The Teachings of Sufism in the Suluk Pesisiran

Mohamad Zaelani¹, Zuriyati², Saifur Rohman

¹Doctoral Program of Language Education, Postgraduate, Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Indonesia

Faculty of Language and Art, Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia

Keywords: Sufism, suluk literature, Suluk Pesisiran, mystical teaching

Abstract: Islam developed in Java, since the beginning, Sufism-style Islam. The world of Sufism among them is

expressed through literary works. In the history of Javanese literature, the problem of Sufism is expressed in

the form of suluk literature. Suluk literature was pioneered by one of Walisanga's members, namely Sunan

Bonang at the end of the 15th century. This article focuses on the study of Sufism in one of Javanese suluk

literary works, Suluk Pesisiran. The purpose of writing is to analyze Sufism in Suluk Pesisiran. The method

used for this study is hermeneutics. The results of this study are in the form of an analysis of the meaning of

mysticism values in the Suluk Pesisiran. From the results of these studies, it can be concluded that Suluk

Pesisiran does have a close relationship with the teachings of Sufism, especially the moral teachings taken

from the mystical teachings of Islam.

1 INTRODUCTION

The presence of Islam in the archipelago --not only in

Java-- has influenced various joints of life. Not spared

from the influence of Islam, including in the field of

literature. In the history of classical Javanese

literature in the beginning, the understanding of Islam

that grew and developed in Java, in general, was a

mystical Islam. The impact of Javanese literature to

Islam falls into its own category, in addition to

literary chronicles, literary piwulang (teaching), and

puppet (wayang) literature (Nugroho, 2008: 1-5). The

Javanese literary gave influence to Islam, for

example, Serat Ambya, Serat Dewaruci, Serat

Zulkarnain, Serat Yusuf, Serat Bonang, Suluk Wujil,

Serat Centhini, Serat Asmarakandi, Suluk Saloka

Jiwa, Suluk Suksma Lelana, and many more.

As known, Islam that grew and developed in Java,

in general, was a Sufism (mystic) patterned Islam.

The mystical orientation of the Javanese community

was also recognized by M.C. Ricklefs, an Australian

historian who researched Islam on Java, from the very

beginning (around the 1300s) to the present. In his

book Islamisation and Its Opponent in Java, which

was recently published in Singapore, Ricklefs said in

a literary tradition, there was a kind of view that

Javanese society is a society that has a distinctive

mystical style (Ricklefs, 2013: 22). Because of the

tendency of the people believe of mysticism, the

attendance of Sufism-style of Islam which initially as

a place in society in Java, then the normative (puritan)

Islam.

Not all classical Javanese literature of Islamic

influence is classified as suluk literature. Only

classical Javanese literature carrying the mission of

Sufism is classified as suluk literature. However,

there are into two types of literary works, namely

wirid literature and suluk literature (Simuh, 1988: 2).

Wirid literature is classical Javanese literature

tasawuf (Sufism) in the form of prose (gancaran),

such as Wirid Hidayat Jati by Ranggawarsita.

Meanwhile, suluk literature is classical Javanese

literature with poetry (macapat, tembang), such as

Suluk Syeh Malaya and Suluk Saloka Jiwa (both by

Ranggawarsita), Suluk Wujil (Sunan Bonang), Suluk

Syeh Malaya, and so on. The pioneer of Suluk

literature is Sunan Bonang, one of the members of

Walisanga, who lived in the late 15th century (Hadi,

2016: 205).

Zaelani, M., Zuriyati, . and Rohman, S.

The Teachings of Suﬁsm in the Suluk Pesisiran.

DOI: 10.5220/0008998403270331

In Proceedings of the International Conference on Education, Language and Society (ICELS 2019), pages 327-331

ISBN: 978-989-758-405-3

327

2 FOCUS AND METHODOLOGY

This research focuses on the study of one of the

classic Javanese literature that has been translated

into Indonesian, namely Suluk Pesisiran. The so-

called Suluk Pesisiran is part of the results of research

conducted by a research team chaired by Simuh on 41

texts Suluk Cirebonan, coded LOr 7375. The results

of this study were then recorded with poetry in

Indonesian by poet Emha Ainun Nadjib and

published by Mizan Publisher Bandung in 1989,

under the title Suluk Pesisiran LOr Code 7375:

Poetization of Emha Ainun Nadjib.

