shaykh ahmad al-surkati
TRANSCRIPT
Bisri Affandi M.A. Islamic Studies
-Ahmad Surkati: His role in ~1-Irshad movement in Java
SHAYKH AHMAD AL-SURKATÏ: HIS ROLE
IN AL-IRSHAD HOVEMENT IN JAVA
IN THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY
by
Bisri Affandi
A Thesis
Presented to the Faculty of Graduate Studies
and Research, McGill Unive rsity, Montreal,
in partial fulfilment of the require
ments for the degree of
Master of Arts
Inst i tut e of Islami c Studies
McGill University
Non trea l
March, 1976
Au thor
Title of thesis
Departrnent
Degree
ABSTRACT
Bisri Affandi
Shaykh A9rnad al-Surkati: His Role
in al-Irsh~d Movernent in Java
in the Early Twentieth Century
Islarnic Studies, McGill University
Master of Arts
This thesis is an attempt to study the role of
A9rnad Surkati in al-Irsh~d rnovernent in Java, and its
implica t i ons for the Arab cornrnunity in Indonesia. Surkati
was a Sudanese Muslirn scholar who, in 1911, came to Indo-
nesia as one of the Islamic teachers invited by Jamiat
Khair, an Arab organization, which was e stablished in Jaka rta
in 1905. The f a ct that the Hadrami Ara bs were divided into
two groups, the sayyids who enjoyed elevated position and
the non-sayyids, urged Ahmad Surka ti to propaga t e the idea
of e qua lity among Mus lims. Thus, in 1913 Surkatr s ponsored
the foundation of an Arab organization of Islamic reform
called al-Irsh~d which has been e specially influential by
means o f its educa tional s ys tem. The i mporta nce of t he
Irsh~di rnovement lies in its effecting a social change in
the Ara b cornrnunity a nd making a significant contribution to
the bi rth and development of Islamic r eforrn in I ndonesia .
Auteur
Titre de la thèse
Departement
Diplôme
ABSTRAIT
Bisri Affandi
Shaykh A~mad al-Surkati: son rôle
dans le mouvement al-Irshad à Java
au d~but du vingti~me si~cle
Etudes Islamiques, Université McGill
Mai tri se-es-Arts
' . Cette these fait l'objet d'une etude du rôle de
Ahmad Surkati de le mouvement al-Irshad à Java, ainsi que
ses repercussions dans la communauté arabe d'Indonesie.
Surkati, fut un savant Nusulman soudanais qui en 1911 vint
en Indonesie en tant que professeur invité par l'organisa
tion arab, la Jamiat Khair. Cette dernière fut établie à
Jakarta en 1905. Le fait que les arabes ~a~rami furent
divisés en deux groupes, les sayyids (groupes privilegiés)
et les non-sayyids, amena AQmad Surkati à propager la
notion d'égalité parmi les musulmans. Ainsi, en 1913
Surkati parréna l'organisation arabe de la réforme
Islamique entitulée al-Irshad. Cette dernière eut une
grande influence grâce à son systême éducationel. Le
mouvement Irshadi fut important à cause de ses effets au
niveau social parmi la communauté arabe, ainsi que de sa
contribution à la naissance et au dépeloppement des
réformes Islamiques en Indonesie.
ACKNŒv'LEDGEMENTS
The writer would like to express his sincere ap
preciation and deepest gratitude to Prof. Charles Adams,
in his capacity as Director of the Institute of Islamic
Studies, NcGill University, who gave hirn the opportunity
to study at the Institute, and rendered encouragement in
the process that produced this work. The \vri ter also
would like to express his indebtedness to his thesis super
viser Prof. D. P. Little, not only for devoting a great
amount of his valuabe time to supervise the writer, but
also his advice was invaluable in determining the ultimate
direction and scope of this work. Thanks are also due to
Prof. A. M. Abu Hakima, Prof. Niyazi Berkes and Prof.
R. N. Verdery from whom the writer profited from their
courses during the academie years 1973-1975.
The '"ri ter' s most sincere thanks must go to the
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) for
the award of a fellmvship, thereby enabling him to com
plete his M.A. program at McGill University.
It would not have been possible to complete this
work without the help of many persons, among whom only
a few can be named. Mr. H. Ali and Miss Sal\va Ferahian,
the Librarian and the Librarian Assistant, gave much help
in locating material. Hrs. E. Law and Mrs. C. Korah gave
iv
administrative assistance. The writer would like every
one of them to know his sincere gratefulness. Thanks
must also be given to my friends Mr. Andy Rippin and
Mr. Douglas Crow who kindly devoted their valuable time
to edit the English. And also to Hr. t-l. A. Samad and
Mr. z. Rasheed who gave much help in reading the Arabie
material.
In Indonesia the writer's special gratitude goes
to Prof. H. A. Nukti Ali, the present Ninister of Re
ligious Affairs, who gave him the opportunity to study
in Canada and to leave his academie duties at the Faculty
of U~Ül al-Din in Kediri. Thanks must also be given to
the officials of al-Irsyad Majlis Da'wah of Surabaya,
especially Ustadh tUmar Hubay~, who sent me various orig
inal Arabie and Indonesian sources. Without such aid
this work could hardly have been completed. Last but not
l east , the \..rriter is indebted to his wife \..rho has always
been s o pa tient. She and our children have indeed been
of great help.
Although al l these persans have rendered invaluable
services, any possible misconceptions and e rrors of this
study be long to the \vri ter al one.
Hontreal , Harch 17, 1976 B. A.
v
SPELLING AND TRANSLITERATION
The Arabie names and terms in this thesis are
written according to the English transliteration employed
by the Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University.
The Indonesian names and terms are written according to
the new Indonesian spelling used by the government of Indo-
nesia since 1972. Bowever, certain nam es of persans
written in the old Indonesian spelling \vill appear because
they pre fer to use them.
The main differences between the old and the new
Indonesian spelling are•
Old New Pronunciation
ch kh similar to ch as in German ach.
dj j similar to j a s in Joseph.
j y similar to y as in yellmv.
sj sy simila r to sh as in shmv.
tj c similar to ch as in chal k.
The main differences in transliteration from Arabie
are a
Indonesian English Arabie Indonesian English Arabie
ts th 6 dh (dl) d ~ . h h rr th t .la • L.. •
dz dh .
zh ~ .:> z . sh ~ 1 y sy
~........-
sh s ~ 1 . ~
vi
TABLE OF CONThNTS
ACKNOWLEDGE:tvŒNTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SPELLING AND TRANSLITERATION . . . . . . . . . . . INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapt er
I. Tllli BACKGROUND OF THE IRSHADÏ HOVEl'-'ŒNT
II.
1. The Arab Community in Indonesia
2. The Continuity and Change of Islam
in Java
F'ootnotes • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SHAYKH AHNAD SURKAT! AND THE . IRSHAD i MOVEtvlENT . . . . . . . . . 1. The Origin of the Irshadi Movement
2 . Surkati and the Foundation of the Irshadi Hovement
3. The Principles of the Irshadi Movement
4. The Foundation of Irshadi Schools
S. The Teachings of Ahmad Surkati . Footnote s . . • . . . . . . .
III. ISLAHIC CONSERVATISM Vli:RSUS ISLM/:IC
. . . . . . . . . . . 1. Ba 'Alawi versus Al-Irshad
2. Re formist s ve r sus Cons ervatives and
the Role of Ahmad Surkati . Footnotes • . . . . . . . . . . . .
CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
vii
iv
vi
1
9
43
51
103
113
141
147
GLOSSARY
APPENDIX.L!:S
BIBLIOGRAPHY
• 1 1 • • •
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
viii
154
161
172
INTRODUCTION
Studies on Islamic reform movements in Indonesia
can be found in a number of monographs. A. Hukti Ali
has written his thesis on the Muhammadiyah movement. 1
Other works on the Muhammadiyah have also been written
by Alfian2 and Federspiel. 3 Deliar Noer has written
about modern Muslim movements in Indonesia during the
reign of the Dutch colonial government (1900-1942), 4
and Federspiel has written about Persatuan Islam, an
Islamic reform movement founded in 1923 as we11. 5
Islamic reform in Minangkabau (ivest Sumatra) has been
studied by Taufiq Abdullah6 and Murni Djamal. These
works are almost entirely concerned with the native
Indonesian Muslims; very little attention has been given
to the Arab movements in Indonesia. This thesis is an
attempt therefore to study and examine the nature and
the characteristics of Arab Indonesian Nuslims. In this
endeavour the writer has confined his work to Shaykh
Ahmad Surkati al-An~ari, who was ân important fi gure ih
the Indonesian reformist movement and a prominent leader
of the Indonesian Arab community in the early twentieth
century.
1
2
The history of Indonesia records that in the
nineteenth century the Arab ~agrami populace in Indo-
nesia began to increase because of permanent economie
difficulties in Hadramaut together with the comme rcial
characteristics of the people and the easier methods
of transport available from the Middle East. These
Arabs are seen to have accelerated the change from
8 heterodoxy to orthodoxy. This may be true in a sense
that most of them are lja9ramis, whose relig ious practice
was tha t of the Shafi'ites and was, the refore, contrary
to the Süfi dervish practice. But their claim to the . title of sayyid, and thus their claim to possess exempla-
ry piety and r eligious merit, seemed to blur their role
as orthodox Nuslims. Ba 'Alawis encouraged people to
practice the so-called tawassul (intercession). In this
respect t hey made themselves intercessors between other
people and God. This practice was compatible with the
Islamic mysticism existing in Indonesia. Furthermore
their trading methods and money lending a ctivities made
their name unpopular in many villages in Java.
However, i n fluenced by the Niddle East Nusl i m
developments of the late nineteenth century , the Arab
community in Indonesia b egan to educate the young Arab
gene ration. In 1901 they founded in J akarta a benevo-
3
lent society called al-Jam'iyat al-Khayriyah (Benevo-
lent Association). This association established schools
and in 1911 invited sorne foreign teachers from the Middle
East. One of these teachers was A0mad Surkati, a Suda
nese scholar who had graduated from Dar al-'UlÜm in
Makkah.
Stimulated by the tension between sayyid and
non-sayyid groups in the Arab community, A0mad Surkati
founded al-Irshad movement in 1913. This movement tried
to develop the idea of Islamic reform in Indonesia. In
this respect A~mad Surkati was fortunate to have been
joined by his Sudanese friends who were acquainted with
the works of Muhammad 'Abduh and Rashid Rida. This . . small group of foreign teachers seemed to stand at the
heart of a communication network which fed a constant
stream of revitalized modern ~uslim thought from the
Niddle East into Java. It formed the nucleus of change
in the Arab community in particular and among Muslims
in general. Thus, despite his Arab orientation, A0mad
Surkati did make a contribution to the birth and devel-
opment of Islamic reformism in Java as a \vhole. He was
able to be very close friends with bath political and
non-political Huslim leaders. In addition the signifi-
cant success of the Irshadi movement in achievi~g a
-
4
place of respectability among the Indonesian t-'1uslims was
largely due to its perseverance in carrying out
educational activities. Together with the Muhammadiyah,
the Irshadl: movement formed the prelirr.inary stages of
the development of Islamic reformism in the early twen-
tieth century. This thesis will only discuss the first
stage of the Irshadi development (1913-1930) for the
follm-1ing reasons 1
1. The account of Irshadi development in this thesis
is based mainly on Tarikh Thawrat al-Islah wa
- ' - --9 -al-Irshad written by Umar Sulayman Naji. Sulayman
Naji is the most comprehensive Irshadi author on
the history of al-Irshad. Since he has only finished
writing about the first stage of the Irshadi develop-
ment the writer will deal only with that stage.
2. Neither al-Irsyad Najlis Da'wah (al-Irshad Department
of Preaching) '"hi ch is presently 'ivri ting the biogra-
- 10 s - - - ,_ phy of A9mad Surkati, nor .alaQ al-Bakri al-Yafi i,
\vho wrote on al-Irshad in his Tarikh Hadramawt . - - 11 - -al-Siyasi, mention anything about Irshadi develop-
ment after 1930.
Thus the lack of available material does not permit the
writer to discuss Irshadi development after its first
stage.
5
While most of the materials for the first and
the second division of the third chapter are derived
from secondary sources, the rest (chapter two and first
division of chapter three), which are devoted to the
imuortant role of Ahmad Surkati in the Irshadf move-~ .
ment--still largely an unexplored topic in Indonesian
history--ha s been documented with primary sources,
primarily in Arabie, written by A~mad Surkatf himself
and his followers, or from Indonesian brochures published
by the Irshadf movement. However the fact that it was
impossible for the writer to consult the works published
by the sayyid group might have caused sorne inadequacies
in this thesis. As a result the writer has tried to
consult secondary sources. It may be noted tha t this
study is devoted to an historical analysis of Islamic
ref orm in the Ara b community in Java and, to a lesser
extent, o f the direct impact o f Middle East Islamic
ref orm on the development of Indonesian ~uslims.
The first chapter of this thesis will deal with
Ara bs in Indonesia, especially those I:Jaçlramfs \vho formed
communities in the big cities of J ava. An a ccount of
the historical background of the Arab settlement and
of its Hadramf char acteristics appears in the first . . division o f t his cha pter , \vhi le the s e cond section deals
6
with the continuity and change of Islam in Java. At
the beginning the type of Islam in Java is heterodox
and is then followed by the process of orthodoxy due
to the contact between Indonesia and Arabia. Lastly ,
t-'luhammad 'Abduh, '"hose group later became known as . Salafiyah, had a tremendous influence upon Islamic
thinking in Indonesia. The first division of chapter
t\vO is an account on the origin and development of the
Irshadi movement, centering on the role of Ahmad SurkatL . Surkati's teaching of Islamic reformism appears in the
second division of this second chapter. In the third
chapt er the writer discusses the dispute bet\veen con-
serva.tive and reformist Arabs and a lso the basis of
the dispute between native traditionalist or conser-
vative Muslims and reformist Nuslims.
7
FOOTNOTES
1A. Mukti Ali, "The Mul,larnrnadiyah Movernent.
A Bibliographical Introduction" (unpublished t-'aster' s
Thesis, McGill University, 1957).
2Alfian, "Islarnic Modernisrn in Indonesian Pol
iticsa The Muharnmadiyah Movernent during the Dutch Co
lonical Period (1912-1942)" (unpublished Ph. D. dis
sertation, University of Wisconsin, 1969).
3Howard tv!. Federspiel, "The Muhammadiyaha A
Study of an Orthodox Islamic Hovernent in Indonesia,"
Indonesia, No. 10 (October), 1970, pp. 57-79
4Deliar Noer, The Modernist Nuslim Movernent in
Indonesia 1900-1942 (Singaporea Oxford University Press,
1973). 5Howard M. Federspiel, The Persatuan Islam:
Islarnic Reform in Twentieth Century Indonesia (Ithaca,
N.Y. a Modern Indonesia Project, South East Asia Program,
1970).
6Taufiq Abdullah, "Minangkabau 1900-1927. Preliminary Studies in Social Development" (unpublished
Master's Thesis, Cornell University, 1967).
7Nurni Djamal,. "Dr. H. Abdul Karim Amrullah.
His Influence in the Islamic Reform Movement in Hinang
kabau in the Early Twentieth Century" (unpublished
Master's Thesis, McGill University, 1975).
8The \vord "heterodox" ref ers to a mixture of
Islam with pagan animism, Buddhisrn, Hinduism existing
8
in Indonesia along with mysticism brought by ~Üffs
coming from Gujarat, India. The word "orthodox"
refers to the type of Islam taught by the Prophet,
his Co~panions and developed by great Muslim scholars,
either in Theology (al-Ash'arr, al-Maturrctr) or in Islamic Law (al-Shafi'I, al-Malikf, al-~anaff and
al-Hanbali), but not in Islamic mysticism • . 9 'umar Sula)rrnan Najf, Tarikh Thmvrat al-Islah ·-·
wa al-Irshad bi Indünïsiya, Vol. I, n.p. , n.d.
(Handwritten.)
10Al-Irsyad Hajlis Da '\vah, Riwavat Hidup
Syekh Ahmad as-Surkati, 4 Pts. (Surabayaa Siaran
Majlis Da'wah, 1972/73).
11~ala~ al-Bakri al-Yafi'I, Tarikh Haqramawt
al-Siyasi, 2 Vols. (t•1i~r a Hus1=afa al-Ba bi al-lja la bi,
1932), II, pp. 254-350.
CHAPTER I
THE BACKGROUND OF TP~ IRSHADI MOVE~ŒNT
1. The Arab Community in Indonesia
The census which took place in the Netherlands
Indies in 1930 revealed that 71,000 persans claimed to
be Arabs as compared to 45,000 in 1920, and 30,000 in
1905. 1 The number of Arab immigrants varied with the
economie situation in the Netherlands East Indies and
in the Hadramaut, from which the great majority of them
came. These immigrants were mostly malest for examnle,
"of 503 Arab immigrants in 1938, only twenty-four were
women." 2 They married into local families or into the
families of Arabs who had pr eceded them. Their rate of
intermarriage with Indonesian women remains one of the
highest of any foreign minority in the country. In corn-
parison to the numbers of peranakan Arab (peranakan:
''half- caste"), the Arab immigrants are very small . The
for mer constitute " a pproximately ninety percent of all
Arabs in Indonesia." 3 As a whole t hey constitute the
9
10
second largest Oriental minority and non-indigenous
racial group (the Chinese being the first),
There were two kinds o f divisions among Inde-
nesian people, First, the division for legal and judi-
cial pur!)Oses. In this case "the Dutch colonial lmv
distinguished between Natives, Europeans, and Oriental
Immigrants," 4 Second, the division for census purposes,
In this case there \vere four racial groups : "Na tives,
Europeans, Chinese, and ether foreign Asiatics," 5 The
latter division included Arabs, Indians, Malayans, etc.
Thus durin~ the colonial period, racial iden tity was a
recognized category in census enumeration and population
r egisters. The lega l determinatiîln of the rights and
duties of the four races compos ing the society depended
upon this data, Since the revolution of 1945 a racial
discrimination has been prohibited by law, although it
. . 11 . 1. . . . 6 LS stL Lmp LCLt Ln governsent pract1ce,
Being Muslims, the Arabs on the whole have b een
assimilated more comple tely than the Chinese, They
contributed appr e cia bly to the Indonesian cause during
the revolution , Undoubtedly a compara tiv e ly mild sense
of pride for the Arab homeland, with its limited oppor-
tunities, p layed a role in the Arab's integration,
11
Historical Development of the Arab Community
The Arabs have been coming to the Dutch Indies
for centuries, starting before the Islamization of the
country in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. 7
Most of them \vere traders, lvho, "together \vi th numerous
other Oriental n a tionalities, constituted a commercial
chain that reached from Egypt to China." 8 Ibn Ba1=~ü~ah, the great Arab traveller, spent two months of the year
1347 (during the reign of al-Malik al-?ahir) a\vaiting
the change of the monsoon. t'lhile there, he appea rs to
have me t a numbe r of compatriots and corelig ionis ts. 9
In this century the Arab colonies were only set up at
a few important places in coastal islands. These set-
tlements seemed to be the general r esult of their corn-
mercial activity. G. R. Tibbetts writesa
They were s emi-permanent settlements for the roving
merchant popula tion. Many indivi dua ls stayed in
them only f or a winte r or while t hey ga thered their
cargo, while ethers, acting as agents stayed for
periods often as long a s t en years . 10
Sorne writers have noticed that t hese Ara b t r aders
came during the normal course of business, and that the
work of conversion of South-East Asia during the f our-
t eenth century was thought t o be the wor k of zealous
Indian converts who tended to be ~Üfis, but there can
12
be no doubt that the existence of ArPb settlements, sorne
of two or three centuries standing, did much to influ-
ence local populations and to prepare the way for later
proselytizing. The natives originally from the Hadramaut
seemed to have come entirely for trade. 11
According to Horleya "we \vould not be far wrong
in saying that the Hadramaut visitors to the East Indies
up to the middle of the eighteenth century came as trad-
ers, and with a few exceptions only began to settle there
from about 1750 onwards. The arab colonies in Malacca
and Palembang date from this period while those of Siak
(Sumatra) and Pontianak (Bornee) are even earlier but
most of the ethers were not founded until well on in
the nineteenth century." 12 In this century, however,
with the arrival of more stable and economically advan-
tageous conditions in the Peninsula and its periphery,
and with the extraordinary expansion of tracte, especial-
ly after the opening of Suez canal in 1869, the Arab
populace began to increase. "It was about the Era of
Steamship," R. B. Ser j eant noted, "that they began to
come to the Far East in numbers." 13
By far the larger part of the movement at this
time was from the Hadramaut. Of these Hadramfs an . . authori ty has sa id 1 "They are few countries in the \vorld
13
where a larger portion ••• lives abroad." 14 , :Generally
an Arab already established in the East Indies found
jobs for his compatriots. As a result, each of the new
colonies tended to originate from the same part of
Hadramaut. Van den Derg tells us that "most of the
Arabs in Indian Archipelago are natives of the great
- - 15 valley between Shibam and Terim." He also observed
that every local group of Hadramis tended to go to a . . certain country. For example, "the inhabitants of the
valley of Daw'an prefer to go to the colonies of Aden,
Jidda, Suakim or Cairo. The inhabitants of the coast
prefer British India, especially the Malabar Coast and
Hyderabat1 the Bedouins rarely leave their country." 16
It seems that these Arabs came over in ever-
growing numbers to find a temporary haven in the many
transit stations and harbour principalities which dotted
the northern and the north-eastern coast lines of Java
and Sumatra. In these coastal cities the Arab nerchant
colony steadily grew as a distinct minority, and during
the reign of the Dutch colonial govern ;ent this colony
was under Dutch national jurisdiction.
Characteristics of the Hadrami Settlers ·-· When Ahmad Surka.ti founded the al-Irshad move-•
ment, he worked prim·ori ly among these Hadrami set tl ers. . .
14
Therefore it is importpnt to discuss the characteristics
of these people.
There were t h ree classes of Hadrami immig rants . . in Indone sia. . First, the common people and genera l ly
poor cla sses in Hadramaut including the itinerant trad-
ers. Second, the educated people who proudly assumed
the title of Shavkh. The shaykhs are c onsidered very
respected rel;gious leaders. 17 In Hadramaut these
shaykhs enjoyed their exalted position. Third, of spe-
cial importance a r e the s ayyids, who believe the mselves
to be t he direct descendant s o f the Prophe t. In Hadra-
maut these savvids claim to h ave the pure st pedigrees
o f a ll Ara bian sayyids. They a re des cended from a savvid
of Ba srah, Ahmad al:..Nuhajir, who "is said to h a ve been . . a descende.nt in the seventh generation from tvluhammad • s
g r and son I:Iusayn. " 18
Hith regard to the positions o f s a yyids , v an
den Be r g writes :
The Sayyids in Hadthr amautare, soto say , the re
presentatives o f relig ion and l aw. They rule publ ic
opinion i n this respect , and an a ttent i on borderin g
on veneration is paid to them. A Sayyid entering
any p l a ce \vher e t he re is company, p l a c e s himsel f ,
by full right, in the pos t o f honour. Al l persans
present rise to kiss his h a nd , ev e n those Hho are
h . . . d" . 19 1s super1ors 1n age or e ru 1t1on.
15
Furthermore, "as for their daughters, marriage with any
individual of different extraction is regarded as a
mesalliance oy the law • • • The most pmverful chief of
a tribe could not obtain, a s wi fe, the daughter of the
lmvest of the Sayyid. " 20 On the other hand a sayyid
might marry any woman he pleased.
As immigrants the ljaqramf sayyids are d i s persed
throughout ljijaz (Saudi Arabia), Egypt, India, Jvlalaysia,
Singaoore, 21 In Indonesia they are s ettled in Jal<arta,
Pekalongan, Solo and Sura baya (in Java) and Palembang
(in Sumatra). In Uadran1aut the Ba 'Alawf sayyids are
to be found every,vhere, but the majority of them live
- - 22 in Kathiri Sultanate. According to Sanger there are
sorne families of savyids who still enjoy sorne positions
in the field of relig ion. "Most of t he :n are \vell edu-
cated by Arab standards ••• but a re a f raid tha t modern-
. . . 11 d . h . . . Il 23 l zatlon Wl un ermlne t elr pos ltlon. It seems
that the rapid development of the Irshadf movement in
Indonesia ha s influenced s orne parts of Hadrama.ut. As
\vill be mentioned the dispute between sayyids and non-
sayyids concerning the pri v t l eges o f the s ayyid.§. \·ms
the immediate cause of founding the Irshadi movement
in Indonesia. As a result of the r e f orm movement, "in
the part of Hadramaut dominated by the Qu ' ayçf ( f or
16
examole Shib~m), the influence of the sayyids hRs greRt-
ly diminished, but in th.e Kathirl. areas of the c ountry
(for example Si\vÜn and Teri:m), the people \ve re more prog
r es s ive and the sayyids still hold pmv-er." 24 It is true
that traditionally most Arabs in Indonesia laid claim to
the title of Sayyid in the presence of uneducated J ava -
nese, a lthough they did not ~elong to the sayyid group.
They formed a respected, influential, and often wealthy
class, some\vhat set a part from the ir Indones ian fellmvs.
As a rule they wore the loose-flowing robes (jubbah) and
turbans of the Arab world .
The untutored Indonesian masses tended for centu-
ries to look upon all Arabs, rege~dl ess of origin, as the
direct inheritors of the wisdom of Islam. They looked
upon sayyids in particular as being possessors of exempla-
ry piety and r e l i_gious merit. "Many sayyids were rega rd
ed as s aints ('iva li), even during the ir life-ti:ne ; others
have the r eputation of belonging to the category of the
'enlightened' ( ahl al-kashf)," 25 The ir hands were kissed
in greeting ; their opinion in matters of Muslim law and
tradition r,vë::s welcomed. The sayyids even a cted a s re-
ligious ins t ructors. With regard to the populari ty of
tne word sayyid, van de r Kroef write s:
The popul arity of the t erm Sayyid in Indonesia is
17
not in the least attested to by the common usage
of the word sa. id, most 1 ikely deri ved from sayyid,
a descriptive term which is often indiscriminately
applied to every Arab in Indies. 26
The Arabs who came from Hadramaut saon obtained
a certain affluence in comparison with the small sum on
which they lived in their own country. Van den Berg
voTri tes 1
But a sum absolutely insufficient for European with
their excessive needs in a tropical climate, consti
tutes for an Arab not only enough to live upon, but
even allows him to make small savings. At Batavia,
for example, there are few Ara bs who do not get
from 30 to 40 florins a month; if this figure appears a little high as minimum for sorne ether colo
nies, we must not lose sight of the fact that,
generally, living i s cheaper there than in the capi
tal of the Dutch possessions. At any r a te, I do
not think that there is in Indonesian archipelago
a single Arab of Hadthramaut who, unless he is very
lazy, earns less than 20 florins a month--that is,
more than what he needs to live in Hadthramaut in
a comf ortable manner. 27
These Arabs established themselve s without diff iculty
in Indonesia. They became middlemen , small traders and
pe tty shop-keepers, thus penetrating into markets and
sources o f s upply from which European firms r emain a loof .
They combine the ancilla ry activity of rnoney lending with
18
these other businesses.
There were small numbers of non-Hadrami Arabs . . who tended to help the development of Islamic thought
in Java. Generally they were learned people who came
to Indonesia due to the stimulation given by their Indo-
nesian friends who returned home after they finished
studying in Makkah. These Arabs offered instructions
in certain subjects, primarily Arabie and Islamic Law.
They gradually developed into a group of non-~a1ramis.
Those who are called orang Arab (Arab people) are the
non-Hadrami Arabs and those who a.re called orang Hadra-. . maut (Hadrami people) are the Hadrami Arabs. According -- . . . . to van der Kroef1
The distinction itself is probably derived from
a gradually developing pattern of social dis
crimination between those Arabs whose predatory
trading methods and rapacious money lending
activities have made their name a curse in not
a few Indonesian villages, and others who engage
in no such sharp practices but are revered as
tv1uslim schoolmen and scholars and are thus truly
representative of the traditionally respected - 28
Orang Arab.
