lIniVl'rsity, 'l'Ill'

lndollesiall names and terms are written accl1rding the ne\\' lndon,'sian spdlin!!

system adopted by the government of lndonesia sillcc 1<)7'2, Nevertlll'kss. Ihe

names of certain individuals and organizations are spelt as is cOllventionally dOlll'.

rather than strictly in accordanœ with the new system. Thus Abdullah Ahmad and

Abdul K~.-im Amrullah and ildm. for instance. will be mailltailled instead of .Abd

Allah Al)mad and .Abd al-Karim Amr Allah and ";ïclilr. The followillg is a

transliteration table of the Arabie and Indoncsian alphabet.

•dl

th

Arabie English Indonesian

Ji. ~ dh

t

t gh gh

...; f f

..~ l.\ l.\

~ k k

JÎ III In

<.J n n

• ~ h h

J w w

~ y y

~ ah/at h

To indicate long vowels of (j ,~ ,T), these are typed by using the Bars

above characters : 8. ï and ü.

•vil

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ii

RESUMÈ iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT IV

NOTE ON TRASLITERATION VI

TABLE OF CONTENTS VI\\

INTRODUCTION 1

Chapter 1 THE CONCEPT OF THE "COSM!C OROER" IN MINANGKABAII h

1. 1. Ad,lI in Minangkabau 7

1. 2. Adllt and Islam 10

1. 3. The Cause of HistorÎl:al Change 17

Chapter Il "l'HE RISE AND GROWTH OF THE MUSLIM MODERNIST

MOVEMENT IN MINANGKABAU 21

Il. 1. Pre-reform Islam in Minangkabau 21

Il. 2. The Emergenœ of the Modemist Movement 30

Chapter 1Il THE TRADlTIONALISTS' RESPONSE 1'0 SEVERAL DISPUTE\)

(KHILAFIYYA) MATIERS 41

Ill. 1. Sheikh Khatib Ali 's Refutation of {itihiid 41

IlL 2. The Traditionalists COI1l;ept of 8id",1 51

Ill. 3. The Re~ommendedness od U~llllï 61

Chapter IV : THE TRADITIONALISTS' RESPONSE 1'0 SOCIO-RELIGIOUS

ISSUES 72

IV. 1. Sheikh Mungka's Polemi~s against Sheikh Ahmad Khatib on th~

Naqshabandiya 72

IV. 2. The Question of the TilhIil H5

IV. 3. The Defense of the OId Notion of "Cosmic Order" <)3

CONCLUSION 103

BIRLIOGRAPHY 106

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INTRODUCTION

The tirst qu~rter of this œntury witnessed the beginnillgs of Islamie modelllism in

Minallgkabau.' As they returned after years of study in Meeea early in this eentury. the

modernists·· immediately started a program of reform. Their efforts at reform gave rise.

however. to religious eontliet in Minangkabau society. Several studies have beell

eondueted on the causes of sueh developments. For example, Hamka's Ayahkll traœs

the origins of the Minangkabau Islamie modernist movement and the role of its

advoeates, ehietly Sheikh Abdul Karim Amrullah (d. 1945). Deliar Noer's The Modemist

MllsIim Movement in Indone.~ùl and Alfian 's IsIillllÏe Modemism in Indonesùlll PoIities

partially diseuss the signifieanee of Minangkabau as the starting point of Islamic

modernism in Indonesia. The most comprehensive study so far has been Taufik

Abdullah's Sc/wols illld Polities. whieh specifieally delineates the impact of the

modernist movement on education and polities in Minangkabau in the third decade of this

œntury.

The aforementioned works focus only on the significance of the modernist side,

and, however, neglect another important aspect of this dynamic period, viz. the

traditionalist aspect. whieh represented the old establishment of Minangkabau Islam. To

the best of my knowledge, the only scholarly work on this aspect is Sanusi Latief's

"Gerakan Kuam Tua di Minangkabau" (The Traditionalist Movement in Minangkabau),

which, however, treats the traditionalists as a distinct religious community rather than as

the product of the dynamic and dramatic religious conflict in Minangkabau at the

beginning of this century. In fact, the rise of the Kaum Tua, the traditionalists, was the

1Minangkahau is an ethnie group and tenitory. whieh is now adminislmtively the Province orWest SUll1atr:~ Indonesia.

COn the tenn modemisl'. sec hclow. pp. 3-4.

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prodUl:t of a reaction against the incursions of the 11l0dernist mOVen1l'1l1 UpOIl long·

established traditions Of Minangkabau Islam. This thesis thus seeks to tïllthe gap "'ft Ily

the previous studies. and will allempt to delineate and analyze the mallner in whkh the

Minangkabautraditionalists responded to the modernist mowment.

The rise of the modemist movement was baskally an intellectual reaction to ail

"unorthodox" religious precepts and practices which were held to be responsib'" for the

backwardness of the Minangkabau Muslims. The modernists launched a vigorous allack

against everything they saw as blameworthy innovations and superstitious belicfs and

practices in religious life. The crux of the problem, the modemists maintained, was tb:ll

the religious Iife of the society had for long been neglected and the question of tht'

correctness ofreligious beliefs and practices ignored. This irritating iethargy. they argued,

was the result of the unquestioning belief in and acceptance of the religious authorÎly of

the great "u/amir' of the pas!. They heId that this type of rehgiosity was responsible for

the graduaI waning of the true spirit of Islam. The only real solution to the problem was a

"total retum" to the Qur'an and the Sunna. They believed that only by purificatiollof the

religious tradition could the true ethics of Islam be rediscovered which, in turn, would

serve as the basis for social change) The modernists insisted on the need for fresh

thinking (ijtihüâ) which alone could make the reform and revitalization of Muslim life on

the basis of the authoritative sources possible.

As may be imagined, the modemist movement was a direct assault on the age-

old establishment Islam in Minangkabau society. Apart l'rom being a system of belief,

31n their official fortnighlly journal, IIl·Munir, the firstlshunic joum:1l l'ver puhlished in Inllonesia.the objectives of their refonn were elcarly outlined: "to lead IUld advance our Millay sociely in Sumatraunder the direction of Ihe true bcliefs and pmelices of Ishun .... AI-Mullir. if God wills, would rcfule Iheaccusations that Islam has hindered our society from progress and Ihat it has merely generaledbackwardness. AI-Mullir would therefore save our society from the prevalent irreligious pmctices whichhave long existe<! among the Muslim community in the region." Abdullah Ahmad. AI·Munir. Vol. 1. No.1(1 April 1911), 5.

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Islam for a long time had been intertwined with ildilt (local custom). the two serving as

the unseparable ideolugica: bases of Minangkabau society. The significant role played by

Islam can be seen, among other things, in the traditional structure of the society. where

th.: "uhuml'. in concert with th.: the ad,it dignitaries. fonned an integrated composite.

Thus th.: rise of the modernist movement was not only an attack on the legitimacy of that

understanding of Islam to which Minangkabau Muslims had firmly adhered. but also a

threat to the traditional foundations of Minangkabau society.

The Immediate outcome of the modernist movement was a fierce social

polarization. dividing the society into two large opposing groups: (1) the Kiwm TUil

(literally. the "old group"), the group designated in this ~tudy as the "traditionalists." who

heId that religious truth was perfectly contained in the works of Muslim scholars of the

pasto particularly of certain noted jurists and theologians. so that there was no need to

exercise ijtihlId in modem times; and (2) the Kilum Muda (Iiterally. the "young group"),

designated here as the "modernists." who advocated the use of ijtihlId instead of merely

relying on the works of the earlier Muslim scholars. 4

ln response to the emergence of the modernist movement, every attempt was

made by the traditionalists to defend their venerable establishment. This thesis will

attempt to show that, unlike the modernists, the traditionalists saw the medieval

articulations of Islam, and especially the works of certain later authorities of the Shafi'ite

school, as definitive and binding on ail subsequent Muslims. Since the conflict was

largely at the intellectual level, their defense was primarily channeled through books and

periodicals of a highly polemical character. The major concern of this study will be to

examine and analyze their response and to see what significance can be attached to

modern Islamic developments in Minangkabau in generaI. The central figures to be

4HoWlird M. Federspiel. "The Persatullll Islllfl1." Ph.D. Thesis (Montreal: InstÎlule of IslamieSludies. MeGiII University. 1966),4.

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diseussed in this thesis belong mainly ta the tïrst generations of bath the traditionalists

and the modernists. 5

The strueture of this study is as follows:

The first <.:hapter is devoted ta the eonœpt of the "eosmie arder." :1 key .:onet'pt

of Minangkabau Islam. The main foeus here will be on the inseparability of religion

(Islam) and udut as the two ideologieal bases of sodety :md how the two interaet with

ea<.:h other in the Minangkabau tradition. Partieular attention will be paid ta the position

and signifkan<.:e of Islam in Minangkabau sodety.

The se<.:ond <.:hapter will deal with the rise and growth of the Islallli<.: modernist

movement in Minangkabau. The ba<.:kground and objeetives of the movelllent will be

analyzed, and pre-reform Islam as weil as the emergenœ of the modernist movelllent will

be dweit on. Of particular significance in this context '\Iill be the conne<.:tion between

pre-reform Islam and the emergence of the traditionalists in the early years of this

century.

Chapters three and four, the main body of the thesis, will dis<.:uss the

traditionalists' response ta the movement. Chapter three specifically examines the

traditionalists' response and their defense on several "disputed" (khi/ufiyyu) matters

attacked by the modernists. This dis<.:ussion will coyer such issues as ijtihlTd. bid"ll and

Chapter four will dwell on the traditionalists' response ta three socio-relibious

issues. The questions covered are the validity of the ttlriqa, the tahlïl (<.:ommunal feast

SFor Ihe sake of consistency. and unless otherwise indicaled, the lenns "truditiunalist" and"modemist" will he employed in Ihis sludy to reprcscnt the KllUm Tml lUld the KllUnJ Mudll , respcclivcly.

6U$<'l1li is JI lerm thal is spccilically uscd by Ihe MinlUlgkabau Muslims lu denute the rcciu.tiullufthe "intention" (niyya) 10 pcrform l'rayer.

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commemorating someone', death) and the traditional authority of the 'ulamŒ'. studied in

relation to the concept of the "cosmk order."

The primary sourœs to be employed in this study comprise the publkations of

the two opposing factions. Of partkular signifkanœ are al-Munir (Il) II-Il) 15). an

offidal fortnightly journal of the modernists. Soeloeil Melajoe (Il) 13-1l) 15). originally

an ildilt fortnightly journal allied to the traditionalist camp. and ill-MizŒn (Il) 1X-Il)21). an

offidal journal of the traditionalists. This thesis, as far as 1 am aware, will be the first to

make extensive use of these sources. In addition. writings by the prominent figures of

each faction will also be consulted.

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Chapter 1

THE CONCEPT OF THE "COSMIC OROER"

IN MlNANGKABAU

According to Minangkabau historiographyl. there only was the light of

Mu~ammad (Nür Mu/:wmmad) before the universe was created. and it was throllgh

this light that God created the earth and the human beings. 2 The Minangkaball world

was created as part of a process of emanation l'rom sllch a universal concept. al'ter

which the Minangkabau ancestors landed on the top of Mount Merapi. multiplied

and took up residence in the then Minangkabau proper (the Luhak Nan Tigo).·1

The traditional historical world view of Minangkabau, as expressed in its

local historioraphy, Tambo and Kaba, c1early shows the adoption of an Islamic

mystical world view. Il is perceived that there exists a harmoniolls and continllolls

1Minangkabau hlL" two Imdilional hisloriogmphies, Tmuho .md K'Ih;I. T:uuh<>, however, ismuch more signilicant th.m K"h". V"rious versions of l<IlIIho have appearcd. and Ihese differ inhmguage as weil 'IS contellls. While Ihe m.ùn theme h'L" rcmained similar, there have beenMinangkabau (mostly written in the Ambic scripI), IndonesÏlm .md Dulch versions. Among theMilllmgkabau versions arc: H.Datoek Tocah, T:llllho A/:uu Mimlllgk:ih;1U (Bukittinggi: PuslllkaIndonesia, 1990), republishcd l'rom ils 1926 edilion; B.Dt. Nagari B'L"a, Tmuho d,," Si/si/"h Al/IIIMiIlMgk"h"u (Pajakumbuh: CV. Eleonom, 1966); Dt. Slmgguno Dimdjo, Cumi P"Pllf:lII Al/IIILelllh"g" A/"III MiIlMgk:lh"u (Jakarta: Depl. P & K, 1984). republishcd l'rom ils 1916 edilion. Interms of ils COlllents. it may he divided inlo (l)TIUlloo AhllII which deals wilh the origins of theMinangkabau world and ils lmecslors, and (2) TIuuoo Adm dc:ding with Ihe origins of mllll .md itssystems. A.A. Navis, A/lun Terkclllh.wg Jadi Guru (lakartl: GnÛlti Pers. 1984), 4~.

2The notion Ihal Nür MulUlmmad W'1S Ihe basis of .dl creation is much developed inlslamie Sufism. Mul)lUllInad, in thl" sense. is undetslood as the perfcel man (/1I,'i!J1 Kilmi/ ). He is Ihespiril l'rom whieh a1llhings originate. Annemarie Schimmel, Mystic:1I Dimcnsiolls or 1.'/"111 (NorthCarolina: The University of North Carolina Press, 1975), 223-4; Sec also, Ahochakar Aljeh.PcngMIM Sedjamh sur; d:m T:iS.1Ur (Bandung: Tjerdas, 1962), 139-41.

3The lmcestor~ of Minangkabau were descended l'rom Ada-o, Ihe litst creature. Hisyoungesl son, by the name of Shis, is believcd 10 be the direcl aneestor 0: Isk:mdar O'I.U ld·Qarnaln,who is said to be Alexander the Great. One of his three sons, Maharaja Dimja, WllS instnleled to gotothe Equator to extend his father's power. He aeeordingly hmded on Ihe top of Ihe Mount Melllpi,where he formcd the fitst eommunity of Minangkabau and Ihen resided in the 'lfellS nearhy. H. Dt.Toe.1h, T.'lJIIOO Alam, 31-40; B.Dt.Nagari BlL<;ll, T.1moo dM Si/Si/M, 6-13.

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spritual rdationship between man and the Highest Essence and that this relationship

serves as the fUlldamental basis for human social interaction.4

The nudei of this way of viewing the world are <ldat and Islam. In addition

to its strong attachment to Islam. Minangkabau is well-known for its unique

matrilineal <ldur. The working of these two supposedly opposing systems has

defined the identity of Minangkabau society. Many observers find it a remarkable

synthesis. with the contrast between adat and Islam laying down the foundation of

the Minangkabau character.s For the people of Minangkabau. adat and Islam are

both part of the inseparable ideological bases of their tradition. The main purpose of

this chapter is to discuss the workings of adat and Islam in Minangkabau.

11. Actat in Minangkabau

ln general. iidat is usually understood as local custom which regulates the

interaction of the members of society. But the definition of adat in Minangkabau

embraces more than this. Il means not only local custom. but, more importantly. is

also conceived as the structural system of society as a whole, of which local custom

is only a componen!. ln this complex sense. adat is believed to establish the entire

value system on which ail ethical and legal judgements are based. 6ln sum, il may

weil be said to represent the ideal pattern of behaviour.

"'TlIuflk Abdulluh. "Modemization in the Minangkllbau world", in Cluirc Holt (cd.). Culture'U1t11'll/itiCS ill I",kmesill (lthaca: Comell University, 1972), 183-8.

5See lUTIOng others: G.H. Bosquest. Inuoduclion ,l l'élutle tic l'lslmn Illdonesien(PlIris:1938).21; Ph.S. vlln Ronkel. R.1pporl bellrefende tic Godsdienslige Verschijnse/en 1erSum'lIt:/'s We5lku.çl, Ba~1via, 1916.2; Hilderd Geertz, "Indonesian Cultures and Cummunity", inRuth T. McVey (cd.) Indl"!::.,ia (New Hc.1ven: HRAF. 1967).80.

6Tauflk Abdullah, "Adat and Islam: An Exmnination of Confliel in Minangkllbau."IlItlOIIC5ill. Il. (October 1966), 1.

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The place of adal in Minangkabau. therefore. eannot be deseribed in simp,,"

terms. As the ideal pattern of behaviour. it is taken to deline the ideal sodety to bl'

ereated and the goals to whieh this sodety is direeted. Datuk Sangguno Diradjo. a

modem udilt theoritidan. says that the sole aim of udul is the establishment of a

sodety in whieh ail sodal interal'tion should guarantee the eommon weifan: of the

people. 7 The force of the Minangkabau udul lie,; in its main funetion of providing a

set of rules for individual and sodal eonduet, to which the sodety must eomply. It is

for this reason that wmbo and kabll, the loeal historiography. deal for the most part

with injunctions about how people should behave. N

A contemporary udul expert and writer, [drus Hakimy Dt. Radjo Penghulu,

maintains that the basic concem championed by ltdilt is moralsY As the core content

of udul teachings, this concern provides a major stimulus to the creation of good

character and a prosperous society, goals which udm seeks to realize,lll [drus

Hakimy notes that, in the development of any society, moral values and vigour play

a major roll'. The moral orientation of udut is reflected in an aphorism which S'lys:

"A house is strong for its pillars, when the pillars are broken the house will be

devastated; a nation is strong for its morals, neglecting them occasions trouble." Il

Four values, sensibility, sensitivity, shyness and politeness, express the moral

7Datuk Sangguno Dimdjo. Cut:li PiIP.'It:III, 17-K.

KThe major concem of ~'UIl1>o and Imbll is individualllnd sochd t"hllviour. Alim slipulaleslhe qualilies that every memhcr of society has to hllve and lhe rules tlu,t rc3ulme sochd intemelinn.

91drus Haldmy Dt. Radjo Penghulu, RangkllülII Mustikll Ad", Blwl/Illi SYllmk IIiMinanglmb.1u (Bandung: CV. Rosda, 1978),34.

IOAn adat aphorism SlIys: "Nan elok iyolah budi, nan inwlh iyolah bIL~n" (Whm is glMKI ismonds, what is prelty is counesy).

Il In Minangkabau, "Kuat rumah karano slmdi. rusak slmdi rumah bimL~o. kUllt hlmgsnkamno budi, budi rusak IulIIcualah bangso."

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conœrns of the Minangkabau <Idal. n Thus from the adal's point of view. people

who are good in character are those who possess these four 'alues.

The notion of moral values in Minangkabau ad<l/ is a fundamental principle

in tenns of which, it is believed, social hamlOny can be realized. Social hannony is

in fact at the very heart of the Minangkabau adal. The values and structures of

society stipulated by adal are ail aimed at the realization of harmony. As an adal

saying puts it: "a happy world (with its) good harvest (in which) the population

keeps increasing, the nagari (the village level government) is peaceful, the

inhabitants are always in agreement, (where) peace is close at hand and strife is far

away."t3

The notion of harmony in Minangkabau seems originally to have been

inspired by the harmonious structure of nature. Nature with its divinely ordained

laws (Sunnat Allah) is the very source of Minangkabau ada/. "A/<un la kmnbang jadi

gUllI" (Nature is the best teacher), says an adal aphorism. The harmonious structure

('f nature has many philosophical connotations, and it is from these that the basic

values developed in Minangkabau adal are derived.14 Nature is of such significance

that the Minangkabau people cali their home country A/am Minangkab<w (the

Minangkabau world). Looking at nature as the source of adat laws, two main

divisions of <ldat are distinguished: unchangeable (permanent) adat and changeable

121n Minangkabnu, "Raso. pareso. ml~U dnn sopnn:'

13Taufik Abdullnb. "Modemizntion," 188.

14For exumple, wnler. In nddition to heing essentinl for humnn survivnl, wnter. inMinnngknbnu. symbolizcs "consensus" (muf.1k.11 ). A gencrnl consensus (mufllk.11 bulnl) is like thecirculnr shnpe of wnter nowing in li pipe. Every circulnr mnterinl nnlurnlly must he nble 10 rollsmoothly over uny fini surfnce, und so does every Ihin mnlerinl which nnlurnlly glides. Thusunnnimous consensus is described in nn ndnl snying:'" Wnter is encircled in n pipe. the word(ngrcemenl) is encircled in unnnimous consensus. the circle cnn then he rolled over, the thin mnlerinlcnn he mnde 10 glide:'

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'Id,/t. The permanent adat is. in turn. of two kinds. The t'irst is ,H/,Iik Ilall sa/l,lIIa

adaik (adat which is truly ,Idat ). which is identic:lI with natur:lI laws: it is

permanent and in it ail ,Idat laws have their origins. With the coming of Isl:lI11. a

new dimension was added to this dass of adat. that of supernatural law: although

Islamic doctrine did not replace local practices. it was l'rom the outset put in the

highest adat category.15 The second is adaik istiuduik (,ld,lt of ceremonials). viz.

the basic udut laws founded by the two legendary ,Idut givers. Oatuk

Ketemanggungan and Datuk Perpatih Nan Sabatang. The changeable ud,lt is. for ils

part, also of two kinds. uduik mm W ,ld,lik ('ld'lt which has become 1IC/./t) and 'Id.lik

n,m diadllikk<ln (,ld1lt which is made adllt): both are changeable according to

changing local considerations.

The lldllt, as c1assified above, is basically the source of traditional values

and norms in the Minangkabau tradition. The applied standard of norms is

charactcriz..d as Cupak Nan Duo or "The TW0 Measures". This standard of norlns

is, in turn, of two kinds: Cup./k USllIi and Cupak BU1lt'1ll. The first is the original

and the only source of ail values and practices, and it is l'rom the first that the second

derives its regulations. The Cupak USllIi is the ideal pattern of behaviour, whereas

the Cupak BUlltlln is the realization of the ideal in actuallife, and i~ thus responsive

to the changing environment.

12. Adat and Islam

Adllt had been in existence for many centuries prior to the coming of Islam.

AI'ter the advent of Islam in Minangkabau in about the sixteenth century l6, however,

15Taufik Abdullah. "Adat and Islam," 10.

16Christine Dobbin, "lstamic Revivalism in Minangkabau al the Tum of the NineleenlhCenlury," Modem Asian SlUdics, vol. 8 (1974), 324.

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thesc two diffcrent entitÎcs. adat and Islam. gradually bccame the inseparable

ideological bases of Minangkabau society. Their inseparability. which has attracted

many observers. lies in the ways Islam was absorbed into the social fabrie of

Minang:Cabau and the responses of the existing tradition towards il.

Prior to the coming of Islam. Minangkabau \Vas governed by a cultural­

based political system. As Edwin M. Loeb puts it. the government of Minangkabau

was essentially tribal rather than territorial. and the actual rulers of the land were the

sib (suku ) heads. 17 ln this government. two systems functioned: the aristocratie

Koto-Piliang and the democratic BlIdi-Tjaniago. each of whieh was founded by the

two legendary ildilt givers. Datuk Ketumanggungan dan Datuk Perpatih Nan

Sabatang respectively. IR These systems. however. \Vere implemented in full only in

the mlgilri. the village level govemment, with each of the four main clans having its

own representatives in the nilgilri council. Like a small republic, the nilgilfi was in

fact an independent govemment. Il was a federations of nilgilfis which formed the

Minangkabau kingdom. The kingdom, however, was merely the symbol of the

l:lIltural unity of Minangkab<: u whieh, unlike the nagilri, exercised no real politieal

power.l~

The introduction of Islam into Minangkabau did not violate or even change

the existing social system. This is probably due to the fact that, unlike many other

17Edwin M. Locb. Su/mum: ilS History 'UJd People (Vienna: Te Instill.> fUr Vôlkerkunde.1935). 102.

lllHlunlm. lsllun dml Adal Minangkah.1u (Jakarta: Pustaka Panjimas. 1984). 17. Eventhougb the Koto-PilitUJg tended to he more aristocratie, the King or the Head of Penghulu was alwayssuhjecl 10 consensus (muf:lkat ). Thus Ihe real roler of Ihis syslem was muf.1k,u. which wasessenlially similar 10 Ihal of the Rudi Tjaniago.

19p.E. de Josselin de lL'ng, MimUJgkah.1u and Negri Sembilml (New York: AMS Press.1984). 13.

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places in the Indonesian archipelago. the process of Islamization did not ha\'<'

political implications. Unlike Aceh. for example. the coastal trading centers such as

Tiku on the West coast had only a minor signitïcanee for international traders.l'lln

addition. the traditional fedtration system of the Minangkabau social structure madt'

it impossible for the royal court ta keep these trading centers under its full Clllllrol.

Consequently, these entrepots lacked political power.

Given the absence of political support, it is understandable that, in its early

stages, Islam did not associate itself with any political structure in the traditional

society of Minangkabau. The ea:-Iy Islamization did not ultimately climax with the

forcible conquest and abrupt conversion of the royal court in Minangkabau. as

happened in Java. Nor did Islam establish a supra-village political structure. as was

the case in Aceh. Also. unlike Aceh. the Minangkabau tradition did not perceive the

beginning of its "world" with the coming of Islam. 2t The traditional concept of

A/am Minangkabau (the Minangkabau world) was already there.

Henc('! it is interesting to notice that the early Islamization followed, perhaps

simultaneously, two paths. The first was the continuing tlow of wandering "ulwlliï'.

many of whom may also have been traders, and later, those returning l'rom 1111111111.22

From the seventeenth century onwards the network of sunlU, the traditional religious

schools, began to spread widely in Minangkabau, serving as a means through which

2ÜTorne Pires. a Ponuguese tmveller in the sixteenth century. notices that Tiku. the mainseapon on the west coast. was visited by the Muslim Gujamtees with one, or two. or three shirsevery year. The colony of the tmders W1L~ thus not of grc:lt significlUlce in the rrncess of Islamizationof Minangkabau. lL~ W1L~ the case with Acch. ArmlUldo Conesao (cd.), Thc 51111111 OriclII,d or TOlllcPires (Glasgow: The University Press. 1944). 161l.

21Taufik Abdullah. "Islam. History and Social Chlmge in Mimmgkahau." in Lynn L.Thomas lUld Franz von Benda·Beckmlm (cds.), ChlUJgc IInd Continuily il/ MimUJgkllhl1II (Ohio:Center for Southe.'I.~t Asian Studies, 1985), t48.

22RiIIlL1U liternlly denotes are.1S outside Minangkabau rrop.:r, hut it is also commonly uscdto denote areas outside one's own village.

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Islam couId get a linn ho Id on the /li/gi/ris. Second. and probaLly the more important

way in whieh Islami~ation took place. was through the redefinition of "the

Minangkabau world". The Minangkabau cosmogony was "reformulated", and the

origin of its world was Islamized.23 This can be clearly seen in the philosophical

foundations of "Minangkabau-ness" which came to trace its origin l'rom the

metaphysical concept of Nfir MU!lilmmiid (the Light of Mu~ammad), the source of

emanation of this real, observable world. The cultural manifestation of this

framework found itself in the structural concept of the "King of the Three Seats"

(Rujo Nun Tigo Selo). Whereas the Rujo Alum (the King of the world) represented

the idea of the unity of Minangkabau, the other two Kings, the Rujo Adut (the King

of Adut) ancl the RiljO Ibudut (the King of Religion) were respectively the

representatives of the icleological founclations on which the Alum Minangkilbuu is

basecl.24

Thus the Islamization of Minangkabau probably represents a unique case.

The process started with Islamizing the Minangkabau world, giving it new meanings

and a new significance. Once this process began, social institutions came to be

legitimized in terlns of Islam.25 ln other words, the ontological status of these social

institutions was strengthened by placing them within a sacred frame of reference.26

With this sort of conversion, the coming of Islam did not violate the existing age-old

order. The traditional structure of a culturally unified and politically federated A/am

Mimmgkilbiiu remained strong. The main thrust of conversion was thus nottowards

23Taulik Ahdullah. "Islron, History lUId Social ChlUlge," 149.

24p.E. de Josselin de Jong, MinangkllbllU and Negri SembillUl, 13; cf. ibid.

25Taulik Ahdullah, ibid" 150.

26Pcter L. Berger, The Soci;11 Re.1liry ofReligion (Lundon: Penguin, 1967),42.

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how sodety should be rearranged or restrl1l:tured but. rather. ho\\' sodety shonld b,'

cOI1l.:eived. n This was the dominating theme of the carly history of Islam in

Minangkabau. Il is therefore understandable that the lilrh/" brntht'rhoods should

have dominated in this periad of Islamization.

Throughout the history of Minangkabau. the question of h:lI111ony has I",,'n a

major theme in its tradition. a theme whieh is at the very heart of ,u/ilt. :IS ah'l'ady

noted. The absorption of Islam into Minangkabau is held by many a scholar to have

enhanced the importance of this theme. As Tamba and Kaba do not l'ail to

appropriate ideas l'rom Islam, one mal' assume that Islam has exerdsed a great deal

of influence on the existing adat. On the surface. it is interesting ta notice that the

earliest known versions of Tamba were written mostly in the Arabie script (Malay

Arabie). The use of the Arabie script, whieh began ta lose its dominant position onIl'

in the first hall' of the present century, is dear evidence of the intluenœ of Islam on

Minangkabau adat.

