Malay Customs According to Islamic Perspective

Abstract

It can be said that each race in the world has its own customs. That also applies to Malay community. They are rich in various customs such as adat sebenar (genuine customs), adat teradat (communal customs), adat yang diadatkan (accustomed customs) and adat istiadat (ceremonial customs). Within them, lies the expression which becomes the treasure of the race and is built from the past life experience. Customs in Malay community is a synonymous element with the life of the community. On the existence of customs in Malay community, some of the customs do comply with the teachings of Islam and some do. With regard to it, this writing aims to discover the extent of accuracy and conflict between some of the adat teradat and adat yang diadatkan within Malay community with the teachings of Islam. With that, the good custom can be continued and the conflicting one needs to be fixed or alternated with more suitable one according to Islamic teachings. The method used in this writing was based on qualitative method. Data were collected from library study focusing on books related to customs, al-Qur’an, al-Sunnah (Prophet’s traditions), tafsir (interpretation of al-Qur’an), syarah sunah (discussion of the Prophet’s traditions) and also major books of Islamic jurisprudence. This study found that the customs related to visit and coming to other people’s house do not contradict with the teachings of Islam. Customs regarding pregnancy also do not conflict with Islamic teachings but the implications raised should be referred to the specialists. Customs on the birth do contradict with Islam. Some customs related to marriage are aligned with Islamic teachings and some are not. Lastly, all customs regarding death are not compatible with Islamic teachings and need to be revised towards a more Islamic one.