Musicological analysis of the recitation of Surah Al-Fatiha in the musically-performed congregational worship

Abstract

The Qur’anic recitation with melodious vocals and melodies has a significant role in implementing congregational prayers in a mosque. Musical recitation by a competent Imam can increase the worshipers’ comfort during the prayers. However, little is known to the general public about what is behind the beautiful recited voice. Some Muslims believe that the recitation of the Qur’an in prayer could not be included as music, even though some musicological aspects support its aesthetics. Although the artistic significance of the Qur’an’s recitation is not uncommon among Muslims and even contested openly, the musicological aspects of its recitation in congregational prayer rarely be discussed. The problem discussed in this study is what underlies the recitation of a trained Imam so that the worshippers sincerely feel comfort in following the congregational. This study aims to identify the scale modes within recited Qur’anic verses by the Imam during the congregational prayer at the Jogokariyan Mosque in Yogyakarta. This research uses qualitative methods with a participating observation as its approach. The analysis unit of this study is the Al-Fatiha Chapter recitation by one of the best Imams of the mosque while leading the congregational prayers during the month of Ramadhan this year. Data disclosure uses musicological analysis involving field data recording transcription and theoretical methods. The research stage includes the field research process, transcription from the Qur’anic reading by the subject, theoretical analysis, and formulating findings. This study has resulted in an array of knowledge concerning the Imams and Muadzin management system and the characteristics of the Qur’anic recitation performed by the research subject. From a Western musicological perspective, the music transcription showed varieties of Qur’anic recitation tunes produced by the Imam within the framework of major and minor scale modes. The Imam clarified that the recitation implemented Islamic music theory known as maqam types. In conclusion, the Bayati maqam applied by the Imam resembles the Phrygian Mode of Medieval mode. Meanwhile, the Hijaz maqam resembles the Phrygian Dominant scale. Implication: While for some circles of Islamic society, music is controversial in reality, many valued aspects of Islamic religious activities can contribute to the development of musicological studies.

Keywords

• Islamic music
• maqam
• musical mode
• musicology
• Qur’anic recitation

References

1. Abdullah, W.H.W., Sakat, A.A., Mohamad, S., & Jamsari, E.A. (2014). Meaning-Based Tarannum: Preliminary Research on Uslub Qira’ah of Sheikh Muhammad Rif’at (1880- 1950). Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research, 20(12), 2172–2176.
2. Akhmedova, F.M., Kornilov, A.A., & Orekhov, A. A. (2021). The Qur’an reciting competitions in the Nizhny Novgorod Region (2005–2021). Islam in the Modern World, 17(2), 119–140. https://doi.org/10.22311/2074-1529-2021- 17-2-119-140
3. al-Fārūqī, I.R., & al-Fārūqī, L.L. (1986). Handasah al sawt or the art of sound. In The Cultural Atlas of Islam. Macmillan.
4. Anjarnawi. (2019). Teknik vokal Qori’ah Ustadzah Nurhamidah dalam seni tilawatil Qur’an sebagai pemenang pertama pada lomba MTQ di kota Binjai tahun 1991 (Vocal technique of Qori’ah Ustadzah Nurhamidah in Qur’anic tilawatil art as the first winner in MTQ competition at Binjai city in 1991). Grenek Music Journal, 8(1), 1–11. https:// doi.org/10.24114/grenek.v8i1.13021
5. Apel, W. (1961). The notation of polyphonic music, 900–1600, fifth edition. In The Medieval Academy of America, Publication No. 38. Medieval Academy of America. https://ia600306.us.archive. org/28/items/notationofpolyph00apel/ notationofpolyph00apel.pdf
6. Askafi, E., & Sukamtono, A. (2019). STAR 3G 7S. 2019 International Conference of Interdisciplinary Sciences, 16, 113–118.
