Ulumuna Vol. No. 2, 2022, p. Journal of Islamic Studies Published by State Islamic University Mataram p-ISSN 1411-3457, e-ISSN 2355-7648, available online at https://ulumuna. THE POPULARIZING OF SUNNI DOCTRINE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA: Sifat Dua Puluh in Malay Kitab Jawi of the 19th Century Jajat Burhanudin Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta Email: j. burhanudin@uinjkt. Abstract: Sifat dua puluh . wenty attributes of Go. is a specific Malay term to convey the doctrine of Sunni tradition in Southeast Asia. Formulated to digest the substance of a renowned book of Yusf alSans. Umm al-BarAhn, this term began to appear in the 19 th century as a leading Islamic theme in the kitab jawi of Malay scholars in Mecca. The scholars translated the book into Malay and expounded its contents in the form of commentaries . , a rising style of writing kitab jawi on the doctrine of the period. Malay scholars' use of the term in Mecca was transmitted and then reproduced alongside the printing of kitab jawi in Southeast Asia. This process led the Sunni theology to constitute an Islamic orthodoxy in the region. This article presents a historical analysis of how sifat dua puluh became an established concept of Sunni theology in the Southeast Asian context, putting the mentioned work of al-Sans as the source of the production of Sunni creeds in a popularly vernacular expression of the Muslims in the region. Keywords: Kitab Jawi. Malay. Sifat Dua puluh. Umm al-BarAhn. Mecca. Southeast Asia. DOI: https://doi. org/10. 20414/ujis. Introduction EXCEPT for some tiny and insignificant groups. Muslims of the region hold the principles of Sunni belief, called ahl al-sunnah wa al-jamAAoah . dherents to the Prophetic tradition and the Certainly. Sunni is the school of doctrine the vast majority of Southeast Asian Muslims adhere. The question of when and how this Sunni belief came to dominate Southeast Asia remains unexplored. In the scholarly studies, they are superseded by the acclaimed studies which pay much attention to Sufism as the first Islamic facet to appear in the early process of Copyright A 2022_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA 270 Ulumuna. Vol. No. Islamization. 1 Even though, the issue of doctrine can be gleaned from the agents who introduced Islam to the people of the Malayarchipelago. The classical works of Arnold2 and Morrison3 attribute the Islamizing agency to the Muslim traders from the coast of Coromandel in the Indian Ocean, arguing that they shared the same ShafiAoite school of law . as the Muslims of Southeast Asia. If it is the case, it can be said that the Muslims who initiated the Islamization were Sunnis, with the reason that the ShafiAoite madhhab belongs to ahl al-sunnah wa al-jamAAoah. With due regard to the importance of historical origin, this article is, however, directed to discuss the advance of the Sunni in 19th century Southeast Asia, when it was already established as one of the pillars of Islamic orthodoxy, next to ShafiAoite school in fiqh (Islamic jurisprudenc. and the ethical Sufism of al-Ghazali . Special attention will be given to the Malay concept of sifat dua puluh . wenty attributes of Go. , which appears to be a popular formula of Sunni doctrine in the region. In reference to the work of Muhammad Ysuf al-Sans . Umm al-BarAhin (The Mother of Proof. , sifat dua puluh evolved to be a mainstream subject of doctrine. 4 Muhammad Zayn (Shaykh Muhammad Zayn bin FAqih JalAl al-Dn al-AoAsh. , a Malay AoAlim of Aceh of the 18th century, was the first scholar ever known who introduced the concept to Malay with his book BidAyat al-HidAyah (The Beginning of Guidanc. , a commentary . to the work of al-Sans. Afterwards, the subject gained its prominence with the coming of Malay commentaries and kitab jawi on the same subject, leading sifat dua puluh to appear as the most notable feature of the creeds in the kitab jawi of the 19th century. In this discussion, the rise of Malay commentaries to Umm alBarAhin is a crucial point in the development of sifat dua puluh. 1 See A. Johns. AoSufism as a Category in Indonesian Literature and HistoryAu. Journal of Southeast Asian History 2, no. : 143-160. 2 Thomas W. Arnold. The Preaching of Islam: A History of the Propagation of Muslim Faith, (London: Constable, 1. , 364-365. 3 G. Morrison. AoThe Coming of Islam to the East IndiesAu. Journal of Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 24, no. : 31-37. 