Martabat Tujuh Research Articles

Sundanese Creed of Shahadah: The Relationship between Sundanese Teachings, Culture, and Religion

This writing is to find out the creeds have developed in Sundanese society and the dialectical implications of Islam and local culture of this Mantra Creed in Sundanese social and religious life. Meanwhile, the method used is a type of qualitative research or qualitative method of inquiry, namely an in-depth study using data collection techniques directly from people in their natural environment. According to Bogdan and Taylor, qualitative methods are research procedures that produce descriptive data in the form of written or spoken words from people and observable behavior. The results of the research found several things, including: First, the shahada in Sundanese society has a broader scope than just aspects of Islam, involving various types of shahada in Sundanese with the aim of incantations for supernatural powers or fulfilling immediate needs, showing circumvention of Islamic law but recognizing Islam as a spiritual teaching. Second, Sundanese people's understanding of the Mantra Creed varies, revealed through analysis of the texts of the Sundanese creed, the Sri Sedana pantun, and the Sundanese version of Martabat Tujuh. Although many people know the text of the Sundanese shahada, only a few understand it in depth. The belief that Sundanese people were already Muslim before the arrival of Islam is confirmed through Pantun Sri Sedana, reflecting acculturation between Sundanese and Islamic teachings. Third, the dialectical implications of Islam and local culture from the shahadah mantra in Sundanese social and religious life include three aspects of Islamic teachings and Sundanese belief system.

Harmonisasi Doktrin Tasawuf dan Al-Qur’an dalam Kitāb al-‘Ishq

The tendency to bring Sufism closer to the main sources of Shari'a in Indonesian contexts began in the 17th century. One manuscript that strongly indicates this phenomenon is the Kitāb al-'Ishq (The Nature of Jamāl and Jalāl), DS 0012 00001, a Sufism text from the Kuningan area which is thought to have been written in the 18th–19th centuries. This philological study aims to reveal how Kitāb al-'Ishq contributed to promoting philosophical Sufism, in this case the doctrine of Nūr Muḥammad, which in fact is part of the doctrine of Martabat Tujuh. This study shows that Kitāb al-'Ishq has at least two important contributions. First, Kitāb al-'Ishq contributes to showing the harmony of Nūr Muḥammad's doctrine with the Shari'a, namely by providing a number of Qur'ānī arguments. From a number of arguments presented, it appears that this text is still connected to the thoughts of several previous Middle Eastern Sufi figures, such as Saḥl al-Tustarī, al-Qushayrī and 'Abd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī. Second, Kitāb al-'Ishq shows the author's efforts to ground his doctrine, namely by using metaphors and analogies that are popular among Indonesian people in explaining the concept of Nūr Muḥammad with the aim of making it easy to digest and acceptable. Its position in Kuningan proves that in the Indonesian context, the tendency to harmonize Sufism with the Al-Qur'an and Hadith does not only occur in the Sumatra region, but also in West Java.

Spritual reasoning of Samaniyah Tariqa’s seven grades in the context of integration of science

Scholars have widely discussed the paradigm of integration of Islam and science. Still, a model of integration of Islam and science that uses the reasoning of Martabat Tujuh [seven grades] has not been found. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the manuscripts of Shaykh Abdussamad al-Palimbani’s Martabat Tujuh in the integration of Islam and science. This study used a descriptive qualitative approach, and data collection techniques were documentation and interviews. This study found two spiritual reasons in the manuscript of Shaykh Abdussamad al-Palimbani’s Martabat Tujuh: tanazzul [move down] deductive reasoning and taraqqi [move up] inductive reasoning.Contribution: The article contributed to developing the integration of Islam and science in Indonesia. The manuscripts of Martabat Tujuh [seven grades] by Shaykh Abdussamad al-Palimbani offer the circular motion of Martabat Tujuh as a model for integrating knowledge. The circular motion model of Martabat Tujuh is expected to be used as a theoretical basis for applying knowledge integration at various Islamic universities in Indonesia.

