Tahlil (from the Arabic tahlīl, “to declare the unity of God”) is the meritorious act of reciting the words Lā ilāha illā ‘llāh — “there is no god but Allah.” In Acheh, as throughout the Mohammedan world, this recitation forms the central element of a class of funeral observances performed for the benefit of the dead. C. Snouck Hurgronje describes the Achehnese customs connected with tahlil in his chapters on religious officials and on funeral ceremonies in The Achehnese.
Theological Foundation
According to the Mohammedan doctrine, one can perform for the benefit of the dead good works which are not obligatory, thus making over to them the recompose earned. To the ordinary uncanonized dead, the recompose of good works is devoted without any egotistical purpose, to increase their “provision for the journey to the other world.” The tahlil is the most characteristic of such good works. The custom in Acheh requires that special tahlils should be recited at fixed periods following a death, and that the teungku should officiate at these recitations if there are among those present one or more female teungkus, or women of religious learning.
The Teungku’s Role and Remuneration
The teungku profits in several ways from the Achehnese custom of employing tahlils for the benefit of the dead. Beyond his customary fees for the burial itself — which include the ija peukreng or cloth wherewith the body is dried after the ablution, and a certain sum for the tahlils — he receives a further remuneration for his help in the ceremonies which take place during the first 40 days after death. It is also not unusual for near relatives of the deceased to give, in addition, money presents to certain devout and learned men, requesting them to undertake the recital of such and such a number of tahlils for the benefit of the departed one.
The 40-Day and 100-Day Ceremonies
The tahlil recitations form the heart of the cycle of mourning observances that punctuate the first months after a death. These culminate in the great ceremonies of the fortieth day, at which a kanduri (kanduri neueng wòe jijurat) is held, and which is often combined with the pula batee or setting-up of the tombstones. Another pious work, the “merit” of which is in all Mohammedan lands devoted to the service of the dead, is the recitation of portions of the Quran; hence in many districts of Acheh professional reciters may be seen in the burial-grounds waiting for employment.
See Also
Source
The Achehnese, Vol. I, by Dr. C. Snouck Hurgronje, translated by A.W.S. O’Sullivan, indexed by R.J. Wilkinson. Leyden: E.J. Brill, 1906.