KH Zulfa Mustofa Calls for Revival of Kitab Writing Tradition to Sustain Islamic Scholarship and Civilisation in Indonesia

Wakil Ketua Umum Pengurus Besar Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU), KH Zulfa Mustofa, has called on scholars, academics, and the pesantren community to revive the tradition of writing kitab as part of an effort to maintain the continuity of knowledge and build Islamic civilisation in Indonesia. The call coincided with the launch of his latest work, Ithafu Ummati Al Muqtafa, scheduled for Friday, 10 July 2026, at the Sakinah Hall of Sunda Kelapa Mosque in Menteng, Central Jakarta. The event serves not only to introduce his new book but also as a momentum to reinvigorate the intellectual tradition of writing within Nahdlatul Ulama, pesantren, Islamic universities, and other religious institutions. KH Zulfa Mustofa assessed that the tradition of writing kitab plays a crucial role in preserving Islamic knowledge from one generation to the next. He noted that since the early spread of Islam to the archipelago, the progress of Islamic civilisation was born not only from scholars with profound knowledge and character but also from the scholarly works they left behind. These books, he said, became an intellectual heritage bridging the transmission of knowledge across generations, continuing to provide benefits hundreds of years after their authors passed away. He stated that the tradition of the ulama is a tradition of knowledge, and that tradition cannot be strong without a tradition of writing, which is why past scholars not only educated students but also left behind books as an intellectual legacy for the community. Mustofa further noted that while pesantren have long been recognised as centres for transmitting Islamic knowledge through the study of classical texts, this role must be strengthened by producing new scholarly works capable of answering the challenges of the times and the development of society. He argued that the writing tradition must continue to grow within pesantren so that they are not merely places for studying classical works but also spaces for generating new ideas firmly rooted in the Islamic intellectual heritage.