Thematic Presentations in Indonesian Qur’anic Commentaries

Jauhar Azizy

, Moh. Anwar Syarifuddin

and Hani Hilyati Ubaidah

The Faculty of Ushul al-Din Department of Qur’anic Studies, Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University, Jakarta,

Indonesia

Keywords: Qur’anic Studies, Methods of Interpretation, Hermeneutics of the Qur’an.

Abstract: The development of thematic interpretation (tafsīr mawḍū‘ī) in Indonesia especially deals with exegetical

works written in the 1990s. However, this piece will only focus on the thematic vestiges embellished to the

Indonesian tafsir literatures written long before that period. Such is important as none has examined this

subject. Besides, there is a growing awareness that the emergence of theories on thematic method of

interpretation in Egypt inspires a similarly thematic method of interpretation among the Indonesians. Tafsirs

were enriched by various tables and thematic arrangements. Such additions were so obvious in the 1973

revised-edition of Tafsir Qur’an Karim by Mahmud Yunus, the Terjemah & Tafsir al-Qur’an 30 Juz Huruf

Arab dan Latin by Bachtiar Surin (1976), Tafsir Rahmat by Oemar Bakry (1981), Tafsir al-Bayan by Hasbi

Ash-Shiddieqy, and Al-Furqan Tafsir al-Qur’an by Ahmad Hassan that had been reprinted in 2002 and

2005 respectively.

1 INTRODUCTION

The methods of Qur'anic interpretation had

coped with the complex problems of humanity that

bring forth various methods of interpretations.

Muslim scholars have taken various approaches to

interpret the Qur'an. They believe that the Qur'an

serves its guidance (hudan), hence it can always bear

relevance every time. It has been underlined that the

Qur'an is always be in harmony with the

circumstances (ṣāliḥ li kulli zamān wa makān).

Thematic methods of Qur'anic interpretation has

been explored by 'Abd al-Ḥayy al-Farmāwī (d.

2017) in his work Al-Bidayah fī al-Tafsir al-

Mawḍū'ī: Dirāsah Manhajiyyah Mawḍū'iyyah

(1977). In addition to the global (ijmalī), the

comprehensive (taḥlīlī), and the comparative

(muqāran) the thematic method (mawḍū'ī) is defined

as a method of interpreting Qur'anic verses

according to the related themes or subject-matters

which connects in between the purpose of the verse

and its comprehension thoroughly, as well as

compiling verses of the Qur'an which have related

themes or common direction to gain a general

conclusion (Farmawī 1977, pp. 51-52).

If other methods of interpretation are being

applied to the chronological way of interpretation to

the Qur’anic verses from the beginning to the final

page of the scripture, the thematic method of

interpretation collects Qur'anic verses on the basis of

their similarly related themes, in order to discuss

their relation to the others on the basis of the

synoptic term (Wielandt 2004). The thematic

method of interpretation is employed (1) to interpret

a Qur’anic chapter by dividing its content into the

shared specific themes/concerns, and (2) to interpret

the Qur'anic verses on certain predetermined themes

and to complete the discussions by referring the

verses to the predetermined themes.

In the Middle East, thematic method of

interpretation as underlined by al-Farmawī had

basically been applied in about a decade before he

was publishing his book. An embrio of thematic

interpretation was initiated by Amīn al-Khūlī (1895-

1966) in his “study on the surrounding of the

Qur’an” (Dirāsah mā ḥaula al-Qur’ān) underlining

the extrinsic elements of the Qur’an along with his

study of the Qur’an” (Dirāsah mā fī al-Qur’ān)

focusing on the intrinsic aspects (al-Khuli 1961:

229-239). In fact, he had not composed his studies

systematically, but he underlined the importance of

thematic discussion in order to know Qur’anic

perspectives on certain cases.

1962

Azizy, J., Syarifuddin, M. and Ubaidah, H.

Thematic Presentations in Indonesian Qur’anic Commentaries.

