Muhammadiyah criticise the reading of the Barzanji tradition practised in Kampung Solor and other Aswaja mosques. They consider Barzanji to be a form of cultural art to
praise the Prophet, like any other qasidah74 songs. They claim that reading the Bazanji
would not be rewarded by God.
The Fasting Month
Haji Idrus Lamaya maintained that in determining the start and the end of fasting month
all Muslims would refer to a hadith by Al Bukhari that says, ‘Do not fast unless you
sight the crescent, and do not break your fast till you sight the following crescent.’ Aswaja interprets it as an instruction for Muslims to observe the moon by using physical sighting. If for some reason, for example bad weather, the moon cannot be seen then another observation shall be made on the following day. On the other hand, Muhammadiyah argues that physical sighting is no longer necessary because Muslims have acquired a reliable scientific method to calculate the position of the crescent.
74 Notosudirdjo (2011: 298, 303) defines qasidah or qasidahan as ‘a vocal music genre accompanied by a
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Scientific method is reliable to determine the start and end of the fasting month regardless of the weather conditions.
These groups also differ in the number of cycles of night prayer (traweh) performed
during the fasting month. Muhammadiyah performs 8 (+3 witir)75 cycles of prayers,
while Aswaja performs 20 (+3 witir) cycles. Muhammadiyah, according to Haji Idrus
Lamaya, follows an example set by the Prophet who himself performed 8 cycles. Aswaja, on the other hand, follows a tradition introduced by the first successor of the Prophet, caliph Umar bin Khatab, who performed 20 cycles. The decision to add extra cycles, Haji Idrus Lamaya explained, was made on the grounds that it is better to do more prayers during the holy month than spending the evening doing unimportant things. Haji Idrus Lamaya explained that adding extra cycles is a form of unnecessary innovation. Ritual practices in Islam, in his view, should strictly follow examples set by the Prophet.
Negotiations between Aswaja and Muhammadiyah proponents in Kampung Solor have
resulted in an important compromise concerning the conduct of traweh prayer. In
Kampung Solor traweh prayer is performed in 8 cycles plus 3 cycles of witir prayer, in
line with the Muhammadiyah stance. According to Hamzah Iyang, in the past Muslims
in the kampung performed a full 23 cycles, comprising 20 cycles or traweh concluding
with 3 cycles of witir prayer. The reform was introduced under the leadership of Ahmad
Burhan, one of the late imam of Al Fatah Mosque. No-one could confirm when the
reform actually took place. However, given that Muhammadiyah was only founded in
Kupang in 1966 and, as many informants recalled, Ahmad Burhan served as imam in
the 1960s, the best estimate is that the decision was made in the late 1960s. My informants were convinced that the process was done without any hostility.
This story truly astonished me: that a traditional Muslim kampung, who devotedly
observe Aswaja rituals, would perform 8 cycles of traweh prayer during the holy month
of Ramadan. Möller (2005b) in his study of Muslims in Central Java concludes that
differences in the number of traweh cycles between traditionalists and modernists do
not lead to serious disputes, mainly because both traditionalist and modernist have different mosques in the same area. Members of the two communities then could co- exist. I found that in Kampung Solor, despite being a minority Muhammadiyah, is well
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represented at the leadership of Al Fatah Mosque. This representation allows acceptance
in the change of the number of traweh prayer’s cycles at the mosque.
Hamzah Iyang was very diplomatic when explaining that observing 8 cycles would allow the worshipers not to perform the congregated prayer in a rush, and could use more time to pray individually. Even though the number of cycles was reduced,
however, the Aswaja tradition of publicly chanting shalawat and other invocations
between the cycles were retained. The chant of shalawat between cycles is also
practised by Aswaja Muslims of Kampung Airmata, Kampung Bonipoi, and Kampung Namosain. Hamzah Iyang pointed out another significant impact of the reform. The
performance of 8 cycles of traweh had successfully attracted children and teenagers to
join the congregation at Al Fatah Mosque as the traweh took shorter time compared to
the 20 cycles. I observed that during the fasting month, Al Fatah Mosque was packed
with worshippers. In August 2011, I went to observe traweh prayer at Al Fatah Mosque
for two consecutive weeks and found that there were approximately 350-400 worshippers attending every evening. Some of them had to occupy the terrace and the second floor of the building.
