Tradisi Mangaji Kubur pada Masyarakat Muslim Desa Aloban, Padang Lawas Utara

Studi Living Qur’an tentang Konstruksi Makna Pengiriman Pahala kepada Mayit

Abstract

The Mangaji Kubur tradition is a practice of Qur’anic recitation beside a grave that continues to be preserved by the Muslim community of Aloban Village, North Padang Lawas Regency. This study aims to analyze its implementation and construction of meaning as a Living Qur’an phenomenon. This qualitative field study employed a phenomenological approach. Data were collected from April to July 2026 through participant observation, in-depth interviews, and documentation involving 13 purposively selected informants comprising religious leaders, customary leaders, Qur’anic reciters, bereaved family members, and youth representatives. The data were analyzed using Moustakas’ phenomenological procedures combined with the interactive model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña. The findings show that the community receives the Qur’an performatively and functionally through the recitation of al-Fātiḥah, all 30 juz’ of the Qur’an, the completion of the recitation, and prayers dedicating religious merit to the deceased. The recitation begins at the bereaved family’s home and continues in shifts beside the grave for three days and three nights with the support of the Dalihan Na Tolu kinship system. The tradition is interpreted as the dedication of religious merit to the deceased, an expression of birr al-wālidayn, a continuation of spiritual relationships, consolation for the bereaved family, and reinforcement of social solidarity. Therefore, Mangaji Kubur represents a spatial-temporal and relational form of Living Qur’an reception that manifests the Qur’an as the center of the community’s religious practices, spiritual experiences, and social relationships.