DOI: 10.5220/0009937919621969

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Recent Innovations (ICRI 2018), pages 1962-1969

ISBN: 978-989-758-458-9

Al-Khūlī’s idea was then continued by Maḥmūd

Shaltūt (1893-1963) in 1960 through his Tafsīr al-

Qurān al-Karim: Al-‘Ajza’ al-‘Ashrah al-Ūlā (“The

interpretation of the Qur’an: the first ten divisions”).

Shaltūt was a professor of the Faculty of Theology

of al-Azhar University. He offered a middle position

in between the chronological and the thematic

approaches by focusing forms of interpretation on

key ideas (Jansen 1974: 14 in Weilandt 2004: 62).

Like al-Khūlī, Shaltūṭ had not formulated steps of

thematic interpretations comprehensively. In fact, al-

Khuli’s idea was also brought forward by his wife,

the writer Aisha ‘Abd al-Raḥmān famous with her

nickname Bint al-Shaṭi’ (1913-1998). She wrote Al-

Tafsīr al-Bayānī li al-Qur’ān, literally means “the

stylistic interpretation of the Qur’an” (1990). She

collected verses of the Qur’an on the basis of certain

keywords. It is obvious that Bint al-Shāṭi’ applied al-

Khūlī’s theory in practice to certain chapters of the

Qur’an. In her analyses Bint al-Shāṭi’ took surahs or

parts of the relevant Qur’anic chapters as well as the

occasion of revelation (asbāb al-nuzul) (Wielandt

2004: 75). However, such a collection of verses

could not yet be classified as a thematic study.

Around a decade later, Ahmad Sayyid al-Kūmī

tried to introduce a form of thematic interpretation

as of the subjects taught in al-Azhar University. By

such an introduction, Al-Farmāwī (w. 2017), one of

al-Kūmī’s disciples, formulated the methodological

ways thematic interpretation in his book al-Bidā

yah

fī al-Tafsīr al- mawḍū‘ī: Dirasāh Manhajiyyah

mawḍū‘īyyah, “The Beginning of Thematic

Interpretation: A methodologically thematic study

(1977). Al-Farmawī’s methodological formula was

then completed by his colleague ‘Abd al-Sattar Fatḥ

Allāh in his book Al-Madkhal ilā al-Tafsīr al-

Mawḍū‘ī, “the Introduction to thematic

interpretation” (1991). Fatḥ Allāh underlines that

predetermined themes collected by the exegete must

have been indicated within the redaction of the

Qur’anic text.

There is a form of an inter-chapter or inter-

verses discussion on thematic method of

interpretation introduced by Musṭafā Muslim in his

Mabāḥith fī al-Tafsīr al-Mawḍū‘ī, “Studies on

Thematic Interpretation” (1989). At the same time

Ḥassan Ḥanafī (b. 1935) also underlines his book al-

Dīn wa al-Thawrah, “Religion and Revolution”

(1989) on the importance of dialog in between the

exegete (who scrutinizes problems he faces), the

text, and the context of the Qur’anic verses. For him,

an interpretation is a manifested form of the

exegete’s social position within his social structure.

Thus, an interpretation has to be applied in praxis,

not by stopping in theory. Similar idea was also

continued by Salāh ‘Abd al-Fattāḥ al-Khālidī (b.

1947) who wrote Al-Tafsīr al-Mawḍū‘

ī baina al-

Naẓariyyah wa al-Taṭbīq, “Thematic interpretation

in between theory and practice” (1997).

Thematic trend of interpretation did not

developed only in Egypt. It spreads all around the

Islamic world. In South-East Asia before the shift of

the millennium an important introduction of al-

Farmawī’s thematic method of interpretation was

carried out by Muhammad Quraish Shihab. Shihab

has always refers to al-Farmawī in his thematic

discussions. Before the publication of Membumikan

al-Qur’an, “Grounding the Qur’an” in 1992, there

had been several studies on the Qur’an on the basis

of thematic discussion like Bahroem Rangkuti

(1960), M. Said (1960), Mustafa Baisa (1960),

Hasri (1969), Bey Arifin (1972), Harifudin Cawidu

(1989). These studies show that by that period the

discourse of thematic interpretation had been quite

popular in Indonesia. Since 1960’s there had been

several widespread patterns of thematic

interpretation, namely (1) interpreting one or a

collection of chapters to be given their themes; and

(2) determining predestined themes, then collecting

the related Qur’anic verses dealing with those

themes.