However, ta assess the impact of the absorption of Islam into Minangkabau

adllt, a brief discussion of the changes !hat Islam brought about in Ildilt fundamentals

is necessarl'. Our basic assumption is that there must have been a certain degree of

refonnulation of Ildllt principles in the wake of the advent of Islam. Il is difficult to

ascertain, however, when and how such a reformulation took place. One of the

problems confronting us is the absence of recognized Ildlll sources prior ta the

coming of Islam, save those provided bl' tlllllbo and Ildm sal'ings in a scattered

manner. The extant tumbo have ail been 'Islamicll" reformulated, indicating

27Taufik Abdullah,"lsllun, Hislory and Social ChtUlgC," 1Sll.

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dcarly that the various extant editions convincingly reveal a graduai proœss of

orth(,:.~cnctic intcrpretation of heterogenetic elements of a culture)S

ln its earlicst formula, the relation between ildilt and Islam is described as

follows: .. ildilt bilSillldi SIJijfil', shura' bilsandi ildilt" (ildilt is based on shar" and

.~hilr'· is based on ildat). Adat was supposed to maintain the harmony of society,

whereas the slwr' (religion) was intended to achieve harmony between the self and

the cosmic order.2Y ln the wake of the intensification in Islamization brought about

by the Paderi movement30, a new view of the place of adilt emerged: "adat basandi

,~hafil', shanl' bilsandi Kieabullah" (adat is based on shur', shar' is based on Kit,Tb

Alluh). The subordination of ildat to Islam, as is c1early seen in this new formula,

denotes a full acceptance of Islam into the social fabric of Minangkabau. Such an

acceptance was then enhanced in the four fold classification of adat, with the first

and the highest ,ldat category, being adaik nan ,çabana adaik (,ldat which is truly

adat ) now equated with the Qur'an and the Sunna. The working harmony of this

philosophy is further expressed in an adat saying, "agamo mangato, adat mamakai"

(religion designs, adat applies). Adat, therefore, is supposed to be the correct

manifestation of religious law in social affairs. 3t A shacp contrast has also been

made between adat jilhiJiyah -- syncretic and unenlightened adat -- and ada t

IslimliYilh • adat which is in accord with the precepts of Islam.

2HG.E. von Grunebaum, Modcm Is1:ml: thc SCiU'Ch fur CultumlldclIlity (ConneclÏlut:Grœnwoud !'rc..." 19H31, 14.

2lJorilUfik Abdullah,"Modemization in the MimUlgkabau world," 19H-9.

3l>nte Plideri movement WilS the fll'St IsL'U1Iic reform movement in Minangkllbau Ils weil liSin Indonesill. Beginning in the eurly nineteenth cenlury, the movement WllS iniliully propaglltcd bythree famous h.'!Üis wholltC suid 10 have been strongly influenced by the Wahhabism. We shull dealwith Ihe movement in the next chapler.

31Idrus Hakimy Dl, Rudjo Penghulu, Rangkaiim Musûkil Adac, 30-1; cr. Hamka, AYiw/m(1alwr\,e Umminda, 19H21, 9.

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The soda! manifestation of this harmonious paradigm is appart'nt in the

soda! stru~ture of Minangkabau. Nilgilri. the village level government. l'an \1<'

~onsidered a "full" and "valid" unit only if it ~onsists of one mosque. one ile/ilt hall.

road and public bath. 32 In the ildilt jilhiliYilh period. a ~o~k-pit (gilhlllgg:llIg) was

reckoned as one of the features without which a nilgilri would not be ~omplete. \ \

The mosque is the sa~red place where the religious rituals are performed. Veto to

maintain the unity of sodety. it has always been emphasized that there should be

only one mosque in ea~h nilgilri. To meet the need of a growing population. tht'

existing single mosque has to be enlarged rather than building a new one. This is

also the ~ase with the ildm hall (Bilhd Ad'lt ) where sodal affairs are dis~ussed.\4 A

settlement ~an thus properly be ~alled a ~ommunity if these two primary features

exist, so that one's responsibility to his society and the supernatural being ~an

harmoniously be integrated. This integration must also be realized in the

membership of the nagari council. The two main components, representing religious

dignitaries and adM élites, are properly represented in the ~ouncil. Thus, the

members of the nag'lfi coundl, who are called the Umng P'ltuik, the "exemplars",

are a ~omposite l'lite usually consisting of the penghulu (the adat l'lite), the illim

ulamil (the religious dignitaries) and the cadiilk pandid (the intellectuals),35

The hannony of adat and Islam in Minangkabau society is also culturally

symbolized in the architectural styles of the mosque. In the Minangkabau interior,

32Hmnka. ibid" 8; cf. Dl. Sangguno Dimdjo, Cumi P:/flilt:lII Adm, 1134.

33p.E. de Josselin de Jong, MimUlglalhilU .uld Negri Scmhi/wI, 79.

34Given Ibal Minanglmbau has IWO different social syslems, Koto-Pililmg lmd Budi­Tjaniago, different forms of social struclures appcar al ail levels. However, the Iwo main fcalureshave always becn !here, regardless !he difference in syslem.

35Hmnk:~ Ayahku, 8.

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especially in Lima Puluh Kota. Agam and Solok. the roofs of the masque are

generally divided into three staries. symbolizing the three social groups (urallg tigo

jillih) a<:<:ording ta adat. viz. the pellgllUlu. the imam-khatib and the ur,lIlg ballyak

(the musses).

I. 3. The Cause of Historical Change

The fundamentaltrait of Minangkabau ,tdm is its perpetuity.36 Deviations

l'rom established values may trigger <:rises in the Ahlm. They <:ould hinder its

movement towards its histori<:al goal, the perfe<:tion of sodety. The Minangkabau

<:on<:eption of history is neither unilineal nor <:y<:lical, but rather spiral with

widening dr<:umferences. History moves towards its goal, but the foundation of the

AlaIII and the rythm of its development are supposed ta be permanent.37

With this conception, there would never be contradictions or even

diffieulties between the permanent idea and the imperative change. Adat

acknowledges the necessity of historieal change and its dynamism. Nonetheless,

several points have ta be taken into account. Tambo and Kaba have, since the

beginning, made il very <:lear that whatever change might occur, the foundation and

pillars of the Aillm should remain strong. Adat's concern with both continuity and

change is apparent in its concept of the <:lasses of adat. The first, adaik nan sabana

IldlÙk, is permanent, and l'rom this ail adat laws stipulating values and structures of

sodety are derived. In the face of historical change, however, the other part of ada!

36n.e p:1rt which is pcnn:ment. the ad:Uk mm sah.1na adaik (adat which is truly adllt ~the source of ail Ild:u laws, is pcl(lCtual. This part of Ildllt neither cracks in the sun nor rots in thenûn (" indllk lllk:lllg di p.weh, indllk lapmlk di huj:lll").

37Taufik Abdulhth. "Modemizalion in the Min:mgkubau world," )89.

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may be changed and reviewed in the light of changing circumstanct's, As an 'l<br

aphorism states, "When noods come, the bathing place mnves," IS The puhlil'

bathing place may move provided th,\t the river. where it is located. always remains

in its original place, ln reviewing this dass of ad"t. the principle "what is gnnd

should be used. what is bari should be "bandoned" must he "l'l'lied, l" 111l1s

incorporating new elements into 'ldm is imperative so "s to ensure the vit"lity nI' the

foundations of the Ahull,

The new elements might. however. endanger the establishment. Therefore il

is important to bear in mind that the changes must not be detrimenl,,1 to the

foundations and pillars of the A/'lm. Here lies the pivot"l position of "harmony",

which maintains a balance between keeping firm hold 01'1 the foundation of A/mil

and the necessity of adding new elements to the existing principles, Thus the notion

of harmony helps maintain a perpetuai tranquility in society,

ln dealing with matters of change. 'ldm prescribes that ail questions

pertaining to continuity. incorporation and even replacement of the eKisting adm

regulations are entirely contingent upon the muf'lkat (consensus) of the Ilagw'j

council, the highest governing body. Muf'lkat. the process and the result of

deliberation, is the procedure for dealing with general problems in the mlgw'j and

reviewing the existing social regulations, The power of mufilkat lies not only in the

legitimacy of the penghu/u and other ad'lt functionaries. but also in its sacral

nature, The basic function of muf'lkat is the realization of the abstract notion of

truth (Illlll blllla ), which is "the real King" in the nagarj. Regulations and precedents

381n Minanglmbau: "Sakldi aia gadang. slwdi lapilln handiah."

391n Minangkabau: "NIUl clok di pakai. nan hurnak dihuang,"

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f,mllulated by mu[abl arc a theoretkal expression of the truth itself. 41) But it is

important to notke that mu[abl shouid al ways be based on appropriateness and

propriety (a/ue.io p'l/uik). Appropriateness means respe<:t for the germane sadal

hierar<:hy, "using stairs ta go up, using a ladder ta go down,"41 and propriety entails

rational and moral <:onsiderations.

ln many respe<:ts, ,lka/ (reasoning) is of great signifi<:an<:e in mu[akal. Il

enables man ta sear<:h for truth and per<:eive reality. Moreover, it is a fa<:ulty that

determines not only what is possible and what is not, but also deliberates on what is

proper and what is not. A judgment of ,lkal is valid if il <:ombines in itself logkal

possibility (mungkin ) and ethical propriety (P'llUik). Negligen<:e of the latter, it is

believed, will create social distress. ln arder ta combine mungkin and patuik, ,l1ml

must therefore be guided by Iman, the belief in Gad, which functions as the active

agent controlling ,/k,ù. Perfect ,/ka/ is thus ,/kw guided by iman, with a sense of

duty ta oneself, society and ta Gad. ln addition, in mufa/ml, ,/kw also requires ilmu

(knowledge); this is based on the laws of nature and an understanding of the past

events. With i/mu, one will be able "to learn frem the past, and to take the victor as

the modeI."42

Mufak<lt then requires a lot of things. Adat council members, particularly

the penghu/u and the ad,lI élites, must ex<:el in akal , iman and ilmu . An

innovation can thus be accepted through mufakat if it is logically possible and

morally proper. ln order to save society from possible disorder, the advocates of

41l-r:lUlik Abdullllh, "Modcmization in the Minungkllbllu world," 191.

411n Minangkahau: "Bajanjang n:ùck, batanggo turun." Sec. (drus Hakimy Dt. RajoPcnghulu. R,Ulgkli:U1 Mlwik<! Ad'll. 59.

421n Minangkahau: "Barnja lm nan sudnh. mamnbick lunh kn nun munung."

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innovations should also take into account that "what is good for us. should also lw

good for others. "4.1

Thus. being the ideological foundations of the sodety. ,/(/,/1 and Islam

represent the harlllonious structures of the Minangkabau traditional sod.d SYStl'lll.

However. the emergence of the Illodernist Illovelllent has ca lied the hannony

between the two in question.

431n Minangkabau: "Elok (Iarnak) di awak, katuju di urlUlg."

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Chapter Il

THE RISE AND GROWTH OF THE MUSLIM MODERNIST MOVEMENT

IN MINANGKABAU

n. 1. Pre-refonn Islam in Minangkabau

ln order to comprehend the state of Islam prior to the emergence of the

Muslim modernist Illovement, a brief account of the Islamization of this region is

necessary. The geographical setting of Minangkabau provides us with some clues on

which various theories about this Islamization are based.

Basing himself on Chinese annals which state that there existed an Arab

settlement on the west coast of Sumatra in 674 A.C. (52 H.) l , Hamka opines that as

early as the first century A.H. Islam had gained a foothold in Minangkabau. 2 This

was made possible by the fact, he argues, that up to the fifteenth century Arab

traders relllained undisputed masters of the trade routes between the Arabian

Peninsula and the East, and the ports of Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula enjoyed

frel(uent visits from them.' He argues further that if there were no Muslim

comlllunity, il would have been absurd for Merah Silu to become the first Muslim

king in Pasai. 4Though Hamka's argument seems plausible, it lacks adequate

1T.W. Arnold, The Prc;lchillg of1sl.1m (Lahore: Ashmf Printing Press, 1979), 368.

2\tunka. AYilhku (Jakarta: Umminda, 1982), 3-4.

'Ihid.; T.W. Arnold, The Prc;lchillg .367·8; J.C. vun Leur. Il1dollesilUl Trnde and Society(The HaguclBundung; W. VlUl Hoev.:, 1955).69. For un extensive und well-documeated study of theearliest Amh trade wilh Indonesia und the Malay Peninsulll, sec Rita Rose Di Meglio, "Arab Tmdcwilh Indonesia und Ihe Malay Peninsula l'rom the 81h 10 Ihe 161h cenlury," und M.A.R. MeilinkRoelofsz. "Trnde lUld Islam in lhe M.'I1ay Indonesian Archipelago Prior 10 the Arrivai of Europeans,"in O.S. Richards (ed.), Is/lIm IUId the Trnde of Asia: G.R. Tibhels. "Early Muslim Traders inSouthel"l Asil~" JMBRAS. Vol. XXX. part. 1. (1957),1-45.

4Memh Sîlu. who laler on had a Muslim name, Malik Saleh, was Ihe firsl king of Pasai.loellled in Ihe extreme north of Sumatra (presenlly under the provincial administralion of Aceh).

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evidence. ln addition. it ean also he objeeted that at slleh an carly datl'. "thl' Arab

traders' selliement" was not necessarily eqllivalent to a sellleml'nt of MlIslim

traders. 5

More reliable sources sllggest that bath the west eoast and the east rivers of

Minangkabau played a eonsiderable part in the proeess of lslamization. As was thl'

ease in other parts of lndonesia, wc sec here tao that eeonomie aetivity eonstitlltl'd

the major faetor leading ta eonversion. Bath the west eoast, espedally the Tikll and

Pariaman eoastal kingdoms, and the cast rivers had l'rom time immemorial been the

two main gateways of Minangkabau international trade. A Portugllese traveler,

Tome Pires, notked that the ports of Tiku and Pariaman had a great deal of lrade

with the Indian Muslims of Gujarat, who visited these ports with as many as thrl'e

ships l'very year,6 By the seeond decade of the sixteenth century, the kings and port

offidals became Muslim, ail of them bore Muslim titles, and lslamie teachers well­

versed in the Qur'an were found in the ports.? With regard ta the Minangkaball

interior, conversion proœeded chiefly through the trade links with Malaeea. The

involvement of the royal family in the straits' gold trade via the east rivers led to

relations with the Malacca royal court whkh had been Islamized in the fifteenth

œntury, Perhaps ta facilitate their business transactions, if for no other reason, the

Minangkabau royal family adopted Islam.K

Pasai, lb:cording to hislorical tindings, was lUnong the very tirst regions 10 he Isl:unized in Indonesialmd the Malay Peninsula in the thirteenth century,

5Ylm Leur, l/ldo/lc.<i:ul Tmde IUJd Society, 69.

6Armlmdo Cortesao, The Sumll Orie/l/III of Tome Pim<, Yol. 1. (London: 111e UniversityPress, (944), (61)-1.

7Ihid.; cf. Chrisline Dobbin, IS/Iunic Revivldi.<m i/l a Chlmgi/lg PCIL<WI/ EC(J//()my (London:CurLOn Press, (987), 119.

8Armlmdo Cortesao, ibid.. Yol. Il.. 248. At the lime of Tome Pires, one of the Minanglmbautriumvirate, R.'\io Allun, had already been Muslim for 15 yeurs, while the olher two still remained 10he converted; Hmnka. J.</;un di Sumatcm (Medan: Badlm Pembangunan Semanglrt Isllun, 195(). x;

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It is also worth pointing out that the expansion of Achenese power along the

west Sumatran coast between Barus in the North and Inderapura in the South, where

there were a number of small kingdoms which were originally part of the

• Minangkabau kingdom, was another factor that helped accelerate the Islamization of

Minangkabau. 9 Though prompted primarily by economic motives, which were

conspicuous in their attempt to monopolize cultivation and trade of certain goods

(particularly pepper and gold), a great deal of conversion especially in the west

coast areas was owed to the one century (l6th - 17th) or so of the Achehnese

presence there. 1ll Il was also during this period that a great Minangkabau scholar,

Sheikh Burhanuddin (d. 16(1), who had already finished his study under Sheikh

Abdul Rauf Sinke! (d. 16(3), an Achehnese grand 'ulamii' of the time, retumed tu

Minangkabau. He was the first major scholar of the region, and developed networks

of religious leaming in his home country, Minangkabau.

From the above historical accounts, we may concludc that in the early stages

of conversion, areas along the west coast, which were certainly very accessible,

were more intensely Islamized than areas in the interior. The case is much different,

so far as the degree of penetration of Islam into the heartland of Minangkabau is

concerncd. This basically had to do with two particular features at work in the so-

called Luhak Nan Tigo (Minangkabau Proper), though each has nothing to do with

the other. The mos! outstanding natural feature of the mainland of Minangkabau is

On the significnnce of conversion for commercial success, sec Donald F. Lach, Southeasl As;~ ;/1 theEye.. ofEumpe (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1968), 573.

9WiIlilUn Marsden, The H;slOry of Sum~rrn (Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press,1lJ6(i),4ll4.

lOBJ.O. Schrieke, !/ldo/les;~ Soc;o!og;cal Slud;es Vol. I. (The Hague/Bandung: W.vnnHocve, 1955),52: Bernard H.M. Vlekke, Nus.lJImrn (The Hague/Bandung: W.Van Hoeve, 1959),93: On the Achehnese control over Minangbbau, see J. Kathirithrnnby-Wells, "Achehnese ControlOvcr West Sumalm Up to the Treaty of Painan, 1663," JSAH, Vol. X, no.3 (December 1969),453­79.

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that its situation in a ~hain of mountains. known as Bukit Barisan. rnnning parallt'l

to the shore on its western side along the island of Sumatra. This mountainous

terrain. though dose to the west ~oast. was a barrier to the f10w of easy

~ommunieations l'rom the outside. ln addition. being the mainland of the

Minangkabau kingdom. it was also renowned for its long alta~hment to the Hindu

tradition.! t We may thus assume that the forœ of Islam as an outside religion was

aœordingly hindered. at least during the three œnturies al'ter its introdu~tion. and

~onsequently the pace of conversion was slower. 12 But it should be borne in mimi

tha! later it was precisely in this interior region that the first fierœ Islamie reform

movement, the Paderi movement, was to emerge in the early years of the nineteenth

cenlUry. We shall discuss this movement in the last part of this ~hapter.

Another trait of the conversion of Minangkabau to Islam. to which wc have

alluded in the previous chapter, was that Minangkabau was independent of any

politieal association. This situation was obviously differeni l'rom the general

character of Islamization in Indonesia and the Malay Peninsula, where polities did

play a role. Courts, traditional politieal centers, were in many ways dosely linked

with ~oastal ~ommercial centers l'rom whence Islam came and from whence it was

further diffused into the hinterland through the power of these courts. ll ln

Minangkabau, the absence of politieal backing may weil have been the result of two

IIT.W. Annold. The Pre.1ching ofIs/am. 370.

12Raftles, Lieutenant Govemor of British Administration of "Java, BenC(Kllen and ilsdependencies" (l81l-t8240, who travelled to the Minangkabau interior. noticed that al the time ofhis visil in t 823 "there are yet hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions. in Sumatra, who at Ihismoment possess no religion at ait" Sir Thomas Suunford RafHes. Memoir, Vol. Il (London: WiIl.unClowes & Sons, 1830),309.

13A.H. Johns, "Islam in Soulheast Asia: Problems of Perspective." in C.D. COWlm lmd O.W.Wolters (eds.), Southeasl Asian Hislory and Hisloriography (lthaca: Comell Universily Press,1976), 309-11: Taufik Abdullah. "Islam, History and Social Change in Minangkahau," in Lynn L.Thomas and Franz von Benda-Beckman (ed~.), Change and COn/inuily in Minangbh:/U (Ohio:Center for Southeasl Asian Studies. 1985), 148·9.

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main factors. First. as already mentioned. the royal family did not have full <:ontrol

over ail trading centers. As a result, business transactions did not necessarily entail

direct relations between the royal court and foreign Muslim traders. Second, and

more important, the kingdom exercised no real politi<:al power over the nagaris. As

we have discussed in the pre<:eding chapter, a nagari was basi<:ally a kind of small

republic whi<:h had full and autonomous control over its own administration. The

federation of nagaris forming the kingdom had only a very loose relation, whi<:h was

more cultural than politi<:al, to the kingdom itself. Consequently, the kingdom's

power to enfor<:e conversion was lacking.

It is understandable that in the early stages of conversion no attempts were

made to modify or change the existing order. The major concem was to add new

m<:anings and values to the age-old establishment of the Minangkabau society.

Thm:, without any disturbance, the traditional social structure of Minangkabau

society found itself "Islamicly" legitimized. Understandably, with the empahasis

more on the inward aspect of belief, the early history of Islam in Minangkabau

witnessed a remarkable development of sufi orders, the fariqas,14 although the

Shüfi'ite school, adhered to by Minangkabau Muslims as weil as Indonesians as a

whole, was another important factor in integrating the people. t5

1411 hlL' ht.'Cn arl,'IIed, particularly hy such schoL'U'S ru; A.H. Johns, thatthe primary impulsehehind the ellrly development of Islam among the Indonesian people was the preaching of sulis. Theevidence for this view is to he found in the traditionalliterature and local historiographies such liS

Sedj:mth Mel:vu and HikllY11I Rllia-Rllia Pasai. As Gihh points out, lifter the fall of the Ahhasidcldiphale in 1258, the sulis played an incrcasingly imponant part in preserving the unity of theIslamie world: sulis. who developed affiliations with traders and craft guilds acted as the realmissionaries of the conquering faith. Sec A.H. Johns. "The Role of Sulism in the Spread of Islam toMalaya and Indonesia," JPHS, Vol. IX, part l, (January 1961), 146-7; H.A.R. Gibb, "AnImerprctataion of Islamic History," The Muslim World, Vol.45 (1955), \30; H.A.R Gibb & HaroldBowen, Mamie Society and /he West (London: Oxford University Press, 1957),74-5.

t5HamklL lsllml di Sum:llra, 16-7; G.W.J. Drewes, "Indonesia: Mysticism and AClivism,"in E.von Grunebaum (cd.). Unity :md Divcrsity in Muslim Civilizalion, (Chicago: The University ofChicago Press, 1955),287.

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Before dealing further with the sutï nrders which deveillpt'd in

Minangkabau, a glance at their basic features seems neeessary. The dlit'f

eharaeteristic of these orders was the Uller devotion nf the student (llI11rï(/l in the

SllnllI (traditionallearning institution) to his Sheikh. who taught them the IslamÎl'

faith with particular reference to his orders precepts after having himself passed

through a discipline preseribed by a spritualmaster whose eredentials were. in turn,

traceable to the order's founder. 1h ln addition to teaehing the Qur'an and its

eonunentaries. the sheikh would also teaeh the particular rules. methods and

religious praetices whieh constituted the 'path' (filril/il) laid down by his l'wn order

for the seeker after God. Frequently the sheikh would a1so teach his own secret ilum

(esoterie knowledge) as regards methods of self- defense, means of making oneself

invulnerable in the faee of weapons, and ways of consulting nume.ùlogical treatises

to determine auspicious days; sULh learning, with its pre-Islamie overtones and

magical coloring had been readily assimilated by Minangkabau Islam. 17

A more significant feature of the sufi orders in Minangkabau was their

organization which centered on the Sllrilll. 1K Being the traditional center of

16R.L. Archer, "MuhmnmadM Mysticism in Sumalra," JMBRAS, XV (IY37), 5.

17Ibid.. 6; Ph.S. van Ronkel, Rapport BCl/refcndc dc Godsdïcn.<ligc Vcr.<c1,ijnsclcn IcrSwnarm '5 WCSrkusl (Batavia, 1916), 17, quotcd by Christine Dohhin, /s/:unÎt' RevivaUslII. 121.

18The origins of surau in MinMgkahau can he :L~crihed to the Hindu-Iluddhist tradiliollthere. Although wc know Iittle about the period, the regiun scems to have undouhtedly hccn thecenter of Hindu-Buddhist rituals. Its pre-1slmnic remllMts appel" in its storied roofs, having severalGonjong (peaks) reflecting the Hindu-Buddhist tmdition. In the period of Islmn, .'llmu, a smallmasque, is primarily the place where prayers Md other ritu:ds me performed. save the Fridaycongregational services which CM only he held in the centml masque existing in ellch IliIg:u'i. IIIaddition, sumu is a1so the center of traditional religious lemoing. Besides providing son.e h:"ics ofreligious knowlcdge which usually staned wilh Ambic Md Qumnic rcci..~tion. each sumu had itsown spccialization bascd on the area of expertise of ils sheikh. Ta he well-versed in lshlfllic lellflling,a student accordingly had ta move l'rom one sumu ta Mother, Md :L~ he finished his venture, hishome people would proudly gmnt him a piece of land. sometimes with a ready made huilding, wherehe could then stan a new sumu. Apllrt l'rom this function, .<unw also played a considemhle role illMinMglmbau society. Since the traditional position of an lldolesccnt lmd unmllfried man w:" verymmginal in society. il was considered taboo for them ta stay long in their mothers' IlOuses,particulmly if there WIL~ a m:trriagcable or mmricd sl~ter at home. They could he there only for mCldsor in M emergency . Sumu thus heCllfII~ M outlet where such men spent most of their time. Even

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religious learning, the SUfilll can practically be associated with one of the existing

orders in Minangkabau, although this does not mean that ail St'rml had necessarily

beenlinked with such orders. For, as prescribed by adat rules. each dan (slIku) was

supposed ta have its own independent SUfilLl for use by its members. Serving as a

network whieh transcended nilgari boundaries, the sunw was in fact a major factor

contributing ta the thorough promulgation of Islam in the hinterland of

Minangkabau.

Yet also common ta ail orders was the nature of their teaching. Generally

speaking, ail orders in Minangkabau were orthodox in their thought; heterodox

sufism, whieh had caused pantheistic speculations ta flourish in Aceh in the

seventeenth century, was not represented in Minangkabau. The search for truth and

knowledge of Gad as the ultimate goal was thus ta be achieved within an orthodox

framework. This trend was manifest in the numerous Malay translations of the

Arabie orthodox sufi texts published at the time. 19 It is also noteworthy that the

study of Islamic law, fiqh, became well-established. Having successfully finished

with some basics in Arabie and Qur'anic recitation, a student was then introduced ta

the standard works of the Shafi'ite school. Of the works which enjoyed wide

popularity as the most authoritative among the Minangkabau surau were Minhiij IÙ-

should a mlm's wife die or he he divorccd, he again hOO 10 assume this S~1tUS. Sumu also served as ashelter for Iravellers, merch,mlS and other wandercrs passing Ihrough the village. Illhereby providcdinvaluable information about life oulSide the village. On Ihe pre-Islamie and early hislory of SUt:lU

(mosque) and ils relationship wilh elassical Islamie learning, sce Ra.Kem, "The Origins of theMldllY Surau," JMBRAS. 29, No. 1. (1956); H.A.R. Gibb and J.H. Kramers, "Madrasa", ShorlerBncyc/oJlilCdi:t ofIs/am. (widen: EJ. Brill, 1961),301 and 304; Sidi GazaIha, Mcsjid Pus.111b.1d:lt.hUl Kehuwtya.w Is/:ml (Jnkarta: Bulan Bintang, 1983),314-6; Mahmud Yunus, Sejarnh PendidiklUi1.<lIun di Indonesi:t (Jaimfla: Muûara, 1979), 18·9; On Sumu and tradilionai Minangkabau society,s.'C Hllmkn. IS/:UlI <Lw Ad'II Minnngkahau (Ja1mrtll: Pustaka Panjimas, 1984),25-6; MuhammadRadjab, Semasa Keci/ di Knnlpung (JaImrta: Balai Puslaka, 1974),23.

19Richllrd WinSledt. The M.d:IYs (London:RotIcdge & Kegan Paul Lld., 1961),42.

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Filibïn of al-Nawawï and its commentaries TIl!Jf;H and Nih;TYilt II'ritll'n

respectively by Ibn I;lajar and al-Ramlï. 2ll

Of the three orders which survived in Minangkabau. very Iiltll~ is knll\vn

about the Qadiriyya. Il seems to have gaincd a foothold on the coast and in Agam. 21

As for the Naqshabandiyya, its early history is unccrtain. although il has l1<'en

argued thal this order was introduccd into Minangkahau hy a scholar l'rom Pasai.

possibly in the tirst half of the seventeellth century. 22 However. only in the middk

of the nineteenth century can we observe the real entrendUllent of tht'

Naqshabandiyya-Khalidiyya; this order f10urished primarily in Cangkiang, Agam

(Minar:gkabau interior). This development had to do with a certain Sheikh Isma'il.

of Minangkabau origin hailing from Simabur, who, after studying and teaching in

Meçça sometime in the first half of the nineteenth century, hecame the first sheikh

of the order in the Archipelago and in the Malay Peninsula. Although he never

returned to Minangkabau but rather stayed to propagate the order in Singapore and

Riau, as the first celebrated sheikh he must have exerdsed great int1uence on the

pilgrims, and especially upon his Minangkabau fellow men.23The fundamental tenet

of the Naqshabandi order is Wa/ldilt a/-Shllhüd (Unity of Witnessl, which was

developed by Sheikh A~mad Sirhindï in India in opposition to Wabdilt 11/- Wl!;ÜcJ

(Unity of Being), to which the popular Shattariyya and Khalwatiyya orders in

20Mahmud Yunus, ibid.. 45; Deliar Noer, Gemkltn Modem Isllull di IlIdollesi:1 Oakana:LP3ES, 19R2l, 11-2; Snouck Hurgronje, The Achellese, Vol.1I (Leiden: EJ. Brill, 19(16),9.