4 Michael Laffan. The Making of Indonesian Islam: Orientalism and the Narration of Sufi Past, (Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2. , 33-34. Copyright A 2022_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA Jajat Burhanudin. The Popularizing of Sunni DoctrineA marks the intellectual endeavours of Malay AoulamAAo in Mecca and Southeast Asia to create an easily-digested formula of Sunni To be noted at this point are the roles of Da'ud al-Fatani (Shaykh DA'd 'Abd AllAh al-FaAn, 1769-1. , and other Malay AoulamAAo of Patani origin in the augmentation of the prevailing discourse concerning sifat dua puluh. As will be apparent below, the works of Patani AoulamAAo on the subject will be examined, with the reason that the AoulamAAo originated from southern Thailand today formed the leading writers of kitab jawi in the 19th century, and they simultaneously made a significant contribution to the advance of sifat dua puluh. This transmitted subject of doctrine was then reproduced by the Malay AoulamAAo of later generations, as will be discussed in the last part of this article. As a result, sifat dua puluh grew, forming the core substance of Sunni doctrine in the first half of the 20th century. Taking kitab jawi as the primary source, this article presents a historical analysis of the way sifat dua puluh came to exist as such. They significantly contributed to making the term alive within the religious knowledge of Southeast Asian Muslims through the In so doing, the crucial role of Malay AoulamAAo of the 19th century in popularizing the Malay term of Sunni theology will be 5 The term popularizing is used to depict how the Sunni doctrines were understood, elaborated, and articulated in the Malay language of Southeast Asia, which served the local context of Islamic expression, where the term familiar with the local Muslims constituted what was regarded as being essential in Islam. 6 As can be seen in the kitab jawi of doctrine, sifat dua puluh was taken as the core subject the Malay AoulamAAo voiced to engage in the strengthening of Sunni school and, in turn, in the consolidating of its Islamic orthodoxy in the region. 5 My childhood experiences from the late 1970s until the early 1980s confirm Having lived in a small Muslim village. I used to memorize the attributes of God, based on the knowledge I received from the transmitted oral tradition. And, following the practices of fellow Muslims. I used to recite them in the afternoon before praying . in a mosque. 6 Dale F. Eickleman. AoThe Study of Islam in Local ContextAu. Contributions to Asian Studies 1, no. : 1-16. Copyright A 2022_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA 272 Ulumuna. Vol. No. To the above point, another essential thing should be added, related to the Meccan background of the rise of Malay AoulamAAo with their kitab jawi in the 19th century. This is because almost all the kitab jawi of the period were written by the AoulamAAo of Jawa (Southeast Asian. , who established their careers in Mecca in the field of Islamic scholarship. The Meccan experiences helped to enhance the AoulamAAos religious authority. the 19th century, the Meccan circumstance provided the Jawa with a changing mode of instruction that began to be based on printed copies of the texts, not merely the oral lectures of their masters. This occurred following the intellectual trend of Meccan scholars who started publishing materials they lectured, to which the Jawa "noted down only a few oral remarks . aqAr. Au. 7 All these facts, with the support of the establishment of printing presses, might have led especially the Malay intellectual leaders of the Jawa to engage in authoring Malay kitab jawi. As a result, the intellectual network between Mecca and Southeast Asia intensified in the 19th century more than the one that had in the previous centuries. 8 This was because the network under this discussion proceeded in the printing era, where the transmission and reproduction of knowledge occurred through the kitab jawi, which were printed in the Middle East and then in Southeast Asia. Appeared in book format, kitab jawi provided the AoulamAAos voices with effective channels to reach the heart of Muslims' religiosity and constitute the substantial capacity for their revival in early modern Southeast Asia. In this article, network with Mecca is taken in such importance as a way that it created the opportunity for the Jawa to reach the intellectual achievement as the Malay AoulamAAo in the Holy City. the knowledge they produced were printed in the Middle East, in the form of Malay kitab jawi, and then reprinted and reproduced in Southeast Asia. In this respect, the concept of the 7 C. Snouck Hurgronje. Mekka in the Latter Part of the 19 th Century, (LeidenBoston: Brill, 2. , 208. 8 Azyumardi Azra. The Origins of Islamic Reformism in Southeast Asia: Networks of Malay-Indonesian and Middle Eastern AoUlamaAo in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century, (Australia & Honolulu: Allen & Unwin and University of HawaiAoi Press, 2. Copyright A 2022_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA Jajat Burhanudin. The Popularizing of Sunni DoctrineA discursive tradition of Talal Asad is relevant to refer to here because it denotes the tradition of Muslim discourse that addresses their relation with foundational texts of Islam, which is Hence, the point to emphasize is the socio-historical formation through which what is regarded as essential in Islam is With this perspective. Mecca and the Middle East, in general, of the period to be viewed as having created the necessary condition for building knowledge, the acknowledged essential in Islam, which was then reproduced and reformulated in Southeast Asia. 9 Sifat dua puluh was formulated through such mentioned processes of knowledge production across the two Muslim regions (Mecca and the Malay world in Southeast Asi. This article sheds light on the crucial aspect of Sunni doctrine in Malay, which is still unexplored in scholarly studies, including the recent work of Bruckmayr, which pays attention much to the linguistic issue. 