Ritual on Nisfu Sha’ban Hadiths Informed in Indonesian Online

Medias: Study on Muslim Practices in Certain Mosques in South

Tangerang, Banten-Indonesia

M. Ikhsan Tanggok

Faculty of Ushuluddin, Jakarta State Islamic University Syarif Hidayatullah, Indonesia

Keywords: Hadith, Nisfu Sha’ban night, rituals, Muslims, mosques, online medias.

Abstract: Nisfu Sha’ban is the middle of Sha’ban month. It is taken as an occasion by some Indonesian Muslims to

perform certain rituals at mosques and mushollah (small mosques), such as sunnah prayers (non-obligatory

prayers), recitation of the Quran (especially Chapter 36 Ya-Sin), and using water as a medium to pray to

God. These acts of worship have become a part of the culture of many Indonesian Muslims who perform

them at this time each year. They are not concerned whether these activities have a legal basis in the Quran

and the Hadiths. Likewise, although there is still a debate between scholars over the authenticity of the

Hadiths pertaining to Nisfu Sha’ban, mosques fill up every Nisfu Sha’ban night and the number of activities

Muslims carry out then increases each year. This paper seeks to explain this tradition of celebrating Nisfu

Sha’ban practiced by Indonesian Muslims, especially those in South Tangerang and the role of some

Indonesian online medias in informing these activities.

1 INTRODUCTION

This article would like to show that the activities

of Muslims on the night of Nisfu Sha'ban in

mosques in Indonesia have become part of

Indonesian culture. The pros and cons of the

tradition of celebrating Nisfu Sha’ban are discussed

in society and online medias. One of the cons often

cited is the absence of a strong legal foundation

(both from Our’anic verses and Hadiths), which

makes the activities performed during Nisfu Sha’ban

religiously unlawful. Nonetheless, such negative

opinions do not lower the spirit of those amongst the

Indonesian Muslim community who celebrate the

tradition, especially in South Tangerang.

As informed in various Indonesian online

medias, activities to commemorate Nisfu Sha’ban in

Indonesia are not alike for all Muslims but vary in

accordance with their different cultures. This lack of

uniformity is also caused by the absence of a

universal reference, such as a verse from the Quran

or a Hadith, that could be used to determine specific

activities for celebrating it. Some scholars think that

the activities performed in Indonesia to celebrate it

are not based on sound Hadiths (ṣahīh) and that

those that are used are mostly false.

Some people, however, are not concerned over

whether Nisfu Sha’ban rituals have a legal basis or

not because they have been done for generations and

have become a part of Indonesian culture. These

rituals have become a part of the community and

have mixed with local culture. As such, they differ

from one community to another. For instance,

Betawi people have their own set of activities for

celebrating Nisfu Sha’ban, and the same is true for

those of other ethnicities.

As informed in various Indonesian online media,

every mosque in South Tangerang has a different

way to celebrate it. All people also have different

beliefs about Nisfu Sha’ban activities. If Nisfu

Sha’ban is not filled with various activities, they are

convinced that their life on this earth has not yet

been lived to the fullest. Besides that, Nisfu Sha”ban

night rituals become famous in Indonesian society

because it was supported by modern technology,

such as online medias spread throughout Indonesia.

Nisfu Sha’ban is interesting enough to be studied

in-depth because it has become a part of Indonesian

cultures and is celebrated each year by Indonesian

Tanggok, M.

Ritual on Nisfu Sha’ban Hadiths Informed in Indonesian Online Medias: Study on Muslim Practices in Certain Mosques in South Tangerang, Banten-Indonesia.

DOI: 10.5220/0009937319191927

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Recent Innovations (ICRI 2018), pages 1919-1927

ISBN: 978-989-758-458-9

1919

Muslims with a mixture of culture and religion. This

article focuses on Muslim rituals in the night of

Nisfu Sha'ban and the role of online medias in

informing the Muslims activities in South

Tangerang.

2 THEORETICAL REVIEW

Muslim practices in the mosques during Nisfu

Sha’ban are closely related to ritual. It is extremely

difficult and perhaps ultimately unnecessary to

define ritual, or to delimit it from ceremony on the

one hand or from instrumental or practical action on

the other. It is regarded by some anthropologists as a

category of behavior, in wich case it may be defined

as a form of ceremony characterized by its religious

nature or purpose. Gluckman (1962 in Smith (1987:

284) distinguished ritual from ceremonial by

defining ceremonial as ‘any complex organization of

human activity which is not specifically technical or

recreational and which involves the use of modes of

behavior which are expressive of social

relationships,’ while ritual is a more limited category

characterized by its reference to mystical or religious

notions, ends or agencies.