The method used to analyze text is hermeneutics.

Etymologically, hermeneutics comes from the Greek

verb hermeneuein, which means to say or interpret;

hermeneian noun, which is an expression or

explanation of thought; and the name hermeneus.

This name refers to the name of the character of Greek

mythology, Hermes, who was assigned with bringing

the messages of the gods to humans (Moules, 2002).

Hermeneutics, as reception theory, is the door to the

entrance of the philosophy of phenomenology into the

study of literature, and is a reader-oriented theory

(Darma, 2019: 109-116). In hermeneutics research,

what is determined first is the object of research, and

the object is in the form of text (Rohman, 2013: 18).

The object of this research is the text Suluk Pesisir

LOr 7375: Poetization of Emha Ainun Nadjib.

Departing from the text is then interpreted as an

attempt to interpret the transcript.

3 LITERATURE REVIEW

3.1 The essence of Sufism

Etymologically, the word Sufism are from Arabic

(Iqbal & Hunt, 2003). However, if viewed from the

root, there are two opinions. The First opinion, is

original from Arabic, but absorbed from Greek,

sophia, means wisdom. The second opinion, is

coming from the word shuf (Arabic), meaning coarse

fleece, as clothing material for people who practice

zuhud/ascetic behavior. However, there are several

Arabic terms that are close to the meaning of Sufism.

First, word is shafa, its means holy. That is, a Sufi is

someone who always purifies the soul (tazkiyatun

nafs). Second, words is from the shuffah word, it

refers to ashhab-i shusfah or ahl al shuffah, which is

a group of generations of companions of the Prophet

Muhammad who spent their life living in the Nabawi

Mosque in Medina to solely worship and renounce

worldly life (zuhud). Third, word is shaff, which

means the ranks, namely referring to people who take

the front row saffron in the congregation prayers,

shaff the priority in prayer in congregation.

(Schimmel, 1975; Mudhafir, 2011: 98).

From the various terms above, substantially, each

term approaches the meaning of Sufism. As said in

Al-Hujwiri (died estimated at 456 Hijriah / 1063

AD), the oldest treatise writer from Persia, Kasyful

Mahjub, each of them has a strong hujjah

(argumentation). The word shafa (chastity), for

example, is a commendable thing, and the opponent

is content (impurity). Therefore, supporters of this

group always maintain the sanctity of the soul or

mind, by always maintaining and improving morals.

They avoid despicable traits that become mental

impurities, and henceforth, fill lives with qualities

that are commendable as "decorating" the soul (Al-

Hujwiri, 1992: 40). From here, the term tazkiyatun

nafs (purification of the soul) appears in the practice

of Sufism.

3.2 Practice of Sufism

Spiritual stages in carrying out the tazkiyatun nafs

include three levels, namely (1) takhalli, (2) tahalli,

and (3) tajalli (Zahri, 1995: 74-91). The first step is

takhalli, which is the stage of self-emptying, which is

trying to eliminate the bad qualities that are inside.

Despicable nature is mental impurities; it can be an

obstacle to entering the spiritual realm. The second

step is tahalli, which is the stage of self-filling, which

is doing commendable actions, as a form of filling the

soul. Good deeds are like nutrition for the soul, so that

with such good deeds, the soul becomes healthy. And

the third stage is tajjali, which is God's vision, the

achievement of divine light within.

To do the spiritual stages that is describe in above,

in the world of Sufism known as suluk. It could be

that the term suluk literature in classical Javanese

literature is taken from this term. Similarly, the term

wirid literature, also refers to the treasures of Sufism,

which term refers to the practice of remembrance.

Suluk means taking the path of Sufism, the culprit is

called salik. More specifically, suluk is interpreted as

taking the path to God, usually by doing khalwat,

which is to be in a quiet place to carry out devout and

perfect worship. At that time, a Salik performed

special services which essentially reached the three

stages above (takhalli, tahalli, and tajalli).

