DOEHOENG KASOENDAN (A Soenda Perspective)

[jagabuwana]

Originally Posted by Amuk Murugul

Hullo everybody!


Notes:

- inscription appears to be Al Baqarah 2:255 NOT 2:256.(But then, I haven't used Arabic since infant school.)
- could not see any " Lam Lam Ha" inscribed on blade.

As usual, should there be any deficiencies or incorrect info, please DO let me know.

Thanks for the info, kang Amuk.

My Arabic is also rusty, but I'd like to offer an alternative. In the first horizontal photo, reading from top right I do not recognise this to be in Q2:255 , which in Islam is the Ayat al Kursi - an important prayer for many occasions but most commonly for protection against evil and, in Indonesia, for Islamic exorcism.

Instead, what I can make out is:

• Allahu akbar - meaning "God is great". This could be followed by
• La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah - meaning "There is no power or strength except (through/by) God".

Both of these phrases are adhkar (plural of dhikr) - words or utterances intended to be repeated as a way of remembering God. Kind of like a mantra. This 2nd one is informally called the hawqala.

The hawqala portion is not that clear to read so I welcome any correction. But it would make sense that this is included. The hawqala is a refrain used quite often as a way of reconciling that which could be taboo or forbidden, with mainline Islamic beliefs. There are plenty of Muslim Indonesians who believe in the idea that a keris can bring luck or blessings, or make them do extraordinary things. In most interpretations of orthodox Islam this is idolatry - everybody knows this. So the hawqala is used to reconcile the fact that the keris has powers, but all power is eventually from God (as opposed to its tuah as conferred to it by an mpu, for example).

The hawqala is not from the Qur'an - it is from recorded Prophetic narrations, which are an inseparable part of Muslim theology and practice.

The rest of the inscriptions are too unclear for me to make out. I might return to it to have a crack at another time. But I would not be surprised if it was more adhkar.

As for Lam Lam Ha - these are the last three Arabic letters that make up Allah, the first one being Alif. It is common in Muslim esotericism to find that individual letters (huruf) are used in this manner. I believe this stems from the Muqatta'at - the "disjointed letters" of the Quran that open some of its chapters. The only consensus about these letters in mainstream Sunni Islam is that they're deliberately mysterious and that only God knows what they truly mean. Obviously that's too enticing an invitation for a mystic. So esoteric Islam thereafter found ways of interpreting and using these letters to approach the sacred through hidden symbolism.