Falak Manuscripts: Windows into the Intellectual and Cultural History of Southeast Asia
Abstract views: 200
,
PDF downloads: 9
Abstract
This study examines the development and role of falak (Islamic astronomy) manuscripts in Southeast Asia within the context of Islamic historiography and the transmission of knowledge from the Middle East. Scholars from the archipelago studied falak in the Middle East before developing it in their homeland, producing repetitive works to facilitate public understanding. However, limited documentation and a lack of in-depth research hinder a comprehensive understanding of the scholars’ roles in the history of falak. This study explored alternative sources, such as local manuscripts, travel notes, and oral traditions, using a multidisciplinary approach that includes philology, history, and the sociology of knowledge. The method used in this research is the philological method, a scholarly approach used to analyze, assess, and interpret ancient or historical texts, particularly in the context of manuscript studies. One of the research locations is the PEDIR Museum (Banda Aceh), the Manuscript Collection of Tarmidzi Abdul Hamid (Banda Aceh), and the Falak Center of Syaikh Tahir in Penang, Malaysia. The results show that falak science in Southeast Asia developed through networks of scholars connected to the Haramain and Egypt. The dissemination of falak manuscripts occurred through trade, missionary activity, and intellectual exchange, while adaptation to local culture preserved its relevance. The influence of the falak manuscripts in Southeast Asia includes strengthening religious authority, establishing local hisab-rukyat traditions, and playing a strategic role in harmonizing the Islamic calendar. This research confirms that the falak manuscripts are an intellectual heritage that reflects the synergy between science and the religious needs of Southeast Asian Muslim communities, while also serving as an important source for the study of the history of Islamic science in the region.
Downloads
References
Aidulsyah, Fachri, and Saiful Hakam. “Manuscript, Philology, and Indonesian Islam.” Tashwirul Afkar 41, no. 1 (2022): 103–10. https://doi.org/10.51716/ta.v41i1.75.
Aini, Nur, and Youla Afifah Azkarrula. “Pandangan Tokoh Falak Tentang Elongasi pada Penentuan Awal Syawal 1443 H dalam Kriteria Neo MABIMS di Indonesia.” Astroislamica: Journal of Islamic Astronomy 3, no. 1 (2024): 01–28. https://doi.org/10.47766/astroislamica.v3i1.2762.
Akbar, Reza. “Sejarah Perkembangan Ilmu Falak dalam Peradaban India dan Keterkaitannya dengan Islam.” Jurnal Ilmiah Islam Futura 17, no. 1 (2017): 50. https://doi.org/10.22373/jiif.v17i1.1511.
Alimuddin. “Sejarah Perkembangan Ilmu Falak.” Al Daulah : Jurnal Hukum Pidana dan Ketatanegaraan 2, no. 2 (2013): 181–94. https://doi.org/10.24252/ad.v2i2.1475.
Alwi, Bashori. “Konsep Hilal Mar’i (Analisis Terhadap Pandangan Anggota TIM Hisab Rukyat Kementerian Agama RI).” HAKAM; Jurnal Kajian Hukum Islam 6, no. 2 (2022): 89–107. https://doi.org/10.33650/jhi.v6i1.4466.
Anisa, Arifatul, and Sutrisna Wibawa. “Hermeneutika Nilai Moral Jawa dalam Naskah Tashrihah Al- Muhtaaj dan Relevansinya dalam Pendidikan.” Aksara 33, no. 1 (2021): 57–70. https://doi.org/10.29255/aksara.v33i1.491.
Arifin, Jaenal. “Proses Penentuan Awal Ramadhan, Syawal, dan Dzulhijjah di Indonesia: Sinergi Antara Independensi Ilmuwan dan Otoritas Penguasa.” Jurnal Penelitian 13, no. 1 (2019): 37. https://doi.org/10.21043/jp.v13i1.4892.
Arni, Jarni. Metode Penelitian Tafsir. 1st ed. Pekanbaru-Riau: Daulat Riau, 2013.
Basthoni, M. “Diferensiasi Metode Penentuan Awal Bulan Hijriyah: Kajian Perspektif Teori Evolusi Sosial Herbert Spencer.” Endogami: Jurnal Ilmiah Kajian Antropologi 1, no. 2 (2018): 166. https://doi.org/10.14710/endogami.1.2.166-176.