ICELS 2019 - International Conference on Education, Language, and Society

328

3.3 Core teachings of Sufism

Departing from the understanding and practice of

Sufism above, the core of Sufism teachings is to

improve human morals with the aim of purely seeking

God's grace (Zahri, 1995: 67). Exercises to improve

morals are struggling to purify oneself from

despicable qualities and adorn himself with

praiseworthy qualities. Sufis believe that the wall that

separates themselves from their Lord is their own

desires. Including in this honest quality, for example,

patience, gratitude to Got, and willingness. Those

four things are the core of Sufism teachings.

4 ANALYSIS OF THE CONTENTS

OF THE SULUK PESISIRAN

As explained above, the essence of Sufism is the

cleansing of the soul to attain the akhlaqul karimah

(main morality). All of them aim to solely seek the

pleasure of Allah SWT. Bad morality becomes a hijab

(barrier) to be able to connect with Allah SWT.

Morals are also reflections of the heart, because

morality is only a phenomenon that appears in

behavior that describes the condition of one's heart.

Thus, bad character also reflects a bad heart. That is

what Al Ghazali

Calls liver diseases. But on the contrary, a good

heart also reflects a good condition of the heart. With

the mirror of the heart, humans "see" the Most Holy

God. So that, if his heart is bad, it is also bad for God's

light to reflect on him. A clean heart will be able to

capture God's light perfectly.

One of the obstacles to cleansing one's heart is

excessive worldly desires. Worldly things, the search

for excessive self-sustenance, cause forgetting of the

divine. This is revealed in the 2nd verse "Suluk

Wragul" by Sunan Bonang (page 13-14) below:

Maka dengarlah perlambang ini

Ada kera hitam sedang berdiri

Di tepi sungai

Tertawa keras tak kepalang

Kepada berang-berang yang mencari makan

Siang dan malam

Terus tanpa kesudahan

Tak ingat bahwa ia diciptakan Tuhan

Yang diingat hanya makanan

Tanpa mempedulikan bahaya

mengancam

(So listen to this symbol

There is a black ape standing

By the river

Laughing absurdly

To beavers looking for food

Day and night

Continue without end

Don't remember that he was created by God

What is remembered is only food

Regardless of the danger threatening)

Therefore, humans must always improve their

morality, by meditating (arising from "meditating"),

not stopping thinking, and always open their minds,

so that they can be trusted. This is because, whatever

the conditions, the purpose of humans is to become

the main human being. The 15th verse quote "Suluk

Wragul" (page 19) below illustrates this:

Bertapa ada tujuannya

Agar memperoleh ikan di rawa

Agar semua itu kena olehnya

Adapun bertapa di gunung

Tujuannya pun

Untuk memperoleh negara

Oleh masyarakat dipercaya

Begitu yang namanya pendeta

Terus menerus bertukar pikiran

Berbuat kepercayaan dalam

pemerintahan

(Meditation has a purpose

In order to get fish in the swamp

So that all of that was hit by him

As for meditating on the mountain

The goal too

To get a country

Trusted by the community

That's what the priest's name is

Constantly exchanging ideas

Doing trust in government)

The next thing that is taught in Sufism is that one

must always be patient. Patience is a mirror of

emotional maturity. Anger is a mirror of uncontrolled

lust. In the 3

verse "Suluk Besi" (page 33), humans

are always expected to be able to resist emotions, not

indulge in anger:

Sang pengembara menjawab

Tuan hendaklah tak bersikap begitu

Sedemikian menyepelekan.

Tuan Penghulu juga berucap lagi

Dengan kata-kata yang mengandung kemarahan

Hai orang hitam, pergi

Dari masjid ini!

The Teachings of Suﬁsm in the Suluk Pesisiran

329

Jangan berlam-lama di hadapanku

Sungguh tak akan kuberikan ilmu

Kepada manusia awam seperti engkau.

(The wanderer answered

Sir, don't be so

So trivial.