7. Bamu, B., de Schauwer, E., & van Hove, G. (2016). I can’t say I wasn’t anticipating it, but I didn’t see it coming in this magnitude: A qualitative fieldwork experience in the North West Region of Cameroon. Qualitative Report, 21(3), 571–583. https://doi. org/10.46743/2160-3715/2016.2217
8. Boulos, I. (2019). Inside Arabic music: Arabic maqam performance and theory in the 20th century. By Johnny Farraj and Sami Abu Shumays. Music and Letters, 102(1), 171– 172. https://doi.org/10.1093/ml/gcab018

9. Britannica, T.E. of E. (2016). church mode. In Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www. britannica.com/art/church-mode
10. Britannica, T.E. of E. (2020). Musicology | Definition, History, & Scope. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/ art/musicology
11. Burns, R.B. (2000). Introduction to research methods. Longman. https://doi. org/10.1046/j.1365-2648.2001.2045a.x
12. Butina, M. (2015). A narrative approach to qualitative inquiry. American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science, 28(3), 190–196. https://doi.org/10.29074/ascls.28.3.190
13. Danielson, V., Marcus, S., & Reynolds, D. (2002). The Middle East. In The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music (Vol. 6, pp. 145–230). Routledge.
14. Day-O’Connell, J. (2009). Debussy, pentatonicism, and the tonal tradition. Music Theory Spectrum, 31(2), 225–261. https://doi.org/10.1525/mts.2009.31.2.225
15. Denny, F.M. (1989). Qur’an recitation: A tradition of oral performance and transmission. Oral Tradition, 4(1–2), 5–26. https://hdl.handle.net/10355/65410
16. Dezellynda, D. (2019). Muhammad Vickry, hafiz muda yang banyak digandrungi netizen (Muhammad Vickry, a young hafidz who is loved by many netizens). Keepo. https:// keepo.me/celeb/muhammad-vickry--hafiz- muda-yang-banyak-digandrungi-netizen/
17. Faizin, M. (2022). Keutamaan dan Hukum Shalat Berjamaah (The Virtue and Law of Congregational Prayer). NU Online. https:// islam.nu.or.id/shalat/keutamaan-dan- hukum-shalat-berjamaah-BGobi
18. Fajerial, E. (2019). Alim tapi tetap ngehits, inilah 9 hafiz muda yang populer di tanah air. (Pious but remains hits: here are the nine young hafiz who are popular in the country.) IDN Times Jatim. https://jatim.idntimes. com/hype/entertainment/edwin-fajerial/9- hafiz-muda-populer-tanah-air-alim-tapi- tetap-ngehits-c1c2-regional-jatim?page=all
19. Farihah, U.H. (2021). Upaya Peningkatan kemampuan membaca al Qur’an indah dengan metode tilawati (An effort at the Qur’anic beautiful reading by using the tilawati method). Atthiflah: Journal of Early Childhood Islamic Education, 8(1), 69–85. https://jurnal.staidagresik.ac.id/index. php/atthiflah/article/view/192/120
20. Fetters, E., & Christensen, T. (2007). The Cambridge history of Western music theory. Music Educators Journal, 93(4), 18. https:// doi.org/10.1177/002743210709300405
21. Fina, L.I.N. (2021). Studying the Qur’an in the Context of Indonesian Islamic Higher Education. Method and Theory in the Study of Religion, 33(2), 139–161. https://doi. org/10.1163/15700682-12341508
22. Gerring, J. (2017). Qualitative methods. Annual Review of Political Science, 20, 15–36. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev- polisci-092415-024158
23. Greer, T.A. (1998). Seeger’s vision of musicology. In a question of balance: Charles Seeger’s Philosophy of Music (pp. 185–222). The University of California Press.
24. Hanan, A. (2019). Living Qur’an of Kempekan at Pesantren Babakan Ciwaringin, Cirebon: Transmission and Transformation of the Qur’an Recitation. Journal of Research (Jurnal Penelitian), 16(1), 15–24.