Creswell, John W. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. Book. Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore: Sage Publication, Inc., 2013.
Determann, Jörg Matthias. “History of Astronomy and Space Science in the Islamic World.” Islamic Studies, 2019, 3–5. https://doi.org/10.1093/obo/9780195390155-0267.
Fedeli, Alba. “Digital Humanities and Qurʾanic Manuscript Studies: New Perspectives and Challenges for Collaborative Space and Plural Views.” Majallat Kulliyat al-Sharīʿah wa al-Dirāsāt al-Islāmiyyah 38, no. 1 (2020): 147–58. https://doi.org/10.29117/jcsis.2020.0260.
Fikri, Haekal, Andi Intan, and Nur Cahyani. “Analisis Matlak dalam Penentuan Awal Bulan Hijriah Perspektif Ilmu Falak.” Hisabuna 4, no. 3 (2023): 65–83. https://doi.org/10.20414/afaq.v4i1.
Firdiniah, Nur Eka Putri. “Telaah Pemikiran Abdurrahman Özlem dalam Menentukan Awal Bulan Kamariah: Perspektif Astronomi dan Fikih.” Azimuth: Journal of Islamic Astronomy 5, no. 2 (2024): 108–31. https://doi.org/10.15642/azimuth.v5i2.2673.
Gallop, Annabel Teh. “Shifting Landscapes: Remapping the Writing Traditions of Islamic Southeast Asia through Digitisation.” Jurnal Humaniora 32, no. 2 (2020): 97. https://doi.org/10.22146/jh.55487.
Hamdani, Aris Tiono. “Analisis Perspektif Empat Madzhab Terhadap Matla’ dalam Penentuan Awal Bulan Hijriah.” AL-AFAQ : Jurnal Ilmu Falak dan Astronomi 4, no. 1 (2022): 32–39. https://doi.org/10.20414/afaq.v4i1.4187.
Harahap, Nursapia. Penelitian Kualitatif. Medan: Wal Ashri Publishing, 2020.
Hardani, Hardani, Helmina Andriani, Dhika Juliana Sukmana, and Roushandy Fardani. Metode Penelitian Kualitatif & Kuantitatif. Yogyakarta: Pustaka Ilmu, 2020.
Hidayat, Muhammad. “Aplikasi Kriteria Kalender Islam Global Muktamar Turki 2016 dan Rekomendasi Jakarta 2017.” Al-Marshad: Jurnal Astronomi Islam dan Ilmu-Ilmu Berkaitan 4, no. 1 (2018): 67–77. https://doi.org/10.30596/jam.v4i1.1936.
Hidayat, Muhammad. “Penyebab Perbedaan Hasil Perhitungan Jadwal Waktu Salat di Sumatera Utara.” Al-Marshad: Jurnal Astronomi Islam dan Ilmu-Ilmu Berkaitan 4, no. 2 (2018): 204–18. https://doi.org/10.30596/jam.v4i2.2443.
Ibrahim, Norhasnira, and Faisal Ahmad Shah. “The Islamic Influences in Malay Manuscripts Writing: An Overview of Some Selected Manuscripts Pengaruh Islam dalam Penulisan Manuskrip Melayu: Gambaran Daripada Manuskrip Terpilih.” Sains Insani 5, no. 1 (2020): 57–66. https://sainsinsani.usim.edu.my/index.php/sainsinsani/article/view/141.
Izzuddin, Ahmad, Muhammad Habibur Rahman, and Muhammad Himmatur Riza. “Teleskop Ioptron Cube II dalam Penentuan Arah Kiblat.” AL-AFAQ : Jurnal Ilmu Falak dan Astronomi 3, no. 1 (2021): 25–40. https://doi.org/10.20414/afaq.v3i1.2776.
Johnson, Burke, and Larry B.. Christensen. Educational Research: Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Approaches. United Kingdom: Sage Publication, 2018.
Kalupe, Abdulasi, and Arwin Juli Rakhmadi. “The Islamic Astronomy Development and Status in Thailand.” Al-Hisab: Journal of Islamic Astronomy 2, no. 1 (2025): 56–64. https://doi.org/10.33096/jah.v2i1.23884.
