KH AHMAD SANUSI'S CONTRIBUTION TO ISLAMIC LITERATURE IN THE ARCHIPELAGO (A STUDY OF FORGOTTEN MANUSCRIPTS AND HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS)
Abstract
This research examines the intellectual contribution of KH Ahmad Sanusi (1888–1950) in Islamic literature of the archipelago, which has received limited academic attention. Many of his manuscripts and historical documents remain forgotten or lost, weakening the continuity of local Islamic intellectual traditions. The study aims to uncover and analyze Sanusi’s surviving works, review their content and context, and situate his role in the historiography of Islam in the archipelago. Employing a literature-based method with Hans-Georg Gadamer’s hermeneutic approach, the research proceeds through the identification of problems, literature study, data collection, classification, content analysis, and conclusions. Data are drawn from Sanusi’s original works in tafsir, fiqh, Sufism, politics, and education, along with relevant secondary sources. Findings show that Sanusi used his writings as scientific contributions as well as instruments of da’wah, education, and intellectual resistance against colonialism. The study concludes that his legacy significantly shaped Islamic literary traditions, and its preservation is crucial to strengthening Islamic identity in Indonesia.
References
Abdullah, M. (2022). Islam nusantara: tracing the traces of KH sholeh darat thought in pesantren literature. E3S Web of Conferences. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202235906003
Aini, A. Q. (2024). Tafsir Fikih KH. Ahmad Sanusi (bachelor’s thesis, FU).
Alshawabka, Z., & Sharma, U. (2020). Quranic hermeneutics: a new Islamic methodology to understanding accounting qualitative data within the Islamic world context. International Journal of Critical Accounting, 11(3), 217–232.
Arriazu, R. (2018). A research methodology in the service of critical thinking: Hermeneutic approach in the post-truth era. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 26, 148.
Aziz, A., & Arlianto, D. (2023). ISLAM NUSANTARA: AMBIGUITY, CULTURAL STRATEGY OR ORIGINALITY:(A Historical Studies). Batuthah: Jurnal Sejarah Padaban Islam, 2(1), 74–89.
Budiman, D. (2018). Islam Dan Negara: Telaah Pemikiran Politik KH Ahmad Sanusi Di Indonesia (bachelor’s thesis, Jakarta: Fakultas Ilmu Sosial Dan Ilmu Politik UIN Syarif Hidayatullah).
Fuadi, M. A. (2021). Islamization and the Transition of Power in Nusantara According to Kiai Abul Fadhol’s Aḥlā al-Musāmarah. ISLAMICA: Jurnal Studi Keislaman. https://doi.org/10.15642/islamica.2021.16.1.80-104
Hidayat, I. S. (2012). Kitab carita Anis sahabat Rasulullah kajian atas naskah Sunda Islami. Jurnal Lektur Keagamaan, 10(1), 147–160.
Husni, Z. M., & Rahman, I. (2020). Islam, Kearifan Lokal, Komunikasi Dakwah; Menakar Konsep Islam Nusantara. Jurnal Islam Nusantara, 4(1), 92–102.
Imawan, D. H. (2024). Sheikh Muhammad Yasin al-Fadani’s Contribution to the 20th Century Nusantara-Haramain Ulama Intellectual Network in Manuscript Al-’Iqdu al-Farid min Jawahir al-Asanid. Millah: Journal of Religious Studies, 149–170.
Kuswandi, D., & Maskur, A. (2022). Metodologi Tafsir Ulama Nusantara di Tanah Pasundan (Telaah Atas Kitab Tafsir Rawdhat Al-‘Irfân dan Malja’At-Thâlibîn Karya KH. Ahmad Sanusi). Al-Fahmu: Jurnal Ilmu Al-Qur’an Dan Tafsir, 1(1), 1–17.
Kuswandi, D., Rohman, A., & Muttaqien, G. A. (2024). The Quran Manuscripts in Indonesia: A Historical Review. Suhuf: International Journal of Islamic Studies, 36(2).
Lutfi, L. (2024). Tafsir As Social Criticism: The Case of Tafsir Malja’Al Thalibin and Tamsiyyat Al Muslimin by KH Ahmad Sanusi. Jurnal Studi Al-Qur’an, 20(1), 53–72.
Maisyaroh, M., & Iqbal, M. (2023). Malay Ulama in Deli Land: The Life, Manuscripts, and Intellectual Networks of Shaykh Hasan Ma ‘sum (d. 1936). Nahrasiyah: Journal of Aceh and Malay Archipelago Heritage, 1(1), 39–68.