In the nineteenth century the Dutch government
opened the private Western industrial enterprises. The
development of these private enterprises by European
19
capital had its impact on the Indonesians and immigrants,
including the Arabs and Chinese, The role of the Arabs
and Chinese appeared in the fact that they were "the
bearers of medium-small agriculture and industry and
• · d" .. 29 ~nterme ~ary commerce, Ih other words, they l-lere
middlemen for commercial business between the Europeans
and the native Indonesi.ans. In this respect they "prof-
ited extremely from the growth of trade entailed by the
investment of European capital, and they made inevitable
contribution to economie development." 30 On the contrary,
private \vestern industri.al enterprise seemed to result
in a state of economie transition for the Indonesian
peasants. In this condition the peasants could hardly
cape with their economie difficulties because of an ever-
increasing financial hardship resulting from the intro-
duction of incarne t axes and the opening-up of village
. . f . 31 econom~es to ore~gners. Javanese peasants became
more pressed when the Dutch created the ill-famed Cultuur
Stelsel (Cul ti vat ion system) in J ava, \vhich lasted from
1832-1877. 32
According to the theory of this system, a J ava -
nese peasant was to be compelled to reserve one-fifth
of his l and for growing such products as were in great
demand on the European market. In practice, "one-third,
one-half, and even the \vhole of these irrigated fields
20
were used for that purpose." 33 The peasant, therefore,
was no longer free to decide for himself what to grow
on that part of his field, but he had to plant those
crops which the officials dictated to him; these were
crops such as sugar-cane, coffee, indigo and tobacco. 34
Moreover, the execution of this system opened up possi-
bilities for corruption because the officials themselves
received a certain percentage of the yield and were there-
fore personally interested in its volume. George
McTurnan Kahin writesa
In order to secure the effective support of the
regents, the government gave them grants of land
and made their office hereditary. In addition
it gave them, as well as lesser native officials,
a direct financial interest in the system's
operation, a percentage of the crops collected
from the peasantry. 35
In the words of van der Kroef a
The colonial government initiated a formidable
a rray of emancipation schemes which furthered
the loosening o f ancient communal bonds within
the village and destroyed its self-conditioned ,
self-sufficient character. 36
It has been estimated that f rom its beginning in 1832
till 1877 "the l ast yea r o f the net-profits of the
21
Indies, the system had poured approximately 832,000,000
37 florins into the Dutch treasury."
In this period the Arabs were fortunate in gain-
ing for themselves the position of middlemen who "forged
the link between the villagers and the outside world." 38
In the villages they tried to buy extra crops (sugar
cane, coffee and tobacco) at low priees by paying in ad-
vance. By travelling from village ta village it became
known ta the Arabs which of the villagers suffered from
money shortages. In this case they "turned very early
to money lending." 39 In this business the Arabs did not
hesitate ta cheat if it \vas ta their advantage. 40 Sorne
of the Hadramfs came by their wealth through means of . . this lending out of money ta Javanese villagers. If a
villager could not pay back in time--generally repayment
was arranged within a specified period--he could easily
lose his land and home. It might happen however that
the lender would extend the loan period. Morley wrote:
If after the end of this period the loan was still
un pa id, the lender may gi ve notice ta the borrm-ver
that he must repay before the end of a further
period, or else forfeit the right to redeem the
article deposited. 41
I t must be noted, however, tha t the re \vere
22
Hadrami scholars who were aware that those who enjoyed
such methods must be religious hypocrites. In Java
these Arabs were known for their liking for law suits,
and their incessant quarrels with the native 'ulama'
about religion. These quarrels especially displeased
the Dutch authorities, who were bound to abstain from
. f . 1" . ff . 42 every ~nter erence ~n re ~g~ous a a~rs.
Probably the pilgrimage to Makkah and other
activities associated with it were largely in the hands
of the Arab community. Recruitment of prospective hajis
was carried out by pilgrim shaykhs or brokers who,
working independently on behalf of Meccan shaykhs, ar-
ranged passages for a premium from shipping agents, es-
corted the pilgrims to Makkah, and there passed them
over to the highest bidding Meccan shaykhs or to the
shaykh on \vhose behalf they had been acting. 43 This
business ~vas on the whole a respectable and necessary
one, p3rticularly well suited to those Indonesian or
Malaysian Arabs who had local knowledge of and contacts
in Hejaz.
In the mid-nineteenth century, sorne two thousand
pilgrims were travelling annually to Makkah from Indo-
nesia; by the end of the century, the number had risen
to more than seven thousand. 44 The great majority,
23
however took passage from, and returned to, Singapore. 45
Thus there were many Indonesian migrations to Singapore
solely for the reason of undertaking the t~, the pil-
grimage to Nakkah. There were several reasons for this.
Throughout the century the Dutch colonial government
seemed to be distrustful of what was thought to be the
subversive political influence exercised by returning
hajis. Attempts were made to discourage the pilgrimage
by imposing restrictive regulations requiring, among
other things, a means test before departure and an exam-
. · 46 Th . . d 1 ~nat~on upon return. e eas~est way to avo~ t1ese
regulations, therefore, was to travel by way of Singapore,
where British requirements were less stringent. Nean-
while, the Netherlands did not establish a consulate in
Jeddah until 1872, and the Dutch government played no
part in the carriage of pilgrims late in the century. 47
Although the official attitude began to change after
1889 with the advent of c. Snouck Hurgronje as advisor
on Arabie and native affairs, "it was only in the be-
ginning of 20th century that the hadji policy lvhich had
been defined in 1859, was abolished." 48 The first decade
of the twentieth century continued to see the majority
of Indonesian pilgrims travelling by way of Singapore. 49
Sorne of these Indonesian pilgrims remained for several
years to earn sufficient money to take them to Makkah.
24
Others either settled in Malaya on their return or work-
ed there for a time to pay off passage debts incurred
in Jeddab.. 50
The religious practice of Hadramis, like those . . of Indonesians, was that of Shafiçites. In itself this
school prevailed to the exclusion of all others. Van
den Berg \'\l'rote 1
And no more are any heretical or heterodox
t-1ahomedans, like the Shiçi, Wahhabi, or Zaidi",
to be found there ••• There are no dervishes
in Hadthramaut. Moreover, eccentricities in
the matter of religion, known under the name
of tarika and forming the special occupation
of the different orders of dervishes, have never
established a footing there. 51
In Indonesia one may note that the Arabs, especially non-
savyid scholars, seemed not- to conceal their disdain for
the existing Gurus (Shaykhs) of t:ari:qah, but rather they
treated them as impostors, who exploited the loyalty of
their followers to obtain material benefit.
However, this did not prevent people from being
some\'\That supers ti tious in Hadramaut. They used to vi si t
venerated tombs, for examplea "that of Prophet HÜd, the
most important one; that of Prophet Salih in the valley
of Sarr; that of the founder of Sayyid of Hadthramaut
25
Ahmed bin 'Isa, surnamed al-Mohajir." 52 In addition,
there was also "a general belief in occult powers, amu-
1 ( ' ~ ) d ( . h ) " 53 Th 1 . ets azlma an sorcery Sl r • e atter lS
also seen to exist in kyais'· and santris' belief in
Indonesia. Even now one can easily find a kyai or a
santri who uses certain verses of the Qur,an as jimat
(amulet, charrn) to avert an evil spirit or for other
purposes, and acts as a dukun (healer).
In Indonesia the Ba "Ala\vr54 seemed to encourage
Muslims to visit the tombs of Ba 'Alawi: saints to pray
for the Saint's intercession on their behalf with God.
For example, Shaykh al-~abshi:'s tomb in Surabaya was
the site of annual celebrations. Similar celebrations
were also held at the tombs of other saints at Luar
55 Batang, Jakarta, Tegal, Pekalongan and Bogor. These
kinds of superstitions certainly were compatible with
Islamic mysticisrn, especially that kind of mysticism
which based its teaching on saint worship.
In Hadramaut we find that religion is the chief
abject of concern for its people. The great centres of
meeting 'vere the masques and schools, the latter being
dependencies of the former. They called their country
"Balad'l 'ilm wa'l-di:n [the land of science and religionJ," 56
though among the Bedouins comparatively few people were
literate. There were a large number of primary schools
26
where the children might be seen flocking every morning
to learn to write and read Arabie.
Having graduated from primary school students
continued studying Arabie grammar, Islamic Theology and
Law in the secondary school. With regard to Arabie
grarnmar, they used well-knovm books called Alfl:yah and
al-Aiurüml:yah. Concerning Islamic Theology they used
al-Risalah by Ahmad b. Zayn al-Habshl: and for Islamic . . Law (Figh) they used Safinat al-Najat by Salim b. 'Abd
- 57 Allah b. Sumayr. These books were widely diffused in
Indonesia and they were taught in pondok-pesantrens.
Because of economie difficul ties the majori ty of students
who graduated from secondary school went no further. Van
den Berg writesa
Those, however, who feel a call towards science,
go and attend the courses of celebrated scholars
es t ablished in the principal localities, in Hadthramaut, the superior education. The schol
ars explain the most celebrated works on grammar, law, and theology. As for gramrnar, the re are
the numerous and voluminous commentaries on the Al f iya and AjrÜmiya a in r egard to l aw, t here
are the Minhaj at-Talibin of an-Nawawi and the
Takrib or Fath~al Karib of al-Ghazzi, with their
commentaries; and lastly, in theology, there
are the commentaries on the Koran of a l-Baghawt
and of t he two J a lal-ad-Din, t he collection o f
27
traditions of a1-Bokh~rr, the Ihy~ 'u1Gm ad-din
of a1-Ghazz~1i, and the 'Umdat a1-'Aka'id of
N f~ 11 . h h . . 58 an- asa 1., -- a Hl. t t e1.r commentar1.es.
It must be noted, however, that those subjects
were "the on1y branches of human knmv1edge cu1tivated
. 1 . H d "sg ser1.ous y 1.n a ramaut. Van den Berg conc1uded that
"the sciences in \vhich the Ar8 b genius shane in the
Niddle Ages--geography, astronomy, mathematics, and
medicine--are a11 neg1ected in the highest degree." 60
\Vith regard to the Arab scho1ars in Indonesia
van den Berg writesa
The Arab scho1ars, smal1 number in the Indian
archipelago it is true, enjoy among their fe11ow
countrymen a consideration which wou1d not have
been expected, \vhen it is reco1lected, that proba
bly a third of them were nothing more than brig
ands in their own country. I have been at a
gathering of Arabs \vhere the richest merchants
and chiefs nominated by the Dutch Government
treated a comparative1y poor and obscure in a
manner which proved that they regarded him as
h . . 61 t e1.r super1.or.
Even though these scho1ars seemed to have control over
specifie Nuslim schools, these were on1y Qur'~n schools,
the curriculum of \vhich centered mainly on 1earning to
read and recite the Qur'~n. These schoo1s were primari1y
28
located in the villages and in the vicinities of Sura-
baya, Banyuwangi, Solo and Pekalongan. There \vere very
few Arabs who might have conducted instruction at pondok~
pesantrens. One may note that most of the pondok-
pesantrens in Java were run by Javanese kyais.
However, the religious influence of the ~a~rami
Arabs appeared mainly in the urban society where they had
a sizeable colony, and the populace, \vho consisted of a
mixture of races and ethnie groups, were far less in-
volved in the mystical practices. In Java, it is true,
the Islamic reform movements are only influential in the
cities. In the villages the traditional religious system
is still very strong. It seems tha t urban life has at
all t i mes provided a breeding ground for new ideas; such
cities as Jakarta, Surabaya and Solo, \vhere there are
many Arabs, conform to this pattern. The Arabs, there-
fore, appeared to have changed Islam in Java from a mys-
tical type to an orthodox type. To a certain extent
they consti tuted a religious vanguard \vho persuaded the
popula ce to stress Shari'ah rather than mysticism.
To sorne exten t i t \va s t rue that s orne Hadrami . . scholars and their followers were distinguished from the
native population by rigorous obse rvance of the duties
of r el i gion, but as van den Berg observed, "as f ar a s
29
the prescriptions of their law rela ting to war against
the infidels, I don't believe that one among them
troubles himself seriously about them." 62 Van den Berg
did not agree with "the opinion tha t Arab colonies con-
tained one of the elements considered most hostile to
their [Dutch people] government," 63 Van den Berg ob-
served that in any quarrel of the 19th century between
the Dutch colonial government and certain Indonesian
princes, for example, Perang Aceh (Achehnese War) in
Aceh, Perang Padri ( Padri \var) in Minangkabau, Perang
Diponegoro (Diponegoro \var) in Java, the I;TaÇramis tend
ed to be on the side of the Dutch colonial government.
Van den Berg gives Sayyid Mul)ammad b, Abubakar '"Aidid
as an e xample of Hadramfs who rendered important polit-. . ical services to the Dutch colonial government and then,
as a consequence, was granted by the government "the
honorary title of Najor in 1877, and two years later that
of Pangeran,--that i s the highest title of native no
bility ,"64 Van den Berg wrotea
The example of Sa:cyid '"Aidid is not the only one
that might be mentioned. Several ether distin
guished Arabs have given proof of the ir loyalty 65 to the Dutch government.
Ara bs seemed to understand perf ectly that the Dutch
30
govern!nent was superior to them in the field of poli tics,
industries, trade and science.
2. The Continuity and Change of Islam in Java
If one observes very closely, Islam in Java has
always been in a continuous process of change from the
day it \\ras first brought there centuries ago. The birth
and development of Islamic reform was, therefore, a fur-
ther continuation of this process of change.
At the time 'ivhen Islam was introduced to lndo-
nesia, the dominant religious pattern was a mixture of
tradi tional beliefs, ~vhich developed hundreds of yea.rs
ago, and a mysticism superimposed on them during the
Buddist and Hindu periods. ~vi th regard to the tra-
ditional beliefs of Indonesians Jeanne S. Mintz writes:
The central theme of Indonesian religious life ••• is based on ancient Indonesian belief in a divine,
cosmic arder of nature in '!.vhich all aspects of life,
are woven into a harmonious pattern. Spirits
dominated and still dominate the Indonesian world
in part; since many of important spirits were
believed to be the souls of the dead, a reverance
for ancestors remains an important facet of re
ligion ...• There are, of course, evil spirits
as well, and it is of cardinal importance to
ward off disaster by trying to keep these evil
31
ghosts satisfied too. Things go well when the
whole spirit community is contentented. 58
During the ascendency of Hinduism and Buddhism in Indo-
nesia benveen the ninth and thirteenth centuries, the
traditional beliefs of Indonesians have been fused with
these t\vo religions; even Hinduism and Buddhism "have
been merged and blended with each other. There are no
sharp lines delineating one religion from another, but
rather delicate shadings at various points along a con
tinuum."67
It has been mentioned that Islam \vas brought to
Indonesia from Gujarat in \vestern India, \vhere it was
influenced by Hinduism. This mixture of Islam with
Hindu elements facilitated the introduction of the new
faith among the Indonesians. Hmvever, Islam \vas ac-
ceptable in Indonesia in so far as it was able to ac-
cept the old religious pattern and able to associ2te
itself with existing practices and beliefs. In this
respect Islam was fortuna te because it was spread by
Süfis: . Islam appealed to the Indonesians because in
their spirit worship and ancestor cult they were
essent i a lly mystics, and the brand o f Islam
which was first introduced \va s mys tic in chara c-
32
ter. It was easy for Indonesians to understand . . . . d . 68 ~t, apprec~ate ~t, an use ~t.
The Muslims in Indonesia, therefore, laid more stress on
Islamic mysticism (ta~awwuf) than on scholastic theology
and jurisprudence. However, due to the process of the
change of Islam from heterodoxy to orthodoxy, this state
of affairs changed. In \vest Java, for example, which
had less Hindu influence, the thin strata of Hindu be-
1 iefs quiclcly disappeared, \'lhi le in Central and East
Java, Hindu influences \\l'ere strong. T. \v. Arnold wrotea
But, though the work of conversion in the \vest of
Java proceeded more slowly than in the ether parts
of the island, yet, m.;ing largely to the fact that
Hinduism had not taken such deep root among the
people here a s in the centre of the island, the
victory of Islam over the heathen worship \vhich
it supplanted was more complete than in the dis
tricts \vhich came immediately under the rule of
Rajas [kings] of Hajapahit [Hindu Kingdom in East
J avaJ. 69
Neamvhile, r egular shipping traff ic between
Europe and the Orient established direct contact between
Indonesia and Ara bia ; steam navigation and the opening
of the Suez canal facilitated intercourse be t\veen the
people of both countries and greatly acceler2.ted the
process of cultural r eorientations among Indones ians.
Sorne Indonesian pilgrims on the !Jill made a longer stay
- ---·- - ·-···-··- -·-··
-
33
in Arabia in arder to complete their theological studies.
It was said that there was a large colony of Ja,vis in
Makkah who \vere in constant communication wi th their
f 11 . h . . . 1 d 70 e ow contrymen ~n t e~r na~~ve an • These Indo-
nesians, joined by an annual flow of Indonesian pilgrims,
supplied a large number of religious books. It may be
noted that sorne publications of Ma l ay and Indonesian
works also appeared due to the establishment of a Malay
printing office as a section of the Governmen t Press in
Makkah in 1884 under the supervision of Zein ibn Muhammad
from Petani (Malakka)--C. Snouck Hurgronje called him
"a savant of merit." 71 Among other publications area
Sir~i al-Hud~ (dogma t i c book) and Minh~i al-Sal~m (dis
cussing I man and Isl~m) by Za inuddin f rom Ha l a ysia ; Furü'
al-Masa'il (Islamic dogma and law), al-Durr al-Thamin
(dogma tic book), Kashf a l-Ghummah (treatise on li f e and
death) by Da'ud Abdul l ah from Pe t ani; a Ma lay commenta ry
on Jawhar al-Taw~id (by Ibrahim al-Laqani) and a commen
t a r y on ~ikam of Ibn 'A~a' All~h by the unknown Acheh
nese . These books , a lon g \vi t h sorne Na l ay and Indonesian
\vorks publ ished in Cairo, 72 helped t o inf luence t he de -
velopment of Islamic thought in Indonesia .
The pondok-pesantrens , t hrough t he influx of
t hese books , gradually be came more orthodox , and s o did
34
many people who \vere influenced by Arabs, especially
the pilgrims who returned from Makkah. Sir Thomas w. Arnold was correct when he said that& "Mecca has been
said to have more influence on the religious life of
- - 73 these Islands than on Turkey, India or Bukhara." At
this stage in tirne one could contend that Arabia began
to take the place once occupied by India in religious
practice, and orthodoxy began to illurninate on a large
scale the heterodox religious practices.
In the early t\ventieth century MulJarnmad 'Abduh,
whose group later became knmvn as Salafi'y8 h, had a vir-
tually unnoticed but nevertheless tremendous influence
upon Islamic thinking in Indonesia. It was the period
ical al-t•Ianar 'l.vhich brought this new thought to a large
public, not only to Egyptians, but also to Arabs in oth-
er countries, including Arab emigrants abroad, and to
Indonesian Muslims who studied at al-Azhar or in Makkah.
It had come to van den Berg's attention that sorne period-
icals, vJhich were published in various ci ti es in the
M"ddl E t f d h . I d · 74 Th ~ e as , oun t e~r way to n ones ~a. e most
impor t ant periodical wa s a l- 'Unvat al-lvuthqa (the Indis
soluble Bond), which \va s written by Jamal al-DI'n al-
Afghani and Nul}.ammad ' . Abduh. Deliar Noer concluded,
from his study of the ref ormist movement that this period-
~- · .... ~
-
35
ical "had exercised a tremendous influence on the move
ment."75
Perhaps the spread of these periodicals is one
of the import;:mt results of Huhammad Kiamil Bey, Turkish
Consul General in Batavia from 1897-1899, who tried to
foster links between South-East Asian Arabs and the
Middle East. 76 Anthony Reid writes:
Tmvards the end of 1897, the Arabie al-HalÜmat of
Constantinople, the Tamarat al-Funün of 8eirut, and
several Egyptian Nelvspapers a cquired correspondents
based either in Batavia or Singapore who r egularly
complained ë.bout the injustices to which i'·1uslims
in general and Arabs in particular were subjected
by the Dutch. This press campaign aroused high
hopes that Turkey would intervene to have European
sta tus given to Notherlands Indies Arabs. 77
Soon after his appointment, Kiamil encouraged Arabs to
send Arab youths f or studying in Conspantinople. "Eleven
young Arabs left for schooling in Constantinople under
his (Kiamil Bey's) auspices. These students enjoyed
royal patronage while in the Turki sh capital f rom 1898
to 1904." 78
Meanwhile, in the first decade o f the twentieth
century , history recorded the first religious r eform
journal in Na laya ca lled al - Imam (1906-1908). Those
- - ---··- ····· - ·-·· ··· · - ... ····-···· ·
-·
36
who sponsored this periodical, including four leading
figures, were apparently fami 1 iar wi th the 'ivorks of
Egyptian reformists. First, tvlul}ammad 'fahir b. Jalal
al-Dfn al-Azhar{ from Sumatra was a graduate of al-Azhar
and was a close friend of Rashfd Ri~a. Second, ~1ul}ammad
b. Salim al-Kalalf was a wealthy Arab merchant who had
spent sorne time in Nakkah and t:gypt and he therefore
became acquainted with the works of Hul}ammad 'Abduh and
Rashfd Ri9a. The same happened with the third, Haji
'Abbas b. tvluhammad Taha of Singapore. The fourth one . . was Sayyid Shaykh b. Ahmad al-Hadf, who is said to have . been influenced by Nul)ammad 'fahir, wi th 'ivhom he had a
1 . . 79 c ose assoc~at~on. According to W. R. Roff these
sponsors "seemed merely to translate from Arabie 'ivorks
of one kind or another, but the sources were rarely
stated." 80
It must be noted that the extent of al-Imam's
circulation seemed very small and a large proportion of
its subscribers lived in Indonesia, particularly in
~inangkabau. Descended from a Minangkabau family,
Muhammad Tahir sent copies of al-Imam to his friends . . .
and pupils, since he had been a teacher in Nakkah,
including Shaykh Nuhammad Djamil Djambek, Haji Abdullah
Ahmad and Haji Abdul Karim Amrullah. 81 Influenced by
-
37
this journal along with al-Man~r, Abdullah Ahmad issued
from ~1inangkabau in 1911 a magazine named al-Munir. 82
This magazine gained a very wide circulation, and one
of i ts subscri bers f:.yai Dachlan \va s the founder of the
Huhammadiyah movement. It 'vas he who translated several
articles from al-Munir into Javanese for the readers in
J a.va. 83
In the first issue al-Imam claimed "to remind
those '\.vho are forr;etful, arouse those \vho sleep, guide
those \vho stray, and gi ve a voice to tho se who speak
\vith wisdom. " 84 Al-Imam condemned the dogmatic mental
ity of blind obedience (taqlid buta) to the prescribed
law. On the contrary it encouraged people to exercise
ijtihad (individual investigation). In its opinions
(fatw~s) on disputed matters of religion al-Imam tried
to refer to the primary sources of the Islamic doctrine,
the Qur "an and the Sunnah.
In comparison to Indonesian reformist Nuslims,
Ha l ay reformists did not found any organized institution.
Neither a school of their own nor a movement \vas f ounded .
Hul)ammad 1-'~hir himself seemed to move f rom one position
to another. Afte r the publication of a l-Imam stopped
at the end of 1908, Huhammad Tahir was appointed instruc-. . tor o f magistrate s in Perak in 1909, and later held
38
a similar post in Jahore. In 1920 he joined Shaykh Hadi
to help run a religious school named Madrasah al-Mashhor
in .?enang for five yea.rs. Later on he became head teach
er at a religious school in J ahore. 85 However, the most
significant activity of Malay reformist riuslims was in
publication. After the disappearance of the al-Imam
periodical, they tried to run other publications, for
example, Neracha (1911-1915), Tunas Nelayu (1913-1915)
and al-IchHan (1923-1931). 86 The import8 nce of these
publications was to propagate the ideas of Islamic ref orm.
Influenced by his r e cognition of the above cir-
cumstances, Ahmad Dachlan founded in Jogyakarta (in Java)
the Muharnmadiyah in 1912. The motivation behind his es-
tablishing this organization might be summarized as fol~
lowa
1) After his stay in Makkah in 1890 , and his later r e s
idence there (1 903-1905), he seemed to be familiar
with the idea of Islamic ref orm.
2) Joining Budi Utomo (Pure Endeavour) organizat i on in
1909, an organiza tion primarily concerned \vith im-
proving education and cul t ure , other members sug-
gested to Ahmad Dachlan that he should e sta blish
"a well-organized religious school backed by an
organization of a more permanent character in order
39
to avoid the fate of traditional pondok-pesantrens
\·lhich generally had to be closed after the death of
the kyai concerned," 87
3) A meeting with Ahmad Surkati in 1912, in which they
discussed the contact of ta.fsir al-Manar, encouraged
both of them to found the organization needed to de
velop ideas of Islamic reform, 88
Based on its reformist philosophy appearing in
its constitution--stRting "that the vitality of the
Muslims is less in modern times than it was formerly;
that reform is needed to restore the Islamic world to
its former position of strength; and that Huslims lost
political control in certain areas of the world because
'moral degradation, spiritual disintegration, intellec-
1 . d d . ' . 1 ' . ' tl 89 tua corrupt~on an poverty occurre ~n 1v1us ~rn soc~ety .
--Muhammadivah focused its movernent, at first, on edu-
cational and social efforts, Rnd then on soreading ideas
of Islamic reform. Muhammadiyah established sekolah
umums (secular schools) as \vell as madrasahs. The sekolah
umums of ~!uhammadiyah provided the instruction taught in
Dutch g overnment schools and also taught religion (Arabie,
Tawhid, Fiqh and history of Islam). Delia r Noer observed
that in 1925 ~fuhammadiyah had esta blished "eight H. r.s.
(Hollands Inlandse School -- Dutch Speaking native ( e le-
40
mentary) school); one teachers' training school (at
Jogyakarta); thirty-two 'second class' five-year
schools; one schakelschool (Dutch language elementary
school); fourteen madrasah--all with 119 teachers and
4,000 pupils."90 The social effort of Nuhammadiyah fo-
cused on establishing medical clinics and orphanages.
In 1925 it operated "two clinics (in Jogyakarta and
Surabaya) where 12,000 patients received treatment; one
poor house (home for the blind), and two orphanages." 91
These educational and social activities of Nuha!i'madiyah
were regarded a s being stimulated by Christian mission-
aries. "In short," W. F. Wertheim writes, "the move-
ment '"as active in all those fields in \vhich the Chris-
tian missionaries had been \vorking for sorne time al
ready."92
With regard to the effort of spreading reformism,
Muhammadiyah, as other ref orm movements, believed that
by returning to t he true sources of Islam, the QurJan
and ijadith, Islam in Indonesia could be purified of all
its corruotions by replacing them with the true teachings
and practices of the prophet Muhammad. On the other . hand Muhammadiyah also tried to avoid the danger of taqlid
buta (blind acceptance) \vhich had become a major charac-
t eristic of Indones i an Muslims. Consequently ~uhammadiyah
-
41
agreed to open the gate of ijtihad (the right for indi-
vidual investigation). In this respect Muham;·nadiyah, in
1927, established Najlis Tarjih or a council for prominent
religious scholars. Deliar Noer says that:
The funtion of this council \vas to issue fatwa or
ascertain the ~ukm (hukum,judgment) of particular
questions on which the .tviuslim comml..mity diff ered . lf 93 among Ltse •
It seems that the Majlis Tarjih was also expected to be
able to interpret Islam from its true source s which are
compatible with modern life. 94 This then would cure the
Muslims of their antiintellectual disease which origi-
nated from taqlid buta, a disease \vhich they had suf fered
from for centuries.
Since the time that the reformist Muslim movement
in Sumatra as well as in Java established their schools,
ther e were two separate types of rel i gious schools in
Indonesia. On the one hand t l1ere were the old religious
schools run by kya is and their santris ( disciT)les ). On
the other hand there were mod e rn religious schools estab-
lished by reformist Muslims. Behind this division stood
a basic division of spirit. Those t wo systems of educa-
tion produced two di fferent educated classes among Indo-
nesian Muslims, each \vith a spirit of its own. These
42
two classes were the kaum tua and the kaum muda. The
kaum tua (old fashioned people or conservatives) were
those who held that "as 1.ve must be lieve in the Qur'an
and the words of the Prophet, so it is obligatory to
believe in 'vhatever is given us by the ' -, ulama , " where-
as the kaum muda (young people or modernists) held that
"all that is obligatory in (our) religion is to believe
in the Qur'an and ~ad{th, for there is no man but the
Prophet who is free from error." 95 In keeping with
reformist outlook, the kaum muda crea ted a conflict with
the kaum tua or conservative Muslims. In this case, one
may consider tha.t the development of Indonesian Muslims
since the 1910s has always been characterized by this
conf lict. This thesis, therefore, will discuss this
element in the third chapter.
-
43
FOOINOTES
1Justus N. van der Kroef, Indonesia in the Nodern
1vorld, 2 Pts. (Bandunga Masa Baru, 1954), I, p. 250; see
also his article, "The Arabs in Indonesia," The Middle
East Journal, VII (1953), p. 300. 2van der Kroef, "The Arabs," p. 301. 3Ibid.; see also J. A. E. Morley, "The Arabs and
the Eastern Trade," Journal of Nalayan Branch of the
Royal Asiatic Society, XXII, Pt. I, p. 155. 4 Army Vandenbosch, The Dutch East Indiesa Its
Government, Problems, and Politics (Berkeley a Universi ty
of California, 1944), pp. 5-6. 5rbid., p. 6. Concern ing the Chinese in Indonesia
see Robert C. Bane , "The Role o f the Chinese in Indonesia." A paper submitted to Yale University, Foreign Service
Institute Nonograph Series, June 1951; Harley F. Nac Nair,
The Chinese Abroad (Shanghai: The Commercial Press, 1924). Concerning the European, see Paul w. van der Veur, "The
Eurasian of Inclonesia 1 A Problem and Challenge in Colonial History," Journal of South Asian History, IX (Sept.
