The Tradition Of Burning Incense In Dhikr Assemblies In Java: A Living Hadith Study.

Abstract

This research examines one of the burning incense traditions which is carried out in the Anwar Ar-Raudhah Dhikr Assembly in Ma'had Ar-Raudhah, Kajeksan Village, Kota District, Kudus Regency, Central Java, Indonesia. This study aims to determine what is the background for the burning incense in these assemblies. This phenomenon is included in the tradition of Living Hadith practice. The existence of this phenomenon makes the researchers formulate the problem of how the implementation of the burning incense is, what the meaning of burning incense is, and how to use it in the hadith perspective. This research is qualitative research with the ethnographic approach of participant observation proposed by James P. Spradley. Besides, researchers use a literature approach in completing the data. There were two sources of the data, primary and secondary sources. The primary source was obtained directly by the researcher from the research object, which was all informants in Ma'had Ar-Raudhah. While the secondary source was in the form of library material related to the discussion and theoretical basis. The data were analyzed by descriptive explanation. The results of this research showed that incense is always used in every dhikr assembly of Anwar Ar-Raudhah. The burning incense as a form of ittiba' to the Prophet Muhammad and the Salafushshalih. Besides, the burning incense creates a fragrant smell that can affect inner peace and increase concentration. This tradition is also in line with the hadith of the Prophet.