Gusjigang as Cultural Da‘wah Memory: Rethinking Sunan Kudus Local Legacy

Abstract

Gusjigang is widely known as a local philosophy of Kudus that integrates three core values: bagus (good moral character), ngaji (Islamic learning), and dagang (trade or entrepreneurship). In many academic, popular, and institutional narratives, Gusjigang is commonly attributed to Sunan Kudus and presented as part of his da‘wah legacy. However, this attribution raises an important academic issue, particularly because the literal origin of the term Gusjigang has not been sufficiently supported by primary historical evidence from the period of Sunan Kudus. This article aims to examine Gusjigang not as a term that must be proven to have originated directly from Sunan Kudus, but as a form of cultural da‘wah memory that lives within Kudus society. Using a qualitative-critical approach based on literature study and discourse analysis, this article explores how Gusjigang has been constructed, reproduced, institutionalized, and symbolically linked to Sunan Kudus. The findings show that Gusjigang functions as a collective memory that connects morality, Islamic knowledge, and economic ethos with the symbolic authority of Sunan Kudus. This article argues that the significance of Gusjigang lies not merely in the certainty of its terminological origin, but in its social capacity to shape the moral, religious, and economic identity of Kudus society. Therefore, Gusjigang should be understood as a living cultural da‘wah memory rather than simply as a literal historical expression attributed to Sunan Kudus.