Revisiting the Epistemology of the Sociology of Religion according to Contemporary Indonesian Muslim Figures in NU, Muhammadiyah, and PERSIS

K.H. Ali Yafie and K.H. Sahal Mahfudh may be regarded as representatives of the NU traditionalist faction, particularly in their approaches to interpreting the Qur’an. The Majlis Tarjih of Persatuan Islam (PERSIS) may be seen as representing the puritan tendency, while Dawam Rahardjo, associated with Muhammadiyah intellectual circles, developed a modernist interpretation of the Qur’an in relation to social contexts. Traditionalist and puritan groups are often categorized as forms of orthodoxy, whereas modernist approaches are commonly associated with heterodoxy. This study examines whether such categorizations are consistent with their interpretations of social verses in the Qur’an and whether their interpretive approaches demonstrate methodological dynamism. The study aims to analyze the dynamics of contemporary Indonesian Islamic figures in understanding religious texts related to social themes. It employs content analysis of selected works grounded in Qur’anic doctrines, using an Ulumul Qur’an approach that integrates social-scientific perspectives into the contemporary paradigm of Qur’anic studies. The research objects were selected on the basis that the figures under study served as advisors or influential intellectuals within Indonesian Islamic mass organizations in their respective periods. The findings show that K.H. Ali Yafie and K.H. Sahal Mahfudh emphasized the importance of a comprehensive and integrated approach to thematic interpretation of Qur’anic verses. Dawam Rahardjo’s Encyclopedia of the Qur’an represents a combination of comparative interpretation (al-tafsīr al-muqāran) and thematic vocabulary-based interpretation. In the social sphere, the puritan approach appears to be guided by the principle that matters related to worldly and social affairs are permissible unless explicitly prohibited by the Qur’an or authentic Hadith. Persatuan Islam (PERSIS), through its official institution known as the Hisbah Council, conducts collective ijtihad (ijtihad jamā‘ī) when addressing issues not directly covered by the explicit texts of the Qur’an and Hadith.