The Smarāgamā as Dialogical Theology
Hindu-Islamic Convergence in Bali
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37329/jpah.v10i3.5356Keywords:
Dialogical Theology, Balinese Hinduism, Hindu-Islamic Convergence, Smarāgamā TextAbstract
This study examines the articulation of Islamic and Hindu theological concepts in the Smarāgamā, a Balinese lontar manuscript that reflects interreligious encounters in pre-modern Bali. While previous studies on Hindu-Muslim relations in Bali have largely focused on sociological practices and cultural coexistence, the theological and textual dimensions of these encounters remain critically underexplored. Drawing on the scholarly transliteration and translation edition by Manuaba et al., (2017) as its primary source, this research employs qualitative textual and contextual analysis to investigate how key Islamic concepts, Allah, makrifat, and hakikat are systematically articulated within a Hindu Śaiva metaphysical framework. The findings reveal that Smarāgamā does not position Islam and Hinduism as competing systems; rather, it constructs a dialogical theological framework in which Islamic Sufi epistemology and Hindu Śaiva metaphysics converge through shared principles of tattwa eka (divine unity), spiritual knowledge, and ethical discipline. Four principal findings emerge from this study: first, the text constructs a shared metaphysical ground between Hyang Widhi and Allah as expressions of the same transcendent reality; second, the Islamic Sufi concepts of makrifat, hakikat, and nur function as epistemological bridges connecting Islamic and Hindu spiritual traditions through analogical rather than identical relationships; third, the text develops an interreligious cosmology through the internalization of Mecca as inner sacred geography and the embodiment of the Islamic prophetic tradition within the Hindu microcosmic understanding of the human body and fourth, the text foregrounds ethical conduct and inner purification as universal prerequisites for divine knowledge, transcending formal religious boundaries. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that Smarāgamā represents a localized yet intellectually sophisticated model of dialogical theology, organically emerging from within the Hindu Śaiva tradition of Bali, evidence that inclusive and dialogical interreligious perspectives have deep historical roots in Balinese intellectual heritage, with meaningful implications for comparative theology and interreligious studies in the Indonesian context.
References
Abdillah, M. H., & Khudori Soleh, A. (2023). The Concept of Insan Kamil Al-Jili and Its Relevance to Social Society Tasawuf Science Perspective. Mukaddimah: Jurnal Studi Islam, 8(2), 210-232.
Adnyana, P. E. S. (2021). Konsep Ista Dewata dalam Lontar Bhuana Sangkṣepa: Sosial Religius Hindu di Bali. Sphatika: Jurnal Teologi, 12(2), 128-140.
Arif, M. (2019). Taqlīd Ngunya Li Muslimī Pegayaman bi Bali: Taṭbīq Al-Sharī‘Ah Al-Islāmīyah Fī Baldat Al-Hindūs. Studia Islamika, 26(2), 353-387.
Arkoun, M. (2006). Islam: To Reform Or to Subvert?. London: Saqi Essentials.
Basyir, K. (2019). The “Acculturative Islam” As A Type Of Home-Grown Islamic Tradition: Religion and Local Culture in Bali. Journal of Indonesian Islam, 13(2), 326-349.
Fannani, B., Ma’arif, A. S., & Kholish, M. A. (2024). Integration of Hindu Values into Islamic Education System to Foster Tolerant Living (A Case Study at Bali Bina Insani Islamic Boarding School, Indonesia). NUR EL-ISLAM: Jurnal Pendidikan Dan Sosial Keagamaan, 11(2), 250-277.
Giri, I. M. A., & Windya, I. M. (2024). Yogākṣara Dalam Śiwa Tattwa Sebagai Laku Spiritual Untuk Mencapai Kalepasan. Jurnal Penelitian Agama Hindu, 8(1), 55-72.
Heriyanti, K., Triguna, I. B. G. Y., & Wirawan, I. G. B. (2025). Rekonstruksi Toleransi Beragama Umat Hindu dan Islam di Desa Tembok Kecamatan Tejakula Kabupaten Buleleng. Jurnal Penelitian Agama Hindu, 9(3), 31-42.
Iswanto, A., Maknun, M. L., Masfiah, U., & Wajdi, F. (2025). The Linkage Of Islamic Intellectual Traditions In Bali With Malay World. Indonesian Journal of Islam and Muslim Societies, 14(2), 203-229.
Jirnaya, I. K. (2015). Sinkretisme Hindu-Islam Dalam Mantra: Sebuah Kasus Dalam Teks Usada Manak. Adabiyyāt: Jurnal Bahasa Dan Sastra, 14(2), 282-300.