1968), pp. 191-202. 6van der Kroef , Indonesia, p. 251. 7George Fadlo Houran4 Ara b Seafaring in the Indian
Ocean in Ancient and Early Nedieval Times (Princeton, N.J.a
Princeton University Press, 1951), p. 78.
8 Van cte r Kroef, Jndonesia , p. 252. 9E. Denison Ross and Ei l een Power , eds., Ibn Battuta.
44
Travels in Asia and Africa 1325-1354, trans. by I-I. A. R. Gibb (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1929), p. 302;
see also Ibn Ba~-çü~ah, The Travels of Ibn Batuta, trans.
by Samuel Lee (London: Parbury, Allen and Co. , 1825),
PP• 222-223. 10G. R. Tibbetts, "Early Nuslim Traders in South
East Asia," Journal of the Nalayan Branch of the Royal
Asiat~c Society, XXX (1957), p. 44.
11van den Berg, Hadthramaut and the Arab Colonies
in the Indian Archipelago, trans. by Hajor C. ~v. H. Sealy
(Bombay: The Government Central Press, 1887), p. S8;
Tibbetts.,"Early Huslim Traders," p. 44.
12Norley,"The Arabs," p. 155.
13R. B. Serjeant, ed., South Arabian Poetry' Prose
and Poetry from Hadramaut (London• Taylor's Foreign Press,
1951), p. 4, n. 8.
14w. H. Ingrams, A Report on the Social, Economie
and Political Condition of the Hadramaut (Colonial papers
No. 123, London, 1936), p. 141.
15van den Berg, Hadthramaut, p. 46.
16Ibid.
17Ibid., PP~ 38, 47-48. 18J. Schleifer, "Hadramawt," Encyclopaedia of Islam,
Old ed., II, p. 209; see also van den Berg, Hadthramaut,
pp. 40-41.
19van den Berg, Harlthramaut, p. 40.
20Ibid.; for further information on the names of sayyid fa:nilies see o. Lofgren, "Ba 1 Alawi," :2ncyclopaedia
45
of Islam, New ed., I, p. 829.
21A - '· - - 235 236 1-Yan ~, Tarikh, pp. - ; Doreen Ingrams,
A Survey of Social and Economie Conditions in the Aden
Protectorate (Londona The Government Printer British
Administration, 1949), pp. 38~39; Naji, Tarikh, pp. 70-71; van den Berg, Hadthramaut, pp. 45-46.
22For further information see Ingrams, Aden
Protectorate, P• 49. 23Richard H. Sanger, The Arabian Peninsula (Ithaca,
N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1954), p. 224.
p. 49.
24Ibid.; see also Ingrams, Aden Protectorate,
25van den Berg, Hadthramaut, p. 40. 26Van der Kroef, "The Arabs," p. 306. 27van den Berg, Hadthramaut, p. 47 28van der Kroef, Indonesia , pp. 255-256. 29u.s. Department of Commerce Office of Technical
Services, Japanese Hilitary Administration in Indonesia
(Washingtona Joint Publication Research Service, 1963), p . 35; for further information see pp. 35-54.
30Ibid., P• 45. 31van der Kroef, Indonesia , P• 261. 32A brief account on Cultuur Stelsel see George
NcTurnan Kahin, Nationalism and Revolution in Indonesia
(Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1952), pp. 11-15; Vandenbosch , The Dutch East Indies, pp. 58-62; G. H. van
der Kolff , "European Influence on Native Agricul ture ," in
B. Shrieke, The Effect o f Western Inf luence on Native
46
Civilization in the Malay Archipelago (Batavia; G. Kolff
and Co., 1929), PP• 107-113.
33van der Kolff, "European Influence," p. 110.
341, h ' ... a ~n, Nationalism, p. 12 •
35Ibid., p. 11.
36van der Kroef, Indonesia, p. 261.
37vandenbosch, The Dutch East Indies, p. 59
38van der Kroef, Indonesia, p. 261.
39Ibid.
4°For the details see Horley, "The Arabs,"
pp. 169-170; see also van der Kroef, Indonesia, PP• 260-
267.
41 Morley, "The Arabs," p. 169.
42For an excellent account of the Dutch colonial
policy concerning Indonesian Islam, see Harry J. Benda,
The Crescent and the Rising Sune Indonesian Islam under
the Japanese Occupation, 1942-1945 (The Haguea W. van
Hoeve, 1958), pp. 19-31.
43 For details of the Shaykh system in Makkah as
it applied to Indonesian pilgrims see c. Snouck Hurgronje,
Mekka in the Latter Part of the 19th Century, trans. by
Mohahan (Leiden: Late E. J. Brill, 1931), pp. 222-223.
44J. Vredenbregt, "The Haddj1 Sor:le of Its Fea
tures and Functions in Indonesia," Biidragen Tot de
Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, CXVIII (1962), p. 93; see
also Appendix II, p. 149.
45Ibid., P• 130.
46s 'b'd ee .!.....1..._., PP• 98-100
47
4 7 Ibid., p. 130. 48Ibid. ---- ' p. 100. 49Ibid., p. 117. 50Ibid., p. 118. 51van den Berg, Hadthramaut, p. 36. 52Ibid.
53Ibid., p . 37. 54B- · 1 . 1 t d . H d a lS a geneo oglca erm use ln a ramaut,
especially among the sayyids and shayl<hs of Hadrélmaut,
to form individual and collective proper names, e.g. - 1 ... - ' - - ,, -Ba Ala1-n, Ba Ab bad, Ba FaÇ-1, see o. Lofgren, "Ba,"
Encyclopaedia of Islam, New ed., I, p. 828. Ba 'Ala1vl.
Arabs in Indonesia claimed to be the descendants from
'All.. Their lineal descent as follows: 'Alawl. b. 'Abd/
'ubayd Allah b. Ahmad b. 'Isa al-Muhajir b. 'All. b • . Ja'far al -~adiq b. NW}ammad al -Baqi r b. 'Al l. Zayn
al-'Abidl.n b. ~usayn b. 'All. b. AbÜ Talib, see L~fgren, "Ba 'Almvl.," p. 829.
n. 72.
55Noer , The Modernist Muslim Xovement, p. 57,
56see Schle ifer, "Hadramawt," P• 209. 57v d B an en erg ,
58Ibid., p . 38. 59I bid.
60Ibid.
Hadthramaut, PP • 37-38.
61 Ibid., PP• 47-48. 62Ibid ., p. 53.
48
63rbid., PP• 52-53. 64Ibid., p. 55.
65Ibid.
66Jeanne s. Mintz, Indonesiaa A Prof ile (Princeton,
N.J. a D. van Nostrand Company, 1961), p. 127. 67Ibid., P• 130.
68Kenneth Perry Landon, Southeast Asia Crossroad
of Religions (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press,
1948), PP• 138-139.
69Sir Thomas Arnold, Preaching of Islama A History
of Propagation of Huslim Faith, 2nd ed. (London: Constable
and Company, 1913), p. 386.
70snouck Hurgronje, Mekka, p. 291. Everybody
who came f rom East Indian Archipelago and Malaya \vas
called "Jawl," see ibid., p. 6.
71 Ibid., P• 286.
72Ibid., PP• 286-287.
73Arnold, Preaching o f Islam, p. 407.
74van den Berg observed that these Arabie periodicals a r e as follows: al-Jaw~ib (Constantinople), al-Insin
(Constantinople), al-Jannah (Beirut), Thamarat a l-Funün
( Beirut ), Lisan al-~al (Beirut), al -Wa~~ ( Alexandria), RawcJ.a t al-Iskandari:yah (Alexandria) and al~ 'Ur\vah
al-l"luthqa (Paris), see his Hc.dt!lramaut, p. 52, n. 1.
75 Noer, Nuslim Novement, p . 57.
76Anthony Re id , "Nineteenth Century Pan-Islam in
Indones ia and Halaysia ," The Jqurn_9-_l _ _pf Asian Studies ,
49
XXVI, No. 2 (February, 1967), p. 280.
77Ibid., P• 281.
78I· •ct 280 _Q,1_o' P• • 79w. R. Roff, "Kaum Huda-Kaum Tua: Innovation
and Reaction among the Nalays, 1900-1941," in K. G.
Tregonning, ed., Papers_on Malayan History (Singapore:
Journa l South East Asian History, 1962), pp. 168-170.
80Ibid,, P• 170,
81 Nulçti Ali, Alam Pikiran Islam Hodern di Indo
nesia (Jogyakarta: Nida, 1971), p. 42.
82An account on Islamic reformism in i'1inangkabau
has been \vritten by Hurni Djamal, "Abdul Karim Amrullah."
83Ali, Alam Pikiran, p. 43.
84 Al-Imam, No. 1 (July, 1906), P• 8, quoted by
R.off,"Kaum Muda-Kaum Tua," p. 165.
85Roff, "Kaum Nuda-Kaum Tua," p. 169.
86Ibid.
87Noer, Muslim Movement, P• 75.
88.~\li , "Huhammadiyah ," P• 48.
89Federspiel, "Nuhammadiyah," p. 60.
90Noer, Musl im Movement, p . 83; see also
Federspiel, "Muhammadiyah ," p . 58; \'1. F. Wertheim, Effects
of l'V'estern Civilization on Indonesian Society (New York :
Internat iona l Secretariat Institute of Pacifi e Relation,
1950), p. 57.
91Noer, tvluslim ~'lavement, p . 83.
50
92~vertheim, Effects of \vestern Civilization,
p. 57.
93Noer, Muslim Movement, P• 80.
94For the d e tails and criticism of Mailis Tarjih
see Federspiel, "tvluha c~madiyah," PP• 67-69.
95 Roff, "Kaum Huda-Kaum Tua," p. 163.
CHAPTER II
SHAYKH AHMAD SURKAT! Al'W THE IRSHADI MOVEtvŒNT .
1. The Origin of the Irshadi: Hovement
Until the close of the 19th century, the edu-
cational interest of the Arabs in Indonesia seemed to
be confined to Qur'an schools. These schools offered
the pupils recitation of "the Qur'an in the Arabie text
without insisting upon their understanding [it]."l In
addition the students were also offered instruction in
wudÜ' (ritual ablution) and salah (the five daily de--·- ·--votions). "Neither instruction in writing, nor in
arithmetic nor in anything else is offered" by the
teachers. The so-called kataman wa.s "a festival to
celebrate the fact that the child has read all the thirty
,- 3 chapters of the Qur an." Among the rich Arab merchants
who wished their half-caste children to receive more
advanced r eligious education, most sent them to Hadra
maut.4 According to van den Berg the purpose of this
was for their children to "learn to speak the tangue of
their father" and prevent them from "becoming worthless
fellows." 5 Nothing is mentioned by van den Berg con-
cenrning those Arab youth who r e turned to Indonesia or
51
52
Malaya after staying for a few years in Hadramaut except
that "many among them begin to employ Malay as their
habitual language. They seek the society of the corn-
rades of their youth, and shun th2t of Arabs born in
Hadthramaut. Sorne give way to gambling or other for-
hidden pleasures, sometimes even to the a buse of opium
or alcoholic drinks." 6
Kiamil Bey, \vhen he \vas appointed Turkish Consul
General in Batavia in 1897, seems to have encouraged
the sending of Indonesi an students to Istambul \vi th
scholarships from the Ottoman Empire. This practice met
with a good response in the Ara b community and eleven
young Arabs l eft for schooling in Istambul. 7 In arder
that ethers could be sent, a number of l earned Arabs
among the sayyids togeth er \vi th various people of the
non-sayyid group founded a benevolent s ociety in 1901,
named a l-Jam 'iyah a~Khayriyah (Benevolent Associa tion)
and known as Jamiat Khair. The founders of this asso-
ciation were al-'AydarGs b. Ahmad b. Shih~b, Euhammad . . - ,_
al-Faqir and Sa id b. 'Ali b. Ahmad al-Shih~b. . It was
l egally r ecognized by the Dutch government on July 17,
1905. 8 Although the majority of its members \Jere of
Arab origin t his a s sociation wa s also opened to na tive
Indones ian Muslims. Among the latt er group \va s the
53
founder of the Nuhammadiyah movement, Ahmad Dachlan,
who became a member around 1909. 9 Generally its leaders
were chosen from \veal thy Arabs, most of '\vhom were sayyids
"who \vere able to devote their time to the new organiza
tion wi thout having to \vorry wi th earning a 1 i ving." 10
This association saon became devoted to improve-
ments within the educational field. It sent several
youths to Turkey to pursue advanced study and opened ele-
mentary schools. The elementary schools became very im-
portant since the Ottoman scholarships "were saon ham-
pered by the lack of funds as well as by the decline of
the caliphate." 11
The Jamiat Khair school was not exclusively re-
ligious since it o f fered a number of non-relig ious sub-
jects such as arithmetic, history and geography. The
medium of instruction \vas the Indonesian language r ather
than Arabie. "Dutch was not t aught; instead English was
12 compulsory."
A very interesting fact about Jamiat Khair \vas
that it invited c apable teachers from abroad to teach at
its school. In 1911 four teachers from Arab countries
were invited to teach by Jamiat l(hayr with the hope that
they would improve the school with their knowledge of
Sunni teachings. The f our were Shaykh AQmad Surkati of
·-·(_,
·· '''
54
Sudan, Shaykh M~ammad Tayyib of Marocco, Shaykh Mu~ammad
b. 'Abd al-~amrd of Makkah (but Sundanese in origin) and
al-Hashimr (a native of Tunis). 13
Soon after they arrived in Jakarta, Jamiat Khair
opened two branch schools 1 one v.ras located in Bogor and
,.,as directed by Muhammad 'Abd al-Haml:d, and the other . . was at Kreket (in Jakarta), directed by ~'lu~amrnad !ayyib.
Surkatr was made the insoector of all the Jarniat Khair
h 1 d b d . J k 14 sc oo s, an was ase Ln a arta.
The leaders of Jamiat Khair seemed to have great
confidence in Surkati's works. It was on his recornmen-
dation that Jamiat Khair invited other teachers from
abroad. In 1912 one of his own brothers, joined by three
other teachers, carne to Jakarta. They included AbÜ
al-Fagl Nu~ammad al-Satr al-Surkatr (Surkatr•s brother),
Shaykh Mu~ammad NÜr b. Mu~ammad Khayr al-An~arr, Shaykh
Mu~arnmad al-'Aqrb and Shaykh Hasan ~arnrd al-An~arf.
All of them were from Sudan. They all joined AQ.rnad
Surkatf in Jakarta except Shaykh Mu~ammad a l-'Aqib who
launched a new J amiat school branch in Surabaya. 15
I t may be noted that sorne o f these f ore i gn
teachers were acquainted '\vi th the 'tvorks of Egyptian
reforrners, Nu~amrnad 'Abduh and Rashfd Riga. Nuhammad . NÜr and Mul}ammad a l-'Aqib had studied f or severa l years
55
at al-Azhar and had been pupils of Muhammad 'Abduh. 16 . Surkatf gained knowledge about reformism through cor-
responding with sorne Azhar scholars. 17 Nuharamad NÜr, . \vho became one of the teachers at Gordon College in
Sudan from 1906 to 1911, 18 might have influenced his
friends who went with hio to Indonesia. The history
of Islam in Sudan records that there were a number of
teachers and judges, including Shaykh Muhammad Mustafa . . al-Haraghf, ·who \vere follm·1ers of fYlulJarnnad 'Abduh.
Charles C. Adams \v-rote 1
Shaykh ï-Ius"t;afa \vas formerly Supreme Sharf 'ah Judge
for the Sudan, having been appointed to the office
on the recommendation of 'Abduh. A number of
others of 'Abduh's disciples have served in the
Sudan as judges and as teachers in Gordon IVIemorial
College. 19
These teachers emphasized their teaching of Arabie, which
\vas important because a knmvledge of Arabie provided a
means to understand the basic texts of Islam. 'Abduh
had indicated that teaching Arabie was one of his primary
aims. "To revive a general knmvledge of the language
\vas to provide the means to reform religion." 21 Another
important method of their teaching was to develop the
minds of the students through emphasis on understanding
56
d . . . th th 1 . b . . 22 an cr~t~c~sm ra er an earn~ng y memor~zat~on.
As teachers, they tried to guide their students to sound
methods of reasoning. But in reaffirming v1hat they be-
lieved to be the fundamental attitude of Islam with re-
gard to reason, they \vere contradicting what had been,
for centuries, the established practice among savyid
group, for their belief that all Muslims were equal
caused their estrangernent from the sayyid group of Jamiat
Khair, ':.-Jho fel t that this idea posed a very dangerous
threat to their favoured position within the Muslim com
munity in Indonesia. 23
The invitation for these teachers to come to Indo-
nesia was arranged by Arabs who had been influenced by
the \vorl<.s of the reformists. These were 1 'Abd Allah b.
AbÜ Bakr al-~abshi, M~ammad b. 'Abd al-Ra~man b. Shihab,
Nul}ammad b. 'Abd Allah al-Sha-ç:arr, A~mad b. 'Abd Allah
- t - - 24 al-Saqqaf and Abd al-Mawla b. Yahya. These reformist; . Arabs together with foreign teachers tried to encourage
people to treat sayyids as equals. Sorne non-sayyids
dispensed with practising taqbil (kissing the hands of
sayyids). This -vms started by 'Umar r-1anqush, the head
of local Arab community in Jakarta. 25 It has been men
tioned previously that taqbil was considered a require-
ment for a non-sayyid whenever he met a sayyid. Further-
57
more, the struggle for the equality of non-s2.yyids found
support from the fatw~ (legal opinion) given by Rashfd
Rid~, who considered marriage between a non-sayyid and . a sharffah permissible. This opinion was in answer to
the letter of Shaykh 'Umar al-'A~~~s (a prominent sayyid
in Singapore) en ti tled "The l'Jarriage between a Sharffah
and a non-Sharff and Esteemed Position of Ahl al-Bayt
[the descendant of 'Alf]" with the date Muharram 1323 A.H • . (Narch 1905 A.D.). Follmving the belief of the sayyid
group al-'Att~s affirmed as followsa .. The equality of a bridegroom to a bride in marriage
is a necessity. l'lith regard to ancestral lineage
there are four degreesa
(1) Non-Arabs are not equal to the Arabs.
(2) Non-Qurashaites are not equal to Qurashaites.
(3) Qurashaites are not equal to BanG H~shim.
(4) BanG H~shim are not equal to the descendants
f - H 26 o Fatimah through asan and Husayn. . . . Thus the highest degree was filled by the descendants
of Fatimah through Hasan and Husayn, then follmved the . . . BanG Hashim, the people of Quraysh, other Arabs and lastly
non-Arab people. Based on those conditions 'Attas con-. . cludeda
It is not permissible to marry the sayyidah to a
58
non-sayyid, even if she accepts it and disregards
quality or even \vith the agreement of her \vali,
for the right of equality is based on essential
h d . d 27 onour an not requ~re one.
Rashid Rida in his opinion concluded:
Marriage is ba sed on common interest and every
group of people have the best knmvledge in regard
to their interest. And the Islamic la'>·J' does not
prevent them from choosing Hhat is good for tt.em,
on the other hand Islamic law prohibits harlllful . 28
act~ons.
Perhaps it was not without motive that Surkati
composed the arjÜzah (poem) called Ummahat al-Akhlaq
(the Nothers of Morality), \vhich it \vas compulsory to
sing at the beginning and end of every class. The trans-
lation of his poem is1
One has no pride for his lineage or clothes . Nor for accumulation of silver and gold.
But pride should be obtained through knowledge
and culture. 29 And r eligion is the light o f the wise men.
These events seemed to increase the tension be-
tween the conservative s ayyids and the non-sa·vyids and
\vere to cause an eventual split benveen them. By tha t
59
time, Surkatt hirnself became the leading intellectual
leader of the reform group. Joined by non-sayyid Arabs
he left Jamiat Khair and formed a new organization, Jam 'tya.h
al-Islah wa al-Irshad al-'~~abryah (Arab Association for --·-· Improvement and Guidance), knmvn as al-I_rshad, in 1913.
It gained legal recognition from the government on Sep
tember 6, 1914.30
Influenced by the tension \vi thin the Arab commu-
ni ty, the organization of Jarniat IZhair did not fare very
well. It rernained small although it was not confined solely
to Jakarta. Deliar Koer has this to say about the group:
It started with about sevffitty members and grew very
slowly, the year 1915 registering only a 1 •out one
thousand mernbers. By this year, hmvever, its decline
was noted. It could not match the activities of
al-Irshad \vhich had bee n established in 1913 by those
me:nbers of D jamiat Chair \vho had quit this organi-
t. 31 za lOn.
Hm·Jever, the importance of Jamiat Khair lies in
the fact that it started an organization of a modern
character (with a hierarchy, enrolled members and regular
meetings) and established schools \vhich introduced, to a
certain extent, a modern method of instruction \vi th or-
ganized classes and grades and a curriculum. This never
60
before happened in Java.
2. Surkati and the Foundation of the Irshâdi Hovement
Surk.ati. \vas born in Donqola, Sudan, in 1292 A.H.
( 1872 A. D.). His father, f.~ul].ammad Surkati., seems to have been
a persan of \vorthy chara cter. He Has one of the people
who 1 . .rcre s a id to derive the ir name from a noted al -An~ari,
Jabir b. 'Abd Allah. 32 Thus Hui:ammad was one of the
Jawabra or Jawâbirah, ctescendents of Jâbir b. 'Abd Allah,
\vho had been driven into :Jonqola during the reign of
33 Salim I of Turl~ey. He Has graduate of al-Azhar and 1·1as
said to have had a vast collection of books. 3i~
Afte r Ahmad b. Huhammad obtained his ba s ic educa-. . tian he was sent to the home of a gafi~, a professional
reciter of the Qur'an by heart. He accomplished this task
before he 1vas grown up. Then he studied Mabadi' a l-Fiqh
wa al - Tawl;id (Rudiments of I s lamic Law and Theology) ·1.-1ith
his father. 35
It may be usef ul to brief ly r eview t he s ystem of
t raditi onal educa tion in Sudan. Bath the method and cur-
riculum wer e very tr2ditional. At the beginning the
children l earned the Qur'ân by heart, the res ult of Hhich,
a ccordin,s to Su c1.aneses, 1-ms " t o strengthen fa ith and g ive
a f oundation f or the doctrine s bas ed on Qur' anic ve rses
61
and the text of certain traditions." 36 After learning
the Qur'an, sorne of these students continued studying
other Islamic sciences Hhich consisted of "Tawl}id (The
ology) according to the madhhab of al-Ash'ari; and Fiqh
( Islamic Lm·l) according to the madhhab of Ibn Halik. " 37
Hmvever, Surkati could not follmv his father and
complete his studies at al-Azhar, instead, after his fa-
ther's doath in 1314 A.H (1896) he went to Arabia. He
lived in ~adinah for four years1 to improve his Arabie
with Al)mad Bazanji; to study Fiqh \vith Shayl<h Mubarak
al-Nasmat; to learn ljadith with Shaykh ~ali]]. and 'Umar
ljamdan; and to gain knm1leclge of Tafsir \vi th Shaykh
- ~ f 38 Hul}ammad al-Khayar~ o Horocco.
After a four year sta.y at Maclinah, he continuecl
his study at f-lak~(ah, the purpose of which vvas to special
ize in 'Ilm al-Fiqh accorcling to al-Shafi'i school. One
of his teachers was the great Muslim scholar of Morocco,
' - -Shayl<h Shu ayb b, Nusa. 1.~'ith his persevering in his
studies, Surkati became the first among his class-mates
. 1 . f. f '-1. 39 to rece~ve t~e cert1 .. 1cate o a 1m.
In 1906, soon after Surkati received the certifi
cate of 'alim, he was appointed to teach Fiqh (Islamic
Lmv) in al-Har2.m al-f.·:alcki for several years. He also
wrote sorne unpublishecl papers on r-ludhakarat fi al-Tafsir
62
(Studies on Tafs:lr), legal opinions and several simple
40 poems.
Nothing of interest is recorded with r egard to
his direct relation wi th Mu~ammad ÇAbduh and Rash:Ld Ri~~
except, as mentioned in Riwayat Hidup as-Surkati (the
biography of al-Surkati) 41 that during his stay in Makkah
he was to acquaint himself \-li th the t eaching of 'Abduh
by frequently corresponding with sorne Azhar scholars
under the i nfluence of 'Abduh, Thus, Hhen J amiat Khair
tried to find sorne teachers who had gr aduated from
al-Azhar, the friends of Surkat:L chose him as the first
candidate, with the intention that he would r e present
them in extending Islamic reform. 42 Joined by Muhammad - . 'fayyib of Morocco and f Abd al -H am:Ld of Sudan, Surkat:L
left i·.iakkah for Jakarta in 1329 A.H. (1911 A.D.). 43
I·!ena\\7hile, after an extended stay in Jakarta and
sorne -,;vork for Jamiat Khair, Surka t:L be came involved in
the dispute be tween s ayyid and non-sayyid Ara bs. His
involvement began wi th his fatw~ (opinion ) expressed in
Solo, in vlhich he considered permissibl e , as Rash:Ld Rida. . had, the marriage o f a non-sayyid and a s ayyid's daughter.
At the s ame time he a lso s t r essed that Islam championed
the equa lity of Muslims and did not recogni ze the ex-
istence of elevated pos itions o f certa in gr oups because
63
of birth, wealth or rank. This opinion was given in
a meeting with a sayyid group in Solo in which 'Umar Sa'l.d
b. Sunkar raised the same question as had been raised by
'u 'A - · s· 44 Th" f - t t t mar ~~as ln lngapore. lS atwa mean o a -
tack the conservative sayyid faction of the Arab commu
ni ty. l·Jhen sorne sayyids proposed that Surkatl. should
advise all his non-sayyid students to kiss the hands of
sayyid students, Surkatl. preferred to resign his position
at Jarniat Khair than to so advise his non-sayyid stu-45-
dents.
\\'hile teaching in the Jamiat Khair school in the
morning , Surkatl. opened evening courses \vhich ivere at-
46 tended by Arab youths. The purpose of these new courses
was to examine the possibilities for rehabilitating the
Huslims in Indonesia. He seems to have been seeking
friends with whom he might cooperate. 47 vlith the arrival
of his Sudanese friends who were already familiar \vith
Hu9-ammad 'Abduh's teachings, Surkatl. became more steeped
in the Horks of the Egyptian reformer as well as the works
of Ibn Tayml.yah and Ibn Qayyim.
Perhaps this small group of foreign teachers stood
at the heart of a communication net'\vork \vhich fed a con-
stant stream of revitalized modern Nuslim thought from
Niddle East iEto Java. It formed the nucleus which ca.used
64
change in the Arab community in particular and in Huslim
Indonesia in general. Because of the tension bet'l.veen
sayyid and non-sayyid groups, as has been discussed above,
Surkati concentrated his efforts on forming a group of
dedicated follmvers. i"Ieetings \vi th prominent non-sayyid
Arabs were held to groom and train a number of his close
friends, his promising students and his disciples. Dur
ing this period of transition Shaykh 'Umar IvlanqÜsh, a
non-sayyid Arab who beca:ae the head of the Arab commu
nity in Jakarta, Sa'id b. Salim Hash'abi and Salih 'Ubayd . . 'Abdat, prominent non-savyids and rich traders, joined
Surkatl.'s effort. These persans thus became the core
• • • • _c h . 48 group Ln preparLng an organLzatLon Ol t eLr own.
Among the native Nuslims Al}mad Surl<.atf found
support from such prominent leaders as Kyai Haji Ahmad
Dachlan and Haji Zamzarn . Ahmad Dachlan and Surkati prom-
ised each other that each would work to rehabilitate
Indonesian Huslims. Surkati would work among the Arab
communi ty 'l.vhile Dac~üan would \.York among the native Indo
nesian Muslims by establishing the Huhammadiyah in 1912. 49
Another acquaintance of Surkati, Haji Zamzam of Bandung ,
founded Persatuan Islam in 1923, a modern r-1uslim organ-
ization Hhich \vorked in Islamic education and in publi-
cation as \vell. The purpose of the organization \vas
65
"to enlarge discussions on religious tapies tha t had been
underta.ken on an informa! basis for several month."SO
Alfian Hrote on the influence of Surka ti. on Haji Zamzam:
Haji Zamzam (1894-1952) obtained his relig ious
education in Makl<.ah \vhere he s pent three-and-a half
yea rs, and also through his friendship with Ahmad
Surka ti of al-Irshad. 51
Thus, inspite of his Arab orienta tion, Surkati, vlho died
in 1943, \Vas i nstrument a l i n the birth and development
of Islamic Re forrüsm in J ava a s a whole . Federspie l
calls him "an early advocate o f fundamentalist I slamic
thought in Indonesia . " 52 Surkatf \vas a ble to be come
close fri ends \vith a ll modernist Nusl i ms because of "beth
his popula rity as a highly respected religious scholar
and his good personality ." 53
It has been mentioned tha t t he Irshadi. mover.1ent
was founded in J a.ka rta. in 1913 a.nd its legP l recognit5_on
was g iven by the Dutch governrnent on Sept ember 6, 1914.