Ritual regarded as being symbolically more

complex and involving more deep social and

sociopsychological concerns. Not only Gluckman,

Goody (1986 in Smith: 1987: 284) defines ritual as

‘a category of standardized behaviour (custom) in

which the relationship between the means and the

end is not ‘intrinsic’ (i.e. is either irrational or non-

rational). Not only Gluckman and Goody, other

anthropologists such as Leach (1954) regard ritual

not as a category of behaviour but as an aspect of

behaviour: That is to say, as the aspect of related to

its symbolic value rather than to its practical utility.

He points out that even the most practical or

technical act is performed in such a way as to

express the particular cultural identity or values of

the actor, so that it has a symbolic or ritual

dimension.

He proposes the existence of a continuum

between acts whose technical or practical aspects

predominate and those where ritual and symbolic

ones predominate, without excluding, the possibility

of analyzing the technical aspect of predominantly

ritual acts or the ritual aspect of predominantly

technical ones. It is clear therefore that the

categories of technical, ritual and ceremonial are

arbitrary distinctions among phenomena which are

not always in themselves neatly classifiable (Smith:

1987: 284).

Another area of difficulty and ambiguity has

been that of the relationship which exists among the

categories of ritual, myth and belief. For a time

anthropological studies of ritual and myth were

dominated by sterile controversies as to which

should be accorded primacy: myth as an expression

or enactment of myth. However in modern

anthropology this controversy has been largely

abandoned, since ritual and myth are generally

viewed as two forms of expression of the human

symbolic and expressive facility, neither one of

which should be accorded primacy over the other.

Myth may be a commentary on ritual and ritual

on myth, and there is no need to posit any overall

dependency or determination. As far as the

relationship between ritual and belief is concerned, it

was also widely assumed in the past that there was a

close enough relationship between the two for rituals

to be held to express or reinforce beliefs and beliefs

to underlie or justify rituals. But modern

anthropology has increasingly demonstrated that

there is considerable intra-cultural diversity in

attitudes, feelings and beliefs, and that an accepted

social form of expression or action like those

embodied in ritual do not imply that the actors

concerned share the same beliefs or feelings about

the ritual.

Modern studies of ritual and symbolism

consequently proceed with great caution when they

deal with the question of belief, recognizing that

there is a complex and dialectical relationship

between individual psychology and experience on

the one hand and social and cultural forms on the

other (Smith, 1987:249).

To turn to the way in which ritual has been

analysed in anthropology, we should first of all

mention the pioneering studies of Durkhein (1912),

whose theories have influenced many writers in this

field. Durkheim’s work contained many different

strands. On the one hand his functionalist theory of

religion and ritual as reinforcing collective sentiment

and social integration was developed by Radcliffe-

Brown (1952) and other British social anthropologist

who elaborated the study of what ritual does and

how it expresses features of the social structure.

On the other hand Durkheim’s theories of the

formation and transformation of collective

representations influenced the development of

another kind of analysis: the analysis of the content

of ritual or what ritual says. The works of Mauss

(1925) and Van Gennep (1909) were also of

development of the British social structural

interpretation of ritual and the French Structuralist

approach to ritual and symbolism (Smith, 1987:249).

Besides Durkheim, Radcliffe-Bron, Mauss and

Gennap, Turner (1980:33) also states that ritual is an

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expression of the failure of secular mechanisms in

resolving conflicts in communities.

Through rituals, different village communities

can be united. Meanwhile, Mauss (1954) saw that in

every ritual there is a process of exchange between

man and man, man and God, and gods and spirits.

Finally, Gennap (1909) saw that ritual exists in the

life of human beings from the time they are born

until they die or human life cycle. Some of these

theories can be used as reference points in

examining the Nisfu Sha’ban rituals performed in

the Muslim community of South Tangerang and

information about Nisfu Sha’ban in various online

media in Indonesia.

2.1 Nisfu Sha’ban Hadiths in Online

Medias and Books

Before explaining the Hadiths about the month

of Sha’ban, in this article the events occurred in

Sha'ban month first explained. The first, event about

the transfer of Qiblah to Muslims. In the month of

Sha'ban there was a shift in the qiblah of Muslims

from Baitul Maqdis to Ka'bah in Mecca. Actually

the prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) was waiting and

wanted the transfer to take place. In the process of

waiting, every day he always wakes up from his

sleep at night and looks up and expects revelations

from God.