21L, Archer, "MuhammailiUl Mysticism," lOR.

22Christine Dobbin. IsllUllic Revivtuism, 123.

23J.S. Trimingham, The Sufi On/crs ill/s/lUII, (London:Oxford University Press, 1971),129-30; Martin Van Bruinessen, "The Origins IUld Development of the Naqshahandi Order inIndoncsia, " Der Islam. Band 67, Heft 1 (199ll), 161-4; Idem, TllfCklll NllqsYIlh/mdiYllh di llIllt",c.<i:1(Bandung: Mizan, 1992), 101; B.J.O. Schrieke, Pcrgoillkllll AglllIIlI di Sumll/em 811ft1l, Oakana:Bhmtam, 1973),25.28-9.

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Indonesia also subscribed. In contrast ta the earlier orders which flou ri shed in

Indonesia, another principal feature of the Naqshabandi order is its strong adherence

to the ShiU'·)4 The first renowned Minangkabau sheikh of the order was Djalaluddin

of Cangkiang, who was also an active and successful proselytizer in the 1X(i{)s.

The early history of the Shattariyya, the second largest order to have

survived in Minangkabau, is belter known. The order, which was first introduced

into Sumatra by the famous Abdul Rauf Singkel (d.I(il)3), was brought to Ulakan,

on the west coast of Sumatra, by Sheikh Burhanuddin (d.1 (il) 1), a Minangkabau

pupi! of Abdul Rauf, sometime in the latter part of the seventeenth century. From

there it spread to the Minangkabau interior, Kapas-Kapas, Mensiangan, Koto Lawas

and particularly Kota Tua, near the Naqshabandiyya headquarters, Cangkiang. 25

Unlike the Naqshabandiyya, the principal tenet of this order is WaPdat al-Wujüd, a

doctrine originally developed by the famous Ibn al-'Arabï, the Spanish mystic who

heId that ail being is essentially one.26 This doctrine became associated in

Minangkabau with the popular doctrine of Martabat Tujuh or seven phases of

emanation of the Absolute. Even though the Shattariyya order is basically orthodox,

its commitment to the observance of the shar' has long been questioned. This may

be one of the reasons why in the nineteenth century this order lost sorne of its

importance. 27

24Mllrtin VlUl Bruinessen, "The Origins", ibid.. 173.; Aziz Ahmlld, An Inrellectual Historyof Isliun in India (Edinburgh: Edinburgh Universiy Press, 1969),40-1; S.A.A. Rizvi, A Hislory ofSI/fi"n in IndÎiI. Vol. Il. (New Delhi: Munshirnm MlUlOhllTla\, 1983), 196-226.

25R.L. Archer. "MuhllTllmlldlln Mysûcism." '13; Chrisûne Dobbin, Is/nmic Revivalism, 123-4.

26Annemnrie Schimmel, Mystical Dimension of Is/nm (North CllTOlinll; The University ofNorth Cllrolina Pres.•. 1975).263-86; S.A.A. Rizvi, A Hislory ofSufism. vol n., 257-73.

27Kllrcl A. Stccnbrink. Behernp.1 Aspek lenlllJlg Is/nm di Indonesia Ab.1d ke-19 (Jllkmtn:BullUl BinlllJlg. 1984). 174; B.J.O. Schrieke, Pergolnkllll Agnma, 24-5; Snouck Hurgronje, TheAcbenese. VoU1, 10-1.

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As the largest and most well-developed orders. the Naqshabandiyya and Ihe

Shatlariyya dominated in the early period of Minangkabau Islam. The headquarter

of each. Cangkiang (Naqshabandiyya) and Ulakan (Shattariyya) which were also

centers of traditional religious learning. became the basis for the spread of SIlf<JIlS

thraughout Minangkabau. Sa important was the raie they played that Illost religious

questions of that period were referred ta either Cangkiang or Ulakan. However. the

two were in fact in opposition ta each other in many aspects of their fundamental

tenets. Thus. among the Minangkabau people. AgilnlD ül1Igkùl1Ig and AgillllO

Ulakan (the Cangkiang religion and the Ulakan religion) became a well-known

expression.28

II. 2. The Emergence of the Modernist Movement

Having briefly dealt with the introduction of Islam into Minangkabau. we

may now proceed to discuss the rise of the modernist movemenl. The origins of the

movement have much to do with the early development of Minangkabau Islam.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the dominant theme of the early history

of Islam in Minangkabau is the significant role played by sufism. Il has already been

argued by such scholars as A.H. Johns that the brand of Islam which came into

Minangkabau or elsewhere in Indonesia was highly infused with sufism. 29 The sufi

orders with their own seemingly distinct systems dominated the religious life of the

28Haml<ll. Ayahku. 11-4.

29Sce• A.H. Johns. : "The Role of Suftsm"; "Islam in SouthelL~1 Asia: Renections and NewDireclions," lndonesia. 19 (1975). 35-55; "Suftsm as a Calegory of Indonesian Litemlure andHistory." JSEAH. 2 (1961). 10-23.

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sOl:iety.\11 Thus Minangkabau witnessed the development of the major orders such

a.s the Shattariyya and the Naqshabandiyya.

At the time of the advent of Islam in Minangkabau. three major features had

been at work for centuries in society. The first. being a generaI trait of peasant­

rural society. was animistic beliefs. which were still flourishing in the nineteenth

century. The main features of this belief were the Shaman, Pawang or Dukun in

Minangkabau. to whùm people would have recourse in their difficulties. and the

belief that aIl trouble in society was the work of evil spirits. With the help of a

Pawang or Dukun, the spirits, which were thought to reside ir. certain objects, were

pIacated by means of sacrificial offerings. OverIaying this type of oId Minangkabau

peasant beIiefs were certain religious traditions which had been introduced into

Minangkabau from outside. These were Hinduism and Shivaite-Buddhism which

appeared simultaneously with the accession of Adityawarman (from the Hindu

Javanese court) as the King of Minangkabau in the fourteenth century. :\1 A

significant doctrine of these 'foreign' religious traditions was the concept of the

divinity of the ruler, who was transformed by the miracle of his accession into a

divine being and became the sustainer of the 'cosmic order.' To sustain his power,

the ruIer couId never afford to negIect magical ceremonies, and this sacral character

remained markedIy in existence up to the nineteenth century. 32 The third feature of

30AI-Ghazmi's m...sterpiece in sulism. I!ly'!' 'Ulüm al-Din. rank"<j Iirst in the area oftl'~awwuf lmd was taught in cvery Surnu Bach arder, however, also i ....~ ilS own panicularauthorilies which in many ca.ses werc different from those of the others. KareI A. Steenbrink,Bc/>cmp:1 A~pck. 157-8.

31 Shivaile-Buddhism is basically a syncretic form of certain teachings of Hinduism andBuddhislII. However il is rnlher diflicu1t 10 ascertain which one is the original. In ils prncticalmanifes"~lion. this son of syncreticism had been the source of legitimacy for the rulers of theMajapahit Kingdom to c1aim lheir divinity. Beginning with Adityawarman. such rcligious belief wasalso adopted by Minangkabau rulc'TS. Christine Dobbin.lsIamic Reviwl1ism. 117-8.

32Justus M. Van der Kroef, "Javanesc Messianic Expectations: their Origin and CulluralContent". COlllp:u:lIive Srudies in Socicry and His/ory. Vol. 1.. No: 4 (June, 1959).304; Clara Kibby

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this society. and probably the cause of most irritation for every striet Mllslim. \Vas

the age-old matrilineal "dm. whieh. among its reglliations. stiplliated the transfer of

inherited property -- be it individual or the communal property of the dun (sllkll) -­

along the female line as the very center of the family system in Minungkubull

trudition. Accordingly. should u fmher die. the right to huve possession of his

property wus not in the hands of his own children. The valid beneficiaries of this

inherited property. according to "d"t luw. were his sister's children.

These three features were ail deeply rooted, having existed for centuries

prior to the penetration of Islam into Minungkuball. We may thus assume that the

task of Islamizution was not easy. As ulreudy noted, given the ubsence of politieul

support, conversion was accordingly culled upon to legitimize the existing

truditional arder by giving it new meunings and significance.33 ln this regard, the

primary emphasis was laid on the purity of the individual's heart rather than the

religious correctness of his actions and conducl. Such was precisely the propensity

that was taken up by the sufi orders,34 and thanks ta it the Minangkabau traditional

arder remained intact.

The efflorescence of the sufi orders in early Muslim Minangkabau is seen in

the mushrooming of surau, a development in which Ulakan, the Shattariyya

headquarters, took the lead and was the source of authority. In almost every SUfllll,

sufism became the main subject taught ta students. With the far reaching networks

of SUTIlU transcending nagari boundaries, it is conceivable that the sufi sheikhs

Nicholson, "The Introduction of Islam into Sumatra and Java," Ph.D Thesis, Syracuse Universiy.1965. 14-8.

33Tauftk Abdullah, "Islam, History and Social Change," in Lynn L. ThomlL' and Franz vonBenda·Beckman (eds.), Change and Conûnuity in Mina.lgkahau (Ohio University: Center forInternational Studies, 1988). 147-8.

34HAR. Gibb and Harold Bowen, Islamic Society Imd the West, Vol. 1.. 179.

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exerdsed far greater influen~e and thereby won higher respe~t in society than did

the legal do~tors.

However, the sufi stress on the purity of the individual's heart ~alled forth a

rca~tion from those who were stri~tly ~on~erned with the high orthodox do~trines.

First of ail. the one-sided sufi emphasis was ~onsidered not to be in a~~ord with the

true spirit of Islam. Under sufi influence. the balan~e in the Muslim ~ommunitj as a

whole was gradually tilting against the fundamental tenets of orthodoxy.35 The ~hief

issue in question here was the relegation of the prescripts of the law to a lower level.

The Shattariyya, the first sufi order to dominate in Minangkabau, was particularly

blamed on su~h grounds. 36 Hence, although Minangkabau was regarded as the

supreme seat of civil and religious authority in the East, an eighteenth century

a~~ount revealed that such pivotaI precepts as prayers and fasting were observed

with l1lu~h laxity.37

The emphasis in the early period of Islamization on merely the inward

aspect of belief, the purity of the heart. did help maintain the traditional foundation

of Minangkabau society. Such an emphasis, however, made possible the synthesis

of lslamic and pre-lslamic elements. 38Various concessions to the existing values,

therefore, must have been made to ease the inevitable tension between the "great

universal tradition" and the local variations in the society. As a consequence,

certain pre-Islamic traditions survived even in the course of the further

35H.A.R. Gibb, Modem Trend in 1s1= (Chicago: The Universiy of Chicago Press. 1950),25.

36Kllre1 A. Steenbrink, Bebernp.1 Aspek, 174-5.

37Wil1imn MlIrsden. The His/OIY of Sumatrn, 343, 345-6: See also Muhmnad Radjab.Pemng Paderi (DjakllJ1l1: Bailli PuSllIkll, 1964), 11-2.

38H.A.R. Gibb. Modem Trends, 25; Snouck Hurgronje. The Achenese, Vol. li, 18-9;Annemarie Schimmel, Mystic.lI Dymension, 240-1.

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entrenchment of Islam in Minangkabau.'9The acceptance of Islam hy the royal

family did not necessarily lead them to abandon their earlier beliefs and practices.

The Rilja Al'lm (the King of the World) still strove to retain his supernatural powers

right down to the nineteenth century.41l The question of matrilineill inherilance

remained annoyingly intact till a furious campaign was launched from Meœa hy

Sheikh Ahmad Khatib al-Minangkabawi at the end of the nineteenth century:11

However, among the most conspicuous survivais which were Iraditionally

sanctioned by the society were cock-fighting, gambling and alcohol-drinking.

The rise of the Paderi movement in the early nineteenth century, the l'irst

reform movement in the Archipelago, was a direct reaction against ail kinds of

degenerations in Minangkabau society. The Wahhabi movement undoubtedly gave a

strong impetus to the three famous {Iiljjis whose return in 1X0342 marked the

beginnings of the religious reform which, with Dutch intervention, luter developed

into a civil war (1 X2\-\ X37).43 Indeed, a series of militant religious campaigns to

cleanse Minangkabau Islam had begun in the late eighteenth century within the

39Hrunka, Islwn di Swn:uem. IR-21.

40Christine Dohhin, Isl:unic Reviv:di.<m. 119; R. Winstedl, The M:dilYs. 63-6.

41Gibb :trgues thattherc WilS one domain in which lhe socÎld legishllion of Ishun W'L< Iïnnlyentrcnched - the domain of personalrclations, including m'lITÎ:lge, divorce ,md inherit,mce. Genendlyspeaking this is true. But in Minangkabau, Ihe case is very differcnt. Although Mimmgkahau isrogarded as the most completely converted area in the Indonesian archipeh.go, m,"rilinCld inheriumee- perhaps the major trait of a malrilinCld society - has a1ways been .m IIroa in which Islrun could nolsuccessfully penetrate. H.A.R. Gibb, Modem Treods, R9·90.

42The three are Haji Miskin, Haji Sumanik and H,yi Piob.mg, the flfSllwo being lhe moslpopular.

430n the Paderi movement, sec Muhrunoo Radjah, Pemng Pluleri; Christine Dohbin, Mil/llieRevivaIism, 128-54; "Isl:unic Revivalism in Minangkabau llt tbe Tum of Ihe Nineleenth century,Modem Asian Studies, 319-45; "Economic Change in Minangkallllu 'L~ il FlIclor in Ihe Risc of IhePaderi Movemenl,"Indonesia, no. 23 (1977),1-36.

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isolatcd traditional surau in Agam. This early reform was mainly directed at the

rival sur.IlIS ·,vhich. it was charged. had deviated from the pure doctrine of Islam.44

Like those of the Wahhabis. the fundamental tenets of the Paderis were

revivalist in orientation, insisting on the purification of faith, reassertion of

QurJanie teachings and opposition to any accretions that may contaminate the pure

Islamie monotheism.4S They adopted coercive measures in asking people to execute

strictly the live daily prayers and prohibiting them from cigarette and opium

smoking, cock-fighting and gambling, with clear stipulations that violators were

liable to fines or even the death ser.tence. These striet measures show clearly their

primary concern with the outward expressions of belief, an aspect which had long

been neglected by the sufi order's dominating Minangkabau Islam. In this respect,

the movement became a dynamic force, impatient to transform this frustrating

environment thoroughly, aiming at the destruction of what it considered a jahiliyya

- syncretic and unenlightened - society and the creation of an Islamie one.46

The most significant impact of the Paderi movement can be seen in the

firmer establishment of Islamic doctrines within Minangkabau adat. As we have

discussed in the previous chapter, adat was given a greater Islamic orientation. More

important, however. with the incessant f10w of returning l,Iajjis, the tendency

towards orthodoxy gained strength. With the introduction of a more orthodox­

minded sufi order. the Naqshabandiyya. in the middle of the nineteenth century, the

44Elizabeth E. Graves, The MinlUlgkahau Response la DUlch Colonial Rule in IheNinelccl:th Cenrwy. (Ilbaca: Comell University, 1981),22-3; M.C. Ricklers, A Hislory ofModemloonllcs;'. (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1981), 133.

45Muhammad RlIdjab, PellUlg Paderi, 14-22; H.A.R. Gibb, Modem Trends. 28.

46Taufik Abdullah. "Adal and Islam", 14.

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trend towards orthodoxy became more entrenched. The Shattariyya. the l'ariiesl

dominant order, was then attacked for its corruptions and th us lost inl1uence.·17

Il is not an exaggeration to say. therefore. that the nineteenth century was a

crucial period in the history of Islam in Minangkabau. Ils signitïcance will be

readily understood if we relate it to the rise of the modernist movement in the early

twentieth century. The real importance of this momentous period was not only that

it provided a strong stimulus to the modernist movement, it also laid the foundation

for a stronger trend towards orthodoxy. In this sense, the nineteenth century market!

a transition to major developments in the twentieth century.

ln the last decade of the nineteenth eentury, Sheikh Ahmad Khatib al­

Minangkabawi, a grand sheikh of the Shafi'ite school at Masjid al-l;Iaram4~,

launched his campaign against the adat matrilineal law and several religious

doctrines whieh he considered as opposed to the doctrines of orthodoxy. His attack

on ad<lt inheritance law. whieh he considered to be in complete contradiction with

the prescripts of Islamic law, was the first serious attempt to c1eanse ildllt laws of

their unislamic elements. However. only in the middle of this century could a more

47According to Snouck Hurgronje. Ihe Shatlariyya W1L~ corrupl hccausc ils adhercnls inIndonesia "have becn so long left 10 Ihemselvcs...But bcsides this. bolh Mlday and Javanese havemade use of Ihe nume of Shallariyya as a haIlmark with which 10 authenlicalc VltriOlL~ kinds of vil~IHe

philosophy 10 a large exlenl of pagan origin". Furthennore. as Schrieke mentions, il WIL~ ldso chargedwith sorne unonhodox lendencies on legalislic and sccondllJ'Y issues. such as the venel'lrtion of sainL~.

Ihe way 10 delennine Ihe truc direclion lowards Mecca. qihlll, and Ihe proper way 10 dccide Ihehcginning and Ihe end of RamaQlin. See Snouck Hurgronje. The Achenc.~e, Vol. Il, IM-20; BJ.O.Shcrieke. Pergo/ll1C11n AgllffiiJ. 24-8; See a1so J.S. Triminghum, The Sufi Oroers. 130-1; Manin vanBruincssen, "The Origins and Development." 173.

48Sheîkh Ahmad Khatib was originally l'rom Minanglcabau. Born in Bukiuinggi in IMSS. hewas sent in 1876 10 sludy in Mecca where he Ihen as.~umed Ihe highly respccted position of gmndsheikh of the ShlilÏ'ile SChOllI al Masjid at-\;IarliJn. Although he never relumed 10 his home country,his feUow Minangkabaus sludying wilh him were 10 hccome Ihe main channel of his innuence on hiscountry. Thnugh a stricl Shlifi'ite. he did nol slOp his sludent~ l'rom acqmùnting themsclves wilh Ihemodemisl ideas of Mu~ummad 'Ahduh.

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Islami~ solution to this irritant be worked out.49 His severe assault on the sufi

brotherhoods, partkularly the Naqshabandiyya, as unorthodox, signaled the

heginning of more than two de~ades of fierœ religious ~Gnfli~t in Minangkabau,

although at the same time it helped pave the way for the ~reation of a religious

society, 50

The return to Minangkabau early in this ~entury of sheikh Ahmad Khatib's

prominent students, who then be~ame the proponents of the modernist ideas,

marked the starting point of a new era of Islam in Minangkabau. Led by its four

leading figures, Sheikh M. Djamil Djambek, Sheikh Abdullah Ahmad, Sheikh

Abdul Karim Amrullah and Sheikh Thaib Umar, the movement posed an intense

and bitter challenge to the established Minangkabau Islam. Il furiously attacked the

heterodoxy of the sufi orders and opposed ail unauthorized innovations (bid"a) in

religious life. Later, by the second decade of this century, the leaders of the

movement began to denounce traditional religious experts for basing their religious

judgments solely on the authoritiy of the Shafi'ite scholars. TaqIfd (uncritical

acceptance of textuai canons), they maintained, was wrong because it was not in

accord with the true spirit of Islam. They argued that the truth of the Qur'an and

l;Iadith couId be discovered only by using 'aq} (reasoning), a method which the

Qur'an and l;Iadith themselves support. By employing this method, widely known as

ijtihiid, scholars would succeed in attaining the universal truth of Islam which is in

49Unlike the initial stipulation of adar inheritance law which did not acknowledge anydivision, the new fonnula explicilly divides it into (1) inherited plOpeny, and (2) self·acquiredplOpeny. White the first has to romain matrilineally inherited, the second, on the other hand, has tohe treated according 10 f.'Itif';(i. See Hamka, Islam clan Ad.1t Minangkab.1u, 102·7; DJ.O. Schrieke,Pcrgll/:llmn Agil/lm, 34·8.

Sl"aufik Abdullah, "Schools and Poliûcs; The Kaum Muda Movement in West Sumatnl(1927·1933)," Ph.D thesis (lthaca: Comell University, 1971), 13·5.

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turn applil:able to any historical and social change. 51 Atlempls to purify rt'ligion and

to reject ta<[lïd were thus to serve as the tïrst steps towards the rediscovery of Ihe

truc ethics of Islam. on whil:h a progressive Islamic society is to be built.

The modernist movement. however. found itself vigotously opposed by tht'

traditionalist "u1;mliT' who made every possible endeavor to maintain the established

Minangkabau Islam. With this fierce religious cont1ict, a split among Minangkllbllu

Muslims proved unavoidable. The immediate outcome of the split was tht'

emergence of two large opposing factions. the Kaum Muda (the modernist) and the

Kimm Tua (the traditionalist).52 ln the second decade of this century the cont1ict

reached its critical point. With modernist denouncilltions of illegitimate religious

practices which were traditionally sanctioned by the "ulimliT' and adilt élites. sudl

as the way to celebrate the Prophet's birthday and the ceremonies on the occasion of

someone's death 53, the polarization sharpened. For example. the central mosque of

Padang. which was under adat jurisdiction, employed for some years two different

imams representing the Kaum Tua and the Kaum Mudij respectively. The end of

Rama~anwas also celebrated separately by the !Wo. 54 ln many instances, therefore.

the modernist had also to confront the adat élites who had finally been affiliated

with the traditionalists.

It was in this critical period. however. that we find an extraordinary

mushrooming in Minangkabau of the publications of both opposing parties. In

51Ibid; BJ.O. Schricke. Pergo/alcan Aganm. 59·69; c.e. Berg. "Indnnesia" in HAR. Gihh(cd.). Wither Is/am '1 (London: Victor Gallanoz. 1932). 270·2.

52B.1.0. Schrieke. Ibid.. 57·9.

531n Minangkabau the ceremony is called the ulhlil. We shall discuss this question in thesection two of coopter four.

54TaufIk Abdullah. "Schools and PoUlies." 15.

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addition to books written by their promincnt figures, the modemists channeled their

ideas through their official bi-weekly journal, ill-Munir (IY II-IY 15). The first ever

Islamic journal in Indonesia, ill-Munir was edited by Sheikh Abdullah Ahmad, a

leading proponent of modernism. In many ways the spirit of reform espoused by ilI-

Munir can be ascribed to Mu~ammad cAbduh's ill-Milmü' (IXYX-IY37), which was

earlier also emulated by ilI-ImiTm (lYO/i-IYOX), edited by a Singapore-based

Minangkabau modernist scholar, Shcikh Muhammad Taher Jalaluddin al-Azhari. In

defending the long established Minangkabau Islam l'rom this new attack, the

traditionalists, too, responded through their own publications. In addition to books,

they issued two bi-weekly journals, Soeloeh MeIiljoe (lYI3-1915), a contemporary

of ,li-Munir, which was edited by Sheikh Khatib Ali, the leading figure among the

traditionalists, and ill-MiziTn (191 X-1921), published by Sharikat al-I~san Maninjau.

Ail of these publications were highly polemical in tone. 55

That the atmosphere during the first two decades of this century was very

heated is understandable, since each side was unrelenting in opposition to the other.

Besides polemical publications, several open debates were also held during this

period. The tension relaxed in the next decade when the modernists began to be

more acceptable in society, although the conflict as a whole was not thereby

resolved. On the practical level, however, being aware of Muslim backwardness in

education and social conditions, the traditionalists found the modernist program

acceptable. Thus, when the modernists founded a modern system of schools,

Sumatra Thawalib (1918) and its teacher's ('ulamiP)'s union, PGAI, a similar

institution was also established by the traditionalists in the form of the Madrasah

550nthe modemist sidc, besidcs ,11-MWlIr, there also were al-MUnIra/-Manilr (publishcd inPadnng PMjWlg), :11-I/ûfilq wa a/-Ifûrnq (Padnng), a/-I/ûqifn (Maninjau), a/-Irshifd (Maninjau), a/­B.1y:lJl (Parnbck), a/-Ba.<hIr (SungaYMg) and a/-lmifnJ (Padnng Djapang). The traditionalist alsopublished another al-Mizifn Md SU:1rÛ (Suarn Pcrti). See Hamkn, AyahIru, 99-119; Deliar Nocr,Gcmkan Modem, 40-8, 241; 8J.0. Schrieke, Pergola/mn Agwna, 79.

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Tarbiyyah Islamiyyah (IlJ2X), with its ,'I1/;/llIil' union. luit,lad al-'lllam:I J

Minangkabau.

It may thus be ~oncluded l'rom the preceding dis~ussion that the

development of Islam before the turn of this century was the main fa~tor whkh

~alled for the emergence of the modernist movemenl. As will be shown in tlll'

following ~hapters. the disputes between the modernists and the traditionalists

justify this thesis.

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Chapter III

THE TRADITIONALISTS' RESPONSE TO

SE'VERAL DlSPUTED (KHILÂFIYYA) MATTERS

The major part of the controversy between the modernists and the

traditionaiists in the early de~ades of this ~entury dealt with several kililMiyya

(disputed) mallers in the damain of silar'·. There was a large number of su~h issues,

though for the purposes of this study, only three main issues of dispute will be

dis~ussed, viz. ijtiil;Td, bid')l and u,~uIIi.

m.l. Sheikh Khatib Ali's Refutation of Ijtibiïd

Ijtiil;Td generally means exerting oneself to the utmost degree to allain an

obje~t; in its te~hni~al sense, it signifies exerting oneself to form an opinion (?il/m)

in a ~ase (l/UçliYY;l) or as to a rule (!Iukm) of law. 1 A mujtMid thus means one who,

through his mental exertion, arrives at an opinion; the mujtuilid is, therefore, the

opposite of the mUl/uIlid, "imitator" who, as mentioned by 'Abd. al-Wahhab al­

Subkï in his Jum' uI J,lwiimi" "adopts the saying of another without knowledge of

its basis. "2

ln Minangkabau. as also in other parts of the Islamic world, the issue of

(itih<Td and tiIl/Iid was widely disputed between the modemists and the traditionalists

in the early de~ades of this century. This issue was one of the major disputes which,

IT;lhiinawi. K:l,hsMfi~lilif1Il;1 ;l1-JiInÜII. Vol. 1 (Bengal: Asialie Society of Bengal, 1862),198: HAR. Gibb lUld J.H. Krnrners, SIIONer Encyclopiledia ofIslam (Leiden: EJ. Brill. 1961), s.v."ljlihfld." 158: Abdul Karim Amrullah. Pedom:m Guro (Payacomco: Limbago, 1931).39.

2J:11L'lm 'Anar. l;l,iShiyah 'al,; sharQ al-Ja1<Tl al-MaQal/ï. Vol. 11 (n.p.: Matba'ah 'i1miYYllh,1316 A.H.), 393-4: Tllhnnawi, ibid.. Vol. 11, 1178: Gibb and Krnrners. ibid.

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in turn. triggered the split of Minangkabau Muslims into Ihe hauill Tua and the

Kauill Muda.

The dispute began with the modernists' insistence that the long hl'id vin\'

regarding the permanent dosure of the gale of !itihi/cI. which amllllllled to a cali for

total till/lid. was totaIly baseless. They argued that this opinion had no valid

grounds whatsoever in the religious tradition of Islam. The Qur'an and the Sunna.

the primary sources of law in Islam. give no indication which l'an be understood as

signifying the dosure of the gate of ijtihifd. Sheikh Abdul Karim AmruIlah. the

most prominent Minangkabau modernist. concedes that there is a sound I)adith to

the l'l'l'l'ct that those believers who Iived in the Prophet's life time and in the two

generations foIlowing him were the best l'ver to exis!. ' Those arguing for the end of

Utihifd based their position on this ~adïth. But. Abdul Karim AmruIlah asserts. the

~adïth does not necessarily imply that the succeeding gencrations of Muslim would

be the worse in tenns of their devotion or accomplishment. 4 ln addition. the

modernists also adduce reliable proofs to show that the notion of the end of !iti/li/cI

and the l'aIl for tuq/id enjoyed no support l'rom the founders of the m.ullJllilbs. The

Imams, on the contrary, had emphaticaIly urged Muslim scholars always to

l'l'examine their earlier Utihifd and not to follow it unquestioningly.5 ln effect, they

caIled for an on-going i}tihifd.

3The hadith 'l'ads: "Kh.lÎr .Il-mis qumï. lhumm'l a/-/'lllhïllil y.llüllilhum ûllllllma :d-/m/hUIôly.llümJhum". Kurim Amruluh. Pc'domtUl Guru. 97.

4He cites lIJlother ~udilh uccording 10 which the succccding genemtillns l'lUI he even henerthllJltheir prcdecessors. even though they did not meet the Prophet lIJld his CllmplUlillns. prnvidedthut they bUll helieve in and uct in accordllJlce with the prccepts of the Prophel. Ihid.. %.

