Under the Guidance of the Prophet: Charisma and Religious Authority in Contemporary Madura, Indonesia
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Published:
Mar 1, 2023
Keywords:
Religious authority, charisma, Kiai Mannan, majelis dhikr, Madura
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Abstract
This ethnographic study explores the phenomenon of religious authority held by a murshid (Sufi Master), Kiai Haji Abdul Mannan, in Madura, Indonesia, despite his unconventional background. Applying Max Weber’s theory of charismatic authority, the research delves into the factors enabling the rapid attraction of jamā‘a (followers) and the establishment of his religious influence. This study emphasizes the pivotal role of the murshid’s charisma in building his religious authority and highlights how the newly founded majelis dhikr (religious chanting group), known as Majelis Dzikir Nurut Tauhid, consolidates the jamā‘a and fortifies the murshid’s religious authority. This study provides profound insights into how religious authority can thrive and endure within the Madura context, even when the religious leader possesses an unconventional background. The main argument of this study is that the religious authority of the murshid is constructed upon charisma, charismatic claims, and a cohesive community of followers. It offers a compelling example of the intricacies of religious authority dynamics in society.
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Hannan, Haukil. “Under the Guidance of the Prophet: Charisma and Religious Authority in Contemporary Madura, Indonesia”. Islamica: Jurnal Studi Keislaman 17, no. 2 (March 1, 2023): 335-364. Accessed February 20, 2026. https://islamica.uinsa.ac.id/index.php/islamica/article/view/1039.
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References
1. Books, articles, and documents
Abduh, Muhammad. Risalah Tauhid. Jakarta: Bulan Bintang, 1963.
Afdillah, Muhammad. Dari Masjid ke Panggung Politik: Melacak Akar-akar Kekerasan Agama Antara Komunitas Sunni dan Syiah di Sampang, Jawa Timur. Yogyakarta: CRCS, 2016.
Armstrong, Karen. Muhammad Sang Nabi: Sebuah Biografi Kritis, trans. Sirikit Syah. Surabaya: Risalah Gusti, 2001.
Ashshiddieqy, Hasbi. Pengantar Ilmu Tafsir. Jakarta: Bulan Bintang, 1953.
Asmuni, Ahmad and Hajam. Tarekat Tijaniyah di Pesantren Buntet: Melacak Genealogi dan Polarisasinya. Cirebon: CV. Pangger, 2022.
‘Asqalānī (al), Ibn H{ajar Fath} al-Bārī Sharh} S{ah}īh} al-Bukhārī, Vol. 5. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmīyah, 2000.
Azharī, Muh}ammad b. Ah}mad. Tahdhīb al-Lughah, Vol. 4. Kairo: ‘Abd al-Karīm Azbawī Press, n.d.
Bourdieu, Pierre. Outline of a Theory of Practice. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1977.
Damanhuri. “Kiai, Kitab dan Hukum Islam (Relasi Kuasa Teks dan Otoritas Keagamaan di Sumenep, Madura).” Ph.D Thesis--Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Kalijaga, Yogyakarta, 2019.
De Jonge, Huub. Madura dalam Empat Zaman: Pedagang, Perkembangan Ekonomi, dan Islam. Jakarta: PT. Gramedia, 1989.
Haekal, Muhammad Husain. Sejarah Hidup Muhammad, trans. Ali Audah. Jakarta: Litera Antar Nusa, 2003.
Hamdi, Ahmad Zainul. “Klaim Religious Authority dalam Konflik Sunni-Syi’i Sampang Madura.” ISLAMICA: Jurnal Studi Keislaman, Vol. 6, No. 2 (March 2012), 215-231.
Hasan, Nor. “Dinamika Kehidupan Beragama Kaum Nahdiyin-Salafi di Pamekasan Madura.” ISLAMICA: Jurnal Studi Keislaman, Vol. 8, No. 1 (September 2013), 84-102.
Hefni, Mohammad. Islam Madura: Sebuah Studi Kontruktivisme-Strukturalis tentang Relasi Islam Pesantren dan Islam Kampung di Sumenep Madura. Malang: Literasi Nusantara, 2019.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LN1XJFWyKc (accessed on June 26, 2021).
