From Zīj Sulṭānī to Sullam al-Nayyirayn: An Epistemological Study of Solar Eclipse Calculation in the Indonesian Falak Tradition

Naili Rahmawati; Jauharotul Maknunah Firman

doi:10.66325/8ejpx532

Authors

Naili Rahmawati UIN Walisongo Semarang
Jauharotul Maknunah Firman UIN Walisongo Semarang

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.66325/8ejpx532

Keywords:

Zīj Sulṭānī, Sullam al-Nayyirayn, solar eclipse, Indonesian falak, knowledge transmission.

Abstract

Sullam al-Nayyirayn is one of the important works in the Indonesian falak tradition whose computational system is closely related to Zīj Sulṭānī, a major work of classical Islamic astronomy that influenced the development of astronomical tables and calculation methods. Nevertheless, differences can be identified in solar eclipse calculations, particularly in the parameters used to determine the type of eclipse. These differences indicate that the transmission of astronomical knowledge from Zīj Sulṭānī to Sullam al-Nayyirayn did not merely occur through direct reproduction of methods, but also involved processes of selection, adaptation, and reconstruction of knowledge. This study aims to analyze the structure and epistemological characteristics of solar eclipse calculations in Zīj Sulṭānī and Sullam al-Nayyirayn, as well as to identify the methodological transformations that occurred during their transmission into the Indonesian falak tradition. The study employs a historical-comparative approach combined with epistemological analysis of the algorithmic structure, sources of parameters, calculation stages, and procedures used to determine eclipse types in both works. The findings show that Sullam al-Nayyirayn essentially preserves the basic structure of solar eclipse calculations found in Zīj Sulṭānī, while introducing modifications at several stages, particularly in the use of parameters for classifying eclipse types. These modifications demonstrate a process of appropriation and adaptation through which classical astronomical methods were adjusted to pedagogical needs, computational practices, and the intellectual context of falak in the Indonesian archipelago. The study therefore argues that the development of Indonesian falak was not characterized by passive knowledge transmission, but by a dynamic epistemological process involving selection, simplification, adaptation, and methodological reconstruction. Accordingly, Sullam al-Nayyirayn may be understood as a localized transformation of the classical Islamic astronomical heritage that maintains intellectual continuity with Zīj Sulṭānī while simultaneously developing distinctive characteristics within the Indonesian falak tradition.

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