Preserving the Treasures of Islamic Jurisprudence of Nusantara Scholars

A year ago, when there were improvements being made to the academic curriculum of the Marhalah Ula (M1) at Ma’had Aly Nurul Jadid in Probolinggo, Gus Muhammad al-Fayyadl (Gus Fayyadl), who took over after the passing of Kiai Romzi, took the initiative to introduce a new course for M1 (Marhalah Ula) titled ‘Study of Islamic Jurisprudence by Nusantara Scholars’.

The book studied in this course on the Study of Islamic Jurisprudence by Nusantara Scholars is Fathul Lathif. This book is one of the works of Syaikhona Kholil Bangkalan, a well-known figure and a grandmaster of Nusantara scholars. As a result, Gus Fayyadl’s initiative received positive responses from various parties, ranging from the academic community of Ma’had Aly to the student body.

Since then, at the beginning of each new academic year, Ma’had Aly Nurul Jadid has a regular event called Iftitah ad-Dirasah. Iftitah ad-Dirasah marks the opening of the academic activities and lectures at Ma’had Aly Nurul Jadid, similar to the concept of a studium general used in general universities.

For returning students, Iftitah ad-Dirasah serves as a refreshing review of the Study of Islamic Jurisprudence by Nusantara Scholars. For new students, it is an introduction and a glimpse into their future at Ma’had Aly Nurul Jadid. Additionally, both students and teachers will gain valuable knowledge during the Iftitah ad-Dirasah event, as Ma’had Aly Nurul Jadid seizes this opportunity to invite knowledgeable and competent speakers in the field of Islamic sciences, particularly jurisprudence and its principles, aligned with the focus of Ma’had Aly Nurul Jadid.

Inspired by Gus Fayyadl’s initiative, the organizing committee of Iftitah ad-Dirasah brought speakers from Lajnah Turats Ilmi (LTI) Syaikhona Kholil Bangkalan to talk on the theme ‘Perspectives of Islamic Jurisprudence by Syaikhona Kholil Bangkalan in the book Fathul Lathif.’ Lajnah Turats Ilmi (LTI) is a movement of the descendants of Syaikhona Kholil Bangkalan, engaged in research, documentation, and publication of the works of Syaikhona Kholil Bangkalan. The team was represented by Lora Utsman as the head of LTI and Lora Ismael al-Kholilie as “Katib” or the secretary of LTI.

What’s particularly interesting to us is that Gus Fayyadl’s desire as the director to open the lectures (Iftitah ad-Dirasah) at Ma’had Aly Nurul Jadid with speakers from Lajnah Turats Ilmi (LTI) Syaikhona Kholil Bangkalan was not without purpose. This effort aimed to reconnect the intellectual lineage and preserve the teaching tradition of KH Zaini Mun’im (founder of PP Nurul Jadid), who had directly studied under Syaikhona Kholil Bangkalan.

Regarding the importance of intellectual lineage or “sanad”, this article will not delve into it as there are many writings discussing its significance in the Islamic knowledge tradition. Based on existing records, we know that KH Zaini Mun’im studied under several scholars in Nusantara, including Syaikhona Kholil Bangkalan. During his studies with Syaikhona Kholil, Kiai Zaini managed to memorize 10 Juz of the Qur’an and the poem Alfiyyah Ibn Malik. Moreover, Kiai Zaini also studied under KH Hasyim ‘Asyari, the founder of Nahdlatul Ulama and the leader of Pesantren Tebuireng Jombang.

Furthermore, with the addition of the course on the Study of Islamic Jurisprudence by Nusantara Scholars, Gus Fayyadl hopes that the students will not only focus on quoting and referencing scholars from the Middle East, but also understand the extent to which Indonesian scholars from the past to the present have addressed issues in Islamic jurisprudence. Of course, our references are limited because most of the works of Indonesian Islamic jurisprudence were written in the modern era, after the period of independence. As an example, a monumental Indonesian Islamic jurisprudential work was the recognition of President Soekarno’s leadership as legitimate from a juridical perspective, known as ‘Waliyyul Amri Dloruriyyun bi as-Syaukah’.