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In the Indonesian-Islamic world, In fact, it is difficult to decide whether heterodox tensions and contestations Jawi al-Fansuri (1615-1693), and many
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almost all branches of Islamic studies an interpretation of a religious doctrine were oftenlinked to leading ‘ulama and other figures outside Aceh all enhanced
developed in the early period, but works is “true” or “false”, “valid” or “invalid” their followers’differing interpretationsof their understanding throughtheir works
on Sufism seem to have dominated, considering that each group has its mystic-philosophical doctrines. This suits that aimed offerinterpretations and
especially in relation to certain notions own standards in measuring the truth. the generally accepted theory that at explanations of mystic-philosophical
prevalent among mystical orders like Nevertheless, the tension between an early stage a kind of mystical Islam doctrines, such as the concepts of
the Shattariyyah, Qadariyyah, and orthodox and heterodox groups came to the archipelago. Since the fana, ittihad, hulul, wahdat al-wujud,
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Naqshabandiyah. Moreover, several produced intellectual treasures that 16 century, Islamic mysticism, either in wujudiyyah, tauhidul wujud, martabat
th
controversial works on Sufism had incited exposed the history as well as the its aspects of invocation and practical tujuh, and so on.
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unrest within the Muslim community, as dynamics of religious thinking in rituals or in its philosophical formulation,
will be exposed below. the archipelago specifically and in had spread out from Aceh to the rest In several cases, orthodox
the Islamic world in general. These of Indonesian archipelago, including tendenciesmingled with reigning regimes
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Mystical Thinking: Development intellectual treasures usually consisted Java. 18 (read: the state, in the modern context),
and Debate of hand written manuscripts of religious The names of early Indonesian-Malay of being heretics because they had stained Divine
trancendency and stirred such notion as the
Along the course of Indonesian texts made by previous Muslim Sufis, particularly from Aceh like plurality of creations. A comprehensive study on
history, contestation and struggle for intellectual groups in response to the Hamzah Fansuri, Shamsuddin Sumatra’i, al-Raniri’s genealogical knowledge can be foundin
Azyumardi Azra, The Origin of Islamic Reformism
religious authority emerged along socio-religious circumstances of their Nuruddin al-Raniri, ‘Abdurrauf bin Ali al- in Southeast Asia: Networks of Indonesian Malay
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with the dissemination of ideas and time. The restricted access tothe local 16. Anthony Johns, “Sufism as a Category in and Middle Eastern Ulama in the Seventeenth and
interpretations of religious texts by manuscripts that exposed the Muslim Indonesian Literature and History”, JSEAH, 2, II, Eighteenth Century and Honolulu: Allen and Unwin
and Hawaii University Press, 2004), pp. 54-69; see
groups of interpreters who tended to religious dynamics in the past has often (1998): 14; see also Zamakhsyari Dhofier, Tradisi also Riddell (2001), pp. 110-125.
oppose each other. On the one hand, been seen as one of the reasons why Pesantren: Studi tentang Pandangan Hidup Kyai 20. In Aceh’s Islamic history, Abdurrauf is often
(Jakarta: LP3ES, 1980), p. 30; Azra, Jaringan
interpreters who subsequently became orthodox and heterodox tensions in the Ulama ... ChapterOne. classified as an ortodox scholar. Although he was
an ulama ortodox, he was also a proponent of Ibn
the majority, were identified as the archipelago were not published more 17. Anthony Johns, “Sufism in Southeast Asia: ‘Arabi’smystical doctrines on the basis of which
proponents of the orthodox practice of widely. 15 Reflections and Reconsiderations”, Journal of he also propagated the mystical doctrine of the
Southeast Asian Studies 26 (1995), p. 17.
the religious doctrines and rituals they In the early history of islamic reltion in 18. M.C. Ricklefs, “Six centuries of Islamization wahdat al-wujud but he did so in a more contest
manner. On the role of Abdurrauf within the context
believed to be “true”; on the other, the Indonesia, issues that incited orthodox- in Java”, Conversion to Islam ed. N. Levtzion of mystical reform in the Malay-Indonesian world,
then becoming minority groups came (London: Oxford University Press, 1979), p. 107. see Azra (2004): 70-86and Riddell (2001), pp.
to be identified as heterodox due to Aceh with the followers of Hamzah Fansuri and 19. Like Hamzah Fansuri, Shamsuddin al-Sumatra’i 125-132.
al-Sumatra’i’s existential notions, as it will be
what they believed to be the true norms shownbelow. and ‘Abdurrauf ibn Ali al-Jawi al-Fansuri, Nuruddin 21. The names of other influential figures
al-Raniri was also a Sufi who wrote about the
but who will not be elaborated on in this
that differed from those of the majority 15. In fact, the first gate toaccess to Indonesian notions of the wujudiyyah of Ibn ‘Arabi’s school essayincludeMuhammad Yusuf al-Makassari (d.
group. 14 manuscript treasures isthrough manuscript that lead to the doctrine of existential monism 1699), Abdussamad al-Falimbani (d. 1789?), and
catalogues. On this topic see, for example, (wahdat al-wujud). However, apart from his Muhammad Nafis al-Banjari (1710-1812). On these
14. The most prominent example ofthis is Nuruddin “Katalogisasi dan Pencatatan Naskah Nusantara” intellectual statute he was happy to contravene influentual figures, see Azra (2004), chapters 5
al-Raniri’s disputein the mid-17 century in in Oman Fathurrahman etal. (2010, Chapter two). others by accusing both Hamzah and Shamsuddin and 6.
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