Spiritual Rationality and Social Actions of Pesantren Leaders in the BUMPes Incubation Assistance Program: A Narrative Hermeneutic Study in Ponorogo, East Java, Indonesia

Syahrudin Syahrudin; Ishomuddin Ishomuddin; Oman Sukmana; H.M. Suyudi

doi:10.37680/qalamuna.v18i2.8323

Authors

Syahrudin Syahrudin Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang
Ishomuddin Ishomuddin Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang
Oman Sukmana Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang
H.M. Suyudi Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Ampel Surabaya

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37680/qalamuna.v18i2.8323

Keywords:

Social Action; Spiritual Rationality; Pesantren; Bumpes; Spiritual Capital; Islamic Social Entrepreneurship

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the social actions of pesantren leaders in managing the Incubation Program of Pesantren-Owned Enterprises (BUMPes) and to explain the construction of spiritual rationality underlying decision-making and Islamic social entrepreneurship. A qualitative approach employing a narrative-hermeneutic method based on Max Weber's social action theory was adopted. The research was conducted at Al-Muttaqin Islamic Boarding School, Munggung, Pulung, Ponorogo, East Java. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, participatory observation, focus group discussions, and document analysis. The data were analyzed using Miles and Huberman's interactive analysis model combined with Riessman's narrative interpretation. The findings reveal that pesantren leaders perceive BUMPes not merely as an economic initiative but as an instrument of dakwah, social worship, and community empowerment. Their social actions integrate instrumental, value-oriented, affective, traditional, and spiritual rationalities, forming the Spiritual Rationality of Pesantren (SRP) model. Ethical values such as sincerity (ikhlas), trustworthiness (amanah), cooperation (ta'awun), responsibility, and blessing (barakah) serve as the foundation of institutional governance. The study concludes that spiritual rationality constitutes an essential dimension of Islamic social entrepreneurship and introduces the concept of Spiritual Capital as a theoretical extension of Weber's rationality framework within the context of Islamic institutions.

References

Abidin, M. Y., Ta’rifin, A., Hanif, M., Aini, R., & Rakhmawati, S. (2024). Pesantren without Kiai: Transforming Leadership Traditions and Boarding School Ownership. Edukasia Islamika, 9(2), 201–220.

Acharjee, S. (2024). Social capital and social entrepreneurship: The role of entrepreneurial culture and dynamic capabilities.

Adair-toteff, C. (n.d.). Max Weber’s Sociology of Religion.

Agilan, N. (2026). An integrated framework for ensuring quality in qualitative case study research. Qualitative Research Journal, 1–13.

Alhasbi, F., Fathurrahman, M., & Ahmad, A. A. M. (2024). Agama sebagai Anugerah Semesta: Memahami Makna Islam Rahmatan lil’Alamin. Pawarta: Journal of Communication and Da’wah, 2(2), 113–131.

Aljahsh, M. A. I., & Alhelbawy, S. L. A. D. (2026). Religious Rooting of Sacralization Phenomena in Human Thought: An Islamic Civilizational Perspective. Journal of Al-Tamaddun, 21(1), 31–50.

Amin, H. (2024). Resilience and adaptation: The economy of pesantren amidst capitalism. Raudhah Proud To Be Professionals: Jurnal Tarbiyah Islamiyah, 9(1), 196–205.

Anam, S. (2025). Konstruksi Pemikiran Azyumardi Azra Pada Pendidikan Islam Pesantren Dalam Memberikan Kontribusi Perkembangan Islam Moderat. Al-Zayn: Jurnal Ilmu Sosial & Hukum, 3(2), 179–187.

Arif, S. (2025). Islamic Leadership and Organizational Performance. Ma’arif-e-Auliya, 3(2), 78–86.

Attarwiyah, N. M., Chotib, M., & Subakri, S. (2025). Spiritual Leadership and Mental Wellbeing: The Role of Kiai in Maintaining Santri Mental Health. QALAMUNA: Jurnal Pendidikan, Sosial, Dan Agama, 17(1), 121–134. https://doi.org/10.37680/qalamuna.v17i1.6395

Awan, T. A., Rahman, A., & Zaheer, A. S. (n.d.). CLIMATE JUSTICE AND ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP IN ISLAMIC THOUGHT: A FRAMEWORK FOR GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY.

CHANDRASARI, N., IZDIHAR, R. S., RISYAFA, Z. A., & NAZAR, I. A. B. U. (2025). Cultural da’wah approach to environmental conservation on the local wisdom of Javanese communities, Indonesia. Dakwah & Islamic Outreach, 1(1).

Choudhury, M. A. (n.d.). Islamic Epistemics and Socioeconomics.

