Sufi Reasoning in the Academic Space: The Dialectic of Suryalaya TQN's Da'wah in Facing Modern Intellectual Skepticism
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15575/jis.v6i3.57506Keywords:
dialectics of da'wah, intellectual skepticism, integrative rationality, Sufi epistemology, urban SufismAbstract
Modernity, which is expected to shift the spiritual dimension, has actually given rise to a spiritual turn among educated urban communities. In Indonesia, the Qadiriyyah wa Naqsyabandiyyah (TQN) Suryalaya Order has demonstrated its ability to maintain and expand its base of followers from academics, professionals, and intellectuals. This study aims to analyze the dialectic of TQN Suryalaya's da'wah in responding to modern intellectual skepticism, examine the construction of the Sufi epistemology it developed, and explain the process of epistemic synthesis that occurs among educated urban students. The study used a qualitative approach with a hermeneutic phenomenological design within a critical-constructivist paradigm. Data were obtained through in-depth interviews, participant observation in dhikr assemblies and halaqahs, and analysis of primary documents in the form of TQN teachings and recordings of da'wah lectures. The analysis was conducted through thematic analysis and critical discourse analysis. The results show that intellectual skepticism towards Sufism encompasses epistemological, theological, and pragmatic dimensions. TQN Suryalaya builds a hierarchical Sufi epistemology through the concepts of 'ilm al-yaqin, 'ain al-yaqin, and haqq al-yaqin, which encourages the birth of integrative rationality as a synthesis between scientific reason and spiritual experience. This finding shows that TQN Suryalaya's da'wah develops a strategy of intellectualizing Sufism through epistemic dialogue with modernity and enriches the study of urban Sufism in Indonesia.
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