An annotated translation of Hamka's "Tasauf Moderen"

Abstract

This present study has successfully translated the full annotated translation of Hamka’s Tasauf Moderen (Modern Sufism) from the source language Bahasa Indonesia into English. As proven in this study; since 1950s there had been a negligible number of foreign students who were keen in the study of Indonesian literature including Hamka and his published works. They lamented that the major obstacle in their researches was the language barrier. This study also discovers that Hamka’s Tasauf Moderen has been in its perpetual publication since its first in August 1939; however, until to-date it has never been translated into any dominant world language. Thus, this study was undertaken with the objective to break the longstanding language barrier while addressing the research gap. The researches of this study were based upon the primary and secondary sources and uses qualitative method for analysis and evaluation. Most of the data collected were from the libraries in Jakarta, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. Hamka’s Tasauf Moderen was on happiness based on the discourse of “tasawwuf akhlaqi” or ethical Sufism. This book centred on the purification of the heart and refinement of the character while suppressing all forms of greed while fighting against desires which go beyond what is necessary for one’s self-sufficiency. On happiness; Hamka had a collection of wisdoms ranging from the Prophet (PBUH)’s advices on the roles of Intellect, Imam al-Ghazali’s macrifah of Allah including a tip on Aristotle’s wisdom on eudaemonia (happiness). Hamka conceptualized that both man’s physical positive attributes and his spiritual virtues in particular qanacāh (contentment) are crucial in the attainment of happiness. And for a complete happiness or al- Sa'adah al-Kamilah a man must also possess sufficient material wealth and other causes that promote his overall well-being. The astounding success of this book can be attributed to Hamka’s fame, his gregarious personality and his writing’s creativity. Tasauf Moderen was viewed as the much-needed spiritual guidance and boost which were timely during this acrimonious period under the Dutch rule. Some scholars viewed this book as the DIY (Do it yourself) guide to be a modern Ṣūfī that fits the contemporary setting. This study however is of the opinion that Hamka’s Tasauf Moderen should not be considered as a typical book on Sufism per se, rather it was a book written to depict the concept of happiness from Hamka’s Sufi understanding cum perception in which the concentration of this book focuses on an important aspect in Sufi’s discourse; al- Sa'adah (happiness). And this study concludes that this annotated translation of Hamka’s Tasauf Moderen would go a long way in exposing Hamka’s Modern Sufism to wider audiences and for wider benefits.