5lbid.. 57-65; Abdullah Ahmad. AI-Munir. Vol. IV No. 14 (6 Septemher 1914).223;Mu~ammad b. 'Ali al·ShaukfUli. :l/-Qaul a/·mul'id Iii .ldilllll .d·ijliMd W.l a/·ttlqlïd (Kuwait: Of" alQalam. 1980).54-62.

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Th~ modersnists' daim regarding the baselessness of the long he Id vie\\' that

(jrihiirl had œas~d was strongly opposed by the traditionalists. Their opposition was

led by Sheikh Khatib Ali. the most prominent figure among the traditionalists who.

for some years at the turn of this century. had also studied under Sheikh Ahmad

Khatib al-Minangkabawi. the teacher of the Minangkabau modernists. Khatib Ali

himself wrote a book entitled BurhiTn :JI-l;la,!,!. the greater part of which is devoted

ta the cause of (jrih<ïd.

Contrary ta the modemists·. Khatib Ali is convinœd that the discontinuanœ

of (jrihirrJ does have legitimate grounds in Islamic tradition. The dosure of the gate

of ijrihiTd. he insists. is primarily based upon the CO'lsensus (ijma")fi of such

"modern" scholars (Culama' al-muraqaddimin) as al-Nawawï. Ibn J:Iajar and al­

RamB. They are said ta have reached a consensus that the mujrahid mu.rla,! (the

absolute mujrahid) had ceased to exist by the beginning of the fourth .:entury

A.H.7The last decades of the third century A.H. marked the final stages in the

formation of the schools of law; ail questions of Islamic law had by then been

6There is unmlimous agreement. espccially in the Shiifi'ite school. on the role of ijmli' ,esIhe Ihird principle of law ,lfler the Qur'lin and the Sunna. A minor but significant difference inemph,esis on the way ijm:l' is accepted. however. is found in certain circles of Ihe Sbiifi'ites. Themodernisls. in this c'esc. tend ta he strict. They define ijm'ï' as the mujlahid's consensus on themeaning of Ihe Qur'fm ,md the Sunna. Ijm:ï' is thus accepted provided Ihat it is in accord with theQur'fm and Ihe Sunna as its primary basis. In this respect. the modernists regard ijm:ï' ~'~'ïh'lh

(consensus of the Comp,mions) ,e' of tbe highest rank in authority. and limit their acceplance only tothe most reliahle consensus of certain mujlahids (Karim Amrullah's Sul1:ïm and Faw,ï'id ,mdAbdull,th Ahmad's Muq'lddimah). By so doing. the modemists obviously maintain the dominantauUlllrity of the Sunna above ijm:ï'. Such a qualification and emphasis docs not scem to he a majoreoncern of the Imditionalists. Hence. the authority of ijm:ï for them is unquestionable. BJ.0.Schriek PcQlol:ooUl Agama di Sumarem Barnr (Jakarta: Bharata, 1973).67-8; Deliar Nocr. Gemk'llIModem Islam di Indonesia (Jalmrta; LP3ES). 109-10; Abdullah Ahmad. ai-MunIr. Vol. III No. 22(12 January 1914).336-42: Siradjuddin Abbas. Kumpulan Soal Jawah Ke.1gamatUl (Bandung: KaryaNus:mlar:lI987). 119.

71hmblm BfijülÏ. J;1'lShiyah 'aI,Y shar!J aI·QhtIZzi. Vol. 1 (n.p.1278 A H.). 31; 'Abd al­Ratunfin Bfi 'Alawl. Bughy.11 al·MusulfShidIn (Semarang; Usaha Keluarga. n.d.). 6; Khatib Ali.Burh:TII aI-J;1aqq (Padang: Pulo Bomer. 1918).23; Idem. Soeloeh Melajoe. Vol. 1 No. 10 (l5February 1914). 159.

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thoraughly discussed and tinally settled by the IIJl!ilalJids. and four schools llf law

had come ta be generally recagnized.s The periad following their establishmelll was

thus regarded as one in which no IIJl!Îwhid ((Illf/a'i wauld emerge again.

The establishment of the four nwdlJ/wbs. says Khatib Ali. owed a great deal

ta the IIllljwlJids IIlll!/;rq. Their distinguishing trait was their abililty ta found

independent systems as the basis for their investigation of laws in the Qur'an and

the Sunna. ~ The succeeding IIlllj:,rlJids. such as the IIllljwhid IIJlIdhlJlIb and th,'

IIllljwhid fll1lViÎ and larjï/:J were IIllljlllhids of a lower rank. who basieally follawed

the already established systelll in their own 1Il1IdhhlIb. III

Khatib Ali is of the opinion that the outstanding aeeomplishmellls of the

IIllljtahids IIlll{1aq had mueh ta do with the characteristics of the age they lived in.

According ta a sound ~adÏlh CÎted above, Il their age was the best period ever. In the

eyes of Khatib Ali, the mast important characteristic of this period was its

proximity ta the milieu of the Prophet. The IIllljtahids who lived in this period arc

thus believed ta have benefitted l'rom an extr..ordinarily wide range of religiaus

KJoseph Schachl. Ali IIIUOt1uerioll1O IsIwnie Lllw (O.ford: Clarendoll Press. IYY 1) 70·1.

9Khatib Ali stales: "Yang berhal< mengarohil .d'L"m pcrkatmmnya kepada Qur'an dalll;Iadilh hdah orang mujUlhid. 'Vlluna' y.mg mujurhid 1.", y.mg mengamhil (Hukum) dari Qur'an danl;Iadillt itu" (Those who have Ihe right to base directly Ihcir argumem on Ihe Qur'fm .md the l;Iadllhare Ihe mujl,rhid.<. Il is Ihey who arc qualificd 10 di.<cover laws from Ihe Qur'an and Ihe Sunna).Khalib Ali, Soc/oeh McL'!ioe. Vol. 1No. K(15 J.muaTY IYI4), 119.

IOVarious levcls or qualifications of lIIujwhids h'lVe heen idemified in cadI sehlHll.Genemlly sJ1Caking, Ihree le'lels are distinguishcd. The firsl. the highesl. arc Ihe lIIujl:lhid lIIul/aq.thal is lItose who arc ahle 10 discover 1.1ws from lite Qur'iin .md Ihe Sunna ,md develop lItcir ownindependenl legal systems. The founders of Ihe mtldhhllhs bclong 10 lItis pamlllouni level. Thesecond arc the mujLwids IIllldhhtlb. Ihal is Ihose who discover laws from Ihe principles ldre,u1yeSl.1blished by Iheir masters, i.e. Ihe mujLwici mu/hUi of Ihe school. Im,un MUl1mni of lite Shfdi'ileand Abü Yüsuf of Ihe lianalile schools are said 10 he allltis leveL The Ihird and Ihe lowesl level isIhal of Ihe mujlahid f.11Wi! and larjï/;J, Ihal is Ihose who arc able 10 qualify the degree ofpreponderaney and reliabilily of Iheir masters' ijrihild. Groupcd in Ihis level arc such "modem"scholars as al·Nawawi, Rlifi'i, Ibn l;Iajar elc. Ba 'Alawi, Bughyar. 6-7; Khatib Ali, ihid.. 159·60.

11Sec noie 3 above.

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knowledge rcsulting from the light of Prophecy and enabling them, in turn, to

discover laws from the the Qûr'an and the Sunna. 12 The aforementioned l)adïth is

thus taken by the traditionalists as a deeisive proof of the permanent limit on pure

Util1iTd. D

However, the traditionalists. as represented by Khatib Ali, do concede the

modernists' argument that the founders of the schools were ail in favour of ijtil1iTd.

Sheikh Abdul Karim Amrullah, a modernist, has dwelt at great length on this point

in his Pedoman GUrli. He adduces much evidence to show that the four Imams were

very suppcrtive of reexaminating their earlier opinions through ijtil1;Td. 14 For

instance, Malik b. Anas, the founder of the Malikite school, is quoted as saying: "1

am an ordinary human being, who can commit error or do right; therefore

eXiUlline 15 my opinion; whenever it conforrns to the Qur'an and the Sunna, take it;

and whenever it does not conforrn to the Qur'an and the Sunna, renounce Ît."16

According to the modernists, Malik's cali for examining his opinion Clin be

realized by those who are well-equipped with the necessary qualifications pertaining

to their area of expertise. 1? Thus, any scholar who can meet such requirements may

be capable of exercising ijtihiTd. For the traditionalists, however, MITlik's

aforementioned statement is not a general invitation to ijtihifd. As elaborated by

12SulahnlUi AI-RlIsuli, A/-Mï7.iiIl. Vol. 1 No. 27 (1 Shawwl~ 1337 H), 281-2.

13Khmih Ali, Burluïn. 30.

14SCC noIe 5 aoove.

151l1~ics mine.

16KlIrim Amndl:.h. Pt.'lloman. 59-60; Khatib Ali, Soe/oeh Me/ajoe. Vol. 1No. 10 157; Cf.MU~IUnllll\l1 'Ali 1~-SlulUkïUll. Irshifd al-FulJül (Cairo: Mu~~'Ûà l~-Biibi al-J:Ialabï. 1937), 267.

17KlUim AmmIL'Ih.1bid., 75-9.

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Khatib Ali. it was rather exdusively directed to the principal nlll;w/Jids "l'the lime.

who alone. it is maintained. had the necessary qualifications for exercising (irih;Td. ls

ln this regard. Malik particularly spoke of sllch nll!;r,lhids as Shafi'I and AI.lInad h.

l:Ianbal.

However. the modernists have always maintained that the presence of the

mujt<thid at ail times is a must. IjtilJiïd. as Abdullah Ahmad argues. "is an invisible

(ghii'ib) job, concealed in the hearts of those who have been granted the ability

(tallfiq) by Gad, an ability which nobody can detect except Gad Himself."!lJ (itih<Td

is thus contingent upon divine guidance (hid,TY,l), which acknowledges no limits in

terms of space and time. Basing himself on this premise, Abdul Karim Amrullah

asserts that Gad cannat confine His guidance only ta the Muslims of the past. Il

will rather continue to be bestowed until the end of the world upon those earnestly

seeking the Truth. 20 The idea of the generality and unlimitedness of God's

guidance, which in turn necessitates the existence of t1Jujwhids, is expressed in the

following ~adïth: "Man yurid'I-liihu bihi kh,lÎTan yufuqqihhu fi ul-dÏII W,l yul/lim/lU

l1l.vhdahu" (WhotIJsoever AI/uh wishes hitIJ goodness, surely Allah willnlllke him

well-comprehending in mutters of religion and inspire him with Hi.v guidunce).21 A

Quranic verse (IV: l!3) makes a similar point: "Nilrfa'u darujlTt m,Ill Il<lslJiï~' (Wc

18Khalib Ali remarks: "Adapun yang diwasiyatlmn oleh ulmna-ulmna mujulhid ilu ialah/<Üih ,11- 'Hm, bukanlah memper.;etujukan falwa-fatwa merekll ilu dengan KiUlb dan Sunna" (Whalwas mandated by Ihe mujUlhid was JUS! la seek for knowledge [from Ihe mujulhidl, nollo serulini,,,their f.1twII< on the basis of the Qur'lin and the Sunna). KhlUib Ali, 5oc/och Me/lljoe, Vol. 1No. 1~ (1May 1914),230; Idem, Ibid" 1~7-8.

19Abdullah Ahmad, AI-MullÏT, Vol.1V, No. 14, 223-4.

20Karim Amrullah, Pedoman, 33.

211bid" 34: Abdullah Ahmad, AI·MunIr, Vol. IV. No. 14.. 224.

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rilise 1l1JCO degrees of wisdom whom We wil1).22 SuYÜ!ï's belief in the ceaseless

appearance of mujlilhids also seems to have exercised great influence on the

modernists. Thus. every Muslim must believe. says Karim Amrullah. that the

mlljlilhids will never be extinct. be they mujwhid mU!/iI,! or mlljwhid nllll/uyyud

(mlljwhids of a lower rank).2.'

As against the modernists. Khatib Ali casts further doubt on the possibility

of the appearance of a mlljtilhid in our time by asking whether the requirements

necessary for ijtihiid can still be met. Exercising ijtihiid. he ,ays. requires complete

mastery of a vast number of disciplines. including Arabie. the Quranic sciences.

l;Iadïth, Fi,!h. Logic, etc. as weil as their related branches. Khatib Ali asserts that

this requirement could be met only by the early mlljtahids of the schools of law,

who alone had the ability therefore to exercise ijtihiid.24Such later scholars as

Nawawï, Ramlï and Ibn l;Iajar were mujtahids of lower rank and essentially

followed the system already founded by their early masters.

Thus. while admitting the theoretical possibility of the emergence of a

tmywhid, as emphasized by the modernists. Khatib Ali is convinced that • for many

reasons, this theoretical possibility can no longer be realized. Among the

traditionalists. it was a widely accepted notion that the later the generation. the less

its abilities and accomplishments.25 That is also the case as regards the issue of the

22A large numbcr of Qumnic verses and l;Iadilh. elaborated by the modemists. purport tosupport the continuous appeurance of mujulhids. ln panicular, see Karim Amrullah. ibid.. 32-9; cf.Al-Shaukfml. /rsMd. 253-4.

23Kurim Amrullah, ibid.. 34; JullU Al-Dln al-Suyüli, Ki~~b :11-~llladduth bi ni'mm AJJ:1h('Abb:lsiyyuh: Malh.~'ah al-'Arahiyyah a1-l;Iadilhiyyah, n.d.). 203-6.

24Khalib Ali. Bwh:Tn. 15.

25According to Khalib Ali. Ihe period from the fOUM century A.H. onwards is gmduallyless vlIluable Ihan Ihe period preceding il. This view, he says, is confmned by a number or luldïlh. Hef:ûls. however. 10 cite any of such traditions. Ibid.. 31.

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appearance of the 1Il11.itahid. For. Khatib Ali insists. ta be able tu master thl'

qualifi<:ations necessary for UtihiTd. painstaking efforts un the part uf the wuuld-bl'-

mll.itilhid are not enough. The outcome will be determined for the must part by lhl'

period in whi<:h he lives. The ~adïth characterizing the early periud uf Islam as the

best is taken by the traditionalists ta mark the end of high levels of intellect liai

accomplishment in the history of Islam. lt is on this basis that Khatib Ali obserws

that none of the contemporary Muslim scholars would be able ta meet the enonnous

conditions reqllired for being a mu.itahid. Hence. he pejoratively remarks that the

Minangkabau modernists' knowledge is only a small drop in the sea of the earlil'r

lIlujrahids' knowledge.

ln addition, the unworkability of ijtihiTd is also held to be a logical

consequence of the solid establishment of the four madhhabs. The belief that Islam

is perfectly embodied in these madhhltbs means that the latter are final and

binding. 26 A new daim for ijtihiid. says Khatib Ali, would thus only serve to

undermine what has already been firmly established. 27

In any case, the modernists have always been tireless in their appeal for

ijtihiid. Taqlid, servile acceptance of the authority of the nl1ldhhllb, in their eyes not

only lacks legitimate legal bases in the Qur'an and the Sunna, hut more important, it

is in many respects completely opposed to the spirit of Islam. Among the

consequences of taqlid that drew criticism l'rom the modrrnists was that it widens

26Khatib Ali asserts Ihal tbe four clnssical Sunni mlldhhllhs arc the only legitimlltcmadhilhih in Islam. Their legitimacy lies mainly in tbe reliability of their conlents (dirtrYil) IUld theirnarration (riwITya). He states: "Know that religious law in Islam WIL~ only derivcd from the trusled'ulama, who had obtained authorization from their lcache.... IUld from Ihe most reliJlble works in thefour madh/L1hs," Ibid.. 4 , 7.

27"Likewise. the fa/wiTs not delivered according to the ShlllNle point of view will hewllf1lcd against by lhe Shlili'ite 'u/il/mT. for they CIUl bring about confusion IUld chaos in the l'cgion."(dem, Socloch Meli!ioc, vol. I. No.15. 228.

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the gap, as in Christianity and Judaism, between those enjoying religious authority

and the layman, the latter being intentionally left ignorant.2X Consequently, neither

the Qur'an nor the authoritative collections of traditions would constitute the

sources of the direct guidance for the layman. 29 Ta,/lïd was accordingly a serious

threat to the pivotai function of the Qur'an as the most authoritative source of

guidance for mankind. Both the Qur'an and the Sunna, according to the modemists,

are explicitly in favour of ijtihiid. Given the human intellect, every Muslim is

expected to be enlightened,JO which is why it is incumbent upon him to have a

sufficient knowledge of his religious duties. Such enlightenment can only be

realized, however, if taqlid is deemed unlawful, especially for the learned. Ijtihiid

ought to he exercised when the learned are prepared to make serious endeavors in

their area of expertise)1 The common Muslim ought, however, to consult the

learned as to the prescripts of the Qur'an and the Sunna so as to he able to execute

2Klfanyone is 10 bc bL1l1led, says K:uim Amrullah, il would bc Ihe 'ulami\. "For they wereresJlOnsible forthe 'blindness' of the people to unde(l;tanding and grnsping Ihe contents of the Qur'fon:ond the messnge broughl by Ihe Prophet. whom Allah sent to the world in order 10 explain the DivineLaw to mtonkind for Iheir safety and progress in ail cnuses of Ihis world and Ihe hereafter. Suchblindness wns Ihe major cause of Muslim degrndation and backwardness." ln the same vein,Ahdullah Ahmad remarks: "In the past our people were trapped in the valley of suffering tonddestruclion. bccnuse of the corrupt teache(l; and traders of religion. who tied our people to Ihereligion of ignornnce.Knrim Amrullnh. Pedom:m. 55: Abdullah Ahmad. Ilmoe Sedjnû, 2 (Padnng:Sjariknt lImoc, n.d.). 75.

290.H. Bosquel and J. Schachl (eds.). Se/cc/cd Works of C. Snouck Hurgronje (Leiden:EJ. Brill. 1957).2KK.

30Among the Qurnnic velJ;CS ndduced to show the Qur'lln's emphasis on ijûhiId are: Q.IV:59.65. K2: XXXXl1: 10: XXXIX: 17-8: L1X: 2: Abdullah Ahmad notes thal"the man who does notuse his ' nql is an inferior human bcing. he can bc cQnsidered as one whose objective in Iife is onlymotivaled by his desire to sutisfy his appetite." Knrim Amrullah. Pedoman. 40-4: AbdullAh Ahmad,Pcml>u/m Pintu Sjorgn (l'a6I1\g: AI-MunIr. 1914).47.

31 According 10 Ihe modemisls. the enormous conditions for ijûhiId which. as Mul)ammadIqbnllJUt~ it. "are weil nigh impossible of realization in a single individual", are only a means ofintimidnlion and of maintnining the glorious authority of the madhhnl>. Sec 'Abd. al-WahhabSha'rllnl. al-Mlziln. Vol. 1 (Cairo: l;Iusainiyyah, 1329 A.H.). 9: Knrim Amrullah, ibid" 75-7:Mul)ammnd IqbaI, The Rccons/1llcûon ofReligious Though/ in Islam (Lahore: Instilule of IslamicCulture. 1989). 118.

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his religious duties in an appropriate manner. This is what the modernis!s <:all

The traditionalists' obje<:tion to the modernists' position. as outlined ahove.

rests mainly upon the <:onsideration that the Qur'an (s<:ripture) and the Sunna must

be treated in an extremely <:autious manner. For <:areless reading of these

authoritative sources by those who are not well-versed would lead Muslim sodety

astray.33 The elaborate conditions for ijtihiïd were thought. therefore. to have

suffidently guaranteed that the exercise of ijtihiid would confonn to the prindples

of the Qur'an and the Sunna.

For the latter generations of Muslims, who are considered inferior to the

early Muslims, taq/ïd is viewed by traditionalists as necessary and as a safe

course.34 The traditionalists assen that given the reliabity of the four madhhabs, a

muqallid will he based on solid ground,35 Given that the contemporary Muslims

lack knowledge of religion, they must follow the stipulation of the Qur'an and the

Sunna to consult the knowledgeable 'ulamii' in matters of religion. 36The reliable

32This commnmad is bascd upon the verse"Ask the followers or the remembclllnce if yeknow not''', (Q.XVI: 43); sec Abdullah Ahmad. Al-MWlit, Vol. Il. no. 6 (31 May 1912).92-3.

33Said Magek. al-MiZJTn. Vol. lU, No. 10 (\5 Jumadil AWWld 133K A.H.), 116; CL KhalihAli, Socloch Meillioc. Vol. l, No. 4 (\5 Novemher 1913).55.

34U is even argued that taqlïd is incumhent upon every Muslim. A Minangkuhaullllditionalist reasons with the ~adlth; "mtUl qallad.1 'if/iman laqiya 'llahu sirIimtUl" (whocver ruithfullyimitates nn 'ii1im, he will surely meet Allah [on the day of judgementl sufely). Suid Mugek, ihid.. 15.1have failcd to tmce the reliability nnd soundness or this ~udilh.

35A proponent of llllditionalism compares a true mujttlhid with u skilled nnd Iicenscd eutdriver. Such li driver cnn guarnntee the sufety c:' Iloth the pllssengers nnd the car ilo;elr. But when lUIunskilled mnn drives li car, the sufety or the car nnd its pllssengers will he 111 risk. 1t is thererore sufel'or those who are not skilled to follow merely the right person by sitting in the huck seul.Siradjuddin Abbas, Sedjtllllh <Lw Keagungan Madzhah Shafi'i (Djakarn: Pustaka Turbiyuh. 19611),53.

36Por the text see note 32 allove. This verse also was the subject or dispute bctwecn themodemists nnd the llllditionalists. each camp justirying its claim l'or ijûhiId or illihif nnd ttu;IIdthrough il. According ID the modemists. the verse stipulll1es thatthe 'uiamii he consultcd us to whlltare the prescripts or the Qur'li/l nnd the Sunnll which those who are ignomnt are supposcd 10 knuw

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authority of the nwdhhub is, therefore, the basis of tU'ilïd. The relationship between

the IIJu'iullid and the IIJujwhid, it is said, is like the relationship between the

IIJI!Îwhid and the Prophel.17

Il should be dear from the foregoing that the traditionalists and the

modernists represent two diatmetrieally opposed viewpoints as regards the question

of ijtihiTd and tU'ilïd. Insisting that permanent 'dosure' of the gate of ijtihiid and the

cali for /iI'ilïd are baseless opinions, the modernists argue that the nllljtahid must

exist at aIl times. The traditionalists, on the other hand, consider the 'closure' as a

necessity, limiting the right of ijtihiTd exclusively to the early mujtahids of the

schools of law. An appeal to fresh ijtihiid is deemed undesirable in view of the weIl­

established position of the schools and the impossibility for contemporary Muslims

to meet the enormously difficult requirements for ijtihiid.

m 2, The Traditionalists' Concept of Bid'a

A prominent characteristic of the modernist movement in the early decades

of this century in Minangkabau was the defense of the Sunna, which was thought to

provide the best model for the Islamic way of life. This total allegiance to the

Prophet's tradition is best expressed in the modernists' defense of the Sunna against

bid'll (blameworthy innovation), which is deemed incompatible with the objective

amI 10 acl accordingly. ln contrast, for the lradilionalists, given Ihal the matters of religion areJlCrfeclly contùned in the authority of 'ulamn (of the madhhab), the verse is an injunction Ihat theignomnt should merely rely on them. Zakarya al·An~, GMyat aJ-WUI'U/ (Caira: Mu~la1'lI al·Bnbi al·I;lllhlbi,194l), ISO: Khatib Ali, Soe/oeh Mc/t!ioe, Vo!.!. No. 2 OS OCtober 1913),28·9.

37Ba 'Alawi, Bughy~, 8.

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preœpts of the Qur'an and the Sunna. As upholders of the Sunna. the modernisls

sought to combat bid"u in both the sphere of worship and of faith.,lx

The modernists' assault upon praetices judged as bid"u was in faet a major

source of conflict between the two opposing camps. The eonllict over bid"" touched

almost the whole range of issues being disputed bctween the two camps. The open

conflict arising l'rom the assault on bid"u is understandable, since many of the

things which came to be branded as bid"u had not only long existed in

Minangkabau, they were also held to have theil' own legal bases in the Islamic

tradition. Every attempt was thus made by the traditionalists, who traditionally

exercised religious authority in Minangkabau, to propound their counter-

argument~.

A large number of different issues were debated between the modernists

and the traditionalists under the heading of bid'·u.39 These ranged l'rom questions

related specifically to faith and worship (such as several particular practices in

prayer, fasting etc.) to questions which, though they had to do with worship, had

been institutionally ~anctioned by the traditional social system of Minangkabau

society (such as the community's gathering in the event of someone's death). The

traditionalist arguments about each individual issue cannot, however, be properly

understood without first analyzing their concept of bidru and considering how it is

different l'rom that of the modernists. Such an analysis is especially important

because, as noted already, each camp c1aimed to have its own religiously sanctioned

38For an outline of the modemist - tmditionalisl dispule aboul hid'Il, see B.J.O. Schrickc,Pergolakan Agama di Sumalcm Banl/ (Jakarta: Bhmlltra. 1973),60-2; Mahmud Yunus, ScjamllPcndidilmn Islam di Indoncsia(Jakarta: Mutiara, 1979).81-93; Hmnka, AYllhku (Jnlalrt,e Ummindll,1982),102-4.

39A long liSl of pmcticcs which wcrc chargcd a~ hid'a is givcn by Shcikh Abdul KllrimAmmUah in his Pcdoman Guru (Payacombo: Limbago. 1931), 125-32.

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hases for each individual issue that was disputed. This section will thus be devoted

10 a discussion on how bici'il is understood by the traditionalists. so as to shed light

on the roots of the major controversy between the modernists and the traditionalists

in Minangkabau.

Bic!'";, is generally defined as an innovation, something which lacks

precedent. 4f1 The creation of the heavens and the earth by God is itself a kind of

bici'il. In Islamic law, however, the term bid'il means the exact opposite of the term

SUlllla, and is therefore a synonym of llluQdilth or /mdath (things invented).41 Thus,

bid'il is a belief or practice for which there exists no precedent l'rom the lime of the

Prophet.42

Both the Qur'ün and the Sunna provide ample references as to the origins of

bid'a. The Qur'ün in many instances states that bidca may take the l'orIn of religious

attitudes which run contrary to the recognized principles of Islam. Erring attitudes

may consist of such things as resemblances (tilshabbuh) to the existing theological

principles of Islam, exaggeration in discharging religious duties (ghuJuw), or the

adoption of foreign betiefs and practîces strange to Islam. 43 The Illubtadi"

(innovator) is therefore one who introduces something without any legitimate basis

in the traditional foundations of Islam.

41'r:d'fut,wi. K:L,hsh:u I$Jil:ïhiil ill-FulIÜII, Vol. 1(Beng:d: Asialie Sociely ',f Beng:d, 1862),133: Ahi Isl)aq al-Shfilihi, AI-I'ti$:lm, Vol. 1 (Caim: MU~~lfii Mu~ammad, 1332 A.H.). 18. To thehcst of illY knowledge. the laller work. whieh is in IWO volumes. is Ihe mosl eXlensive trcalisedealing wilh Ihe question of hidca in Ihe Ishunic lmdilion.

41 H.A.R. Gihh and J.H. Kr:uners. "Bidea", Shortcr EncycJopacditl uf Is/:un (Leiden: E.J.Brill, 1%1),62: Ignaz Goldziher. Muslim Sludics, Vol. II (London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd..1')71), 33-4.

42J. Rohson. "Bid'a:' in E. van Oonlel. Etal (Eds.). The EncycJopaedja of Isl;un. VoU(Leiden: E.J. Brill. \978), IIW.

43See tilnher. AI-Sru'lihi, AI-/eti:;;Tm, Vol. 1. 32-44: Kmim Amrullah Pedum;ul Guru, 122-5.

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Bid"iI is also frequently mentioned in l.ladïth. espt't'ially as regards its !t'gal

status. In a large number of traditions. bid'il. as already nott'd. is dtaracterized as tht'

direct opposite of the Sunna. Whereas the latter represents the 'straighl path'

leading to paradise, the former deviates l'rom it and th us leatis tl' hell. The following

Prophetie tradition qualities bid",1 in relation ta the Sunna:

He whom God leads l'an not be misled by anyotll\ he whom Hemisleads, no one l'an set upon the right path. Verily, the most truthfuleommunieation(a,~di/(lal-J.liIdith) is the Book of Allah. the best guidance isthat of Mul)ammad, and the worst of 'III things 'Ir, innovations: everyinnovation is heresy, every heresy is error, and every error leads to hell, .1.1

ln the same vein, the Prophet once exhorted his eommunity following the morning

prayer. The eyes of his audience Wied with tears and 'III "l'arts trembled. A lish:ner

said:o Prophet of God. this exhortation is Iike that of one who is about tl'

depart (mau'iZiltI1 muw'lddi'ill). Give us, therefore. a last instruetion. TheProphet replied: "With these parting words 1 eall you ta the l'car of Gud(t,jtlwil) and to absolute obedience (hearing and obeying). even of anEthiopian slave. For those of you who survive me will sel' many eontlietingopinions. It is your duty ta follow my Sunna and the Sunna of the just andenlightened Caliphs: bite it (this Sunna) with your teeth (i.e. ding dosely toit). 1 wam you against innovations. as l'very innovation is hic/fa and everybid'a is an error (ç/illilla)."45

There is also a mueh shorter tradition. vehemently rejet:ting the aeecptability

of bid'il in the sphere of the Sunna. The Prophet is reported to have said: "Whoever

does an innovation. whieh is originally foreign to the domain of our Sunna, is

rejeeted": and. at:eording to another report: "Whoevcr pcrforms a (religious) decd

which is essentially not part of our Sunna is refused. "40

44AI-SIUï\ihi.lhid.. 45; Goldzihcr. Muslim Scudics. Vol. 1.34-5.