Research in early forms of thematic

interpretation in Indonesia is still scarce. This piece

examines influence of discourses on several models

of thematic interpretation developed in the Middle

East, especially Egypt, to the emergence of such an

awareness applied in forms of ways of presenting

thematic discussion within tafsir literatures in

Indonesia. Some can be mentioned here such as by

presenting table of contents and thematic indexes of

Qur’anic verses within the chronological

commentaries of the Qur’an. Such methods have

been applied to several new publications of tafsirs as

well as previous works of tafsirs to be reprinted in

new editions along with the renewed spelling of

Bahasa Indonesia. The introduction of thematic

interpretation in the Middle East has significantly

influenced the growing interest among the

Indonesian exegetes to make some sorts of

adaptation in the earliest level by presenting

thematic indexes to their renewed tafsirs.

Various modifications are being applied within

the efforts of re-publishing those commentaries.

Among the considerations is that their books should

fulfil the readers’ new expectations in order to

access the contents of the commentaries easily. By

Thematic Presentations in Indonesian Qur’anic Commentaries

1963

way of providing some forms of thematic indexes

being included into the new publication of certain

brief tafsīr like al-Furqān and al-Bayan, the readers

of those tafsirs can still have the access to the

contents of the tafsir in a faster way. The readers do

not have to necessarily read the entire text of the

books, which at minimum consists of a thousand

pages. By the introduction of thematic method of

interpretation to the Qur’an, accessing tafsir

literatures without the table of contents or thematic

indexes was considered difficult for their readers in

finding any information they needed in a rapid way.

Hence, had the writers had not changed their way of

presenting their books, works of chronological tafsir

might have been set aside as people considered those

tafsirs to be out of date. Thus, the introduction of

thematic interpretation has certainly helped to the

rise of new pattern of writing the Quranic

commentaries, even in its earliest period.

There are some forms of thematic presentations

to be accommodated within the attempts of re-

publishing some works of tafsir. An earliest effort

being noticed was the additions of titles or themes

that were the subject matters for the series of

interpreted verses. Readers may simply read the

quintessence of the collective verses through a

detailed sub-title indicating the generic content of

the verses. Such an effort had been started since the

early arrangement of Al-Qur’an dan Terjemahnya

by the Team of the Ministry of Religious Affairs

(1965). Since it In fact, it is a book of translation of

the Qur’an, it will be quite difficult to include this

book into the category of tafsir as the same team

began also to write a more comprehensive project of

al-Qur’an dan Tafsirnya. Consequently, this piece

does not include this book of translation into the

coming discussion.

However, such a pioneering effort was imitated

in a far better innovated form by exegetes in the

following periods. The introduction of thematic

interpretation in Egypt had significantly affected to

the rise of a rather similar concern within the

development of Indonesian tafsir literatures, i.e. he

additions of tables of contents and thematic indexes

as well as glossaries along with the reference of the

Qur’anic verses. Moreover, they also provided page

numbers where the verses or explanation found in

their books. Among tafsirs presenting tables of

contents and thematic indexes are the followings:

(1) Tafsir Qur’an Karim by Mahmud Yunus

that was firstly published in 1950-an and

being reprinted in 1973 with the advanced

spelling of the Indonesian language.

(2) Terjemah dan Tafsir al-Qur’an 30 Juz

huruf arab dan latin by Bachtiar Surin who

published his work in 1976.

(3) Tafsir Rahmat by Oemar Bakry who

published his works firstly in 1981.

(4) Tafsir al-Furqan by Ahmad Hassan that

was firstly published in 1956 and being

republished in 2005 as well as the new one

was being reprinted in 2010.

(5) Tafsir al-Bayan by Hasbi ash-Siddieqy that

was firstly published in 1966, but it was

republished in 2002, reprinted in 2012.