25. Harrison, D. (2006). The Oxford history of Western music. Journal of Music Theory, 50(1), 128–139. https://doi. org/10.1215/00222909-2008-011
26. Hasan, M.A.K. (2020). Al-Tahāwī’s method towards the variety of qiraāt in tafsir ahkām al-Qur’ān and its implication to istinbāt al-ahkām. Journal of Qur’anic Studies and Hadith Sciences, 21(2), 93–112. https://doi. org/10.14421/qh.2021.2201-05
27. Ifati, S., Tugasworo, D., & Pudjonarko, D. (2019). Pengaruh bacaan murottal al- Qur’an yang diperdengarkan pada pasien stroke iskemik akut terhadap luaran klinis (The effect of holy Qur’an hearing on clinical outcomes in acute ischemic stroke). Neurona, 36(3), 161–169. https://doi. org/10.52386/neurona.v36i3.70
28. Indonesia, D.A.R. (1971). Al-Qur’an dan Terjemahnya (The Qur’an and its translation). Internet Archive. https:// archive.org/details/alqurandanterjemahnya
29. Indrawan, A. (2004). Dampak Sikap Sufi terhadap Musik-musik Tradisi relijius Islamis di Indonesia (The impact of sufi view point on islamic religious traditions in Indonesia). The Arts: Journal of Knowledge and Creation of the Art (Seni: Jurnal Pengetahuan dan Penciptaan Seni), 10(2), 132–147. http:// digilib.isi.ac.id/5397/
30. Indrawan, A. (2010). Selawatan pada kultur dan subkultur pesantren tradisional: Kajian representasi tradisi musikal relijius mawlid dan Ttansformasinya di daerah istimewa Yogyakarta (The selawatan in traditional pesantren culture and subculture: a study of the representation of mawlid religious traditions and their transformation in the special region of Yogyakarta). Doctoral Dissertation, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. http://digilib.isi. ac.id/5521/
31. Indrawan, A. (2011a). Musik di dunia Islam: sebuah perspektif historikal musikologis (Music in the world of Islam: a musicological- historic perspective). Fenomen, 7(8), 1–23. http://digilib.isi.ac.id/5522/
32. Indrawan, A. (2011b). Selawatan Pesantren di Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta sebagai seni musik. Seminar Fakultas 2011: Spirit Pergerakan Dan Pergeseran Seni Pertunjukan Di Dalam Peningkatan Kualitas Keilmuan Dan Kesenian Masa Kini Di Indonesia (Spirit of Movement and Shift in Performing Arts in Improving the Quality of Present Science and Art in Indonesia). http://digilib.isi. ac.id/7666/
33. Indrawan, A. (2019). Perjalanan sang diatonis: dari Pythagoras sampai multi media (The diatonic journey: from Pythagoras to multi-media). In Sunarto (Ed.), Musik dalam Perspektif (Pustaka Musikologi, pp. 181–203). Thafamedia. http://digilib.isi.ac.id/5168/