Maryati, M. (2014). Peran KH Ahmad Sanusi dalam Pendidikan Islam.
Maulana, A. M. R., Nisa, F. K., Mukharom, R. A., & Rejekiningtya, D. A. (2024). Hermeneutics in Islamic Studies at Western World: History, Theory and Implications. Indonesian Journal of Islamization Studies, 2(1), 63–77.
Maulana, L. (2021). Melacak Dakwah Keilmuan Ulama Nusantara: Geliat Pergerakan KH. Hasyim Asy’ari. IQTIDA: Journal of Da’wah and Communication. https://doi.org/10.28918/iqtida.v1i02.4588
Muhyiddin, A. S. (2023). Model of Islam Nusantara da’wah based on multiculturalism. Jurnal Ilmu Dakwah, 43(1), 49–77.
Mujiburrohman, M., & Abd Wahid, N. (2024). Against the Reformists: A Study of the Sundanese Tafsir Malja’At-Thalibin by Haji Ahmad Sanusi. AT-TURAS: Jurnal Studi Keislaman, 11(1), 57–71.
Mulyaden, A. (2021). Ideologi Islam Tradisionalis Dalam Tafsir. Jurnal Iman Dan Spiritualitas. https://doi.org/10.15575/JIS.V1I2.11898
Nasution, I. M., Kuswandi, D., & Amatullah, R. S. (2025). Historiografi Tafsir Ulama Nusantara: Telaah Atas Kitab Tafsir Sunda Malja at Thalibin Karya KH Ahmad Sanusi. Al-Afkar: Jurnal Pemikiran Mahasiswa Pendidikan, 1(1), 1-20.
Rahman, A., M Yunus, B., & Zulaeha, E. (2020). Corak Tasawuf Dalam Kitab-Kitab Tafsir Karya KH Ahmad Sanusi.
Nurpriatna, A. Konsep Pemikiran Politik KH. Ahmad Sanusi: Mengupas Tuntas Kitab Qawaninuddiniyyah wa Dunyawiyyah fi Bayani Umuri Zakati wa Al-Fitrah.
Resky, M. (2024). Holistic Hermeneutics of Qur’anic Verses: Reinterpreting for Achieving Gender Equality in Contemporary Islamic Society: Hermeneutika Holistik Terhadap Ayat-Ayat Al-Qur’an: Menafsirkan Ulang untuk Mewujudkan Kesetaraan Gender dalam Masyarakat Islam Kontemp. Aqwal: Journal of Qur’an and Hadis Studies, 5(2), 176–191.
Rochman, I. C. (2019). Epistemologi Tafsir Tamsjijjatoel Moeslimien Karya Ahmad Sanoesi. Skripsi, UIN Sunan Ampel Surabaya.
Rohmana, J. A. (2015). Al-Qur’ān wa Al-Isti ‘mār: Radd Al-Shaykh Al-Ḥājj Ahmad Sanusi (1888-1950) ‘alá aAl-Isti ‘mār min Khilāl tafsīr Mal’ja’al-Ṭālibīn. Studia Islamika, 22(2), 297–332.
Saleh, M. (2019). KH. Ahmad Sanusi dan Karya-Karyanya: Khasanah Literasi Ilmu-Ilmu Ajaran Islam di Nusantara. Jurnal at-Tadbir, 29(2), 74-114.
Saputra, E. (2025). KONSEP NASIONALISME RELIGIUS PADA MASA PERGERAKAN NASIONAL: ANALISIS PENAFSIRAN KH AHMAD SANUSI DALAM TAFSIR TAMSHIYYAH AL-MUSLIMIN FI TAFSIR KALAM RABB AL-ALAMIN (Doctoral dissertation, UIN SUNAN KALIJAGA YOGYAKARTA).
Suryanto, T. A. (2022). Islam Nusantara; Social Engineering Da’wah Perspective Wali Songo. Misykat Al-Anwar Jurnal Kajian Islam Dan Masyarakat, 5(1), 141–156.
Umar, H. H. (2001). Al-Turāth al-‘Ilmī al-Islāmī bi Indūnīsiyā: Dirāsat fī Tafsīray Malja’al-Ṭālibīn wa Tamshīyāh al-Muslimīn li al-Shaykh al-Ḥajj Aḥmad Sanūsī. Studia Islamika, 8(1).
Copyright (c) 2025 Tahdzib Al-Akhlaq: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This work is licensed under a Lisensi Creative Commons Atribusi 4.0 Internasional.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