Not long waiting for the coming of revelation

from God, the it came down too. The revelation

from God reads as follows: “Verily, We see thee

turning thy face often to heaven; surely, then, will

We make thee turn to the Qiblah which thou likest.

So, turn thy face towards the Sacred Mosque; and

wherever you be, turn your faces towards it. And

they to whom the Book has been given know that

this is the truth from their Lord; and Allah is not

unmindful of what they do.” The verses above have

a relationship with other verses, as the word of God

follows: “And thy Lord will soon give thee and thou

wilt be well pleased.” (Q.S. al-Dluhaa: 6).

Related to the verses of the Koran above, the

prophet Muhammad said: "I did not see your God

except He always immediately granted what you

wanted." (Narrated by al-Bukhari).

Syaikh Abu Hatim al-Busti said: "Muslims pray

to Baitul Maqdis for 17 months and 3 days. Prophet

Muhammad also arrived in Medina on Monday 12th

Rabi'ul Awal. Then Allah ordered him to face the

Ka'bah on Tuesday in the middle of the month of

Sha'ban (Ahsan Ghozali, 2016: 10-11).

Second, the specialty of the other month of

Sha'ban is the month reported good deeds of human

to God. Therefore many Muslims do good deeds in

month of Sha'ban with their own way.

The degree of the legitimacy of some of the

Hadiths on Nisfu Sha’ban is debated by scholars.

These Hadiths include the following: Verily Allah,

the Mighty and Majestic, descends to the heavens of

the world on the night of Nisfu Sha’ban and pardons

more than the number of feathers on the goats of

Bani Kalb [an Arabian tribe that had many goats]

(HR At-Tabrani and Ahmad).

Al-Imam At-Tirmizy states, however, that this

Hadith was deemed weak by Al-Bukhari. In addition

to this narration, there are others that, although not

considered sound, are accepted by some scholars as

foundations for practices performed to celebrate

Nisfu Sha’ban at mosques in Indonesia and

especially in the area of South Tangerang.

Another hadith explains that the Prophet

Muhammad got up from his sleep and did the

practices of Sha'ban night. The hadith as follows: On

the authority of Aisha (may God be satisfied with

her) who said that ‘the Messenger of God (P.B.U.H.)

woke up one night and performed prayer and a

prolonged prostration; so long that I thought he had

been taken. When he raised his head from it and

finished his prayer, he said, "O Aisha, (or O

Humaira), do you believe that the Messenger of

Allah did not grant you your right?" I replied, "No,

Messenger, but I thought that you had been called by

God because your prostration was so long." The

Messenger of God (P.B.U.H.) said, "Do you know

what night this is?" I replied, "Allah and His

messengers know better." He said, "This is the night

of Nisfu Sha’ban. Allah appears to His servants on

this night and forgives the merciful, loves those who

ask for love, and sets back those who are jealous”’

(Al-Baihaqi).

Al-Baihaqi narrated this Hadith from the chain of

transmission of Al-'Alaa’ bin al-Harits and declared

that it is mursal jayyid, i.e. incompletely transmitted

because it goes no further back than the second

generation after the Prophet (the Successors or

Tābi‘īn). In other words, Al-'Alaa did not record it

directly from Aisha and thus the Hadith is not

directly derived from the Prophet Muhammad. For

this reason, it is considered to be an unsound Hadith.

Another Hadith also explains that in the month of

Sha’ban a human being’s deeds of worship (if he/she

has any) will be reported to the heavens. The word

“heavens” here may refer to God. However, the

Hadith only mentions that this will occur in the

month of Sha’ban and not at the time of Nisfu

Sha’ban. This means that there is no Hadith that

pertains specifically to deeds performed during

Nisfu Sha’ban.

The Hadith about religious practices in the

month of Sha’ban is as follows: On the authority of

Usama bin Zaid, who asked the Prophet (P.B.U.H.),

"I’ve never seen you fast more than in the month of

Ritual on Nisfu Sha’ban Hadiths Informed in Indonesian Online Medias: Study on Muslim Practices in Certain Mosques in South

Tangerang, Banten-Indonesia

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Sha’ban." He replied, "The moon of Sha’ban is a

month that is often forgotten and is between the

month of Rajab and Ramadan. It is the month when

the deeds of human beings are raised to the Lord of

all worlds. I am glad if my deeds are taken up while

I am fasting." (Narrated An-Nasai), (Ahsan Ghozali,

2016: 34-35).

