Mufassir of Indonesian

The name of Raden Ajeng Kartini, the son of the Regent of Jepara, was mentioned. This girl is always interested in listening to the interpretation of the commentary delivered by KH. Muhammad Soleh bin Umar As-Samarani, teacher of the scholars at the end of the nineteenth century. In fact, because of his enthusiasm, Kartini followed the Kiai Soleh study to Demak. In a recitation held at the Demak Regency pavilion ward, Kartini felt dissatisfied with the description of Kiai Soleh about the tafsir al-Fatihah. After the recitation, the notoriously critical Kartini ventured to meet Kiai Soleh.

He asked his teacher to be willing to translate and interpret the Qur'an in Javanese. Kiai Soleh, who was humble, initially objected because it required a heavy scientific prerequisite to become a mufassir or interpreter of the Qur'an.

"But, isn't Romo an expert and master of the sciences? So now Ananda begs to please Father Guru to write for our nation in general. In the form of a book of translations and interpretations of the Koran in Javanese. Because it will making them understand the sacred whisperings of their guidance book of life. And, Father Guru will be of great service, "

Hearing Kartini's request, the look on the face of the old kiai from Semarang-origin lit up. Immediately, Kiai Soleh's tears spilled, crying, hearing the request of the noble virgin.
Starting from the dialogue in the district pavilion, the following year the book coveted by Kartini appeared. The title is Faidh al-Rahman fi Tafsir al-Qur'an. This book by Kiai Soleh is folio-sized, printed first in Singapore in 1894. Consisting of two volumes, this book is a reference for indigenous Javanese who settled in Malay land. Even Muslims in Pattani, Southern Thailand also use this book. Written with Pegon Arabic script, the book was presented to RA Kartini as a wedding gift with RM Joyodiningrat who served as Regent of Rembang. Kiai Soleh Darat died on the 28th of Ramadan 1321 H, or coincided with the date of December 18, 1903. This prolific writer was buried in the Bergota Public Cemetery complex in Semarang.

Kiai Soleh, who is a teacher of KH. M. Hasyim Asy'ari and KH. Ahmad Dahlan, marked one phase of the development of the Qur'an's interpretation in the archipelago. Almost the same age as Kiai Soleh, there was the name Sheikh Muhammad Nawawi al-Bantani (1813-18970, a Bantenese scholar who was a professor in Haramain. Syekh Nawawi wrote a book called Tafsir al-Munir li Ma'alim at-Tanzil which was written on Wednesday, 5 Rabiul Awal 1305 H, when he lived in Mecca, before this text was interpreted to the scholars of Mecca and Medina to be investigated, then the text was printed in the country For this extraordinary scientific reputation, the scholars presented it as "Sayyid Hijaz scholars.

The brilliance of the Soleh Darat Kiai and Syaikh Nawawi as the interpreter was then continued by several scholars in the following decade. The style of the methodology also varies, as well as the language used. In the era of the 1930s, a cleric from Sukabumi, KH. Ahmad Sanusi, wrote a complete commentary on 30 juz, Raudlatul Irfan fi Ma’rifat al-Qur'an using Sundanese. He also wrote other works about the interpretation of the Qur'an with different styles. In total there are 75 papers with various scientific perspectives produced by scholars who were active in the Sarekat Islam and BPUPKI.

During this time with Kiai Ahmad Sanusi, there was the name of Sheikh Mahmud Yunus. This last name besides being famous for the Arabic-Malay dictionary he created, apparently still has interpretive works. The title is the Al-Karim Tafsir of Indonesian Language. As explained by Sheikh Mahmud Yunus himself in the Preface to his commentary, he began his writing in November 1922 and was completed in 1938. In Indonesia, Sheikh Mahmud Yunus was among the pioneers of 30 juz exact interpreters in the order of the Mushaf.

After Sheikh Machmud Yunus, there was the name A. Hassan with al-Furqan: Tafsir al-Qur'an. The founder of the Islamic Unity organization began writing his work in Muharram 1347 H to coincide with July 1928. Because of his busy life as an organizational activist and dai, he was only able to finish this work in 1956 AD

In addition, from the womb of the land of Sumatra, the Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Karim was written by three groups, namely Ustadz A. Halim Hassan, Zainal Arifin Abbas, and Abdurrahim Haitami. Writing begins in the month of Ramadan 1355 H in Langkat. Several times his writing was stopped due to World War II and the scarcity of paper stock. Specially, juz I and II were published in Malay in Arabic script to be taught in the nine kingdoms in Malaysia at that time.


After Indonesia's independence, this nation seemed to have never lacked the stock of the Mufassir. Among the monumental ones is Tafsir al-Azhar by Buya Hamka, which he began to initiate through the morning recitation at the Al-Azhar Mosque in Kebayoran Baru Jakarta, 1958. When Buya Hamka was imprisoned in the Old Order era, he could focus more on completing this work. Until then, in 1967, this work was published under the title Tafsir Al-Azhar.