2 RESULT AND DISCUSSION

2.1 Tafsir Qur’an Karim by Mahmud

Yunus (1899-1982)

Mahmud Yunus initiates the Qur’anic translation

into the Indonesian language titled Tafsir Qur'an

Karim (TQK) that inspires some similarly brief

commentaries to emerge, even some comprehensive

commentaries during 1960s. His addition on

thematic indices of the Qur’anic verses had also

served as main reference for the following works of

tafsir. TQK is so ordinary in form of arrangement.

Yunus placed the Arabic scripts of the Qur’anic

verses on the right side of the book page, while the

translation was on the left side. In some cases, he

included brief explanations for certain verses that

require more details at the bottom of the page. The

Indonesian translation usually does not exceed a half

page. For some longer commentaries, he preferred to

put the rest of explanation at the sequent pages. In

short, TQK presents sequential verse by verse and

surah by surah in accordance with the chronological

order of the Mushaf. Yunus’ commentary is very

brief employing the global (ijmali) method of

interpretation. Moreover, he entail also some

occasions of revelation (asbab al-nuzul) as he

combines both traditions (al-ma’thūr) and reason

(al-ra'yi).

In the reprinted edition of 1973, TQK provides

some new additions to include the table of contents

of the comprised commentary and “the Conclusion

of the Qur'an." These additional page numbers are

given in roman numerals at the bottom. The table

shows brief thematic comprehension referring to

numbers of verses, surahs, and the page numbers

where the text was located within his book. Yunus

arranges his thematic indices on the classifications

of Islamic teachings: theology, law, ethics, as he also

included related themes on economy, sciences,

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history, and social problems. Such thematic indices

might have been influenced by ongoing discourses

on thematic interpretation as the new method to

interpret the Qur’an.Tafsir Qur’an Karim by

Mahmud Yunus (1899-1982)

2.2 Terjemah & Tafsir Al-Qur'an by

Bachtiar Surin

The writing of the book completed by the mid-

1976, in about 3 years after Mahmud Yunus re-

published the TQK in 1973. It needs about two years

to publish the commentary as the awaited letter of

correction (taṣḥīḥ) was finally issued by the

committee, i.e. the Lajnah Pentashhih Mushaf al-

Qur'an of the Ministry of Religious Affairs of

Indonesia in 1978. The book is classified under

category "special edition of mushaf with Latin

transliteration".

This work of tafsir is an indispensable work of

Quranic translation and tafsir. The chairman of MUI

(the Indonesian Ulama Assembly) Prof. Dr. Hamka

emphasized that the book of the Qur'an with the

Latin transliteration would help those who want to

understand the content of the Qur'an, but having

difficulty of reading the Qur'an with its Arabic

alphabets. Meanwhile, the contemporaneous

Minister of Religious Affairs Alamsjah Ratu

Perwiranegara agreed that efforts to publish

translations of the Qur’an along with its

interpretations in both Arabic and Latin scripts had

made convenience for those who want to understand

the language of the Qur'an. Accordingly for him,

such attempt deserves proper acceptance. Minister of

Home Affairs Amir Machmud in his preface also

agreed with the benefits derived from the

publication, which was expected to increase

activities of worship in Indonesia to build the

national insight. For him, the efforts taken by the

writer of the tafsir are far-reaching endeavours,

allowing for an easier and deeper understanding for

those who still find difficulties to read the Qur'an in

its original letter and language. By such an effort he

hoped that more people would be able to find the

spirit of Islam to anticipate the destructive effects of

development through the guide of divine light.

Based on the above statements, it is appropriate to

say that the effort of translating the Qur’an along

with its interpretation is part of the major effort to

develop spirituality.

Bahar Surin as the director of Firma Sumatra

insisted in his remarks that by this translation the

teachings of the Qur'an can be carried out purely and

earnestly, then the effort can be the seeds of rapid

advancement as well as embodies development of

spirituality within the encompassing regions (Surin

1978: vii-xv).

The translation is a collective work led by

Bachtiar Surin with two members: M. Said and

Zainuddin Sulaiman, on the order of Firma Sumatra

(often abbreviated as Fa Sumatra), led by H. Bahar

Surin. Firma Sumatra is a publishing agency in

Bandung. It address is on Jalan Raden Dewi Sartika,

no. 33, Bandung, telephone (023) 58170. From a

note on the cover of the book citing the dedication of

the book for the sake of "Our deceased parent H.