10 Consequently, the Islamic knowledge that was produced and was . nd is stil. believed to be essential is not well As well, this article is to revise the previous work of alEdrus, which fails, albeit important, to conceive sifat dua puluh as an explicit formulation of Sunni doctrine in the Southeast Asian As such, after explaining the intellectual origin of sifat dua puluh, in reference in part to the work al-Sans, the discussions continue with the rise of Malay commentaries. Written to expound the core of al-SansAos idea of Islamic doctrines, the commentaries marked the rise of kitab jawi by Southeast Asian AoulamAAo in Mecca in the 19th century, which popularized the Sunni school in the local term of sifat dua puluh. This process strengthened with the coming of the books on the subject by Malay AoulamAAo of later generations that were printed in Southeast Asia, serving the reproduction of 9 Talal Asad. AoThe Idea of an Anthropology of IslamAu. Qui Parle 17, no. : 20-24. 10 Philipp Bruckmayr. AoThe Sharu/Ashiya Phenomenon in Southeast AsiaAu. Mylanges de lAoInstitut dominicain dAoytudes orientales 32 . : 27-52. 11 Syed Muhammad Dawilah al-Edrus. AoThe Role of Kitab Jawi in the Development of Islamic Thought in the Malay Archipelago with special Reference to Umm al-BarAhn and the Writings on the Twenty AttributesAu (Ph. Thesis. The University of Edinburgh, 1. Copyright A 2022_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA 274 Ulumuna. Vol. No. knowledge on this theological school to develop into a widely accepted creed of Muslims in the region. The Attributes of God: Brief Intellectual Origin As already noted, the idea of twenty attributes of God has firm ground in the classical history of Islamic thought, which can be traced back to the debates on the doctrines of God's attributes within the Mu'tazilites. This debate appeared to have led Ab alasan al-Ash'ar to abandon the Mu'tazilah circle and form a Sunni school . hl al-sunnah wa al-jamAAoa. One debated point was concerned with the question of the attribute of knowledge, on which the Mu'tazilites, including al-Ash'ar's teacher (Ab 'Al alJubbA', d. , affirmed it, next to the attribute of power . For al-Ash'ar, while he accepted the opinion of Mu'tazilah that God has attributes, notably knowledge, it is however by the attribute of knowledge that God knows, not by His essence. for the Mu'tazilites. God is knowing by His essence, not by knowledge, and therefore they were objected to the term "knowledge". About the Qur'anic verse . : . , al-Ash'ar argued that God has knowledge as an attribute, and with which He is knowing. attribute is inherent in God, although it is not the same as His Al-Ash'ar's concept of God's attributes becomes one of the central creeds of the Sunni theological school and is elaborated by the Sunni AoulamAAo. And one AoAlim who had significant influence in Malay-archipelago, and in the Muslim countries at large, was Shaykh Muuammad Ysuf al-Sans . 5/839-1490/. With his work on this subject. Umm al-BarAhn (The Mother of Proof. , also known as al-Sanusiyyah. Ysuf al-Sans concluded the discussions on the attributes of Allah into what came to be popularly known as Twenty Attributes (Sifat Dua Pulu. He formulated the Twenty Attributes as a way to determine the issue into religious guidance for the Muslims, freed from unending philosophical debates. Muslims are obliged to know the attributes, although they Montgomery Watt. The Formative Period of Islamic Thought (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1. , 245-6, 299. Copyright A 2022_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA Jajat Burhanudin. The Popularizing of Sunni DoctrineA are also urged to recognize other attributes of God which are unlimited in number. 13 Al-Sans wrote in Umm al-BarAhn: AoIt is obligatory on every mukallaf . person who has reached the age of pubert. in the eyes of the divine ordinance . to know what is . he attributes o. Aji. , inadmissible . , and admissible . AAoi. in respect of Allah, the Magnificent, the Mighty. And likewise, it is an obligation on him to know the same in respect of the Messenger, may blessing and peace be upon themAu. No need to present al-Sans's intellectual biography here. The work of this AoAlim of western Algeria today, the mentioned Umm al-BarAhn, has been widely used in Muslims' socio-religious life and has intellectually been appreciated by scholars in the Muslim Many commentaries on this work appeared, the leading of which are as follows: Ashiyah al-Hudhud AoalA Umm al-BarAhn by Manr al-Hudhud. HijAzi al-SharqAw then commented on this commentary in his work Ashiyah AoAbd AllAh al-SharqAw Aoala Sharu al-ImAm al-Hudhud AoalA al-Sansiyyah. Shaykh IbrAhim al-Bayjr is another AoAlim who made commentary on Umm al-BarAhn, entitled Ashiyah al-Bayjr Aoala Matn al-Sansiyyah. and the work of Muuammad bin AoAbd Allah bin AoArafa al-Dask. Ashiyah AoalA Sharu Umm al-BarAhn. 