Vernacular Qur'an and the Construction of Qur'anic Cultures in Southeast Asia: Translation, Local Language, and Cultural Transmission

Randy Putra Alamsyah; Riski Suriani Lubis

Authors

Randy Putra Alamsyah Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta
Riski Suriani Lubis Institut Ilmu Al-Qur'an Jakarta

Keywords:

Vernacularization, Translation Studies, Cultural Transmission, Qur'anic Cultures, Southeast Asia

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the construction of Qur'anic cultures in Southeast Asia through the process of vernacularization, translation, and cultural transmission by taking comparative studies in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei Darussalam. The research uses a qualitative approach based on library research through analysis of scientific literature, books, journal articles, official documents, and relevant research results. The analysis was carried out with a comparative approach to identify similarities, differences, and patterns of the formation of Qur'anic culture in the three countries. The results show that the vernacularization of the Qur'an is a process of language adaptation that allows the messages of the Qur'an to be understood in the context of local culture without eliminating the authority of the Arabic text as the main source of revelation. Indonesia shows a pluralistic and community-based model of vernacularization, Malaysia develops an institutionalized model through state policies, while Brunei Darussalam builds a Qur'anic culture that is integrated with the ideology of Malay Islamic Monarchy (MIB). This study also found that translation functions as a process of negotiating meaning between sacred texts and local cultures, while cultural transmission through education, rituals, media, and religious institutions is the main mechanism for inheriting Qur'anic values. The main contribution of this research is the development of a conceptual model that integrates Vernacularization Theory, Translation Studies, and Cultural Transmission Theory to explain the process of cultural construction of the Qur'an in Southeast Asia. The model shows that Qur'anic culture is formed through a continuous relationship between language adaptation, translation, cultural transmission, and the formation of religious identity and social practices of Muslim societies.

References

Alamsyah, Randy Putra, and Daud Lintang. ‘Cultural Integration and Political Consciousness in Qur’anic Exegesis: A Study of the Tafsīr Al-Qur’ān Al-Karīm by Binjai’s Ulama Tiga Serangkai’. Fikri: Jurnal Kajian Agama, Sosial Dan Budaya 10, no. 1 (2025): 355–67. https://journal.iaimnumetrolampung.ac.id/index.php/jf/article/view/6161.

Amini, Hanifah, Randy Putra Alamsyah, Dedi Masri, and Mariam Ahmed Zanan Alzahrani. ‘Rethinking the Qur’an’s Literary Evolution: Nicolai Sinai’s Approach to Inner-Qur’anic Chronology’. Mutawatir : Jurnal Keilmuan Tafsir Hadith 14, no. 2 (December 2024): 368–91. https://doi.org/10.15642/mutawatir.2024.14.2.368-391.

Assmann, Jan. Cultural Memory and Early Civilization: Writing, Remembrance, and Political Imagination. Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Azra, Azyumardi. Jaringan Ulama: Timur Tengah Dan Kepulauan Nusantara. Jakarta: Logos Wacana Ilmu, 2002.

Bourdieu, Pierre. The Logic of Practice. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1990.

Bowen, Glenn A. ‘Document Analysis as a Qualitative Research Method’. Qualitative Research Journal 9, no. 2 (2009): 27–40. https://doi.org/10.3316/QRJ0902027.

Creswell, J. W. Desain Penelitian Kualitatif, Kuantitatif, Dan Pendekatan Campuran. Edited by 8. 2018. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429469237-3.

Geertz, Clifford. The Interpretation of Cultures. New York: Basic Books, 1973.

Hefner, R. W. Islam and Citizenship in Indonesia (Politics in Asia). Routledge, 2023.

Lintang, Daud, Kombang Tua Siregar, and Randy Putra Alamsyah. ‘Circulation of the Book of Al-Tuhfah Al-Mursalah Ila Ruh Al-Nabi: Translocality Study and Its Impact on Aceh’s Muslim Community’. Hayula: Indonesian Journal of Multidisciplinary Islamic Studies 9, no. 1 (January 2025): 81–98. https://doi.org/10.21009/hayula.009.01.05.

Masri, Dedi, and Randy Putra Alamsyah. ‘Force Majeure in Abortion: A Review of Ulama Fatwas and Indonesian Health Law’. Malaysian Journal of Syariah and Law 14, no. 1 (April 2026): 61–76. https://doi.org/10.33102/mjsl.vol14no1.1179.

Masri, Dedi, Randy Putra Alamsyah, and Muhammad Azizan Sabjan. ‘Vernacularization of The Interpretation of The Qur’an Al-Karim by The Ulama Tiga Serangkai (Abdul Halim Hasan, Abdurrahim al-Haitami, and Zainul Arifin Abbas)’. ZAD Al-Mufassirin 8, no. 1 (June 2026): 621–47. https://doi.org/10.55759/zam.v8i1.409.

Milner, Anthony. The Malays. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, 2008.

———. The Malays. John Wiley & Sons, 2011.

Mursalim, Mursalim, Fuad Fansuri, Muhammad Zakir Bin Husain, and Abdul Muiz Amir. ‘The Vernacularization of Quran Interpretation in Bugis Land’. Mashdar: Jurnal Studi Al-Qur’an Dan Hadis 6, no. 1 (2024): 75–92. https://doi.org/10.15548/mashdar.v6i1.7826.

Muttaqin, Fakih Fadilah, Aris Munandar, Endang Susanti, Yamil Hassan Rozo Gutierrez, and Farman Riaz. ‘Cultural Diplomacy in Global Governance: Reimagining Indonesia’s Soft Power Through Nahdlatul Ulama’s Islam Nusantara Paradigm’. JURNAL INDO-ISLAMIKA 15, no. 1 (June 2025): 77–92. https://doi.org/10.15408/jii.v15i1.47006.

Nida, Eugene Albert, and Charles Russell Taber. The Theory and Practice of Translation. Brill Archive, 1982.

Pollock, Sheldon. The Language of the Gods in the World of Men: Sanskrit, Culture, and Power in Premodern India. Amerika Serikat: University of California Press, 2006.

Ricci, Ronit. Islam Translated: Literature, Conversion, and the Arabic Cosmopolis of South and Southeast Asia. Amerika Serikat: University of Chicago Press, 2011.

Venuti, Lawrence. The Translator’s Invisibility: A History of Translation. Third edition. Routledge Translation Classics. New York: Routledge, 2018. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315098746.