<![CDATA[Fiqh learning in Indonesian pesantren is often portrayed either as transmissive text study or, more recently, as a site of student-centred critical inquiry. Neither portrayal explains how open deliberation and textual-scholarly authority coexist within the same pedagogical event. This qualitative case study examines how bahtsul masail, a deliberative forum for resolving legal questions, organises contemporary fiqh learning in the women's Lajnah Bahtsul Masail (LBM Putri) of the Al-Asyiqie dormitory, Pondok Pesantren HM Al-Mahrusiyah, Kediri. Data comprised observation of eight weekly deliberation sessions, semi-structured interviews with of 13 participants (three LBM administrators, five mustahiq, and five students), and forum documents. The data were analysed through two-cycle thematic coding and episode analysis informed by dialogic pedagogy, sociocultural learning theory, and the concept of epistemic authority. The analysis identifies four linked mechanisms: problematisation through case descriptions and legal questions (as'ilah); textual warranting through citations ('ibarah) from authoritative books; contested deliberation in which peers challenge and qualify claims; and authorised closure in which mustahiq validate the forum's formulation. The qauli, ilhaqi, and manhaji procedures operate as graded epistemic warrants that define what counts as an acceptable argument. Authority is not simply opposed to dialogue: mustahiq often redirect students to texts instead of supplying answers, thereby deferring closure, yet final validation re-centralises authority and leaves the fate of minority positions unrecorded. We conceptualise this configuration as authority-bounded dialogic pedagogy. The study documents learning experiences and participation patterns; it does not measure gains in critical thinking or higher-order skills. Findings derive from a single site and a short observation period and call for comparative, interaction-analytic research across pesantren.]]>