15 As Messick asserts, these commentaries function not only as an interpretive elaboration of a primary text . , but also yield its transformation into becoming the heart of Islamic intellectual discourse and, finally, the formation of Muslim religious life. 16 Due in part to these commentaries. Umm al-BarAhn came to the knowledge of Jawa of Mecca, which led the scholars of Southeast Asian diasporas to make its Malay translations and commentaries for their Muslim fellows in the region. The Coming of Malay Commentaries As is noted above, the first AoAlim who introduced al-SansAos Umm al-BarAhn to Malay audiences in Southeast Asia was al-Edrs. AoThe Role of Kitab Jawi, 153-4. Muuammad Ysuf al-Sans. Umm al-BarAhn, the annotated translation prepared by al-Edrs. AoThe Role of Kitab JawiAu, 158. 15 al-Edrs. AoThe Role of Kitab JawiAu, 156. see also C. Brockelman. Geschicte der Arabischen Litteratur vol. 2, (Leiden: E. Brill, 1. , 324. 16 Brinkley Messick. The Calligraphic State: Textual domination and history in a Muslim society, (Berkeley etc. : University of California Press, 1. , 31. Copyright A 2022_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA 276 Ulumuna. Vol. No. Muhammad Zayn bin Faqih Jalal al-Din al-AoAshi. He was the first Malay scholar of the 18th century who wrote the commentary to Umm al-BarAhn with his BidAyat al-HidAyah (The Beginning of Guidanc. 17 No much is known about his life, except that he was noted with the title "al-Ash" . he Acehnes. in his last name, which is translated into Aothe land of AcehAu . aripada bangsa Ace. , as is found in the title page of his work just mentioned. Completed in Mecca in 1756/1170 and printed in Constantinople in 1885,18 this book was dedicated to being a learning material for Jawi students of beginners . egala orang yang baru belaja. , whom he described to have been inadequate in the studying of Arabic sources. For this reason, the author stated that he translated the mentioned book by Ysuf al-Sans into Malay. he explained its contents in the form of commentary. In this discussion, the work of Muhammad Zayn of Aceh is of specific significance. Not only did it appear as the first kitab jawi ever made to commence introducing Umm al-BarAhn to Southeast Asia, but it was also the pioneer of the rise of commentary to Umm al-BarAhn, which grew in the 19th century. As a result, in terms of writing style at least, his BidAyat al-HidAyah seems to have been much more influential, compared, for instance, to Aoindependent workAu-styled al-Durr al-Thamn by DaAoud al-Fatani, as will be discussed later, in which the book of al-Sans is only one of many sources referred to. More than five jawi books appeared in the 19th century, which deal with the same subject of doctrine and are in the same writing style, the commentaries. These books explain every point of the primary text in Malay, which constitutes the essence of what became popular in Southeast Asia as sifat dua 17 The manuscript of BidAyat al-HidAyah is preserved at Leiden University, the Netherlands (CodOr. 5741A), together with another work. Talkhis al-FalAh f BayAn AukAm al-alaq wa al-NikAu, also known as BAb al-NikAu (CodOr 5741F). See Teuku Iskandar. Kesusasteraan Klasik Melayu Sepanjang Abad, (Brunei: Universiti Brunei Darussalam, 1. , 433. See also Ahmad Fauzi Ilyas. Warisan Intelektual Ulama Nusantara, (Medan: Rawda Publishing, 2. , 3-7. 18 Hurgronje. Mekka, 287. 19 Shaykh Muhammad Zayn ibn Faqh Jalal al-Din al-Ashi. Bidayat alHidayah, (Patani: MatbaAoat bin HalAb, n. ), 2. Copyright A 2022_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA Jajat Burhanudin. The Popularizing of Sunni DoctrineA Shaykh Muhammad Tayyib bin MasAoud al-Banjari is the first AoAlim to mention. In 1858/1274, he wrote MiftAu al-Jannah f BayAn alAoAqdah (Key to Paradise in Clarifying the Creed. , which was based on Umm al-BarAhn. Like Muhammad Zayn of Aceh, the lack of Arabic proficiency among the Jawa of Mecca was the reason for Muhammad Tayyib of Banjar to write this book. AoSo I collect for them . he Jaw. Au, the author wrote. Aothe principles of faith . egala simpulan ima. from the book of Umm al-BarAhn in their language [Mala. I present it with the sign of its meaning. and I explain the meaning of every point of creeds about what I have studied in the commentaries and glosses in a way which makes it . he explanatio. short to be easier for the JawaAu. The next AoAlim of 19th century Jawa in Mecca was Shaykh Muhammad Zayn al-Dn bin Muhammad al-Badawi al-Sumbawi. Almost thirty years later, in 1885-6/1304, his work which was written based on the book of al-Sans, entitled SirAj al-HudA f AoAqdah Ahl al-TaqwA (Light of the Guidance concerning the Creeds of Those who are Piou. , was printed in Mecca, adding the considerable number of Malay books circulated there, and as such pointing to the increasing importance of the intellectual role of Jawa in the Holy City. 21 In the introductory pages. Muhammad Zayn of Sumbawa, an island in West Nusa Tenggara, shares the same experiences of Jawi scholars already discussed. he was persistently asked to write a beautiful treatise in Malay as commentary to Umm al-BarAhn. Included in the list of Malay commentary to Umm al-BarAhn is AoAiyah al-Rauman f BayAni QawAAoid al-mAn (The Benevolent Present in the Explanation on the Foundation of Fait. by Shaykh Muhammad Azhari bin AoAbd Allah al-Falimbani. Muhammad Azhari of Palembang wrote AoAiyah al-Rauman in 1843/1259 after he joined the learning circle to study the cited work of Ysuf alSans in Mecca and the gloss of IbrAhim al-BAjr. Since it was completed, it seems that this work never appeared as an 20 Muhammad ayib ibn MasAod al-BanjAr. MiftAu al-Jannah f BayAn alAoAqdah (Patani: MatbaAoat bin HalAb, n. ), 3-4. 