Spritual reasoning of Samaniyah Tariqa’s seven grades in the context of integration of science

Scholars have widely discussed the paradigm of integration of Islam and science. Still, a model of integration of Islam and science that uses the reasoning of Martabat Tujuh [seven grades] has not been found. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the manuscripts of Shaykh Abdussamad al-Palimbani’s Martabat Tujuh in the integration of Islam and science. This study used a descriptive qualitative approach, and data collection techniques were documentation and interviews. This study found two spiritual reasons in the manuscript of Shaykh Abdussamad al-Palimbani’s Martabat Tujuh: tanazzul [move down] deductive reasoning and taraqqi [move up] inductive reasoning. Contribution: The article contributed to developing the integration of Islam and science in Indonesia. The manuscripts of Martabat Tujuh [seven grades] by Shaykh Abdussamad al-Palimbani offer the circular motion of Martabat Tujuh as a model for integrating knowledge. The circular motion model of Martabat Tujuh is expected to be used as a theoretical basis for applying knowledge integration at various Islamic universities in Indonesia.

Examining The Doctrine of Seven Grades of Being (Maratib Sab’ah) in Tuhfah al-Mursalah; An overview toward Quranic’s Perpective

The seven grades (Marataib al-Sab’ah) very closed associated with Muhammad Fadhl Allah al-Burhanpuri, an Indian Sufi scholar through his Tuhfah al-Mursalah ila Ruh al-Nabi. Written di Arabic Tuhfah al-Mursalah’s circled around India and also popularize in Mecca Madina and Malay word afterward. Burhanpuri and Tuhfah al-Mursalah many times mention in numerous manuscripts written in Arab Jawi, which identified from his principles mostly from ‘alam jawi (Nusantara) around 16-17 century. Some of them Shams al-Din al-Sumatra’i, Hamzah al-Fansuri, Nur al-Din al-Raniry and ‘Abd al-Ra’uf al-Singkili. Afterward, these principles, identically Maratib al-Sab’ah in Malay world known as Martabat Tujuh. The main point suggested by Burhanpuri, an explaration toward Ibn ‘Arabi’s idea wahdah al-wujud. Maratib al-Sab’ah considered as the proper medium to attain Ibn ‘Arabi’s Oneness of Being and relate it with the Qur’an perspective and as well as Hadits point of view on certain explanation in his Tuhfah al-Mursalah.

The Suluk of The Salik in the Concept of Seven Stages (Martabat Tujuh) of Abdel Samad al-Palimbani

This article aims to reveal how the idea of Abdel Samad al-Palimbani on Seven Stages (Martabat Tujuh) is considered controversial by some Muslims. The reason is that this idea is part of the concept of embodiment in the frame of philosophical Sufism. The seven stages essentially are to prove humans as the most perfect creation compared to others. This paper uses the library research method based on primary and secondary sources. This paper attempts to reveal al-Palimbani's ideas related to the seven stages concept. These seven stages discussed Salik's position as caliph on the earth. A Salik is always eager to find the best way to arrive at the paran. The idea of The Seven Stages is to know how close a man is to his Creator. For Salik's is to know their position as being who manifests God’s Tajalli. Unfortunately, such an idea is not fully implemented, even among Islamic thinkers themselves it has been considered heretical and forbidden. This paper showed that the seven stages are the unique condition that must be understood by all Muslims who are concerned with Islamic esoteric studies to know the autentic reality.

The Constitutional Law Values in the Martabat Tujuh Constitution of the Sultanates of Buton

Indonesia has diverse local wisdom. The diversity of local wisdom can strengthen relations between religious people in an area. Local wisdom contains important values as a reference in behaving and interacting with culturally and religiously different others. Local wisdom is effective in creating a harmonious social life. This research aims to reveal the legal value of the constitution of Martabat Tujuh of the Sultanates of Buton. The data of this qualitative research was analyzed descriptively. The results show that the constitutional value contained in the Martabat Tujuh constitution of the Sultanates of Buton until now is still used as a guideline in implementing the leadership of the government and the people of Buton.

