Islamic Shari'a Configuration of Buka Luwur Tradition in Kudus

M Mundakir,Aat Hidayat

doi:10.21043/qijis.v8i1.7999

Abstract

Buka Luwur combines Islamic law teaching and Javanese tradition. As an empirical religious phenomenon, its events have meaning and symbol that overlaps the local community traditions with the adopted Islamic Shari’a implementation. However, formalist and rational religious understandings view Buka Luwur tradition as a bid’ah, with no basis in Islamic law. Using grounded research models and Fazlur Rahman’s double movement theory, this article portraits noumena from a series of Buka Luwur traditional rituals. It describes the configuration of the Islamic Shari’a implementation in the tradition. The community believes that the tradition symbolizes love for guardians by hoping for a blessing on work and remembering their struggle in preaching Islamic values. Also, the Buka Luwur tradition’s implementation is a symbol of social solidarity that needs to be appreciated in a plural society. It is a form of harmony and cooperation in holding ceremonies and rituals among believers. The results show that Buka Luwur events’ symbolizes a blessing for prayer to be quickly answered, refuse calamity, teach tolerance values preached and practiced by Sunan Kudus, and solidarity in helping one another. The configuration and internalization of Islamic law in the Javanese tradition are found in the election on the 10th of Muharam, as the top of the Buka Luwur rituals series. Furthermore, the configuration of Islamic law in that tradition is found in the teaching of respecting ancestors. Indonesias embrace the religious characteristics of traditional and Sufistic Islam. This facilitates interaction, internalization, and configuration of the Islamic Shari’a teachings with Javanese people’s traditions and culture, especially the Kudus community.

Highlights

Mundakir and Aat Hidayat in holding ceremonies and rituals among believers
Buka Luwur tradition is a ceremony for replacing the white cloth covering the tomb of Sunan Kudus (Shaykh Ja’far Sadiq), held once annually on the 10th of Ashura or 10 Muharam
Buka Luwur shows an intimate relationship between Islamic values and the local society traditions

Summary

Introduction

Buka Luwur tradition is a ceremony for replacing the white cloth covering the tomb of Sunan Kudus (Shaykh Ja’far Sadiq), held once annually on the 10th of Ashura or 10 Muharam. According to Masdar Hilmy (Hilmy, 1999), Mark Woodward (Woodward, 2011), Jochem van den Boogert (Boogert, 2017), and André Möller (Möller, 2005), there is acculturation and internalization of Islamic Shari’a values in various Javanese society traditions. This study focuses on the flexibility of Islamic law values and their configuration in the Javanese tradition It is based on the theories of Clifford Geertz and van Der Kroef, as revealed by Zakiyudin (1995), that the Indonesian culture has been dramatically shaped by, and is inseparable from Islam (Falah, Ngemron, and Moordiningsih, 2006: 65). This study helps understand the configuration of Islamic law in Buka Luwur as a unique and distinctive tradition It is a blend of Islamic values and Javanese traditions of the Kudus society

Buka Luwur Tradition

Buka Luwur Ritual

Elements of Islamic Shari’a in Buka Luwur Rituals

Islamic Shari’a Configuration in Javanese Tradition

Conclusion