Surin, who died in West Sumatra in 1926" it would

be clearly understood that H. Bahar Surin was a

sibling of Bahtiar Surin. From the statement it would

be fair to conclude that both H. Bahar Surin and

Bachtiar Surin were originally a West Sumatra

native who settled in Bandung and then built the

publishing industry there.

There are various tables of contents presented

the rear part of the book. First is list of the Qur’anic

parts (juz’) showing the chapter (surah) and its

verses’ numbers where the juz’ begins and up to

where it will end. The list also provides the

subsequent page numbers within the book. The

arranged names of surah are given their Indonesian

translation, total number of verses, and location

within the book (Surin 1978: xxvii-xxix). Second is

the list of titles contents comprised within a verse or

a collection of verses. It lists themes of the translated

content within a verse or several groups of verses in

an alphabetical order. However, it was marked by

the first letter of its sentence or phrase, not on basis

of the comprised theme.

Thematic presentations as shown in the table of

contents as well as thematic titles arranged by

Bachtiar Surin in his commentary mark the influence

of the development of thematic method of

interpretation of the Qur'an. This was similar to

indices presented by previous publications of both

al-Qur’an dan Terjemahnya by the team of the

Ministry of Religious Affairs (1965) and the Tafsir

Qur’an Karim by Mahmud Yunus (1973). Both the

table of contents and thematic title arrangement are

given to provide accessible thematic contents of

tafsir for the readers of the book. Indeed, both the

table contents and thematic indexes differs from

what had been arranged by Mahmud Yunus, because

the list and the thematic indexes compiled by

Bachtiar Surin is rather more similar to the

composition of the list of titles of the translation of

Ministry of Religious Affairs (1965). However,

Bachtiar Surin took a step further by presenting the

index not only on the basis of the chronology of the

Thematic Presentations in Indonesian Qur’anic Commentaries

1965

mushaf, but he also sorted titles in an alphabetical

order, instead. It might still less meaningful as the

index was sorted on the initial letter of its sentence

or phrase, not the initial letters of the formulated

keywords. Such may still an innovated effort that

deserves full of respect. Any shortcomings might

have inspired correction for the following

publication or reprinting of the book. Similarly, it

would have triggered newly different approaches in

publishing books of tafsir in the near future.

2.3 Tafsir Rahmat by Oemar Bakry

The brief tafsir was composed during the early

1980s when thematic interpretation had begun to

widespread globally outside Egypt and the Middle

East. This period can be regarded as the formative

period of thematic interpretation. The new theory

began to spread more evenly into the Islamic lands

through the communication networks intertwined

among the alumni of Middle East universities,

especially the Azharis. Tafsir Rahmat was firstly

published in Jakarta in 1981. It consists of a single

volume, employing the global method of

interpretation, so it is succinct and dense as well.

There are several reasons why this book was printed

in one volume. It was said that the tafsir just imitates

the publication of Tafsir al-Mufassar by the

Egyptian exegete Muhammad Farid Wajdi. Among

other reasons, it facilitates readers who do not have a

lot of free time in reading to take the guidance of the

Qur'an without having to open lengthy

interpretations. The description is also "solid" and

"proper", because it is barely interfered with

controversial issues or israiliyyat. The readers of the

tafsir are expected to discern meanings of the

Qur'anic verses as guidelines of life (Bakry 1984:

xvi).

A thematic index is additionally-supplemented to

the rear section of the book titled "The Source of

Da'wah". Oemar Bakry compiled about 145 themes

called “Islamic propagation motto” comprising ten

major themes: (1) al-Qur'an, (2) Faith, (3) Worship,

(4) Marriage, (5) Science and Technology, (6)

Health, (7) Economics, (8) Society and State, (9)