Kila, Syahrir, Wardiah Hamid, Abd Rahman Arsyad, Muhammad Nur, Wan Shahrazad, and Wan Sulaiman. “Mystical Radiance of Manuscript: A Paratextual Study of Islamic Astronomy Manuscript.” Al-Qalam Jurnal Penelitian Agama dan Sosial Budaya 30, no. 2 (2024): 253–63. https://doi.org/10.31969/alq.v30i2.1488.
Kurniawan. “Reconstruction of Falak Science Against Astronomy.” KULMINASI: Journal of Falak and Sharia 2, no. 2 (2024): 57–66. https://doi.org/10.22373/kulminasi.v2i2.5793.
Kustiana Arisanti. “Ilmu Falak dalam Prespektif Sejarah.” Bahtsuna 3, no. 285 (2021): 291. https://doi.org/10.55210/bahtsuna.v3i2.67.
Kusuma, Theodorus Aries Briyan Nugraha Setiawan, and Andry Hikari Damai. “Perkembangan Kebudayaan Austronesia di Kawasan Asia Tenggara dan Sekitarnya (the Development of Austronesian Culture in Southeast Asia and Adjacent Areas).” Naditira Widya 13, no. 2 (2019): 75–86. https://doi.org/10.24832/nw.v13i2.320.
M Basithussyarop, M Basithussyarop, and Ahmad Izzudin. “Kajian Awal Bulan Kamariah dalam Kitab Keker Bulan Karya Sayyid Usman.” DIKTUM: Jurnal Syariah dan Hukum 20, no. 2 (2022): 415–31. https://doi.org/10.35905/diktum.v20i2.4153.
Magevira. “Problematika Astronomical Twilight dalam Penentuan.” ASTROISLAMICA Journal of Islamic Astronomy 4, no. 1 (2025): 40–61. https://doi.org/10.47766/astroislamica.v4i1.3468.
Muslim, Pepep Puad, Tatang Farhanul Hakim, and Suparman Jassin. “Dinamika dan Perkembangan Ilmu Falak dari Era Pra Islam Hingga Era Kontemporer.” Al-Tsaqafa : Jurnal Ilmiah Peradaban Islam 20, no. 1 (2023): 14–28. https://doi.org/10.15575/al-tsaqafa.v20i1.27243.
Nashiha, Lauhatun, and Mahsun Mahsun. “Kajian Ilmu Falak dan Astronomi dalam Sudut Pandang Filsafat Ilmu.” Astroislamica: Journal of Islamic Astronomy 3, no. 1 (2024): 29–50. https://doi.org/10.47766/astroislamica.v3i1.2645.
Nazaruddin. “Spirit Jaringan Ulama Timur Tengah dan Kepulauan Nusantara Abad XVII dan XVIII Karya Azyumardi Azra.” In Jaringan Ulama Timur Tengah dan Kepulauan Nusantara Abad XVII dan XVIII, 483, 2020. https://jlka.kemenag.go.id/index.php/lektur/article/view/795.
Ohashi, Yukio. “Remarks on the Origin of Castillejo-Dalitz-Dyson Poles.” Remarks on the Origin of Indo-Tibetan Astronomy 82, no. 1 (2010): 341–42. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.82.018201.
Ôhashi, Yukio, and Wayne Orchiston. The Evolution of Local Southeast Asian Astronomy and the Influence of China, India, the Islamic World and the West, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62777-5_24.
Pratama, Dito Alif. “Ru’yat Al-Hilāl dengan Teknologi : Telaah Pelaksanaan Ru’yat Al-Hilāl di Baitul Hilal Teluk Kemang Malaysia.” Al-Ahkam 26, no. 2 (2016): 271. https://doi.org/10.21580/ahkam.2016.26.2.930.
Putri, Hasna Tuddar. “Hisab Urfi Syekh Abbas Kutakarang: Kajian Etnoastronomi dalam Penentuan Awal Bulan Hijriah.” Media Syari’ah 21, no. 1 (2019): 52–72. https://doi.org/10.22373/jms.v21i1.6476.
