Islamic Shari'a Configuration of Buka Luwur Tradition in Kudus

Abstract

Buka Luwur combines Islamic law teaching and Javanese tradition. As an empirical religious phenomenon, its events have meaning and symbol that overlaps the local community traditions with the adopted Islamic Shari’a implementation. However, formalist and rational religious understandings view Buka Luwur tradition as a bid’ah, with no basis in Islamic law. Using grounded research models and Fazlur Rahman’s double movement theory, this article portraits noumena from a series of Buka Luwur traditional rituals. It describes the configuration of the Islamic Shari’a implementation in the tradition. The community believes that the tradition symbolizes love for guardians by hoping for a blessing on work and remembering their struggle in preaching Islamic values. Also, the Buka Luwur tradition’s implementation is a symbol of social solidarity that needs to be appreciated in a plural society. It is a form of harmony and cooperation in holding ceremonies and rituals among believers. The results show that Buka Luwur events’ symbolizes a blessing for prayer to be quickly answered, refuse calamity, teach tolerance values preached and practiced by Sunan Kudus, and solidarity in helping one another. The configuration and internalization of Islamic law in the Javanese tradition are found in the election on the 10th of Muharam, as the top of the Buka Luwur rituals series. Furthermore, the configuration of Islamic law in that tradition is found in the teaching of respecting ancestors. Indonesias embrace the religious characteristics of traditional and Sufistic Islam. This facilitates interaction, internalization, and configuration of the Islamic Shari’a teachings with Javanese people’s traditions and culture, especially the Kudus community.