Noble Characters, and (10) History. It was also

arranged smaller sub-themes, where related verses of

the Qur’an are mentioned by its surahs name, the

verse number, the surah number, as well as location

within the book (Bakry 1984: 1273-1311). Such an

assertion reminds us of the same index formulated

by Mahmud Yunus in TQK. The index contains

almost identical composite themes, with some

refinements for the later. This also leads to

remember that the TQK was also used as reference

by Bakry to compose his-own tafsir. Unfortunately,

this index is not listed in alphabetical order, but the

classification of the ten major themes. Some

examples of the contents included into this thematic

index are still considered too large, even if it is

spelled out into several sub-themes such as: (1) the

Qur'an becomes a grace and guidance for men in QS

17: 82; 17: 9; 27: 1-2; 17:89; 20: 2. (2) The Qur'an is

descended in Arabic in QS 20: 113; 12: 2; 39:28; 41:

3; 42: 7; 43: 3; 26: 195. (3) The Qur'an which is

derived in Arabic should be understood its contents

in QS 47:24; 12: 2; 4:82; 39:27; 43: 3. (4) the Qur'an

guides and mercy for believers in QS 52; 7: 203;

10:57; 12: 111; 16:64; 16:89; 17:82; 27:77 (Bakry

1984: 1275). From the above examples it appears

that the index is still arranged randomly, so does the

reference of the verses of the Qur'an. From each sub-

theme, the reference to the Qur'anic verses is largely

not compiled entirely in its chronological order of

the muṣḥaf. Titles of the sub-theme seem still be

repetitive, though marked by references to slightly

different verses of the Qur'an.

In addition, Oemar Bakry also compiled an

index of prayers, orders and prohibitions given their

reference to both surahs and verses numbers, as well

as location within the book. The classification order

is in accordance the chronology of the mushaf

starting with the prayer contained in the Surah al-

Fatihah, then follow down the orders, prohibitions,

and prayers in surah al-Baqarah and so on until the

end of the Qur’an. At the end of Oemar Bakry lists

two sorts of table of contents either on the

chronological order of the mushaf as well as the

alphabetic index of the names of surahs. After all, it

compiles a very simple form of presentation which

might represent an attempt of adopting the

development of thematic method of interpretation.

2.4 Tafsir Al-Bayan by Hasbi Ash

Shiddieqy (1904-1975)

The book was first published in 1966 after Hasbi

completed his writing on the commentary of an-Nur

in 1961. Tafsir al-Bayan is a globally arranged

commentary. The verses of the Qur'an are written in

Arabic on chronological order of the Madinan

muṣḥaf, where each end of the page is put in the

verse end. Additional explanation in form of tafsir is

given in brief and very succinct sentences. Hasbi

provided only a quarter of a page for his annotated

translation. In some pages where he did not provide

any additional information due to the clarity of the

verse, the unfilled columns are deliberately left

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empty. Again, there is no title for any additional

explanation in his commentary. The titles are

arranged sequentially based on the chronology of the

book, not by an alphabetical order. By looking at its

contents, then readers can recognize the contents

based on the presented theme. The tables of contents

are placed in the front part, in contrast to TQK that

puts all the contents and indices on the rear part of

the book.

Tafsir al-Bayan accommodates the arrangement

of a thematic method interpretation by providing an

additional index called "glossary" merged and

intertwined with the text of the tafsir. This glossary

is based on its Arabic terms without distinguishing

the letters alif from the ‘ain. In the glossary

explanations of the meaning of certain term are

presented, as well as reference to the number of

verses related to similar discussions in the Qur’an.

An example of the displayed contents of the

thematic index contained by the book concerning the

term khalq was interpreted by several meanings

among them: (1) forming the form, as can be read in

QS al-Maidah [5]: 110, (2) to predict - as it can be

read in several verses (QS al-Ankabut [29]: 17, (3)

to create something and begin its creation (QS al-

A'raf [7]: 18; (4) predestination, (5) Religion of

Allah, character, nature (QS ar-Rum [30]: 40 (Hasbi

2012: 610). Although some surahs are given in its

complete index, some terms are only presented by

their meaning only, without any references to

Qur’anic verses. Tafsir Bayan by Hasbi Ash-

Shiddieq was republished in its new form in 2002

and 2012 by Hasbi’s son H.Z. Fuad Hasbi Ash-

Shiddieqy.

