<![CDATA[The discourse on Islam as discussed by Muslim scholars continues to evolve in line with Indonesia's socio-political context and elicits diverse responses. Sulaiman Abdullah emerges as a multidimensional figure who combines scholarly authority, moral integrity, and the ability to adapt to sociopolitical changes in Jambi. He played a strategic role as a mediator between orthodoxy, reformism, and local political interests. This study aims to position Abdullah as a link between Islamic discourse and socio-political change from the New Order era to the post-Reform era. This study employs a qualitative method based on library research, supplemented by interviews and documentation. In the analysis, Krippendorff's content analysis theory is employed to interpret Abdullah's thoughts as text while capturing their intellectual context. The study shows that Sulaiman Abdullah shaped Islamic discourse in Jambi by negotiating religious orthodoxy and the demands of modernity from the New Order era to the post-Reform era. His thoughts demonstrate how local scholar-intellectuals integrate classical fiqh traditions with contemporary social needs so that Islam appears as a source of social ethics and community empowerment. The contribution of this research lies in broadening the scope of studies on Indonesian Islam by positioning local ulama as key actors in the development of Islamic thought, amidst a field of study that has hitherto been dominated by a focus on national figures.]]>