21 Hurgronje. Mekka, 286. 22 Shaykh Muhammad Zayn al-Din bin Muhammad al-Badawi al-Sumbawi. SirAj al-HudA f AoAqdah Ahl al-TaqwA (Patani: MatbaAoat bin HalAb, n. ), 2. Copyright A 2022_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA 278 Ulumuna. Vol. No. independent book. Today's version is an attachment inserted in the margin of SirAj al-HudA. 23 Like Muhammad Zayn of Sumbawa, the request of Jawi students to deliver the teachings of Sanusiyyah in Malay was the reason behind his writing of AoAiyah al-Rauman. Concerning the backdrop of the rising commentaries, the religious ideas of Umm al-BarAhn, next to the language issue, appear to be another essential reason. It points to the fact that the book was accepted as an authoritative source of Islamic theological doctrine to be transmitted to Southeast Asia. Muhammad Zayn of Aceh, for instance, held the opinion that the contents of the book have Aofollowed the noble QurAoan and implemented the sayings of the Prophet MuhammadAu,25 leading it to be recognized as to have presented by the Sunni theological school. Similarly. Muhammad Zayn of Sumbawa stated in his SirAj al-HudA that the Malay translation and commentary to Umm al BarAhn was also due to the reason that the kitab conveyed the foundation of Islamic faith and therefore was of great avail for both the Jawa in Mecca and the Muslims in Southeast Asia. Notable for the latter-mentioned region, the Malay translations provided the Muslims with accessible sources, in their language, concerning the attributes of God, to which the Muslims of mukallaf . ho have reached the age of pubert. is necessitated . Aji. to have sufficient knowledge. For this reason, the Jawi scholar not merely translated the book of al-Sans in the literal sense of meaning, but also expounded and elaborated its contents in reference to the Qur'an. Hadith, and the opinions of AoulamAAo. a result, the commentaries contributed to enhancing the explanatory mission of Umm al-BarAhn as a Sunni text and to make it easier to be digested by Southeast Asian people. The Malay commentaries affirm the critical role of Jawi scholars as what 23 Shaykh Muhammad Azhari bin AoAbd Allah al-Falimbani. AoAiyah alRauman f BayAni QawAAoid al-mAn inserted in the margin of SirAj al-HudA (Patani: MabaAoat bin HalAb, n. ), 2-3. 24 Ibi. , 3-4. 25 al-Ashi. Bidayat al-Hidayah, 3. 26 al-Sumbawi. SirAj al-HudA, 2. Copyright A 2022_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA Jajat Burhanudin. The Popularizing of Sunni DoctrineA Snouck Hurgronje calls Aothe heart of religious life of the EastIndian ArchipelagoAu. Added to the reason for the rise of commentaries is the fact that Umm al-BarAhn was already popular in the Muslim world in the 19th century. About SirAj al-HudA, it is said that the little book of al-Sans was famed among the Arabs, the Jawa (Southeast Asia. , the Turkish, the Indians, and those of other Muslim countries. studied the book and followed its instructions. In the Southeast Asian context, this popularity is testified by the fact that the commentary is not limited to the circle of Malay A leading Jawi AoAlim of Java and the leader of the Javanese community in 19th century Mecca. Shaykh Muhammad Nawawi al-Jawi al-Bantani . , wrote a commentary to Umm al-BarAhn with the title UariAoat al-Yaqn AoalA Sharh Umm alBarAhn, also known as Durrat al-NadrA AoalA AoAqdah al-SughrA. 29 This work contributed to making the book of al-Sanusi circulated in the pesantren learning in Java of the period, which came to be known in Indonesia as kitab kuning. 30 No less important to mention here is the work of a Hadrami AoAlim of Batavia. Sayyid Uthman bin AoAbd Allah bin AoAqil bin Yahya al-AoAlawi al-Batawi . produced a booklet entitled Kitab Sifat Dua Puluh in 1886/1304, even before. It was printed several times and is still available in bookshops throughout Indonesia. 31 Although needs further research, it can be said that the booklet of this AoAlim has had a significant impact in Batavia and the western part of Java. As such, the Malay commentaries to Umm al-BarAhn held a major role in the development of sifat dua puluh to evolve into a celebrated topic of Sunni creeds in Southeast Asia in the 19th All the above-mentioned commentaries were dedicated to Hurgronje. Mekka, 291. al-Sumbawi. SirAj al-HudA, 2. 29 Abd Rahman. AoNawawi al-Batani: An Intellectual Master of the Pesantren Tradition. Studia Islamika, . , 3, 1. , 81-114. 