Based on the following Hadith, many benefits

are proffered by Allah on the night of Nisfu

Sha’ban, as described in Imam Ibn Majjah’s book of

Hadith in his chapter on sunnah. The Prophet said:

When the evening of Nisfu Sha’ban comes, worship

at night and fast in the day. Verily (the mercy of)

Allah descends into the lowest heavens at the setting

of the sun, and He calls out, "Whoever apologizes to

me, I will forgive them. If anyone asks for

sustenance, I will bestow it on him. If there is

anyone who is sick, I will heal them," and other

statements until dawn (HR Ibnu Majah with a weak

sanad) (http://www.rumahfiqih.com).

This Hadith has been used some Indonesian

Muslims to explain the performance of rituals on the

night of Nisfu Sha’ban. Looking at the three

Hadiths just mentioned, we see that Hadith experts

have different opinions about the rituals performed

on the night of Nisfu Sha’ban. Some of these

Hadiths do not explain in detail what is to be done at

that time. For this reason, Nisfu Sha’ban is passed

differently in every mosque. If in a certain mosque a

special prayer of four rak‘as is done (shalat tasbih),

chapter 36 (al-Yasin) of the Quran is recited, and

tahlil (the repeated recitation of the Muslim

profession of faith [Lā Ilāha Illallāh, there is no god

but God]), then the mosque’s congregation simply

follows in enacting these practices without knowing

the traditions related to Nisfu Sha’ban.

Some scholars say that night Nisfu Sha'ban has

several names (usually the number of names

indicates glory that has a name). For example in

Islam God has ninety-nine names or is called asmaul

husna or it can also be called the attributes of God.

Likewise with the month of Sha'ban, he has several

names and has different meanings. Imam Abul Khair

at-Thaliqani explained that: The name Nisfu Sha'ban

night has twenty names, as written by Ghozali

(2016: 113-118) as follows:

1. Lailatul Mubarakah

Lailatul Mubarakah means that the night is full

of blessings in its substance, or because of other

meanings contained in it, also because at that night

God divides everything that has been ascertained to

humans. This name is taken from the historical

conclusions of Atha 'bin Yasar, as he said: "When

the night of Nisfu Sha'ban comes, then the angels

will write the names of every person who will die

from Sha'ban to Sha'ban again. In fact, someone who

did dholim (performing an act is not in accordance

with the rules), committed prostitution, married

women and planted trees, even though planting had

been replaced by rows of living people to be written

in the ranks of dead people.” In another history it is

also stated that: "When came Nisfu Sha'ban night,

the death angel was given a sheet.

Then He was said to him: Revoke the lives of the

people listed in this sheet. Indeed a servant planted

crops, married his wives and built buildings even

though his name was written in a row of people the

one who will die, then the angel of death will not

wait for anything unless he is ordered and he takes

away his life." In another history it is also stated

that: “Indeed, in the night Nisfu Sha'ban Allah

decides all his decisions and surrenders them to each

of his officers on (the night) Lailatul Qadr.” Lailatul

Qadar is the night in which Allah sent his angels to

see humans who believe in worshiping their Lord.

God gave many thighs to Muslim people who

did good activities (praying, reading the reading of

Quran, and doing charity) that night. The night of

Lailatul Qadr is in the month of Ramadan and not in

the month of Sha'ban or one month after the month

of Sha'ban.

In another story it is also stated that the surrender

of duty from God to the angels occurred on the

twenty-seventh night of the month of Ramadan.

From this information, it can be concluded that the

night of the twenty-seventh of Ramadan and when

the event occurred it coincided with the night of

Lailatul Qadar. This night many Muslims do good

deeds and they hope to God to give them reward.

2. Lailatul Tafkir

Lailatul Tafkir is the night of the elimination of

human sin. Among the names of the month Nisfu

Sha'ban is Lailatul Tafkir or the night of the

abolition of human sin, because on this night all the

sins of mankind for one year were abolished by God.

God will erase the sins of those who did good deeds

that night. As doing good deeds on Friday nights in

removing sins for one week and doing good deeds

on the night of Lailatul Qadar can erase human sins

for one year. This information was conveyed by

Imam as-Subki in his commentary.

3. Lailatul Ijabah

Another name for Nisfu Sha'ban is the night of

the submission of human pleas. That night the

faithful man asked for something they wanted and

God granted his request. Maybe on other nights God

is difficult to grant human pleas and on the Nisfu

Sha’ban night Allah quickly grants human requests.

"Five nights where the prayer in it will not be

rejected (by Allah), that is on Friday night, the

beginning of the month of the month of Rajab, the

night of Nisfu Sha'ban, the night of Lailatul Qadar

and the night of two feasts (Idhul Fitri and Idhul

Adha).”

