LIVING TAFSĪR OF AL-FALĀḤ: FROM QUR’ANIC EXEGESIS TO EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE IN INDONESIAN PESANTREN
Keywords:
al-Falāḥ, Living Tafsīr, Thematic Qur’anic Exegesis, Tafsīr al-Jalālayn , Indonesian PesantrenAbstract
This study examines the Qur’anic concept of al-falāḥ through an integrative qualitative research design that combines thematic Qur'anic exegesis with a multi-site qualitative field study in four Indonesian Islamic boarding schools (pesantren). While al-falāḥ is widely invoked in Islamic educational discourse, existing studies have often treated it normatively or examined individual verses without developing a comprehensive thematic interpretation connected to lived educational practice. The study first analyses twelve Qur’anic verses containing the root f–l–ḥ using classical exegesis, particularly Tafsīr al-Jalālayn, to identify the principal dimensions of al-falāḥ. It then explores how these Qur’anic meanings are interpreted and enacted within the educational cultures of four pesantren through interviews, participant observation, and document analysis. The findings indicate that al-falāḥ is understood and institutionalized through interconnected dimensions of spiritual integrity, ethical discipline, sustained effort, communal responsibility, and eschatological orientation, although each pesantren embodies these dimensions in distinctive ways. The study suggests that al-falāḥ may be understood as a living and processual Qur’anic concept within the educational contexts examined. Methodologically, it demonstrates how thematic tafsīr can be integrated with qualitative field research to connect classical Qur’anic interpretation with lived religious practice.
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