30 L. van den Berg. AoHet Mohammedaansche godsdienstonderwijs op Java en Madoera en de daarbij gebruikte Arabische boekenAu. TBG . , 1. , 53941. see also Martin van Bruinessen. AoAoKitab kuning: Books in Arabic Script Used in the Pesantren MilieuAo. BKI . -2, 1. , 251-2. 31 Nico J. Kaptein. Islam. Colonialism and the Modern Age in the Netherlands East Indies: A Biography of Sayyid Uthman . , (Leiden: Brill, 2. , 89-90. Copyright A 2022_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA 280 Ulumuna. Vol. No. expounding the contents of the book, which constitute the core substance of GodAos attributes. In line with this fact, the trend of consolidating ahl al-sunnah wa al-jamAAoah strengthened to the extent that this theological concept came to be widely accepted as a leading pillar of an established Islamic orthodoxy in the region. Enhancing the Discourse: al-Durr al-Thamn of DaAoud al-Fatani Alongside the rise of the commentaries, appreciation of Umm al-BarAhn can also be gleaned from a sort of Aoindependent bookAu of kitab jawi, of which al-Durr al-Thamn is essential to explain It was written by a leading and venerated Malay AoAlim of Patani origin. DaAoud al-Fatani (Shaykh DAAod AoAbd AllAh al-FaAn, 1769-1. 32 This work cites al-SansAos Umm al-BarAhn as an important source of reference, besides Jawhar al-Tawud by Shaykh Ibrahim al-LaqAn. Competed in 1816/1232 and first printed in Mecca in the 1880s, this book circulated in the bookshops in the Holy City in the late 19th century and was therefore included in the list of kitab jawi Snouck Hurgronje provides. 33 This work was reprinted several times in Southeast Asia and continues to circulate among Muslims in the countries of the region nowadays, alongside its being used as a learning material in the pondok of Patani and the Malay peninsula. This book has its complete title al-Durr al-Thamn pada menyatakan iAotiqAd orang MuAominn (Precious pearl in Explaining the Creeds of the Believer. Daud al-Fatani begins the discussion with introductory notes, stating that this book is to compile the thought of AoulamAAo as the truth seekers . concerning the For a biography of Da'ud al-Fatani, see Francis R. Bradley. Forging Islamic Power and Place: The Legacy of Shaykh DAAod AoAbd AllAh al-FaAn in Mecca and Southeast Asia (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2. Wan Mohd. Shaghir Abdullah. Syeikh Daud bin Abdullah Al-Fathani: Ulama dan Pengarang Terulung Asia Tenggara, (Kuala Lumpur: Hizbi, 1. Virginia Matheson and M. Hooker. AoJawi literature in Patani: The maintenance of an Islamic TraditionAu. Journal of Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society . , 1, 1. , pp. Ahmad Fathy al-Fatani. Ulama Besar dari Patani (Kota Bharu: Majlis Ugama Islam dan Adat Istiadat Melayu, 2. , 40-45. 33 Snouck Hurgronje. Mekka, 287. 34 Hasan Madmarn. The Pondok and Madrasah in Patani (Bangi: Universiti Kebangaan Malaysia, 1. , 25. Copyright A 2022_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA Jajat Burhanudin. The Popularizing of Sunni DoctrineA foundation of religion . l al-d. and the creeds of those who upheld the principles of GodAos Unity . hl al-tawu. In the writing of this book. Da'ud al-Fatani narrates in an illustration that he collected the pearls and threw away the casing to encourage those who searched for knowledge. As in the cases of kitab jawi in general. Daud al-Fatani also notes that he rendered the contents of al-Durr al-Thamn in Malay with the intention that it could be comprehended by the people who do not understand Arabic. From the introductory notes, the book continues with the discussions on the creeds of Sunni theological school . Aotiqad ahl alsunna wa al-jamAAoa. as laid down by Ab asan al-Ash'ar . the father of the school. Besides describing the history of its founding. Da'ud al-Fatani strongly emphasizes the belief that the Sunni school has the right creeds because it is based on the Qur'an. Hadith, the consensus of the Companions and the salaf generation. further, he argues the urgency of Muslims to have sufficient knowledge of the Sunni doctrine to be able to distinguish, among the schools of theology, the correct creed to follow and to uphold in their religious belief. The book goes to the issue of knowing God . engenal Tuha. , which is said as "more significant" in the field of doctrine. In this respect. Daud al-Fatani states that this knowledge of God is obligatory for the Muslims as they have already reached the age of puberty ('Aqil bAlig. , provided that it is based on the Qur'an and the tradition of the Prophet, so they could achieve the right principles of faith. He notes that the universe provides us with the ways to know God. it indicates the condition that God, as the creator . hAli. , must be absolutely in existence . Ajib al-wuj. , non-origination . and permanence . aqAA. , demonstrating that God must have the attributes of absolute perfection and all the things in the universe are created . 37 To strengthen the argument, references to al-Sans, besides al-LaqAn, are made. While recognizing the variety of intellectual capability among Muslims, the book stresses that knowing God . aAorifa. is 35 Shaykh DaAoud al-Fatani, al-Durr al-Thamn pada menyatakan IAotiqAd Segala Orang MuAominn, (Patani: MatbaAoat bin alAb, n. ), 2. 