Elizabeth, E., & Mikaere, G. (2025). Christian Service Ethics in Facing the Challenges of the Digital World: A Theological-Ethical Perspective on Digital Engagement. Ministries and Theology, 2(2), 55–64.

Eprilianto, D. F., Megawati, S., Sari, Y. E. K., Pramono, B. S., Sari, L. A., Rachmadhani, A., & Febrianti, E. (2024). Pentahelix collaborative analysis through stakeholder engagement in realizing sustainable environmentally based tourism village governance to support the achievements of the Village SDGs. E3S Web of Conferences, 568. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202456804002

Erlinawati, E., Bunyamin, B., & Sudana, I. M. (2025). The Influence of Transformational Leadership and Work Culture on the Quality of Elementary School Learning. QALAMUNA: Jurnal Pendidikan, Sosial, Dan Agama, 17(2), 955–966. https://doi.org/10.37680/qalamuna.v17i2.7563

Fadel, M. (2024). Islam and Scholarship Tradition: Historical Trajectories and Future Challenges of Modernity. Afkaruna: Indonesian Interdisciplinary Journal of Islamic Studies, 20(2), 184–196.

Fadillah, M. I., Purnomo, B. S., & Purnamasari, I. (2024). Islamic Economic Principles: A Critical Review of Capitalism and a Vision for Justice. Equity: Jurnal Ekonomi, 12(2), 102–115.

Faihaa, I. (2024). Upaya Pengembangan Kewirausahaan Santri Melalui Unit Usaha di TMI Putri Al-Amien Prenduan. INSTITUT AGAMA ISLAM NEGERI MADURA.

Francioni, B., De Cicco, R., Curina, I., & Cioppi, M. (2024). The strength of stance: The impact of brand activism on resistance to negative information, purchasing, and premium paying intents across different types of failures. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 82, 104102. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.104102

Ghofur, A., & Hasan, M. S. (n.d.). Model Pembelajaran Inkuiri Pondok Pesantren Berbasis Kewirausahaan: Studi Kasus Pondok Pesantren Al-Ittifaq Desa Alamendah Kecamatan Rancabali Kabupaten Bandung Jawa Barat. Jakarta: FITK UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta.

Hafidz, M. (2021). The Role of Pesantren in Guarding the Islamic Moderation. INFERENSI: Jurnal Penelitian Sosial Keagamaan, 15(1), 117–140.

Hakim, A. F., Nur, M. M., & Ichsan, I. (2022). Faktor-Faktor Yang Mempengaruhi Kemandirian Ekonomi Pondok Pesantren. El-Amwal, 5(2), 1. https://doi.org/10.29103/el-amwal.v5i2.8773

Halimatusa’diyah, I., Adam, R., Jannah, A. N., Djamaludin, K. W., Khitam, H., & Rachmanda, G. S. P. (2025). Pesantren Ramah Lingkungan: Tumbuh atau Tumbang? Penerbit A-Empat.

Hanapi, A., & Husnul, M. (2026). Epistemology of al-Hukm al-Taklifi in Islamic Family Law: Integrating Haqq and Iltizam as the Normative Foundation of the Kompilasi Hukum Islam in Indonesia. TAQNIN: Jurnal Syariah Dan Hukum, 7(02), 187–213.

Haugh, H. M., Alexandrov, T., & Roulet, T. (2025). Custodians at the Crossroads: Managing Change at Institutionally Significant Places. Journal of Management, 01492063251390855.

Hidayatullah, E. (2024). Rekonstruksi Konseptual Pendidikan Holistik: Pendekatan Fenomenologis terhadap Inklusivitas dan Kesadaran Sosial. Jurnal Studi Edukasi Integratif, 1(1), 55–68.

Ismail, M., Maksum, A., & Kholifah, S. (2026). The Keris as a Medium of Communication: Ethnographic Insights into Elite Javanese Society and Social Dynamics. Mediakita, 10(1), 101–121.

Khusnah, C. N. A., & Hosna, R. (2024). EKSISTENSI PEREMPUAN STUDI PERAN MINDSET PENGASUH PESANTREN SUPERCAMP LA RAIBA HANIFIDA. Jurnal Review Pendidikan Dan Pengajaran (JRPP), 7(4 SE-Articles), 14469–14477. https://doi.org/10.31004/jrpp.v7i4.35696

Kurniadi, W. (2025). Basic Principles of Islamic Economics from a Sharia Perspective. SHARIA RESEARCH: Sharia Banking and Business Journal, 1(1), 17–23.

Kusumawati, I., & Nurfuadi. (2024). Integrasi Kurikulum Pesantren Dalam Kurikulum Nasional Pada Pondok Pesantren Modern. Sanskara Pendidikan Dan Pengajaran, 2(01), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.58812/spp.v2i01.293

Mahmood, M. T. (2025). The Qur’ānic Philosophy of Human Existence and the Pursuit of Equity and Economic Wisdom. Pakistan Journal of Qur’ānic Studies, 4(2), 23–48.

