The Implications of ‘Abdus Ṣamad al-Falimbānī’s Sufi Thought for Santri Moral Education in Pesantren

Abstract

Modern education often separates academic mastery from character formation, a profound challenge that also impacts Islamic boarding schools (pesantren). This qualitative field study explores the Sufi thought of 'Abdus Ṣamad al-Falimbānī in his classical work, Sayr al-Sālikīn ilā 'Ibādat Rabb al-'Ālamīn, and its implications for santri moral education at Pesantren Baiturrahman and Pesantren Darussalam, Bandung Regency. Data collected via textual analysis, observation, and interviews reveal that al-Falimbānī’s core concept of tazkiyat al-nafs (soul purification) offers a progressive framework across seven levels of the nafs. In practice, this framework is operationalized through textual study, exemplary teaching, habituation to worship, and muḥāsabah (self-reckoning). This structured approach fosters enhanced self-awareness, emotional regulation, and social concern among santri. The study concludes that integrating al-Falimbānī’s classical Sufi psychology with institutional habituation provides a highly relevant, comprehensive model for contemporary pesantren-based moral education.