Epistemologi Keberkahan dalam Pendidikan Pesantren

Tinjauan Kritik Feodalisme

Abstrak

This study examines the epistemology of blessing (barakah) in pesantren education and its implications for the kyai–santri relationship, while addressing accusations of feudalism often directed at these institutions. Pesantrens not only transmit knowledge but also cultivate moral and ethical awareness in students through adab (etiquette), khidmah (service), and scholarly sanad (chains of transmission). The blessing of knowledge serves as an epistemic parameter, assessing the quality of learning based on moral, spiritual, and social benefit rather than mere accumulation of information. Kyai authority derives from scholarly mastery, moral integrity, and social legitimacy, not structural domination, while students act as active agents in internalizing knowledge and values. Feudalism critiques, when interpreted through modern egalitarian paradigms, risk misrepresenting these pedagogical relations. This study highlights that the epistemology of blessing provides an alternative framework to understand pesantren education from within, integrating cognitive, ethical, and transcendental dimensions. The findings emphasize the contemporary relevance of pesantren and the importance of approaches that respect values, tradition, and the continuity of knowledge