After the prayers were completed and the sermon delivered, around 10-12 people, male
and female, stayed at the mosque to conduct Qur’an recitation (tadarus). Ibu Endah and
her peers from Majelis Taklim were among those who stayed. They sat in a circle and began the recitation. Like a similar undertaking in Kampung Airmata (see Chapter
Four), the tadarus was done in small groups. The group would recite two Surah of
Qur’an every evening and in the whole month they were expected to complete the
recitation of the whole Qur’an (khataman of the 30 juz).76Khataman was performed on
the 15th day and the 30th day of Ramadan. The group finished the recitation at around
9pm every night.
For two weeks I stayed with Ibu Endah’s family. Ibu Endah is a mother of four children with two grandchildren. She still has to take care of her three daughters, while her son is already married and lives with his wife’s family. Her husband died a few years before. Ibu Endah made her living by running a small shop adjacent to her house. Her children all fasted during the holy month. During the fasting month, it is highly recommended
that a Muslim take early meals before subuh (the dawn) prayer. Early meals were taken
at around 3.30am. The night before, Ibu Endah had to ensure that she had enough to
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feed her children. However, not all of them woke up for early meals (sahur). Two of her
daughters often preferred to continue sleeping and did fasting without having early meals. Ibu Endah admitted that it was difficult to wake the children up early in the
morning. However she was aware of the importance of having sahur as commanded in
Islam in order to observe the fast well. She frequently raised her concern to her children
that fasting without sahur runs a risk of getting sick. One way of ensuring that her
children could wake up early was by asking them to turn off the TV and go to bed early. However, as during Ramadan there were many interesting programs, her children sometimes insisted on watching television. Ibu Endah maintained a routine of attending
congregated subuh prayer at the mosque. Similar to the subuh prayer at Kampung
Airmata, only 30-40 worshippers joined in congregated prayer at Al Fatah Mosque.
The 17th day of Ramadan is considered one of the most important days of the fasting
month. It was when the verse of Qur’an was revealed for the first time to Prophet Muhammad. Muslims commemorated the night when the Qur’an was revealed (Nuzulul Qur’an), also referred to as Malam Lailatul Qadar. This year, it fell on Thursday 18
August 2011. On that evening, the worshippers observed traweh prayer as usual. The
male worshippers formed seven lines (saf), each comprising 30-35 people, while the
women worshippers formed four lines. The difference was that prior to the performance of traweh prayer, there was a recitation of Surah Al-Mursalat (verses 1-5) and Surah Fussilat (verses 41-45), followed by the reading of their translation in the Indonesian language. A sermon was then delivered by Ustad Muchsin Thalib (who also gave a sermon at the Governor’s residence during the breaking of the fast, see Chapter Two). He emphasised the importance of Muslims to not only believe in the Qur’an, but also in actually loving the holy book. He explained that the Qur’an was revealed to Prophet
Muhammad to be passed on to the ignorant community (jahiliyah) of Mecca. The state
of jahiliyah among the people of Mecca during Muhammad’s time did not refer to illiteracy, but rather to the practice of polytheism. He also talked about the Qur’an having a number of miraculous attributes, such as the content being fixed because it is protected by Allah from any effort to change it, and also because the whole book can be memorized word by word. He explained that the Qur’an would be the helper for
believers on the day of the judgement (akhirat). Muslims are commanded to recite and
implement the teaching of the Qur’an. Recitation of the Qur’an is important, but understanding the sentences or correctly interpreting the meaning of Qur’an is also crucial.
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The Feast of Sacrifice
On 4 November 2011, two days before the feast for sacrifice, I attended a routine gathering of women’s Majelis Taklim. On that occasion Uztadzah Jasmi delivered a sermon, and she picked a topic on the feast for sacrifice. She began by explaining to the audience the obligation for Muslims to offer sacrifice as commanded in two chapters in the Qur’an, namely Surah Al-Hajj (verses 34-38) and Surah Al-Kautsar. These chapters instruct Muslims to ritually sacrifice animals in the name of Allah.
Ustadzah Jazmi explained that Idul Adha is an annual festival to commemorate Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son, Ismail, and also Ismail's self-sacrifice at
God’s order. The feast is celebrated on the 10th day of Zulhijjah, the last month of the
Islamic lunar calendar, usually known as the month of pilgrimage (bulan haji).