Its leading f ounder s were a s followsz
1) Shaykh Ahmad Sur!cati..
2) Sh.3.ykh ' Uma r NanqÜsh .
3) Sa 'I.ct Na sh' a bL
4) Shaykh Muha mmad 'Ubayd 'Abdat . •
5) Shaykh Sal i m b. 'Iwa~ Ba l wa 'l.
66
In its first period of development, the Irshadi movement
- ' - ' was under the chairmanship of Salim b. Iwa~ Balwa·l, and
its administra tive included Shaykh f1uhammad 'Ubayd 'Abbud . as s ecret ary and Sa'id b. Salim Mash'abi as treasurer. 54
According to Mailis Da'wah al-Irsvad (al-Irshad
Department of Preaching), the name Irshad referred to the
name Jam'iyat al-Da'wah Ha al-Irshad (the Association f or
Propaganda and Guidance) founded by Rashid Rida in Egypt. 55 . It is said tha t "the formal opening of the school, wlüch
was situated on the island of Rodah a t Ca iro, took place
on the eve of the birth day of the prophet Huhammad and - . . the classes began the folloHing day , 13 Rabi' al-A\vwal,
1330 A.H. (f.Iarch 3, 1912 A.D. )" 56
The founding of this Associa tion for Propaganda
and Guidance was a direct effort of Rashid Rida who . wanted to "urge Husl i ms to devote their means to that
most excellent of a ll good vmrks , nnmely, the f ounding
57 of schools." He had this to say a
The f ounding o f schools is better t han t i1e founding
of masques , for the prayer of an i gnorant man in a
masque is va l ue l ess , 1vhe reas , through the founding
of schools, i gnorance 1-.rill be r emoved and thus both
secular and r elig ious works will be correctly performect . 58
67
The school which was called Dar al-Da'wah wa al-Irshad
(the School of Propaganda and Guidance) had a preference
for students from distant Muslim lands including East
Africa, North Africa, Turkey, Turkistan, India, Java and
Nalaysia. Unfortunately "the school 'l.vas discontinued
on the outbreak of the Great \Var, however, and has not,
59 up to the present, been reopened."
3. The Principles of the Irshadi Movement
Al-Irshad movement is based on the following five
principlesa
1) To hold the doctrine of God's Unity by purifying de-
votions and prayers from their contamination by poly-
theistic elements.
2) To realize equality among Muslims and to seek the legal
judgements found in the Qur'an and Sunnah, and to
follow the way of salaf in solution to all disputed
religious matters.
3) To combat the so-called taqlid a'ma (blind acceptance)
which conflicts with both ~ (reason) and naql (the
Qur'an and Hadith) • •
4) To spread Islamic sciences and Arab culture as approved
by God.
68
5) To attempt to create mutual understanding between
Indonesian Muslims and the Arabs. 60
Based on these principles al-Irshad created its consti
tution in 1914. The name of the movement appears in
article 1 of the Irshadl. constitution, that is Jam'fyat
al-I~al). \va al-Irshad al-' Arabl.yah (Arab Association
for improvement and Guidance) with its central office in
Jakarta. The second article of the Irshadf constitution
mentions three purposes for future development of the
Irshadt movement in Indonesia. These are1 (1) to improve
the religious and socio-economical conditions of Nuslims
in general and Arabs in particular by means of the es-
tablishment of schools, orphanages, nurs i ng homes and
hospitals; (2) to spread the idea of Islamic reform among
Muslims through \vritings and publications, meetings,lec
tures, study sessions and missions; (3) to help ether
organizations which have a common interest with the
al-Irshad on the condition that they do not contradict
Islamic Law or local government. It may be noted that
the constitution o f the Irshadl. movement is able to be
changed since additional articles to it a r e permitted.
These changes are only allmved to be made by the Irshadi
61 congresses .
/'
69
4. The Foundation of Irshadi Schools
Soon after the foundation of Irshadi movement
Surkati handed over his school to this movement and
became the principal of al-Irshad school. He was joined
by the greatest scholar of Hadramaut in Indonesia, Ustidh
Nuhammad 'Ubayd 'AbbÜd, and all his fr iends from abroact. 62 . -In 1913 the Irshadi movement established the fo llm-ving
schools:
1) A three-year primary school ( a\V\,7aliyah).
2) A four-year elementary school (ibtida,Iyah).
3) A nvo-year secondary school (ta ihtziyah).
4) A four- year school of tea chers (mu'allimin). 63
In 1915 a l-Irshad movement established a graduate school
64 called Takhassus • . ·-.
The Curriculum
In comparison with Muhammadiyah , the Irsh~di
school o ffered a curriculum of religious instruction, in
which Arabie \vas the most important subject . Severa l
additional courses equivalent t o those found i~ the
colonial school system were taught, -.;..;hile the schools of
Nuha'":'lffiadiyah of fereà mainl y a curriculum equiva lent to
that of the Dutch school system, plus religious in
struction. 65
70
According to a list of teachers given by Nahmud Junus
and dated 1913, the first Irshadl. school of Jakarta h2,d
eleven teachers from abroad and only one Indonesian
teacher, the latter of whom taught Indonesian language . 66
In the three-year primé:!.ry scl1ool (aW\vall.yah),
three religious courses (Qira'ah or Qur'an Recitation,
MuQadathah or Arabie Conversation , and Mu~ala'ah or
Arabie Reading and \Jriting) were more frequently taught
than instruction in non-religious courses, which included
Indonesian , arithmetic and s ports. I n the four-year
element2ry school program the Qur'an, Fiqh ( Islamic Law),
Nah'" and Sarf ( Grammar and Syntax of Arabie), !''luta la' ah -·- ·--and Imla' (Arabi e Dictation) were the main courses, in
addition to vJhich there \·Jas i nstruction in his tory, ge-
ography, tl1e Indonesian language, ari thœetic, drawin~
and s ports . The two-year secondary school program offered
Islamic subjects (Ta\vl}l.d , Fiqh, Tafsl.r aDd ~adl. th),
Arabie, Indonesian and English as the main courses. In
the four-year program of the Mu'alliml.n (School of Ieach-
ers ) the main course s included Islamics, Arab ie , pedagogy ,
English and Inè.one sian . The study of T?:[sir, ?' iven in
both secondary school and sc~ool of teac~ers, was derived
from Taf str al-~·Ianar , and the study of 1jadl.th included
1·'iatn ( Text of Jj.a.dl._th ) c.nd 'Ilm a l-l).ad l.th ( Science of
71
- ) 67 ~adith • A graduate school, called Takha~~~~, was
established in 1915 with a curriculum of exclusively
religious instruction. The classes were given in the
evening to students who had already passed comprehensive
examinations. The curriculum included Adab al-Lughah
al-'Arabiyah (Arabie Literature), Man~iq (Logic),
Balaghah (Rhetoric), Fiqh wa U~Ül al-Fiqh (Urisprudence
and its Principles), Tafsir, ~adith and 'Ilm al-~adith,
and Falsafah (Philosophy). 68
Irshadi School Branches
From 1917 the Irshad seemed to have a twin program.
One aimed at the establishment of al-Irshad school branches
in Java; the other aimed at the spreading of ideas of
Islamic reform among Indonesian Muslims. First of all,
one should note that an apparent success in creating an
awa r eness of importance of education among the non-sayyid
Arabs enabled al-Irshad to work more fully in construct-
ingits future development and progress. The first major
concern of Atmad Surkati, and rightly so, seems to have
been the formation of significant numbe r of followers
to become the hard-core of the movement in order to help
him to carry out his mission and continue it after his
death. I n t he beginni ng Ahmad Surkati devoted h i s a tten-•
72
tion to the improvement of al-Irshad schools of Jakarta.
Since 1917, the history of al-Irshad is characterized by
the flourisl1L1g of i ts branch schools. Iwo branch schools
began together in 1917; these were Surabaya (East Java)
and Tegal (Central Java). The former \vas opened and run
by Abu al-Fagl al-An~ari (Surkati's brother) who was
joined by 'Abd Allah b. Salim (a graduate of Irshadi
school of Jakarta). This school invited two ~gyptian teach-
ers, Eul:a::1mad L-Iurshidi and 'Abd al-Qadir al-~fuhanna;
the latter became the principal of this school. In 1922
'Abd al-Qadir al-Muhanna was replaced by 'Umar b. Salim
Hubay~, a graduate of al-Irshad school of Jakarta. Having
established a monetary foundation for maintenance, called
Yayasan al-Irsyad (al-Irshad Foundation), this school soon
established various offshoots. 69
The branch school of al-Irshad in Tegal was opened
and run by a student of Surkati, 'Abd Allah b. Salim
al-'Aç:-ças al-'Alawi, together with Shaykh NuJ:tammad NÜr
al-An~ari and another graduate of al-Irsl1ad Jakarta, Sayyid
'Ali Harharah. Shaykh AbÜ al-Fagl was also one of its
teachers.
During 1918 and 1919 three other bra'ches were
opened in Pel~alongan (Central Java), Cirebon (\'lest Java)
and Bumiayu (Central Java). Al-Irshad school of Pekalongan
73
was run by 'Umar Sulayman Naji, a graduate of Jakarta who
was a famous writer of al-Irshad's issues and the chair-
man of the Department of Education of al-Irshad. He was
replaced by Husayn b. Nasir al-Bakri and Iskandar Idris. . . . The school was eventually run exclusively by its own grad
uates. In 1919 the branch school of al-Irshad in Cirebon
was opened and run by students of Surkati. In Bumiayu the
school \vas run by Hasan Hamid al-Ansari of Sudan, lvho was . . . eventually replaced by sorne graduates of al-Irshad schools
at Jakarta. 70
Realizing that the number of students of al-Irshad
schools increased quickly and not only were recruited a-
mongst the Arabs but also from indigenous children as well,
Surkatt proposed a plan in 1919 for the future development
of the sbools. His proposal included the follmving points 1
1) Al-Irshad should have an inspector whose duty it would
be to inspect all al-Irshad schools. He would stay at
l east one \veek at each branch school in order to super-
vise and discuss with its teachers problems concerned
with education.
2) Al-Irshad should hav e a unified program , t hat is, all
al-Irshad schools should have similar curricula.
3) New books for use i n the Irshadi schools should be
written as soon as possible because al l books a vailable
were sent from Middle East and these were prepared for
1
74
Are.bic speakin8 students 1
4) Al-Irshad should have a libra ry for use by those grad-
u2.te s Fho 1\'ere trained to Hri te the ir mm opini ons.
5) Al-Irshad should provide a r egula r p e riod ical, the pur-
pose of Hhich \vould be to spread the ideas of reform
among I ndonesian Nuslims~
6) Sta ff meetings should occur a t l east e v e ry four months
in arder to anticipate future developments~
7) Al-Irshad should graduate students qualified f or jobs
a s gove r nmental o f fici a ls 1 This consideration \vas
made especially for indigenous graduates~
8) Besides Arabie, graduates hopeful ly would become fluent
71 in Ind one sian a nd Dutch~
However, the I r s h adi move ment seeme d o pposed t o
sorne points o f Surka tr• s proposal, mainly becaus e of
l a ck of financing ~ It wa s said tha t t he trades o f its
members were in a s t ate o f decl i n e as a r e sult o f ~lorld
Har I. \li th regard to t he first point, Surkatr himself
was a p pointe d Inspe c ter o f a l-Irshad schools and theref ore
as sumed a more r esponsible posit i on with r espect to the
future devel o~ment o f al -Irshad s cho ol s . In this respe ct
Surkatr could h arclly a c cor:1plish h is d u ty. Perha p s i t
was bacau se he was trying to solve s o ~any problems i n
hi s p o s ition in al-Irsh~d tha t in 1921 he a s k ed t o retire
75
for a while from the teaching staff of al-Irshad. He
engaged in trade together \vith 'Awad Shabal from 1921-
1923.72 In 1923, soon after the return of Srukatf,
a l-Irshad published for one yea r a monthly periodical
called al-Dhakhfrah (the Treasure). 73
After its branch schools successfully produced
their gradua t e s, a l-Irshad, in its first s t age (1913-
1930), opened three more branches. These were Banyu
wangi ( East Java) in 1927, Bondowoso (East J ava) in 1928
and Bogor (West J ava) in 1928. Most o f the tea chers of
the t hr ee branches gr adua t ed from a l-I rshad school
74 branch o f Sur abaya and Pekalongan.
All Irs hadi schools lve r e intended to be a ttended
by Nusl i m chi ldren in genera l not only Arabs . Un like
the pondok-pesantrens, which stres s ed the memoriza tion
of involved legal and theologica l trea tises , these schools
of a l-Ir shad s ought to provide s tudents \vi t h compr e
hension of basic Islamic tea chings. Al-Irshad schools
appar ently conside r ed the s tudy of Ara bie a s a ba sis of
I s l ami c sciences due t o t he fact tha t t he Qur ' an , ~adfth
and a l a r ge number of r e ligious texts He r e wr itten i n
thi s l anguage . I n comparison to ether r e f ormi s t schools
in J ava the study of Arabie a s pr a cti s ed by a l-Irshad
school s was much more i ntensive . Wi th r egard to t he s tudy
76
of Tafsir and Tmvl).id, al-Irshad \vas to concern itself
\vi th the Horks of Mul).ammad 'Abduh and Rashid Ric.l3..
Tafsir al-Manar and Risalat al-Tawhid were listed as ·-75 references in al-Irshad schools. Al-Irshad seemed to
choose the teachings of Muhammad 'Abduh and Rashid Rida . . as the best means for the revitalization of Islam. By
following the concept of reform expounded by these men,
al-Irshad believed the revitalization would be accom-
plished.
The importance of the Irshadi school in Jakarta
was described bv Sulayman Naji as followsa
The first central school of al-Irshad in Jakarta
that achieved considerable progress under the
leadership of Sha.ykh al-Surkati was the primary 76 cause for social and cultural development.
The significant success of al-Irshad in achieving a place
of respectability Hithin the Indonesian Nuslim cummunity
\·ms largely due to i ts perseverance in ca.rrying out
educational activity. This success resulted, in the
first place, from its open competi tion with the Jamiat
Khair. Sulayman l'·Taji has this to saya
Al-Irshad was founded in J akarta in 1914 in a very
hostile environment and amid public opposition .
- - --- - --- ---·--··· ·- -·· ····· -· ···
77
The opposition of al-Irshad wanted to suppress
it while it 'v-as in the early stages of its
foundation. But it grew stronger and f a.ster. 77
In this respect al-Irshad found its supporters from within,
araon3 Indonesian ~-Iuslims, c.nd from \vithout, among Egyptian
reformists. Soon after the school of al-Irshad was
founded, contact with other modern f.'luslim movements, es-
pecially Huhammadiyah, became very close; these t\vo schools
formed preliminary stages of developing the reform move-
ment in the colonial territories. Consequently, many
- 78 Muhammadiyah children enrolled in al-Irshad schools.
In its periodical ce.lled Adil (Justice) Huhamr.1adiyah
recognizes that it had the advantage of educational deve-
lopmen t s implemented by the a l-Irshad:
Among ether things the superiority of al-Irshad is
tha t t here are many prominent 'ulama' and school
tea chers of Muhammadiyah \vho are gr adua t e s f rom
Irshâdi s chool s . In this respect one mi ght con
sider al-Irshad as the teacher of the ~'!uhammadiyah. 79
On the e t her hand, it is mentioned in Hadha Bayan li
al-Nas t ha t a diploma f rom al -Irshad school '"as r e cog
nized as be ing equivalen t to a diploma of t he Thanawtyah
(Secondar y ) of al-Azhar. 80
The second r eason f or i ts success was due to
78
the men who ran and supported it. Their will to succeed
in developing organization was "witnessed by large fi-
. 1 . b . d h · · " 81 F nancLa contrL utLons ma e to t e organLzatLon. ur-
thermore Deliar Noer writes:
The first and second meeting of the organization in
1915 resulted in a collection of funds f700 and
f7,000 respectively, all from the board's members.
At about the same time a contribution of f25,000 was
received from Sjech Umar Manggus, captain of Arabs,
f15,000 from Said bin Salim Nasjhabi, a trader, and
f60,000 from Abdullah bin Alwi Alatas, a sypathizer
from the Sajid group. 82
Lastly, the third reason for its success was due
to the Dutch colonial po licy towards ~1uslims. Since
al-Irsh~d activity was limited to the 'ubGctryah (worship)
part of religion and did not deal \vi th poli ti cal matters
(unlil~e the Sarelcat Islam) the Dutch government gave the
- 83 fullest freedom to al-Irshad. The Dutch governrnent was
even "very interested in channelling Islamic energies into
1 . . 1 . . . ,.84 nonpo LtLca actLVLtLes.
The approach of al-Irshad to education in a
changing world was quite different from the traditional
school of pondok-oesantrens. Al-Irshad was established
to promote the cause of modernist Islam. It was not
concerned with establishing a system that reflected the
79
native Indonesian character; it sought to rid religion
of local beliefs and practices that were contrary to its
original teachings. Consequently, al-Irshad made no at-
tempt to invoke the spirit of the pe s antrens, the tra-
di tional t"luslim centre of learning . On the contrary ,
al-Irsl1ad went along ~vi th the r.luhammadi,_yah movement in
Java in r epresenting attempts at combatting old-fashion
ideas and educating Indonesian î··luslirns in the ivays of
the modern world. Of these two movements the l"luhammadiyah
was considerably larger and more influential, although
during its formative years (1912-1919) it developed very
slowly. 85 With regard to schooling, al-Irshad was much
more concerned with religious instruction \vhich Hould
provide students with tools to meet the hope of reformist
Muslims. Be ing masters of Arabie, the graduates of
al-Irshad school -.;vere respected by all Indonesian Muslims.
Furthermore, it trained teachers to be very effective and
produced many capa ble followers to continue its future
development. The purpose of this school Has also to meet
the sh.ortages of teachers not only iv ~. thin the al-Irs_had
movement, but also in other reformist schools.
Irshadi Graduates
It may be useful to mention some graduates of
/
e
80
al-Irshad school. Below are some indigenous gradua tes
who played an important role in the development of
modernist Nuslims in Indonesia:
1) Yunus Anis of Jogyaka rta, a prominent leader of
i':·luhamlll§tdiyah movement. l-Ie had the honour of being
nicknamed "the backbone of Nuha mmadiyah," because of
his service as General Secretary of the organization
for about twenty five years.
2) Prof. Dr. T. M. Hasby As-Shiddieqy of Aceh, a famous
author on ljadfth, Tafsfr and Fiqh of the modern-day
Islam in Indonesia. He devoted his life to be a pro
fessor at t he Institut Agama Islam Negeri (Islam Sta te
Institute) in Jogyaka rta.
3) Prof. Kahar I-1uzakkir of Jogyakarta. He continued his
studies at Dar al-'UlÜm in Cairo. He was very active
in the struggle for Indonesian' s independence and 1;,_yas
one of t he signers of J c:: l<.a rta Charter (dated June 22,
1945). Eventually, he be came Rector of Universitas
Islam Indonesia (Islam University of Indonesia) in
Jogyaka rta.
4) Nuhammad Rasjidi of Jogyakarta, first Hinister of Re
ligious Affairs of Indonesia Independence. Once a
professor at McGill University in Montreal, he is now
at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta.
81
5) Prof. Farid Ma'ruf of Jogyakarta, a leading member of
Huhammadiyah. Formerly he was a professor at the
Institut Agama Islam Negeri (Islam State Institute);
he then be came the Director-General o f the "Haj j af
f a irs" in the Department of Religious Affairs. 86
There are many other gracluates iVho work as teacher in
madrasahs (eclucational i astitutions), government o f ficials
and traders.
Among the Arab graduates iv-ho became prominent
in the development o f Indonesian Islam area
1) 'Umar Hubays. His f irst position Has as Director of •
al-Irshad school of Surabaya. At the same time he
'!,vas very active in Masyumi (r1ajlis Syura Huslimin
Indonesia , or The Council o f Inclonesian Huslims ), and
later became a representative in Parliament, repre-
s enting Nasyullli Party . NoH he is a prof essor a t
Erlangga Universit y in Sura baya.
2) Sa 'id b. 'Abd Allah b. 'falib al-Hamda.nL He was a
master in Fiqh and be came a professor in the Faculty
of Shari'ah in Jogyakarta. At the s ame time he was
an author o f many books on Fiqh ; he iv-as therefore
called Faqih al-Irshadfyin (a r enowned schola r in
Islamic jurispr udence belon3i ng to al-Irshad).
3) ' Abd a l-Ral).man Daswiclan . He iv-as the f ounder of
/
82
Persatuan Arab Indonesia (Indonesian Arab Unity) and
then 'vas very active in Masyumi. He had been a deputy
of the Hinister of Information.
There are many others, 'vho a re nmv mostly tea chers in
87 al-Irsh~d school branches and traders.
The Spreading of Reformism
At the close of the 1910s, the two classes of
Indonesian Huslims, t he kaum tua and kaum muda, appeared
in Sura baya. The former (kaum tua ) 'vas under the leader-
ship of 'dahhab Hasbullah \vl.l.o established a madrasah
cal led Nahdlatul h'a tan (Renaissance of t he Fatherland).
By the establishment of Nahdlatul Ula ma (the first kaum
tua organization ) in 1926 Nahdlatul Watan had e stablished
many branche s in Sura baya and l'lalang . The l a tte r (l<aum
muda) 'vas under the l eadership of Kyai Haji Has l'lan sur,
Al:J-mad Surkati and Pakih He.sjim. 86 The internal mission
( - )89 tabligh of Pakih Hasjim ''had shaken t he tradi tiona l i st
\vorld, becaus e his expl anations about r elig ion ran counter
-90 to traditiona l ideas . He combatted usal li and ot her - ·--relig ious practice s of the tradi tiona lists, and urged
the people not to stop a t madhahib books in studying
Is l am but to i nquire into its teachings f rom the i r orig-
· 1 , - r 91 ~na s ources , the Qur an and Had~th." The aim of
83
uniting the spirit of kaum tua and kaum muda by convening
al-Islam congress at Cirebon under the sponsorship of
Sarekat Islam in 1922 failedz
Huslims denounced each other as kafir and musyrik
(polytheist), ••• Hahhab and his supporters, for ex
ample, expressed agreement with the introduction of
d 1e modern school system i n religious education, but
\vere a ga inst any changes in t he curri culum in \vhich
he still recognized the L-1dispensability of the
madhhab books. 92
It was not by acciden t tha t a t the close of the
first decade of the t\ventieth century Surabaya ( tl1e cap
ital of East Java) gradually became a centra l area of
dis pute be t iveen l<a um t ua and kaum muda . The h istory of
al-Irshad branch in Sura baya r ecords t hat soon a f ter the
establishment of its school in 1917, its conce rn was to
dissemina t e its ideas b y holding meetings , t a bl r gh
(spreading rel i g i ous message ), conduc t i ng sermons and
study groups a nd publishing pamphlets or periodicals.
The Sha r ikah Ti ja rl:yah 1 i-al-'fab' \va a l-Nash r ( Tr acte
Uni on f or Printing and Publ ishing ) was founded in Sura
baya under the directorsh ip of Sayyid Huhammad b. Ra 'rs . b. 'falib. The f irst period i ca l, ca lled a l-Sa lam, wa s
published under the editorship of Huha;nmad a l-Uashi mf .
. ~ ..
84
of Tunis, Unfortunately i t \vas hal ted after i ts first
issue in 1920. The second periodical, called al-Irshad,
lasted for one year, In the following years the matba'ah -· (printing office) published books which were donated to
- 93 -the schools of the al-Irshad. In 1923 al-Irshad
published a periodica l called al-Dhakhirah. This \vill
be discussed later.
In these activities al-Irshad of Surabya was
fortunate in gaining the cooperation of sorne prominent
reformist Muslims; among them were: Kyai Haji Mas Hansur,
the f ounder of a madrasah (religious school) called Hizbul
\vatan (Partv of Fatherland); Pakih Hasjim, a famous re-
formist from i''linangkabau, whose t abligh \vas held at
a l-Irshad branch of Surabaya ; and Kyai Haji Ahmad Dachlan,
the founder of Nuhammadiyah, who established the Muhammadiyah
branch of Sura baya on November 1, 1921 under the leadership
of Kyai Haji Mas Mansur and Pakih Ha sjim. 94 This estab-
lishment o f a Nul1.ammacliyah branch in Surabaya added to the
fact that many trad i tionalst leaders lived in East Java
made the town a centre for competition between the kaum
tua and kaum muda,
It was also in Surabaya that Ahmad Hasan became
a true r eformist and joined Persatuan Islam. He \vas a son
of Ahmad , a native f rom India who married an Indone s ian
85
woman of Surabaya. Living in Singa.pore, Hasan v.ra s un-
familiar with the works of Haji Jal~l al-Din, a leading
f . . ~r 1 . 95 re orm~st ~n 1·-a ays~a. After moving to Surabaya in
1921, he joined study sessions held by al-Irsh~d \vhich
Surkati himself frequented to l aunch ideas of refor~.
H. N. ~~lil} Su'aydi ha s this to s ay about Ahmad Hasan:
After he studied Islamic sci en ces with sorne
religious teachers (in Singapore), he eventually
met the founder of al-Irsh~d, Shaykh AlJmad
al-Surkati, and became one of t hose who derived . f . f h" k 96
sat~s act~on r om ~s wor s.
In 1924 Ahmad Hasan lef t his a ctivities a s trader and
joined the Persa tuan Islam movement, Hhich v.ras under
the leadership of Haji Zamzam. Later on Ahmad Hasan's
v ie\v point gave r eal format and individuality to the
movement and cl earl y pl a ced i t l'li thin the modernist
97 r·iuslim camp .
Reali z i ng t hat t he modernist Husl i ms had al -
r eady founded t heir organizations, t he traditionalists,
at t heir meet ing of 31 J anua r y , 1926 in Sur abaya, f ounded
an organization of t heir mvn ca lled Nahdlatul Ul ama .
As an association of orthodox kyais and s antris, its
statutes emphas ized stri ct adherence t o one o f the f our
Islamic schools (I~anafi , M~liki, Sh~f 'I and tianba li),
86
especially the Sh~fi'I school, and promoted the obser
vance of Islamic law in society.98
S. The Teachings of A0mad Surkati
Surkati did not lvrite a grea t number of books.
His va rious vie\vs on Isl amic refor m had a lready been
written in al-Dhakhirah pe riodica l unde r his editorship
and al-Masa'il al-Thalath. The first al-Dhakhirah ap-
peared on Hul:arram 1342 (A.D. 1923) and the l ast one on
Sha\V\·Jal 1342 (A.D. 1924). Al-Nas~'il a l-Thalath was
published by the l~shadi movement in 1925. Another fatwa
of Sur ka tl: called Sura tul-Jawab (the Duplica te Ans\ver)
a ppeared i n 191 5 in the Utusan Hindia O·li ssionary of
Hindia), a daily ne\·Jspaper under the editorsh ip of Tjokro-
a rni noto. The motive of Suratul-Ja\•7ab \va s to ans,-ve r t he
t . f ' d 99 ques l On o s a yyl s. La s tly , i n 1938 he a lso gave a
f an-va to i'luhai!lmadiyah l eaders who pos ed questions on
a l-din (re l igion), a l-dunva (world) and iitih~d. 100 His
fatwa on such question s \vas ba s ed on a l-Nasa 'il a l-Tha lath.
Appar entl y Surkatf was awa r e t ha t the actual
cond i tion of Indones ian Muslims i n genera l was decadent
and felt t hat t he sp i r i t of this decadence shoul d be ar-
r e s t ed . The social, mor al a nd i ntel l e ctua l cond i tions
87
'ivere deplorable, marked by many degrading customs which
were not part of the Islamic religion. The people acted
in ignorance of true Islam; they therefore failed to
practise \vhë. t they should have knmvn. Sukatt concluded
that the cure of those many ills rested in a return to
the true Islam. Indeed the task \vhich he set himself
involved a restatement of \vhat Islam really was rather
than a consideration of its implications for modern soci
ety. Surkatt thought the former the most important of his
goals. In the introduction of his periodical al-Dhakhtrah,
for example, he writes his four purposes as follows1
1) To show as false the ~adtths and fabricated stories
believed by Indonesian Huslims to be teachine;s of Islam.
Harry of them were included in the ~üft books \vhich
became the basis of Muslim thought in Indonesia.
2) To refute all the arguDents against Islam by using
reason backed by use of the Qur'an and ~adtth. In
this respect he hoped to encourage Muslims to practise
true religion.
3) To explain that Islam is a religion of virtue, that
Islam is suitable for every nation everywhere and in
every period.
