Auditorium of Prof. Dr. Suwito, MA SPs UIN Jakarta, SPs NEWS - The Graduate School (SPs) of UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta held the 2799th Thesis Exam at the Auditorium Room of Prof. Dr. Suwito, MA SPs UIN Jakarta on Friday, February 6, 2026 with candidate Muhammad Ikhsan Saidung.

Ikhsan is a student of the Master of Islamic Studies program with a Concentration in Islamic Religious Education. His thesis is entitled "Sufistic Education in the Annangguru Sayye' Daengna Ma'rufi al-Mandari Tarekat System". Muhammad Ikhsan Saidung explained the results of in-depth research on the spiritual education system in the land of Mandar.

This research was born from an effort to uncover how the teachings of the Annangguru Sayye' Daenna Ma'rufi Khalwatiyah Tarekat are harmoniously integrated in the social practices and value systems of the Mandar community in West Sulawesi.

Through a qualitative method with an ethnographic approach, Ikhsan dissects two crucial aspects: the basic concept and the real role of sufistic education in the process of spiritual transformation of a student. This research highlights how education does not stop at texts, but transforms into everyday life behaviors.

One of the interesting findings in this study is the central role of Mursyid as the axis of education. Mursyid is considered successful in vernacularization, which is the process of grounding complex Sufistic ideas into the local language and culture so that they are more easily accepted and practiced by the general public without losing their spiritual essence.

The figure of Annangguru Sayye' Daenna Ma'rufi himself is positioned as the foundation of the Mandar spiritual education system. He succeeded in overseeing the process of Islamization and spiritual strengthening through a cultural system sourced from authoritative literature, creating a strong foundation of character for the coastal and agrarian communities of the region.

Furthermore, Ikhsan revealed that there is a close relationship between tazkiyah al-nafs (purification of the soul) and  the local cultural script. This gives birth to a unique learning model in the form of sequential learning and mixed learning, which is neatly structured through the ba'ba and ana'guru  levels with a scaffolding pedagogical assistance pattern.

Interestingly, this thesis casts an antithesis to the thought of Abdul Munir Mulkhan. If Mulkhan tends to emphasize the intellectual aspect in character formation, Ikhsan's research actually shows that Sufistic education in this institute prioritizes spiritual intelligence as the main key in improving the personality of students.

Ikhsan argues that the contextualization carried out by the Sufis has succeeded in giving birth to conceptual perspectives and innovative learning methods. The result is not just a theory, but a community-based spiritual mobilization that is able to survive in the midst of modernization.

These findings also strengthen previous research by Hakim Zamroni (2020), Mulia Sari (2023), and Ridwanulloh (2023). All agreed that Sufistic education is an integrated process that unites Sufism, inner experience, and real charity for the formation  of al-karimah morality.

This thesis exam was closed with the conclusion that the Annangguru Sayye' learning model provides a comprehensive explanation of the typical Islamic education system of the archipelago. This research is expected to be an important reference in the development of an educational curriculum based on spirituality and local wisdom in Indonesia.

Ikhsan successfully defended his thesis under the guidance of Hamdani, M.Ag, Ph.D and Dr. Suwendi, M.Ag, and was tested in front of a board of examiners consisting of Prof. Dr. Yusuf Rahman, MA, Hamdani, M.Ag, Ph.D, Dr. Suwendi, M.Ag and Suparto, M.Ed, Ph.D; Dr. Erba Rozalina Yulianti, M.Ag.

After paying attention to the thesis writing, the comments of the examiner team and the candidate's answers, the examiner team determined that Muhammad Ikhsan Saidung graduated with the predicate of Very Satisfactory. Muhammad Ikhsan Saidung is the 2799th Master in the field of Islamic Studies, in the Master's program of the Graduate School of UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta. (JA)