Tracing the History of the Arabic-Javanese Language Translation Books in Nusantara Islamic Education

Abstract

The use of Arabic script (Pegon) in the Javanese books translated from Arabic has marked a certain phase in the historical dynamics of Islamic intellectualism in Nusantara and Java in particular. By these translation activities, kitab kuning (Arabic books) are no longer enjoyed solely by the elite kyai-santri, but they can also be read by Muslims outside the walls of pesantren. The various themes of the Javaness books translated from Arabic that reach across all disciplines in Islamic teachings resulted in the rapid growing of Islamic discourse in society. Cherishing nature conveyed within the translation books generated peaceful life among Moslems. In terms of educational contexts, these book have been used in pesantren, madrasah diniyah and majelis taklim as suplementary books. Over time, most of the translated books have now metamorphosed into Indonesian edition. However, there is still numerous Arabic-Javanese language translation books occupy modest bookstalls waiting for the loyal and unpretentious readers.

Uniqueness in Translating Arabic Hagiography of Shaikh ‘Abd Al-Qādir Al-Jailānī: The Case of an-Nūr Al-Burhānī

“…The study of translation as a product has been carried out by many researchers in various types of text and fields, such as medicine (Silalahi, 2009), literary (Siregar, 2015), Holly Koran (Anshori, 2016), censorship (Yuliasri, 2017), translation training (Karnedi, 2015), Javanese translation from Bidāyah al-hidāyah written by al-Ghazāli (Anis & Saddhono, 2016), and use of Arabic-Javanese books in Islamic education (Munip, 2016). In fact, alJailānī's hagiography has been studied from a political perspective (Saerozi, 2007;Sahri, 2011) instead of its translation; hence, this study is focused on describing the technique, method, and ideology of translation adopted by the translator.…”

Islamic Education Based on Arabic Pegon Letters in Madrasah Diniyah Al Barokah Watuagung Tambak Banyumas

“…Arab-Pegon has a strategic role as a medium for the inclusion of crossborder and cross-generation scientists into the archipelago through sorogan dan bandongan tradition in Islamic boarding schools (Munip, 2016). Therefore, it is not excessive if the Arabic letter-Pegon contributes in the role of spread of Islam in Indonesia.…”

“…The role rose when the Kyai in Pesantren was supported by book publishing companies and bookstores that culminated in the 1950-an era until the 1980's. The books are widely used in Madrasah Diniyah, Pondok Pesantren and Taklim Assembly (Munip, 2016). The use of Arab-Pegon became an alternative as a means in the historical dynamics of Islamic intellectualism in Nusantara and Java in particular.…”

“…Thanks to this activity, Arabic language discourse is not only enjoyed by the elite of the Kyai-santri only, but also can be read outside the walls of Pesantren. The substance of Pegon's comprehensive Arabic translation in turn leads to the life of Muslims far from the glittering violence and intolerance in the name of religion (Munip, 2016). The Arabic letter Pegon with its specificability, becomes a kind of password that is not easily contamination by various parties who have an interest in Indonesia.…”

“…Other research inclined to measure the level of understanding on Pegon's writing for students (Bukhory, 2015). Meanwhile, Abdul Munip concluded that the rise of Latin, Bahasa Indonesia and formal Madrasah also contributed to the decline of the Arabic Pegon lately (Munip, 2016). Fadhilah Hasanah also discussed the learning problems of Pegon's Arab writing in Lebak Banten, was more about the learning problem of writing Arabic Pegon (Hasanah, 2016).…”