4) To encourage Nusli :ns to follow the \vay of progress in
order not to be the subjects of foreign powers and
88
foreign influences. 101
A significant colurnn of al-Dhakhirah was
al-Fata~va (Legal Opinions) given by Surl<ati himself,
in 'ivhich he discussed rationally and on the basis of the
primary sources of the religious doctrine, the Qur~an
and the ljacli th. These opinions seemed to be repetition
of those discussed by Ahmad Iahir Jalal al-Din in his . . al-Imam periodical. Ihere the kaum muda had undertaken
a vigorous polemic against the kaum tua for defending
certain religious practices that the kaum muda found
objectionable. The fat'iva consisted of soal jawab (issues
and answers); the questions were raised by readers and
the answers were given by Surkati himself. These legal
opinions expressed corrections aimed at religious beliefs
and oractices in Indonesia; traditional practices of
Islam in Indonesia, \vith impurities derived from adat
(custom and custoQary) and from other religious beliefs,
had to be cleansed from these elements, and the l<.yais or
'ulama' 'ivho trans mi tted t'1em had to be brought to a sense
of their errors. Surk~tr marsh2lled considerable evidence
from religious sources, primarily the Qur'an and the
J.:Iadith, supported it with the arguments of the rr1.odernist
Iviuslims of the i'liddle East, using reason to prove the
validi ty of the Irshadi vie'ivpoint and to dispute the
89
stand of traditionalist or conservative Muslims. Due to
his manner of argument Abubakar Acheh called him " a
sponsor of Salaf school in Java." 102 Another writer,
van der Kroef, called him a Hahhabl::
[The] ~·Jahhabi movement, largely emanating f rom Arabia,
was represented in Indonesia by Ahmad Surlcati al-Ansari,
a famed schola r steeped in the works of Ibn Taymiyah
and Ibn Qayim, bath precursors of the Wahhabi move
ment and the Egyptian reformism as \ve11. 103
These objectionable traditional pra ctices incl uded the
emphasis on mysticism and the performance of unauthorized
rituals and orayers intended to pass merit to the spirit
of recently deceased Muslims, Surkat{'s opinion on such
matters ivas that talq{n (instruction given to the deceased
at his grave side soon after the buria l is complete) wa s
bid' ah (innovation) on the basis tlla t both the Qur 'an
and ~~acll:th did not ci te this practice. U~allt (the
voici ng of the intention to pray as a prelude t o t he
prayer itself) was also condemned on the basis th2t the
intention of prayer (niyyat al-~alah) should not be spoken
but should be s a id inte rnally. Surkat{ wrote that usall{ -·--\vas ghuluww f{ al-d{n (excess in religion) because the
Qur'an saysa "Commit no excess in your religion." (4a
171). 104 He al s o argued t hat Q~all{ \vas not practised
90
during the life of the prophet Hul)ammad. Certain rituals
performed in the tombs of deceased Muslims had been termed
as munkar (abominable practice), batil (untruth) and
mardÜd (refutable) on the basis that the rituals were
b d I 1 . . . 105
eyon s aP.l~C teacn~ngs.
In keeping with his reformist outlook, Surkatf
had been concerned tvi th promoting those practices among
Muslims which he regarded as religiously correct and he
was involved in convincing Muslims to abandon those prac-
tices having no historical justification. A tract called
al-Masa'il al-Thalath (the Three Problems) contributed
by him in 1925 succintly outlined his religious teachings.
The three oroblems were as follows z al-i -jtihad \va a1-taqlld,
al-sunnah l;va al-bid 'ah and ziyarat al-qubÜr wa al-tawassul.
Al-Iitihad wa al-Taqlfd
First of all, Surlç2tf explained that there are
matters on Hhich the Qur''an and Hadfth give no clear . guidance. These happen: (1) if the text of the Qur'an
is not clear; (2) if there are doubts as to the authority
of the ~adith; (3) if the Qur'an and ~adfth state only
a general principle and not a particular ruling; or (4)
if, both the Qur'an and tladfth are silent. In these
91
cases, reason must act as an interpreter. Ihose who
possess the necessary knmvledge and intellectual power
. . . . h-d 106 s 1 ... ' . . b d must exerc~se ~Jt~ a • urcat~ s v~eH ~s ase on
sürah 39:18 s E.ying a 11 Ny servants are those lvho hear advice
and follmv the best thereof. Suc:1 a re t':wse vJh om Allah
guideth, and such are men of understanding , .. and sürah
38a30 11 [This is] a Scripture that He have r evealed unto
thee, full of blessing, that they may ponder its revela-
tions, and that men of understanding may re f lect." Surkatl:
affirmed that the 'tvord ahsanahÜ (the best thereof) in -· sürah 39 1 18 me ans "'tvh i ch i s more in a ccordance \vi th the
human pro3ress and proved by reason ... 107
Surkatl: pointed out that there is a distinction
bet1veen a cts directed towa rds the lvorship of God ( 'iba.dat)
and those directed tmvards other rn.en and li f e in the \vorld
( '- - ) mu ame.lat • The former are considered the same as creeds
( al-'agi 'id), a rrd theref ore there is no possibility to
exercise iitihad. He s aid :
Neither iitihad nor qiy~s ( analogy) s hould be
exer ci s ed i n rel i gious matters conce rning lvor
ship, creed and eschatology, and there is no 1 1. . b d d" . . h h 108
auc~t~on, nor may sorne o y ~m~n~s t em.
Surkati si1owed people that the ~ur 1 an and l:jadith have
92
laid dmm specifie rules about \vorship and cre ed; about
relations Hith other men, they laid dmm for t he most
part, only gener a l princip l e s, leaving men to apply the
principles to all c i rcumstances. I n h is fatwa g ive n to
~'Iuhammadiyah l e a ders, ~·:ho pose d t h e question on a l-din,
al-d'=!_nya and ijt ihad , h e p o i nted ou t tha t the word a l-din
refers to r e lig ious matte rs a n d the word a l-dunya r e f e rs
toworldly matters. He sta ted t hat a l-din mean s relig ious
pr e c epts g i v e n b y God \vhich e v e r ybody , \vho h a s fai t h in
God, h as to obey , a nd t h e word a l-dunya r e fers to t he
l}adi th 1 "Y ou knmv better your \vorld l y ma tters." 109 He
pointe d out that the r e l igious at t i tude tmvard a l-dunya.
refers to the sGrah 22a78, ~He has i~posed no di f ficulty
on you in r e ligion," In t h is r e spe ct Surkati c oncluded
t hat the rel i g iou s a tti t ud e tmvard a l-duny a means that
e v e r y t·!usl i m shou ld study \vorld l y sciences a s a ba sis of
worldly h appines s and those wh o possess the nece ssa r y
knowl e d ge and intel l e c t ual p owe r should exerci s e i jtihi d ,llO
However , Surkat i d id not ask peopl e t o exerc i se
i jtihad. He only mentioned tllat t he d oor o f i itihad vm s
"11 . ' l ct • . f . h"d 1 11 st~ open t o tnose H"t10 met t :1e con ~ t J_ons o mu J t a ~ •
He affirrned t he significa nce o f t h e i jtihad f o r t h e f ol-
l mvi n g reason s 1
1) He wa n ted peo p l e t o s t udy and refer the Qur ' a n a nd
. • >
93
l)adl.th, and not merely to be satisfied v.ri th their
' 1 -, traditional references, the kyais or u ama • Spe-
cifically, if there is a difference of opinion on a
r eligious matter one s hould only r efer to the Qur, ~n
and Hadl.th or Sunnah. 112 In this case Surkatl. in-. -tended to free the minds of Muslims from the chain
of bel ief on a uthority without question or objection.
2) He asked people to follow the practice of the Salaf
( "ilders"). The uni ty of the ~lusl ims is neces sari ly
connected \vi th truth. There can be no real agreement
among Nusl i ms unless they all a3ree on the truth;
possession of truth is the most fundamental sign of
Islam, and the true Islam is tha t which was taught by
the Prophet and the "Elders." 113 \vhen Surkatl. talked
about salaf he seemed to refer to Nuhammad 'Abduh
rather than Rashl.d Rid~. "'Abduh does not use this . term in a technica l sense to rnean the first gene r a tion
of friends and discinles of t h e Prophet; he uses it
more generally to refer to the centra l tradition of
Sunnl. Islam in its period of deve lopment ; the gr eat
theologians of t he third and f ourth centuries , a l-As h 'arl.,
- - - 114 a l-Baqillanl. and al-Naturidi, are also salaf."
According t o Rida, the Islam of the "Elders" is "tha t . of the first generation tvho had knmvn prophet r·iul)ammad,
94
and the only ijma' which is valid is that of this
generation."llS Surkati said that the salaf is "that
of generation which consisted of Nuhajirtn (those
Meccans who emigrated to Hadinah in early period) and
Ansar (the Nedinan followers of Muhammad who granted -·- . him refuge after the Hegira) and those \vho followed
the way they studiect." 116 Surkatt affirmed that none
of these people applied the taqltd as people did in
his own period; on the contrary, they studied Islam
from its original sources, the Qur'an and the Hadith. 117 . 3) He \vanted to show people that the Imams of the great
madhhabs (AbÜ Hanifah, Halik b. Anas, Shafi 'T and . Ibn l:janbal) did not mean for ethers to follow their
interpretation blindly, \vithout checking their correct
ness with the Qur'an and the Sunnah. In this respect
Surkatt quoted their wordsa for example; AbÜ ~antfah
saida "One should not give a legal opinion based on my
words 'tvithout the knowledge of my proof;" 118 Imam Malik
saida "Take notice of my view. If it suits the Qur'an
and Sunnah, take it. If not, leave it;" 119 and Imam
Shafi't saida "Whenever you find in my books something
contrary to the Sunnah of the Prophet, take the Sunnah
120 and l eave my mords."
Accordingly, Surkatt concluded that "blind accep-
95
tance" applied by the people was only permissible for
t:10se \vho "have no understandine and knmvledge of Islam,
and laclc ability for studying."lZl The rest should try
to refer their religious life to the Qur'~n and Hadith
or Sunnah of the Prophet. 122 His rejection of taall.d
'umy~nr (blind acceptance) was based on his belief that
it tended to believe that Sharl:'ah (Islamic Law) was
produced by jurists, 'ulam~' or kyais, and not by God
12 3 and His Prophet. This kind of taqll:d, Surkatl: argued,
did not conform to the Sunnah of the Prophet and had
never been done by the Salaf. Therefore, it v.ras bid 'ah
. . 124 or lnnovatlon.
Surkatl: then divided muqallids (those \vho exer-
cise taqlid) into three categories:
1) One who basically has the ability and chance to under-
stand Islamic teaching but does not devote his ability
to the study of the Qur'~n and I;Iadl:th, nor does he
understand them. According to Surkatl:, this person
has been indicated by s~rah al-A'r~f, 179a
Already have I.··Je urged unto hell many of jinn and
humankind, having hearts ~·Jherewi th they und er
stand not, and having eyes \vherewi th they see
d h . . . h h h t 125 not, an av~ng ears wnere\·nt .. t ey ear no .
2) One 'tvho has not had any chance to study Islamic teachings.
.... ~""
96
He should ask ·the 'ulama' about matters for his re-
ligious life. Surkati pointed out th2t this muoallid
is cited in the Qur'an, sürah al-Na!J-1, 43z "Ask the
follmver of the Remembrance if ye knmv not;" and t he
~Iaditha "The cure of \veakness is to ask a question."
According to Surkati, these references indicate that
an 'alim is to 3ive answers wh ich a re ba sed on the
Qur'an and Sunnah and not on his own, or someone else's,
1 . d b l' f 126 specu at~on an e ~e •
3) One could hardly understand elaborations of Isl amic
teachinr!:s for lack of a bi 1 i ty. Thus his case allmvs ,.. 1'17 him to apply tagl~d. -
In addition, Surkati encouraged people to develop
the idea of ittiba' or ta'assi (following or imitation).
Surkati wrotea
As to the [act of] follm1ing ( i ttiba') and imitation
(ta 'assi), it is the adoption of the fully warranted
religious juclgement of Hhoever has been famous be
cause of his knowledge, piety and vigilance [in
a ccepting un-finalized matters] because of trust
in his version or be cause o f r eal or claimed compat~
ibilit y lvitll his understanding . Imitation is of ten
the same. Both [ittiba' and ta'assiJ are good if
they do not contradict r eality or a judgement \vhich
ha s been proved by a stronger warranting text or
a sound proof o f reason. 1 28
./
97
Thus the first step of muttabi' (he who exercises ittiba')
is to consult several judgements of recognized scholars,
and the second is to adopt the judgement of an authority
he prefers. Surkati pointed out that the idea of ittiba'
\vas bas ed Ol!. the Qur, a ;-: in sürah al-Zumar' 18' Il Hho hear
advice and follmv the best t l1ereof. Such are those whom
Allah euideth, and such are men of understancling ." 129
Al-Sunnah wa al-Bid'ah
Surkati explained that the word sunnah \>Vas usual-
ly understood as tvlul}ammad' s sunnah which included: "his
utterances, his deeds and his unspoken approval in order
to g ive details for the general v erses in the Qur'an." 130
He therefore rejected the meaning of the sunnah as "to
create a new way or new deeds without having any previous
131 equal." Noreover he said:
\·Jhenever the Hard sunnah is described in a re
ligious sense, the meaning is exclusively a kind
of revelation, for the Qur'an has said1 "\'le re
veal unto thee the Scripture with truth, that you
must judge benveen rnankind by that \vhich Allah
shmveth thee. " 13 2
Based on such verses of the Qur'an and texts of
ljadl:th he reaffirmeci. repeatedly that Islam is only what
98
1;-,ras brought by the prophet Hul}ammad; that in its perfec-
tian Islam does not need additions and therefore any
innovation is considered as a devia tion froœ the truth
13 3 and leads one a stray. It must be not ed, i n add i t i on,
that with r e spect to innovation other than in religious
ma tters Surkati rega rded them as be ing permissiole. He
s aid: "There is no bid ' ah lJ-asanah (bid ' ah \vhi ch is good)
or mal)Üdah ( praiseivorthy) in rel i g ious matters, but in
134 vmrldly matte rs innova tion is al ways \ve lcome."
Religious pr a ctices, ivhich Here judged by AlJ-mad
Surl<.a ti a s bid 'ah but \vere very common in I ndonesia, a re
a s followss t aqlid buta (blind acceptance); 135 usalli -·--(voicing of t he i ntention to pray a s a prelude to t he
pr aye r i ts e l f ); 136 talo in (instruction given to the de-
ceased a t his grave side saon a ft e r the buria l is corn-
) 137 - ( plete ; t ahlil the a ct of repe a t ing word s declaring
God's Unity , la ilaha illa Allah , by many tvrus lims ivho
join wi th t he famil y o f t he deceased intending to cleans e
) 1-3 8 - - ( t he s i ns o f the deceased ; z iyarat a l-qubur v isiti ng
tombs ) t o whi ch i s affixed pr actising the so-ca lled
munka r a t ( a bomina bl e pra ctice s) i nclud i n g t awa ssul ( in
t e r c e s s i on ) or i s tishf a ' (to inter cede on behal f o f t he
d d) d dl ( . ff . ) 1 3 9 . - 1 1 - . b ea an na 1r votlve o e r lng ; q lra at a -manaql
( the r eading of t he b i ogr aphy of certa in s a i n t s intend i ng
99
. l . bl . ) 14 0 d 1 . - f:; . l' d to gaLn t1e1.r ess1.ngs ; an a -g1.yam ~ qL~~at maw 1.
al-Nabl: (the act of standing up out of reverence for the
Prophet \vhen, during the Prophet' s birthday ceremony, the
birth of the Prophe t is mentioned during the reading of
1 . b ' , ) 141 11.s "'Lograpay •
Ziyara t al-QubÜr wa al-Tawassul
Surkatl: stated that ziyarat al-gubÜr (visiting
tombs) could be considered sunnah (meritorious) if the
intention is to have a tender heart and to recall the
Hereafter. Tnis consideration is based on the hadl:th in
which the prophet Muç_ammad said: "Visit tombs but do not
say hu ir ( unseemly sayings such as l ament a tion and seeking
the blessing of the deceased)," and "Visit tombs because
you might r emember the Herea fter." 14 2 Surka tl: pointed
out t ha t ziyarat al -qubÜr should exclude any kind of
munkarat which include : intercession, saint worship, seeking
t he blessing of the deceased in arde r to obta in a certain
need, sitting and r e c iting the Qur 'an on the graveyards ,
and making a sacrif i ce on behal f o f the deceased.lL~ 3 All
these practices were cons idered by Surkatl: as un - Islamic
in his fat\vas in bath a l-Xasa 'il a l-Th::::.lath and al -Dhakhirah,
wï th r egard to the istishfa ' bi al-amwat ( to in
t e rcede with the dead ) o r tawassul ( intercession) Surkati
100
affirmed tha.t i t "~;vas one of the munkarat since this prac-
tice did not take place during the lifetime of the prophet
Muhammad and non of the Companions of the Prophet visited . his tomb in arder to practise istishfa' or tawassu1. 144
Surkati refused any ~adith which supported the idea of
intercession; for example, the Prophet saida "If you need
something , ask f or it from Allah with my ble ssing ," and
"0 God I ask for something from You on behalf of those who
would ask You." 14 5 According to Surkati the word wasilah,
appearing in the sürah 5~35 saying: "0 ye who believe! Be
mindful of your duty ta Allah, wa ibtaghÜ ilayhi al-wasilah
(and seek the ,.,ay of approa ch unto Him)," means al-a'mal
- . ( ) . 146 al-~a119ah good deeds and not a certa~n person.
\Vhoever wants to practise intercession should inter
cede by obeying the i nstructions of God as taught
by His prophe t Muhammad. He should neit h er f ollow . hi s mvn pass ion nor "l;vorship God beyond His permis
. 147 S l.Ono
It may be not ed t ha t what Surkati wrote about
ziyara t a l-gubÜr wa al-tawassul in al -~1asa 'il al -Thalath
wa s a r epetition of \vha t he had written i n a l-Dhal<hirah. 148
His opinion on wasilah in a l-Dhakhirah was i n ans\ver t o
Suhaimi, a dire c t or of Madras ah Darul ~a ' arif in Ban j ar-
negara , who raised the question of intercess ion wi th the
101
formula• "0 God, give me my needs with the blessing of
Your prophets! 11 or "0 God, I ask for property from You
with the blessing of Your saints!" 149 As a whole Surkatf
concluded that "grave worship, intercession and saint-
worship practised by Muslims who suffer from difficulties
are shirk (polytheistic), therefore they will be rejected
by God in the Herea fter and their good deeds will be use-
1 .. 150 es s.
What has been taught by A~mad Surkatf concerning
the meaning of wasflah first opposed the practice of in-
tercession and saint-worship as practised by the common
people. Kenneth Perry Landon has this to s a y about the
practice of intercession in Indonesiaa
Persons who desire their [saints'] aid in solving the
problem of life go to their tombs and make a vow that
they will do certain things if the saint will cause
certain things to come to pass. As an offering the
usua l things, s uch a s incense , rice, and flowe rs,
are taken to the tomb. The person in whose behalf
the vow is made usually has his head washed at the
s a cred spot as symbol of devotion and puri f ication.
Food offered to honor the s a int is a lwa ys eaten by
living persons, either by those making the vow or
b y poor persons who benefit by the offering . To
ha llow the food, a village t eacher o f Islam who knows
s orne Arabie i s present. This adds the necessary
blessing o f Islam t o l ift the ce r emony a de gr e e a bove
102
the ordinary veneration of spirit. 151
Second, Surkatf's teaching encountered opposition from
the stand of sayyids who claimed to have a venerated po-
sition and therefore they claimed to be intercessors 152 between others and God. Third, it encountered oppo-
sition from ~Üffs who base their teachings on ~vasilah
or wasitah. According to the SÜfi concept, the word ----·-- . wasilah means a shaykh or guru (teacher) who has the
right to teach 'ilm al-gaqfqah (the science of reality)
with which a murfd (pupil) might attain ma'rifah( gnosis).153
However, as far as Surkatf's teaching is concerned, the
word wasi~ah was never connected to ~Üfism. Nevertheless
there is no doubt that he r e jected the SÜfi teaching on •
wasilah. Al-Irsyad Ma jlis Da • wah held the view that "the
basic cause of the appearances of bid'ah and khurafah
( ) - 154 superstition in Islam is due to the spread of Sufism." .
103
FOOTNOTES
1A. D. A. de Kat Angelina, Colonial Policy, trans. by G. J. Reiner (The Haguea M. Nijhoff, 1931), p. 199.
2van der Kroef, Indonesia, p. 270. 3Angelino, Colonial Policy, p. 200. 4 Van den Berg, Hadthramaut, p. 59. 5Ibid. 6Ibid., pp. 59-60. 7Reid, "Nineteenth Century Pan-Islam," p. 280;
cf., Abubakar Acheh, Salaf (Jakartaa Permata, 1970), p. 103.
8Abubakar, Salaf, p. 104; Noer, Muslim Move
ment, p. 58. 9Ahmad Dachlan's file number is 770, see
Abubakar, Salaf, p. 103.
lONoer, Muslim Movement, p. 59.
11Ibid. 12Ibid. 13 'umar Sulayman Najr, Tarikh, p. 31. 14Ibid., PP• 31-32. 15rbid., p. 32.
16M .1. aJ 1.s
17Ibid.,
Da'wah, Riwayat, II, p. 16.
I, p. 3.
104
18Ibid,, III, p. 17.
19charles C, Adams, Islam and Modernism in
Egypt (Londona Oxford University Press, 1933), p. 209; see also J. Spencer Trimingham, Islam in Sudan (Londona
Oxford University Press, 1949), p. 121. 20In the six-year program of al-Madrasah
al-Khayriyah, the instructions of Arabie, including
conversation, reading and writing, grammar and syntax,
were listed (in its curriculum) more frequently than
other subjects, see Junus, Sedjarah Pendidikan Islam
di Indonesia (Djakarta a Pustaka Mahmudiah, 1960), .p. 266.
21 Adams, Islam, p. 115. 22In comparison with traditional pondok-pesantrens
where the kyais or teachers used the method of teaching
called weton (lit. reading), the kyais only read the re
ligious books and did not ask the students whether they
understood or not. In Jamia t Khair the teachers tried
to present the lessons in such a way that their students
would understand, No examination existed in pondok
pesantren. In Jamiat Kha ir t ests and examina tions were
regul arly given in orde r to eva luate t he progress of the pupils, see Abubakar, Salaf, p. 130; Junus, Sedjarah,
pp. 50, 195; also Amir Hamzah Wiryosukarto, Pembaruan Pengajaran dan Pendi dikan Islam (Jogyakartaa Penyelengga
ra Publikasi Pembaruan Pendidi kan, 1962), p. 74 . 23Naj1, Tar1kh, P• 33; Noer, Muslim Movement,
P• 60,
24N·- -~ T- "'"',l-. 71 aJ~, ar~i. .... ll, p. •
25 Noe r , Muslim Movement , p. 62 .
p. 37.
105
26A Y-f. ''=" T- ,. 1- a L L, arLkh, 27Ibid., p. 246. 28Ibid., P• 253.
p. 244.
29Naji, Tarikh, PP• 34-35. 30Majlis Da'wah, Riwayat, I, P• 6.
31Noer, Muslim Movement, p. 61. 32Majlis Da'wah, Riwayat, I, p. 3; Naji, Tarikh,
33see Majlis Da'wah, Riway~, I, P• 3; cf.,
Trimingham, Islam, PP• 83-85.
34N- ·'=" aJL, Tarikh, p. 37. 35Ibid.
36Trimingham, Islam, pp. 116-117. 37Ibid., p. 118. 3~-- .,. - ,. 38 -NaJL, TarLkh, p. • 39Ibid.
40Ibid. 41 Maj1is Da'wah, Riwayat, I, p. 3. 42Naji, Tarikh, P• 31. 43Ibid. 44M ·1· D ' h R" I 5 aJ LS a wa , Lwayat, , p. •
45 - - - -Naji, Tarikh, p. 34. 46Ibid., p. 47. 47Ali, "Muhammadiyah," p. 48.
106
48Naji, Tarikh, p. 34.
49Ali, "Muhammadiyah," p. 48.
5°Federspiel, Persatuan Islam, p. 12. 51Alfian, "Islamic Modernism," p. 182.
52Federspiel, Persatuan Islam, p. 12. 53Alfian, "Islamic Modernism," p. 174,
54 - .~ T- ~ h 67 NaJ~, ar~k , p. •
55Majlis Da'wah, Riwayat, I, P• S.
56Adams, Islam, P• 197. 57Ibid., P• 195. 58Ibid.
59Ibid., P• 198.
60 - ~ - -Naj~, Tarikh, p. 68.
61 For further constitutional information see this
thesis, Appendix I. 67--- .~ T- ~ h 67 JNaJ~, ar~k , P• • 63~1 ·1· D ' h R' i'aJ ~s a wa , ~wayat, III, p. 16. 64Ibid.
65Ruth T. Mc Vey, "Taman Siswa and the Indonesian
National Awakening ," Indonesia, No. 4 (October), 1967, p. 133.
66rhese teachers includeda
1) Shaykh Agmad Surkati, a graduate of Dar al-'UlÜm
Makkah ( 1905).
2) Shaykh Mugammad al-'Aqib, a graduate of al-Azhar (1909).
107
3) Abu al-Fadl, a graduate of Gordon College Sudan (1911) • • 4) MliQammad al-Hashimi, a graduate of Kulliyat al-Zaytun
Tunisia.
5) Mu~ammad al-'Ar~as, a graduate of Faculty of Engineering Constantinople.
6) Shaykh 'Abd al-Ra~im, a graduate of al-Azhar.
7) Shaykh Muhammad al-Nur, a graduate of al-Azhar (1906) • . 8) St. Abdul Hamid, an instructor of Indonesian language.
9) Shaykh Mu~ammad al-Madani, a graduate of al-Azhar.
10) Abu 2ayd al-Mi~ri, a graduate of al-Azhar. 11) Shaykh Hasan Hamid al-Ansari, a graduate of Kulliyat . . .
al-Shari'ah wa al-Din Sudan (1909).
12) Shaykh ~asan AbÜ 'Ali al-Thiqah, a graduate of Dar
al-'Ulum Makkah. See Junus, Sedjarah, p. 267; also Majlis Da'wah, Riwayat,
III, P• 16. 67Junus, Sedjarah, pp. 270-272; see also this
thesis, Appendix IIA,B,C and D.
68rbid., p. 272; see also this thesis, Appendix
liE. 69Programa Mu'tamar al-Irsjad ke 28 (Surabaya•
Perhimpunan al-Irsjad, 1954), P• 4; see also Naji,
Tarikh, P• 121. 70 - ~ - ~ Naj1, Tar1kh, p. 121.
71 Ibid., PP• 103-109. 72Ibid., PP• 109-110. 73A ~ d 1 D ~ ~mad Surkat1, e ., a-· hakhLrah,
(Batavia• Borobudur, A.H. 1342/A.D. 1923). 10 Vols.
108
75Junus, Sediarah, pp. 271-273.
76 - - - - 110 Naji, Tarikh, p. • 77Ibid., P• 64.
78For example, Junus Anis, Farid Ma'ruf and
Muhammad Rasjidi, see ibid., p. 123.
79Adil, 2 December, 1939, quoted by Majlis
Da'wah, Riwayat, III, p. 15.
80 - - - - ( ~ -Hadha Bayan li-al-Nas Surabayaa D~wan
al-Tarbiyah wa al-Ta'lim, n.d.), p. 14.
81Noer, !1\!!?_lL~LtiQYement, P• 64. 82rbid., p. 64, n. 97. fis abbreviation of
florin. One florin is equivalent ta one guilder (Dutch
money).
83For an account on Dutch colonial policy toward
Muslims see Benda, The Crescent, pp. 19-31.
84 Mc Vey, "Taman Siswa," p. 132.
85For detail account on Muhammadiyah's formative
years see Alfian, "Islamic Hodernism," PP• 212-264. 86For a list of Indonesian graduates of Irshadi
schools and their short biographies see Naji, Tarikh,
pp. 123-124.
87A list of Arab graduates appears in ibid.,
PP• 125-130. 88see Haji Abubakar, Sedjarah Hidup K. H. A.
Wahid Hasjim dan Karangan Tersiar (Djakarta: Panitya
Buku Peringatan Alm. K. H. A. Wahid Hasjim, 1957),
pp. 469-470; also Noer, Muslim Movement, p. 226.
109
89Missions engaged in work among co-religionists.
90The ward y~alli literally means "I declare my
intention to pray." The term usalli in Indonesia refers -·--to the voicing of the intention to pray as a prelude to
the prayer itself.
S ' ,.. u ayd~
91Noer, Muslim Movement, p. 226. 92Ibid., p. 227.
93N- ·"' aJ~, Tarikh, PP• 133-134. 94Noer, Muslim Movement, PP• 226-227. 95Federspiel, Persatuan Islam, p. 14. 96Majlis Da'wah, Riwayat, III, p. 16. Haji Salih . . is a graduate of Irshadi. school of Surabaya.
