Transcending Without Disconnecting: The Integrative Epistemology of Ma’had Aly Situbondo and Its Model of Endogenous Islamic Legal Reform

Abstract

This article examines how Ma’had Aly Salafiyah Syafi’iyyah Situbondo, Indonesia develops an endogenous and tradition-rooted model of Islamic legal reform through an integrative epistemology that combines bayānī (textual), taʿlīlī (rational-causal), and maqāṣidī (teleological) approaches. The study aims to identify the epistemological principles and institutional mechanisms through which Ma’had Aly maintains continuity with classical turāth and sanad while restructuring legal reasoning to address contemporary socio-legal realities. Using a qualitative socio-legal and contextual-hermeneutic approach supported by Critical Discourse Analysis, the research investigates how interpretive authority is negotiated within pedagogical practices, curriculum design, and baḥth al-masāʾil deliberations. The findings show that Ma’had Aly’s epistemic project is not a juxtaposition of interpretive tools but a coherent model of fiqh renewal grounded in the interplay between fiqh al-nuṣūṣ (textual reasoning), fiqh al-wāqiʿ (analysis of social reality), and fiqh al-tanzīl (contextual application). This triadic framework enables the institution to transcend rigid textualism while preserving normative legitimacy through sanad-based authority. The study further demonstrates that Ma’had Aly’s integrative methodology constitutes a neo-traditionalist reform trajectory, facilitating a shift from qaulī and ilḥāqī reasoning toward a manhajīparadigm guided by maqāṣid al-sharīʿah. Building on these insights, the article proposes the “Integrative Manhaj of Epistemological Renewal” as a theoretical model explaining how pesantren-based higher learning institutions can generate internally legitimate and contextually adaptive jurisprudential reform. While recognizing limitations stemming from its single-case scope and the cultural specificity of pesantren epistemology, the study contributes to broader debates on Islamic legal reform in Southeast Asia by demonstrating the capacity of tradition-based institutions to produce transformative yet continuity-preserving legal reasoning.