The Risalah Adab al-jairin mentions explicitly the concept of mediation, or wasilah, that is central in pilgrimage. Wasilah is derived from the Arabic meaning ”to reach”, or “to come to”, ”a means”, and ”a connection”. In the Qur’an the term appears in two ayat: Surah al-Maidah 35, and Surah al-Isra 75. For some Islamic scholars the meaning of wasilah in the Qu’ran is to perform ibadah (worship) as prescribed in syari’ah. But wasilah can have other meanings. It can mean a place in paradise, as recited in the Prophetic Traditions, or Hadith. Wasilah can also mean to seek help from someone. This wasilah can be found in the Hadith as well. Finally, wasilah is a method of finding a way to God by using an absent figure. It is this practice, so common to popular Islam, that has become the focus of controversy. Persis, the Persatuan Islam, or Islamic Union, a reformist organization based in Bandung and active in West Java from 1926, promoted the scripturalist thinker Ibn Taimiyah and rejected wasilah and tawassull in this latter sense.[6] Nonetheless, for Pamijahanese, tawassul, or mediation is an attempt to build a bridge, lantaran in Sundanese, between human beings and God. Here the connection, the lantaran, is the literal translation of tawassul. Such a notion is also derived from interpretation of the verse in the Surah al-Maidah, which reads:
O ye who believe! Do your duty to God, Seek the means of approach unto Him, And strive with might and main in His cause that ye may prosper. (Qur’an 5: 35).
The Adabuljairin, the Manual of Pilgrimage, says:
The meaning of this ayat is:
“That is making a lantaran by visitation to wali who have been recognised by Allah, in short, in order to receive God’s blessing through the wali’s karamat, so that our intention will be mediated by them. Our wishes will be conveyed by the wali to Lord God the Most High. All of you have to perform pilgrimage to the tombs of the prophets, wali, and others pious Muslims because these men are given ability as if they were still alive in the world, so that for them there is no difference between being dead and alive. Their safaat, the help which they give us, is greater than before they died, and so they are able to jungkereng, or return to the phenomenal world just as if they were still alive... (Adabuljairin 2)
If we look carefully, there are three key words denoting the central issues in ‘mediation’ or ‘approach’. The first, according to the villagers, is that all conduct should be based around tawassul. Lantaran, the locals’ gloss on the Arabic term, is also a method or a bridge to achieve blessing from God. We humans should seek out a spiritual environment in order to perform tawassul rites. The purpose of pilgrimage is to bring about tawassul by visiting holy men, or wali karamat. This is explained in another part of the Risalah Adab al-jairin.
The purpose of pilgrimage (ziarah) is to create ‘a means’ (lantaran);[7] that is, a way to convey our purpose to the Rasul or to the prophets or to the wali or to pious Muslims[8] so that our wishes are granted by the Lord God. For example, we ask to strengthen our faith, or we ask (iman) for addition to our fortunes which is halal to us in service of God (ibadah), or we want to meet repayment of debts sooner, or we ask for a solution to misfortune and perplexity. These are called ‘the way to convey these wishes’ or tawassul.[9]
Ari maksudna ziarah nyaeta ngadamel lantaran, nyantelkeun maksud urang ka para Rasul atawa ka para Nabi atawa ka para Wali atawa ka para salihin supaya ngarah hasil diijabah ku Gusti Allah sapertos nyuhunkeun rizki anu halal kanggo ibadah, atanapi hoyong enggal ka taur hutang, atanapi nyuhunkeun hoyong leungit kasesah kabingung, etateh disebut tawasul (Adabuljairin 1)
Furthermore, the Risalah Adab al-jairin puts in plain words that causal effect, the lantaran, can be created by attaching (nyantelkeun) and entrusting (nitipkeun).[10] The metaphor of attaching and entrusting states explicitly how ziarah is significant. The custodian clarifies that we never delegate or nitipkeun to someone who cannot be trusted. Similarly, we never trust someone who is not willing to help. For the Pamijahanese, tawassul in this sense, is an effort to attach one’s wishes to the holiness of the Shaykh. In regard to the concept of lantaran, the locals have a popular metaphor, as told to me by an informant one evening. Lantaran is a consequence of hierarchical relations as suggested by “the story of the bupati” as follows:
“Lantaran is a kind of bridge which can bring us to our objectives. Let’s say, if we want to meet a high ranking officer or Bupati, we have to follow the protocol in his office. The Bupati can receive us in his office formally or at his guest house. However, the Bupati often rejects our schedule or proposal if we have not followed the protocol, or tata krama. If on the other hand we are close to the Bupati, he will always pay attention to us. Then we don’t need to follow formal protocol because he knows us.”
The second crucial notion associated with wasilah or tawassul, is the manifestation of jungkereng. According to the Pamijahanese, a wali never spiritually dies and he is even able to become visible in the world again, or jungkereng, as in real life. As is suggested by the Risalah Adab al-jairin, the wali is able to recognise what is happening in the village and can communicate with the inhabitants or with visitors. One villager said that when electricity first came to the village, an old man in a white turban appeared in a vision and came up to him, saying that the village would face difficulties. There was a belief in Pamijahan that the close descendants of the wali should maintain ‘proper’ behaviour, which included not installing any electronic appliances such as televisions and radios near the sacred places.
This story is related to penetration of the village by the technology of modern entertainment such as television, VCD players, and satellite antennae. But many young people have different feelings towards tradition. When electricity came to the village, a good number of them immediately installed these devices. For the elders, this alteration in life-style was disturbing. Shaykh Abdul Muhyi, as stated by the custodians, comes to the locals whenever the village is in danger and this is what he was believed to have done when he appeared.
Because a wali never dies, he is able to give syafaat (Arabic: syafi) meaning ‘help’. In turn, ziarah to the Shaykh’s tomb is of significance to the villagers and visitors. Finding benefit, or syafaat is the third concept connected with wasilah in the Risalah Adab al-jairin.
The idea of the intermediary is widely accepted in popular belief and has been influenced by sufi traditions. In sufism, the master or the shaykh is supposed to mediate for his pupils’ wishes. Students are urged to get the master’s blessings. From this point of view, it is not surprising if the villagers who claim to have inherited sufism from Shaykh Abdul Muhyi translate the concept of wasilah into the pilgrimage activities. To delegate prayer, or nyantelkeun doa, is ‘to attach doa to the holiness of the master’. Accordingly, pilgrimage to Shaykh Haji Abdul Muhyi is an accepted bridge or cukang lantaran. The Risalah Adab al-jairin also claims that ziarah practice occurs in the Prophetic Traditions known as hadith.
The Prophet (Kangjeng Rasul) also often made ziarah visits to tombs. This is clearly stated in the in the first chapter of the Hadith Muslim, page 8553. Kangjeng Rasulullah sala al-lahu alaihi wa sallam, at the end of the night, often makes devitonal visits Baqing[11] and delivers greetings to those who are buried there.
Thus, the Pamijahanese tend to invest the term tawassul or mediation with a particular meaning, that is, to formulate a means to approach God by performing pilgrimage. The Pamijahanese also perceive this practice as an acceptable bridge because the Qur’an and the hadith support it. Indeed the Pamijahanese seem to have found a way to synthesise a theological interpretation of the conception of the intermediaries with their own traditions.
However, for some the “stairway to the blessing” is not always clear. One needs a tutor and guidance to grasp it, and it is the tomb custodians, the custodian or “key bearers”, who offer assistance and lessons to the pilgrims.