97Federspiel, Persatuan Islam, p. 13. 98Nahdlatul Ulama's statutes appears in Abubakar,
Sedjarah Hidup, PP• 503-507. 99Suratul-Jawab will be discussed in the third
chapt er.
1008 "' ''F d p p , urkat~, atwa kepa a • • Nuhammadiyah,' in Hajlis Da'wah , Riwayat, IV, pp. 22-35.
101surkati, al-Dhakhirah, I, p. 3. 102Abubakar, Salaf, p. 106. 103van der Kroef , "Adat and Islam in Indonesian
Nationalism," United Asia, 4 (1952), p. 317.
104 - -Surkati, al-Dhakhirah, I, p. 32.
lOSibid., PP• 45-46.
110
106surkati, "Fatwa," pp. 34-35; see also his
al-Masa'il al-Thalath (Bataviaa Borobudur, 1925),
ppe 9-11.
107surkati, al-Masa'il, p. 11; Surkati, "Fatwa,"
p. 33.
108surkatl., al-Masa'il, p. 24; see his "Fatwa,"
p. 34. 1098 ,. urkat1., "Fatwa," p. 30.
110rb·d 1. • , p. 29.
111According to Surkati, the conditions for a
mujtahid are as followsa he should be familiar with the
major principles of the Qur'an and Sunnah; he should
have knowledges of ijma', Arabie, the principles of
jurisprudence and the abrogated and abrogating texts of
the Qur'an and Hadith • . 112surkati quoted sürah 4a58 sayinga "If ye
differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to God
and His apostle," see ibid,, p. 11.
113Ibid., p. 14.
114Albert Hourani, Arabie Thought in the Liberal
Age 1798-1939 (Londona Oxford University Press, 1970),
p. 178.
115rbid., p. 230.
116 ,.. 1 M -'. 14 Surkat1., a - asa 1.1, p. •
117His statement is based on the haditha "There
remain with you matters which will not lead you astray
as long as you keep hold of them, that is the Qur'an
and the Sunnah," see ibid., p. 14.
,~ ,·
111
118Ibid., p. 15.
119Ibid., p. 16. 120Ibid,, p. 17.
121 Ibid., p. 18. 122Ibid. 123Ibid., p. 23. 124Ibid., P• 21. 125Ibid. 126Ibid., P• 22. 127Ibid. 128Ibid., pp. 22-23. 129Ibid., p. 23. 130Ibid.
131 Ibid. 132Ibid.
133Ibid., P• 33. 134Ibid. For general account on bid'ah, see
D. B. Mcdonald, "Bid'a," Encyclopaedia of Islam, Old ed., Vol. Ia2, p. 712; J. Robson, "Bid'a," Encyclopaedia of Islam, New ed., Vol. I, p. 1199.
135 ~ -, - - -SurkatL, al-Masa il, p. 21; Hadha Bayan, p. 25. 136surkati, al-Dhakhirah, I, p. 32; Hadha Bayan,
p. 31.
137surkati, al-Dhakhirah, II, p. 18; Hadha Bayan, p. 29.
112
138surkati:, al-Dhalmi:rah, II, p. 19: Hadha Bayan, p. 27.
139surkati:, al-Dhakhi:rah, I, PP• 45-46. 140Ibid., III, p. 158. 141Ibid., PP• 158-159; Hadha Bayan, P• 25. 142surkati:, al-Nasa'il, p. 45.
143Ibid. 144Ibid. 145Ibid. 146Ibid., P• 46. 147surkati, al-Dhakhirah, I, p . 46
148Ibid., pp. 42-46 and II, pp. 141-152.
149Ibid., III, p. 140. ISO - -, Surkati, al-Masa il, p. 52. 151Landon, Southeast Asia, PP• 155-156.
152 - - - - - 7 See Sulayman Naji, Tarikh, p. 3. 153Kyai Nuhammad Kusnun, a Sha-ç-çari shaykh in
Java, private interview.
154Majlis Da'wah, Riwayat, p. 2.
CHAPTER III
ISLAMIC CONSERVATISM VERSUS ISLAMIC REFORMISM
1. Ba 'Alawi versus Al-Irshad
The dispute bet\veen Ba 'Alawi and al-Irshad was
focused on the problem of changing the existing social
order which had its roots in the Hadramaut. Al-Irshad
challenged the unquestioning acceptance of the belief
that every sayyid is born in his place in the social or
der and must remain in it; that he is a wasilah (inter
cesser) and others therefore should take the blessing
from him; that a non-sayyid may not marry his daughter;
that non-sayyids should kiss his hand; and the like.
The success of Irshadi Arabs coincided perfectly with
their success in developing ideas of Islarnic reform.
In this respect al-rrshad found sorne support from nation-
al and reform Huslim groups. - ' -On the other hand, Ba Alawi
could hardly defend their idea, because the existence of
venerated positions resulting from being a descendant
of the Prophet was contrary to Sunni teachings. In this
case the development of Islam from heterodoxy to ortho-
doxy which occurred among Indonesian Muslims must have
meant a change in the attitude of Musl i ms in general
113
114
toward sayyid Arabs • Among the sayyid group itself there
\vere certain educ;1.ted savyids who rejected their own ex
alted positions. These sayyids include 'Abd Allah b.
AbÜ Bakr al-Habshi, MutJ.ammad b. 'Abd al-Ragman b. Shihab,
I'1utJ.ammad b. 'Abd Allah al-Sha~iri, Al}mad b. 'Abd Allah
al-Saqqaf and al-Ma,vla b. Yal}ya. 1 According to the
Irshadi '..rriter Sulayman Naji, these savyids were knmvn
to have been acquainted \vitll the works of Ibn Taymiyah ,
Ibn Qayyim, NulJarnmad 'Abduh and Rashid Ri<J.a. Hmvever,
nothing is mentioned by Sulayman Naji with regard to
their activities, except t hat t hey encouraged people to
launch t he idea of equality among Huslims and that they
\vere supporters of t he founding of the J~miat Khair. 2
Perhaps i t \'.TaS these people \vho were cal led by Del iar
Noer a "progressive group" of sayyids who consisted of
"the family of A.al Yahya and Aal Shiha b." 3
The first step of non-sayyids in changing the
attitude towards sayyids was to free tl1emselves f rom the ir
administrative depeadency on the sayyids. Certain non-
savyids succeeded in gaining tl1e confidence of the Dutch
goverœnent. Consequently some of them Here appointed as
"head of a local Ara~-: communi t y \vi t h whorn the government
dealt in matters o f common intere st to the community." 4
For exampl e , 'Umar ManqÜsh was a ppointcd i n J akarta and
'Iwaç. Sunkar in Solo . 5 With the arriva l of f ore ign
115
teachers invited b~· Jamiat Khair, 'umar ManqGsh, along
with the efforts of non-sayyid teachers, tried devel-
oping the idea of Islamic reform. Perhaps the main fac-
tor which inspired the flQ!l:~sayyids to advoca.te reformism
Has Rash l:d Ri1a' s opinion (fatwa) that marriage benveen
a non-sayyid and a sharl:fah (a sayvid' s daughter), vms
permissible. 6 In 1905 there was, in Singapore, a mar
riage benveen an Indian ~Iuslirn and a sharl:fah. This mar
riage produced an uproar arnong J::Ia<frami Arabs, who urged
'Umar b. Salim b. 'Attas (a prorninent sayyid in Singapore) .. to give a fatwa which judged that the marriage between
a non-sayyid and a sharifah \vas l}ararn ( forbi clden). 'Umar
b. Salim al-' Attas ivrote a letter to Shaykh Rashid Rida, . . . raising the question with him, in the hope that Ri<fa's
answer would agree with his fatwa. Thus, Rashl:d Rida's •
fatwa, as has been mentioned i n the second chapter, \vas
in answer to 'Umar b. Salim b. 'A~~as's question. 7
Rashrd Ri1~ opposed 'Umar S~lim's opinion and co~sidered
that such marriage was permissible.
In 1912 Surkati visited his friend Shaykh 'hva<f
Sunkar, the head of the local Arab com·!TJ.unity in Solo, and
sorne prominent sayyids whom 'Iwa~ Sunkar had invited. In
this meeting Shaykh 'Umar Sa'id b. Sunkar, a member of
'Iwag Sunlzar' s farnily, raised a question concerning a marriage
beti\reen a non-sayyid and a sharifah. Based on the Qur 'an
•
•
116
and ~adfth, Surkatf's answer carne to the sarne conclusion
as the fatwa given by Rashfd Rida. This fatwa produced . the violent enrnity of the sayyid group towards Surkati.
In another meeting between Surkati and a group of sayyid
Arabs in Jakarta, the latter stated that Surkati had
cornrnitted a great error which would never be excused by
the sayyids. 8 Due to the sayyids' enrnity and the fact
that Jarniat Khair was dorninated by the sayyid group,
Surkati resigned his position at Jarniat Khair. It may
be noted that before his leaving Jamiat Khair, Surkati
and his friends--all foreign teachers whose coming to
Indonesia was a result of the invitation of Jamiat Khair--
requested return to their country or to Makkah at the
expense of Jamiat Khair. Jarniat Khair refused their
request and forced them to advise all non-sayyid students ,. 9
to practise the taqb1l.
Soon after leaving Jarniat Khair Surkati changed
h . . . t d h . h . lü 1s evenJ_ng course 1.n o a ma rasa 1n t e rnorn1ng.
this case the prorninent leaders of non-sayyid Arabs,
including Shaykh 'umar ManqÜsh, Shaykh Salih 'Ubayd . .
In
'Abdat and Shaykh Salim Mash'abi succeeded in providing
the building located at Jati in Jakarta. All the foreign
teachers joined Surkatf and the majority of students,
especially the students of non-sayyid Arabs, rnoved from
117
Jamiat Khair to this new school. 11 I t '>vas .this school
that became the fiEst Irsh~dt school in Jakarta in 1913.
The resignation of beth the foreign teachers and the
majority of students resulted in a marked decline of the
Jamiat Khair.
It seems that the fat\va of 'umar b. Salim
al-' Attas al-' Almvt 'vritten in 1905 '!.vas reprinted by 0 0
sayyid Arabs as a brochure in 1911 , and '!.vas s pread among
~a~rami sayyids in Singapore, beco;, ing the basis of their
viewpoint on marriage. The tension bet'''een sayyid and
non-sayyid Arabs in Java stimulated Jamiat Khair leaders
to spread that brochure among Hadrami Arabs in Indonesia. 0 0
Realizing that this brochure seemed to have an inf luence,
especially among uneducated Arabs, Surkati, a year after
the recognition of al-Irshad movement by the Dutch gov
ernment on September 6, 1914, wrote a fatwa on the e-
quality of the Huslims called Sura tul Jmvab (The Dupli
cate Answer). The purpose of this fatwa was to empha
size the Irshadi belie f that the pe rpetuation of class
distinctions demanded by Ba 'Almvt in r e ligion was contra-
ry to Islamic social doctrine \vhich the a l-Irshad upheld ,
i.e, equal rights for all Muslims. This fa.twa appeared
in Suluh Hindia (November 1915), a daily belonging to
Sarikat Islam and under the editorship o f Tjokr oaminoto.
• 118
The fatwa was also publtshed by al-Irshad as a brochure
directed to all ~a~ramf Arabs. Thus the spread of this
brochure was a response to 'Umar b. Salim's brochure
- ' - 12 -spread by Ba Alawi. In Suratul Jm\Tab Surkati denied
the existence of five degrees of people based on ancestral
lineage, that is, as bas been mentioned in the second
chapter of this thesis, that the highest degree was filled
by (1) the descendants of Fa~imah through ~asan and
~usayn, followed by (2) Banü Hashim, (3) the people of
Quraysh, (4) other Arabs and (5) non-Arabs. Surkatf af-
firmed that Islam was a religion for all !llankind, and
that, within Islam, there were to be no distinctions or
prerogatives based on race and ancestry. He cited ref
erences from the Qur'an and Sunnah and concluded that
the only distinction among believers was in the perfection
of their worship of God. 13 \Vith regard to the marriage
between a sayyid's daughter and a non-sayyid, he took
examples from the Sunnah, which mentioned that the Prophet
wedded Zaynab b. Jahsh to Zayd b. Harithah. At first . . Zaynab refused, but then she agreed because of the coming
of the revelation of sürah al-At]zab, 36a "And it becometh
not a believing man or a believing mowan, W~len Allah and
His messenger have decided an affair (for them), that they
should (after that) claim any say in their affaira ..... 14
119
Surkati also mentioned the marriage between the daughter
of the Prophet, Ruqayyah, and 'Uthman b. 'Affan, who was
- - 15 not a descendant of the Bani Hashim.
It seems that the leaders of Ba 'Alawf responded
to Surkatt•s fatwa without any well-reasoned arguments.
Discussed below are sorne of the attacks launched by
Ba 'Alawt against Surkatf and the Irshadf peoplea
1) Ba 'Alawt•s attacks against Surkati
The spread of Suratul Jawab through bath the
Suluh Bindia daily and brochures increased the conflict
between sayyid and non-sayyid Arabs. The success of this
Suratul Jawab along with Surkati's success in developing
the Irshadi school made Surkatf the spiritual father of
the non-sayyid Arabs. As such, it was not surprising
that he was also a chief target of the Ba 'Alawi attacks.
In this case Ba 'Alawt seemed to dissociate Surkati and
his friends from Hadrami Arabs. Ba 'Alawt wrote in their • •
periodical Iqbala
0 Hadramis, excuse me for saying that you have been . . deceived and despised [by SurkatiJ and that you
therefore handed your religious leadership, your
honour and your nationality over to those who have
nothing in common with you, nor a national r elation
ship, nor a lineage relationship, nor a madhha b re-
l . h" 16 atLOTIS Lp.
120
In the Iqbal number 42 Ba 'Alawi wrote1
The Sudanese are a group of destructive immigrant who
have intoxicated the brains of the people with the
idea of socialism; thus they have become enemies of
high class people [sayyids]. They conceal goodness
[venerated position of sayyids] from students; instead
they teach the idea of blind equality. 17
\Vhen Ba 'Alawi knew that their effort did not have any
effect on non-sayyids, they then switched to accusing
Surkati of advising people to shake hands with a sayyid
while holding a sandal, of wedding their male students to
female students in the Irshadi school, of saying that
there are no descendants of the Prophet any more, and of
stating that all sayyids are rawafig (one of the Shi'ite
) ( ) - ( ) 18 sect , fasqah sinners and zunah adulterers • In the
presence of representatives of the Dutch government they
had this to say about Surkati.: "Surl<.ati is a follower of
the Mahdi movement [in Sudan] who tries to organize this
movement in order to lead revolt against the Dutch 19 government."
2) Ba 'Alawi's attacks against Irshadi people
The depth of emotional feeling among Ba 'Alawi
was apparent in physical attacks against the Irshadi
people. One day in 1913 a group of Ba 'Alawi. attacked
121
sorne Irshadi people ~vho attended a meeting at the house
of 'Isa b. Badr in Jakarta. Three Irshadi people were
injured and the others avoided injury due to the arrival
of the police in a short time. This bloody incident was
followed by others in the several local Arab comrnunities
in Cirebon, Pekalongan, Surabaya, Bogor and Bondowoso. 20
According to Sulayrnan Naji, the main contents of
Ba 'Alawi's periodical, al-Iqbal, charged al-Irshad and
- 21 its leaders with falsehood and condemned al-Irshad.
Deliar Noer says that al-Iqbal "also accused al-Irshad
people of being Bolshevists. It therefore suggested that
- 22 the Dutch government take action against al-Irshad."
- ' - - ~ The dispute between the Ba Alawi and the Irshad1 people
apparently pushed the Ba 'Alawt to support the Dutch co-
lonial policy concerning nationalist political rnovements.
Deliar Noer observed that there was, in the mid 1910's,
a sayyid named 'Uthman b. Ya9ya al-'Alawt who wrote a
pamphlet entitleda To Stop the Comrnon Man from Joining
Sarekat Islam. This pamphlet was distributed by the Dutch
government to all rnadrasahs and pondok-pesantrens in Indo
nesia.23
Ba 'Alawr also denounced Irshadi people to the
British government. Ba 'Alêwi sent their r epresentatives
'Ali b. Shihab and Muhammad al-Junayd to convince the .
..
122
British Consul General in Jakarta that one of the goals
of the Irshadi movement was to support Germany in its
struggle against the British. 24 In the presence of the
British, Surkati was accused of being a helper of Indian
poli ti cal refugee, 'Abd al-Salam al-Kashmiri, lvho \vas
said to have risen in revolt against the British and was
in Jakarta under house arrest by the Dutch government.
'Abd al-Salam ,.,as sa id by Ba 'Alawi to have known AI:mad
Surkati we11. 25 Furthermore Ba 'Alawi accused al-Irshad
of being a seditibus movement which was trying to agitate
the Kathiri Sul tana te to reval t against the Qu' ayt} Sul tan-
26 ( -ate. These Hadrami Sultanates were under . . the rule of
the protectorate of the British in Aden). 27 These Ba
'Alawi efforts were received by the British and as a con-
sequence, the British issued in 1918 a prohibition against
the enterance of Irshadi people into areas under British
jurisdiction. 28 Furthermore, both the Qu 'aytt and Kathiri
sultans were advised to be careful in dealing with Irshadi --·--people. Thus, a letter signed by Ghalib b. 'Iwad (the . sul!=an of Qu'ay!=) and 'Ali b. al-Nan~Ür al-Kathiri (the
sultan of al-Kathir) was sent to Hadramis in Indonesia. --·- .. (The letter was brought by Al Ja'fari b. Salim b. Talib •
al-'Alawi). The l etter stated that both sultans had to --·--guard the Hadramaut from a possible violent controversy . .
123
among Hadamis caused by Surkati and his friends in Java. . . The letter also mentioned that certain people would be
given the task of ob,serving those who became follm>lers
29 of al-Irshad , movement. Al-Yafi't said that all the
f -d~ b 1 d Q ' ~ relatives o Irsha ~ mem ers who ive in the u ayt~ . Sultanate faced difficulties imposed by the ruling group
under the direct leadership of ~amid al-M~gar, the Prime
M. . f h Q ' ... s 1 30 ~n~ster o t e u ayt~ u tanate • . However this
Irshadi discrimination ended soon after the British came
to know about the problem of the dispute between Ba
' - - 31 Alawi and al-Irshad in Java. The abolition of the
prohibition, which had applied to Irshadi people, was
announced in December 1920. 32 The letters of the Irshadt
movement adressed to the Consul General of the British
Empire in Jakarta33 as well as the British Foreign De-34 partment, and the letter of the Irshadr branch of Sura-
baya to the Qu'ay~i Sultanate were responsible for the
- ~ 35 change in atti.tude of the British toward the Irshad~s.
In general the Irshadi letters explained the purposes
and activities of the Irshadt movement and rejected all
the a ccusations launched by Ba 'Alawi 's periodical
al-Iqbal. Al-Irshad made known that its movement was
beyond the political field.
Attempts to unite both organizations, J amiat
124
Khair and al-Irshad, always failed for one reason or an
ether. At the beginning of 1 9 19~ Sayyid Isma'il 'Abd
Allah al-'Attas, a member of Volksraad (People's Coun-• . cil), was urged by his Dutch friends to establ i sh the
so-called al-Rabitah al-'Arabiyah (the Arab League).
The first step in his effort was to convene the Mu'tamar
'Arabi 'Am (General Arab Congress) which would decide
the program of the Arab League. In this respect he suc
ceeded in establishing the Lajnah Tanffdhiyah (the Ex
ecutive Committee) i n January 1919 with members f rom
both Ba 'Alawi and al-Irshad. Certain members of this
Lajnah Tanf idhfyah were chosen to carry out the special
mission o f visiting loca l Arab communi ties, convince
the people of the i mportance of establ ishing the
al-Rabitah al-'Arabiyah, and invite them to send their •
r epresentatives to the Mu'tama r 'Arabi 'Am whi ch would
be held on February 9, 1919. ~Yhen the group ca me t o
Surabaya, the local Bi ' Alawi took a stand against the
establishment of the Executive Committee , due to t he
fact that Surkati--a man who wa s charged by the s ayyids
with be ing an agi t ator--became one of i ts membe r s . A
sta tement r efusing to join the Mu'tamar wa s made by
Jamiat Khair Surabaya. Inf l uenced by this s tatement ,
Jamiat Khair Jakart a made the same statement ( February 6,
125
1919). Consequently the effort of Sayyid Isma'il failed.
It may be noted, in addition, that in 1921 another effort
to form an agreement between Jamiat I(hair and al-Irshad
was tried by ljusayn 'Abidin, an Arab of Singapore, with
the urging of the British in Singapore. 37 He wrote a
letter to al-Irshad offering to mediate the dispute be
tween al-Irshad and Jamiat Khair if al-Irshad would ac-
cept the conditions mentioned in his letter. The con
ditions included the following& the Irshadi schools
should register both non-sayyid and sayyid children; the
teacher should teach the idea of equality among pe ople;
and al-Irshad should not write in its periodical about
disputed matters between sha ykhs (non-sayyids) and
savyids; r a the r it should try to make peace between both
sides. The conditions were accepted by al-Irshad and
theref ore ~usayn ''Abidin came to Java. However, ~usayn
'Abidi n fail ed becaus e Ba 'Alawi neve r attended the meet-
'rb ~ - 38 ings arranged by ~usayn fi dLn and al-Irshad.
Having tired of the controversies with Jamiat
Khair in the 1910's, in the 1920's Surkati and al-Irshad
s eemed t o show a tota l disregard fo r the enmity of Ba
'Alalvi. In the al-Dhakhirah, Surkati did not comment on
Ba 'Alalvi, though he denounced t he intercession and
saint-lvor ship of Ba 'Ala,vi. In t his case Sur kati ap-
126
parently followed the advice of Husayn 'Abidin of . Singapore. However, realizing that they \vere Surkati' s
topic in al-Dhakhirah, the sayyids, represented by 'Ali
b. 'Abd Allah al-Tayyib, tried to hold a debate \vith
Ahmad Surkati. 'Ali sent a letter to Ahmad Surkati • •
mentioning that the discussion would be held on Sha'ban
21, 1343 (March 17, 1925) in Nasjid Arnpel (Ampel mosque),
Surabaya, and that Surkati was required to prepare a
paper. Ahmad Surkati prepared a paper entitled al-Masa'il . al-Thalath, that is al-ijtihad wa al-taglid, al-sunnah
wa al-bid'ah, and ziyarat al-gubür wa al-tawassul. The
discussion failed because 'Ali b. 'Abd Allah broke his
promise of meeting AQ.mad Surkati at A:npel rnosque on March
17, 1925. The paper of AQ.mad Surkati wa s published by
al-Irshad as a brochure distributed to Arab as well as
I d . M 1 " 39 n onesLan us Lms.
In general, t he Indonesian Musl ims, including
the conservatives, supported AQ.mad Surkati's stand, be
cause his fatwa in Suratul Jawab reflected the social
t eaching o f Islam and was in accordance with the desire
of I ndone s ian Muslims . 40 Even t hose who we r e fol l owers
of Süfi orders did not support the Jamiat Khair be cause •
the Sufis s eemed to r ecognize the differ ence betwe en the ·--t eaching o f wasilah ( int ercessor ) a ccording to Ba 'Al awi
127
- 'l" 41 and that according to the ~ufLs. The only hope of
Ba 'Alawf was support coming from the Dutch government.
In 1932 Jamiat Khair wrote a letter requesting recogni-
tion of the title of sayyid by the Dutch government.
This effort \vas, hmvever, noted by al-Irshad. A brochure
called Titel Sayid Jadi Urusan, Pemerintah Carnpur Tangan
(The Problern of the Title of Sayyid, the Interference of
the Governrnent) ,.,as published by al-Irshad to expose the
- t ~ 42 use of the title sayyid by Ba AlawL. Two problerns
appeared in this brochure• the problern of the title
sayyid and the interference of the eovernment. Concerning
the former, the brochure stated the rneaning of sayvid
was not more than Tuan in Indonesian language or "Mister"
in English. The brochure accused Ba 'Alawf of being
detrirnental to the religious life of Indonesian Muslirns,
especially those who were lacking in Islarnic knowledge.
The brochure exposed the marriage between a sayyid, who
only had ten florins to his narne, and twenty village
ladies within two years. He divorced each after having
been married for two or three rnonths only. The exarnple
indicated how Muslirns suffered at the hands of Ba 'Alawi
Arabs. However the brochure sarcastically praised the
sayyids for their rnanaging to deceive people by their
false behaviour. The shre,.vdness o f Ba 'Alawf, as indi-
128
cated by the brochure, was displayed in its painting out
that the honour of people does not depend on knowledge,
fear of God (taqwa), or good behaviour, but only upon
descent from the Prophet. - ' . -Any Ba ~lawi, therefore, no
matter how poor his relations with others were, was re-
d d h . lt d . . 43 gar e as av~ng an exa e pos~ t~on.
On the second problem, the al-Irshad wrote a
letter--a copy of this letter appears in the brochure:-
to the Dutch colonial government trying to defeat the
- ' - -purpose of Ba Alawi's letter; al-Irshad explained in its
letter that the question concerning the title of sayyid
was an internal Arab problem whi ch related to matters
of religion. It proposed that the government should not
interfere wi th this ma t t er and allow the problem to be
discussed by the Arab community itself. The letter of
al-Irshad was signed by 'Ali b. sa'Id b. Mughtth, 'Abd
Allah 'Agil, Sa'id b. 'Abd Al l ah Ba Sa lamah and 'Ali b.
Salim Hubay~. 44 In fact, the Dutch colonial government
d i d not interfere with the que stion of the title sayyid.
I nfluenced by this brochure in 1933, Ahmad Hasan and . . his Persat uan Islam movement exposed once a gain i n his
periodical Pembela Islam (the Defender o f Islam) the
impossibilit y of ba 'nlawi's demand for e l eva ted posi
tions . He seemed t o extend the fat wa of Ahmad Surkatf
129
in Suratul Jawab and he commented that Ba 'Alawr•s stand
b d I 1 . h. 45 was eyon s am1c teac 1ngs. AIJmad ljasan \vas the
only non-Arab who interjected himself in the dispute
bet\-leen the sayyid and non-sayyid Arabs. h'i th his invol ve
ment, the echoes of the dispute between Ba 'Alawr and
al-Irshad gradually died dm·m.
2. Reformists ver sus Conservatives and the Role of Surkatf
While in Jakarta al-Irshad faced the enmity of
Ba 'Alawr, in Surabaya al-Irshad was involved in the dis
pute between the Indonesian kaum muda (reformt. st Nuslims)
and kaum tua ( conservative Muslims). Soon after the estab-
lishment of al-Irshad branch of Surabaya in 1917, al-Irshad
together with sorne prominent r e formist leaders tried to
propagate the idea of Islamic reform. Their efforts only
created a conflict with the kaum tua, who constituted the
majority of Huslims in Java .
According to Haji Abubakar, three groups appeared
in Surabaya a t the close of l 910s. These were a group of
Muslims under the leadership of Kyai Mas Mansur; a group
of Arabs who joined al-Irshad under the leadership of
Ahmad Surkat1; and a group of Musli rns under t he leadership •
of Kya i Wahha b Hasbullah. 46 The members of t he first and
130
second groups belonged to the reform movement. Their
teachings called for a revival of Islam by emphasizing
the Qur'an and Sunnah. Sorne religious practices were
considered bid'ah (innovation) and khurafah (supersti
tion). The members of the third group belonged to the
so-called santri--"a group of people in Java who profess
the most serious devotion to Islam, observing the rituals
of prayer, fasting, pilgrimage, etc." 47 and became fol
lm'lers of the Shafi'i school--and to the kyais or 'ulama,
who were considered "the nucleus of rural Islamic social
structure and the climax of kolot (conservative) culture." 48
This santri group opposed the changes advocated by those
reformists and defended the established religious system
in Java. These Muslims believed that "truth does not
change according to times and conditions--[rather] it is
passed down from one 'alim to the other, to his pupils
and his followers." 49 It seems that the desire of the
kyais as leaders of the santri group was to see that the
existing religious teaching remained unchanged. Thus the
majority of them opposed the new wave of thought advo-
cated by r e formists. In t he words of Mochtar Nai m:
••• the conservative-madhhab-oriented-ulama
arose to fight the "danger" of r e for mist groups
who wished to "modi f y I slam in Indonesia and
131
to lead it astray from the religious tradition
which for centuries had been followed." 50
A reformist who might be considered the first one
ta bring about a dispute between kaum tua and kaum muda
in Java \·las Pakih Hasjim, knmvn as ulama Padang ( 'ulama,
of Padang in t-1inangkabau), As a pupi 1 of Ha ji Abdul
Karim Amrullah, the character of his internal mission
seemed to resemble that of Haji Abdul Karim. Abdul Karim's
tablighs were "characterized by criticism and attacks on
all practices with which he did not agree; even minor
questions were not spared," 51 It has been mentioned that
the offensive tabligh launched by Pakih Hasjim who was
joined by al-Irshad in Surabaya shook the world of con
servative Muslims. In arder to support their tabligh,
al-Irshad branch of Surabaya published its periodicals
al-Salam and al-Irshad in 1920 to 1921. 52 The dispute
became a hostility in al-Islam congress held in 1922 in
Cirebon (West Java), where reformists and conserva tives
denounced each other as kafir and mushrik, "The congress
failed to unite the hearts of the traditionalists •••
and reformists," 53
Realizing that this violent controversy should
be stopped, Surkati, saon after hts coming back to
al-Irshad from his own tracte business (1 921-1923), pub-
132
lished his periodical called al-Dhakhirah, By this pe-
riodical Ahmad Surkatl: intended to solve the dispute . between conservatives and reformists. He said1
The differences, hatred and animosity that we have
passed through were enough and so were the dispute
and controversy. Let us replace difference with
similarity and establish friendship and kindness
instead of hatred and animosity, and let us enter
into harmony and friendliness instead of contin
uing controversy and dispute. Let us become broth
ers who love each other under the flag of God's
Unity and God's Prophet Muhammad. And let us have
one will, that is "help you one another unto
( ,- - )54 rightousness and pious dut y." Qur an .ê,ill'ah 5a2.
