A number manuscripts, local narratives, and Dutch reports (de Haan 1910:462) provide convincing evidence of Abdul Muhyi’s role in spreading the Shattariyyah order in West Java. However, the sources are not reliable regarding when and how exactly he learned the Shattariyyah method in Aceh and Mecca, or when he returned to Gresik in Central Java, and why he moved from there to West Java (refer to Chapter 4).

Figure 16. The Spiritual Genealogy (silsilah) of Tarekat Shattariyyah at Pamijahan

Rinkes was the first European scholar to concern himself with the Shattariyyah in Java. In 1909, while finishing his dissertation on ‘Abd al-Raûf of Singkel, Rinkes travelled to Java (Rinkes 1909). His mission was to trace the Shattariyyah order and investigate the nature of the sacred sites associated with the wali sanga, the nine saints who reputedly first propagated Islam there. The journey resulted in a series of articles collectively titled De Heiligen van Java (The Saints of Java) which appeared in the Tijdschrift van het Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen (Journal of the Batavia Society for Arts and Sciences) between 1910 and 1913.^[2] Even though he faced some difficulties in ascertaining certain historical data, his studies do provide insights into the concept of the wali sanga in contemporary Java. Now, in traditional Javanese historiography, Shaykh Abdul Muhyi is never identified as one of the wali sanga, living as he did at least one century after them. It is curious then that Rinkes’ studies open with a description of the tomb of Shaykh Abdul Muhyi, the founder of the Shattariyyah in West Java. Rinkes gives us no clue as to why he took up the episode of Shaykh Abdul Muhyi first. In his further failure to provide clues about when and how the Shattariyyah came to Pamijahan, Rinkes overlooks one of the most important aspects of any account of the order’s relationship to its shrines, the written evidence.

There are few written sources referring to the existence of Shaykh Abdul Muhyi. The oldest manuscript found in Pamijahan only states his genealogy. Nor is there any dating associated with him in this chronicle. Kraus (1995), the only contemporary scholar to pay attention to the figure of Abdul Muhyi, examines the existence of the Shaykh from a primarily historical point of view. Based on his research employing Dutch sources, Kraus concludes:

Krauss relies on secondary sources in claiming that Shaykh Abdul Muhyi must have lived during the period of ‘Abd al-Raûf, Shaykh Yusûf and the local Sundanese figure of the Bupati of Sukapura (see Chapter 4). Even accepting Krauss’ arguments, we still need additional sources to bring this figure “down to earth”. In other words, as long as the original works written by Abdul Muhyi himself have not been found, he stands as half-myth and half-history. Nevertheless, Krauss speculates that the Shaykh lived between 1640 and 1715. In support of this he refers to Dutch sources which identify the Shaykh as a “hajj from Carang” and friend of the famous rebel, Shaykh Yusuf (1626–1699).^[3] Krauss further claims that Shaykh Yusuf wrote a manuscript dedicated to Shaykh Abdul Muhyi. Finally, he cites sources from a local authority in Tasikmalaya (Sukapura) mentioning the Shaykh’s existence. So given these facts, Shaykh Abdul Muhyi emerges as a real man, but one clouded by the absence of works clearly in his own hand.

It is interesting to note that Krauss assumes that every wali like the Shaykh must have bequeathed written material yet to be located. Of course, we should receive this statement with care, since various factors influence the tradition of writing in Java. A collection of manuscripts can disappear not only because of adverse political factors but also because of mere climatic conditions.

According to villagers of Pamijahan, there are external factors why original works written by their ancestor cannot be found. In the 17^th century many kiai came home from the hâjj and were unable to set up their own lodges in urban areas. Some of them retreated to remote areas of the countryside. Colonial control of the hâjj network was very strong, particularly after Dutch troops were able to capture the northern port sultanates of Banten and Cirebon and later most of the interior of the Priangan. Some kiai, including Shaykh Abdul Muhyi, were recognized as supporters of rebellion. In such circumstances, it is feasible that Abdul Muhyi might have transmitted his teachings not through written texts, as did Hamzah Fansuri and Nûr al-Dîn al-Raniri but through practical exemplary behaviour. It is important to consider Abdul Muhyi’s teaching method within traditional institutions such as those in which ulama and ajengan deliver their teachings through oral discourse and practical applications. (Dhofier 1980:55) It is also easily possible to imagine how very difficult it must have been for Abdul Muhyi to introduce his teachings in a written form in the remote and backward setting of Pamijahan in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Certain areas of the interior of West Java have experienced long periods of war and rebellion. A great number of cultural artefacts were destroyed or taken away to other places. During the 1960s for example, when Islamic separatism threatened the Tasikmalaya area, a number of Hindu relics and other pre-Islamic artefacts were deliberately destroyed. Many statues in West Java lost their important identifying points of iconography such as heads or hands. One of my informants in the field recited similar stories regarding various artefacts associated with Shaykh Abdul Muhyi. According to him, in the period close to the wali’s lifetime not only manuscripts, amulets and magically charged daggers (kris) were lost but a sacred mosque containing various manuscripts relating to the Shaykh was also burned.

We should also consider that there were periods when the Shattariyyah teachings were probably abandoned by adherents under pressure from the spread of other popular tarekat such as the Naqshbandiyyah, Qâdiriyyah, Tîjâniyyah and Idrîsiyyah. Mama Ajengan Satibi, a descendant of Shaykh Abdul Muhyi explained to me that he had manuscripts conveying the Shaykh’s teaching which he had never read, because he was not a follower of the Shattariyyah, the very Sufi order introduced to area by his ancestor.

Written materials can decay in a short time due to the unfriendly tropical climate, while the method of collection and storage of manuscripts by villagers leaves much to be desired. Accordingly, the apparent lack of the Shaykh’s own works does not necessarily put his existence into question.

I found almost thirty manuscripts from various places in Java recognising Abdul Muhyi as a Shattariyyah master (see Chapter 3). Most of these manuscripts had been copied by his followers. According to the family of the Shaykh in Pamijahan, his pupils often made copies of mystical works after he had initiated them as disciples. These pupils also put their own names in the silsilah after the master’s name. This custom is consistently mentioned in Shattariyyah manuscripts dedicated to the Shaykh. In fact, according to the villagers, a Shattariyyah manuscript which does not provide a silsilah in its opening is not to be recognized as genuine.