Huda, M. Syamsul. “Epistemologi Penyembuhan Kiai Tabib.” ISLAMICA: Jurnal Studi Keislaman, Vol. 8, No. 1 (September 2013), 103-120.
Ibn Ismā‘īl, Shaykh Yūsuf. Sa‘ādat al-Dārayn fī al-S{alāt ‘alā Sayyid al-Kawnayn. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmīyah, n.d.
Jamhari. “The Meaning Interpreted: The Concept of Barakah in Ziarah.” Studia Islamika: Indonesian Journal for Islamic Studies, Vol. 8, No. 1 (2001), 87-128.
Juynboll, Theodor W. Handleiding tot de Kennis van de Mohammedaanche wet Volgens de Leer der Sjāfi‘itische School. Leiden: Brill, 1930.
Keddie, Nikki R. An Islamic Response to Imperialism: Political and Religious Writings of Sayyid Jamal al-Din al-Afghani. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1968.
“Keputusan Bahtsul Masail PCNU Sumenep di MWCNU Bluto, Ahad 11 September 2022,” available at https://pcnusumenep.or.id/bahtsul-masail/keputusan-bahtsul-masail-nu-sumenep-aliran-baru-meresahkan/ (accessed on 3 March 2023).
Mannan, Kiai Haji Abdul. Dhikr Akbar, Sumenep, June 24, 2021.
-----. Dhikr Akbar, Sumenep, October 7, 2021.
-----. Kitab Nurut Tauhid: Ma’rifatullah wa Ma’rifaturrasul, Vol. 1. Tuban: CV. Karya Litera Indonesia, 2019.
-----. Pengajian Rutin, Sumenep, June 10, 2021.
-----. Pengajian Rutin, Sumenep, May 17, 2021.
-----. Pengajian Rutin, Sumenep, May 3, 2021.
-----. Pengajian Rutin, Sumenep, May 3, 2021.
Laisa, Emna and Nurul Qomariyah. “Tradisi Baca Burdah Sebagai Penguat Kesehatan Mental Santri di Tengah Pandemi Covid-19 (Studi Kasus di Pondok Pesantren Matsaratul Huda Panempan Pamekasan).” Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Islamic Studies (ICONIS), IAIN Madura, Pamekasan, Indonesia, 17-18 November 2021.
Mahmud, Abdul Halim. Sidi Abu Madyan: Sang Maha Guru Kaum Sufi, trans. Sechu Muhammad. Yogyakarta: CV. Layar Creativa Mediatama, 2017.
Nihwan, Muhammad and Paisun. “Tipologi Pesantren (Mengkaji Sistem Salaf dan Modern).” JPIK: Jurnal Pemikiran dan Ilmu Keislaman, Vol. 2, No. 1 (Maret 2019), 59-81.
Prayoga, Yudi. “4 Keutamaan Membaca Shalawat Jibril,” in https://lampung.nu.or.id/syiar/4-keutamaan-membaca-shalawat-jibril-zOKU2 (accessed on 16 January 2022).
Pribadi, Yanwar. “Fragmentasi Umat dan Penciptaan Otoritas Keagamaan: Tanggapan terhadap ‘Islam Lokal’ dan ‘Islam Asing’ di Indonesia.” Jurnal Masyarakat dan Budaya, Vol. 21, No. 1 (2019), 103-120.
-----. Islam, State and Society: Local Politics in Madura. London: Routledge, 2018.
Rāfi‘ī (al), Shaykh ‘Abd al-Karīm b. Muh}ammad. al-‘Azīz fī Sharh} al-Wajīz, Vol. 6. Dubai: Markāz Dirāsāt al-Islāmīyah, n.d.
Rasuki. “Konflik Keagamaan di Sumenep Madura: Studi Perebutan Otoritas Antara Kyai Tradisional dan Walisongo Akbar.” Ph.D Thesis--Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Ampel Surabaya, 2015.
Ritzer, George. Sociological Theory. New York: MC Graw Hill, 2008.
