islam, politics and change

(Ann) #1

neo-sufism, shariatism, and ulama politics 229


Lambhuk in Banda Aceh, conducted after the evening prayer and usually
attended by about 20 people, coming from Lambhuk and the surrounding
villages. In 2004 after the tsunami, Teungku Zamhuri and his disciples


coordinated donations from the members of the Naqshabandi Haqqani


from around the world for the survivors of the disaster. What is special


about the order is that it uses music, called in Acehrapai, during the
dhikr. This is unusual in Aceh, because most Sharia-oriented ulama
consider music forbidden, certainly during dhikr meetings. However,
Teungku Zamhuri views rapai as a medium for making the heart peaceful
and for concentrating on the dhikr. He believes that the Sufis in the past
used music during dhikr meetings to increase concentration. Concerning
Sharia, Teungku Zamhuri said that implementation of Sharia as it is today
will not bring people closer to God. For him, God should be approached


by dhikr and good deeds to others.²⁷


The Shattariyah order has been active in Aceh since the days of Shaykh
ʿAbdurrauf al-Sinkili. The current centre is the Masjid Jamik (Grand


Mosque) of the village of Peulekong in the Seunagan Timur sub-district


in Nagan Raya. The order is led by the murshid Abu Habib Kudrat,
descendent of Habib Abu Muda Seunagan, an important Shattariyyah
leader in Aceh. The Shattariyah Sufi in Aceh persist in using their own
method of deciding the beginning of Ramadan and Shawwal, and it is
not uncommon for its followers to begin fasting and to celebrateʿId
al-Fitri on a day different from that decided by Sharia ulama and the


government.²⁸


Unlike other Sufi orders, the Haddadiyya, known also as Alawiyya,
does not have many followers in Aceh where it was introduced by
Syaikh Abu Hasan Krueng Kalee (1886–1973), who joined it when he
lived in Mecca.²⁹ Syaikh Abdullah Ujong Rimba, his disciple, joined
the order under his guidance. The reason the Haddadiyya order is
not well developed is that neither of these charismatic ulama made
a conscious effort to propagate it. The grandson of Syaikh Krueng
Kalee, Tgk. Qusaiyen, informed me that he had been told that Syaikh
Krueng Kalee consideredtariqa(spiritual path) to be compatible only
for those who have problems with (or are weak in) religious Islamic


Sehat Ihsan Shadiqin, ‘Tasawuf dalam Wilayah Syariat: Sufisme dalam Masyarakat
Aceh Kontemporer’,Jurnal Ar-Raniry, No. 86, July–December 2009, 76–94.
‘Pengikut Tarekat Syattariah di Aceh Shalat Id hari ini’, http://regional.kompas
.com/read/2013/10/14/1505506/Pengikut.Tarekat.Syattariah.di.Aceh.Ikuti.Shalat
.Id.Hari.Ini.
Sehat Ihsan Shadiqin,Tasawuf Aceh(Banda Aceh: Bandar Publishing, 2008),
143–146.

Free download pdf