TAJDID Jurnal Ilmu Ushuluddin
Vol. 24 No. 2 (2025): Ushuluddin and Religious Studies

THE EFFECT OF PRINT LITERACY ON THE TRADITION OF WRITING QUR’ANIC EXEGESIS IN WEST JAVA IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY

Dadang Darmawan (State Islamic University (UIN) Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung, Indonesia)
Muhammad Solahudin (State Islamic University (UIN) Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung, Indonesia)
Nurul Alamin (State Islamic University (UIN) Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung, Indonesia)
Muhammad Iqbal (Ibn Tofail University Kenitra, Morocco)



Article Info

Publish Date
24 Dec 2025

Abstract

In the early 20th century, various works of Qur'anic exegesis emerged in West Java after a three-century hiatus. The purpose of this study is to find the relationship between the introduction of the printing press to the Sundanese people and the rise of writing Qur'anic exegesis in West Java in the early 20th century. This study uses a qualitative approach with historical methods that include heuristics, criticism, interpretation, and historiography. The primary data consists of exegesis books printed in West Java in the early 20th century. Meanwhile, secondary data was collected through literature studies from various relevant scientific works. The results of the study show that in the mid-19th century, the Dutch East Indies colonial government introduced printing presses to the Sundanese community. This ultimately sparked the enthusiasm of the Sundanese menak (nobility) to write books. This tradition then began to encourage Sundanese ulama (Islamic scholars) to produce their own works in various fields of Islamic studies, including Qur’anic exegesis. The findings show a correlation between the introduction of printing presses and the increase in Qur’anic exegesis works in West Java in the early 20th century. This research contributes to enriching our understanding of the dynamics of Qur’anic exegesis writing in West Java by showing that the productivity of ulama was influenced by the interaction between technological developments, the socio-religious context, and the needs of proselytizing at that time.

Copyrights © 2025






Journal Info

Abbrev

tajdid

Publisher

Subject

Description

TAJDID Jurnal Ilmu Ushuluddin focuses on the renewal of Islamic scholarship through critical, contextual, and integrative studies that bridge classical texts, Islamic thought, social and cultural Muslims to contemporary realities and issues. The journal welcomes literature and empirical research in ...