<![CDATA[This study seeks to examine the Bi’aik Gadang (the Major Bayʿah) tradition of the Syattariyah Order at the Nurul Yaqin Ringan-Ringan Islamic Boarding School in West Sumatra as an embodiment of living hadith, aimed at preserving the continuity of the Prophetic chain through the bai'ah system and scholarly transmission (sanad). This research is significant, as prior investigations into living hadith in Indonesia have predominantly concentrated on popular religious practices, whereas the preservation of hadith via Sufi order traditions—as a means of legitimising sanad and religious authority—has received comparatively limited scholarly attention. Utilising a qualitative methodology grounded in a social phenomenological perspective, data were gathered through participant observation of the Bi'aik Gadang ritual, in-depth interviews with the murshid, pesantren administrators, and participants, alongside the examination of classical Islamic manuscripts (kutub al-turāth) and sanad records. The data were analysed interactively through processes of data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. The findings indicate that Bi'aik Gadang constitutes the actualisation of bai'ah hadiths, contextualised within the rituals of the Syattariyah Order through symbolic elements such as the white cloth, balimau purification, rabithah, and the transmission of an unbroken sanad tracing back to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). This tradition not only reinforces the legitimacy of scholarly authority and the murshid’s religious leadership but also promotes social cohesion, spiritual education, moral discipline, and the perpetuation of the community’s Islamic identity. This study contributes to the advancement of living hadith scholarship by proposing an analytical framework that integrates hadith texts, scholarly sanad, religious rituals, and the social functions of Sufi orders as mechanisms for preserving the hadith tradition within the Indonesian archipelago.]]>