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4. Lailatul Hayat and Lailatul ‘Idil Malaikat

Another name for Nisfu Sha'ban is Lailatul

Hayat and Lailatul ‘Idil Malaikat. Lailatul Hayat

means night of life, while Lailatul ‘Idil Malaikat

means nighttime angels. This name is based on the

words of Imam Abu Abdullah Thahir bin

Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Haddadi in his book

entitled: 'Uyunul Majalis. In the book it says: Surely

angels in the sky have two nights of feast days as

those of Muslims.

The two days of the angel's blessings are Lailatul

Bara'ah (night of liberation), namely Nisfu Sha'ban

night and Lailatul Qadar night. While human

holidays are Eid al-Fitri and Eid al-Adha. The

angel's day of worship is at night, because they

never sleep, so for them between day and night there

is no difference. And the humans celebrate during

the day because night time for them is to sleep time

so that in the evening they can sleep soundly and

rest." If we look at Abdullah Thahir's opinion, the

equality between humans and angels is to have a

feast and the difference lies only in time: the feast of

humans is celebrated during the day and the feast of

angels is celebrated at night. Abdullah Thahir's

statement is not based on the hadith of the prophet

Muhammad.

5. Lailatus Syafa’at

Another name from Nisfu Sha'ban is the Night of

Intercession (double). Information about this

intercession is taken from the opinion of Imam Abu

Manshur Muhammad bin Abdullah al-Hakim an-

Naisaburi and several other scholars. Intercession

comes from the word asy-sayafa '(double) and the

opposite of the word from al-witru (singular),

meaning to make something singular be double or

more than one, such as dividing one into two, three

into four, four into five, five being six and so on.

This is the understanding of Intercession in

language.

Whereas according to terms, intercession means

mediating for others by giving benefits to them or

rejecting Madharat (things that are not good),

namely the giver of intercession provides benefits to

those who are given intercession or refuse Madharat

for him.

6. Lailatus Bara'ah and Lailatu Shak

Other names from Nisfu Sha'ban are Lailatus

Bara'ah and Lailatu Shak (Liberation Night and

Certification Night). So named Lailatus Bara'ah and

Lailatu Shak because on that night every Muslim is

given freedom from torment of hell and is given a

certificate of forgiveness. Some scholars have been

asked, why is tonight called the night of liberation?

they (ulama) answered: When an employee pulls

taxes and alms, fulfills all the rights owned by Baitul

Maal (Treasurer of the State), then he will be given a

writing and he is declared free. Why? because he

will be free from all responsibilities and became his

responsibility.

Likewise with the night of liberation, every

Muslim will be given a freedom and it will be

conveyed to him: You have fulfilled all rights and

you have carried out all the conditions that have

been determined, so now take your freedom from

hell (you will be free from the torment of hell ).

Then it is said to a person, you have underestimated

my rights and you do not carry out the conditions

that have been determined (his rights), then take

your freedom from God who has power over nature

and its contents.

7. Lailatul Jaizah, Lailatur Ruhan, Lailatut Ta'dhim

and Lailatul Qadar

Other names from Nisfu Sha'ban Lailatul Jaizah

(coronation night), Lailatur Rujhan (night of

excellence), Lailatut Ta'dhim (night of glorification)

and Lailatul Qadar (night of determination). Naming

the night Nisfu Sha'ban with these names is based on

information from Imam as-Subki in his commentary.

He is an expert scholar of hadith, tafsir, ushul fiqh,

nahwu, sharaf and literature from the Shafi'i school.

He is also the Chief Justice. This Supreme Court

Justice was dubbed as Syaikhul Islam, the High

Priest, He was mentioned as the top leader of the

Shafi'i School in Egypt.

His writings reached one hundred and fifty books

in various disciplines. He was born at 1 Shafar 683

H in the city of Sabak Al-Abid, Al-Munafiyah. After

running a basic religious education on his father, he

later moved to Cairo. An official from the

Nashiriyah government appointed him Judge Qadhi

in Damascus. He also became a preacher in the great

Umayyad mosque and lecturer at several universities

there. He served as presiding judge for seventeen

years, then he fell ill and his position was replaced

by his son Tajuddin as-Subki, he himself returned to

Cairo and died there at 3 Jumadil Akhir 756 H

(Abbas, 2011).