The Concept of “Martabat Tujuh” Al-Burhanpuri (Study of the Creation of the Universe in the Perspective of Philosophical Sufism)

When discussing the creation of the universe, the discussion will never be separated from the three objects of philosophical study, namely God as the creator, man and the universe as the created object, and at the same time being the object undergoing the process of creation. God, humans and the universe, are three objects that are always interesting to discuss. The manifestation of the existence of the three becomes a perennial study. For philosophers, these three problems become “fertile” areas of thought in the framework of developing true knowledge (correct knowledge) about these three problems. In the realm of Islamic thought, these three objects have always received major attention among Muslim philosophers, including the Sufis. Even in the context of Sufism (Sufism), these three objects become eternal discussions, especially at the level of Sufism which has philosophical nuances, or commonly known as “Falsafi Sufism”. At this level, the concept of “Martabat Tujuh”, a concept that talks about the creation of al-Buhanpuri’s version of the universe, is tried to be presented.

Tuhfah al-Mursalah ila Ruh al-Nabiy as the Source of the Doctrine Seven Grades of Being in the Malay-Indonesian Archipelago

The doctrine of seven grades of Being (Martabat Tujuh) has been widely known to be a sufi interpretation of God’s Oneness (al-Tawhid). It originated in the subcontinent of India in the early seventeenth century. The doctrine was later introduced in Aceh and gained popularity among the Malay sufi authors and practitioners until the present day. Amid its wide acceptance, the teaching has long been considered by many scholars to be incompatible with the Islamic principle teachings of God’s Unity. The purpose of this article is to give an insight into the background of the writing of the Tuhfah al-Mursalah Ila Ruh al-Nabiyy and to establish its credibility as an authentic Islamic work by a recognized Muslim sufi scholar. To achieve its objectives, data of this writing was gathered through the usage of document analysis and then described using deducted and inducted analysis. This article found that the Tuhfah al-Mursalah was originally written to combatting misinterpretation of the teaching of wahdat al-wujud in the subcontinent India. It was later exported to the Aceh in the early sixteenth century. The work was written by a knowledgeable and important Indian Muslim sufi scholar. His credentials as a Muslim scholar were testified with few commentaries on the Tuhfah al-Mursalah by famous and well-known Muslim scholars in the Muslim world. Therefore, this work occupies an important place in providing a true comprehension of the doctrine of seven grades of Being.

Titik Singgung Hukum Islam dengan Hukum Adat pada Naskah Perundang-Undangan Kerajaan Islam di Nusantara

The study of the intersection of Islamic law with customary law in the legislation texts of the Islamic kingdoms in the Indonesian Archipelago is intended to describe the flexibility of Islamic law when it meets customary law, and vice versa. This research is a comparative study between the laws that were made into the sultanate law in the archipelago in the 16-18 century AD. The nature of Islamic law is believed to have the ability to adapt (legal adaptability) with other laws. One theory that can strengthen this statement is the existence of one of the five major principles in the science of Usul al-Fiqh, namely "al-ʻadāh al-muhakamah" which means that customs can be used as a legal basis. Ibn al-Qayyim also introduced the rule of "taghayyur al-fatwā bi taghayyur al-azminah", meaning changes in fatwas due to changes in time. These principles reinforce the flexibility of Islamic law. By taking some examples from articles from the Malacca law, the Simbur Tjahaya Act of the Palembang Sultanate, the Jambi Customary Law, the Sultan Adam Law on the Banjar Sultanate, the Martabat Tujuh Law for the Buton Sultanate and the Baraja Niti Kutai Law Kartanegara, it was found that the intersection between Islamic law and customary law was seen in these laws, which were complementary, and there was no tension.

Konsep Sufistik “Martabat Tujuh” Sebagai Model Islamisasi Masyarakat Buton

<p class="06IsiAbstrak">The article aims to examine the traces of the spread of Islam in Buton in terms of an analysis of the process of islamization in the archipelago. One of the processes of Islamization in Buton is related to the concept of "Martabat Tujuh." The concept of “Martabat Tujuh” which is considered to be the teachings of Sufism is a forerunner to the system of the Sultanate of Buton in the past. 138-1584) Sultan Murhum is called the title of the Sultanate of Qa'im ad-din, historical approach method is part of the achievement of the results of this research.The data that has been collected is then analyzed using descriptive analysis especially in order to describe the contextualization of the concept of "Martabat Tujuh" with The purpose of this research is to review the history of Islam that developed in Buton as one of the processes of Islamization in the archipelago.The results of this study indicate that a critical review of Islamic civilization in the past needs to be an example so that Islam in the modern era still exists especially as an alternative settlement problem of society.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p align="center"> </p>

