The Suroan Tradition: Living Hadith as a Shaper of Spiritual and Social Relations

The Suroan tradition in Suka Jadi Village, Perbaungan Subdistrict, Serdang Bedagai Regency, North Sumatra, represents a living manifestation of the living hadith that remains preserved within the community. This phenomenon is worth studying because, in addition to serving as a religious ritual, it embodies social and cultural values that bind community life. This study aims to describe and analyze the practice of the Suroan tradition as an embodiment of the Prophet’s hadith in daily life. A qualitative approach with a field research design was employed. Primary data were obtained through in-depth interviews with religious leaders, ustadz, and local residents, while secondary data were sourced from authenticated hadith texts (takhrij) and scholarly literature, including journals, books, theses, dissertations, and conference proceedings. Data analysis involved reduction, descriptive presentation, and conclusion drawing, with validity testing through comparison between field findings and authentic hadiths. The findings reveal that the Suroan tradition is not merely a cultural celebration but also contains profound spiritual and social dimensions. Practices such as communal prayers, fasting, religious sermons, charity, and mutual cooperation reflect gratitude to Allah, strengthen communal bonds (ukhuwah), and represent the collective application of Islamic teachings. This tradition also serves as a medium for transmitting religious and social values within the framework of local wisdom. The contribution of this study lies in revealing the role of local traditions as a medium for internalizing hadith teachings and fostering social harmony, thereby enriching living hadith studies in Indonesia.