Pondok Pesantren Daar el-Qolam

Daar el-Qolam is a living legacy enduring joys and sorrows. It has been striving to uphold traditional values, local wisdom and being responsive to modern values in educational field. Those efforts were carried out in order to prepare Islamic generations who are able to face any kinds of challenges and to adjust with new development. Students here are enriched with educational elements of iman (faith), ethics and knowledge.

Daar el-Qolam legacy is founded on a spirit to build civilization. Its main asset is committed to devote for humanity. In the light of its history, this institution stood on a mixture between enthusiasm and strong willing to educate students with limited access and facilities in its first establishment. It was the early spirit of its founding father, the late Drs KH Rifa'I Arief. Just imagine, long before concrete buildings were established, Daar el-Qolam was built on an old kitchen with bamboo walls and pieces of woods where students were studying therein. In short, those two spirits, enthusiasm and strong willing, are the key success that made Daar el-Qolam survive in its beginning.

Located at Pasir Gintung (village), Jayanti (Sub-district), Tangerang (District), Province of Banten, Indonesia, Daar el-Qolam was established on 20 January 1968 AD (27 Ramadhan 1318 H) by the late K.H. Ahmad Rifa'i Arief (see profile) suggested by his father, the late H. Qasad Mansyur, who at that time directed Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Masyariqul Anwar (MMA -- an Islamic Elementary School). His purpose was to educate students of MMA and hopefully they could pursue their education to a higher level of education.

In the course of its history, initially there were only 22 students who studied at Daar el-Qolam. They were mostly coming from family members, friends, and people surrounding Pesantren. The educational system they learnt was a sort of integrated Islamic values and exact sciences which there was no dichotomy between religious subjects and non-religious subjects.

Accordingly, it could be inferred that pesantren not only possess Islamic studies, but also teaches students science knowledge in modern sense, enriched with life skills and discipline in implementing religious practices and rituals in daily life. In view of its development, Daar el-Qolam would be regarded as a ‘pesantren based school' or ‘school based pesantren.'

At present, Daar el-Qolam has been a sort of modern educational institution with a large number of infra-structures comprising 241 teachers and 4,167 students from all over provinces in Indonesia. This institution serves as a melting pot for multicultural patterns; "Learning how to live together and Learning by doing are our Excellence in life."

Daar el-Qolam adalah sebuah perjalanan sejarah. Sejarah yang berbalut suka dan duka. Pergulatan panjanganya dalam dunia pendidikan menekankan kepada pemeliharaan nilai-nilai tradisional (traditional values), kearifan lokal (local wisdom) dan responsif terhadap nilai-nilai modernisasi (modernity values). Usaha itu kami lakukan dalam rangka menyiapkan generasi Islam agar dapat menantang dan menaklukan zamannya. Mereka yang menimba ilmu di sini dibekali dengan iman, akhlak dan ilmu pengetahuan.

Sejarah Daar el-qolam diawali dengan semangat untuk membangun peradaban. Modal terbesarnya adalah niat yang kuat untuk memberikan pengabdian. Semangat dan niat itulah yang bersatu padu melawan berbagai keterbatasan yang mengelilingnya saat itu. Betapa tidak ! Sebelum berdirinya bangunan-bangunan berbeton, Daar el-Qolam diawali dengan sebuah dapur tua, bilik bambu dan tempelan papan yang menutupi ruangan. Ya. Niat dan semangat itulah yang menjadi kata kunci yang membuat Daar el-Qolam sukses melawan keterbatasannya.

Berlokasi di Desa Pasir Gintung, Kecamatan Jayanti, Kabupaten Tangerang Propinsi Banten Indonesia. Daar el-Qolam didirikan pada tanggal 20 Januari tahun 1968 M bertepatan dengan 27 Ramadhan 1318 H oleh Drs. K. H. Ahmad Rifa’i Arief (lihat profil) atas gagasan ayahnya, H. Qasad Mansyur, yang saat itu mengelola Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Masyariqul Anwar (MMA). Maksud ayahnya adalah agar kelak alumni MMA dapat melanjutkan pendidikan ke jenjang yang lebih tinggi.

Dalam catatan sejarahnya, proses pendidikan dan pengajaran di Daar el-Qolam diikuti 22 orang santri yang datang dari kalangan keluarga, karib kerabat serta masyarakat sekitar pesantren. Sistem yang diadopsinya adalah pendidikan Islam modern yang mengabaikan dikotomi ilmu pengetahuan.

Sebab itulah, pesantren ini tidak hanya menyuguhkan kajian-kajian keislaman (Islamic Studies), tapi juga mengajarkan ilmu pengetahuan umum, keterampilan (skill), disiplin beribadah dan disiplin hidup. Sehingga dalam perkembangannya Daar el-Qolam bisa diartikan sebagai balai pendidikan pesantren yang berbasis sekolah (Pesantren-based school) atau sekolah yang berbasis pesantren (School-based Pesantren).

Kini DAAR EL QOLAM telah menjadi sebuah lembaga pendidikan modern dengan format pesantren besar yang melibatkan 241 orang guru dan 4.167 santri yang berasal dari perbagai penjuru Indonesia. Hal tersebut menggambarkan corak multikultural yang terasa sangat kental di tempat ini (learning to live together) dan belajar sambil berbuat (learning by doing) menjadi keunggulan kami.