KONSEP 'AWALIM 'ABD ALLAH BIN 'ABD AL-QAHHAR AL-BANTANI DALAM DISKURSUS WUJUDIYYAH DI NUSANTARA

This article aims at observing the Wujudiyyah teaching of 'Abd Allah bin 'Abd al-Qahhar al-Bantani on the text Masyahid an-Ndik fi maqamat as-Salik. Even though 'Abd Allah bin 'Abd alQahhar al-Bantani was as a great ulama in the period of Sultan Abu an-Nasr 'Arif Syifa' Zain al 'Asyiqin—the ruler of the sultanate of Banten in the eighteenth century--his name was scarcely mentioned in the history of Banten. This sultan asked him to write a book of Wujudiyyah, especially dealing with tajalliyat. The polemic of WuJudiyyah happens in Banten is different from that of in Aceh. In Banten, there is no information stating that the sultan of Banten bans and considers the adherents of wujudiyyah teaching as infidel (unbeliever). Dealing with tajalliyat concept, he expresses it in the explanation of tajalli phases of God over the realm that he divides into four kinds of world: 'alam ilahi, 'alam jabarut, 'alam malakut and 'alam nasut. His division of these worlds is much different from al-Burhanpuri's concept of Martabat Tujuh and the world concepts of Hamzah Fansuri, al-jili as well as lbn 'Arabi.
 Keywords: WuJudiyyah, 'Awalim, Martabat Tujuh, Maratib Al-Wujud

Rekontekstualisasi Konsep Ketuhanan Abd Samad al-Palimbani

The discourse about God has not been limitedly discussed merely within philosophical and theological dimensions but it has been also discussed within tasawuf approach. A number of Muslim thinkers have so far discussed their understanding of God from this point of view. Abd Samad al-Palimbani was one of the prominent Muslim scholars who tried to discuss the issue of divinity from tasawuf perspective. Al-Palimbani, himself, was a Muslim thinker of 18th century who possessed a specific thought about divinity within such dimension. The approach he employed has become a particularly exceptional matter in the study of divinity in the field. The very basic concept of his thought about God can be observed, among other, within his a monumentally master-piece, entitled Sayr al-Sālikīn. This article seeks to reveal the discourse of divinity discussed in Al-Palimbani’s book. It has been argued that through the concept of martabat tujuh (seven grades), promulgated by Al-Palimbani in his Sayr al-Sālikīn, a sālik (a seeker of God) will be able to understand and recognize God who possesses Wājib al-Wujūd as one His attributes. Al-Palimbani’s concept of martabat tujuh undoubtedly puts him as a central figure within the discussion of God and divinity from tasawuf dimension.

An Analysis on Doctrine of Nur Muhammad in Bahr Al-Lahut: A Corelation to Martabat Tujuh (Seven Echelon)

The doctrine of Nur Muhammad is one of the discussions that explain the first beings created by Allah is Nur Muhammad. It is being debated by various scholars of Sufism who are trigger to either accept or reject the doctrine. Accordingly, the doctrine also being a discourse in Malay world and amongst of the earliest works is Bahr al-Lahut. The question remarks, firstly on the writings regarding the doctrine of Nur Muhammad in the work of Bahr al-Lahut. Then, it interrogates the means and descriptions on the doctrine of Nur Muhammad by Shaykh `Abdullah ‘Arif. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to identify and analyze the doctrine of Nur Muhammad in Martabat Tujuh through writing in Bahr al-Lahut. This study applies content analysis method while studying Bahr al-Lahut manuscript that has been edited from the original copy obtained from the University of Leiden. The findings indicate that Shaykh `Abdullah` Arif also discusses doctrine of Nur Muhammad in the scope of Martabat Wahdah (first echelon); an echelon midst the doctrine of Martabat Tujuh. The doctrine of Nur Muhammad hence, explains the existence of the universe begins from Nur Muhammad, and acts as the first being created by Allah. In addition, Nur Muhammad is also identified by application of other terms such as Ruh Idafi (pneuma of ancillary), Ruh Makhluk (pneuma of beings), Nur Zahuri, Hakikat Muhammad (the quintessence of Muhammad), al-Qalam (The Pen), and al-Wilayah (sovereignty). Besides, the nature of Nur Muhammad is from nonexistence to existence i.e. muhdath (neoteric).

