Negotiating Tradition and Innovation: The Transformation of TQN Khatibiyah in Contemporary Sambas of West Kalimantan

Cecep Zakarias El Bilad; Akhmad Dasuki; Ngalimun Ngalimun; Bob Andrian; Mualimin Mualimin

doi:10.21580/tos.v14i2.28592

Authors

Cecep Zakarias El Bilad Faculty of Ushuluddin, Adab, and Da'wah, Universitas Islam Negeri Palangka Raya, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8060-1767
Akhmad Dasuki Faculty of Ushuluddin, Adab, and Da'wah, Universitas Islam Negeri Palangka Raya, Indonesia
Ngalimun Ngalimun Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universitas Sapta Mandiri, Indonesia
Bob Andrian Faculty of Da'wah and Islamic Communication, Institute Agama Islam Negeri Pontianak, Indonesia
Mualimin Mualimin Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Sakarya Üniversitesi, Serdivan-Türkiye, Turkey

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21580/tos.v14i2.28592

Keywords:

Sheikh Ahmad Khatib Sambas, TQN Khatibiyah, spiritual continuity, contemporary Sufism, digital dissemination

Abstract

The continued preservation of religious traditions in modern Muslim societies raises questions about maintaining spiritual authority amid social changes. This study explores how Sheikh Ahmad Khatib Sambas's spiritual legacy, founder of the Tarekat Qa>diriyya wa Naqshbandiyya (TQN) in Sambas, West Kalimantan, Indonesia, has been retained and reinterpreted in contemporary contexts. While earlier studies have focused mostly on TQN's history, teachings, and rituals, less attention has been given to how its spiritual legacy is actively preserved and adapted. This study applies a qualitative historical method combined with ethnographic fieldwork. The data were then analysed with Anthony Giddens's structuration and Catherine Bell's ritualisation theory. The study reveals that the TQN legacy endures through silsila, doctrinal teachings, ritual practices, and the authority of the murshid. It also presents a three-part adaptive model, namely organisational openness, inclusive outreach, and digital dissemination that allows TQN Khatibiyah to reproduce inherited traditions while maintaining doctrinal consistency. The continuity and adaptation support each other, helping a modern Sufi order uphold its spiritual heritage amid social change.

Contribution: This study proposes a threefold adaptive model that explains how contemporary Sufi orders preserve spiritual continuity through organizational openness, inclusive religious outreach, and digital dissemination.

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