Surkati's call for unity was based on the second point
of Irshadi principles saying that "al-Irshad should follow
the way of salaf in solution to all disputed rnatters." 55
In other words, if there is a disputed rna tters of r eligion
al-Irshad should only refer to the Qur' an and Sunnah.
This principle was based on the sürah 4:59 a "If ye have
a dispute concerning any matter, r e fer it to Allah and
the me ssenger if ye are (in truth) believers in Allah
56 and the Last Day." Due to the fact that Muslims were
involved in a dispute concerning different judgements
on certain rel igious practices, Surka ti encouraged Muslims
133
to ask hirn questions about those rnatters and said that
he would give his answers in the forrn of fatwas in his
periodical al-Dhakhirah. 57 The fatwas of Surkati on such
questions were always based on the Qur'an and the ~adrth.
Ho\vever, as far as the questions were concerned, none
arose concerning iitihad and taglrd. Thus the first step
in the dispute between reforrnists and conservatives in
Java focused on religious practices which were considered
by Surkati as bid'ah.
To sorne extent the fatwas of Surkati in al-Dhakhirah
had an inf luence on both the Indonesian Muslirns and the
sayyid Arabs. Their influence on Indonesian Muslirns was
very positive. History witnessed the friendship between
conservatives and reforrnists at al-Islam congress of De-
cernber 26, 1924, in Surabaya, which was attended by rnern
bers of Sarekat Islam, Muhammadiyah, al-Irshad and the as
yet unorganized conservative Muslims. At this congress
the reforrnists and conservatives succeeded in reaching
sorne degree of agreement. Deliar Noer comrnents as followsa
The Congress agr eed that the basis of all rel igious
teaching is the Qur'an and ~adrth, and that the
four imams, i.e. founders of rnadhahib, had corne to
their r espective judgements (hukum agama) after
a careful and complete study and investigation of
the texts in the Qur'an and ~adrth; that in arder
134
to purify and to give explanations about the
various disciplines of Islam, and for the
study of religious books, it is very important
to carry investigations into the Qur'an and
~adfth; that the interpretation of the Qur'an should not be done arbitrarily, but that it
needs the necessary equipment, i.e. various 58 kinds of knmvledge.
Furthermore, the congress also succeeded in defining the
d . . f b . . h. d 59 con ltlons or ecomlng muJta l • It must be noted
that after discussing the teachings of al-Irshad and
Muhammadiyah, the congress concluded that neither of
- - 60 them was a follower of the Wahhabi movement. Ahmad . Surkatl: and his al-Dhakhirah, which was published during
1923 and 1924, must have urged the growing friedship
between conservatives and reformists.
Another of Surka ti' s efforts was to bring the two
groups together appears in his al-Mas~'il al -Thalath
(written in 1925), that is, his fatw~ on ijtih~d and
taglid. He seemed to be aware tha t the basic difference
between reformists and conservatives was in the approach
to Islamic t eachings . The r eformists focused on salaf
and referred all religious beliefs and practices to the
Qur'an and Sunnah. In this they followed Nuhammad 'Abduh . who said 1 "t-1atters of belief and practice are to be de-
135
termined by reference to these two sources (the Qur'an
and Sunnah), in other words, the beliefs and practices
of the early Huslims are once more to be adopted, without
additions or omissions.'' 61 The reformists proposed their
"cardinal reformist tenetc Final authority in all that
concerned rel i gious doctrine lay neither in the schools
nor in the religious hierarchy, but in the Qur'an and the
Sunna (Huhammad's sayings and practice)." 62 Surkati's
intention of discussing the iitihad was to free the minds
of Huslims from traditional references, the kyais and
aqwal al-'ulama 1 (the sayings of 'ulama') which appeared
in the conservative's books of reference. In other words,
Surka tl. intended to free the minds of Muslims from the
chain of belief concerning authority without question or
objection, so that the 'ulama' and their books of ref-
erence would not be the fina l authority. However, Sur kati
did not condemn the 'ulama' or their books o f reference .
He wanted the 'ulama' to link their opinions--generally
taken f rom such and such a book or the wri ting of 'ulama'
so and so--with the Qur'an and Hadith. Surka ti affirmed . that his r equest \va s i n agreement wi th the Imams of t he
grea t madhhabs (AbÜ ~anifah, Nalik b. Anas, Shafi'I. and
Ibn I;fanba l). In t his respect Surka tl. quoted sorne saying
of these Imams, including Shafi ' I. , who s a id, among other
136
things a " 1;fuenever you find ir.. my books something contrary
to the Sunnah of the Prophet, take the Sunnah and leave
my \vords." 63 This seemed to impress the conservative
"'ulama 1• Kyai Hasjim Asj.'ari (a prominent leader of con
servative Muslims) in his Mawa"'iz (religious exhortation) •
wrotea
If Imam Shafi'i, Imam AbÜ ljanifah, Imam Malik,
Imam A~mad, Imam Ibn ~ajar were still alive,
they would certainly reject this activity ,[con
troversy and dispute] of yours. 64
Another outlook of Surkati which might make a good
impression on conservatives was that Surkati only con-
demned the muqallids who basically have the ability and
chance to understand Islamic teaching but do not devote
their ability to the study of the Qur'an and ljadith, nor 65 do they understand them. A discussion between conser-
vative 'ulama~, including Kyai Hasjim Asj'ari and Kyai
\vahhab Hasbullah (the president and secretary of Nahdlatul
Ulama respectively), and prominent reformists, including
Kyai Haji Mas Mansur and sorne Irshadi leaders, was held
in Surabaya in 1929 under the sponsorship of A~mad Surkati.
The purpose of this meeting was to strengthen the rela-
tionship between conservatives and reformists. It is
said that after the establishment of the Nahdlatul Ulama
137
there was a conservative statement saying that "all opin-
ions which were not in agreement with the common tra-
ditional religtous books or all opinions \vhich were only
based on the Qur'an and Sunnah should be considered as
leading someone astray." 66 This statement became the im-
mediate cause of holding this meeting. The discussion
focused on ijtihad and taqlid. According to Majlts Da'\vah
the meeting concluded that taqlid buta (blind acceptance)
was considered ~aram (forbidden), and that every religious
book might be read and criticized with the hope that
somebody could consider whi ch of the opinions were true
and '\vhich ones were wron8• 6 7
To sorne extent '\vhat Surkati had done in the 1920s
supported the car:>paign for the founding of an Islamic
federation, the M.I.A.I. (Madilis Islam A'laa Indonesia
or Supreme Council of Nuslims of Indonesia), which \va s
set up in Surabaya on September 21, 1937. 68 For example,
Kyai Haji Hasjim Asj'ari issued in 1935 "a circular
calling on all the participating 'ulama' to set aside
di f ferences, abandon the feeling of ta ~ a~~ub (fana ticism)
in one's own v iew, f orego al l scorn and derision towards
one another and uphold unity." 69 Kyai Hasjirn Asj'ari
saida
0 you who f anatically adhere to a certain rnadhhab
or opinion! -' ship in furu
applied fiqh,
138
Leave your fanaticism and partisém
[the doctrine of the branches, i.e.,
applied ethics] questions ••• Your
fanaticism about furG' problerns and your incite
ment to adhere to only one rnadhhab and one opin
ion is not liked by Allah and is not agreed to by
the Apostle of Allah. This is true especially
if your motivation is only fanaticism, rivalry
d . 1 70 an Jea ousy.
Owing to the fact that oondok-pesantrens did not
train their students, including the candidates of kyais,
with the knowledge needed to link the legal opinions a
vailable in the traditional books wit:1 the Qur'an and the
Sunnah, deliberation on certain religious questions in
the congresses of Nahdlatul Ulama in the 1930s "did not
actually have the character of discussion and critical
study but rather pointed to the old books and turned them
over and over, looking for what (the qaul 'ulama' [sayings
of certain 'ulama'J) Shafi~i ('ulama' so and so) said
' h bl d d. . Il 71 aoout t e pro em un er ~scuss~on. However, according
to Federspiel, "reform, while apparent among the modern-
ists, also occurred among many traditionalists as well,
so that a number of practices rejected by the Muhammadiyah
were rejected by many of the traditionalists as well when
they applied the criteria for examination used in the
Shafi'i school of jurisprudence itself." 72
139
In order to join the growing unity of Nuslims in
Indonesia during the l930s, the graduates of Irshadi
ç - - - -shools sponsored by Abd al-Rahman Baswidan founded an - . Indo-Arab (half-caste) movement called P.A.I. (Persatuan
Arab Indonesia,or Indonesian Arab Unity). According to
'Abd al-Raç.man the aim of this organization was "to edu-
cate the Indo-Arabs i n order that they would be aware
that they are included in the Indonesian society in gen
eral and Indonesian Nuslim society in particular." 73
Thus becoming members of P.A.I. was "to enlist their loyal-
ty to Indonesia, on the principle that Indonesia was their
native country and that the organization could thus best
promote Arab interest by promoting those o f the country 74 as a whole." This small minority organization, which
was said to have thirty sections with members recruited
from all Indo-Arabs gr ew into one of the nationalist move-
ments prior to the independence of Indonesia . This sig-
nified the cooperation with the native nationalist Nuslim
movement by joining the M.I.A.I. in 1937. This organi-
zation a lso had a youth division ca lled Las jkar P.A.I.
(Troopers of P. A.I.) for educating young peopl e f or late r
membership in the organization. 75 Van der Kroe f has also
this to say about P.A.I.a
Though the P.A. I . was at first primarily concerned
140
with social welfare and religious matters it
entered the political arena in 1937. Its program
envisaged the autonomy of Indonesia within the
frame,vork of the Netherland Realm, public and
legal equality between Arabs and Indonesians,
and improvement of the position of all inhabi
tants of Indonesia. This progressive stand was
looked upon with favour by most Indonesian nation
alist groups and in 1939 and LJ40 the P.A.I. stood
shoulder to shoulder along with other Indonesian
natibnalist groups in the parliamentary action 76 for greater self-government.
141
FOOTNOTES
1Naji, rarrkh, P• 71.
2Ibid.
3Noer, Muslim Movement, p. 58.
4Ibid., P• 61.
5rbid.
6see second chapter of this thesis pp. 57-58.
7Ibid.
~ajr, Tarikh, P· 36. 9rbid., p. 35.
10Ibid., p. 36.
llibid.' pp. 34,, 35.
12Majlis Da'wah, Riwayat, P• 14.
13 - -He cites surat al-!jujurat, 13a "0 mankind: Lo:
We have created you male and female, and have made you
nations and tribes that you may know one another. Lo! the noblest of you, in the sight of Allah, is the best in conduct," see Surkatl., "Suratul Javmb," in Najlis
Da •.,;.mh, Rhvayat, II, P• 11.
14Ibid., p. 13.
15rbid., pp. 13-14.
16N- ,,. aJJ.,
17Ibid.
Tarikh, p. 62.
18Ibid., pp. 78-79.
19Ibid., P• 57.
142
20rbid., PP• 76-77; al-Yafi'i, Tarikh, PP• 235-236~ 21N- .~ T- ~ 57 aJL, arLkh, P• •
22Noer, Nuslim Movement, p. 67; see also Naji,
Taril<h, o. 60. 23Noer, r.1uslim Movement, p. 186. 24 - ,_ - ~
Al-Yafi i, TarLkh, PP• 284-285.
251- .~ - ~ 60 NaJL, TarLkh, p. •
26This data appears in the letter of al-Irshad
sent to the Consul General of the British in Jakarta
where al-Irshad explained that it never intended to ag
itate the Kathiri Sultanate to revolt against Qu'ayti . Sultanate, and if there was to be a war between both
it might be caused by their former enmity, when they
used to fight one another long before the founding of
al-Irshad, see al-Irshad's letter to the British, dated
21 April 1919, Batavia, in al-Yafi'i, Tarikh, pp. 300-302. 27For further information on Aden Protectorate
see Doreen Ingrams, A Survey of Social and Economie Con
ditions in the Aden Protectorate (Londona The Government
British Printing Administration, 1949).
28 - .~ - ~ 93 NaJL, TarLkh, p. • 29The copy of this letter appears in ibid.,
PP• 90-92; also al-Yafi'i, Tarikh, PP• 285-286.
30A y- . '~ T- ·~ 1- afL L, a rLKhJ
31 Ibid., P• 320.
PP• 288-9.
32Noer, Muslim Movement, p. 67. 33 - , _ - ~
See a l-Yafi i, TarLkh, pp . 300-302.
143
34The copy of this letter appears in ibid.,
PP• 307-319. 35The copy of this letter appears in ibid.,
PP• 289-299. 36rhe statement of the Jamiat Khair of Surabaya,
dated 26 January 1919, Surabaya, in Naji, Tarikh, p. 97;
the statement of Jamiat Khair of Jakarta, dated 7 Febru
ary 1919, Jakarta, in ibid,, p. 98.
34Abidin's letter to al-Irshad mentioned that
a British official urged him to mediate the dispute be
tween al-Irshad and Ba 'dlawt; see his letter, dated 5
February 1921, Singapore, in al-Yafi'I, Tarikh, PP• 281-
282.
38Ibid., p. 283,
39 - -, 7 See Surkati, al-Masa il, pp. 6- • 40However, as far as history of Islam in Indo
nesia 'vas concerned, none of the conservative Muslims was
involved in the dispute between sayyids and non-sayyids,
and none of the sayyids was involved in the dispute be
tween kaum tua and kaum muda in Java.
41As has been mentioned in the chapter II of this
thesis, according to Ba 'Alawt, every sayyid is wasilah or intercessor between other sayyids and God, but accord
ing to ~üffs wasilah is a shaykh or guru. 42Titel Sayid Djadi Urusan, Pemerintah Tjampur
Tangan (Bataviaa Perserikatan al-Irsjad, 1932).
43Ibid., pp. 5-6.
44Ibid., PP• 17-23.
144
45For f\tr~her in
against Ba 'AlAjl. h.
on Ahmad Hasan's attack
~~~~~~, PP• 63-68. 46 .
Abubakar, Sedjarah Hidup, p. 471.
47Mochtar Naim, "The Nahdlatul Ulama Party (1952-
1955)1 An Inquiry into the Origin of Its Electoral Success" (unpublished M.A. Thesis, McGill University, 1960),
. P• 169. 48clifford Geertz, The Religion of Java (New York:
The Free Press, 1960), pp. 180-181.
49Naim, "Nahdlatul Ulama~" p. 152.
50Ibid., P• 2. 51Noer, Nuslim Movement, p. 37.
52see chapter II of this thesis, pp. 83-84~ Naji,
Tarikh, PP• 133-134. 53 Noer, Muslim Movement, p. 227.
54surkati, al-Dhakhirah, p. 4.
55see chapter II of this thesis, p. 67; Naji,
Tarikh, p. 68.
56surkati, al -Masa 1 il, p . 11. 57Majlis Da 'wah, Riwavat, p . 8.
58Noer, Ivluslim Movement, pp. 227-228, n. 44.
59The conditions of mu jtahid were as follmvs:
having "knmvledge of !§.~~ (text ) o f the Qur 'an and I:jadith, knowl edge about ijma' (consensus ) of 'ulama 1
, knowledge of
Arabie, knowledge of Mu~addithun (~adith narrators) and
t heir history, knowledge of the reasons for the revelation
of Qur'anic verses and existence of ~adith statements ,"
s ee ibid., p . 288, n . 45.
145
60Ibid., p. 228. 61Adams, Islam and Modernism, p. 174. 62Hisham Sharabi, Arab Intellectuals and the West:
The Formative Years, 1875-1914 (Baltimore: The Johns
Hopkins Press, 1970), p. 37. 63see chapter II of this thesis, p. 94; Surkati,
al-Masa'il, p. 17. 64Kyai Hasjim Asj'ari, "al-Mawa'iz" trs. by Hamka,
• Pandji Masjarakat, Vol. I (Agustus 1959), p. 6, quoted by
Noer, Nuslim Movement, p. 241. 65see chapter II of this thesis, p. 95. 66Majlis Da'wah, Riwayat, p. 19. 67Ibid., pp. 19-20. 68 Abubakar, Sedjarah Hidup, p. 311; for further
information see PP• 311-319; also Noer, Huslim Movement,
pp. 242-246. 69Noer, Nuslim Movement, p. 241. 70Asj'ari, " al-Mawa'iz," P• 5, quoted by Noer, •
Muslim Hovement, p. 241. 71Naim, "Nahdlatul Ulama," p. 152. 72Federspiel, "Muhammadijah", p. 65. 73A. R. Baswidan, "P. A. I. , " in Congress P. A. I.
ke IV~ Solo, 1941, p. 11. 740ffice Strategie Services, Political Parties and
Movements in the Netherlands East Indies, R.and A No. 2512 Washington, 1945, p. 59.
146
75 - - - "P " 11 12 See Bas,.;idan, , A. I. , PP• - ; Of fi ce
Strategie Services, Political Parties, pp. 59-60, 76van der Kroef, Indonesia, pp. 257-258,
CONCLUSION
Prior to the nineteenth century the Arab colo-
nies had only been set up at a few important coastal
cities in South East Asia. These settlements came as
a general result of commercial activity. In the nine-
teenth century, the Arab populace who moved to Java
from Hadramaut began to increase. This increasing number
of Hadrami Arabs was a result of (1) the economie diffi
culties in the Hadramaut: (2) the easier means of transport
from the Middle East to Indonesia: and (3) the economie
policy of the Dutch government reflecting the economie
position of the Oriental minority, including the Arabs
and t he Chinese, as the bearers of intermediary commerce.
The Hadrami Arabs always tried to combine their economie . . operations with money lending. Therefore the role of
certain ija1rami scholars in developing Islamic teachings
in Indonesia i s very obscure . Their trading methods
and money-lending activities made their name unpopular
in many place s in Java . The development of Islam from
heterodoxy into orthodoxy was the result of the native
Indonesian pilgrims, especially those pilgrims who spent
a number of years in Makkah. Through the influx of
147
148
these pilgrims, the pondok-pesantrens or traditional
religious seminaries which were under the leadership
of kyais or 'ulama' gradually became more orthodox.
However it appeared to the reformist Muslims that the
kyais failed to purify Islam from its traditional
syncretism. Additionally, the kyais held an inherent
attitude of taql!d (blind acceptance) toward the teachings
of a particular madhhab. This madhhab teachings appear
to have been regarded as sacred traditions.
The important fact about ~aqrami Arabs is that
they were divided into two groups, the sayyid and the
non-sayyid. It seems that in the nineteenth century the
sayyids \vere able to main tain t heir eleva ted positions
which had been the social custom in the Hadr élmaut for
centuries. In the presence of the uneducated Indonesian
Muslims, the sayyids succeeded in indoctrinating them so
that they would be lieve tha t the honour of people mainly
depended on de scent f r oP.l. the Prophet.
i''!eamvhile, at t he close of the nineteenth century
the development of Islam in t he Hiddle East had an impact
on the Ara b community in Indonesia . First , t his i mpact
apnears in the foundation of Jamiat Khair in 1901 and
was recognized by t he Dutch gove rnment in 1905. The pur
pose o f this Arab organization was to create a close
149
relationship between Indonesian Arabs and the Middle East
and to prepare schools for educating Arabs. Second, this
impact appears in the non-sayyids' endeavour to change
the existing social order in the Arab community, since
the elevated position of the sayyids was contradictory
to the Islamic teachings in their view. The founding of
Jamiat Khair resulted in invitations to foreign teachers
from the Middle East, including Ahmad Surkati. The name
Surkati became very well known in the Arab community due
to the fact that he played a considerable role in the
growing tension between sayyids and non-sayyids. In 1912
he gave a fatwa (legal opinion) which challenged the un
questioni ng acceptance of tbe belief that every sayyid
is born in his place in the social order and maintains
his exalted position; that a non-sayyid may not marry
his daughter; that non-sayyids should kiss his hand; and
the like. This fat\va increased the growing tension be
t,.;een sayyid and non-sayyid Arabs which led to the organ
izational split between sayyids and non-sayyids. Jamiat
Khair became an organization of the sayyids, while the
non-sayyids under the sponsorship of A~mad Surkati
founded an organization of their own, al-Irshad, in
1913, ,.;hich ,.;as organized by the Dutch government in
1914 • Consequently the development of these two
150
organizations was characterized by the dispute benveen
savvids and non-savyids. The sayyids based their view-
- ' - ' -point on the fatwa of Umar Salim al- A~~as, a prominent
sayyid of Singapore, entitled "The Narriage between a
Sharffah and a non-Sharif and Esteemed Position of Ahl
al-Bayt [the descendants of 'Ali and Fat:imah]." The
non-sayyids •· viewpoint \vas based on Surkati' s fat'iva
called Suratul Jawab (The Duplicate Answer) \vhich was
written in 1915. The success of Suratul Jmvab, along
with Surkati' s success in developing the Irshadi school,
made Surkati the spiritual father of the non-sayyid
Arabs and a liaison between the Irshadi movement and
native Indonesian reform organizations. The dispute
between sayyids and non-sayyids resulted in a marked
decline of Jamiat Khair. Attempts to unite both organ
izations, Jamiat Khair and al-Irshad, allvays failed for
one reason or another.
Joined by all foreign teachers 'ivho left Jamiat
Khair for al-Irshad, Surkati succeeded i~ creating an
awareness of the importance of education arnong the non-
sayyids, 'ivhich enable al-Irshad to work more effectively
in constructing its future development and progress.
The first major concern of A~mad Surkati was the forma-
tion of a sig11ificant number of follm·1ers \vho became
151
the hard-core of t h e movement and helped him to carry
out his mission and continue it after his death. At
the beg i nning Surkati devoted his attention to the im
provement of Irshidi schools in Jakarta and then fol
lowed by the establishment of Irshidi school branches
in Java. The perseverance of Irshidi members in car-
r ying out educationa l activity succeeded in achieving
a place of respectability within the Indonesian Huslim
comrnunity. Many graduates of Irshidi schools, either
Arabs or native Indonesian, played an important role
in the subsequent development o f Islamic tho ught in
Indonesia.
Due to t h e f a ct t hat Surkati and sorne of the
foreign teachers were a cquainted witt the works o f t h e
Middle East reformer s Huharnmad 'Abduh and Rash id Rida, . . al-~rshid grounded itself i n Islami c ref ormi sm. The
d ev e lopment of the I r shadi movement f a r e d v ery well
partly be c a u s e i t coin cided with the spreading o f Islamic
r eformism amon8 native Indone sian Nuslims. Soon after
the f oundation o f the Irshadi movement, con t a ct ,.vi th
othe r mode rn Muslim mov ements, espe cia lly Muharnmadiyah ,
became very close. Th ese two rnovements, a l-Irshid and
Muharnmadiyah, formed t h e preliminary stages in the de-
v elo pment o f the r eforrn mov ement i n Indonesia . In a r der
152
to establish the develooment of Islarnic reformisrn in
Indonesia, Surkatf wrote his fatwa_s on religious be-
liefs and practices; these becarne the central dispute
between kaum tua (conservative or traditionalist
Muslims) and kaum muda (reformist Muslims). These
fatwas appear in his periodical al-Dhakhfrah (1923-
1924) and in his book al-Masi'il al-Thalith (1925).
The teachings of A~mad Surkati become the basis of
Irshidi ideas of reform in particular, and of Islamic
reform movement in Indonesia in general. In gener a l
Surkati's t eachings focus on referring a ll r eligious
matters to tl.1e Qur' an and the Sunnah, In this respect
he pointed out that the Salaf and all the Imams of the
great madhhabs (AbG ~anifah , M~lik b. Anas, Shafi 1 i
and ~anbali) also referred all religious matters, es
pecially disputed ones , to the Qur'an a nd Sunnah, and
required people to do so. Surkati condemned the
taglfd 1 umy~ni (blind acceptance) applied by Muslims
in Indonesia, 0ecause o f his belief that it fostered
the notion that Sharf 1 ah was produced by t he jurists,
l<.yais 1 -, and b y God and His Prophet. or ulama , not
The fact that Surkati did not condemn the conserva-
tives' books of reference , but rather asked the kyais
to link those bool~s with the Qur'an a11d Sunnah, con-
153
tributed to the growing friendshio between cons e rvative
and reformist Huslirns in Indonesia. This resulted in
the foundation of t h e Islamic federation, the N.I.A.I.
(Madjlis Islam A'laa Indonesia, or the Supreme Council
of Nuslims of Indonesia), in 1937.
adat
ahl al-kashf
'~lim, pl. 'ulam~'
' - ' a mal, pl. of amal
a'm~l al-salihah • • Ampel
Ans~r •
' - 1 ' -,.d aqidah, p . aqa _ ~
b.
B~
B~ 'Alawi
GLOSSARY
- custom and customary.
- enlightened people.
- a Muslim who is considered
knmvledgeable in religious
learning. The Indonesian
equivalence is kyai.
- deeds
- good deeds
the name of a mosque in
Surabaya (East Java).
- the Medinan followers of the
prophet Muhammad who granted . him refuge after the Regira.
- creed or statement of Islamic
faith.
- abbreviation of ibn, or son
[of], thus 1 Al).mad h. Mul).ammad,
i.e. Al).mad the son of Mul).ammad;
Al).mad b. Mul).ammad b. MÜs~, i.e.
Ahmad the son of Nuhammad and . . the grandson of MÜs~. a genealogical term used in
Hadramaut, especially among the
sayyids and shaykhs of Hadramaut,
to form individual and collective
proper names, e.g. B~ 'Alawi,
B~ Fadl. . l}acJ.ramr Arabs who claim to be t he
descendants of 'Alt.
154
balaghah
ba fil bid 1 ah
Cultuur Stelsel
din dukun
dun y a fasqah, pl. of fasiq
fanva, pl. fatawa
fiqh
furÜ 1
guru
155
- rhetoric.
- untruth.
- innovation.
- forced cultivation system.
Enforced by the Dutch in Java
in 1832 by which the farmers
were obliged to reserve part
of their land for producing
certain crops in the interest
of the government. It was
abolished in 1887.
- religion.
- healer. The dukun's chief
employment is the treatment
of illness with herbs and
native medicines.
- world.
- sinners. The word fasig in
Muslim law is a term applied
to a persan who behaves con
trary to practice established - t by t he Shari ah.
- legal opinion.
- Islamic jurisprudence
- the doctrine of the branches, i.e. applied fiqh, applied
ethics (consis ting in the s ystem
atic elaboration of canonical
law in Islam).
- teacher or shaykh (in mystical
sense).
Hadramr . . ha ji
heterodox
'ilm al-]Jaql:qah
imam
• • -1 ~Jma
ijtih~d
'ibadah
istishfa'
ittiba'
156
- an Arab of Hadra.maut.
- a title given to those who have
made the pilgrimage to the holy
places of Arabia.
- one \vho has made pi lgrimage
to the holy places of Arabia.
- it refers to a mixture of Islam
\vi th pagan animism, Buddhims,
Hinduism existing in Indonesia
along with mysticism brought
by ~Üf1s coming from Gujarat,
India.
- the science of reality. originally a leader. The title
is also used of the founders of
the four orthodox schools of
Islamic lmv, and of certain
masque officials •
- it is frequently defined as the
consensus of the mujtahids.
- a term used in Nuslim jurisprudence
to designate t he process of arriving at new judgements in a
rule of law in a particular case
by drawing conclusions from basic
sources of Islam, the Qur'~n and
Had J:: th • • - the ordinances o f divine worship
in Islam.
- to i n tercede on behalf o f the dead.
- lit. "following ." Surkati main-
t a i n s that a Muslim might consult
several judger1ents of recognized
Jawabirah
157
scholars and then ;1e adopts the
judgements of an authority he
pre fers.
- descendants of Jabir b. 'Abd.
Allah, one of the An~ar.
jimat (Arab. 'azimah) - amulet.
jubbah - loose-flm..ring robes.
kafir
kataman
kaum muda
kaum tua
khurafah
ky ai
rnadhhab
madrasah
mal}mÜdah
majlis tarjih •
ma'rifah
mardud
mu'amalat
lit. "rejector"; used in Muslirn
theology and law to define the
unbeliever.