Rubaidi. “The New Pseudo-Sufi Order of the Majelis Shalawat among Urban Muslims in East Java.” Journal of Indonesian Islam, Vol. 14, No. 2 (December 2020), 431-456.
“Sejarah,” https://annuqayah.id/sejarah/ (accessed on 10 May 2021).
Sha‘rānī (al), Sayyid ‘Abd al-Wahhāb. al-Minah} al-Sanīyah ‘alā Was}īlat al-Matbūlīyah. T.t.: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyah, t.t.
Shihab, M. Quraish. Membumikan Al-Qur’an: Fungsi dan Peran Wahyu dalam Kehidupan Masyarakat. Bandung: Mizan, 1999.
Sirry, Mun’im. Kontroversi Islam Awal: antara Mazhab Tradisionalis dan Revisionis. Bandung: Mizan, 2015.
Van Bruinessen, Martin. Tarekat Naqsyabandiyah di Indonesia: Survey Historis, Geografis, dan Sosiologis. Bandung: Penerbit Mizan, second edition, 1994.
Weber, Max. The Theory of Social and Economic Organization. New York: Free Press, 1947.
Widiyanto, Asfa. “Traditional Science and Scientia Sacra: Origin and Dimensions of Seyyed Hossein Nasr’s Concept of Science.” Intellectual Discourse, Vol. 25, No. 1 (2017), 249-273.
Zamhari, Arif and Julia Day Howell. “Taking Sufism to the Streets: Majelis Zikir and Majelis Salawat as New Venues for Popular Islamic Piety in Indonesia.” Review of Indonesian and Malaysian Affairs, Vol. 46, No. 2 (2012), 47-75.
Zamhari, Arif. “Socio-Cultural Innovations in Urban Sufism, The Case Study of Majelis Dzikir and Shalawat Nurul Musthafa.” Journal of Indonesian Islam, Vol. 7, No. 1 (2013), 119-144.
2. Interviews
Abdur, a 50-year-old fried rice vendor from Blitar, Sumenep, October 7, 2021.
Fadil, a senior jamā‘a aged 45, in Malang, August 8, 2021.
Hasan, a 37-year-old senior jamā‘a, Sumenep, May 18, 2021.
Herman, a 57-year-old tobacco farmer, Sumenep, June 24, 2021.
Joko, a 45-year-old ustadh from Blitar, in Sumenep, October 7, 2021.
Kiai Haji Abdul Mannan, Sumenep, September 13, 2021.
Latif, a 40-year-old civil servant and teacher, Sumenep, March 22, 2022.
Maya, a 20-year-old university student, Sumenep, October 7, 2021.
Raihan, a 38-year-old ustadh who teaches at a pesantren in Prenduan, Sumenep, June 2, 2021.
Soleh, a 65-year-old NU kiai, Sumenep, June 14, 2021.
Sri, a 54-year-old homemaker, Sumenep, October 7, 2021.
Abduh, Muhammad. Risalah Tauhid. Jakarta: Bulan Bintang, 1963.
Afdillah, Muhammad. Dari Masjid ke Panggung Politik: Melacak Akar-akar Kekerasan Agama Antara Komunitas Sunni dan Syiah di Sampang, Jawa Timur. Yogyakarta: CRCS, 2016.
Armstrong, Karen. Muhammad Sang Nabi: Sebuah Biografi Kritis, trans. Sirikit Syah. Surabaya: Risalah Gusti, 2001.
Ashshiddieqy, Hasbi. Pengantar Ilmu Tafsir. Jakarta: Bulan Bintang, 1953.
Asmuni, Ahmad and Hajam. Tarekat Tijaniyah di Pesantren Buntet: Melacak Genealogi dan Polarisasinya. Cirebon: CV. Pangger, 2022.
‘Asqalānī (al), Ibn H{ajar Fath} al-Bārī Sharh} S{ah}īh} al-Bukhārī, Vol. 5. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmīyah, 2000.
Azharī, Muh}ammad b. Ah}mad. Tahdhīb al-Lughah, Vol. 4. Kairo: ‘Abd al-Karīm Azbawī Press, n.d.
Bourdieu, Pierre. Outline of a Theory of Practice. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1977.
