Ketaatan Filial di Ambang Batas Akidah: Pemaknaan Surah Luqman [31]:15 melalui Praktik Saur Matua pada Keluarga Muslim–Parmalim di Marjanji Aceh

Abstract

The tension between the obligation to honor one’s parents and the limits of obedience regarding matters of faith becomes a significant issue when family relationships unfold within a diverse socio-religious context. This issue is evident in the saur matua practice among Muslim–Parmalim families in Marjanji, Aceh, where filial responsibility, customary tradition, and religious expression intersect. This study analyzes the limits of obedience to parents, forms of filial expression within saur matua, and how Muslim family members negotiate involvement in a practice with both customary and religious dimensions. This study employed a qualitative approach, using an interpretive case study design grounded in the “Living Qur’an” perspective and textual-contextual analysis. Data came from the Qur’an and its exegesis (tafsīr), as well as empirical data from interviews, observation, and documentation; these were analyzed thematically through reduction, categorization, interpretation, and integration of textual and empirical findings. The results indicate that Surah Luqman [31]:15 establishes a normative framework that distinguishes obedience in matters of faith (ʿaqīdah) from the continuity of filial conduct. Saur matua provides a space to enact family responsibilities through presence, service, material assistance, role distribution, and kinship solidarity. Muslim family members distinguish familial involvement from ritual participation through the selective choice of actions, communication, the setting of boundaries, and role shifting. The concept of maʿrūf functions as a standard of relational propriety that sustains family ties without compromising the boundaries of faith. These findings show that filial bonds can be maintained by fulfilling family responsibilities even when theological obedience has limits.