2.5 Al-Furqan Tafsir Quran by

Ahmad Hassan (1887-1958)

The book was published several times as a result

of a long process of writing. The first part of Tafsir

this is actually already published in 1928. While the

second part of this commentary only then published

in 1941. This second issue also has not covered the

entire chapters of the Qur'an, because Ahmad

Hassan just completed the translation until the surah

Maryam. It is not very clear what caused the writing

of this commentary to be stalled long enough, as

Ahmad Hassan was able to continue writing his

tafsir work in 1953, when one businessman named

Saad Nabhan was willing to pay the cost of

publishing his tafsir. Three years later, in 1956, thw

writing of al-Furqan completed 30 juz’. It is indeed

an annotated translation of the Qur'an. Moreover, ot

comprises additional information of tafsir by adding

footnotes. Its Indonesian translation generally use

the literal, i.e. word-by-word translation, except for

some vocabularies cannot be exposed in their literal

translations.

The 2010 edition of al-Furqan Tafsir Qur’an

consists of a single volume with 1100 pages plus 90

pages of the introductory remarks. This book is

methodologically a global commentary (ijmali),

even without the commentary on the front page

cover, this commentary is similar to the Arabic text

of the verses and the most commonly circulated

tafsir at present. The first edition of this 2010 new

edition of the book seems to have been published in

2005. In addition to language editing guidelines that

retain the original nuance of the author's thought,

editing efforts are only concerning a number of

words that have a slightly different meaning from

the prevailing notion of the current Indonesian

language (Hassan 2010: viii ). In the introductory

section written by the publisher also mentioned the

writer’s testimony that both theme titles and sub-

themes mentioned in the verses or groups of verses

refer to the Medina edition of Al-Qur'an dan

Terjemahnya by the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Thus, it seems that the table of contents exploring

themes from pages lxx to page xc was arranged on

the chronology of the mushaf that refers to the same

work.

Meanwhile, in additions the new 2010 edition

also includes a glossary that not only refers to the

original Arabic terms such as Asbab an-Nuzul,

ittaqā, mufaṣṣal, sā'ah, tafṣīl, but also includes

Indonesian terms such as arrogant (sombong), the

worldly demeanors (perhiasan dunia) and others

(Hassan 2010: xxxi-xxxv). There are two indices of

the subjects sorted according to the alphabetical

order. First, an index entitled "Searching Guides of

the Qur'anic Words" (lit. “Petunjuk Pencarian Kata

dalam Qur’an” by Abdul Qadir Hassan). This index

is unknown about the chronic of its compilation,

because there is no dating at all. In general, this

index is thematic but still very simple, by which the

compiler gave a testimony that the composition

refers to the Tafsīl Āyāt al-Qur'an al-Ḥakīm by

Muhammad Fuad Abdul Baqi (Hassan 2010: xxxvi-

xl). In short, it seems that the index was an

Indonesian translation of the work as represented by

terms like fairness (adil), mandate (amanat), wine

and gambling (arak dan judi), being happy

(bahagia), good deed (berbuat baik), cleanliness

(bersih), stars (bintang-bintang), wasteful (boros),

earth and sky (bumi dan langit), suicide (bunuh

diri), and so on.

Thematic Presentations in Indonesian Qur’anic Commentaries

1967

Secondly, in addition to the simple index

composed by Abdul Qadir Hassan the book also

includes a more complete index titled "The Pursuit

of the Qur'anic Teachings" (“Penelusuran Pokok-

pokok Ajaran Qur’an”) by Zuhal Abdul Qadir. The

date of this index is February 5, 2005, written in

Jakarta. In his introductory section, Zuhal revealed

the importance of the thematic index for any

observers of the Qur'an from non-religious

background such as himself. Zuhal emphasized that

the indexes that divided the grouping of themes into

6 main aspects: (1) the principles of faith and deity,

(2) the Muslims and their worship, (3) the Sciences,

(4) the principles of morality, (5) Societal and

economic aspects, (6) legal and state aspects; is a

very useful contribution as it helps many people in

understanding the contents of the Qur'an (Hassan

2010: xli).