36 Ibid. , 3-4. 37 Ibid. , 4-5. Copyright A 2022_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA 282 Ulumuna. Vol. No. compulsory for every Muslim. Therefore. Da'ud al-Fatani notes that Muslims must observe the universe, which is obligatory, to come to know God as the creator and firmly believe that God has absolute power to create the universe. The book then underlines the difference between the creator . hAli. and the created . It will be discovered in the universe, so the book notifies the magnificent creation, which features God, who created it with the attributes of perfection in His power and of encompassing in His knowledge. Nonetheless, this universe is created and therefore has the qualities of incidence and happening . and non-existence (Aoada. and everything with these qualities . udth and Aoada. have an origin . and transience . It means that the universe depends on God, who has the attributes of absolute existence . and permanence . aqAA. God has absolute power to determine the universe's beginning and end. All these facts, with the support of Qur'anic verses and Hadith, are proofs of God's perfect qualities the Muslims should believe, which are elaborated in this book in the well-known concept of twenty attributes of God, termed in Malay as sifat dua puluh. The next subject of the book's discussion concerns the twenty attributes of God. This subject is elaborated on in great detail, where almost all attributes . are taken into a specific Reference to many sources is made to strengthen the author's explanation and argument, including al-Sans and alLaqAn, as well as the verses of the Qur'an, the Hadith. The discussion of this subject starts with the attribute of wujd . , qidam . on-beginnin. , baqAAo . , mukhAlafat li al-uawAdith . o-resemblance to all that have qualities of happening or the create. , qiyAmu bi nafsihi . elf-existenc. , 38 Ibid. , 16-17. It should be said that reference to al-Sans . ee also pages . is made without mentioning his work Umm al-BarAhn. The book writes: "according to Shaykh al-Sans" or Shaykh al-Sanusi said". Most probably. Umm al-BarAhn was well-known already among the Jawa, and it was the only work of al-Sans circulated, so citing this work was deemed unnecessary. 39 Ibid. , 18-19. Copyright A 2022_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA Jajat Burhanudin. The Popularizing of Sunni DoctrineA waudAniyyah . bsolute onenes. , until kawnuhu mutaqallim . eing attributed with speec. as the last one. The twenty attributes will be dealt with later in a specific For now, it is clear that al-Durr al-Thamn presents all the attributes of God in such a way as to demonstrate that the idea follows the Sunni dogma. In reference to the mentioned Jawhar alTawud. DaAoud al-Fatani states that the majority of AoulamAAo, who hold the Sunni school, are of the opinion that all the names of Allah are determined on the basis of shariAoah, as is found in the QurAoan and Hadith. 41 Equally important is that DaAoud al-Fatani refers to Umm al-BarAhn as his main source. 42 Hence, he enhances the growing public discourse of sifat dua puluh in Southeast Asia. AoAqdah al-NAjn and Fardat al-FarAAoid: Two Examples of Commentaries To all those outlined, two commentaries by two Malay AoulamAAo of Patani origin are of special importance to be taken into particular discussion. They are AoAqdah al-NAjn f AoIlm Ul al-Dn (Creeds of the Firm Believers Concerning the Science of the Foundation of Religio. by Shaykh Zayn al-AoAbidin bin Muhammad al-Fatani . opularly known as Tuan Minal, 18201. and Fardat al-FarAAoid f AoIlm al-AoAqAAoid (The Precious Gem of Gems in the Science of AoAqda. by Shaykh Ahmad bin Muhammad Zayn al-Fatani . As will be apparent below, these commentaries had a great impact on to further development of sifat dua puluh in the Malay world in the early 20th Here, a closer look is made to see how the two Malay AoulamAAo formulated the arguments which emphasize the significance of sifat dua puluh, besides the popularity the two commentaries enjoyed, alongside the impact they yielded, in the Malay world, which reached the mainland areas of Southeast Asia. Ibid. , 20-37. Ibid. , 44. 42 Ibid. , 19 and 41. 43 Laffan. Sejarah Islam, 38. 44 See Philipp Bruckmayr. CambodiaAos Muslims and the Malay World, (Leiden. Boston: Brill, 2. , 165-171. Copyright A 2022_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA 284 Ulumuna. Vol. No. Let me begin with AoAqdah al-NAjn. It was completed in Mecca, first printed by DAr IhyA al-Kutub al-AoArabyah in Cairo in 1890/1308 and then reprinted several times in Southeast Asia. Written in the form of commentary, this book presented a relatively new trend in the Patani intellectual tradition. Most kitab jawi by Patani AoulamAAo became independent books. Of all the works of Da'ud al-Fatani, to mention only the leading figure, only two that are in the form of commentaries. 