Page 163 - INDONESIA ISLAMIC CULTURE

Oh ye community of the Prophet where God’s “residence” and the world Him.” 19 paid during the life of a “child of trade”. If
You should be possessed of the “meet” and sometimes he portrayed But this became a problem. Does having this would have been settled, everything
knowledge of God (gnosis) himself as a bird that has liberated itself knowledge about Allah essentially [mean] would merge into oneness. Hamzah was
from worldly ties. a radical mystic. In his book, Sharab al-
For that knowledge is held by the “knowing the path of unity with God”? Or, Ashikin, he also asserted,
saints As mentioned above, Hamzah and other does having gnosis or ma’rifat actually
mystics derived their mystical ideas from means that union with the manifestation “One more thing, when he looked
To be extremely lofty and most firm 17 the hadith which states that “knowing self of God has been achieved? In his outside of himself, all he saw was
is the basis of knowing God poems Hamzah describes himself as his own self. When he saw what he
What does Divine gnosis actually really a “wanderer” who unceasingly seeks looked at, he also looked at himself,
mean? Trying to find the answer to this “When one was known by him, he God. He was poor, but his quest was because, for an expert in truth, in
question inevitably led to one of the knew God, then the Divine abode was rich. He was endlessly restless “with his essence nature is one with him, not
most famous debates in the mystical always connected with knowledge, lust in opposition with waging war”, but two or three. If all of nature is one with
world of Islam and this is essentially and divine knowledge was always in the end he achieved “wealth in both him, than naturally, all he saw was
also one of the esoteric aspects of Sufi connected to Divine existence. He universes and became king.” Therefore, himself as in the words of the Divine
thought. Sufis also are more inclined to surely obtained an attachment to Messenger, ra’itu rabbi biaini rabbi, I
use allegories and metaphors in the way God, and knew the path to His Unity “Do not look for Hamzah see my God with God’s blessing.” 21
they express Divine gnosis. Describing by God as the word of God says, wafi His kind is not human
his relationship with God, Hamzah used anfusikum afala tubsiruna, it means: For Hamzah, the relationship between
the term “sea” to describe the sphere In yourself, then why do you not see His person, though perishable God and nature was merely a metaphor,
18
17. Drewes & Brakel, 1986: 59. Divine faith is the steering name Is in constant union with the Real because only God really exists ---the
18. The “sea” is a common parable in Southeast Surely God is the name of the handler Being universe is a reflection of His existence.
20
Asia from as early as pre-Islamic times. The “sea” Finally, the boat reached the destination It is like, “the sea cannot be separated
is not only a geographic entitity that needs to be Wallahu alam is the name of the seacoast
overcome, but also forms a vision in understanding Divine Wish is the sea’s name Although as a human being he was from its waves, and waves cannot be
realities. On this matter see Lombard, 1980. This Divine Power is the harbor’s name mortal, he had actually united with the separated from the sea.” 22
also has deeply influenced Hamzah Fansuri’s Paradise is the country’s name
metaphores. The almost constant theme in For an aesthetic and literary criticism of this poem, true being, which is eternal. Finally With this poetic metaphor, Hamzah
Hamzah’s writing is the endless “journey” in search see Braginsky, 1975. Only seen from the point of religion, din, shows that a debt has to be compared the presence of the Divine
of God, but it is a spiritual rather than a physical textual criticism, Braginsky could not ascertain
“journey”. The theme of the journey is beautifully that this poem was actually written by Hamzah, 19. Johns, 1957: 56, a quotation of the Qur’an 51: essence with the boundless sea, la
illustrated in the well-known poem, Syair Perahu. although it was published in Doorenbos and later 21. This commentary was closed by a quote of ta’ayun, because, he says “the mind
Life is like a boat sailing on the sea with high also cited by Lombard. Drewes (Drewes and Hamzah’s poem,
waves. But, when all hardships have been Brakel 1986: 18) agreed with this assumption. “Know yourself, O the child of jamu (budi) and speech (bichara), our
conquered, the wind would also abate and the boat However, this cannot deny the paralels of thought Do not forget your-own self knowledge (ilmu) and gnosis (makrifat)
would sail easily, because and the tendencies of the poems that clearly were Knowledge of the essence ought to discern
Divine existence is the boat name written by Hamzah (usually at the end of a verse That made you be known as your existence 21. Iskandar, 1965a.
Divine knowledge will the oars where Hamzah introduced himself). 20. Drewes & Brakel, 1986: 137. 22. Al-Attas, 1966: 48.

154 Indonesian Islamic Culture in Historical Perspectives Indonesian Islamic Culture in Historical Perspectives 155