Knitter, P. F. (2008). Pengantar Teologi Agama-Agama. Yogyakarta: Penerbit Kanisius.
Kumbara, A. A. N. A., & Sutrisno, N. (2024). Kontestasi Keberagamaan Umat Hindu dan Islam Wetu Telu di Pura Lingsar Lombok Barat. Jurnal Penelitian Agama Hindu, 8(2), 157-170.
Lazuardi, M. (2019). Konsep Nur Muhammad Dalam Perspektif Ibn’Arabi: Studi Penafsiran Surah Al -Nur Ayat 35. Bachelor's thesis, Jakarta: Fakultas Ushuluddin dan Filsafat UIN Syarif Hidayatullah.
Luwih, I. M. (2025). Integrasi Nilai-Nilai Hindu Dalam Bahasa dan Sastra Bali. Kamaya: Jurnal Ilmu Agama, 8(1), 56-64.
Mannan, A. (2010). Hubungan Antara Syariat Dan Hakikat. Jurnal Dakwah Tabligh: Media Pengkajian Dakwah Dan Komunikasi Islam, 22(2), 59-75.
Manuaba, I. P. I. S. P., Manuaba, I. P. G. P. B., & Wiriawan, I. G. N. (2017). Smaragama Salinan, Alik Aksara, dan Alih Bahasa. Denpasar: Dinas Kebudayaan Provinsi Bali.
Mu’allim, A. (2023). Telaah Kritis Konsep Syariat, Tarekat, Hakikat dan Ma’rifat dalam Tasawuf. JPBB: Jurnal Pendidikan, Bahasa Dan Budaya, 2(3), 151-174.
Nasr, S. H. (2007). Islamic Science: An Illustrated Study. London: World of Islam Festival Publishing Company.
Pidada, I. B. J. S. N. (2013). Wacana Islami Dalam Teks Kesusastraan Bali Tradisional. Denpasar: Universitas Udayana.
Poniman, P. (2019). Hakikat Budaya Jawa Kaitannya dengan Agama Hindu di Bali. Sanjiwani: Jurnal Filsafat, 10(1), 1-13.
Putra, R. P. (2023). Awal Penyebaran dan Perkembangan Agama Islam di Pulau Bali. Jurnal Keislaman, 6(1), 41-49.
Ramdhani, F. Z., Busro, B., & Wasik, A. (2020). The Hindu-Muslim Interdependence: A Study Of Balinese Local Wisdom. Walisongo: Jurnal Penelitian Sosial Keagamaan, 28(2), 195-218.
Renawati, P. W. (2014). Perpaduan Kebudayaan Hindu-Islam dalam Babad Pura Langgar di Desa Bunutin, Kabupaten Bangli, Bali. Buletin Al-Turas, 20(1), 1-12.
Subawa, I. M. P. (2022). Mengurai Kembali Peta Perkembangan Agama Hindu di Bali dan Nusantara. Sphatika: Jurnal Teologi, 13(2), 150-161.
Sudarsana, I. M. (2024). Conservation of Hindu Religious Lontar Manuscripts Through Lontar Digitization Website Information System in Tabanan Regency. Jurnal Penelitian Agama Hindu, 8(4), 535-547.
Surada, I. M., Sudarma, I. W., & Miswantom, M. (2021). Sārasamuccaya dan Terjemahannya. Jakarta: Direktorat Jenderal Bimbingan Masyarakat Hindu Kementerian Agama Republik Indonesia.
Suryosumunar, J. A. Z. (2021). Komparasi Terhadap Konsep Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam Dan Ukhuwah Insanniyah: Implementasinya Dalam Menjaga Kerukunan Pasca Konflik Antar Umat Beragama Di Kota Mataram. Jurnal Penelitian Agama Hindu, 5(3), 158-173.
Tebba, S. (2004). Kecerdasan Sufistik Jembatan Menuju Makrifat. Jakarta: Kencana.
Wisarja, I. K., & Sudarsana, I. K. (2023). Tracking The Factors Causing Harmonious Hindu-Islamic Relations in Bali. Cogent Social Sciences, 9(2), 1-13.
Zoetmulder, P. J., & Robson, S. O. (2011). Kamus Jawa Kuna Indonesia. Jakarta: PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Ida Bagus Subrahmaniam Saitya, Lalu Usman Ali, Mawardi Saleh, Made Wahyu Mahendra
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
An author who publishes in the Jurnal Penelitian Agama Hindu agrees to the following terms:
- Author retains the copyright and grants the journal the right of first publication of the work simultaneously licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal
- Author is able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book) with the acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Author is permitted and encouraged to post his/her work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of the published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Read more about the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/.