34. Karpychev, M. (2021). On art contents of maqam. Ideas and Ideals, 13(4–2), 384–399.
35. Kunst, J. (1959). Ethnomusicology. Martinus Nijhoff.
36. Leu, B. (2020). Pembelajaran tahsin tilawah al-Qur’an untuk pembaca pemula (Learning the tahsin of Qur’anic tilawah for novice readers). Ilmuna: Jurnal Studi Pendidikan Agama Islam (Ilmuna: Journal of Islamic Religious Education Studies), 2(2), 134–154. https://doi.org/10.54437/ilmuna.v2i2.159
37. Linares, A.J.C., Sánchez, J.Á.H., & Lluch, Á.C. (2022). Description of the methodology applied in a qualitative research in body expression and dance: the life and work of patricia stokoe. Retos, 45, 1–11. https:// doi.org/10.47197/retos.v45i0.91423
38. Maryam, S. (2018). Shalat Dalam Perspektif Imam Al-Ghazali (Kajian Sufistik) (The Shalat Based on Imam al Ghazali’s Perspective (Sufistic Study)). Al-Fikrah: Jurnal Studi Ilmu Pendidikan Dan Keislaman (Al-Fikrah: Journal of Education and Islamic Studies), 1(2), 106–113. https://jurnal.alhamidiyah. ac.id/index.php/al-fikrah/article/view/38
39. Masrurin, ’Ainatu. (2019). Murattal dan mujawwad al-Qur’an di media sosial (The murattalandthemujawwadoftheal-Qur’an in social-media). Jurnal Studi Ilmu-Ilmu Al- Qur’an Dan Hadis (Journal of the Study of the Sciences of the Qur’an and Hadith), 19(2), 188–202. https://doi.org/10.14421/ qh.2018.1902-04
40. Maurer, J. A. (1998). Music in the World of Islam: handasah al sawt. November. https:// ccrma.stanford.edu/~blackrse/islam.html
41. McClary, S. (2015). Mode. In A. Rehding & S. Rings (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Critical Concepts in Music Theory (pp. 61–77). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/ oxfordhb/9780190454746.013.31
42. Morettini, B. W. (2019). Understanding narrative inquiry. The Journal of Educational Research, 112(5), 641–641. https://doi.org/ https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2019.16 39449
43. Mssraty, T., & Faryadi, Q. (2012). Teaching the Qur’anic recitation with harakatt: A multimedia-based interactive learning Method. International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, 3(8), 1–4.
44. Myers, H. (1992). Fieldwork. In Ethnomusicology: an Introduction (pp. 21– 49). The Macmillan Press.
45. Nasikin, M. (2017). Memakmurkan masjid melalui gerakan shalat berjama’ah di desa Parampuan kecamatan Labuapi kabupaten Lombok barat (Prospering mosques through the congregational prayer movement in Parampuan village, Labuapi district, Western Lombok regency). El-Tsaqafah: Journal of Arabic Language Education Department (El-Tsaqafah: Jurnal Jurusan PBA), 16(1), 93–102. https://journal.uinmataram.ac.id/ index.php/eltsaqafah/article/view/433
46. Neubauer, E., & Doubleday, V. (2001). Islamic religious music. In The New Grove Dictionary of Music | Grove Music Online (Vol. 1). Oxford University Press. [available at http://www. oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/ grove/music/52787]
47. Olaluwoye, T., Hoban, E., Connors, P., & Williams, J. (2022). Sexual violence against men in conflict and post-conflict settings: a qualitative research methodology. American Journal of Men’s Health, 16(2), 1–10. https:// doi.org/10.1177/15579883221084496
48. Porter, L. (1985). John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme”: jazz improvisation as composition. Journal of the American Musicological Society, 38(3), 593–621. https://doi.org/10.2307/831480
49. Postovoitova, S. (2021). “Modal preludes and fugues in C” by Borislava Stronko: specific use of modal technology. Scientific Herald of Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine, 2021(130), 89–104. https://doi. org/10.31318/2522-4190.2021.130.231204
50. Purnama, Y. (2021). Fikih Shalat: Membaca Al Fatihah Dalam Shalat (To Read Al-Fatiha in Prayer). https://muslim.or.id/20283- membaca-Al-Fatiha-dalam-shalat-1.html
51. Risser, R.E. (2018). Qur’anic recitation and the aesthetics of piety. Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 76(3), 309–318. https:// doi.org/10.1111/jaac.12578
52. Rizalludin, A. (2019). Implementasi metode talaqqi dalam pembelajaran Tahsin dan Tahfiz al-Qur’an (The implementation of talaqqi method in the Tahsin and Tahfiz al Qur’an learning). Khazanah Pendidikan Islam (Islamic Education Treasury), 1(1), 33–37. https://doi.org/10.15575/kp.v1i1.7138
53. Santoso, M., Baidan, N., & Muttaqin, Z. (2020). Learning management of tahfidz al-Qur’an program modern Pesantren of Indonesia. European Journal of Molecular \& Clinical Medicine, 7(8), 251–261.
