Getting To Know Halalbihalal, A Tradition That Refines Inter-even Relations

President Jokowi held a halalbilahal in the form of an open house for Eid at the State Palace, Jakarta on April 10, 2024. (Special)

JAKARTA Eid al-Fitr celebrations are closely related to halalbihalal moments. This tradition is one of the reasons for someone to do the Lebaran homecoming.

Usually halalbihalal is done by visiting the homes of neighbors, relatives, and relatives during Eid al-Fitr. At this halal bihalal event, everyone forgives each other and prays together.

Halalbihalal seems to be a tradition that continues to develop, not infrequently becoming an 'open house' event, namely when a house invites people to stay in touch.

After being eliminated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the halalbihalal tradition returned to great fanfare after conditions were declared safe under control.

Halalbihalal has a long history in Indonesia. This tradition is also referred to as an Indonesian native tradition that cannot be found in other countries in the world.

It is believed that the halal bihalal tradition has existed since the Mangkunegara I period or known as Prince Sambernyawa. At that time, to save time, energy, thoughts and costs, after the Eid prayer, Prince Sambernyawa held a meeting between the king and the provinces and soldiers simultaneously at the palace hall.

At this meeting, a tradition of sunggem or mutual forgiveness was held. All extortionists and soldiers orderly carry out the sungkem to the king and the empress. What Prince Sambernyawa did was later imitated by Islamic organizations, in the term halalbihalal.

The word halalbihalal sounds like it comes from Arabic. But actually, halalbihalal does not come from Arabic, but is a tradition made in Indonesia.

The word halalbihalal has even been performed in the Big Indonesian Dictionary (KBBI). In KBBI halalbihalal means sorry-forgiving things after performing Ramadan fasting, usually held in a place (auditorium, hall, and so on) by a group of people. In addition, halalbihalal can also be interpreted as a gathering by KBBI.

It should be noted that halalbihalal activities are not present in the Al-Quran and Hadith, but both of them advocate gathering activities that must be carried out without seeing certain celebrations or moments. This means that the Quran teaches that halalbihalal is not only done during Eid al-Fitr. You could say halalbihalal is a typical tradition of Indonesian society.

A well-known Indonesian cleric, Quraish Shihab, in the book Lentera Hati (1994) said that halalbihalal activities aim to create harmony between others, even though their activities raise question marks in terms of truth and language.

"The form is typical of Indonesia, but it is essentially Islamic teachings," said Quraish Shihab.

It is not known for sure who is the pioneer of halalbihalal in Indonesia, because this activity is believed to have been going on for decades.

According to the Grand Imam of the Istiqlal Mosque, Nasaruddin in the book Menelisik Hakhat Silaturahmi (2022), this tradition began when young people at the Kauman Yogyakarta mosque were confused about looking for themes to accommodate two special moments. The two moments are the celebration of the independence of the Republic of Indonesia 1945 and the moment of Eid al-Fitr.

"How to make these two events summarized into one, then a small competition was held to find the theme to be written on the banner. At that time there were various creations to interpret the inner atmosphere of Eid al-Fitr," said Nasaruddin Umar.

Then came the idea to carry the halalbihalal theme of one of the artists. This idea is essentially to forgive each other and justify it. Through this moment, residents who had been ostracized and angered because they worked with the Dutch were asked to be forgiven.

But another opinion was conveyed by historian JJ Rizal in an article in Tempo on October 30, 2006. According to Rizal, Halalbihalal was popularized by President Sukarno after holding a gathering at the Palace inviting different ideological figures on Eid al-Fitr 1946.

According to a number of sources, this event was initiated by Kyai Wahab Chasbullah, one of the well-known scholars of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU). The Kyai introduced the term halalbihalal to Bung Karno as a form of friendship between political leaders who at that time were still in conflict.

On the advice of KH Wahab, Sukarno invited all political figures to come to the State Palace to attend the gathering given by the halalbihalal spokesman. Political figures sat on one table and began to draw up the strength and unity of the nation in the future. Since then, various government agencies during the Bung Karno administration held halalbihalal.

Regardless of when this tradition rolls and who popularizes it, halalbihalal is a good tradition that is able to link Muslim relations. At least this spirit must be maintained by the Indonesian people so that they are not divided.