Damanhuri. “Kiai, Kitab dan Hukum Islam (Relasi Kuasa Teks dan Otoritas Keagamaan di Sumenep, Madura).” Ph.D Thesis--Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Kalijaga, Yogyakarta, 2019.
De Jonge, Huub. Madura dalam Empat Zaman: Pedagang, Perkembangan Ekonomi, dan Islam. Jakarta: PT. Gramedia, 1989.
Haekal, Muhammad Husain. Sejarah Hidup Muhammad, trans. Ali Audah. Jakarta: Litera Antar Nusa, 2003.
Hamdi, Ahmad Zainul. “Klaim Religious Authority dalam Konflik Sunni-Syi’i Sampang Madura.” ISLAMICA: Jurnal Studi Keislaman, Vol. 6, No. 2 (March 2012), 215-231.
Hasan, Nor. “Dinamika Kehidupan Beragama Kaum Nahdiyin-Salafi di Pamekasan Madura.” ISLAMICA: Jurnal Studi Keislaman, Vol. 8, No. 1 (September 2013), 84-102.
Hefni, Mohammad. Islam Madura: Sebuah Studi Kontruktivisme-Strukturalis tentang Relasi Islam Pesantren dan Islam Kampung di Sumenep Madura. Malang: Literasi Nusantara, 2019.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LN1XJFWyKc (accessed on June 26, 2021).
Huda, M. Syamsul. “Epistemologi Penyembuhan Kiai Tabib.” ISLAMICA: Jurnal Studi Keislaman, Vol. 8, No. 1 (September 2013), 103-120.
Ibn Ismā‘īl, Shaykh Yūsuf. Sa‘ādat al-Dārayn fī al-S{alāt ‘alā Sayyid al-Kawnayn. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmīyah, n.d.
Jamhari. “The Meaning Interpreted: The Concept of Barakah in Ziarah.” Studia Islamika: Indonesian Journal for Islamic Studies, Vol. 8, No. 1 (2001), 87-128.
Juynboll, Theodor W. Handleiding tot de Kennis van de Mohammedaanche wet Volgens de Leer der Sjāfi‘itische School. Leiden: Brill, 1930.
Keddie, Nikki R. An Islamic Response to Imperialism: Political and Religious Writings of Sayyid Jamal al-Din al-Afghani. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1968.
“Keputusan Bahtsul Masail PCNU Sumenep di MWCNU Bluto, Ahad 11 September 2022,” available at https://pcnusumenep.or.id/bahtsul-masail/keputusan-bahtsul-masail-nu-sumenep-aliran-baru-meresahkan/ (accessed on 3 March 2023).
Mannan, Kiai Haji Abdul. Dhikr Akbar, Sumenep, June 24, 2021.
-----. Dhikr Akbar, Sumenep, October 7, 2021.
-----. Kitab Nurut Tauhid: Ma’rifatullah wa Ma’rifaturrasul, Vol. 1. Tuban: CV. Karya Litera Indonesia, 2019.
-----. Pengajian Rutin, Sumenep, June 10, 2021.
-----. Pengajian Rutin, Sumenep, May 17, 2021.
-----. Pengajian Rutin, Sumenep, May 3, 2021.
-----. Pengajian Rutin, Sumenep, May 3, 2021.
Laisa, Emna and Nurul Qomariyah. “Tradisi Baca Burdah Sebagai Penguat Kesehatan Mental Santri di Tengah Pandemi Covid-19 (Studi Kasus di Pondok Pesantren Matsaratul Huda Panempan Pamekasan).” Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Islamic Studies (ICONIS), IAIN Madura, Pamekasan, Indonesia, 17-18 November 2021.
Mahmud, Abdul Halim. Sidi Abu Madyan: Sang Maha Guru Kaum Sufi, trans. Sechu Muhammad. Yogyakarta: CV. Layar Creativa Mediatama, 2017.
Nihwan, Muhammad and Paisun. “Tipologi Pesantren (Mengkaji Sistem Salaf dan Modern).” JPIK: Jurnal Pemikiran dan Ilmu Keislaman, Vol. 2, No. 1 (Maret 2019), 59-81.