45AI-Nawawi. Mil/n a/-Arhil'ilJ :d-Naw:ïwiyyuh (AI-J,v.air; Madrasuh al-'Amaliyyah li ,doDimsat al-'Arahiyyah. 1950).62; AI-Shfilihi. ihid" 46-7; Goldzihcr. ihid., 35; Sec also AhdullahAhmad. :d-Mwlir. vol III No. 2 (23 March 1913), IH.

46AI-Nawawi. ihid.. 24: AI-Shfilihi. ihid.. 44.

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There seems ta be no disagreement between the modernists and the

traditionalists as regards the mearling of bide" lugh"wiYY'1 (literai or general

innovation). though it does not follow that the two groups are neeessarily in

agreement as regards its extent. Since this kind of bide" is a product of the changing

circumstances, some concession to it becomes necessary. A distinction is thus made

between bid')l whieh is good (/!il.~iI1lil) or praiseworthy (nlil/!müd,,) and one whieh is

bad (Silyyi''') or blameworthy. According to al-Shafi'I, any bid"il whieh runs

contrary to the Qur'an, the Sunna, the Arh.Tr (the Companions' tradition) and IjmiTe

(consensus) is blameworthy, whereas any good thing whieh is new but which does

not mn counter to any of these sources is praiseworthy.47

A more elaborate classification divides bideil into the l'ive basic categories

("/lkiTlIl .11-kh"msu) of canon law. Among the first to do so was 'Izz 'Abd. al-Salam

(d. /i/iO A.H.). famous as Sult.Tn ul-''UlilnliT' (the king of scholars), an important

Shafi'Ite jurist and traditionist of the seventh century A.H. Bid'iTr whieh are in fact

ineumbent (furçf kifiïYil) on the Muslim community include the study of Arabie

grammar and rhetorie etc., on which the study of the Qur'an and the Sunna is based,

distinguishing sound l'rom corrupt traditions, codifying canon law, confuting

heretics, and so forth. Forbidden (muQuITamu) bid'i. include the hereticai doctrines

opposing the accepted beliefs of the community. Recommended (mandüb) Ulilong

bid'il are such things as the founding of orphanages and schools. Disliked (nlilkIiih)

bid'ilS include decorating mosques and the Qur'an etc. Finally among those which

are permilled (mubiTQ) are the free use of pieasant foods, drinks and clothing.48

47J. Rohson. "Bid'a:' 1199.

48'112. al-Din 'Abd. AI-Salrun. Q.1w:l'id ,11-'~k:ïIII. Vol. Il (Cairn: AI-Istiqamah. n.d.). 172­4.: Abdullah Ahmad. Al-Mu"ir. Vol. III No. 6 (21 May 1913),86; Has:U1 BlIsri. Al-Miziln. Vol. IVNo. 1(II Dcccmbcr 1920). 5-6.

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The madernists. hawever. strictly limit the scope of Ihis l'iassitÏl'alion only

to bic/fa lughawiyy,,:w Bidra sharfiyya (innovation in rdigious maltt'rs) \,:annnt.

according ta them. be judged an the basis of such a categoriZ~llion, This brings ns to

the 4uestion of what they mean by bid"a sh;lf'1yya, According ta the modernists. the

sole authority in religious matters is the sh;Tri f (Iaw giverl, which is part of th,'

function of the Prophet. Religious autharity in Islam, the modernisls contend.

includes the Qur'ün, the Sunna and the Athür."IThus. in this respect, the Sunna

means the religious authority exercised by the Prophet and his C'ompmlions in the

form of rules or examples to which the community must canfann. Bid')1 slwl"iYY;1

therefore means any novelty in the spheres of faith and warship which has no

legitimate legal basis in or l'uns counter to the authoritative samccs of the

Sunna. 5tThis type of bid"a does not exclude any illegitinmte practices which took

place in the time of the Prophet.52 ln view of the traditions cited earlier. the only

fonn bid''a shal'fiYY;1 takes is that of ç!a!;T/;1 (error). which leads to hel!.5l

However, when we come to the traditionalists, a remarkably differenl vicw

of bid'a is to be seen. It has already been noted that bid"a, according to Shüli'i, is

of two kinds: U( 1) praiseworthy innovation and (2) blameworthy innovatian: that

49BJ.O. Schrieke. Pergo/;rkiUl Agama. 60.

50Abdullah Ahmad. A/·Mullir, Vol. III No. 2.. IX.

51 Abdullah Ahmad remarks: "Stay away trom :Uld beware of every innovaiion in religinnsmatters. i.e. things introduced which have no legitimate leg:d b:LSis in the aceepled aUlhnrity nI'religion:' Abdullah Ahmad, A/·Mullir, Vol. III No. 5 (7 May 1913).71; Karim Ammllah. Pe(/(J111i111Guru. 121.

52"Whal is melUlI by bic/'a sh;lI"iyya docs nol exelusively l'cler to ail iIIegitilllal" pmetieeswhich did not lake place in the lime of the Prophel, :LS supposed by the ignnmnt ... l'nI'. bic/'a hadexisted even in Ihe Iifelime of the Prophel:' Abdullah Ahmad, ihid.

53Abdullah Ahmad, ibid.. Vol. IV No.5 (27 April 1914).71; Karilll Ammllah, Pec/ullliIlIGuru, 125; cf. Ihe relllark of Ibn l;Iajar al·H:ûtuni: "Verily. bic/'a sh;lI"iyya is err",:' Sec Ihn l;Iajar:d·H:ûtuni, Filt'w;, ;11·Hac/ithiyy;1h (C:ùro; Matba'ah al·Ma'fthad. 1934), 21~); AI·Shfilihl, A/'/'li/,ÛII,108.

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which conforms to the Sunna is praiseworthy. and that which contradicts it is

blameworthy.54 Shafi'i is also reponed to have said. in rather more detail:

"Innovations are of two different kinds: (1) those which contradict the Qur'an. the

Sunna. the Athar and Ijma' are erring innovations: and (2) those which contradict

none of these authorities are not blameworthy innovations.""

To the traditionalists. therefore. bid"u must always have either good or bad

elements. There are bid'lIt which are benefidal to the religion and are therefore

acceptable. and on the other hand. there also are bid'iit from which every Muslim is

supposed to stay away. These two different kinds of hid'as are plainly described in

the following I)adïth. on which Shafi'i based his opinion:

Whoever introduces in Islam a good tradition which is luter followedby the succeeding generations is certainly rewarded similar to the reward ofthose who adopted it. without necessarily reducing their initial reward; andwhoever introduces in hlam a blameworthy tradition which is laterfollowed by the succeeding generations commits a sin similar to thosefollowing it. without necessarily reducing their imtial sin. 56

On the basis of this I)adith and the classification made by Shafi'i. Sheikh Bayang. a

staunch proponent of traditionalism, notes two broad categories of bid'u. .. Every

bid",1 is not error, except that which contradicts the sh<Jr', and that which conforms

to 'If strengthens it is not error."5?

Thus, according to the traditionalists, bid'u cannot he judged only in terms

of one category. A critical analysis has to b·~ made to arrive at a correct judgement

54tbn l;\aJ'ù al-'Asqalrlllï. F:II~ i1/-Blm, Vol. 17 (C;ûro: MU~lafiï a1-Babï a1-l;Ialabi, 1959).10.

56Muslim al-I;Iajjaj al-Qush,ûrï. J:t!lï~ Muslim. Vol. V (Beirut: Mu'assasah ïzz a1-Din.1987).228.

5?M"hammad Dalil b. F&lawa (alias Sheikh Bayang). Taraghghub i/:ï R~m31 Allah(Padilng: Omng Alam Minangkabau. 1916),85.

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regarding any given innov.ltion. For. as the foregcilll', l,ladith stresses, there c<'nainly

.Ire bid'iTt which are benelidal ta the Sunna, and at the same time. there are those

which run counter to the established prindples of the Sunna. A fair judgement on

bid'il can be made if the foundations of religious authority. i.e. the Qur'an. the

Sunna..A.thar and Ijma' are used as the basis ~f such a judgement. Besides, sint'e in

Islamic law everything is deemed subject to the five basic categories of canon law.

the legal status of l'very bid'il must also be decided through the same

categorization. 5RThus the traditionalists maintain that Iike bid"iI lugllilll'iYYil, hic/'il

Shilf"iyya too has to be treated under t~,e l'ive basic categories of law. The

traditionalists elearly diverge l'rom the viewpoint of the modernists, therefore, who

confine the use of the aforementioned categorization only to bid'il lugllilwiyya and

treat ail bid'il Shilf'iYYil simply as 'error' (c;ialiilil).

The divergence between the traditionalists and the modernists appears more

marked in their definition of bid'a Shilf'·iYYiI. According to Hasan Basri, another

prominent proponent of traditionalism and editor of il/-MïziÏll, the traditionalists' bi-

weekly periodical, bid''a Shilf'lYYil is" l'very innovation whieh was not in existence

in the times of the Prophet, the Companions, the Followers and is also not in

concordance with the aceepted sources of religious authority, viz. the Qur'an, the

Sunna, the Athar and Ijmac.59Again, this definition is obviously in <;Dnflict with that

58According 10 Simdjuddin Abbas, a prominent traditiomdist or lhe second gencration, Ihiscategorization was worked ouI by such leading ShafiCite :;chaM iL' AI-SuYÜli, '17.l. id·Din cAbd al­Sallim and Ibn l;Iajar al·cAsqalfUli. Abha, observes "This calegorization is imponiUll, imL"nuch IL'everylhing is subjecl la il, whil" in mU'iÜlli!l1i1 (socild intercourse) Iwo more calegories are added,i.e. ~aQïQ (valid) iUld bir/il (invidid)," Simdjuddin AhhlL', 40 Mit'iI/i1h Agil/nil, Vol. III (Jakarta:Pustaka Tarbiyah, 1992), 161·2.

59Ha~ BaslÏ, A/·Mïzifn, Vol. IV No. 1 (II December 1921l), S; cr. clll cAbd. id·Salam,Qawiï'id a/·AQ1cIim, VoLU.. 172; JaIlU al·Din al-Suyüll, TtmwïN!l·I;Ii1wlilik, Vol. 1(n.p.: Dar Id·Fikr,n.d.),137.

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of the modernists. who insist that the term signifies every innovation in matters of

n:ligion regardless of its time of occurenœ.

Ir has been noted that. according to a sound I:wdith cited earlier, every bid';/

Shilf'iYYiI is error and leads to hell. The Jast portion of the ~adïth reads: KuIJ bid"i1h

(/ilhTlilh Wil kuIJ (filhTIilh fi i11-niïr. hOUnlike the modemists, ail of whom agree on this

understanding of the ~adÏlh, the traditionalists pcrceive the meaning of the ~adÏlh

rather differently. According to the traditionalists, the word 'kul), (every)

immediately llreceding the word 'bid"il' conveys a general meaning ("iÏmm),

covering both bid"i1 Shilf"iYYiI and bid"i1 Illghilwiyyu.~1 Nevertheless, to judge every

bid';/ as error would certainly be misleading since bid"u can also be praiseworthy.

Thus the generality of the sentence, the traditionalists argue, has been specified

(tl/kil,si,s) by several factors. Bid"u which clearly contradicts or runs counter to or is

not based on the authoritative sources of law is undoubtedly error and leads to hell.

Examples of such bid"iït would be changing the five daily prayers to six, fasting for

two months rather than one in one year, performing 1)ujj not in Mecca but

elsewhere, Friday sermon in a language other than Arabie etc. However, that whieh

tallies with or strengthens the Sunna is not error. 620n this baris, the legal status of

bid"u is determined according to the five categories of the law.

Before identifying the legal status of a bid"u. several points have to he taken

into account. One must first establish that the sole authority behind the Sunna is the

Prophet, who cxercised the authority entrusted und assigned to him by God. While

no one else can daim to share in the Prophet's authority, the Prophet himself

Mlnle hlS! portion of the ~adith rc.~ds: Kullu bid'ah (L'l1i!Iah wa kullu (laJ;'!Iah fi aJ-ruTr.

61Sheikh BaYiUlg. TIll3ghghllb. 85.

h2lbid.

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delegated to hb Companions a œrtain degree of his religious authority. ,,Il1w

traditionalists therefore insist that following the Sunna of the Companions is an

integral part of one's allegiance to the Prophet's Sunna. Given the Companions'

religious authority, several novelties were introduced by them. T~:ese include the

compilation of the Qur'an. first begun by Abü Bakr. twenty three rab,,'t wr;lwi!J

(recommended prayer during the month of fasting ) as group praya during the

entire month of Ramaçlan by 'Umar b. al-Khanab. an additional adJuln (the cali for

prayel') for Jum'a congregation. in addition to the two already established by the

Prophet, by 'Uthman b. 'Affan etc. These novelties are essentially bid')I. for they

had not yet existed in the lifetime of the Prophet. but they may be considered hid""

vasana, and ought therefore to be followed. b4

Another point to consider. according to the traditionalists. is the iitillild of a

mujtahid. 65ft is widely known that ijtih<ld played a pivotai roll' in the development

of Islamie law, the development of the madhh,lb being basieally the work of the

mujtahid. The doctrinal basis of the roll' of Ütihild in ::;lamie law goes baek. iII/el'

"Ii", to the story of Mu'adh b. Jabal. the Prophet's special envoy to Yemen. who

successfully secured the Prophet's consent to exert his own judgement in the

absence of dear stipulations in the Qur'an and the Sunna. Ijtillild. according to the

traditionalists, was to determine. for instance. whether or not the niyya (intention) of

prayer should be pronounced aloud. Despite the faet that pronouncing the niYYôl

63This is base<! on a tmdilion aeeording III wbich the Prophel said that in addililln III hisSunnah. l'very Muslim h;LS ;~so III fllllllW his Companions' Sunnah. On the tmditilln. sec page threeabovc.

64Siradjuddin Ahha.s notes tbal "those mluetmt to follllW Ihe Comp;mions' Sunna do notonly mean miuetllll 10 follow them. bul a1so show msistmee and infidelily to the Prophet."Simdjuddin Abbas. 40 Mas:l1ah Agama. Vol. III. 166-72.

65Unlikl' the tmdilionalisLs. ijlihlfd. aecording to the modernists c;mnot he deemed amliable source of law. except if it c.'U1 he shown to he based on the Qur'lin Wld the Sunna.

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alouel was chargeel by the Illoelernists as being bid"il (Iil/;T/il, the traelitionalists

cO.1sielereel e10ing so to be recolllllleneleel. We shall discuss this issue in the

following section. What is illlponant ta state here is that ijtihiTd, even in the dOlllain

of the shilt' is not judged by the traditionalists as bid'il ç!ili<TIil. They wou Id rather

:~cc it as bie/f;t husim,L66

Unlike the modernists, who denounce ail bid'"it SIIilT'"iYYil as ç!itl;T/il, the

traditionalists insist on examining the 'ïllil (reason) behind an alIeged bid"'l. To do

so is. according to them. neœssary before arriving at a final judgemenl. For. the 'îllil

will indicate what kind of impact an alleged bid";l has upon the established

principles of the Sunna. Thus a bid"il might violate or run counter to the already

established Sunna or. in contrast, it might help strengthen il. The first kind of bid'";l

is sOlllething that every Muslim is supposed to stay away from. and. while the

second ought to be folIowed.

The above account has shown that the major disagreement between the two

opposing camps on the question of bid'a lies chiefly in their categorization of bid"u

and the way legal judgement on it is made. A sharp separation is made by the

modernists between bid"u lughuwiYY;I. which is treateà under the five categories of

law. and bid'il ShUT'"iyyu. which is judged only under one category. that is. as bid'"u

{lui<TIu. The traditionalists. however. view both types of bid'a according ta the five

categories of the law. Since doing so does not lead ta a clear separation between the

two types of bid"u. the legal judgement of every bid"il has always ta be based upon

an examination of its '1I1u.

m 3. The Reco111l1lCDdedness of upllï

66Simdjuddin Abbad, 40 M"lSa1ah. t78.

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There seems to be no ctisagreement among Muslim scholars owr tht' pivotai

function of niyya (intention) in performing prayer. Ali say lhat it is ohligatory. and

without it prayer will be invalid (bŒ!il).h7 The value of prayci' lhus dcpends much

upon the niyya of the perfonner. However. although therc is consensus lhat its scat

is the heart. the central organ of intellect and attention. there is a wide range of

cootli\:ting opinions as ta how the niyya should properly be dedared. Despite the

fact that this issue is a rather minor point. in Minangkabau it apparently hecame a

major source of contlict betw.,en the modernists and the traditionalists.

According ta Nawawï. the leading scholar who is he Id 10 be the main

authority of the Shafi'ite schoo\. it is recommended (m,llIdtïb) ta pronounce the

niyya aloud immediately hefore the tukbïr (the obligatory opening part of praycr) in

addition to menwlly dedaring it.6R ln an elaboration of this view. worked ou: by his

faithful disciples such as al-Ramlï. Ibn l;Iajar al-Haitamï. Kha!ib Sharbainï elc.. il is

maintained that pronouncing the niyya will assist in strengthening il. prcvent

wasw,ls (satani\: temptations) and thereby enable the person to concentrate upon

performing prayer, a condition whi\:h is highly called for. 6YBeing stri\:t Shatï'île. thc

Minangkabau Muslims have long followcd this stipulation.711

67The primary h:LSis for this stipulation is a sound tradition accurding 10 which lhe l'r0l'hetsaid: "lnlliUlliI1l1-'I'm<ü hi Illniyy,jl" (Works are only rendered efficacious hy their intention). SceMu\1mnmad h. Isma'il ,d-Bukhliri. :II-J:uni' :1I-,<:l/IiQ. Vol. IV (Lciden: EJ. Brill. 190X), 271.

6Rlbnl;lajar lù-Hlùtmni. TUQf:1I ,1I-MuQr,ij hi sh,rrQ 'II-Minh:ïj, Vol. Il (Bomhay: Muh. Ahd.al·Aziz Surti & Son, n.d.). 12.

6Ylhid.; Shihlib aI-Din aI·Rmnlï. Nihfiy;l/ 'II-MuQ/;ïj i/,j sh:rr!, 'Il-Minh,ij. Vol. 1 (Cairn:Mustafii lù-Blibi aI-l;laIabi. 1938).437; Mu\1:m.mad :ù·Sharb:ùni. Mughni :rl-MuQI,ij. Vol. 1(Cairn:MU~laflj :ù·Blibi aI-l;Ia1abi. (933). ISO.

70As the niYY:1 hegin.s wilh Ihe word u$,rllï (mcaning, 1intend 1.' pray), Ihis tnulition caille10 he known in Minangk:rbau ILS "Memh:ICIl U$:rl/l"or "Belll,<:rlW', and lhose who praeticed il weredesignatcd as "KIIUIII BCI1I$<'I1/i" (Ihe group reciting ·U$lII/I). which allhe s:une time mClml helongingla the tnldilionalist camp. And those who did nol adhere IOlhis view helongcd 10 the modemisls. TilIhe heslof my knowlcdge. Ihis nomenclalure secms 10 he uscd only in Indonesia.

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The pronouncement of Iliyya for prayer drew furious <:riticisI1l froI1l the

I1llldernists, who daimed that it had no precedent in the reliable Sunna of the

Prophet, or the pra<:tice of the COlrpanions and the Followers; thus, it is bid"a rjaliiJa

(erring innovation)7!. In a publi<: debate heId on 15 July 1'11'1 in Padang, the major

issue raised by the nlC'dernists was whether or not this way of pronouncing Iliyya

had legitimate legal bases in the traditional sources of Islamic law (U~ül al-Sil.tri'ill1)

and whether or not it was practiced by the Prophet himself. The traditionalists,

however, failed ta put forward reHable proof.72 Abdullah Ahmad of the modernist

camp argues that a report by Abü Daüd as to how the Prophet began his pr'lyer does

not provide us with any dues as regards the recitation of Iliyya. When the Prophet

conllnenced his prayer, he would stand stand up and pronounce the tilkbir, without

doing anything prior ta it.73 If u,'iillli was a good tradition and was also part of the

Sunna, says Abdullah Ahmad,,:,e Prophet should have provided us with an example

ta that effect.74 'Umar b, al-Khanab, the second of the Rashidün caliphs, was

against this innovation and prohibited the community l'rom observing il. Abdul

Karim Amrullah, the prominent modernist, observes that none of the four Imams of

the schools of law gave any indication which would suggest that they approved of

71 Abdul Karim Amrullah, Pedom:tn Guru (Payacombo: Limbago, 1931), 16; Idcm, :11­MUlllr, Vol. 111 No. 17 (31 Oclohcr 1913), 267; Rcfcrencc is primarily madc by thc modcmisls 10 Ibnal-Qayyim's Z:Td :d-Mn':Td, Vol. 1(Oliro: MU~lflï al-Bahl al-I;ll:Iabl, 1950), 5 \.

72This puhlic dchatc WIL< recordcd by Schrickc, acting Ils a ncutml observcr represcnting thcDUlch govcnncnl. Prcscnl in lhe dchate were more lhan one thousand people. Abdullah Ahmad andKhatih Ali led lhe modemisls and the traditionalists respcctively. In addition 10 Ihis issue, the'1uestion whelhcr ur not one should sllUld up during the ceremonial rcading of a biogmphy of IheProphet (Berliiri M:lUlud) WIL< also dehated. See BJ.0. Schrieke, PergolnknlJ Agamn di SUl/lntmB:O:I/ (Jakarta: BhralllTll, 1973), RU-\.

73Ahü Dfiüd Sulaymfin, SUllnn AbI Difüd, vol 1(Beirul: Dür al-Janfin, 1988), 252; Ibn al­Qayyim, Zifd :11-."':I'.Td, Vol. 1,51: Abdullah Ahmad, :d-l/ûfifq wn nl-IfûnTq, Vol. 111 No. 3 (6Fehruary 1924),36, cited l'rom Sanusi Latief, "GcraklUl Kaum Tua di Minangknbau," Ph.D. Thesis(IAIN Syarif HidaYlllullah Jakm1a, 198P\, 557,

74Abdullah Ahmad, ihid.

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this tradition or <:onsidered it part of the Sunna. On the <:ontrary. Malik. thl' fou11lkr

of the Malikite s<:hool l'ven denoun<:ed this pra<:tiœ ~I;; I1Ji1knïh (disliked}.7';

Although Nawawï's opinion is regarded as the dominant one. Abdullah

Ahmad notes that a group of great Shafi'Ite sdwlar;; also refuted the daim that

pronoundng the l1iYYiI aloud was re<:ommended. ln hi;; MulJilcl/ulhil/J. whkh i;;

<:ommented on by Nawawi himself. Abu Isl)a4 al-Shirazi insi;;ts that pronoundng

the lliYY'l before l'rayer. in addition to mentally dedaring it. is a gl'lJundlcss

tradition. Al-Adhra'i in his .11-Fat.ïwï makes a similar point. asserting that sudl an

opinion does not deserve to be l'l'lied on. 7fiAbdullah Ahmad notes th.:t labelling this

opinion as "re<:ommended" is unat:t:eptable, in view of the fat:t that Nawawi

himself, as just one of the st:holars, t:annot be deemed "hukum asal" (an

authoritative sourt:e of law) and therefore had no authority in making any

fundamental religious judgement. What t:an be 4ualified as "ret:ommended" arc

only religious deeds whkh have been exemplified by the Prophet himself or by his

Companions. The modernists emphasize that any opinion pertaining spedt'it:ally tn

religious affairs (.~hilr' ) must always be based upon the established foundations of

the Sunna. 77

Karim Amrullah argues that arranging lliYYiI in the forms of words and thcn

dedaring it bath audibly and mentally is a wrong understanding of what lliYYiI

75Karim AmrulhÙl. Pl'(/om:U1 Guru, 16. Besides writing seveml :Iflicles un the suhjeet ill hisPedom:U1 Guru and aJ·Munir. K:uim Amrullah wrote twu tre:uises dealing specilïe:dly with Ihe isslle.entilled D:Ir :d-M:lm.çid (190R) and :11-f:.wli'id :I1-'lIliy:.h li ikhtill1f :11-'ultUml' fi (II/km :d·t:fl:1llil(. hi:11-Niyy.fh (1915). The twu were apparently wriuen as a renspunse un this questiun against ShcikhMungka's T:Ulhih :11- 'Aw:lmmi and Ahmad Khatih al-MimUlglmhawi's :.I-KhUIl:l1, :d-M:lrlliyy;dl.The laler writer had heen his teacher in Mecea, who, in this dispute, llKlk the tmditiumdists' side.These twu works of K:uim Amrullah are unfortunalcly nut availahle tu me.

76Nawawi, AI-Mtlimü' sJurr1,l :11-MuJuulhdJu.h, Vul. III (Cairn: AI·T:'l!funun al-Akhwa. n.d.l,276-7; Abdullah Ahmad, :11-1uifiiq, 37-9.

77Abdullah Ahmad, ihid.; BJ.O. Schrieke, Pergol:fktUl Ag:um•• RI.

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should be.7X Niyyu. he says, is a mental intention of doing something and working

on it simultaneously. 7'1 What niyyu basically requires, as maintained by AI-Ghazali,

is ta have an intention in mind, for its actual place is the heart, and to work

simultaneously on il. Having it arranged in words and pronouncing it aloud c10es

not therefore constitute niyyu as demanded by the Sunna. AI-Ghazali himself, says

Karim Amrullah, c1id not pronounce the niyyu aloud. What he did was only to have

.\ conscious intention to perfonn the prayer that he was about to discharge, and in

order to prevent himself from wuswus, he recited the QuranÏc verse "'luI u'udhu bi

rubb .l/-mIs," which is religiously sanctioned, shortly before the tukbir.xlI

Even though he regards pronouncing the lIiyyu aloud as essentially a bid'il

(I.l/iTlu, Karim Amrullah maintains, that given its pivotai position in prayer, it can

also be subject to the five basic categories of law. Thus it can be obligatory,

forbidden, recommended, disliked and permitted, entirely depending on the

partÏcular 'illu (reason) that someone may have x1 . However, inasmuch as the

invocation of this categorization is an emergency allowance, meant only to cope

with the possible existence of a certain "iJJu in certain circumstances, the

7XThe minimum rcquircd lexl of niyya 10 bc declarcd audibly and mcnlally is, for insuUlce.U~:dl1 tilI\l :d-(.uhr (1 intend 10 pcrfonn the obligatory midday pmyer). Il is highly rccommended 10include more delails by specifying the following: intenlion to pray, Ihe nlune of the prayer,obliglllory or rccommended pmyer, numbcr of mka'als, beiog a follower (in group prayer) or aleader, on limc or Imer, lilcing qibla or not, lUld sincerity. Sec Siradjuddin Abbas, 40 MIISIIIIlIIAg:U1U1, Vol. IV (Jllkarta: Pusutka TllrbiY1Ùl, 1992),225-7.

791n fiqh mlUluals, niyya is usually defined as "ql~,d Ill-shai' muql1U'1lJlIUl bi li'lihl' (anintention of doing somelhing logeth~r wilh working on il),

811Abü l;llimid ld-Ghazlilï, IQYIV 'uWm a/-Din, Vol, 1(n,p.: Lajnah Nashr a1-ThlllJlïfah al­Isllimiyyah, 1937),273: Abdullah Ahmad, AI-Munir, Vol. V No. 16 (24 Septembcr 1915),254;Karim AmrulIlÙl, Pcdolll:lll Guru, 17.

81 For exmnple, someone who is suffering from extreme sadness, due 10 whieh he finds ilvery diffieult 10 declllfC his niyy,1. Given this 'il/II, he, aceording 10 Ihe modemists, is a1lowed 10rccite his niYYII aloud prior 10 the ~1kbir. This emergeney a1lowance is juslified in view of the faetIhlll niyy:, is fundlunen~ll 10 proyer. Karlm Amrullah, Al·Murur, Vol. III No. 17,268.

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jlronoundng of the ni)')''' by those not bound by any 'il/il and regarding il ,IS part of

"ib,Td". ritual worship prescribed by the Sunna. dearly cOllstitutes an act of /lid';1

ç!"JŒ1". ln this regard. Karim Aml'llllah quotes the following famous tradition:

"whoever creates an innovation which is originally foreign ln our Sunna is

refused"X2.

The traditionalists do conœde that there is. in facto an app:lrent dis:lgreement

among Shafi'ite schol:trs as regards the question of 1I~,,1Ji. In his Bllr/IiTn ,,/-/:1.11/1/.