Mansyuriadi, M., & Sapriadi, J. (2026). Metaphorical Leadership of a Muballigh in Establishing an Islamic School in A Marginal Rural Area: An Interpretive Phenomenological Study. Hierophany: Journal of Islamic Religious Education, 1(1), 1–20.

Mei Ie, S. E., Susi Widjajani, S. E., & Rossa Damayanti, S. E. (2025). Entrepreneur Muda Zaman Now: Merintis Bisnis di Tengah Ketidakpastian. Takaza Innovatix Labs.

Mustafa, A. R. (2026). Failure Becomes the Law. Dynamics of Tradition, 221.

Muzakki, H., & Nisa, K. M. (2020). Basis Transformasi Tradisi Pesantren Salaf di Era Modern (Kajian Semiotika Barthes dan Dekonstruksi Derrida). QALAMUNA: Jurnal Pendidikan, Sosial, Dan Agama, 12(1), 91–105.

Nadzir, M. (2015). Membangun Pemberdayaan Ekonomi Di Pesantren. Economica: Jurnal Ekonomi Islam, 6(1), 37–56. https://doi.org/10.21580/economica.2015.6.1.785

Nuryazidi, M. (2024). Collective social entrepreneurship as a tool for decolonization: ethnographic case studies from pesantren in Indonesia. University of Southampton.

ODESANMI, A. F., OLUSEGUN, D. I., BABATUNDE, O. S., ASAMU, F. F., KAYODE, O. E., & AROWOLO, O. T. (2024). Community Service Entrepreneurship, Social Capability, and Sustainable Development: A Social Capital Perspective. Ilorin Journal of Education, 45(1), 248–265.

Oino, P. G. (n.d.). Gendered Cultural Logics of Pandemic Response: Elderly Knowledge Systems and COVID-19 Preventive Practices in Kenya.

Prasetyo, M. A. M. (2022). Organizational and cultural transformation of pesantren in creating a competitive culture. QALAMUNA: Jurnal Pendidikan, Sosial, Dan Agama, 14(1), 73–88.

Pyrcz, P., Marchlewska, M., & Michalski, P. (2025). Blinded by Bad Identity: The Role of Collective Narcissism, Need for Cognitive Closure and Willful Ignorance in Fostering Intergroup Bias and Hostility among Catholics and Atheists. Current Opinion in Psychology, 102179.

Rawanitas, M., Mulia, M., & Ikhwan, M. (n.d.). Islamic Intellectual Legacy in Southeast Asia: The Dynamics of Thought and Civilization.

Rika Widianita, D. (2023). PERAN TOKOH AGAMA DALAM MENINGKATKAN KESADARAN MASYARAKAT UNTUK MEMBAYAR ZAKAT MAAL. AT-TAWASSUTH: Jurnal Ekonomi Islam, VIII(I), 1–19.

Ringson, J. (2026). Custodianship of OVC in Zimbabwe: A Traditional Leadership Perspective. In Challenges Facing Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Zimbabwe: Traditionalism versus Contemporarism Perspectives (pp. 89–98). Springer.

Ritonga, M., & Saputra, R. (2025). Epistemology of Knowledge: Bridging Western and Islamic Thought. Solo International Collaboration and Publication of Social Sciences and Humanities, 3(01), 95–110.

Rofiqi, Zainiyati, H. S., Niam, K., & Kusaeri. (2026). Living under the gaze: an ethnographic study of authority, embodied learning, and social reproduction in Indonesian pesantren educational practices. Ethnography and Education, 1–26.

Ruhullah, M. E., & Ushama, T. (2025). Leadership in islam: a spiritual and theological doctrine. Fikroh: Jurnal Pemikiran Dan Pendidikan Islam, 18(1), 54–74.

Sa’adah, N., & Rahman, T. (2024). Efektivitas Pengelolaan UMKM Dengan Pendekatan 3 Pilar OPOP (Santripreneur, Pesantrenpreneur, Sociopreneur) di Sekitar Pondok Pesantren Darussalam Al-Faishliyah Sampang. Jurnal At-Tamwil: Kajian Ekonomi Syariah, 6(1), 16–32.

Sica, A. (2017). Max weber. Max Weber, October, 1–718. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315264882

Singh, S., Miller, E., & Closser, S. (2024). Nurturing transformative local structures of multisectoral collaboration for primary health care: qualitative insights from select states in India. BMC Health Services Research, 24(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-11002-2

Siregar, D. M. A. (2024). Peran Pendidikan Pesantren dalam Membentuk Kemandirian Belajar Santri di Pesantren Al Aqsa Bunga Bondar Kabupaten Tapanuli Selatan. EDU SOCIETY: JURNAL PENDIDIKAN, ILMU SOSIAL DAN PENGABDIAN KEPADA MASYARAKAT, 4(2), 1410–1418.

