This thesis is an attempt to understand the views of Nawawi al-Banteni on the subject of Sufism, especially as they appear in his work Salalim al-Fudala', commentary on the Hidayat al-Adhkiya' ila Tariq al-Awliya' of Zayn al-Din al-Malibari / By observing the existence and the development of Sufism in Indonesia and the career of Nawawi al-Banteni the thesis tries to achieve a better understanding of his contribution in the field. Earlier studies have tended to discuss him and his works in general, whereas this study concentrates more specifically on al-Banteni's Sufi thought through his comments on the subject. / Another question that is raised is that of Nawawi al-Banteni's originality in his commentary on the Hidayat al-Adhkiya' of al-Malibari. Finally, the important point is made that Nawawi does not seem to have been influenced by either heterodox or pre-Islamic concepts, which were relatively powerful in Indonesia of his day. On the other hand he had a great influence on the people or his country, especially in his home town Banten, in terms of the development of both nationalism and Islamic education in Indonesia.

This dissertation surveys the historical and intellectual development of the Ṭariqa Qadiriyya Naqshbandiyya (TQN), the amalgamated Sufi order founded in Indonesia by Shaykh Aḥmad Khaṭib Sambas (d.1875). After a brief recapitulation of the progress of Sufi orders in and beyond Java, it looks at the life and activities of Shaykh Sambas, and analyzes in particular his work Fatḥ al-`Arifin, situating it against the Qadiriyya and Naqshbandiyya sources that inspired it. The focus then switches to the transmission of the TQN doctrines by Sambas's disciples, especially `Abd al-Karim Banten (b. 1840), and the gradual dispersal of the order throughout the archipelago, which resulted in the formation of branches that maintained separate existences but largely similar teachings. This leads into a discussion of the TQN of Suryalaya (west Java), one of the most significant branches of the TQN in present-day Indonesia, although some attention is given also to other TQN centers, such as Mranggen and Rejoso in central and east Java, and to the writings of shaykhs in these regions. Although the main teachings of the ṭariqa have remained constant, local shaykhs have some cases developed in response to local circumstances; thus we find in the case of the TQN of Suryalaya, that its shaykh, Kiyai Haji Shohibulwafa Tajul `Arifin (better known as Abah Anom) has concentrated on dhikr as an educational tool and as a means towards healing young drug addicts and victims of other mental illnesses. The spiritual and social benefits of TQN teachings came across clearly in Abah Anom's work Miftaḥ al-Ṣudur, which contains his views on a variety of mystical subjects, and which is analyzed in the final chapter. There we find that Abah Anom preserves TQN teachings intact while stressing some of its aspects and de-emphasizing others that preoccupied the order's founder, such as the doctrine of muraqaba.

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