SYAIR SUKA DUKA DALAM PELAYARAN KE MEKAH: AN ANALYSIS BASED ON THE APPROACH OF RELIGIOSITY

This article discusses an Islamically-oriented poem that the author uses as a vehicle to convey da’wah or the call to Islam. Using Syair Suka Duka Dalam Pelayaran Ke Mekah as data, and Hashim Awang’s Teori Pengkaedahan Melayu as its analytical tool, the article focuses on the theory’s sub-division of religiosity, in particular its approach to da’wah, in order to scrutinise Islamic values in the poem. This approach sees literature as a means to enhance piety and religious devotion to Allah, God the Almighty. The findings show that the poem is able to serve the function of heightening a servant’s submission to God, his piety and his faithfulness. This fact is seen in the da’wah-infused content such as glorifying Allah’s attributes, encouraging that which is good and hindering that which is bad, extolling the virtues of supplication and demonstrating the beauty of the Baitullah or the House of God. This value-laden content serves to show the author’s intention to convey da’wah and a true understanding of Islam to the reading public, at the same time as it venerates Allah, God Almighty.