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do not pass Him.” However, the limitless   phrase “kun fayakun” ---”be”, then all             who wrote about Javanese mysticism.    of divinity. And to achieve this level one
                                   sea actualizes itself in five emanations,   separated itself from all other.                  “Good” and “evil” have blended in      needs a perfect teacher, because:
                                   which stem from the ta’ayyun awal       In Hamzah’s cosmogony, that separation                the concept of eternal and singular       “This secret is too difficult. If the
                                   (consisting of knowledge, existence,    process was undergone through the                     universality.                             teachers would not be perfect and
                                   vision, and light) through the light of   intercession of the light of Muhammad.              Because Hamzah Fansuri is regarded        the students not wise, it cannot be
                                   Muhammad, when the “waves” and                                                                as an example of radical Sufi thought,    attained, for when only with desire,
                                   the “sea” start to be distinguished from   In the concept of universality as a                the reformist elements of his writings    it would become a heretical school.
                                   each other, then manifest itself in the   reflection of the Real Essence, Hamzah              are often overlooked. In addition to      Therefore, for God’s sake, do not
                                   differentiated souls (human, animal, and   said, “majesty” (jalal) and “beauty”               his aesthetic call for the community      disclose this secret outside its proper
                                   plant) to finally, in the fourth and fifth   (jamal) have their place ---”i.e. that           to be mindful of Islamic ethics and       place. Wallah billah wa kalam Allah
                                   stages, become the natural reality of   everything that is right derives from                 the teachings of the Prophet and the      (by God, in God, and by His Words)
                                   the universe. However, all of this was   jamal, but all evil derives from jalal,              Quran, he also criticized the then still   for God’s sake, do not show this to
                                   because of Allah’s divine will (iradah), not   unbelief comes from jalal, Islam is from       ongoing practice of meditation and he     just anybody, because the secret is
                                   because something that just happened to   jamal, Heaven from jamal, hell is from              showed the correct way to become          too difficult.”26
                                   happen.                                 jalal, anger is from jalal, forgiveness is            nearer to Allah. It might well be, as
                                                                           from jamal.  Jalal and jamal are two                                                         One of Syamsuddin al-Sumatrani’s
                                                                                     24
                                   In his writings, Hamzah consciously     aspects of the Essence that manifests                 Brakel said,  that this is a sign that   contributions to the development of
                                                                                                                                           25
                                   distinguished the scholars of the sharia,   itself in the human mind when people              yoga was still practiced in Aceh. In other   mystical thought is his creation of a
                                   who observe things from the outside,    observe worldly phenomena. Evil and                   words, unexpectedly, Siwa-Buddhist     systematic cosmogony, martabat tujuh,
                                   and the people of the mystical path     goodness are worldly realities, but both              influences were apparently rooted in   “the seven emanations”, modified from
                                   (ahlu suluk), who look for reality’s true   dissolve in universalism. At the highest          Aceh. However, his criticism and advice   the al-Tuhfa al-Musala ila Ruh al-Nabi,
                                   essence. The people of the mystical     stage, “the waves and the sea are                     also shows that Hamzah was not only    written by Muhammad ibn Fadl Allah al-
                                   path were people who “never forget      inseparable.” In his system, Hamzah                   busy with his attempts to become closer   Burhanpuri (1590).  This book was very
                                                                                                                                                                                         27
                                   themselves, because the Divine Prophet   clearly differentiates these emanations              to the essential oneness. His advice
                                   said: man a’rafa nafsahu faqad ‘arafa   of reality, but the relativism between the            also shows his transformative longing   26.  Quoted from Iskandar, 1965b.
                                   rabbahu, namely anyone who knows        manifestations of “evil” and “good” are               for religious life. But here it seems that   27.  Al-Tuhfa al-Mursala ila Ruh al-Nabi (translated
                                   himself would know God”.  In this       often insurmountable. Perhaps it is also              Syamsuddin al-Sumatrani was more       by A.H. Johns, 1965, entitled The Gift Addressed
                                                          23
                                   context he mainly showed how relative   this relativism that captivated authors               prominent. He was more ta teacher      to the Spirit of the Prophet) is one of the most
                                                                                                                                                                        influential mystical works in Southeast Asia.
                                   all differentiations of reality is, when all is                                               than a restless seeker. In his writings,   Moreover, the story of the book that was written
                                   returned to their origins ---i.e. the highest                                                 he always reminded his audience that   in 1590 is long enough, although it totals no
                                   Essence which possesses the will and    24.  From Sharab al-Asyikin, quoted by Drewes         only those who had been educated       more than 9 folios. The Javanese text that
                                                                           & Brakel, 1986:170 -171. The concepts of “jalal”
                                                                                                                                                                        Johns also used, is in fact, as stated by Ricklefs
                                   the power to manifest all reality with the   and “jamal” could originate from the well-known   could understand the esoteric elements   (1973), first belonged to Kangjeng Bendoro
                                                                           tradition of Qalb al-mu’min bayna usbu’ayn min                                               Raden Ayu Danukusumo, the daughter of Sultan
                                   23.  In Sharab al-Asyikin, quoted from Iskandar,   asabi ‘al-Rahman — “the heart of a Muslim is                                      Hamengkubuwono I (1749-92) and the sister of
                                   1965.                                   between the two fingers of the Most Beneficient.”     25. Brakel, 1979: 74–75.               Hamengkubuwono II (1792-1810, 1811-12, 1826-


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