Modernizing Traditional Islamic Education: A Case Study of Value Internalization Through the Rutinan Malam Senin at Al-Munawwir Pesantren

Abstract

This study investigates the implementation of the Monday Night Routine (Rutinitas Malam Senin) at Al-Munawwir Islamic Boarding School, examining how traditional Islamic educational practices are modernized through community-based religious routines. While existing literature has extensively documented formal pesantren curricula, limited attention has been paid to non-formal, community-oriented recitation (pengajian) as a vehicle for internalizing Islamic values among the broader public, a gap this study seeks to address. The novelty of this research lies in its analysis of how a structured communal ritual integrates classical Islamic texts with contemporary pedagogical methods to cultivate religious and moral transformation outside the classroom setting. This qualitative study employed interviews, observation, and documentation as data collection methods. Findings indicate four key outcomes: (1) the Monday Night Routine emerged from a community need for structured religious education grounded in the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama'ah tradition; (2) the activity follows a structured sequence, opening recitation of Al-Fatihah and salawat, reading of Al-Ibriz and Al-Hikam (approximately 30 minutes each), followed by istighotsah, communal prayer, and a fellowship session; (3) Islamic values are cultivated through three primary mechanisms: habituation (pembiasaan), exemplary modeling (uswatun hasanah), and classical text recitation; and (4) participants report psychological and spiritual benefits, including inner peace, emotional satisfaction, and acquisition of practical religious knowledge. These findings suggest that community-based religious routines function not merely as devotional practices but as informal educational institutions capable of sustaining Islamic moral formation in modern society.