The Role of Martabat Tujuh within the Society of the Sultanate Buton Wolio

Martabat Tujuh laws that guided the State's administration on the sultanate of Buton were born because of (1) the existence of tyranny in society by the noble families, (2) the sultanate of Buton has no state constitution as a guideline for administering the government, and (3) the existence of people's hope with sultan to restore the economic crisis caused by the drought during that time.Martabat Tujuh laws in political life, society and religion contain the virtues of value, namely (1) ainda indamo arataa sumanomo karo implies that someone should prioritize the safety of self and family; (2) ainda indamo karo sumanomo lipu, implies that the interest of the state is more important than the personal interest, (3) ainda indamo lipu sumanomo sarah implies that the interest of the leader is more important than the interest of the state, (4) ainda indamo sarah sumanomo religion, implies that religion is more important than the government. In addition, it also gives direction to the people to feel the pain between each other (binci-binci kuli), love each other (pomama siaka), keep each other (popia piara), listen the truth (poangka angkataka), and give each other in deficiency (poma maeka).

SEH AMONGRAGA (TOKOH MISTIK JAWA DALAM SERAT CENTHINI)

In Javanese literature, Serat Centhini is an extraordinary work, in the term of quantities of its pages and the varieties of its content. Serat Centhini was written from January 1814 to 1823, by a team lead by Adipati Anom Amengkunagara III, Crown Prince of Surakarta Kingdom that crowned as Sunan Paku Buwana V (1820-1823) afterwards with the members such as:1) Kiai Ngabehi Ranggasutrasno, 2) Kiai Ngabehi Yasadipura II, and 3) Kiai Sastradipura. The thickness of its manuscript is around 4200 folio pages (12 editions). The content of its text is varied; include all ngelmu and kawruh that exist in Java Island. As a suluk literature, Serat Centhini also has an Islamic soul and contains Tasawwuf or Islamic Mysticism thoughts that already blend with Javanese Mysticism, for example an explanation of Javanese "religion" that purpose is to achieve "life perfection", i.e. the unity between slave and Master (manunggaling kawula-Gusti). Explanation and secret lessons are in the dialogue between Seh Amongraga, as a Javanese Mystic chief and other personalities in that book. Seh Amongraga, a.k.a Jayengresmi, is the elder of three sons of Sunan Giri. He has talent and potency towards a mystical life and practices, shown by its qualities and characters, the stages of his life, his sermons about the four ways towards God, Martabat Tujuh, and manunggaling kawula-Gusti. In the later stage ofhis life, Seh Amonraga is more noticeable to become a Javanese Mystic practitioner that teach the science of perfection, heterodox mysticism, that finally sentence to death by Sultan Agung, therefore could be seen as an inheritance of Syeh Siti Jenar tradition

Islamic Weltanschauung in Bahr al-Lahut: The writings of Shaykh `Abdullah `Arif

This study aims to analyze Islamic worldview (tasawwur al-Islam) by Islamic manuscript writings founded in archipelago. Islamic worldview is a fatal aspect that has been emphasized in Islamic writings since the Islamic phase of 12 century. In general, there are three fundamental elements in Islamic worldview; i.e. Allah as Creator, man as servant and vicegerent, and universe as His creation. Among writings that composed Islamic worldview is Bahr al-Lahut; the writing of Syakh `Abdullah `Arif. The questions regards on the accessibility of Islamic worldview on Bahr al-Lahut as well as the elements that has been emphasized on and the explanations of those elements by Syakh `Abdullah `Arif. Therefore, the objective of this study is to answer those triple quests by identify Islamic Worldview and analyze the elements in Bahr al-Lahut’s writing. This study will focus on the discussion and analysis of Islamic worldview and elements which centered upon Allah as a Creator. Methodology of this study is text analysis upon the manuscript of Bahr al-Lahut. Eventually, this study ascertains that there are the elements of Islamic worldview in Bahr al-Lahut through the concept of seven ranks (Martabat Tujuh) i.e. the rank of Divinity (Ahadiah).