Khatib Ali outlines three different opinions within the Shafi'ite school. First. these

are those who are of the opinion that pronoundng the niyy" is obligatory. But this

opinion is deemed as weak by Khatib Ali. Second. !cd by al-Adhra'ï. is the group

which main tains that the reeommendedness of pronouneing the niyy" is

groundless. R:1 This opinion too is. without qualification, said by Khatib Ali to h:lve

been rejected by the majority Uumhür) of the Shafi'ite jurists. Third, are those who

confirm that pronouncing the niyy" is recommended. Khatib Ali daims this l:lst

opinion as being mu'tumad (the most reliable) and agreed upon by the majority of

the Shafi'ïte scholars. The first and the major proponent of this group is NawawL

It was to this third opinion that the Minangkahau traditionalists made

reference on the subject of niyy". Apart from its unquestionable expediency in

firmly establishing the niyya in one's heurt and saving him from being distracted by

waswas, as already argued, the traditionalists reveal that the recommendedness of

82AI-N:lw:lWi. M'i/ll ,11-Arll'l'ïn ,11-NllwiïwiYYlIb (Aljlwlir: MadnL~ah al-'Amaliyyah li al­DinÏS:lt ld-'Ambiyyah, 1950).24; Ibid.

8:1Mu~ammad ld-Sharbaini, MugllnlllJ-Mul;l/iij, Vol. l, 150.

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pronouncing niyy" aloud is also based on a view that is is a sort of moderation

between those judging it as obligatory and those charging it as groundless. K4

Il is argued by the traditionalists that lI~,ilJj will therefore be of great use for

someone performing the prayer. Khatib Ali argues that prayer demands high

com;entration and sincerity. Several verses of the Qur'ITn, he notes, command

Muslims to execute earnestly their prayer and to be wary of everything that might

dislUrb one's concentration. Among the major causes of distractions, observes

Khatib Ali, are worldly affairs and satanie temptations. ss Safety l'rom such

distractions lies largely in the firmness of the niyya in one's heart. For, it is held,

once one's niyya has been solidly established, one would not have any vexatious

problems during the prayer. ln order to have the niyya solidly established,

pronoundng it soon before tIlkbÎr is expedient. For, the tongue, being the speaker of

heart, is also in itself the w'lsilah (means) of the heart. S6 The recommendedness of

redting the niyya thus lies largely in its help in prayer. Sulaiman al-Rasuli, another

traditionalist, notes that in view of the greater tendency among contemporary

Muslims to be more engrossed in worldly mallers, dedaring the niyya aloud would

enable them to perform their prayers with full concentration.87

M4Thcsc throc rcasons nre bm~cd on clabomtc commcntmics on Nawawi's opinion in hisMill/Ii[j. hy Ramli, Ihn l;Iajar :lIld Khalih Sharbainï as cont:ùned in their respective works: NiMy.!h,TUQIÎlh 'U1d Mughlli. The third reason, however, deserves an immediate objection, since Ihehackgmund laken inlo consideration in arriving lU the recommendedness of reciting the niYY:1 ismerely h:l<ed upon the presumption of bcing not too far -- in terms of the legal judgement made ""from Ihe opinion which already existed carlier. Sec Ibn l;Iajar, ThQf.11. Vol. Il, 12; AI-Rarnli, NiMy'lI.Vol. 1.. 437; Khalib Sharblùnï, Ibid; Khatib Ali. Burh:ÜJ, 38; Sulaiman al·Rasuli. ,d-MizI"U1, Vol. 1No.28 (15 Shawwal1337 A.H.). 293.

SSSee the Qur'flll XX: 14; VII:205; and IV:43. The lasl reference, il is worth noting, de:dswilh prohihiling a drunk person (.<uk:ïril) from performing l'rayer. According to Khatib Ali,drunkenness is nalurally causcd by drinking alcoholic Iiquor. But it may also rcsull from bcing 100

ahsorhcd wilh worldly hussiness. Khalih Ali. Ibid.. 35.

S6Khatih Ali defines w'lSi/,1h Il< "Ihat which causes something to come close to somethingcIse." Khatih Ali, S""/",,h Mc/ai"". Vol. 1No. 3 (1 Novembcr 1913),44.

S7Suhùman :d·R"lsuli• ..l1-MiziIn. Vol. 1No. 28.. 292-3.

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Given its advantages in the perforllling of prayers. the Illolit'rnisls' charge

that pronouncing Ihe niyy" is bide" \i.li.Tl" is repudialed hy the traditionalists. Likl'

Ahmad Khatib al-Minangkabawi who. in this dispute. lOok their side against the

modernists, they asser! that their primary authorities in judgiug th,'

recommendedness of Il,~,,1Ji are Nawawi and his main pupils. who arc held to be the

most reIiable authorities in Ihe ShITfi'ite schoo\. KKThe traditionalists do. howcvcr.

confess that the practice of reciting the niyy" for prayer W'IS not stipulated by the

Sunna of the Prophet. or of the Companions and the Fol\owers. Sheikh Bayang.

another leading traditionalist. argues. however. that l'very noveIty which is de"rly

not in violation of nor in opposition to the existing Sunna is basical\y "l\owed; "s

for the pronouncement of niYYil, it only strengthens the implement"tion of the

Sunna. K9 Thus, Sulaiman al-Rasuli condudes that it may be d"ssified "s Iliehl

basaml (praiseworthy innovation). In this respect, he states that such le"ding

scholars as Nawawï, Ramli, Ibn l:Iajar etc. would never have introduced things not

in line with nor required by the SunnaYo

Nevertheless, the traditionalists' daims as regards Il,~allï were opposed hy

the modernists, who held that if it truly were a good tradition, there should have

been reliable evidence of its practice by the Prophet, the Companions and the

Fol\owers. But the traditionalists seem to base their opinion on the assumption that "

good tradition in the sphere of the Sunna does not necessarily have to go b"ck to the

lifetime of the Prophet. Except for the established principles of the Sunna, a good

88Khalib Ali. BurMn. 36.

89 Muhammad Dam b. Fatllwa (ldii" Shcikh Bayang). Ti'mg/lg/lUh iliT m!mllll A/",/,.(Padang: OnUlg Ahun MimUlgkahau, 1916). 87.

90SulaiJmUl.d-Rasuli. A/·MiziÜl. Vol. III No. 1 (\ Mul)amun 1338 A.H.). 5·6.

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tradition may simply be the product of a particular historical situation. Sulaiman al-

Rasuli th us remarks that reciting the Iliyya was not usefullO the believers of carly

Islam who were distinguished by a high level of sinccrity and piety and were th us

immune to any kind of waswas.'J1With the passage of time, Muslims gradually

became mucb more engrossed in worldly malters, consequently losing their

conccntration in performing prayer. Reciting the Iliyya is therefore an efficacious

cure for such a problem.

It has becn noted that the traditionalists themselves recognize that the

tradition of pronouncing the Iliyya did not originate l'rom the founder of their school

of law. They maintain. however, that although Shafi'i himself did not stipulate it,

the tradition is not thereby discredited. Sulaiman al-Rasuli notes that Shafi'i

himself laid down the principle that, "if a tradition is sound, it belongs to my

school."Y2Tradition (~adïth) in this saying is interpreted by the traditionalists in two

ways. Firstly, ft denotes the tradition of Ihe Prophet, the Companions and the

Followers. Secondly, il also signifies every opinion, even of later scholars, which

has been proven licit from the Sunna's point of view. Nawawi's opinion as regards

the recommendedness of reciting Iliyya is a case in point. 93

ft should be clear by now that the main 'illa for the traditionalists to accept

Nawawi's opinion is the usefulness of pronouncing the Iliyya. But they do admit, as

911n Ihis res!,<,ct. Suhûman ,~-R'lsuli gives an e"lUnple to show how a high level of sineerilyan" piety affects one's eoneentmtion in l'rayer. He recalls the story of 'Ali b. Abi. TaIib. thePruphet's cousin an" the founh of Ihe RflShi"ün caliphs, who W'lS once struck by an arrow which, fora shon !,<,rill<! of lime. remaine" in his body. He therefore 'lSkcd 'Ulothcr ComplUlion's help ta pull ilOUi wltile he W'lS !,<,rfonning l'rayer. The lUTtlW was successfully pulled out wilhout his noticing il.Ihi...

921<lh:T l'Il/IlJ :11-lJlI<lith f:l hUW:1 IIII1<1hh:lbi.

93Sulaiman ,~-RllSuli. AI-Mïz:Ü1, Vol. III No. 1..6: On the inlerpre~llion of Shftfi'i's saying.sec. among others. Taqiy ,~-Dïn a1-Subki. M'!imü'lIh :11-rns:pil :11-Muniriyyllh. Vol. III (n.p.: Idfu'alal-Tihli'ah a1-Muniriyya. 1346 Hl. 98-114.

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discussed earlier. that l'rom the viewpoint of the established Sunna. il is a novelt)'.

However. they insist that Nawawl's opinion does have a kgitimate basis in the

soun;es of the Sunna. It is argued that this opinion is baskaliy a matter of (jtiilifd."·\

As elaborated by Ibn l:Iajar al-Haitami. the opinion is deduced through ,/i)'ils

(analogy). a prindple of law whkh is al the same time an instrument of (jtiil;TcI. The

case is compared with the way the Prophet redted his Ili)')';l aloud in perfonning

~;!Ü. as reported by Bukhüri.~'

ln addition, the traditionalists' argument for the legitimacy of this opinion is

based upon two important ,/;T'ie/ilS (prindples) of lI~lÏJ il/-tï,/il (Islamk

jurisprudence), viz. "that whkh is necessary for doing something oblig'ltory is

obligatory,"~6 '1nd "the means are governed by rules similar to those of the ends."~7

ln other words, the means for achieving a particular end ought to be judged the

same w'ly as the eillis !hemselves. Since the Sunna demands that the prayer be

perfonned in an attentive manner and with concentration, the finn establishment of

lliYYil in one's heart, which can only be do ne by redting it '1loud. hecomes

necess'lry. Hence, the redmtion of lliYYil too becomes highly reconlll1cndcd.

As mentioned e'lrlier, in 'In open debme whkh was held on 15 luly l'JI'J in

Padang, the moclernists had questioned the legitimacy of this innovation~K. In theil

~4Emphasizing the mie of ijtiMd is very signiliclUlI in IsI'lmie law, '1 lfIu.!ilion'llisl arguesIhat only '1 sml~1 portion of what is now known IL' liqil is 1J1l'00 upon clear stipul'llinns of Ihe Qur'anand the Sunna, whercll' the rcs! is prim'lrily blL<oo on ijlihii'/. The domin'lnl mie pl'lyed by ijtilliid isrc'ldily seen in the p'lrticular chamcteristic of liqh ilself. which conulÏns a strikingly large number Ill'differences in opinion IUld interprcullion. Siradjuddin AbbIL<. 40 MWI:I1:111 AglU"'l. VIlI. IV. 243.

~50n this ~'1dilh, see Ibn !;Iajar al-cAsqalfUli. Fi/Ill :11-Biiri. Vol. IV (C'Iim: MU~llda Id·Rabi1~·!;Ial'lbi. 1959), 135.

~6Mii }:TYiltimrn :11-wiijih iJJ:T hihi iii huw:1 wiijih.

9RSchrieke. Pergo1:ik:Ul.80-1.

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reply. the traditionalists. led by Khatib Ali. ljuoted a ~adHh to the effeet that a good

innovation whieh helps strengthen the implementation of tlle Sunna is aeeepted as a

good tradition (SUllllit IJitSil/wh)'!'!. The recitation of Iliyyit. aeeording to the

traditionalists. assists in the performance of a religious obligation and may

aeeordingly be judged as a bid'it J;wslliwh (praiseworthy innovation) liN).

To sum up. the Illodernists' eriticism of U,~itlJi revolves around the faet that it

has no legitimate grounds in the authoritative sources of the Sunna. Thus, il is bid'il

{litli'flil. The traditionalists, though eonceding that U~iIJli is essentially an innovation,

argue that it does have a strong basis in the authority of the Sunna. Ils

unljuestionable expedieney makcs it a "good tradition" (SUllllit !JitSitllit) which is thus

deemed to be sanetioned by the Sunna itself. Thus it is bid'it !Jasitlla. The dispute

obv:ously stems l'rom the faet that, while the modernists treat it as bid'il shilr'iyyit.

the traditionalists regard it as bid')] lughawiyya.

~'!On the lexl of the ~adith, see Muslim AI-l;Iajjaj al-Qushairi, $II/li/l MusUm. Vol. V(Bcinn: M, "l<sll<ah 'Ill Id-Din. (987),228.

llXISul:ùman al-RIl<uli. A/-Mïz;Tn. Vol. 1No. 28, 293. .'

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Chapter IV

THE TRADlTIONALISTS' RESPONSE 1'0

SOCIO-RELIGIOUS ISSUES

Apart l'rom purely religious questions. already discussed in part in the pn:vious

chapter, the disputes between the modernists and the traditionalists also touched upon

a number of socio-religious issues. Their dispute over the latter is understandabl<\

given the pivotai role played by Islam as an ideologkal basis, together with ild;lt, of

Minangkabau society and hence of many socio-religious institutions. For purposes of

our present study, only three things will be discussed. viz. the Naqshabandiyya. the

tahm and attempt~ to defend the old notion of the "cosmic ùrder."

IV. 1. Sheikh Mungka's Polemics against Sheikh Ahmad Khathib on

the Naqshabandiyya

Tarh/ils (sufi orders) have been much critidzed by 1110dernists as being

responsible for the bid'ilS prevailing in the community. This charge was primarily

directed against ail teachings of the {Mi,!il which were perceived as running coulller to

or lacking any legal basis in the authoritative sources of Islam. With the lessening

popularity of the Shattariyya order in Minangkabau al'ter the first half of the n;'I1eteenlh

century, it was the Naqshabandiyya-Khalidiyya order, which had replaced the former

in position and influclnce, which came to be the object of fierce attack l'rom the

modernists. l

1Martin van Bruinessen, "The Origins and Developmenl of the NaqshahandiyyaOrder in Indonesia," Der [sium, Vol. 67. No. 1 (1990), 173.

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The modernists' virulent critkism was spearheaded by Sheikh Ahmad Khathib

AI-Minangkabawi who. between 1<)()n and 1<)()X. consecutively wrote three polemical

treatises dealing against the Naqshabandiyya.2 The first work. l#),Tr zaghl al-k,ïdhibill

17 IiIsl1abbul1ihi1l1 bi al-,~'ïdi'lill. was originally a response to five questions directed to

him by Sheikh Abdullah Ahmad of the Minangkabau modernists. The questions.

which were sent to him in 1<)()n. were the following: (1) Does the "Iri'la

Naqshabandiyya-Khalidiyya have its basis in the <l1ilTi'a or not '! (2) Does ils silsila

(chains of masters) go back ta the Prophet or not '! (3) Does abstinence from eating

f1esh have a basis in the sl1ari'il or not '1 (4) Do the periods of Sulük (asceticism) for

forty or twenty or ten days have a basis in the shari"a or not '! (5) Does the R,ïbi"l

(intermediary) have a basis in the shari'lI or not '13

ln his reply ta the first question, Ahmad Khathib begins by insisting that the

',U"i'lll of the Prophet and his Campanions and of those who were learned in canon

law and t'I~'IWWuf(sufism) has always been in accord with the five basic categories of

law, which divide ail acts into necessary, recommended, forbidden, disapproved and

permilled.4Their {ari'la was based upon the principles of tau1,lid (knowledge of the

2The works are: l?hiïr zilghl ,l1-k:ïdhihïll fi /ilshahhuhihim hi :11 $:ïdiqïll (1906):AI.Ay:ll :1I·hilyyill:il li il/·munsifill fi iz:ïl:ït :lI-khumfiït hil'(1 al-mut,1'a$$ihïn (1908)ilnd i11-S,lif il/·h:llI:ïr fi nlilQq ightir:lr (11):)8). Ali Ihrcc are in Malay and, having beenprinled sepamtely in Padang, the three Ih_n appcared in a one·volume edition prinledin Cairo. The last IWO, which consist of an enlargement and commenlaries on Ihe firstwork, were specifically wrillen as part of his polemics with the traditionalisls. Sincethe conlenls arc basically similar. for Ihe purpose of our present sludy, only Ihe firstIWO will he made use of.

'B.J.O. Sehrieke, Pergolilkan Ag,1ma di Sumalem Barilt (Jakarta: Bharalara.1973). 77: Hamku. AY'lhku (Jakarla: Umminda, 1982), 75·6; W.G. Shellabear, "AnExposure of Counlerfeiters," 17Ic Moslcm World, Vol. XX (October 1930), 360.

41n answering the firsl queslion, Ahmad Khalhib begins by saying thal IheProphel, before he left Ihis world, had perfecled his divine mission; his leachings arcconlained in the Qur'iln and Ihe Sunna, 10 ..hich every Muslim should cling.Introducing anYlhing which nol in Ihese aulhorhies is accordingly an erringinnovation which is slrongly prohibiled. Ahmad Khathib, l?hifr z,1ghl al·k;ïdhihïn fit:Ish:lhhuhihim hi :lI'$:ldiqill (Cairo: al-Taqdim al-'i1miyyah. 1928), 4·14.

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unity of God). fù/il (knowledge of the presnipts of law) and ta~al\'II'uf (knowkdge of

the purity of the heart).5 Ahmad Khathib <:ondlldes lhatthose who \York a<:<:llfding 10

the prindples of these mree kinds of knowledge are induded among those who follow

the !<lrj'l<l of the Prophet. the Companions and the "ulmIlŒ'. An order SUdl as the

Naqshabandiyya is different in many respe<:ts l'rom ail that has 'leen mentioned above.

and is therefore a bid"", whi<:h is forbidden by Allah and His Prophet. The

Naqshabandi view that man is <:omposed of ten subleties (/,l{iï'if, pl; /<l{ifll, sing.), or

such characteristi<:ally Naqshabandi ways of approachillg God as dilikr (<:hants),

murŒ'l<lb<l (spritual union), nIbi!<l (intermediation) and suliik (asceti<:ism) arc, he

insists, ar innolations.6 Had the Prophet and his Companions truly laid them down,

there should have been records to that effect in the authoritative tradition, as is the case

with even the most private actions of the Prophet.7

5 Ahmad Khathih defines liIriqil as "the l'lIth towards God which in vulvesworking on the three kinds of knowledge. viz. tllUQid, fiqh and liI~i1wwllf." Ihid .. 33.

6The chief doctrine of the order is dhikr. Referl'ing to Fill!1 i11·mQllllïll, a trelltiseon the Naqshabandiyya and Ihe Qadiriyya, Ahmad Khathib remarks Ihat 1II11nïqilha(which is of Iwenty kinds), r,ïhi/'I. slllük or khillwllI and khll/III khwiljilgllII arcbasically methods of performing the dhikr. Lii/ifil. which is uf ten kinds and arcbelieved to reside in certain parIs of thc human body (for exmnple the 1:1/ilil uf theheart is slightly below the lefl breast, etc.) arc Ihe points where Ihe dhikr s',uuld heslressed. Ali these things, he says, arc innovalions. Citing Sulaiman Zuhdi, animportanl sheikh of the Malay Naqshabandiyya sludying at Mecea in the nir.eleelllhcentury, he adduces evidence thal the concept of hl/If:1 was invenled by Shcikh A~mad

Sirhindi, an indian Naqshabandi (d. 1625); the .",lak was invented by Sheikh KhfilidKurdi (d. 1827), the founder of the Naqshabandiyya-Khalidiyya order; and Ihe conceplof khatlll khwajilgan was invenled hy 'Abd. al-Khiiliq al-Ghujdawani (d. 1220).Ibid., 20-32; Shellabear, "An Exposure," 360·5; J.S. Trimingham, The Sufi Order" illIslalII (London: Oxford Universiy Press, 1971), 58; Martin van Bruinessen, Tilriqll/Naqshtlhtllldiytlh di Indonc"ia (Bandung: Mizan, 1992), 65-9.

7Ahmad Khathib asks why Ihe Naqshahandi sheikhs du nul teach 111U!lid. fiqlland t:I~awwuf which are necessary fur sufis. Their slress on dhikr, inslead uf Iheaforementioned, leads them tu follow /tlfiq<l Shili/iill (the devil's order) and to negleelsuch true ways as Ihose uf al-Ghazllli, al-Qushairi and al·Suhmwardi. Ahmad Khathih.ibid.. 39-41.

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Ahmad Khathib's reply ta the five questions was instantly responded ta by the

traditionalists.XThough ail leading figur~s of the laller movement were involved, the

person who was foremost in this dispute was Sheikh Muhammad Saad b. Tinta

(1 X57· JlJ2 J), famous as Sheikh Mungka. Being the oldest in his camp, it was he who

led the dispute with Ahmad Khathib, writing two polemical treatises in response ta

Ahmad Khathi b's first two works. '.J

Unlike Ahmad Khathib. Sheikh Mungka is of the opinion that the question of

whether or not the Naqshabandiyya arder has a basis in the sh;trï"l has ta be looked at

in [enns of its main teachings. ln this respect. Sheikh mungka argues that the very

essence of the Naqshabandiyya is ta perpetually seek knowledge of Gad by means of

dhikr and fikr (thought). sa as to lift one up ta such heights as taqw;I (complete

devoutness). ipsan (beneficence) and ikhlii,ç (absolute sincerity).l0 These levels. which

are frequently mentioned by the Qur'an and the Sunna, are the ultimate goals which it

is incumbent upon every Muslim ta strive for. The very concern of the

Naqshabandiyya. says Sheikh Mungka, is the perpetuai presence before and the total

submission of the heart to Gad by intensively repeating certain formulae of the dhikr.

Performing dhikr, as stipulated in numerous Qur'anic verses and in padïth, is part of

''ib.Ida, and the establishment of the Naqshabandiyya, Sheikh Mungka insists, was

XThe eause of Islamie traditionalism in the carly years 'Jf this eenlUry inMinangkahau has always heen elosely Iinked with the development of theNaqshahandiyya. On this account. praetically ail leading figures of the lmdilionalistswere staunch adherents of the order.

~Sheikh Mungka's works arc: /rgMm ullüf ;l1-mula'allllilin fy illkiirihim r,ïhi/:II<Il· w,ïsi/ill :md T'IIIMh <I/-'<lww,ïmm 'ahï laghrinïl ha'(1 <I/'<lu:ïm. Since they arc notavailahle to me. 1 will refer to Sheikh Mungka's works through Ahmad Khathib'sAy,u whieh. in ils responses, gives long extmcts from Sheikh Mungka's works.

IOMuhammad Dalil b. Fatawa (alias Sheikh Bayang). TM<lghghuh ila R'IQlII<lrAIl'lh (Padang: Orang Alam Minangkabau. n.d.). 56; Khalhib Ali. BurMII <I/-I;I<lqq(Padang: Pulo Borner. 19111), 55·6.

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mealll to promote such an important part of ''i/J:Tr/:i. Il I-Iere lies the kgitimal'Y of 11lL'

Naqshabandiyya.

Responding !O the second question as to whether or not its si[si/a goes back 10

the Prophet. Ahmad Khathib states that only individual and group wh[ill dhikr (dhikr

for initiation) are traœable to the Prophet. as reported by Yusuf al-Kuranï anl!

Shaddad b. 'Aus. 12 The dhikr taught by the Prophet is IiI i/:Tha il/:I Al/ah as also

comfinned by A~mad b. l;Ianbal and Tabaranï's report. Like the institutions of riibi!a.

sulük and klwtm khw4:lg:lIl. stressing dhikr at the points of /;I[ïfil can be traœl! back

only to the sheikh who invented it. as mentioned by hmi" :Ii-u,stïl. a work on which

Ahmad Khathib bases himself in answering the question. This type of dhikr is thus

bid'·a. 13 The same is true of t:liqÏIl Abtï B:lkr, which takes the forl11 of repeating thl'

word "Allah." 14 [n this regard. Ahmad Khathib rejects the traditionalists' argument

that the practice was val id because it was long and weil established and insists thal

without any reliable prt'cedent in the Sunna, somethings being weil established was

not a dalïl (reason) for its legitimacy.

liOn the significancc of dhikr, lhe traditionalisls rel"cr moslly ln Nawawl. a/­Adhk;ïr (Caim: al-Tijariyyah al·Kubra, n.d.), 5-15: Ibn !;Iajar al·Haitam;, Fil/iïw,; a/­Qadilhiyyah (Caim: Malba'ah al·Ma'ahad. 1934), 53-4: cf. Khalhib Ali, SOc/Oc/1Me/ajoe, Vol. 1 No. 7 (1 January 1914). 109-10.

12Ahmad Khalhib makes c1ear, however, lhal the Qildilh is nnly knnwn nn IheaUlhority of Ihe Naqshabandiyya, and is not found in the reliable bonks nI' ~adllh.

13 Jiuni' ill·u~üI fi "k/UliYil' was written by A~mad J,Jiya' al-DinGhumushkhanawi (d. 1893), a Turkish Naqshabandiyya-Khalidiyya Sheikh. AhmadKhathib, I?-hiïr, 44·8.

14Abü Bakr, the first of Ihe Riishidün caliphs, is taken by 'he Naqshabandiyyaas lhe first Iink in thdr si/si/" al'ter Ihe Prophet. Sec Hamid Algar. "TheNaqshab:mdiyya Order: A Preliminary Survey of ils Hislory and Signifkance," S/",liilIslamicII, Vol. XLIV (1976). 128.

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ln his response ta Ahmad Khathib's conclusion that much of the spritual

pedigree of the Naqshabandiyya arder does not reach back ta the Prophet, Sheikh

Mungka notes that the establishment of the Naqshabandiyya was undoubtedly the

work of trustworthy men (chi"a) who possessed bath outward and inward (:pïhir and

biÏ!ill) knowledge. Bel ief in the trustworthiness of the links in the chain, he says, is

fundamental ta the Naqshabandiyya world view. This belief is expressed in the

lIlurids (pupi!) total acceptance of the authority of the arder without seeking evidence

for it. However, apart l'rom asserting that the foundation of the arder was undoubtedly

laid by Abü Bakr who, it is believed, had secured authorization ta do sa l'rom the

Prophet, Sheikh Mungka l'ails ta come up with any convineing refutation of Ahmad

Khathib. 15

Replying ta the third question, as ta whether or not abstinence l'rom eating

meat during the sulük1fihas any basis in the law, Ahmad Khathib quotes a verse l'rom

the Qur'an, "eat of the goad chings and do right," and notes that Tabarï in his

commentary explains the "goad things" (fayyibiït) as pleasant foods which the heart

desires. Induded in these is meat. The basic law governing its consumption, Ahmad

Khathib says, is that it is permilled, meaning it may or may not be consumed,

depcnding on certain eircumstances. But ta prohibit its consumption, as is done during-the sulük, and ta regard such an act as 'iblida. is absolutely forbidden (Qafiitn), for it

15 Ahmad Khalhih, Ay'lI :tI·b<lyyimll Ji '1/-munsil7n /7 iz,T1:Tt <I/-kbumfiïl b:l'II <1'­/IlUt:l':I~~ibfn (Cairo: n!·Taqdlm nl'i1miyynh, 1928), 47; Khnlhib Ali, Burh:Tn, 56-7;Shdkh Bayang. T:lr<lghghub. 60-1.

16Suiok or kh:l/Will is the period of l'Orly dnys a murid spends performing,Ihikr under the guid.~nce of his murshid (sheikh or tencher).1t is conducted in a rum<lh.• u/Ok (house of .• ulak). which is usunlly owned by the murshid himself. Thequalitlllive fellturcs of the rum'lh sulUk depend much upon the populnrity of lhe sheikh.One of lhe muin stipulutions for sulak is lhnt Ihe murid prevent himself from eatingmeat during this time.

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violates God's prohibition of forbirlding what He has made lawful. 17 as weil as lhl'

Prophet's tradition that" to abstain l'rom tlesh and woman is not part of my religion."

Ahmad Khathib therefore condudes that what is done during the slIlük is precisely

what the Christian priests and monks did. for they too made lawful things

"religiously" unlawful for themselves.

ln his rebuttal. Sheikh Mungka adduces evidence that abstinenœ l'rom meat. as

prescribed in the suIük. does have precedent in the practice of the Prophet and the

Companions. He argues that for a certain period of time the Prophet renounced eating

meat. Abu Huraira, the narrator of a large number of ~adïth. is reported to have

refused an invitation to eat meat. and to have said in response that those who love

'Îbffda more should reduce their consumption of delidous foods. l loi Sheikh Mungka

explains that the suIük is the period of riyiic;l'l (spritual exerdse) during whkh the

murid's mind and body work together so as to enable him to worship God in a highly

conœntrated manner. Such con.:entration can only he achieved if the mllrid has himself

trained to become used to the simple forms of life by gradually renoundng pleasant

things. The stipulation that the murid should prevent himself l'rom eating tlesh during

the suIük is primarily meant to enhance the level of his spirituality. This stipulation.

Sheikh Mungka says, is temporary, whereas the /.Judith dted by Ahmad Khathib

prohibit~ permanent abstinence from the consumption of meat. llJ

17See the Qur'an. V: 89.