46 Nevertheless, this book of Tuan Minal should be seen as part of the rising trend of writing kitab jawi on the subject of doctrine in the 19th century, where appreciation of Umm al-BarAhn became a dominant feature. And all the works are, as already shown, commentaries. As the title suggests, this 140-page book was written to expound and disseminate the Sunni theological thought in alSansAos Umm al-BarAhn. The author explains the meaning of the bookAos title as Aothe creeds of those who are freed from being perverted and heresyAu, pointing to the strong belief of Muslims in the unity of God . The author also mentions the objective of this book, which is Aoto discuss . ada bicar. the science of the foundation of religion . l al-d. according to the madhhab of orthodox Muslims of ahl al-sunnah wa al-jamAAoahAu,47 which was in line with the rising Islamic discourse of the time. And, like other kitab jawi as already noted. Zayn al-'Abidin, in writing this book, consulted the commentaries and glosses to Umm al-BarAhn that had been made to enrich the discussions and to make its messages Matheson and Hooker. AoJawi LiteratureAu, 34. These two scholars mention the undated version circulated in Patani and Malaysia in the 1980s by al-Ma'arif in Pulau Penang as the fourth reprinting. This Penang edition appears to be the basis of the recent edition by Matba'at bin Halabi in Patani. It is stated on the last page that this book was reprinted with the permission of the author's son. Shaykh Hasan, and revised by al-Hajj Ilyas Yaqub al-Azhari. 46 The two books of Shaykh DaAoud al-Fatani are al-Bahjat al-Saniyah f alAoAqAAoid al-Sunniyah . commentary to AoAqdat al-AoAwAm by his teacher. Shaykh Aumad al-Marz. and War al-ZawAhir li ill AlfAe AoAqd al-JawAhir . o JawhArat alTawud by Shaykh IbrAhim al-LaqqA. These two books are Aoaqdah. 47 Shaykh Zayn al-AoAbidin bin Muhammad al-Fatani. AoAqdah al-NAjn f AoIlm Ul al-Dn (Patani: MatbaAoah bin Halabi, n. ), 3. Copyright A 2022_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA Jajat Burhanudin. The Popularizing of Sunni DoctrineA easy to be comprehended. 48 Considering the number of pages, the discussions of AoAqdah al-NAjn are much elaborated. After the opening, which consists of explaining the words bismi AllAh . n the name of Alla. and al-uamdu AllAh . raising Go. and praying for the Prophet Muhammad, the book begins the discussions with the significance of knowing (Aoil. of tawud. is defined as the way to affirm the basic tenet of religion based on reliable sources concerning the essence and the attributes of God and His Messenger, as was formulated by Ab asan al-AshAoar and Ab Manr al-MAturd and those who followed these two As such, the Aoilm of tawuid is expected and is believed to liberate the people from what is said as the lack of knowing . , doubt . , uncertainty . , and illusion . In the specific field of AoitiqAd, none of the four points mentioned is tolerated, with the argument that it would lead the Muslims to the condition of unbelievers . Afi. The book, therefore, emphasizes the necessity of the Muslims to have the knowledge of usl al-dn, which is, in fact compulsory from the perspective of sharAo, on the basis of which they hold their Aoaqdah. The MuslimsAo belief in God, especially among those of mukallaf, is guided by the knowledge of doctrine, not by blindly following what others say and do . without knowing both the argument and proof. 50 To this point, the book expounds on the responsibilities of the Muslims in the field of Aoaqdah by elucidating two kinds of duties that are well-known in Islamic tradition, the individual . ars al-Aoay. and the collective duties . ars al-kifAya. The first one . ars al-Aoay. points to the condition that the Muslims of mukallaf, each of them, knows in detail, based on reliable argument, all the attributes of God, which consists of those necessary . Aji. , inadmissible . , and admissible . l-jAAoi. Nevertheless, the book also recognizes the situation in which the knowledge of God's attributes is based on a general argument . all ijmA. , that is, it is based on the recognition that the universe Ibid. , 2. Ibid. , 5-6. 50In this respect, the book notes that the 'ulamAAo had different opinions on the status of muqallid . hose who do taqli. some said that they were still believers, while others fell under the category of unbelievers. See Ibid. , 13. Copyright A 2022_Ulumuna_this publication is licensed under a CC BY-SA 286 Ulumuna. Vol. No. is created and, as such, the proof of God's existence. 51 While noting the importance of knowing the verses of the Qur'an, which state the nature of createdness of the universe,52 The book also illustrates how individual Muslims found the earth as clear evidence of its being God's creature, affirming what has been stated in the QurAoan that Aoon the earth are signs of those of assured faith . l-mqin. Au. The second duty . ars al-kifAya. , which is collective, refers to the fact that the responsibility to know the attributes of God in detail is in the hands of Muslim leaders, the AoulamAAo and the qAd . he judg. With their Islamic knowledge, these leaders have the authority to solve disputed religious problems, especially those concerning the issue of the createdness of the universeAiAothat it . he univers. is created . and everything which is created necessitates the creator.