Ustadzah Jasmi explained that on this occasion Muslims are commanded to slaughter animals under certain conditions. Eligible animals for this ritual include cow/buffalo/bull, horse, camel, and sheep/lamb/goat. These animals should be healthy (free from illness and disease), not physically impaired (e.g. disabled, lame, blind, or handicapped, or have the ear or other parts cut off), of normal weight, and not under aged or too old (grownup animals). For example, the minimum age for a cow or a buffalo is two years or older, but not too old.
Ustadzah Jazmi then talked about the time of sacrifice. She mentioned that ideally sacrifice of the animal is offered in the morning on the day of Idul Adha after the ‘Id prayer, but is also permitted on the following three days (11th, 12th and 13th of Zulhijjah). When being slaughtered, the animal is placed facing towards the direction of Ka’bah (in Mecca). The last important thing that she mentioned is that the meat shall primarily be distributed amongst the poor and needy, but some portion of it may be retained for the consumption of one’s own family; or is given to the relatives and neighbours. However, it is unlawful to sell the meat.
On 6 November 2011, as early as 6am people gathered at Al Fatah Mosque to perform ‘Id prayer. Women worshippers had to use mosque’s terrace and also the second floor, while men worshippers were forced to occupy the front yard because the mosque’s main
hall was already packed. Since morning, takbir (Allahu Akbar or God is great) was
repeatedly chanted by the worshippers. A mosque official then announced that in this year’s feast, there were eight cows and 20 goats offered for sacrifice at Al Fatah Mosque. These animals were tied up at the side yard of the mosque and the nametags bearing names of villagers offering the animals were displayed on their necks. Then at
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6.15am, a bilal (one who sounds the adzan) announced the call for prayer. Hamzah
Iyang led the ‘Id prayer. Afterwards, Haji Abdulah Sagran delivered a sermon. He was the head of the provincial body for alms collection (Badan Amil Zakat), and had been regularly invited to preach at weekly Friday prayer, or at other important Islamic festivals at the mosque.
Haji Abdulah Sagran stressed the importance for a Muslim to follow the example of the Prophet Ibrahim and his son Ismail in observing God’s command, even by self- sacrifice. Prophet Ibrahim obeyed the command to sacrifice his only son, while his son obeyed the command of self-sacrifice. Ismail is praised for his willingness to offer his life to God. The drama of slaughtering, according to Sagran, turned into a happy ending as God eventually replaced Ismail with a sheep. This episode of history serves as the basis for the annual feast of sacrifice celebrated by Muslims all over the world. The sacrifice offered by Ibrahim and Ismail was praised as the true act of sacrifice, an unprecedented event that occurred only once in human history. It was through this process of sacrifice that Ibrahim was then rewarded with the title of the Father of all
Prophets and imam of all human beings.
The way Prophet Ibrahim and Ismail had lived their lives was considered a fine example for Muslims. A Muslim should understand that at some point in his/her life, it is inevitable to make a sacrifice, in the forms of time, money, and labour, to help others, to uphold religious values, and to contribute to solving problems in the community. A Muslim should maintain the spirit of Ibrahim, as a symbol of voluntary submission to the will of God, and should be ready to offer sacrifice for the greatness of Allah, and God would promise to give a reward for this.
After the sermon, the mosque official once again announced the total number of animals offered in the feast of sacrifice and mentioned the names of the people who offered them. It was lawful, as practised by Muslims in Kampung Solor, to offer shared sacrifice. A group of minimum two and maximum eight individuals may share in offering a cow. This group sacrifice may come from one household or several households.
After the prayer, it is a tradition in the village that Muslims visit the graves of their family members. Ibu Endah and her children went to their house briefly for a rest before going to visit the tomb of her husband/the father, located at the village cemetery nearby. She took with her a small book of Surah Yasin. At the tomb they recited the Surah and then supplications. The villagers did not spend too long at the cemetery, as the real feast
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would begin after the grave visit. Ibu Endah and her children returned to the mosque. There they found members of Remaja Masjid (Mosque Youth Organisation), Majelis Taklim, and a number of villagers were ready to volunteer in the slaughtering of the animals and distributing the meat. The front yard of the mosque was already full of people who wanted to volunteer and also to watch the ritual.