Reciting Surah Al-Lahab in Traditional Healing: A Living Qur’an Study in Gampong Drien Beurumbang, Aceh Barat Daya

Abstract

This article examines the recitation of Surah al-Lahab in traditional healing practices in Gampong Drien Beurumbang, Southwest Aceh, using a Living Qur’an approach. Although the surah conventionally concerns the condemnation of Abu Lahab and his wife, local field accounts associate its recitation with responses to bleeding wounds and other physical complaints. This qualitative case study employed semi-structured interviews, field observation, documentation, and literature review. The data were analyzed descriptively and interpretively by examining the form of the practice, its religio-cultural foundations, and its social transmission. Field notes and interview documentation describe a recurring sequence involving an intention to seek healing from God, recitation of the surah, blowing or gentle contact with the affected area, and, in some cases, water or locally identified plant material. The available field accounts associate the continuity of the practice with interpersonal transmission, the authority attributed to religious leaders, customary authorities, and traditional healers, and orally circulated recovery narratives. Within these accounts, healing originates from God, while recitation functions as a wasilah, or intermediary means of prayer and spiritual effort. The findings document a locally constructed religious meaning rather than medical efficacy or an alternative linguistic interpretation of the surah. This case indicates that the conventional textual meaning and performative use of a Qur’anic passage can coexist within different registers of reception.