18Sheikh Mungka quoted the following saying allrihulcd 10 'Ali h. Ahl Talih:"Whoever ahstlûns l'rom eating meal for a period of forty days, surcly his eharacter isgood: and whoever continues eating il, surely his eharaeter is had." Sheikh Mungka.Tanbih a/·"Iww,ïmm (Padang: n.p.. n.d.l, 26·7, cilcd l'rom Sanusi Latief, "GerakallKaum Tua di Minangkabau," Ph.D. Thesis (Jakana: IAIN Syarif Hidayalullah, 1988).432. Sheikh Mungka does not, however, say anything aboul lhe narrator or Ihe sourceof Ihis tradition.

19Ahmad Khathib, Ayat, 71·3.

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As regards the fourlh question. viz. the religious validity of forly or twenty or

ten days of su1Lïk, Ahmad Khathib insists that the Prophet and his Companions did not

do any such thing. for had they donc so, these would have been evidence to that effect

in the Prophet's traditions. Rather. says Ahmad Khathib. suliik was introduced to and

incorporated into the Naqshabandiyya only on the basis of the ijtih.ïd of Sheikh Khalid

Kurdi and other Naqshabandi sufis. Suliik was meant to overcome the camai nature

(llufs) and to enlighten the heart by means of dhikr. 2ll However. Ahmad Khathib

observes. there is a difference of opinion among the learned about whether sedusion

and solitude :Ire better than mingling with people. For instance. aœording to Ghazâli's

Illy.ï'. Ahmad Khathib points out, more advantages are to be gained from the latter: yet

the Naqshabandiyya continue to prefer the former. 21

Ahmad Khathib notes that the explanation for the forty days of suliik is given

by Suhrawardi's 'A wiÏrif il/-mil'iïrif, where the following ~adïth is quoted: "Allah will

cause a fountain of wisdom to spring up from the heart to the tongue of him who

worships Him sincerely for forty days."22But. this ~adïth does not spedfically speak

of the need for sedusion as understood by the Naqshabandiyya, Ahmad Khathib

points out.23 Rather, one may worship God anywhere one is confortable. In addition.

Ahmad Khathib draws attention to the length of the period of such worship. He says

that the reduction from the initial stipulation of fortY days to twenty or ten days is a

20Martin van Bruincsscn. T.triqill. 88.

21 Ahmad Khmhib. /{-Mf. 63-5.

22 Milll :ikhJtf~:1 li'/l<Th t:l~:lJiT jfl·'ih:Tdift Urhil'ï1Jtf YiwllUin ?-lfhunlt y:uUThi'if ;rJ.!liklll'i lIIill q.tlhihi "I/il li.<'ïllihi. Ibid.. 66-9.

231dcm. Ay:i1. 85-6.

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concession which couId only be granted by the Prophet. Reductions made by tlll'

Na4shabandiyya sheikh are thus just another form of bht ..;1. 24

Sheikh Mungka is again in total disagreement with Ahmad Khathib.

Repudiating Ahmad Khathib's charge that the SlIlr1k lacks a legitimate basis in thl'

Sunna. he points out that the f:wdith cited by Ahm'ld Khathib provides l'lear l'roof

(dulil ~urilJ) which fonns the basis of the su//Ïk. 25 Thus the dispute of the two Shl'ikhs

stems from their respective understanding of the aforementioned /wditll. 26 Shdkh

Mungka sees it as a clear stipulation of sulr1k: according to Ahmad Khuthib.

howt'ver, it does not signify any partkularity, for there is no specification here ubout

the types of ''ib:ïc/u nor is the place to perform itmentioned.27

Sheikh Mungka argues further that the early sufis had put into l'factice l'e

stipulation of the aforementioned tJudith, a stipulation whkh resembles sultîk in many

respects. According 10 ittJiiful-s:ïdut ul-mutt:lqin, a commentary on Ghuzalî's lf:Jy:ï',

24A strong wurning is given hy Ahmud Khalhih. The lrue purpnse nI' sl/1ük iscnmplele sepurulion l'rom worldly lusls in nrder tn devnle nneself Inlally tn the sillcereworship of God. This ohjective eun only he guined provided olle ahides hy /;11/(1111.fiqh und /;I$uwwl/f. In praetice. however. vurious ilIicit feull/res nI' the sl/lùk hecnmeeommon. Ahmud Khalhih c1uims thul sueh degeneratinn resl/lts l'rom the nue·sidedemphusis luid on IIhikr hy the IIII/rshili in pluee of the three neeessary kllnwledges.SI//iik hecame the means la worldly guins rather Ihall the pleasure of Gad. lu mailycases, he S'lys. grenter stress was laid on the grenier numhcr of Ulurids altcncJing theSI//iik, and thereby on collecting money in the guise of religion. uot ta mentinn geniugwivcs and grcnt rcputation. than on considerations of picty. This was also apparentwhen some people who entered the .m/iik merely in arder ta heeome a k/lIIli1:1 (vicat)and to get a certificute (ij,ï7.'I) ta that effect. Idem. /(.hiir. 71)·95.

26 Both Sheikh Ahmad Khathih and Sheikh Mungka l'ail. hnwever. In ascertaiuthe soundness of the ~adïlh.

27 According ta Ahmad Khathih /uf(. $'''I!J is a sentence which hears Il<'.

ambiguity (lIIu!Jlalll'I/). This type of sentence is usually marked hy particularity. Thedisputed !J'ldïlh, he says. lacks this feature. He thus mocks lhe ignorance nI' SheikhMungku ahout these Iwo different types of senlence. Ahmad Khathih, /(.hiir, 102.

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Ghazali practiccd the l'Orly day seclusion t1uice in his life. Sheikh Ahmad Khathib

acccpls Ihis cvidencc, but argues that Ghazali practiccd sedusion on the basis of the

three necessary kinds of knowledge, as mentioned earlier, and his practice was

thcreforc very different l'rom su/iik.

Though taken to be the basis of suliik, the aforementioned /.wdith was not

accepted in full by the traditionalist~. This was espedaly the case as regards the period

of the slllük. Concessions had been introduced by the Naqshabandi sheikhs, allowing

a 1Il1lrid to attend sllliik for l'Orly or twenty, or even ten days. Though acknowledging

that the ~Jildith stipulated l'Orly days, Sheikh Mungka argues that the significance of

slIlük consits more in the level of sincerity exhibited by the murid than in the length

of time he spends in il. 1t can thus be l'Orly, twenty or ten days.2X

ln reply to the fifth and final question, which was about the riibi!a.29 Ahmad

Khathib insists that it is unquestionably abid'a. 30Furlhermore, the riibi!il is a grave

danger to one's faith. The sheikh's order to the mllrid to imagine the sheikh while

engaged in his ritual observances implies, according to Ahmad Khathib, the commad

that the lIlurid worship the sheikh too, in addition to God. The murid's submission

to the sheikh is similar to his submission, Ahmad Khathib alledges, to God and this is

28lhid.

29 R;Thil:l is a technical term used hy many orders 10 denote an act of menlalvisualizalion of a sheikh hefore performing dhikr. Il is in facl meanl 10 help a murïdguard himself from SallUlic lemplations so as 10 enable him 10 perform Ihe dhikr in fullconcentration. In view of its funclion, the term is used inlerchangeably with W:lsiltl andw,Tsi/tl, hOlh of which technically mean intennedialion. See, van Bruinessen, Ttlriq'll,X2-5.

~nR,Thi/'I. he says. has no hasis in Ihe Sunna. Eighl proof texls l'rom the Qur'anand two ~adllh are propounded. In addition. he also shows Ihat Ihe tcn Qur'anic versesc1aimed 10 provide grounds for rtrhi/il do nol justify Ihe daim in Ihe Icast, save 10 theignorant. See the Qur'an, III: 64. 79-80; V: 3. 116-7; X: 106; XIII: 14; XXXV: 13-4;XXXIX: 3; XXXXVI: 5; LXXXXVIII: 5. Ahmad Khathib. 1[.h1Tr, 100-32.

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a logical consequenœ of the crucial role of the sheikh in dlJikr. The shcikh is lll'id. nI'

believes himself. to be crucial in mediating between the lill/l'id and (ind. thus Ill' alsn

feels that he deserves to be worshipped. 31 To make the lill/l'id lhink of his sheikh.

with reverenœ and humility, as being present in his mimi. is jusl the s,une as lhinking

of Allah as being present in his dhikr. there is no difference, Ahmad Khathih argUt's.

between the two exœpt in name. Thus, having both (iod and tlll' sheikh

simultaneously in mind would mean that if the one «(iod) is worshipped the ntht'r

(the sheikh) will be also.

Sheikh Mungka responds by saying that there is no reason why nïhi!iI should

lead to worshipping the sheikh. The lill/l'id is commanded only 10 worship Gml, ,uu!

the sheikh's command to the lIIurid that he be imagined is only meant to protect the

llIU/id l'rom WilSWÜ:~ and thereby allow him to attentively performl,is dhikr.-'2 Henct'

the llIl/riefs submission to God is intended solely to worship Him, whereas his sheikh

is there only to mediate between him and God.33 However, the sheikh's mediatnry

function in guiding the murid towards God does nothing, it is argued, to encroach

upon God's exclusive right to be worshipped.

Sheikh Ahmad Khathib has no doubt, however, that mental visualization of

the sheikh in the murid's mind prior to his dhikr would becoml' part of ''ibiïclil.

According to Ahmad Khathib, "ibiidll is any ri tuai perfonnl'd in the hopl' of l'l'ward.

This is also the case with riibi!ll, in which the murid expects his sheikh to bestow upon

him his 'light' and to protect him from wllsw<T.~.34 The reward that the llIurid gets for

31lbid.. 101.2.

321dem, AYiï/,91.

33lbid.. 9M.

34lbid.. 101-2; Idem, J(.hiïr, 105-6.

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visualizing his sheikh is this 'Iight' and the protection l'rom wilswŒ,. and it is only

th us that his devolions arc acœpted and rewarded by Gad. The lill/l'id. as Ahmad

Khathib secs it, effeclively bccomes a servant of his sheikh.

Sheikh Mungka denies that nTbi!a has such implications. The only function of

the shcikh, he insists, is ta mediate between the lill/l'id and Gad. The lill/l'id does no!

have any hope of being rewarded by anyone except Gad. In addition, the presence of

God in the lIll/ricl's mind is for the sake of Gad Himself (/idhŒtilll), meaning that dhikr

perfofllled by the lill/l'ici is for Gad alone. Conversely, the presence of the sheikh in

the mind of lill/l'id is for the sake of the other (/ighairihi), in the sense that this

visualization too is for the sake of God, not for the sheikh himself. Hence the position

of God is different l'rom that of the sheikh in fundamental respects and the two are not

interconnecte<! (taluzzl/m) with each other.35

Sheikh Ahmad Khathib raises an important and serious theological problem

emerging l'rom nTbi!u. He says that the belief that anyone other than God can be a

source of power to be asked for or to be dependl~d on is kufr (infidelity). The belief

that it is the sheikh who has the power to protect the murid from wuswas and to

direct his heart towards God is shirk jalï which leads the lIlurid to kl/fr and expels

him l'rom the religion of Islam.36But if the murid believes that the sheikh is only a

cause (subab) of his being protected l'rom wuswii:, and of being rewarded by Gad, he

does not thereby cease bcing a Muslim, though the belief still is a shirk khafi (hidden

associatism) which jeopardizes his faith.

J5ldem, Ayiit, 104-10.

Jblhid.. 112: Idem, J{.Mr, 109.

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Aeeording 10 Sheikh Mungka. however. sueh a theologiL'aljudgenll'nt ,"ws 11Il\

apply 10 nThi!". R"bip is based on Ihe belief that only God has Ihe power 10 prol"','1

the Illl/ric/ l'rom w"sw,Ts and ta bestow l'l'ward upon him)7 and that the sheikh is only

a means through whieh the relationship belween the Illl/ric/ and Gml is mediated)X

'1'0 the extent that the sheikh aets as an intermediary. his funetion. aeeording 10

Ahmad Khathib. is similar ta that of the idols worshipped by the unbelievl'rs. Th,'

latter also maintained that what they were really worshiping was God. the ('l'l'mOI' of

the universe. whereas the idols were only the means whieh eaused their ri tuais 10 be

aœepted and rewarded by Gad. ln other words. as a means (w'l.~il,,) the function of

idols was ta bring the worshipper as dose as possible ta Gad. 3lJ '1'0 this efkcl.

Ahmad Khathib quotes a Qur'anie verse. "We only worship them thatlhey may bring

us near unto Allah,"40and argues thm the same is the case when the Illl/riei visualizes

his sheikh in arder ta protect himself l'rom w"sw,I~ and ta direct his heart towanls

Gad. This comparison is rejected by Sheikh Mungka. who maintains that the

unbelievers' worship of idols eonstitutes 'ib;Td" for them. which brings them doser 10

Gad. That is not the case with nTbi!". since the only objective of the nTbi!" is that Ihe

Illl/ric/ be protected l'rom w"swii~ and accordingly be attentive in his elllik,:41

37There seems to be some ambiguity among tbe tradilionalists ahout the l'calfunction of the sheikh in n;hi", and whelher or not he does have the power 10 I,roleetthe murid l'rom WIISIV';S. Il is difficuh 10 be cerlain what e<aetly is their view IIll thematter. and whe!her the tradilionalisls differ among lhemselves in this regard.

3RAhmad Khathib. Ay,;I. 112.

39Khathib Ali. Ihe most prominent lraditionalisl. delïnes WilSi/il as that whichcauses something 10 be close to something cise. Khathib Ali. Soc/oeiJ Mc/lljoe. VIII. 1No. 3 (1 November 1913). 44.

40Mii ""'huduhum il/,; li yuqllrrihüm; il,; AI/llh zlIl/i;. (Q. XXXIX: 3). AhmadKhathib. J?,h,;r. 107·8.

411dem. Ay,;I. 114·5.

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The above discussion has exhibited two diametrically opposed vil'wpoints as

regards certain beliefs and practices of the Naqshab;lIldiyya. In sum, Sheikh Ahmad

Khathib argues thatthe present fOrIn of the Naqshabandiyya with its 'foreign' rituals

not only has no Iegitimate legal basis in the authority of the Sunn;l. but in many

respects it also jeopardizes one's faith, Sheikh Mungka maintains, on the other hand.

thatthe Naqshabandiyya. \Vith ail their rituals. are in ;lccordance \Vith the prescriptions

of th.: shuri"u,

IV. 2. The Question of TahlïI

An important aspect of the Minangkabau modernist movemelll in the carly

deeades of this century \Vas its effort to establish a c1ear-cut boundary bet\Veen the

shuri')l and ,Idut (local cu"tom), The modernists justified their position in terms of the

prindple that in mallers of worship everything has been completely and definitely

dedded by God (the Qur'an) and His Prophet (the Sunna). For the rest. that is to say

everything concerned with the organization of materiallife. those who are in charge of

the community (ulU u/-umr) are free to come to their own dedsions.42

Though both Islam and udilt intially had their own separate domains, in

practice, a certain degree of mixture between these two did take place as a result of the

adaptation of Islam to the Minangkabau local customs. What mallers for the

modernists is that sueh a mixture not only obscured the role of Islam as the spiritual

42Sce, A, Merad, "I~liil)." in E. van ilonzcI. ct,al (cds.), The E<'ydop,wlii" orIslam. Vol. IV (Lcidcn: E.J. Brill, 1978), 154-6.

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guide for human life, but for the most part ran counter to the accepted principles of

Islam and thereby hindered its forward movement.43

Mau)' viewed the Minangkabau custom of TallliJ or "Kenduri Kematian" (the

ritual feast marking someone's deatl-) as just such a violation of Islam and its

teachings. The tahlïl is heId following the funeral rites, and especially on the 3rd, the

7th, the 21 st, the 40th and the IOOth day after death. These occasions are known in

Minangkabau as Malligo h,lri, Mallujuah hari, M,lduopU/Uilh satu hari, M1I1Impek

pll/lIh /wri and Marlltuih hllri respectively. 44

The t,lhJïl combines in itself stipulations of both Islam and adat. Traditional

Minangkabau food is served, especially to the ,ld,lt and religious dignitaries of the

village as weil as to the relatives of the deceased. In many cases, particularly among

the ri::h, every attempt is made by the host to please the guests by serving the most

delidons food one can afford. There is !ittle doubt that whJïl involves the issue of

prestige. Traditionally, the highest symbol of this prestige, especially for a rich host,

would be to slaughter a cow or a water buffalo for the main course of the meals. As

for the middle class or even the poor, every possible attempt seems to have been made

to enable him to live up to the expectations of society.45 Il was on account of this

practiœ that borrowing and pawning became common in the lower classes of society.

43Sheikh Muhammad Thaib Umar, another leading modernist. bluntly slales outthat the old unenlightened customs of Minangkabau were not only responsible for thebackwardness of the society but, more grievously. obstructed (m,Tni') the people fromreaching the reat Trulh ('ll·!J'lqq). Muhammad Thaib Umar, Al·Munir, Vol. III Nil. 12(lH August 19(3), 177·H.

441n fact, according to the original stipulation, the commemoration of theI.tltltllh day following the death was Ihe final part of this series of the "kenduri", lnpraclicc, however, only a few people manage to observe it.

45Thaib Umar, Al-Munir, Vol. III No. 12, 178: Khathib Ali, $oeloeh Mclajoe,Vol. 1 No, \() (15 February 1914), 184-5,

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More serious perhaps. was the practice. criticized by bath the modernists and tl\(·

traditionalisls. of overriding the legal rights of the heirs (lI';ïritll) in arder ln fultïll Ill<'

demands of this CUSIOITI.

The religious component of this custom can readily be seen in its <:t'l'l'monial

part which œnters on the recitation of the Qur'an and on dhikr. However. thl'

recitation usually takes an artistie fonn. with the principal emphasis being on the

rhythmic effect on the audience.46 The recitation and the dhikr are primarily intended

of course to benefit the deceasee! in the hereafter.47The religious part of this <:t'remony

is led by the 'uhmliï' or uTimg siilk of the village, who are specifieally invited for this

pllrpo~e. It has been a common practice that at the end of the ceremony the UTilllg si;,k

would be supplied with a certain amount of money as an expression of gratitude on the

part of the host.4X

The custom of ti/hm in the traditional social system of Minangkabau may be

regarded as an exprt'ssion of the interpenetration of ildM and Islam. Ta the

Minangkabau people, .he two are inseparable as the ideological bases on which the

spiritual relationship between man and the Highest Essence can be established and a

harmonious social i.lleraction ensured. The tilh/il tradition represents the two

fundamental principles of the Minangkabau society. It exhibits, on the one haml,

46[n Minangkabau. there arc two farnous traditional arts of reclttng Ihe Qur1anand the dhikr: (1) Slllawa/ Du/lmg and (2) Bildiki.:. The two arc usually exhihited intraditional religious ceremonies. Though different in their artistic aspects, their majorconcern is to explain the meaning of the Qur'fUl or lL'pects of the life of the Pruphet.

47 Apart from the recitation of the Qur'lin and the dllikr. lamenting over Ihcdcccased was. in sorne cases. also included in the ceremony.

480n the money received by the urlmg "ink, see the fn/wii of Shcikh KarimAmrullah. Karim Amrullah. AI·Munir, Vol. III No. IK (14 November 1'J13), 2KI·3: cf.Snouck Hurgronje. The Achehnesc, Vol. 1 (Leiden: E.J. Brill. l'JOli), 42K.

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man's concern with the need for a spiritual relationship with God and. on the other

hamj. expresses the harmony of society. a goal which ad,H seeks to achiev,:.4LJ It is

for this reason that the whm was legitimized or sanctioned by the traditional social

system of Minangkabau and thus enjoyed support l'rom both the adm and the religious

dignitaries.

The modernists. however. viewed the institution of whm as constituting a

deviation l'rom the original precepts of the Qur'an and the Sunna and an expression of

an unenlightened Minangkabau social system. Sm:h deviations, they maintained, were

due to the ideological orientation of the society, which demanded that both adat and

Islam he coordinated with each other. even though in the wake of the rise of the Paderi

movement Islam had theoretically come to be regarded as the higher in authority than

"d'H. SO But in practice, as SI.eikh Thaib Umar of the modernists argued,

unenlightened customs such as wh/ï/ had hecome a "second religion" in society.51

The main focus of the modemist mover:1ent therefore was the "reislamization"

of society. According to the modemists, tahfll is not only void of legitimate grounds

but. more importantly, is c1early opposed to what is stipulated by the Sunna of the

Prnphet. They argue that the basic stipulation of the Sunna concerning the deceased is

the "collecJve duty" (flU'ç/ kifiïya) of the people to bathe the body, to pray for il and to

4~On the interrelationship of adllt and Islam. sec the lÏr.>t chapt"r.

5() A series of rcform movements that beglUt with the rise of the Paderi in thecarly nineteenth century has shown that one of the major featun's of the I1lcdcrndevelopment of Islam in Minangkabau is the struggle between Islam and adat. Themodernist movement seeks an ovemll Islamization of the society, whereas the partisansof ,1<1,1/ stress the signifieance of the principle of harmony. Thus the fundamentalprinciples of one arc a threat to the very existence of the other. Wc shall discuss thispoint in the neXl section.

51Thaib Umar. AI·Munir. Vol. III No. 16 (15 October 1913),241-3.

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bury il. Apan l'rom this. it is strongly reo:ommended that neighbors and relati"es

provide food for the mourning family so as to help case thdr grief. Tht' Prophet. in

this regard. vigorously prohibited things that would weigh heaviiy on the family.52

Given the aforementioned preseription of the Sunna. the modernists l':1I1ll' tll

view tilhlïJ as a reprehensible innovation (bid"'l nwknï/w). Sheikh Abdullah Ahmad

notes that nothing in tilh/il corresponds to the regulations laid down by the Prophel.

He points out such main features of the tilhlïJ as the feasts on the 3rd. the 7th. the 21 st.

the 40th and the 100th day al'ter the death. redting the Qur'ân53 and the dhikr. and.

more importantly. the finandal burden placed on the family of the deceased are ail in

contliet with the SU1l1w.54

Nevertheless, the modernists contend that the basie legal judgment on the

custom, viz. that it is makriih, may for many reasons be extended ta the level of (wl'Œm

(forbidden). The custom becomes l.lill'Œm if (1) the money used for the gatherings is

taken l'rom the inheritance of the deceased, and rightfully belongs ta the heirs (w.Trith);

(2) if it is taken l'rom the inheritance whieh is ta be used for paying ofî the debts of the

52Abdullah Abmad. Al-Munir. Vol. Il No. 7 (lS June 11)12). 112; Idem, ibid..Vol. III No. 14 (16 September 11)13). 219; Thaib Umar. ibid.. Vol. 1 Nu. II) (21December 1911). 272.

53There is disagreement among Shafi'ite scbolars uver whelher ur nol therecitation of Ihe Qur'an would be or use l'or the deceased. Rererring 10 a Shafi'ileaUlhority. the modernisls hold that it wouId be. provided thal Ihe Qur'an is correcllyreciled. However, Ihe modernists hold Ihat the way Ihe Qur'an is recited in Ihe Illlllilhas no precedent in the Prophet's Sunn". Abdul Karim Amrullah, Al·Munir, Vol. IIINo. 18 (14 November 1913). 283.

54Deliar Noer. Geralcan Modern Isl'IRI di Indonesi" (Jakarta: LP3ES, 11)1)1l),108.

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e!eeeasee!: (3) if. he~ause of ti/Mn. the fall1ily is faeee! with tinancial e!iffi~ülties:55ane!

(4) if the ii/hW is meant to mourn over the deeeased.

Apan l'rom purely religious ~onsiderations. ti/hW. a~~ording to the 1l10dernists.

goes against human ~ons~ienee. The merrymaking and festivity of the gatherings do

not a~~ord with the deep sorrow the de~eased's family is feeling, a sorrow multiplied

by the fa~t that the ft~ast itself is essentially another burden for which the family is

foreed to be responsible. Sin~e the talJJn also involves issues of prestige and honor, in

some ~ases the only reason for people to hold it is to prote~t themselves l'rom being

1l10àed and ridi~uled by the people. Above ail, t,lhm ~ontravenes the so~ial

philosophy of Minangkabau which strongly advocates that one member of the society

should share in another's misfortune.50The modernists do. however, praise the

practice, which still exists in Minangkabau, that when someone dies, people bring a

small amount of rice or money to the deceased's family to show their deep sympathy.

The institution of tahlïl in the social system of Minangkabau is, as has already

been argued, a manifestation of the workings of adat and Islam as the ideological

foundations of the society. As such, it is held by the traditionalists to have legitimate

grounds in adiit regulations and in the prescriptions of the Qur'an and the Sunna. Il is

to be noted, however, that there is one single principic on which the institution of tahlïl

is based. Both ,ldat and Islam have prescriptions about death. Though these differ, it is

the need for social involvement in the event of a death that serves as the basis oftahliJ.

55 As menlioned earlier, borrowing and pawning are. especially among themiddle class and the poor. a frequent legacy of tah1il. Quite orten. Ihis leads tobankruptcy.

56 10 Minangkabau: "Sasakik samalu. tagamang manjauah. manangihmambujuak."

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Thus. according to the traditionalists. the Iegitilllacy of the (al1/ii has to l'II.' exanünl.'d in

tenns of l'loth ilS sodal and religious signitïcanœ.

Sheikh Khathib Ali. the prominent traditionalist. argues that the l'hief

signifkanœ of (ah/il lies in its .eligious œrelllony. whkh seeks the illlplelllentation of

the rulings of the Sunna. Apart from what ronstitutes the collective duty of thl.' Pl.'ople

to perform such recommended religious deeds as redting the Qur'an and the cillikr. the

wll/ï/ is specitkally intended to benefit both the deceased and the mourning family.

The traditionalists Illaintain that the redtation of the Qur'an and the cillikr would he of

great benefit to the deceased and would help save hilll from punishlllent in the

hereafter. 57 ln addition, the redtation of the Qur'an anddllikr are of great v"lue to the

family in helping ease their grief. Allthese features of the wll/ï/, the tmditionalisls

believe, are religiously sanctioned.

The significanœ of tlill/ï/ in Min"ngkabau must also be seen in tenns of the

crudal roll.' it piays in the local sodety. Tilll/ï/ makes for sodal involvement on the

occasion of a death, and therefore serves an important function. Death œases 10 he the

privat" business of the bereaved family, and becomes a m'Iller of public interest. Any

attempt to relegate or to negate the institution oftlllllïJ is Iherefore perceived as

undermining a major channel of sodal interaction, and relegating death to Illerely

private business. As one member of the traditionalist camp put it, "one's death without

tilll/ï/ would amount to an animal's death". 5X

57Khalhib Ali, Soeloeh Melajoe, Vol. 1 No. 12 (ls Match 1~14), IX4.

58Faqih Maharaja, Soeloeh Melajoe, Vol. 1 No.1ll (15 February IYI4), ISO.

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Built upon the prim:iple of social interaction. whJïl involves. among others

th;ngs. the idea of mutual hclp which. in turn. entails the principle of reciprocity ("givc

and take").5<.JServ ing pleasant food ta the gatherings is a materialization of this

principle. and an expression of gratitude on the part of the family. Sheikh Khathib Ali.

the famous traditionalist. observes that providing food for those participating in the

t;lilJïl is basically permitted. provided mat the money used for it comes l'rem one-third

of the inheritance mandated in advance by the deceased. or if another member of the

family takes on the entire financial burden.IiO

There are. however. differences in opinion among the traditionalists as ta the

basic legal judgment on whliJ. Sheikh Khathib Ali of the traditionalist argues that the

w!Jlïl which is meant to ease the grief of the family and to prevent them l'rom

mourning the deceased. undoubtedly conforms ta the command of the Sunna and is

therefore recommended.lil However. referring to Ibn l:Iajar al-Haitamï. Sheikh Jamil

Jaho. another important traditionalist, maintains that the t;lhlii is basically a

reprehensible innovation inasmuch as it is not only devoid of precedent l'rom the

Prophet, but also aggravates the particular situation whieh the bereaved family is

facing.1i2 Nevertheless, referring again to Ibn l;Iajar, Jamil Jaho observes, as do all the

traditionalists, Lmt even a makriih tradition (sueh as tahli/) may he judged permitted

5lJln Minangkahau: "Jariah manantang huliah."

60Khathih Ali. BurMa al-l;laqq (Padang: Pulo Bomer, 1918), 47. 1 have failed10 trace the grounds. especially in {;wi'i(1 rulings, for Khathib AIi's opinion thal one­third of the inherilance may he spent for sueh a feast 1even if il is on the blL<is of aw;l~iyyal.

611hid.

62'Ahd. al-l;Iamid al-Shirwanï. l;law:Tshi TUQf.1/ al-MuQ/:Tj bi5harh al-Minh:Tj(Cain>: Mu~lat'll Mu~mnmad. n.d.). 2ll7: cf. Mu~ammad al-Sharbainï Khalib. Mughnial-MuQt:Tj. Vol. 1 (Cairo: MU~laffi al-Babi al-l;Ialabi. 1933). 36R; Jamil Jaho. Al­Mil.iïn. Vol. 1 No. 26 (1337 A.H). 272.