Based on the above classification, the index is

not arranged alphabetically as previously conducted

by Abdul Qadir Hasan, but by setting themes under

aspects of discussion. The first theme presented is

"Qur'an, Faith, and Godhead" which is then divided

into 5 parts and some sub-derivative themes in each

category. The five principle themes are (1) to know

the Qur'an, (2) the principles of faith, with some sub

themes such as Faith to the Prophet, Angels and

Book; Faith to the Qada', Qadar, The Unseen and the

Resurrection (3) The Power of God and Its Main

Characteristics, (4) The Life of the World-The

Hereafter, (5) The Human Relationship with His

Lord (Hassan 2010: xlii-xlvi). The description of the

index consists of three columns each containing a

reference to the names and numbers of the chapters

of the Koran, the verse numbers, and a brief

description of the verses. Thus, the indexed themes

or the sub-themes are presented in full clarity,

without having to open the translation pages. The

weakness of this index is that it was not based on the

alphabetical order, so the searching process still

relies on the reader’s understanding on the

categorization of the outlined themes.

3 CONCLUSION

From the above explanation it can be concluded

that there has been a significant influence from the

discourse on the thematic interpretation in the

Middle East, especially Egypt, to the development of

thematic interpretation in Indonesia. An observable

form of development is the re-publishing certain

works by Indonesian exegetes, who applied various

forms of thematic approach such as the addition of

tables of contents and the arrangement of thematic

index of the Qur'anic verses. Some of the embryos

are found in thematic indexes presented by Mahmud

Yunus in his Tafsir Qur'an Karim. In 1973 edition

along with the improvement for the new Indonesian

spellings, the attempts of re-editing and renewal of

spelling of the book also include also some kinds of

indexing the contents of interpretation. The index

displays not only religious matters, but also themes

in economics, science, history, and social problems.

Such a reshaping was promulgated by Mahmud

Yunus in his re-publishing of TQK that had formed a

model for the similar re-arrangement of the Tafsir

al-Bayan by Hasbie Ash Shiddieqy (first published

1966) and al-Furqan Tafsir Quran written by

Ahmad Hassan (first published in 1956). Both a

brief and global style of tafsīr had been undergoing

an improvement of their Indonesian spelling in their

re-publishing the books in early 2000s. In adapting

the new thematic trend, both tafsir also present

thematic tables of contents and the glossarium of the

thematic indexes. Besides, such an influence has

also shaped the writing of new tafsir such as the

Terjemah & Tafsiral-Qur’an 30 Juz huruf Arab dan

Latin by Bachtiar Surin and Tafsir Rahmat by

Oemar Bakry. Both tafsir have presented thematic

indexes in terms of chronological as well as

alphabetical tables of contents and thematic indexes

as shown by the table below.

Table 1: Names of the Indonesian Tafsirs and their

Publication Dates.

First

Publis

hed

Re-

printed

Book Titles in

Indonesian

Author

1950 1973

Tafsir Qur’an

Karim

Mahmu

d Yunus

1976 1976

Terjemah dan

Tafsir al-

Qur’an 30 Juz

huruf arab dan

latin

Bachtiar

Surin

1981 1981 Tafsir Rahmat

Oemar

Bakry

1966 2002 Tafsir al-Bayan

Hasbi

Ash-

Shiddie

2005

Al-Furqan

Tafsir Qur’an

Ahmad

Hassan

ICRI 2018 - International Conference Recent Innovation

1968

Table 2: Forms of Thematic Presentation in Indonesian

Tafsirs.

Book Titles

Indonesian

Table of

surah/

theme

Themati

c Index

Additional

Indices

Tafsir

Qur’an

Karim

Chronolo

gic

Themati-

Random

Terjemah

dan Tafsir al-

Qur’an 30

Juz huruf

arab dan

latin

Chronolo

gic

Alphabeti

- -

Tafsir

Rahmat

Alphabeti

Chronolo

gic

Themati-

Random

Chronologi

Tafsir al-

Bayan

Chronolo

gic

Alphabeti

Glossary

Al-Furqan

Tafsir

Qur’an

Chronolo

gic

Thematic

-Random

Alphabetic

Glossary

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