8. Lailatul Gufran

Another name for Nisfu Sha'ban is Lailatul

Gufran, which means the night of forgiveness and

freedom from the torment of hell. So, this person

who does good deeds in Nisfu Sha'ban will get

forgiveness from Allah and his past sins are blotted

out. This is the opinion of the scholars about the

names of Nisfu Sha'ban nights. There are people

who interpret the Nisfu Sha'ban night based on their

opinions and there are also based on the Prophet's

hadiths.

There are also those who call the month of

Sha'ban with the month of Qur’an. As is known,

every Muslim is recommended to read the Koran

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every time and a good place. Reading the Koran is

highly recommended at times that have been

commanded by Allah and read it in glorious places

and at the right time. Like reading the Koran in the

month of Ramadan (the month in which Muslims are

commanded by Allah to fast) and reading the Koran

in the month of Sha'ban, reading the Koran in the

Holy City of Mecca, at Raudlah al-Musyarrafah

(Madinah) and other places who is glorified by God.

This statement is also often expressed by salaf

scholars (Ghozali, 2016).

Today many Muslims, especially in Indonesia,

are interested in learning the Koran and reading the

Koran correctly. For them by reading the Koran his

heart will become more calm and the tangled mind

will disappear. They also hope that by reading the

Koran they will get a lot of rewards from Allah.

They also hope in Allah, by reading the Koran on

the night of Nisfu Sha'ban Allah will forgive his past

sins.

Shaykh Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali said: "I narrated

(conveyed) - with a very weak (weak) - from Annas,

he said: Muslims when they enter the month of

Sha'ban, they are busy looking for the Koran and

reading it , issue zakat for their property to help poor

people in fasting during Ramadan. " Salah bin

Kuhail said: "Bulan Sha'ban is called Syahrul Qurra

'(month for Quranic scholars)." Hubaib ibn Abi

Thabit when he entered the month of Sha'ban, he

said: "This month is the month of the experts of the

Koran." Amar bin al-Qais al-Mula'i when he entered

the month Sha'ban closed his shop and used his time

to read the Koran. Hasan bin Sahl said: "O my Lord,

you made me between two noble months, then what

is my virtue? Then Allah said:" I made the time for

you to read the Koran. "(Ghozali, 2016) On that

basis many scholars spend time reading and

understanding the Koran, until now many Muslims

who always fill their time by reading the Qur’an.

Al-'Allamah Syaikh Ahmad bin Hijazi said: "In

the past Salafus Shaleh always filled the month of

Sha'ban with a lot of reading the Koran, and it was

recommended for Muslims to follow their good

habits. The scholars said, even though some of us do

not understand the meaning of the Koran, so just

reading it has gained a lot of rewards. Reading the

Koran not only gets knowledge about the Islamic

religion but also gets reward.

Hadiths about the virtue of reading the Qur’an:

Abdullah bin Mas'ud rd said: "The Prophet

sallallaahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said:" Whoever reads

one letter from the Our’an, then for him one

goodness with that reading, and one good is folded

into 10 goodness for example and I don't say ملا

one letter but one letter Alif, one letter Laam and

one letter Miim. "(Narrated by Tirmidhi).

Aisyah RA explained that the Prophet

Sallallaahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said: "A person who is

fluent in reading the Our’an will be with the noble

angels (in Heaven) and (they) always obey Allah, as

for those who read the Our’an and stumble the brick

in it and the hard reading of it, then for him two

rewards. "(Narrated by Muslim). Our’an verses

about the virtue of reading the Our’an: “The month

of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the

Our’an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of

guidance and criterion. So whoever sights [the new

moon of] the month, let him fast it; and whoever is

ill or on a journey - then an equal number of other

days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend

for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the

period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He

has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful.”

(Our’an 2:185).

Other verses of the Our’an: “Indeed, this Our’an

guides to that which is most suitable and gives good

tidings to the believers who do righteous deeds that

they will have a great reward.” (Our’an 17:9). “And

We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], the Book

in truth, confirming that which preceded it of the

Scripture and as a criterion over it. So judge between

them by what Allah has revealed and do not follow

their inclinations away from what has come to you

of the truth. To each of you We prescribed a law and

a method. Had Allah willed, He would have made

you one nation [united in religion], but [He

intended] to test you in what He has given you; so

race to [all that is] good. To Allah is your return all

together, and He will [then] inform you concerning

that over which you used to differ.” (Qur’an 5:48).

The verses of the Qur’an and the Hadiths above

explain to us about the importance of reading the

Our’an, studying its contents and and applying them

in daily life.