Styabudi, W. (2024). Memperkuat Jiwa Kewirausahaan Di Pondok Pesantren. Sustainability (Switzerland), 11(1), 1–14. http://scioteca.caf.com/bitstream/handle/123456789/1091/RED2017-Eng-8ene.pdf?sequence=12&isAllowed=y%0Ahttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2008.06.005%0Ahttps://www.researchgate.net/publication/305320484_SISTEM_PEMBETUNGAN_TERPUSAT_STRATEGI_MELESTARI

Sunardi, S., Solechan, S., Ubaidillah, U., Waenasae, R., & Kamali, A. N. (2025). The Essence of Islamic Education: The Paradigm of Knowledge, Faith, and Action. Ngaos: Jurnal Pendidikan Dan Pembelajaran, 3(2), 84–102.

Suparjo, S., Purnomo, S., & Azizah, N. (2026). Developing Student Independence in the Society 5.0 Era: A Review of the Entrepreneurship-Based Hidden Curriculum. QALAMUNA: Jurnal Pendidikan, Sosial, Dan Agama, 18(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.37680/qalamuna.v18i1.8186

Suryadi, Y., & Al-Shreifeen, I. A. (2024). Islamic Education Leadership: Study on Madrasah Management in Indonesia. Indonesian Journal of Education (INJOE), 4(1), 25–38.

Syamsuri, S., Johari, F., Ahmad, H. F., & Handayani, R. F. (2023). Five Principles of Pesantren as Social Capital to Overcome the Problems of Economic Business Development at Pesantren. Society, 11(1), 173–192.

Tarigan, I. A., & Mawaddah, A. (2026). BAROCATOLOGY IN THE QUR’AN" MODERN ESSENCE AND IMPLICATIONS". SOSIOEDUKASI: JURNAL ILMIAH ILMU PENDIDIKAN DAN SOSIAL, 15(1), 1367–1372.

Thalib, M. A., Ali, M. A., & Langgai, N. (2026). Profit and Local Culture in Pesantren: A Transcendental Phenomenology. AKTIVA: Journal of Accountancy and Management, 4(1), 1–17.

Topan, M., Rays, H. M. I., Utami, R. R., & Nursyam, A. R. (2026). Buku Ajar Psikologi Kriminal. PT. Sonpedia Publishing Indonesia.

Turner, B. S. (2012). Teori Sosial : Dari Klasik Sampai Postmodern. Yogyakarta : Pustaka Pelajar, 2012.

Ummah, M. S. (2019). Pesantren dan Warisan Perjuangan: Histori Perjuangan Ustad Suharto Noer dan Berdirinya Pondok Pesantren Darussalam Saobi. In Sustainability (Switzerland) (Vol. 11, Issue 1). http://scioteca.caf.com/bitstream/handle/123456789/1091/RED2017-Eng-8ene.pdf?sequence=12&isAllowed=y%0Ahttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2008.06.005%0Ahttps://www.researchgate.net/publication/305320484_SISTEM_PEMBETUNGAN_TERPUSAT_STRATEGI_MELESTARI

Vasconcelos, A. F. (2025). Building individual spiritual capital through the work: a narrative study. International Journal of Organizational Analysis.

Wardi, U., Ikhwan, I., & Busyro, B. (2024). Appointment of heirs as funeral prayer leaders in the Bukittinggi community: an analysis of designation from the perspectives of customary and Islamic law. Hakamain: Journal of Sharia and Law Studies, 3(1), 1–12.

Waruwu, M. (2024). Pendekatan Penelitian Kualitatif: Konsep, Prosedur, Kelebihan dan Peran di Bidang Pendidikan. Afeksi: Jurnal Penelitian Dan Evaluasi Pendidikan, 5(2), 198–211. https://doi.org/10.59698/afeksi.v5i2.236

Weber, M. (1949). The Methodology of the Social Sciences. THE FREE PRESS of G L E N C O E 19 4 9 ILLINOIS. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-81010-8_11

Weber, M. (1978). Max Weber: selections in translation. Cambridge University Press.

Weber, M. (2012). Sociología de la religión (Vol. 222). Ediciones Akal.

Widyaningsih, B., Sa’adah, N., & Mustamim, M. (2021). Economic Empowerment of Pesantren through BUMP Program (Pesantren Owned Enterprises). INCOME: Innovation of Economics and Management, 1(2), 44–49. https://doi.org/10.32764/income.v1i2.1989

Yilmaz, I. (2024). Exploring the foundations of Islamic moral economy: a return to substantive morality. International Journal of Ethics and Systems.