The Dialectics of Ratib Samman Practices in Pulau Tengah, Kerinci Regency: A Living Qur'an Study

Abstract

This study examines how the Ratib Samman tradition is preserved and contested through Qur'anic interpretation in Pulau Tengah, Kerinci, Indonesia. Using a qualitative Living Qur'an approach, data were drawn from four personal interviews, local written documentation, observations, and relevant literature. The findings reveal that Ratib Samman, locally known as lataik goak, serves as a collective devotional practice that strengthens spiritual commitment, communal solidarity, and religious identity. Practitioners invoke Qur'an 3:191 to explain standing dhikr, whereas critical arguments emphasize humility and moderation in remembrance through Qur'an 7:205, Qur'an 17:110, and hadith. These interpretations reveal a distinction between the general scriptural encouragement of dhikr and the justification of specific ritual procedures. Local historical narratives also contain chronological inconsistencies requiring further verification. The study contributes to Living Qur'an scholarship by showing how inherited religious authority, community experience, and competing scriptural interpretations shape the continuity and contestation of a local Islamic religious tradition.