2.2 Nisfu Sha’ban Night Rituals

As written in some online medias, books and

also based on field research, on the night of Nisfu

Sha’ban, many Muslims in Indonesia, especially in

the area of South Tangerang go to the mosque to

perform special rituals. Some others, however, do

not go to the mosque nor enact any special rituals

due to beliefs that differ from those who do or

having other occupations at that time. A Hadith that

advises Muslims to come to or gather in the mosque

on the night of Nisfu Sha’ban and perform special

rituals has not been found, as indicated by the

Hadiths mentioned above.

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On the night of Nisfu Sha’ban, some Muslims in

Indonesia go to the mosque to perform special

rituals. Some others, however, do not go to the

mosque nor enact any special rituals due to beliefs

that differ from those who do or having other

occupations at that time. A Hadith that advises

Muslims to come to or gather in the mosque on the

night of Nisfu Sha’ban and perform special rituals

has not been found, as indicated by the Hadiths

mentioned above. One was encountered, however, in

which Muslims are ordered to wake up on the night

of Nisfu Sha’ban and fast the following day; but

whether this Hadith is sound or not is still unclear.

The Hadith relates:

On the authority of Ali bin Abi Talib (Hadith

marfū’, i.e. attributed specifically to the Prophet

Muhammad), the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) said, "If the

light of Nisfu Sha’ban comes, wake up at night and

fast during the day…Indeed Allah (Glory be to Him

the Highest) comes down that night at the setting of

the sun and says, ‘If there is anyone who asks for

forgiveness, I will forgive him. If there is anyone

who asks for sustenance, I will give him sustenance.

If there is any sick man, I will heal him’ (Ibn Majah

with a weak chain of transmission) (Ghozali, 2016).

Practices commonly carried out during Nisfu

Sha’ban, including gatherings for invocation (dhikr)

and special prayers in the mosque, are not mentioned

in sound Hadiths and were also not enacted by the

Prophet Muhammad nor the Companions. Nisfu

Sha’ban rituals are found to have been performed

only during the time of the Followers (tābi'īn), the

generation that came after and followed the

Companions.

Some mosques in the Ciputat district of South

Tangerang are packed with Muslims performing

special rituals on Nisfu Sha’ban night. Many

Muslims come to the mosque nearest to their home

to perform the sunset prayer (maghrib). After it is

finished, they return to their home to take some

water. Others bring water with them when they

come to the mosque for the sunset prayer (magrib)

but keep it with them.

There are also those who do not have time to

bring water from the house and instead buy some

from stalls situated near to the mosque. After

completing the sunset (magrib) prayer all the water

that was brought in is placed in the middle of the

mosque and the lids of each bottle are taken off. The

people present in the mosque sit cross-legged in a

circle around the water. Lead by the imam, they

recite together Chapter 36 of the Quran al-Yasin

three times, each time with a specific intention in

mind. After they finish reading Quran al-Yasin, they

reading tahlil (zikr) and close with prayer.

The caps of the bottles containing water that

were brought to the mosque must be opened

because, according to some Muslims who were

present there, the prayers that are made to God can

enter the water and sanctify it, i.e. turn it into sacred

water. Indeed, at first the water is not sacred if al-

Yasin has not yet been read and prayers have not

been made. It thus at this point cannot be used to

treat diseases.

However, once made sacred and prayed over, the

water can be used for drinking as well as bathing. In

the latter case it is added together with other bath

water. According to some Muslims in Ciputat South

Tangerang, this bath water can then be used to

protect the body from various diseases. Furthermore,

the water can be used for other purposes in

accordance with the beliefs of each person who uses

the water.

According to one congregation in a mosque in

Ciputat, this sanctified water has tremendous power,

especially to treat various physical and mental

diseases or illnesses. Ultimately, this is a form of

ritual that is always present in the human life cycle.

As Gennap (1909) has argued, human life cannot be

separated from ritual. Turner, meanwhile, (1974: 33)

notes that one of the functions of ritual is to unite

man.

There are also some Muslims in South

Tangerang who fast from the beginning to the

middle of Sha’ban month. Perhaps they do so

because of a Hadith narrated by Imam an-Nasa'i and

Imam Abu Dawud and approved by Imam ibn

Khuzaimah on the authority of Usama bin Zaid

which explains that the Prophet Muhammad once

fasted in the month of Sha’ban, as noted above. In

some South Tangerang mosques, Nisfu Sha’ban

night is also celebrated with ketupat (a kind of rice

cake and wrapped with coconut leaves). People

bring it to the mosque or musallah and eat it together

there with other Muslims.