Qorib, Muhammad, and Arwin Juli Rakhmadi. “The Spirit of Tolerance in Determining the Time of Dawn According to Indonesian Classical Scholars in Malay-Nusantara.” Interdiciplinary Journal and Hummanity (INJURITY) 3, no. 1 (2024): 17–23. https://doi.org/10.58631/injurity.v3i1.161.
Rahman, Hardiyanto. “Analisis Bibliometrik: Upaya Pemberdayaan Masyarakat di Indonesia.” Jurnal Pemerintahan dan Kebijakan (JPK) 4, no. 2 (2023): 106–23. https://doi.org/10.18196/jpk.v4i2.18211.
Rakhmadi, Arwin Juli, Mario Kasduri, Muhammad Qorib, Habibullah Ritonga, Robie Fanreza, and Abdul Rahman Cemda. “TM. Ali Muda (w. 2005 M) Karya dan Kontribusinya dalam Bidang Ilmu Falak.” Astroislamica: Journal of Islamic Astronomy 2, no. 2 (2023): 190–205. https://doi.org/10.47766/astroislamica.v2i2.1930.
Rakhmadi, Arwin Juli, Abu Yazid Raisal, Muhammad Hidayat, Hariyadi Putraga, and Isra Hayati. “The Falak Science Observatory of University of Muhammadiyah North Sumatra (Oif Umsu) and the Contribution in Fajr Time Research.” Proceedings International Seminar of Islamic Studies 2, no. 1 (2021): 851–58. https://doi.org/10.3059/insis.v2i1.6453.
Rakhmadi, Arwin Juli, Hasrian Rudi Setiawan, and Muhammad Hidayat. “Kajian Ilmu Falak Syaikh Muhammad Arsyad Banjar: Analisis Naskah Mas’alah al-Qiblah fi l-Batawy.” Jumantara: Jurnal Manuskrip Nusantara 13, no. 2 (2022): 149–65. https://doi.org/10.37014/jumantara.v13i2.1469.
Rakhmadi Butar-Butar, Arwin Juli. “Historiografi Ilmu Falak di Nusantara: Sejarah, Motivasi dan Tokoh Awal.” Journal of Contemporary Islam and Muslim Societies 2, no. 2 (2018): 156–73. https://doi.org/10.30821/jcims.v2i2.2928.
Ramdhani, Iga Nur and Revianto Budi Santosa. “Pengaruh Astronomi Islam pada Masa Golden Age Terhadap Arsitektur.” Jurnal Astronomi Islam dan Ilmu-Ilmu Berkaitan 7, no. 1 (2021): 66–75. https://media.neliti.com/media/publications/268350-penanggalan-mesir-kuno-61e38fac.pdf.
Ritonga, Marataon, Arwin Juli Rakhmadi, Muhammad Hidayat, Hariyadi Putraga. “Transformasi Hisab-Rukyat dalam Penentuan Awal Bulan Hijriah di Muhammadiyah Hisab-Rukyat Transformation of Hijri Month Begining Determenation in Muhammadiyah.” Jurnal Agama dan Ilmu Pengetahuan 21, no. 1 (2024): 83–92. https://doi.org/10.25299/al-hikmah:jaip.2024.vol21(1).14676.
Sakirman, Sakirman. “Spirit Budaya Islam Nusantara dalam Konstruks “Rubu’ Mujayyab.” Endogami: Jurnal Ilmiah Kajian Antropologi 1, no. 2 (2018): 114. https://doi.org/10.14710/endogami.1.2.114-123.
Santoso, Fattah Setiawan, Muthmainnah Muthmainnah, Cipto Sembodo, Subary Subary, Muhammad Nur Kholis Al Amin, Nur Alfan Baheem, and Paseeyah Baka. “Facing Interdisciplinary Research In Syariah Research, Findings from Applied Falak Science.” Indonesian Journal of Islamic Jurisprudence, Economic and Legal Theory 2, no. 2 (2024): 599–610. https://doi.org/10.62976/ijijel.v2i2.487.
Siyoto, Sandu and M. Ali Sodik. Dasar Metodologi Penelitian. Yogyakarta: Literasi Media Publishing, 2015.
The journal operates an Open Access policy under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share-Alike license. Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
