Decolonizing Islamic Theology through the Vernacularization of Maqāṣid Al-Sharīʿah in Kh. Tubagus Ahmad Bakri’s Pegon-Sundanese Manuscripts

Abstract

Research on local Islamic scholars who integrate maqāṣid al-sharīʿah with vernacular pedagogy remains limited, particularly in the context of Sundanese pesantren traditions. This study addresses that gap by examining the theological and ethical thought of KH. Tubagus Ahmad Bakri (Mama Sempur), a prominent 20th-century Sundanese Muslim scholar, through a philological and theological analysis of two primary manuscripts: Mashlahah al-Islāmiyyah fī Ahkām al-Tawḥīdiyyah (MIFIT) and Campakadilaga. Written in Pegon script and Sundanese language, these texts systematically articulate moderate Sunni theology (tawḥīd), spiritual-ethical Sufism (taṣawwuf akhlāqī), and jurisprudence grounded in maqāṣid-oriented reasoning. Methodologically, the study involved codicological assessment, transliteration, and textual criticism to establish reliable editions, followed by thematic and hermeneutical analysis informed by classical Sunni theological frameworks. The findings reveal an integrated paradigm linking rational faith (ʿaql), embodied ethics (zakāt al-jawāriḥ), and social harmony through the preservation of maqāṣid al-sharīʿah. Notably, Mama Sempur localized classical doctrines within the Sundanese pesantren milieu, employed vernacular pedagogical strategies, and explicitly rejected religious extremism and legal vigilantism. Theoretically, this research advances the discourse on vernacular Islamic intellectualism as a form of decolonizing Islamic knowledge; practically, it offers a contextually grounded ethical-theological model for contemporary Islamic education and reform in plural societies.