232 Syamsuddin Arif
2.1. Works by Ibn al-Qayyim in Full Translation2.1.1. The Soul (al-Rūḥ)This is no doubt Ibn al-Qayyim’s most popular work.^37 It was rendered
into the Malay-Indonesian language for the first time by Jamaluddin
Kafie as Masalah Ruh (The Question of the Soul) and published in
Surabaya, Indonesia by Bina Ilmu in 1980. It was reprinted the follow-
ing year by Pena Mas, Johor Bahru, Malaysia. However, it was appar-
ently based on the abridged text Sirr al-rūḥ written by Burhān al-Dīn
Ibrāhīm b. ʿUmar al-Biqāʿī (d. 885). A second Malay edition was pre-
pared by Syed Ahmad Semait and published in 1990 by the Pustaka
Nasional of Singapore with the title Roh. Satu Analisa tentang Roh-roh
Orang Mati dan Orang Hidup (The Soul. An Analytical Exposition on
the Souls of the Living and the Dead). It was reprinted in 2000. There
is even a third translation by Kathur Suhardi, published in 1999 by
Pustaka al-Kautsar, Jakarta. A comparison between the three versions
shows no significant difference apart from minor stylistic improvement
and printing quality. All of them were best seller, however. The book
attempts to answer various questions concerning the human soul, its
nature, origin, destiny, power, predicaments and related issues such as
the nature of dream and death, the difference between the soul of the
living and that of the dead human being, about punishment in the grave
and what will happen to the soul in the afterlife.
2.1.2. A Guide for the Soul to the Land of Joy
(Ḥādī al-arwāḥ ilā bilād al-afrāḥ)There are three Indonesian versions of this important treatise. The first
of these, Tentang Roh. Perjalanan bersama Roh di Alam Lain (On
the Soul and its Journey to the Other World) was completed by Abu
Abdillah Almansur and H. Effendi Zarkasyi and published in 1988
by Gema Insani Press, Jakarta. A second translation by Fadhli Bahri
was published in 2000 by Dārul Falāḥ, Jakarta, with the title Tamasya
ke Syurga (Trip to Paradise). The latter, running to over five hundred
pages, comprises 69 chapters. It discusses the reality of Paradise, the
37 The article by Tzvi Langerman in this volume discusses Ibn al-Qayyim’s Kitāb
al-Rūḥ in detail.
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