Eat ketupat together as a symbol to share the

fortune together between them. In their daily lives

they are busy with their work and during the night

ceremony Nisfu Sha'ban they can gather together in

the mosque to pray to God. Due to this tradition,

some Muslims in certain South Tangerang mosques

are busy on Nisfu Sha’ban to prepare ketupat, while

some others buy it from traditional markets.

Some Muslims consider Nisfu Sha’ban rituals

performed as acts of worship to have no strong legal

basis and may even be considered as heretical acts

(or acts which were never practiced by the Prophet

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Muhammad). Some other Muslims, however, do not

question them because previous scholars have

performed them. They assume that following the

actions of previous scholars is good and must be

observed. Although the Hadiths that explain about

Nisfu Sha’ban are not considered to be false

traditions, they are still not sound ones.

3 METHODOLOGY

The research methodology is a method used by

researchers to obtain data. The data that has been

obtained is assessed and analyzed. There are two

methods that are often used by researchers in

conducting research: First, quantitative methodology

and second qualitative methodology. Nevertheless

both of them complement each other. In this study I

used qualitative methodology to look at the practices

of Nisfu Sha'ban carried out by Muslim

communities in some mosques in the city of South

Tangerang, Banten Province-Indonesia.

As said by W. Lawrence Neuman (1991: 328), a

qualitative research style involves more than looking

at qualitative data. He also said that Positivists often

try to convert the data into a quantitative form or

analyze it using quantitative techniques. For

positivists, qualitative data are mental states or

conditions that cause measurable behavior. The issue

is how to capture it with precise, realiable

quantitative measurement.

A descriptive method is employed in writing this

article. I describe the views of a group of people

about what they do on the night of Nisfu Sha’ban in

mosques and small mosques (musholla), especially

in the area of South Tangerang. The data were

collected in three ways: first, collecting data from

articles written in some online medias, such as:

Kompas, Tempo, Republika, Suara Pembaharuan

and Sindo Newspapers. Second, through observation

of the rituals performed by several Muslims on

Nisfu Sha’ban nights in mosques and mushollas

(small mosques).

To get data through this observation, I visited

several mosques and Musollahs in South Tangerang.

The data obtained is used as the material for writing

this article. Third, through interviews with several

informants, including mosque chairmen, heads of

musholla, participants in Nisfu Sha’ban rituals,

imams (prayer leaders) and some Muslims who do

not participate in Nisfu Sha’ban celebrations or

disagree with the tradition. The interview place was

conducted in the mosque, musollah and at home,

according to the place of interview determined by

the informants. The data obtained is also used as the

material for writing this article.

4 CONCLUSIONS

In researching some articles published in some

online medias and in conducting field research, I

found that there were two groups of Muslims in

South Tangerang who has different views in seeing

some activities of Muslim in nisfu sha”ban night.

The first group maintains that the rituals performed

then by some Muslims do not violate Islamic law

even though there are no authentic traditions

(hadiths) that justify the practice. For them, if Nisfu

Sha’ban is commemorated with positive actions,

then there is no problem if nisfu Sha”ban night is

filled with good activities.

The opinion of this first group can strengthen or

support the opinion of Sayyid Muhammad Ibn Alawi

al-Maliki al Hasani (2016) in his book of Maazaa Pii

Sya’baan. In his book he said that, sunnah (the

practice of prophet Muhammad and reward from

God) for muslim people to live or celebrate the

Nisfu Sha”ban night in groups in the mosques, for

prayer, prayer activities and other activities (reading

of Quran). Thus, even though the Hadiths which

explain the virtues of the night Nishfu Sha”ban are

considered dlo'if (weak) by some Muslim scholars,

but some reasons can be given. Therefore, Muslim

community, especially in South Tangerang to turn

on the activities at the night of nishfu sha”ban and

hope reward from God.

Meanwhile, the second group contends that the

practices and rituals performed during nisfu Sha’ban

by Muslims in South Tangerang mosques in

particular do not have a strong legal basis in either

the Quran and Hadiths (prophet of Muhammad

tradition). For them, if a Muslim individual or group

performs an action that is not based on either of

these two sources, it is to be considered heretical

(bid‘ah). Nevertheless, both groups respect each

other's views and do not cause a conflict between

each other. While the opinions of the second group

of Muslim, contrary to the opinion of of Sayyid

Muhammad Ibn Alawi al-Maliki al Hasani above.

Online media has an important role in: (1)

informing about the nisfu sha'ban Hadiths (2)

informing about the activities of Muslims on the

night of nisfu sha'ban and (3) medea discussion

about whether or not the night of nisfu sha'ban is

filled with kindness activities.

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