The spirituaI essence of tawhid (oneness-peerlessness)in zapin dance performance by the beholders of the tariqat naqsabandiah in Southeast Asia

• Main Author: Md. Nor, M.A.
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: AC Collections. Series. Collected works
• Online Access: http://eprints.um.edu.my/10677/1/the_spritual.pdf; http://eprints.um.edu.my/10677/
• Institution: Universiti Malaya

Tariqat Naqsabandiyah is one of Southeast Asia's leading Tariq or 'way' ofthe shari 'at. The word sharia 't literally means "the road to the watering place", symbolizing the broad way in which mankind must travel in order to find God. A Sufi practice, the Tariqat Naqsabandiyah (from the original Naqshabandis of Central Asia) utilizes dhikr (remembrance of the divine names or verses of the Koran) that are often accompanied by physical movement to achieve ecstatic state. It plays an important role in sustaining Malay-Islamic traditional performance practices as a form of mute dhikr, essential in seeking the realm of the altered other. This paper will discuss the above through the study of Tariqat Naqsabandiyah's use of Malay-Islamic traditional music and dance as mute dhikr in Southeast Asia.