Mysticism as Popular Indonesian Entertainment
Drs. Nanang Syaikhu, M.Sc.
Lecturer at the Faculty of Da'wah and Communication Sciences of UIN Jakarta
Indonesia, as the Muslim-majority country, prefers popular entertainment like soap operas and movies with Islamic values as their main selling point. This is literally da'wa through visual media as a cinematic form of religious instruction. However, some Indonesian Muslims dismiss these as sensationalized stories that shape false public perspectives towards Islam.
But the more fundamental question is rarely confronted: Does Islam contain mysticism? If so, what qualifies as mystical, and is mysticism synonymous with the tasawuf?
My answers resist simplicity and offer criticism. Mysticism and tasawuf can overlap, but they diverge depending on the interpretive lens. The term "mysticism" (mistisme) itself is foreign to classical Islamic vocabulary; historically, it belongs to Western theological literature. Even so, mysticism functions as a universal category, describing experiences of transcendence across religions. In Islam, what Western scholars call "mysticism" aligns closely with tasawuf, or Sufism, in orientalist terminology.
Harun Nasution (2001) defined tasawuf as the pursuit of direct, conscious proximity to Allah. Mysticism, including Islamic Sufism, revolves around inner dialogue between the human soul and the Divine, cultivated through solitude, contemplation, and withdrawal. At its peak, this proximity may manifest as ittihad—union with Allah.
When Mysticism Becomes Media
This brings us back to popular culture. Can mystical Islamic films and television dramas be classified as tasawuf?
In recent years, mystical-Islamic content has been well spread in television channels and cinemas. Titles and images range from soothingly pious to blatantly terrifying, contrary to its positive religious approach. Their narrative worlds hinge on binary tensions: the worldly and the sacred, good and evil, life and death, and reward and punishment. These productions frame the human journey as fragile, vulnerable to sin, and drawn toward the abyss.
To prove that sin invites Allah's retribution, filmmakers frequently conclude their plotlines with dramatic death or supernatural torment. Yet these endings rarely provide transformation, repentance, or moral restoration. A story could easily conclude with introspection, compassion, and righteous reform. However, sensational tragedy is deemed more marketable. And when spectacle replaces meaning, labeling such works as tasawuf becomes entirely inaccurate.
Horror on Terror
In Sufism, transformation, not terror, is the hallmark of spiritual ascent. (Ihsan) righteous devotion expressed through goodness becomes the part of tasawuf. When the character ends not with panic and catastrophe but with growth, forgiveness, and a return to God, then it embodies a mystical ethic. Fear alone does not purify one soul.
Instead, many Islamic horror narratives hypnotize viewers into superstition. Instead, filmmakers produce awe not of God’s mercy but of ghosts, ghouls, and other irrational fears. Audiences often treat these shows not as valuable guidance but as an adrenaline rush.
The Line Between Ghaib and Sensationalism
Islam affirms the existence of the unseen (ghaib) and commands belief in al-Baqarah: 3. But the Qur’an also clarifies that the soul (ruh) rests under God’s authority alone, as in al-Isra’: 85. Depictions of wandering spirits who are returning as serpents, scorpions, or vengeful apparitions are not Islamic doctrine but the work of shayṭan.
When visual media glamorizes these distortions, mysticism becomes absolutely misunderstood. Such productions cease to serve as da'wa and instead devolve into spectacle. Overall, rather than bringing hearts toward God, they risk pushing viewers away by portraying Allah as cruel, punitive, and eager to punish His followers without offering the chance to repent.
Sufism Paints God Differently
In tasawuf, God is approached not through dread but longing. The Divine is described with feminine softness, such as The Merciful, The Loving, The Forgiving, and more. Classical Sufi literature recounts countless seekers ascending toward Allah as a beloved rather than a Judge, Jury, and Executioner.
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) taught, "Whoever approaches Allah by a hand-span, Allah approaches by an arm’s length; whoever walks toward Him, Allah approaches swiftly."
Furthermore, the Qur’an echoes this intimacy: "He is nearer to humankind than the jugular vein" (Qaf: 16), and "Wherever you turn, there is the Face of God" (al-Baqarah: 115).
Some Sufis expressed union (ittihad) and indwelling (hulul) through ecstatic utterances (syathahat), as demonstrated by Abu Yazid al-Bustami and al-Hallaj. These expressions reflect spiritual annihilation of the self (fana’) and absorption into Divine awareness.
Ab(re)solute Cinema
True Islamic mysticism illuminates, restores, and softens the human heart. It affirms that the souls originate from Allah and return to Him. Only Allah decrees punishment (jaza’), not scriptwriters positioning ghosts as moral judges.
When filmmakers equate sin with spectral horror, where gambling becomes demons and arrogance becomes monsters, they inadvertently depict God as unmerciful rather than infinitely compassionate.
A spiritually grounded visual media would portray repentance, redemption, and return. Such stories, where sinners reform and where light overcomes darkness, will become a powerful resolution.
An Islamic cinema shaped by tasawuf would calm, not terrify; uplift, not traumatize. Its climax would be overfilled with forgiveness, not screams. Visual storytelling may serve as da'wa, but only when committed to ethical imagination.
Ratings alone cannot define spiritual value.
This article was originally published in PanjiMasyarakat on Monday (17/11/2025).