- a festival to celebrate the fact
that a child has read all the
thirty chapters of the Qur'an.
- reformist Indonesian Muslims.
- conservative or traditionalist
Indonesian Musli:ns.
- superstition.
- see 'alim.
- a jurisprudential school arnong
Sunnt Nuslims. There are four
major madhhabs in the Sunnf
Muslim World, that is, ~anafi,
Haliki, Shafi 't and HanbalL . - educational institution.
- praiseworthy.
- council for prominent religious
scholars.
- gnosis.
- refutable.
- acts directed towards other
men a 11d life in the world.
muhadathah . Nuhajirin
mujtahid
mur id
mushrik
mutala"ah . muttabi 1
nadhr
na hw . niyyat al-salah
• orang Arab
peranakan Arab
pondok-pesantren
qira'at al-manaqib
al-qiyam or al-qiyam
fi qi~~at mawlid al-nabi
qiyas
s alaf
158
- conversation •
- those Heccans who emigrated to
Madinah in the early period.
- one ,.;ho exercises.Jitihad.
- disciple.
- polytheist.
- Arabie reading and writing •
- one who exercises _i. ttiba'.
- votive of~ering .
- Arabie gr amrear.
- the intention of prayer •
- non-Hadra mi Ara bs in Java . . . ~agrami Arabs are ca lled orang
Hadramaut.
offspring of Arab and nat ive
Indonesian pa r ents.
religious traditional seminary
i n Java.
- the reading of t he biography of
certa in saints i nt ending to gain
t heir blessings.
- the act of standing up out of
reverence for the Prophet when, during the Prophet's birthday
ceremony, t he birth o f the Prophet
is mentioned during t he r eading
of his biography.
anal ogy
- the "Elders." According to Surkati
s a laf is tha t of genera tion ,.;h ich
consisted of Muhajirin and Ansa r . and t hose who f ollowed the way
t hey studied.
san tri
sa rf • sayyid
schakelschool
sekolah
sekolah umum
Shari'ah
sharif
sharifah
shaykh
soal- jalvab
Sunnah
sürah
ta'assi
ta'assub . . tabligh
tafsir
taqbil
taqlid
159
- student, pupil of a pondok-pesantren
in Java; also a devoted Huslim.
syntax of Arabie. '- ' ,.. - a title claimed by da Alaw1; the
term sayyid also refers to the
Ba 'Alawi itself.
- Dutch language elementary school.
- school.
- secular school.
- I s lamie lmv.
- male descendants of Fatimah. . - female descendants of Fatimah. . - honorary title given to notable
Muslim scholars. In ~Gfism, a
shaykh i s a teacher \vho has the
right to give 'ilm al-~aqiqah
with which a murtd (disciple)
might attain ma'rifah.
- issues and ans\vers.
- usually understood as Mul).artlmad' s
Surmah which includes his utterances,
his deeds and his unspoken approval
in order to give details for the
general verses in the Qur'an.
Sunnah also means meritorious.
- the name given to the chapters
of the Qur'àn.
- see ittiba'.
- fanaticism.
- spreading relïgious message.
- cornmentary of the Qur'an.
- kissing the hands.
- adopting the already established
taqlid buta ' - T" taqlid
taqwa
tasawwuf
tawassul
tawl;:lid
tu an 'ulama'
usalli .
umyan~
usÜl al-fiqh •
wali
wasilah
wasitah . weton
160
fatwa and practices as final and as
having an authoritative character.
- blind acceptance.
- see taqlid buta.
- fear of God in the sense of reverance.
- Islamic mysticism
- intercession
- a theological term used to express
the unity of the Godhead. Tech
nicall v "the science of Tmvhid" is - -·-synonym for "the science of Kalam"
(scholastic t heology).
- Mister.
- see 'alim.
- lit. "I declare my intention to pray."
The term w~alli refers to the voicing
of the intention to pray as a prelude
to the prayer itself.
- the science of the methodology of
Muslim jurisprudence.
- saint, used of certain Islamic
religious notables.
- intercessor.
- see wasilah.
- systematic study of pondok-pesantren;
the kyais only read (weton) religious
books and do not ask the students
whether they understand or not.
wudG - ritual ablution • . yayasan - foundation.
ziyarat al-qubÜr - visiting tombs.
APPENDIX I
Irshadt Constitution of 1914
Article 1
The narree of this organization is Jam 'tyat al-I~?lah wa
al-Irshad al-tArabtyah, and its central office is in
Jakarta.
Article 2
The aim of this organization is to collect funds and
to spend them in the following waysa
1. To improve the religious and socio-economical con
ditions of Muslims in general and Arabs in partic
ular by means of the establishment of schools,
orphanages, nursing homes and hospitals.
2. To spread the idea of Islamic reform among Nuslims
through writings and publications, meetings, lectures,
study sessions and missions; and to help other or
ganizations Hhich have a common interest with
al-Irshad on the condition that they do not contra
dict Islamic law or the local government.
Article 3
This organization is permitted to exist [by the Dutch
government] for nine years and nine months. It started
with the promulgation of a decree of authorization fro~
the Governor General; from that time on, it has had the
right to start its own administration. The central
office may open a branch with ten members in any town
161
162
in Netherlands Indies or any other place; the adminis
tration of this branch '\vill be accompanied by its own
members.
Article 4
Every person among the Nuslim community may apply for
membership with a written application to the central
office, its representatives, or the manager of the
branch in whose region he lives, mentioning his name,
profession and domicile. The central office, its
representatives, or the director of the branch has the
right to accept or r e ject the application. The afore
mentioned councils have the right to nominated honorary
members among those who donate to the organization a
substantial sums of 1noney or tllose who perforw very
beneficia! \vork. Every member of this organization may
be present at the general meeting. The central office
has the right to suspend any mer.~ber lvho atte'lpts [actions]
contrary to the benefit of the organization.
Article 5
The general executive of t he organization is unde r the
authority of the central o f fice; its membcrs sha ll not
nur.tber less than eleven people (i.e. chairman, vice chair
man, first secreta r y , seco~d secretary, treasure, two
inspectors and one supervisor), and not more than eleven
people ; they will be e l ected at a general meeting , for
a period of three years, and t hey can be re-elected.
The office has the right to appoint two ass istants · and
to appoint committee s and boards if necessary.
163
The officers of each branch will number not less than
four, who are the chairman, the secretary, the treasurer
f!l,nd the inspecter, and not more than eleven members.
Their election is entrusted to the members of that
branch. These officers are elected for one year and
can be re-elected.
The central office is responsible for the execution of
the administrative duties of the organization, and for
the raising of its standards and the achievement of its
goals.
Every office represents the organization which it ad
ministers in the courts of law and other courts, and it
has the right to represent whoever it desires.
The central office must hold a general meeting every
year and must invite the members of branch offices to
consider the \vorks, budget and property of the organi
zation, and its work program for the next year. The
central office has no right to stop the activity of the
branches unless they violate the principal regulations
and persist in doing so. Should a dispute arise between
the branch and the central office, a general meeting of
the office of the branch and the central office will
decide between them and its decision will be accepted
and executed.
Any officer leaving his duty may be suspended before the
end of his appointed period by a general meeting held
solely for this purpose.
Nobody from the family of Ba 'Alawl: will be accepted as
an executive member or their representatives.
164
Article 6
Any letter issued by the organization shall be signed
by the chairman and the authorized ~vri ter.
Article 7
Ot!1er aff airs Hi th which the organization is concerned
'tvill be r ecorded in its by-laws which will be ratified
or abolished through the meeting of the members of this
organization. Thereafter they must be obeyed as long as
they are not in disagreement with the laws of the local
authority.
Article 8
This constitution is not changeable or replaceable except
by the agreement of t'\vo-third of the mernbers of this
organization \vho are present at the congress, and by t he
approval of the Governor General.
Article 9
The central office and the of fices of the branches are
to purchase real esta t e and they have rights to sell or
r ent t hem. The c entra l of fice has no right to act in
respect to the property of the branches. In the case of
a branch of the organi zation being closed, its property
would then belong to the central of fice. If, however,
the branch is in debt, it should pay t he debt itself.
The central office is not responsible for the debt of
a branch.
165
Article 10
The incorae of the organization is obtained from the
membership dues, aids, alms, awq~f, and testaments.
The central office is to increase the incarne of the
organization in legal and r espectable ways. For every
one \vho dona tes money, gives his testament or waqf to
the organization, neither he nor his inheritors have
any right to rescind in any case.
Article 11
The organization can not be dissolved before the com
pletion of the permitted period in conformity with the
contents of article 3, unless ninety percent of its
members agree to dissolve it. Ihen they must take care
to pay any debts; the remainding assets will be dis
tributed by the members of the o f fice to projects for
Islamic welfare in accord2.nce 'tvi th the decision of the
general meeting .
The dissolution of a branch office will be through
suspension by the central offi ce as mentioned in arti
cle 3, or Hitll t he a greement of three-fourth of the
members of the branch.
Source • Anggaran Dasar al-Irsjad Tahun 1914. Surabaya&
D.P.P. Al-Irsjad, n.d.
APPENDIX II
A. The Curriculum of the Irshadl: A'vwall:yah School
Number of hours per weel<. during three years of study
No. Subject Yearsc 1st 2nd 3rd
1. Al-Qur'an 4 4 4
2. Arabie Conversation 5 5 5
3. Arabie Reading and \,v ri ting 8 6 4
4. Drawing 2 2 2
s. Arithmetic 2 3 4
6. Songs 3 2 1 7. Sports 2 2
8. His tory of Islam 2
9. Ethics and Islamics 2 4
10. Indonesian Language 2 4
T o t a 1 s 24 28 32
------------------------------------------------------------Books used in the Am·mliyah school•
1. Juz 'Amrna (the 30th part of the Qur'an).
2. Al-Khayyat. Tarl:kh al-Islam • • 3. Mabadi' Qira'at al-Rashidah.
4. Mester Tweedy. Hisab.
S. Al-Durar al-Bahiyah.
166
167
B. The Curriculum of the Irshadl. Ibtida"l.yah School
Number of hours per week during four years of study
No. Subject Yearsa
1. Al-Qur"an 2. Islamic Jurisprudence and
Theology
3. Arabie Grammar, Reading
and Dictation
4. History of Islam
S. Indonesian Language
6. Geography
7. Arithmetic
8. Physics
9. Biology and Hygiene
10. Drm1ing
11. Sports
T o t a 1 s
1st
2
13
2
4
1
4
2
2
34
Books used in the Ibtida"l.yah school:
1. Al-Qur"an.
2. Al-Khayyat. Durus al-Fiqh • . 3. Qira'at al-Rashl.dah. Vols. I-IV.
4. Al-Insha' al-'Arabl.. Vols. I-III. S. Durüs al-NaJ:;wiyah. Vols. I-III.
6. Al-Khayyat. Tarikh a l-Islam.
7. Matahari Terbit. Vols. I-IV.
8. ivles t e r Tweed y. llisab. Vols. II-IV.
9. Al-Durar al-Bahivah. Vol. II.
10. Sre~ijan , Dr. Ilmu Kesehatan .
2nd
4
3
13
2
4
2
4
2
2
36
3rd
3
3
12
2
4
2
4
2
2
2
36
L~th
3
3
11
2
4
2
4
2
2
1 2
36
e
168
C. The Curriculum of the Irsh~di Taihiziyah School
Number of hours per \veek during nvo years of study
No. Subject Yea rsa
1.
z. 3. 4. s.
Islamics
Arabie Language
Indonesian Language
English Language
Hist ory o f Islam 6. His t ory o f the lv'orld and of
Indonesia.
7. Geogr aphy
8 . Biology 9 . Phys ics
10. Drmving
11. Algebra and Geometry
12. Sport s
T o t a 1 s
Books used in the Ta jhiz iyah s chool:
1. 2. 3.
4 . s. 6 . 7. s. 9. 10 .
11.
'Abduh , Hul).a mmad . Al-Man~r . Juz 1 Amma.
Fat!} a l -.Qa rib.
Subul al-Sal~m.
h 1 - . J Nuz a t a -Qar~ • Vol. I.
Al-Nazar~t. Vol. I. ·--Al-Khayy~t . T~rikh al-I sl~m. Vol, IV .
• NÜr a l-Yaqin.
Qaw~ 1 id a l-Lughah. Vol. IV.
Safina t al -Nuh~h .
Al-Durar a l -Bahiyah . Vol. I I I .
Idris, Afandi. Al - J a br. Vol. I.
1st
6
9
3
2
4
3
2
2
2
1
4
2
40
2nd
6
9
3
2
4
3
2
2
2
1
4
2
40
169
12. Al-Zawaya wa al-Muthallathat.
13. ~afi~. Jughrafiyah ~adithah.
14. Mabadi' al-Tabi 'ah. Vol. I-II. •
15. Pamphlets.
D. The Curriculum of the Irshadi Mu'allimin School
Number of hours per week during four years of study
No.
1. 2. 3. 4.
s. 6. 7. 8.
9. 10. 11. 12. 13.
14.
15. 16.
Subject Yearsz
Islamics
Arabie Language
History of Islam Psychology and Sociology
Pedagogy
Philosophy
Economies
Algebra and Geometry
Physics and Chemistry
Biology and Hygiene
Geography
His tory Indonesian Language
English Language
Rhetoric
Sports
1st
8
9
2
4
2
2
2
2 2
2
2
2
2nd
9
10 3
4
2
2
2
2 2
2
2
2
3rd
12
10 4
2
4
2
2
2
2
2
4th
12
10 4
2
4
2
2
2
2
2
------------------------------------------------------------T o t a 1 s 39 42 42 42
------------------------------------------------------------Note1 The lessons are given in the morn i ng and in the
afternoon.
170
Books used in the Mu'allirnin schoola
1. 'Abduh, Mu~ammad. Tafsir al-Manar.
2. Mustalah al-Hadith. -·. . 3 •• Subul al-Salam.
4. Nayl al-Aw~ar. 5. Al-Nuhadhdhab.
6. Risalat al-Tawhid. ·-7. Al-Naysab~rr. Al-Amthal. Vols. I~II.
8 ' -• Shar~ al-Mu allaqat. 9. Al ... Ghalayayn.L Jami' al-Durüs al-' Arabiyah.
10. Ibn Malik. Alfiyah.
11. Bahr al-Adab. Vol. III. -.. 12. Al-Nazarat. Vols. II-III. ·-13. Nuhaj al-Balaghah.
14. Hady al-RasÜl.
15. Al-Khugarf. Tarikh al-Islam.
16. Idris, Afandi. Aljabar/Ilmu Ukur.
17. I:Iafi~. Al-Jughrafl:yah al-'!'abf'iyah wa al-Igti~adl:yah 'va al-Siyasfyah.
18. Al-Iskandary, Umar. Tarikh Eropah Baru.
19. Ab~ Ilyas. 'Ilm al-Iabi'ah.
20. Al-Jarirn. 'Ilm al-Nafs. 21. Al-~addad, Naqula. Ilmu Kemasjarakatan. 22. Ibrahim, Kamil. Ilmu Ekonomi.
23. Chairudin, Ahmad Abduh. Q~Ül al-Tarbfyah wa al-Ta'll:m.
171
E. The Curriculum of the Irshadi Takhassus School . ·-· Number of hours per \veek during t~.vo years of study
No.
1. 2. 3.
4. s. 6.
Subject Yearsa
Arabie Literature and History Logic and Eloquence of the Qur'an
History of Islam
Classical and Nodern History
Sources of Islamic Jurisprudence
Commentary of the Qur'an and Philos
ophy
T o t a 1 s
1st
2
2
2
2
2
2
12
2nd
2
2
2
2
2
2
12
---------------------------------------------------------Notea The lessons are given in the evening.
Books used in the Takhassus schoola . . . 1. 'Abduh, Muf:ammad. Tafsir al-Hanar.
2. Tafsir al-Jalalayn.
3. Al-Khudari • . 4. Al-Sha~ibL S. Ibn Qayyim.
y~ül al-Figh.
Al-r-tuwafaga t. ' - - 1 'f" I lam al-Muqi ~n.
6. I'jaz al -Qur 'an.
7. Nubarrid. Al-Kamil.
8. Al-'Igd al-Farid. 9. Al-AmalL
10 . Cha iruddin, Ahmad Abduh. Al-Mantig.
11. Tarikh Ibn al-Athir.
12. Tarikh Ibn Hisham.
13. Hadara t al-'Arab. :- -· Source: Mahmud Junus. Sedjarah Pendidikan Islam di Indo
nesia. Djakarta a Pustaka Mahmudiah, 1960, pp. 268-73.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Il
Abdullah, Taufiq. Minangkabau 1900-1927: Preliminary
Studies in Social Development," Unpublished
H.A. thesis, Cornell University, Ithaca, 1967.
Abubakar, H. Sedjarah Hidup K. H. A. Wahid Hasjim dan
Karangan Tersiar. Panitya Buku Peringatan Alm.
K. H. A, Wahid Hasjim, 1957.
Salaf. Jakarta: Permata, 1970.
Adams, Charles c. Islam and Modernism in Egypt. London•
Oxford University Press, 1933.
Alfian. "Islamic Modernism in Indonesian Politics1 The
Muhammadiyah Movement during the Dutch Colonial
Period (1912-1942)." Unpublished Ph.D. disser
tation, University of Wisconsin, 1969.
Ali, A, Hukti. "The Muhammadiyah Hovementa A Biblio
graphical Introduction," Unpublished H.A. thesis,
McGill University, 1957.
Alam Pikiran Islam Nodern di Indonesia. Jogya
karta: Nida, 1971.
Angelina, A. D. A. de Kat. Colonial Policy. Translated
by G. J. Renier. The Hague: M. Nijhoff, 1931.
Arnold, Sir Thomas, Preaching of Islam• A History of
Propagation of Muslim Fa ith, 2nd ed, London•
Consta ble a nd Company , 1913.
Asj'ari, Hasjim. "Al-Mawa'iz." Translated b y Harnka • •
Pandji Masjarakat, Vol. I (Agustus, 1959).
Baddour, Abd el-Fattah Ibrahim el-Sayed. Sudanese-Egyptian
Re lations • A Chronological an~ Analytical Study,
The Hague: ~1artinus Nijhoff, 1960.
172
173
Barclay, Harold B. Buurri Al Lamaabz A Suburban Village
in the Sudan. Ithaca, N.Y.a Cornell University
Press, i964.
Benda, Harry J. The Crescent and the Rising Sun: Indo
nesian Islam under the Japanese Occupation 1942-1945. The Haguea \v. van Hoeve Ltd., 1958.
Berg, C. C. "Indonesia." Whither Islam? A Survey of
Hodern Movement in the Moslem World. Edited by
H. A. R. Gibb. Londonr Victor Gollancz Ltd., 1932.
Bone, c. "The Role of the Chinese in Indonesia." A
Paper Submitted to Yale University, Foreign Service
Institute Monograph Series, June 1951.
Bousquest, Georges Henri. A French View of tl1e Netherlands Indies. New Yorka Institute of Pacifie Relations,
1940.
Collins, Brinston Brown. "Hadramawta Crisis and Inter
vention 1866-1881." Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation,
Princeton University, 1969.
Congress P.A.I. ke IV. Solor Comite Congress P.A.I., 1941.
Djama l, Murni. "Dr. H. Abdul Karim Amrullah : His Inf luence in the Islamic Reform Movement in Minangkabau in the Early Twentieth Century." Unpublished M.A.
thesis, McGill University, 1975.
Drewes , G. W. J. "Snouck Hurgronje and the Study of Islam." Biidragen t ot de Taal-, Land- en
Volkenkunde. Vol. CXIII, 1957.
Federspiel, Howard. The Persatuan Islama Islamic Reform
in Twentieth Century Indones ia. Ithaca, N.Y. a
Modern Indonesia Project, South East Asia Program ,
1970.
174
----· "The Muhammadiyaha A Study of an Orthodox
Islamic Movement in Indonesia." Indonesia,
No. 10 (October, 1970), PP• 57-79.
Furnivall, J. S. Colonial Policy and Practice. Ne\v
York: Ne\v York University Press, 1956.
----· Netherlands Indiaa A Study of Plural Economy. Cambridge• At the University Press, 1944.
Geertz, Clifford. 1he Religion of Java. New Yorka
The Free Press, 1960.
Gibb, H. A. R. Modern Trends in Islam. New Yorka
Octagon Books, 1972.
Hidh~ Bay~n li-al-N~s. Surabaya• Diw~n al-Tarbiyah wa
al-Ia'lim, n.d.
Hourani, Albert. Arabie Thought in the Liberal Age 1798-
1939. Londona Oxford University Press, 1970.
Hourani, George Fadlo. Arab Seafaring in the Indian
Ocean in Ancient and Early Medieval Times.
Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1951.
Hurgronje, c. Snouck. Hekka in the Latter Part o f the
19th Century. Translated by J. H. Nonahan.
Leydent E. J. Brill, 1931.
Ibn Battijtah. The Travels of Ibn BatGta. Transla ted by . . . Samuel Lee. Londona Parbury, Allen & Co., 1825.
Ingrams, Doreen. A Survey of Social and Economie Conditions
in the Aden Protectorate. Londona The Government
Printer British Administration, 1949.
Ingrams, Harold. Arabia and the Isles. 3rd ed, London:
John Murray, 1966.
175
Ingrams, W. H. A Report on the Social, Economie and
Political Condition of the Hadramaut. Colonial
papers No. 123, London, 1936.
Al-Irsyad Majlis Da'wah. Riwayat Hidup Syech Ahmad
as-Surkati. 4 Prts. Surabyaa Siaran Majlis
Da'wah, 1972/1973.
Jaspan. Ethnie and Racial Relations in Indonesia.
Bandunga Lembaga Penjelidikan Kemasjarakatan
Universitas Negeri Padjadjaran, 1959.
Junus, Mahmud. Sedjarah Pendidikan Islam di Indonesia.
Djakartaa Pustaka Mahmudiah, 1960.
Kahin, George Mciurnan. Nationalism and Revolution in
Indonesia. Ithaca, N.Y. a Cornell University Press,
1952.
Kerr, Malcolm H. Islamic Reforma The Political and Legal
Theories of Muhammad 'Abduh and Rashid Rida. ·-Berkeleya University of California Press, 1966.
Landon, Kenneth Perry. Southeast Asia Crossroad of
Religions. Chicagoa The University of Chicago
Press, 1947.
" Lofgren, O. "Ba 'AlawL" Encyclopaedia of Islam. New
ed. Vol. I.
Mintz, Jeanne S. Indonesiaa A Profile. Princeton, N.J.c
D. van Nostrand Company, 1961.
Morgan, Kenneth W., ed. Islam the Straight Path. New
Yorkz The Ronald Press Company, 1958.
Horley, J. A. E. 11 The Arabs and the Eastern Trade."
Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic
Society, Vol. XXII, 1949, pp. 143-176.
176
Mcdonald, D. B. "Bid'a," Encyclp_Q_aedia of Islam. Old
ed. Vol. I:2.
He Vey, Ruth T. "Taman Sis\va and the Indones ian National
Awal<ening." Indonesia, No. 4 (October), 1967, pp.
128-169.
Naim, Hochtar. "The Nahàlatul Ulama Party (1952-1955)s
An Inquiry into the Crigin of Its Electoral
Success." Unpublished ;-l.A. thesis, I-lcGill Uni
versity, 1960.
' -Umar Sulayman. T~rikh Thawrat al-Isl~h wa al-Irsh~d. ·-· Vol. I. n.p., n.d. (Handwritten,)
Natsir, 1'-iohammad, Capita Selecta. Vol. I. Bandung:
W, van Hoeve, 1954.
Noer, Deliar. The Ivlodernist Nuslim Novement in Indonesia
1900-1942. Singapore: Oxford University Press,
1973.
Office Strategie Service. Political Parties and Hove
ments in the Netherlands East Indies, R & A
No. 25, Washington, 1945,
Programa r·iu' tamar al-Irs jad ke 28. Surabaya: Perhimpunan al-Irsjad, 1954.
Robson, J. "Bid'a." Encyclopaedia of Islam. Ne\-J' ed.
Vol. I.
Roff, \v, R. "Kaum Nuda-Kaum Tua: Innovation and Reaction
arnong the r'ialays, 1900-1941." Papers on r'lalayan
History. Edited by K. G, Tregonning. Singapore:
Journal South-East Asian History, 1962.
Guide to t"1alay Periodicals. Singapore: Eastern
Universities Press Ltd., 1961.
;;
177
Ross, E. Denison, and Power, Eileen, eds. Ibn Battfita:
Trav8ls in Asia and Africa 1325-1354. Tr2nslated
by H. A. R. Gibb. Londona Routledge and Kegan
Paul, 1929.
Sadily, Hassan. "A Preliminary Study on the Impact of Islam in Indonesia." Unpublished M.A. thesis,
Cornell University, 1955.
Sanger, Richard u . The Arabian Peninsula. Ithaca, N. Y. 1
Cornell University Press, 1954.
Schleifer, J. "Hadrama"ivt." Encyclopaedia of Islam. Old
ed. Vol. II.
Serjeant, R. B., ed. South Arabian Poe trya Prose and
Poetry from I:I.2:<1ramawt. London 1 Tylor' s Foreign
Press, 1951.
The Saiyids of l:Iagrammvt. London : School of
Oriental and African Studie s University of London,
1957.
Sharabi, Hisham. Arab Intellectuals and the West: The
Forma tive Years, 1875-1914. Ba ltimore: The Johns Hopki ns Pre ss, 1970.
Shieke, B., ed • The Effect o f l-vestern Influence on
Native Civiliza tion in t he Malay Arch ipe l ago. Ba t avia• G. Kolff & Co., 1929.
Sikap dan Tud juan a l-Irsjad. Djakarta: Pengurus Besar
al-Irsjad, 1938.
Surka ti, Ahmad, ed. Al-Dhakhirah . 10 vols. Batavia1 . Borobudur, 1923.
Al-Masa ' il a l-Thalath. Ba t avia 1 Borobur ur, 1925 .
178
The Meaning of the Glorious Koran. Translated by
Mohammed Marmaduke Pickthall. Ne\v Yorka New
American Library, n.d.
The Qur'an. Translated by A. Yusuf Ali. n.p.a McGregor
& Werner Ihc., 1946.
Tibbetts, G. R. "Early Nuslim Traders in South East Asia."
Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic
Society, Vol. XXX, 1957, PP• 1-44.
Titel Sajid Djadi UrusalliPemerintah Tjampur Tangan. Batavia:
Perserikatan al-Irsjad, 1932.
Tregonning, K. G., ed. Papers on Nalayan History. Singaporea
Journal of South East Asian History, 1962.
u.s. Departn;ent of Commerce Office of Technical Services.
Japanese Military Administration in Indonesia.
Washingtona Joint Publications Research Service,
1963.
Van den Berg. Hadthramaut and the Arab Colonies in the
Indian Archipelago. Translated by Major C. W. H.
Sealy. Bombaya The Government Central Press, 1887.
Vandenbosch, Army. The Dutch East Indies: Its Government, Problems, and Politics. Berkeley: University of
California, 1944.
Van der Kroef, J. M. Indonesia in the Modern \vorld. Pt. I.
Bandunga Hasa Baru, 1954.
------· "The Arabs in Indonesia." The Middle East
Journal, Vol. VII, 1953, PP• 300-323.
"Social Conflict and Minority Aspirations in
Indonesia." The American Journal of Sociology,
Vol. LV (July 1949-May 1950), po. 450-463.
179
"Minority Problems in Indonesia." 2 Pts.
Far Eastern Survey, Vol. XXIV, No. 9 (September
1955), PP• 129-133, 165-171.
Van der Meulen, D. , and von ~Vissmann, H.
Sorne of Its Mysteries Unveiled.
Brill Ltd., 1932.
Hadramaut& ·-· Leyden1 E. J.
Van der Veur, Paul \.V. "The Eurasian of Indonesia& A Problem
and Challenge in Colonial History." Journal of
South Asian History, IX (September, 1968), PP•
191-207.
Van Leur, J. C. Indonesian Trade and Society. W. van
Hoeve Ltd., 1955.
Vredenbregt, J. "The liajj1 Sorne of Its Features and Functions
in Indonesia." Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land-
en Volkenkunde. Vol. CXVIII, 1962, pp. 91-153.
Warner, lv. H. Lee. "Notes on the Hadhramaut." The
Geographical Journal. Vol. LXXVII, No. 3 (Harch
1931), PP• 217-222.
Wiryosukarto, Amir Hamzah. Pembaruan Pendidikan dan Penga
jaran Islam. Jogyakarta& Penyelenggara Publikasi
Pembaruan Pendidikan/Pengajaran Islam, 1962.
Al-Yafi'i, Salah 'Abd al-Qadir al-Bakri. Tarikh Hadramawt . . ·-· al-Siyasi. Vol. II. Mi~r& Mustaf~ al-Bibi
al-~alabi, 1932.
•