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if it has lang been established in a eommlllllty sa that any attempt 10 renounet' it wou Id

be viewcd with eantempt in sacîety.6J Thus, as agaiust the mOlkrnists. the

traditionalists eandude that sinœ proteeting ane's dignily is rt'garded as nt'l't'ssity in

Islam, praetidng I.ihm ta avoid disgraœ is ta he deemed as permitted.M

The foregoing discussion has shawn haw (;Ihm is vÎewed by the two camps.

Arguing !hat il not only laeks preœdelll in the Sunna but also aggravat~s the bt'rt'aved

family's situation, the madernists maintain that the (;Ihlil is strnngly reprehensibk

(Illilkrüh). While sharing same of the modernist vÎews, the traditianalists generaily

hold !hat (;Ihm is allowed if it helps the deceased and the family of the deœased.

IV. 3. The Defense of the oid notion of "Cosmic Order"

The character of the modernist movement in Minangkabau in the early decalles

of this century is bes! understood in terms of its emphasis an purification in the

spheres of faith and worship. Various issues touched upon in the previous discussion

express this concern with purification. The rediseovery of the true ethies of Islam

through purification was thoughtto prepare the solid ground for soda! change, which,

in turn, would create a religiously based rational and prt'gressive sodety.65

Il must he noted, however, !hat every single thing thatthe modernists sOllght to

purify was, in fact, nothing Jess than an integral part of the Minangkabau Mllslims'

system of belief. With the interaction of ildilt and Islam, certain religious rites hall

63Ibn l:Iajar aI-Haitami, Al-F:II:Twii :il-KuhfiT. Vol. Il (Cain>: n.p., n.d.), 7.

64Jamil Jaho, AI-Miz:Tn, Vol. 1 No. 26, 272.

65Taufik Abdullah, "Schools and Politics: The Kaulll Muda Movement in WestSumatra (1927-1933), Ph. D. Thesis, Comell Univesity, 1971, 14-5.

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become institutionalized as part of the adat system. Religious practices were partiy

incorpowted into adat ceremonies and thereby cemented by the traditional structures

of society. The "ulam,,' and the adat dignitaries both enjoyed great influence and

regulated the purely religious and the customary affairs of society respectively.

The 1110dernist movement cannot simply be seen with reference to its various

practieal progrilms. In facto the modernists were attacking the traditional structure of

Min:mgkabau Muslim society as a whole.66 ln this way. they were threatening the

age-old authcrity of both the "ulanl1T' and the adat élites. The modernist threat to the

existing structure of authority stemmed from two main factors. both of which helped

4uickcn the spread of the modernist movement. ln the first place. the modemist threat

h:ld to do with the chawcter of the traditional Minangkabau nagari. Each nagari. being

sol11e kind of a smal1 republic. was ful1y reponsible for its own administration. There

was no adm organization above !he nagilJ'i level to enforce or hinder the introduction

of any change in the mlgari. nor was there a religious head or councii which could give

binding orders on important religious issues. There did exist adat religious

functionaries at the IIilgari level. such as Imam, Khathib and Bilai, buttheir main

functions were only to perforrn religious ceremonies. such as managing or presiding

over the Friday congregation. administering religious dues and taking care of the

lJilgilri mOS4ue. Their minor importance in the religious affairs of the nagilJ'i was

basieal1y the result of the factthatthey were not necesarily religious experts, for their

positions were matemal1y inherited through the uncle-nephew network in accordance

with the stipulated of adm.67

bb A. Merad. "I~Ifi~." E. van Donzel. el.al (cds.). The Encyclopaedi:1 of Islam.vol. IV (Leiden: E.J. BriII. 1978). 144.

b7Taufik Abdullah. "SchooIs and Politics," 47-8.

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Se<:ondly. the threat posed by the Illodernists had to do \\'ith thl' aUll1nolll)' of

the surau. the <:etller of traditional religious Iearning. As in the <:aSt' of the :w,!!"ri. tilt'

SUl'i1ll too was an independent institution. Il had no sU'u<:tural or fun<:tional rdationship

of allY kind with the traditional stru<:tures of Minangkabau sodety.6X Unlike thl' ,/(/"(

religious fun<:tionaries. the sheikh of a SUl'iHl was an expert in rdigious s\l1dil's.

having usually Illastered a spedtï<: area of religious Iearning. In many <:ases. he hml not

only studied at various suraus. but had also spent l'l'ars slUdying in Mt'<:t·a.

Consequently. the sheikh's opinion of judglllent in religious mallers was in tlwory

<:onsidered binding, espedally in his own nilYilri, l'ven though he stru<:turally remained

outside the offidal hierar<:hy. The ild'lr religious fun<:tionaries. in this regard, were only

the pra<:tÎ<:al exe<:utors of the judgment made by the sheikh of the SIlI.Hl. For instano:e.

Sheikh Abdul Karim Amrullah of Sungai Batang and Sheikh Muhammad Thaib Umar

of Sungayang, both of whom were prominent modernists who had founded their own

SUTilU, exercised far greater influence and thereby won higher respect from the people

of their respective nilg<Jri than the ildm religious dignitaries.

The development and extension of the Sl/r,Hl was based mainly upon the

sheikh-murïd network. lIpon completion of his quest for religious learning the lilI/l'id

himself would build his own SUTilU, usually in his own 1l1lY'lri. The Sl/nHl would he

named al'ter its sheikh or the nilgri where it was located. As the sheikh-lIlllrïd

network frequently extended beyond a particular SIITilU, the development of SI/Tilll in

Minangkabau also transcended the nilgui and ildilr boundaries. Thus, unlike the limiled

jurisdiction of the ildilt functionaries -- be they the ildilt élites or the religious

dignitaries -- which was defined by adat in each mlgilri. the far-reaching network of

68lncluded in Ihis type of .'U"IU is the su"'u which W'L' managed hy the sulït:lriqa.

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surill/S made it possible for a sheikh to exercise far wider intluenœ outside the

physical boundarics of a lIi/gi/ri.

ln the absenœ of a religious head or council at the supra-Ili/gitri level, which

could give final judgment on religious matlers, religious disputes inevitably arose

among the different suri/Us. The history of Minangkabau shows that beginning with

the pre-Paderi period inter-suri/u disputes have always been the main cause of division

among Minangkabau Muslims and, at the same time have threatened the authority of

the i/dilt functionaries. The inter-sunlU disputes are best understood in the light of

new waves of "orthodoxy" which denounce the established beliefs and existing

practices as deviation l'rom true Islam. That was the case, for instance, with Surau

Jembatan Besi in Padang Panjang. One of the œnters of the Naqshabandiyya. this

Surill/ later became one of the most important bases of the modernist movement. Il

was here that Sheikh Abdul Karim Amrulah, the most prominent modernist, taught for

many years and l'rom here spread the cause of modernism.69 This provoked the

jealousy and enmity of the Naqshabandiyya, whose erstwhile authority was

undermined by this modernist movement. Thus taking advantage of the independent

position of the SUl'ilU and its sheikh in Minangkabau society, the modernists could

daim religious superiority over the i/dat religious functionaries in their own nagari

and challenge the traditionalists in public debates. The laymen followed whichever

"ulmmP attracted tht"f ,1 most, thus intensifying social polarization.70

6~Deliar Nuer, Gernkan Modern Islam di Indonesia (Jak;lfla: LP3ES, (990),52·4: Hamka, AY:lhku (J;lkarta: Umminda, 1982), 113: cf. Idem, KellilOg·ken'lIIg'lIIHidup, 1 (Jakarl;c Gapura, 1951), 41.

70Taufik Abdullab. "Sebuols and POlhies," 48.

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As wc have mentioned. among thosc mnst affl'l'ted by the risl' of the modl'rnisl

movement were the ac/al fUIH:tinnaries, The threat tn thcir position resu1.t'd l'rom llll'

spedtï<.: <.:hara<.:ter of the modernisl mnvement whi<.:h. as Tautik Alxlullah puts il. had a

"fundamentalisti<.: tenden<.:y." With its totalisti<.: approa<.:h. it lknolllll'l'd thl' rl'lalivism

of the Minangkabau way of life and thinking and <.:hallenged al/al l'onl'elllions of

power. The 11l0dernists insisted that. inasl1lu<.:h as ultimate pnwcr resilks in God. Ihe

law of God should prevail in sodal Iife and the experts nI' 'his law should Ol'l'Upy a

position superior to that of the exe<.:utors of man-made laws,?l Sheikh Ahmad

Khathib al-Minangkabawi. a<.:tive at the turn of this <.:entury. went so far as to say that

the entire foundations of Minangkabau sodety were blasphemous. For instanI.:C. he

observed. the matrilineal inheritanee system was tantamount to robbing the orphans of

their legal property.72 Ahmad Khathib's denundation is only one example of how the

totalistie approa<.:h was brought to bear on the relativisti<.: view of the Minangkabau

adut system. At the very least. the religious <.:ontli<.:t between the modernists :lIld tlll'

traditionalists eould be<.:ome a purely i1dut issue, as when the formcr tried to ere<.:t their

own mosque. Sueh an a<.:tion eonstituted an assault upon i1c/ilt authority sin<.:e one

single mosque and one single b,liili (i1dut hall) were the pre-l'minent traditional

symbols of nilg,U"i unity.

The aforementioned tendeney of the modernist movement ran <.:ounter III the

philosophi<.:al foundations of Minangkabau ac/al. As dis<.:ussed in <.:haptcr one, the

71Taunk Abdullah. "Modernization in the Minangkahau W"rld," in ClaireHolt (cd.). Cu/lure :lIId Po/ilies ill Illdolles/:1 (lthaca: C"rnell University Press. IY72).205.

72Ahmad Khalhih, AI-D,N :l1-m,mnù' fI :II ",dd ':llii yuw:TritllU :l1-ikl/w:ll, w:,:lwI:ïd :d-:lkh:lwiil 111:1':1 wujùd :l1-u$ù/ W:l :lI-fufÙ' (Cairn: Mu~ammad Salit.. Kllrdi.1309 A.H.). 13-5; B.J .0. Schrieke. Pergol:lk"" Ag:tn/:I di Summem B,,,,,, (Jakarta:Bhratara. 1972). 34-7.

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fUlldamental princip le championed by adac is the principle of "harmony". A

hannonious balance is to be achieved between ada! and religion and between the self

and the "cosmic order." The traditional structure of the Minangkabau social system has

been mode lied on this notion of harmony. 'lJJallJ;T and ad;j( dignitaries have

theoretically held equal posiIions at ail structural levels of the society. be it the level of

the lIaga!'Î or that of the kingdom. Such hannony could only be maintained if. neither

of the two main parties tried to dominate the other. Thus. l'rom the ad;n viewpoint. the

bigger the mie played by the sufi orders. the more effectively could social harmony be

maintained. The sufi orders. whith their emphasis on the inward aspects of belief and

purity of the heart. were believed to be the true partners of the ildil! authority in

maintaining the principle of hannony. The history of Minangkabau prior to the rise of

the Paderi movement in the early nineteenth œntury seems to justify this view.

The emergence of the Paderi early in r.îlieteenth century. followed by the

modernist movement in the early decades of ulis century signaled. however. a series

of serious threats to the old notion of harmony. With their totalistic and

"fundamentalist" approaches. they jeopardiz~d the harmonious balance between Islam

and ild;lt and sought to reshape the ideological foundations of society. Il is

understandable why the modernist~' assault upon the Naqshabandiyya at the beginning

of this century. for instance. was at the same time an assault on the I,dilt authorityas

the upholder of the status quo.73

ln tum. various atlempts were made by both the ildilt authority and the

traditionalists to defend their old establishment The person foremost in defending the

cause of those associated with adat was Datuk Sutan Maharaja (1860-1921). He was

73Taufik Abdullah. "Modcrnization." 204.

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born in an ada! élite milieu. I-rom his grandfather. who had mad,' himsdf famous for

his strong opposition to the Paderi movement. Sutan Maharaja inherited his hostility

towards the onhodox movement.74 Sutan Maharaja is known as the father of Malay

journalism. Allying himself with the traditionalists. he published several newspapns

through which he developed his idea of kerm!illml (progress) on the harmonious basis

of adat and Islam. He also initiated the publication of Soe/oeh Meh!ioe. which was to

be run by the traditionalists.75 The journal was meant to counteract the modernists' a/-

MlInïr. and it was through this publication that the cause of the h,lI111ony between the

Shafi'ite school of law and the institutions of adilt was most vigorously defended.

Sutan Maharaja saw Sheikh Ahmad Khathib's attacks on the matrilineal

inheritance law as a sign of the reemergenee of the Paderi movement and warned

against the encroachment of the "Mecca people" who, in the past, had created a deep

crisis in Minangkabau.76 He organized a Kongsi Adat (Adat Association) and

formed a new alliance with the Padang aristocruts to defend the A/mil MimltlgkollJilll

(the Minangkabau World). The kenl<ljUiItl, he said, should not be an imitation of the

outside world, but ruther an unfolding of the ideals inherent in Minangkabau adilt.

Sinee the kemajuan was indispensable, it was the duty of the Minangkabau people to

realize their adat ideals.

The modemists' attempts ta rediscover the true ethics of Islam had led themto

insist on the need for fresh thinking (ijtihad) and a reexamination of the traditionally

74For a brier bigraphical sketch or Sut:m Maharaj:., sec Ibid.. 214-26.

75 Apart l'rom rounding his own newspaper. OCtoCS:1II McI:ljoc (MalayMessenger), he was also the first 10 publish a newspaper l'or women, which was calledSocnring MC/lIjoe (MaillY Omament).

76Taufik Abdullah. "Modernizalion", 216: Deliar Noer. Gcrllk:III, 236.

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authnritative texts. The Illodernists tended not to be bound only by a single school of

1,lw. Thnugh paying high tribu te ta the Shafi'ite school, which prevailed in

Minangkabau, many of the modernists' filcwiTs were based on such opinions of the

nther three schools which they considered the more reliable. The question of U,~'IJJi,

already discussed in the previous chapter, is an example. The modemists, in this case

are said by the traditionalists to have based their opinion on the authority of Ibn al­

Qayyim in his Ziïd ill-M'I'.ïd. Ibn al-Qayyim was a l;Ianbalite who, a<.:<.:ording to the

traditionalists, was known for his staunch "Wahhabism." On the question of the

requirements for marriage, the Shafi'ites recommend, besides other stipulations, a

consensus of the whole family before the couple can be married. This stipulatiOi. is

œmented by the 'ld.lt regulation that a marriage requires the consent of the Nillik or

Milllwk (grand lInde or unde). However, basing themselves on the l;Ianafite view,

the modemists stated that marriage is valid with the presence of only two witnesses.

Il is ,nus reasonable to aS~lJme thatthe new intellectual oudook introduced by

the modernists posed a serious threat to the Shafi'ite school and to the traditional

foundations of Minangkabau society as a whole. Accc.rding to Sheikh Khathib Ali, the

Shüfi'ite school, the Naqshabandiyya and ada! constituted the threefold identity of

Minangkabau-ness, and that no one component could be separated from the other. But

the modernistmovementthreatened the Shüfi'ite school and denied its pivotaI role in

Minangkabau77 and, "tthe same time, undermined the position and authority of the

traditionalists as upholders of the harmonious balance between Islam and ildat.

Modernist viewpoints left litde room for the traditionalists to exercise their traditional

authority in religious matters. As Hamka puts il, "Ever since the modernists

77 Siradjuddin Abbas, 40 Masllhlh Agama (Jakarta: Pustaka Tarbiyah. 1992),269-72.

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denounced tahlïl as bid"a lIlilkrüh. the traditionalists c:ould no longer l'njoy material

and intluendal gains from il."78 On the sodal Ieve!. the /;IIII';"i" of thl' mOlklllists.

whic:h in many c:ases were not based on Shafi"ite authority, were sel'n Ily

traditionalists as responsible for c:onfusion and c:haos among the Minangkabau

Muslims and ~s leading virtually to sodal polarization at the family and /J:lg;wi kvels.

The division of Minangkabau Muslims into the Killllll Tlm and the Km/Ill Mllcfil was

the ultimate form of this most serious polarization.

The working of ;Idal in Minangkabau sodety has, sinœ the beginning, been

guided by the prindple that the incorporation of new ideas into the existing ,IC/ill

should nol be detrimental to the foundations of the A/am, but should rather ensure the

vitality of the harmony among the various components of sodety. To do so, Khathib

Ali remarked that, in order to prevent social disorder, new ideas mUSl be introdul'ed :IS

the traditional maxim says "like pulling out hair from flour so that the hair does nol

break and the flour does not become scattered." Such smooth incorporation of new

ideas into the existing system can only be achieved through a "consensus," whic:h

necessitates that the proponents of new ideas pay due respect to the eiders and to

existing values,?9 As the traditioanlists saw it, this was dearly not the case with the

modernist movement.

The above aceount has exhibited that the modernist movement posed a serious

menace to the harmonious balance between ad;ll and Islam in Minangkabau. As the

upholders of the status quo, the adar authorities and the traditionalists insisted upon

such traditional values as 'consensus' which had to exist before any necessary changes

78 Hamka. Ayahku (Jakarta: Umminda, 19M2>, 106.

79Khathih Ali, Socloeh Mellljoe, Vol. 1 No. 9, 134·6.

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ëould !Je introduœd. Suëh values alone ëould. it was belit:ved. guarantee sodal

harmony in Minangkabau.

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CONCLUSION

This thesis has shawn that the key difference between the modernists and the

traditionalists lies mainly in their respel'tive perceptions of what l'Onstitutes the authorily

of religion and haw it should ideally be al'cepted. Basil:ally. the IWo camps art' in

agreement that the main sources of religious authority are the Qur'an and the Sunna. Bul

here the agreement ends. The modemists maintain that the Qur'an and the Sunna are not

just the primary but the only authorities in Islam and every Muslim must adhert' to

them; the "ulamil' are only a means through whil'h Muslims may better understand the

presl'riptions of the Qur'an and the Sunna. The traditionalists assert in l'ontrast that it is

the leading "ulanJiï' of the past espedally those of the four sl'hools of law, who have

sole authority in religious matters and on whom the Muslims of later generations are

supposed to rely. The highlights of these two different intellel'tual outlooks are readily

seen in the main issues l'overed by this thesis.

As regards the question of ijtihiid and ta'llid. the modemists argue that the long­

held view about the permanent dosure of the gate of ijtihiïd is not only devoid of any

reliable basis in Islam, but also prevents Muslims l'rom benefitting themselves l'rom the

guidance that the Qur'an and the Sunna offer. The traditionalists, for their part, hold

that the establishment of the four schools of law was the work of "absolute lIIujt<lIJici.~"

who were incomparable in their good character and the breadth of their knowledge, and

who lived in perfect conformity with the laws of the Qur'an and the Sunna. Given their

stature and the very modest aecomplishments of contemporary Muslims, it is only

reasonable, according to the traditionalists, that Muslims follow these mujtahids alone.

The question of bidca. is another point of l'ontention between the modernists am;

the traditionalists. The modernists view bidca in matters of religion, Le. in matters

which had already been c1early laid down by the Sunna, as a major barrier preventing

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Muslims from observing the neœssary stipulations of the Sunna. They hold that this

type of bid'u is undoubtedly an error and leads to hell. The major dispute between the

two camps lies in their disagreement on the definition and the extent of bid"u

lugh'IWiyyu and bid'il shilr'iYYil. Basing themselves on Shafi'j's opinion. the

traditionalists maintain that abid'il may be good or bad. and it may contradkt or

strengthen the already established stipulations of the Sunna. The second type of bid'il is

acceptable even in malters of religion. Thus the acceptability of bid'il. even in the

domain of the s/lilr'. is to be determined through an examination of its 'Î//il.

The immediate example of the dispute on bid'il is the question ofu,çil1/ï. Since this

question belongs to the domain of the shar' but lacks precedent from the Prophet. the

modernists qualify u~illlï as bid'il çlillil/il. However. basing themselves on the opinion

of Nawawj. whom the traditionalists regard as the most authoritative scholar of the

Shafi'ite school. the traditionalists argue that u~il1ly assists in frrmly declaring the niYYil

and is therefore to be regarded as "recommcnded."

The dispute over certain beliefs and pmctices of the Naqshabandiyya Iikewise has

to do with the issue of bid'il. The modernists insist that the stipulations of the Sunna

must regulate both form and content of any given malter. In terms of both form and

content they judge Naqshabandi practices as bid'a. because they are wholly without

precedent in the Prophet's Sunna. Appealing to a principle (qii'ida) of Islamic

jurisprudence (u,çül al-fiqh), the traditionalists argue. hnwever, that the means for

achieving a particular end ought to be judged in the same way as the end itself. The

primary concern of the Naqshabandiyya is the promotion of dhikr, which is an

important part of 'ibiida. As a means to a religiously sanctioned end. the traditionalists

defend the Naqshabandiyya with ail ils practices as legitimate.

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Ill5

The <:ase of the pra<:ti<:e ofr,lhlil is similar. The modernists wanted a dear-cul

boundary between the con<:erns of "ibiTdii and adar to be established. a boundary

la<:king in an institution su<:h as rahlil. Though daimed as religiously san<:tioned. the

modemists saw both the form and the <:ontent of whlil as bid",l 1JJilknlh. for it not only

lacked religious preœdent. but also aggravated the difficulties of the de<:eased's family.

As in <:ase of the Naqshabandi pra<:ti<:es. the traditionalists viewed the legitima<:y of

tuhlil in terms of it~ sodo-religious fun<:tion. In their view. both <ld,lI and Islam seek to

ensure sodal involvement in the event of a death. and. in making this possihle. filhlil

works to the benefit of both the dead and the surviving family. Thus. a<:<:ording 10 the

traditionalists. t<lhlïl is allowed on religious grounds.

The modemist~were well-aware of the impact their movement Y/as having on the

traditional structures of Minangkabau society. As one of them said. whithout doing

what the modernist movement did. a move towards establishing a truly Muslim sodety

<:ould not have been made. Ahmad Khatib's devastating atta<:ks on matrilineal

inheritance is an example of the modernist <:oncern with imperative and urgent

restructuring. Recalling before their audiences the disruptive consequences of the Paderi

movement of the nineteenth century. the traditionalists. in concert with the <ld/lt

authorities. incessantly wamed against the modemists' threat to the harmonious structure

of Minangkabau society. However. as upholders of the status quo, the <ldllt authorities

and the traditionalists had nothing to have recourse to except glorification of the old

notion of harmony between adat and Islam. Thus. taking advantage of the traditional

structure of Minangkabau social system, the modernists seem to virtually be acceptable

by Minangkabau society, in which their movement play dominant raie in the

development of Minangkabau Islam in this century.

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'Abbasiyyah: Ma!ba'at al-

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Schilllmel. Annemarie. Mystical Dimension of Islam. North Carolina: TheUniversity of North Carolina Press. 1975.

Sl'hrieke. BJO. IndonesùlII Sociological Su,die.'. 2 vols. The Hague/Bandung:W.van Hoeve. 1955.

____. Pergolakitn Agama di Sumarenl Barat. Jakarta: Bhrawra. 1973.

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Al-Shirwanï. 'Abd al-l;Iamïd. I;lawiishi Tu/;lfat al-Mu/;ltiij bishar/;l aI-minhiij. Cairo:Mu~!ara Mul;1ammad, n.d.

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____. Mekka in the Latter Part of the Nineteenth Century. Trans. by J. H.Monahan. London: Luzac, 1931.

Steenbrink, Karel A. Beberapa Aspek tentang Islam di Indonesia Abad ke-ll)Jakarta: Bulan Bintang, 1984.

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Sulayman, Abü Daüd. SUJlilJl Abi Diiiid. 1 vol. Beirut: Dar al-Janan, 1988.

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____. Kitiib aI-ta/;ladduth bi ni'mat Allah.'Arabiyyah al-l;Iadïthiyyah, n.d.

TahanawL Kashshiif l$fÏliThiit aI-Funün. 2 vols. Bengal: Asiatie Society of Bengal,IX62.

Toeah, H. Datoek. Tambo Alam Minangkabau. Bukittinggi: Pustaka Indonesia,1990.

Trimingham, J.S. The Sufi Orders in Islam. London: Oxford Universiy Press,1971.

Van Ronkel, Ph.S. Rapport Bettrefende de Godsdienstige Verschijnselen terSumatra's Westkust. Batavia: 1916.

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2. Articles

Abdullah, Taufik. "Adat and Islam: An Examinalion of Conniet in Minangkabau,"lndonesia. Il (October IlJOl\): 1 - 24.

____. "Islam, History and Social Chm~ge in Minangkabau," in Lynn L.Thomas and Franz von Benda-Beckman (eds.). Cilange ,mel ('olllinl/i1yin Mimmgkubml. Ohio: Center for Southeast Asian Studks. 19H): 141- 55.

____. "Modernization in the Minangkabau World." in Claire Holt (ed. l.Culture und Polities in Indonesùl. Ithaea: CorneIl University, 1972: 1H3- :;:85.

Algar, Hamid. "The Naqshabandiyya arder: A Preliminary SUI"Vey of its Hisloryand Significanee." StudiuIslumiCiI. Vol. XLIV t!'J7(,): 123 - 52.

Archer, R.L. "Muhammadan Mysticism in Sumatra," JMBRAS, XV (1937): 1 ­

12/\.

Berg, C.C. "Indonesia." in H.A.R. Gibb (ed.). Wilitiler Islulll '! London: VictorGallancz, 1932: 239 - 311.

Bruinessen, Martin van. "The Origins and Development of the Naqshabandiyyaarder in Indonesia." Der Islum. Vol. 67 No. 1 0990): 150 - 79.

Dobbin, Christine. "Eeonomic Change in Minangkabau as a Faetor in the Rise ofthe Paderi Movement."Indonesiu. No. 23 0977): 1-3l\.

____. "Islamic Revivalism in Minangkabau at the Turn of the NineteenthCentury." Modem Asiun Studies. Vol.8 0974): 319 - 45.

Donzt:l, E. van. et al (eds.).The EncycIopaedia of Islam. Leiden: EJ. Brill. IlJOO.

Drewes, G.WJ. "Indonesia: Mysticism and Activism." in G. E. von Grunebaum(ed.). Unity and Diversity in Muslim Civilization. Chicago: TheUniversity of Chicago Press, 1955: 284 - 310.

Gibb, H.A.R. "An Interpretataion of Islamic History." The Muslilll World. vol.450955): 4 - 15; 121 - 33.

Johns, A.H. "Islam in Southeast Asia: Problems of Perspective." in C.D. Cowanand O.W. Wolters (eds.). Southeast Asian History and HistoriographyIthaca: Comell University Press, 197/\: 304 - 20.

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'The Role of Sufism in the Spread of Islam to Malaya and Indonesia.'·JPHS, VoUX part 1 (January 1%1), 141\-7: 143 - 1\1.

____' "Islam in Southea:t Asia: Reflections and New Directions." Indonesia.1'.J (1'.J75): 33 - 55.

___. "Sufism as a Category of Indonesian Literature and History." JSEAH. 2(1 % 1): 1() - 23.

"Muslim Mystics and HistoricaI Writing." in D.G.E. Hall. (ed.)Historiuns of South Eust Asia. London: Oxford University Press,)%1: 37 - 4'.J.

Kathirithamby-WeIL;, J. "Achehnese Control Over West Sumatra Up to the TreatyofPainan, 1(\(\3." JSAH. Vol. X. No.3 (December 191\9): 453-79.

Kern, Ra. "The Origins of the Malay Surau," JMBRAS. 29 No. 1 (1951\): 17'.J­XI.

Kroef, Justus M. Van der. "Javanese Messianic Expectations: Their Origin andCultural Content." Comparotive Studies in Society illld History. Vol.l, No. 4 (June, 1959): 309 - 23.

Meglio, Rita Rose Di. "Arab Trade with Indonesia and the Malay Peninsula fromthe 8th to the 16th century." in O.S. Richards (ed.) I.~lam and the TmdeofAsia. Oxford: Bruno Cassirer Lld., 1970: 105 - 35.

Rahman, Fazlur. "Revival and Reform in Islam." in P.M. Holt, et al. (eds.). TheCilmbridge History of Islam. Vol. 2B London: Cambridge UniversityPress, 1977: 632 - 56.

____. "'slamic Modernism: Ils Scope, Method and Alternatives." IJMES 1(1973): 317 - 37.

Roelfsz, M.A.R. Meilink. "Trade and Islam in the Malay Indonesian ArchipelagoPrior to the Arrivai of Europeans." in O.S. Richards (ed.). I.~lam illldthe Tmde ofAsia. Oxford: Bruno Cassirer, 1970: 137 - 57.

Shellabear, W.G. "An Exposure of Counterfeiters." The Moslem World. Vol. XX(October 1930): 359 - 70.

Tibbet~, G.R. "Early Muslim Traders in Southeast Asia." JMBRAS. Vol. XXX,part. 1 (1957): 1-45.

3. Minangtabau Periodicals

Al-Ittifiiq W,l al-iftiriiq. Padang. 1919 - 1922

Al-Miz,ïn. Maninjau. 1918 - 1921 ('1)

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AJ-Munïr. Padang. IlJ 11 - IlJ 15.

SoeJoeiJ MeJajoe. Padang. IlJ13 - IlJ15.

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