The steps of prominent ulama from Muhammadiyah were also almost in conjunction with the release of Javanese-language Tafsir Ibriz written by NU clerics, KH. Bisri Mustofa, father of KH. Mustofa Bisri (Gus Mus). His younger brother, KH. Misbah Mustofa, Tuban, did not want to lose. He also published Iklil Interpretations which also speak Javanese.

In Makassar, there is KH. Abdul Mu'in Yusuf wrote the interpretation of the Qur'an in Bugis language and was written using traditional Bugis script. In addition, there is also Anregurutta Daud Ismail who applied the Bugis regional language in the process of interpreting the Qur'an. In Minangkabau, there are around five scholars who contributed the interpretation of the Qur'an in the Minangkabau language. The choice of interpretation in the local language, explained Mas Islah Gusmian in "Khazanah Indonesian Interpretation: from Hermeneutics to Ideology" (2013), actually shows a pragmatic orientation, namely to be more easily understood by certain local communities in accordance with the language used. Amazing, isn't it?

On the other hand, the interpretations of Indonesian scholars are increasingly diverse and are written with a variety of different methodology and methodological variants. Hasbi Asshiedqy even wrote two works, namely Tafsir al-Bayan and Tafsir An-Nur. The first work was written in 1971. Because he was not satisfied with the first issue, he then wrote the second work.

The RI Department of Religion also does not want to lose. The red plate institute launched the Qur'an and its interpretation which after undergoing several repairs could be published by the UII Yogyakarta Waqf Agency in 1995. Expert commentary on the Qur'an, Prof. Dr. Quraish Shihab then published his monumental work, Tafsir Al-Mishbah and Tafsir Al-Lubaab. There is also Prof. KH. Didin Hafiduddin with his Tafsir al-Hijri.

To be sure, the number of interpretations of the Qur'an in Indonesia itself, since the preaching of Walisongo, can be ascertained in hundreds when we also include several interpretive objects such as Tafsir Al-Fatihah, Tafsir Al-Kahfi, Tafsir An-Nisa ', Interpretation of Surah Ya- Sin, Tafsir Juz Amma and others, as well as some thematic interpretations (education, feminist, sufistic, legal, etc.).

Although this article is too short to dissect the treasures of the Indonesian interpretation, but citing the period of Indonesian interpretation conducted by Howard M. Federspiel, there are several interesting phases of the development of Indonesian interpretations. The first generation, about the beginning of the 20th century until the early 1960s, was characterized by the existence of translation and interpretation which was still dominated by separate interpretive models and tended to certain letters as objects of interpretation. The second generation is an improvement over the first generation, which emerged in the mid 1960s.

Characteristics, usually have notes, footnotes, translations per word, and sometimes accompanied by a simple index. The third generation of interpretations began to emerge in the 1970s which had complete interpretations, with extensive comments on texts accompanied by translations. This is a period of interpretation in Indonesia made by Howard M. Federspiel in "The Qur'anic Study in Indonesia" (1996).

Pioneer of Interpretation in the Archipelago

Who first pioneered the interpretation in the archipelago? Mention of a great scholar from Aceh, Shaykh Abdurrauf As-Sinkili (1615-1693). Azyumardi Azra, in the "Middle East Ulama Network and the Archipelago Islands of the XVII and XVIII Ages" (2004) considers that As-Sinkili is a leading ulama with an international reputation. Because, the intellectual and tarekat chains stretched between the Hijaz and the Archipelago in the Southeast Asian region through linking to him. With this top-notch reputation, As-Sinkili even cadre some scholars from Java, Sulawesi, Kalimantan, Malaysia, and Southern Thailand.

As a pioneer of the interpretation of the Qur'an in the archipelago, he wrote Tarjuman al-Mustafid, a commentary that was reviewed using Malay-Jawi languages ​​and scripts. The language chosen was the lingua franca of his day because it became the language of instruction in government bureaucracies, intellectuals, diplomatic relations between countries, and commercial languages.

As-Sinkili's Tarjuman al-Mustafid was actually preceded by Faraid Al-Qur'an and Tafsir Surah al-Kahf. But until now these two works are unknown to the author. These two works were allegedly written in the era of Sultan Iskandar Muda (1607-1636), or even in the previous era, Sultan Alauddin Ri'ayat Syah (1537-1604). And, As-Sinkili who had written the complete Tarjuman al-Mustafid 30 juz until now was regarded as a pioneer of interpretations in the archipelago.

Through this brief presentation, the reader can assess the quality and scientific capabilities of the Nusantara scholars, right?

Wallahu a'lam bishowab