Mister Penghulu*) also said again

With words that contain anger

Hi black people, leave

From this mosque!

Do not linger before me

I will not give knowledge

To ordinary people like you.)

*) Penghulu = Muslim leader

Patience alone is certainly not enough. Therefore,

the next stage in Sufism is to be very grateful. Thus,

being grateful is the next teaching of Sufism.

Grateful, in this case, is conscious of position,

conscious as a being. As a creature, humans must

accept any gift given by Allah SWT, do not be jealous

of and count on the blessings given by Allah SWT.

The 37th verse "Suluk Wragul" (page 27) suggests

this:

Lebih-lebih jika renungkan ini

Dengan teliti

Betul-betul ingin bekerja

Terlalu penuh perhitungan akhirnya

Atas kekayaan orang-orang kaya

Maka kalau tak paham

Janganlah ikut-ikutan

Sampai kapan demikian

Sesungguhnyalah engkau disuruh mencari

kembali

Raga yang tersembunyi

(Even more so if you think about this

Carefully

Really want to work

Too calculating finally

For the wealth of rich people

So if you don't understand

Don't join in

Until when is that

Surely you are told to search

back

Hidden body)

And the purpose of all of that, is to get only the

divine pleasure. Because in the end, only God is the

Existence. Everything in this world does not exist if

God does not impose it. The existence of all creatures

- including humans - depends on the will of the

Exalted God who does not want to create them. And

creation will return to its Creator. In the 9th verse

"Suluk Besi" (pages 35-36) it is written like this:

Adapun papan tanpa tulisan

Ialah Allah semata

Bahwa ini semua Allah semata

Tak ada manusianya

Tulisannya tak terpandang

Hanya papan saja yang kelihatan

Itulah lambing adanya yang tunggal

Wujud Allah Maha Agung

Wujud tunggal rasa tunggal

Hidup tunggal, kekal tanpa bergerser

Itulah tempat yang betapa luasnya.

(As for the board without writing

He is God alone

That this is all Allah alone

There is no human

His writing is not respected

Only the board is visible

That is the existence of a single symbol

The Exalted Form of Allah

Single sense of singular

Single life, eternal without merging

That is the place of how vast.)

5 CONCLUSIONS

Based on the analysis above, Suluk Pesisiran - like

the suluk literature in general - is loaded with Sufism

values. These values are related to morality in the

world of Sufism. Personality that must exist in

someone if you want to take the path of Sufism. And

that personality leads to the formation of the morality

of mankind, the morality of human virtue. The main

morality is the willingness to always improve, cleanse

the soul (tazkiyatun nafs), be patient, give thanks, and

solely seek the pleasure of Allah SWT.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This paper is a "fragment" of my dissertation research

in the Language Education Doctoral Program,

Postgraduate, Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Indonesia,

which is currently still under construction. For that, I

say a lot of thanks to Prof. Dr. Zuriyati, M.Pd. as the

promoter and Dr. Saifur Rohman, M. Hum., M.Sc., as

co-promoter. To Prof. Dr. Endry Boeriswati, M.Pd,

ICELS 2019 - International Conference on Education, Language, and Society

330

Head of the Doctoral Program in Language

Education, Postgraduate, Universitas Negeri Jakarta,

I also thank you. I also express my gratitude to the

Universitas Muhammadiyah Prof. Dr. HAMKA

Jakarta, Indonesia, where I devote myself as a

lecturer, especially to Prof. Dr. H. Gunawan

Suryoputro, M.Hum. (Rector) and Dr. Desvian

Bandarsyah, M.Pd. (Dean of the Teaching and

Education Faculty), who has allowed and fully

supported my doctoral studies. In undergoing this

study, I received a scholarship from Indonesia

Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP) of the

Ministry of Finance (Kemenkeu) of the Republic of

Indonesia working with the Ministry of Research,

Technology and Higher Education

(Kemenristekdikti) of the Republic of Indonesia

through the Beasiswa Unggulan Dosen Indonesia -

Dalam Negeri (BUDI-DN). For that, I also thank the

organizers of the scholarship.

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