Prayoga, Yudi. “4 Keutamaan Membaca Shalawat Jibril,” in https://lampung.nu.or.id/syiar/4-keutamaan-membaca-shalawat-jibril-zOKU2 (accessed on 16 January 2022).
Pribadi, Yanwar. “Fragmentasi Umat dan Penciptaan Otoritas Keagamaan: Tanggapan terhadap ‘Islam Lokal’ dan ‘Islam Asing’ di Indonesia.” Jurnal Masyarakat dan Budaya, Vol. 21, No. 1 (2019), 103-120.
-----. Islam, State and Society: Local Politics in Madura. London: Routledge, 2018.
Rāfi‘ī (al), Shaykh ‘Abd al-Karīm b. Muh}ammad. al-‘Azīz fī Sharh} al-Wajīz, Vol. 6. Dubai: Markāz Dirāsāt al-Islāmīyah, n.d.
Rasuki. “Konflik Keagamaan di Sumenep Madura: Studi Perebutan Otoritas Antara Kyai Tradisional dan Walisongo Akbar.” Ph.D Thesis--Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Ampel Surabaya, 2015.
Ritzer, George. Sociological Theory. New York: MC Graw Hill, 2008.
Rubaidi. “The New Pseudo-Sufi Order of the Majelis Shalawat among Urban Muslims in East Java.” Journal of Indonesian Islam, Vol. 14, No. 2 (December 2020), 431-456.
“Sejarah,” https://annuqayah.id/sejarah/ (accessed on 10 May 2021).
Sha‘rānī (al), Sayyid ‘Abd al-Wahhāb. al-Minah} al-Sanīyah ‘alā Was}īlat al-Matbūlīyah. T.t.: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyah, t.t.
Shihab, M. Quraish. Membumikan Al-Qur’an: Fungsi dan Peran Wahyu dalam Kehidupan Masyarakat. Bandung: Mizan, 1999.
Sirry, Mun’im. Kontroversi Islam Awal: antara Mazhab Tradisionalis dan Revisionis. Bandung: Mizan, 2015.
Van Bruinessen, Martin. Tarekat Naqsyabandiyah di Indonesia: Survey Historis, Geografis, dan Sosiologis. Bandung: Penerbit Mizan, second edition, 1994.
Weber, Max. The Theory of Social and Economic Organization. New York: Free Press, 1947.
Widiyanto, Asfa. “Traditional Science and Scientia Sacra: Origin and Dimensions of Seyyed Hossein Nasr’s Concept of Science.” Intellectual Discourse, Vol. 25, No. 1 (2017), 249-273.
Zamhari, Arif and Julia Day Howell. “Taking Sufism to the Streets: Majelis Zikir and Majelis Salawat as New Venues for Popular Islamic Piety in Indonesia.” Review of Indonesian and Malaysian Affairs, Vol. 46, No. 2 (2012), 47-75.
Zamhari, Arif. “Socio-Cultural Innovations in Urban Sufism, The Case Study of Majelis Dzikir and Shalawat Nurul Musthafa.” Journal of Indonesian Islam, Vol. 7, No. 1 (2013), 119-144.
2. Interviews
Abdur, a 50-year-old fried rice vendor from Blitar, Sumenep, October 7, 2021.
Fadil, a senior jamā‘a aged 45, in Malang, August 8, 2021.
Hasan, a 37-year-old senior jamā‘a, Sumenep, May 18, 2021.
Herman, a 57-year-old tobacco farmer, Sumenep, June 24, 2021.
Joko, a 45-year-old ustadh from Blitar, in Sumenep, October 7, 2021.
Kiai Haji Abdul Mannan, Sumenep, September 13, 2021.
Latif, a 40-year-old civil servant and teacher, Sumenep, March 22, 2022.
Maya, a 20-year-old university student, Sumenep, October 7, 2021.
Raihan, a 38-year-old ustadh who teaches at a pesantren in Prenduan, Sumenep, June 2, 2021.
Soleh, a 65-year-old NU kiai, Sumenep, June 14, 2021.
Sri, a 54-year-old homemaker, Sumenep, October 7, 2021.