54. Savran, T., & Turabi, A.H. (2021). Kur’ân tilâvetinde teğannî (“Taghanni” in Qur’ân recitation). Journal of The Near East University Islamic Research Center, 7(2), 305–338. https://doi.org/10.32955/neu. istem.2021.7.2.02
55. Seeger, A. (1992). Ethnography of music. In Ethnomusicology; an Introduction (pp. 88– 109). The Macmillan Press.
56. Seim, J. (2021). Participant observation, observant participation, and hybrid ethnography. Sociological Methods and Research, 1-32. https://doi. org/10.1177/0049124120986209
57. Shahriar, S., & Tariq, U. (2021). Classifying Maqams of Qur’anic Recitations using Deep Learning. IEEE Access, 9, 117271- 117281. https://doi.org/10.1109/ access.2021.3098415
58. Shiloah, A. (1981). The Arabic concept of mode. Journal of the American Musicological Society, 34(1), 19–42. https:// doi.org/10.2307/831033
59. Shumays, S.A. (2013). Maqam analysis: a primer. Music Theory Spectrum, 35(2), 235–255. https://doi.org/10.1525/ mts.2013.35.2.235
60. Sühring, P., & Chrysander, F. (2022). Jahrbücher für Musikalische Wissenschaft (Leipzig, 1863-1867) (Yearbooks for Musical Science (Leipzig, 1863-1867)) - a book review. Retrospective Index to Music Periodical (RIPM). https://www.ripm. org/?page=JournalInfo&ABB=JMW
61. Sulasman, S., & Ainusyamsi, F.Y. (2014). Islam, seni musik, dan pendidikan nilai di Pesantren (Islam, musical arts, and value education in the Pesantren). Panggung: Jurnal Seni Budaya (Stage: Journal of Cultural Arts), 24(3). https://doi.org/10.26742/panggung. v24i3.120
62. Suryati, S., Simatupang, G.R.L.L., & Ganap, V. (2018). Ornamentasi seni baca al-Qur’an dalam musabaqoh tilawatil Qur’an sebagai bentuk ekspresi estetis seni suara. (Ornamentation the art of Qur’anic recitation in musabaqoh tilawatil Qur’an as a form of aesthetic expression of the art of sound). Resital: Jurnal Seni Pertunjukan (Recital: Journal of Performing Art), 17(2), 67–74. https://doi.org/10.24821/resital. v17i2.2219
63. TafsirWeb, T.E. (n.d.). Surat Al-Fatiha: Arab, Latin dan Artinya (The al-Fatiha Chapter: Arabic, Latin, and Its Meaning). tafsirweb. com. https://tafsirweb.com/37082-surat- Al-Fatiha.html
64. Valls, R., Serradell, O., Campdepadrós, R., & de Botton, L. (2022). Qualitative methodology innovation that promotes eucational success of children of immigrant families in disadvantaged contexts. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 21. https:// doi.org/10.1177/16094069221078735
65. Vickry, M. (n.d.). Muhammad Vickry - Channel. YouTube. https://www.youtube. com/channel/UCEClPFr4ULoLyAsWl5NteUA
66. Waters, K. (2000). What is modal jazz? Jazz Educators Journal, 33(1), 53–55. https:// www.proquest.com/docview/1368405?pq-or igsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true
67. Yöre, S. (2012). Maqam in music as a concept, scale and phenomenon. Zeitschrift Für Die Welt Der Türken (Journal of World of Turks), 4(3), 267–286.
68. Zulfikar, Z. (2021). Kajian hadis tentang hukum membaca Surat Fatihah bagi makmum dalam shalat jahar (A hadith study on the law of the al-Fatiha Chapter reading for congregations in the sounded prayer). Jurnal Ilmiah Al-Mu’ashirah (The Scientific Journal of Al-Mu’ashirah), 18(2), 141–151. https:// doi.org/10.22373/jim.v18i2.11254