Session Name: Around the Line I: Writing, Reading, and Reciting Interlinear Translations in the Indonesian-Malay World
2 - The Influence of Ngaji Bandongan in Tafsir al-Ibriz
Thursday, August 1, 2024
09:00 – 10:45 (GMT+7)
Presentation Abstract Kiai Bisyri Mustofa, the author of Tafsir al-Ibriz, openly admitted to consulting various exegeses while writing his work. Notably, he extensively relied on prominent Arabic exegeses (tafsir), particularly Tafsiral-Jalalain. However, Tafsir al-Ibriz itself is an interlinear interpretation in the Javanese language. This suggests that Kiai Bisyri Mustofa required references beyond mere exegeses, specifically lexical sources, to translate the Quranic text and convey the meanings of Arabic interpretations into the Javanese tafsir. Interestingly, Kiai Bisyri Mustofa did not specify the dictionary he utilized. This paper proposes that one of the lexical references Kiai Bisyri Mustofa used might have been based on his exposure to the bandongan interpretations of Jalalain in the pesantren. Bandongan is a practice of teaching an Arabic subject by reading the book and translating it into Javanese by a kiai in the pesantren. To examine this hypothesis, the paper conducts a comparative analysis of the translation of Surah al-Ahzab 59 between Tafsir al-Ibriz and the bandongan manuscripts of al-Jalalain from Pesantren Langitan.