FAHAM WAḤDAT AL-WUJŪD DAN MARTABAT TUJUH DALAM KARYA SHAYKH ʿABD AL-ṢAMAD AL-FALIMBĀNĪ

Sayr al-Sālikīn ilā ʿIbādat Rabb al-ʿᾹlamīn, a work by Shaykh ʿAbd al-Ṣamad al-Falimbānī (1704–1789), is a Malay masterpiece which has had considerable influence and lasting impact on the expansion of Islam in the Malay world. The Muslim community’s wide acceptance of this work is due to its contents which deliberate on the essence of Taṣawwuf as expounded by authoritative Sufi scholars, the most significant of whom is Imām al-Ghazzālī with his Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn. Like many other Sufi scholars, al-Falimbānī also approves of both the waḥdat al-wujūd (The Transcendent Unity of Existence) and Martabat Tujuh (the Seven Degrees of Existence) formulations, which today are often accused as deviant by the pseudo-Salafī group—better known as Wahhābī. This article attempts to examine the truth of the group’s allegations by presenting waḥdat al-wujūd and Martabat Tujuh as the Sufis themselves expound as well as scrutinising the various arguments put forth by the aforementioned group in equating the two formulations with pantheism and monism. This study thus finds that both are ijtihāds of the Sufi scholars in interpreting and understanding some of the Qurʾanic verses and Prophetic ḥadīths related to creation which are not easily understood by the public, and as such, are not meant for public discussions. In fact, such matters form the abstruse and intricate part of the science of Tawḥīd which, as such, ought to be learnt only by al-muntahī, referring to those Sufis who have successfully reached the end of their spiritual journey, not by the spiritual novices, let alone the general public. With findings gathered in this study, it is hoped that public discussion of both formulations by the untrained minds, which eventually gives rise to confusion and accusations of heresy and polytheism, could be put to an end and misunderstandings regarding them could be halted and redressed.

Buton, Islamization, and this Manuscript Tradition

Buton the beginning of the country is filled with myths, which serves to form a world view of cosmocentric in determining descriptions of time, space, and society. Buton as a kingdom lasted for over two centuries (1327-1541) and then continued with a sultanate era for more than four centuries (1541-1960). During the era of the kingdom, Buton was not acquainted with script and literary tradition. Apparently, tradition of writing manuscript was firstly known in the sultanate era, when the process of Islamization began by the scholars who introduced the tradition of reading and writing the Arabic script, which was later modified into a Buton script (Buri Wolio). Sultanate built on the basis of ideology of Islam and Sufism applied teachings of “martabat tujuh” on the system and structure of government. The manuscripts tradition achieved its golden peak in the reign of the 29th Sultan, La Ode Muhammad Idrus Kaimuddin (1824-1851), which was instituted in a Zawiah school. Today, there are about 340 texts in Buton manuscripts, which are mostly found in the collections of Abdul Mulku Zahari. In addition, there are still many other texts may be found on varied other private collections, which the numbers are difficult to determine because of various reasons.

Konsep Tajalli ‘Abd al-Lāh Ibn ‘Abd al-Qahhār al-Bantanī dan Posisinya dalam Diskursus Wujūdiyyah di Nusantara

This article aims to examine the wujūdiyyah teaching of ‘Abd al-Lāh bin ‘Abd al-Qahhār al-Bantanī in his Mashāhid al-Nāsik fī Maqāmāt al-Sālik. Although he was a great ulama in the period of Sultan Abū al-Naṣr ‘Ārif Shifā’ Zayn al-‘Āshiqīn—the ruler of Banten Sultanate in the eighteenth century—his name was rarely mentioned in the history of Banten. The Sultan asked him to write a book on wujūdiyyah that especially deals with tajalliyāt. The polemics over wujūdiyyah in Banten is different from those of Aceh. In Banten, there is no information whether the Sultan banned or considered the adherents of wujūdiyyah teaching as infidel (unbeliever). Regarding tajalliyāt, al-Bantani explains it in relation to the tajallī phases of God over the realm that he divides into four: ‘ālam ilāhī, ‘ālam jabarūt, ‘ālam malakūt and ‘ālam nāsūt. His concept about these worlds is different from al-Burhanpurī’s Martabat Tujuh and from those of H{amzah Fanṣūrī, al-Jīlī as well as Ibn ‘Arabī.