Educational Management and Entrepreneurship at Pesantren Property in Indonesia (Contemporary Living Hadith Epistemology Study)

Abstract

Pesantren (Islamic Boarding School) increasingly combine religious education with entrepreneurship, but studies of their management seldom ask which sources of knowledge shape managerial decisions, and living hadith research has mostly examined ritual and community practice. This article analyzes how the managerial functions of Pesantren Property, a pesantren in Sentolo, Kulonprogo, Yogyakarta, that teaches property entrepreneurship, are grounded in the living hadith framework. It uses a qualitative single-case design. Data came from semi-structured interviews with six informants (the founder, an operations director, two deputy directors, a senior lecturer, and an alumnus), non-participant observation from January to March 2025, and institutional documents. The study used inductive thematic analysis, supported by source and method triangulation, member checking, and an audit trail. The findings show that planning, organizing, actuating, and controlling each rest on a distinct cluster of prophetic traditions that are practiced, not only quoted. Planning begins with the question of benefit to others and with the balance (tawazun) of worldly and religious aims. Organizing follows amanah (trust), shura (consultation), and itqan (professional excellence). Actuating builds motivation on meaning, ongoing charity, and social responsibility. Controlling operates through weekly muhasabah (self-reckoning) and muraqabah (awareness of divine oversight). The alum network extends the organizational structure, and a hadith of contested authenticity is used as cultural motivation, not as a legal proof text. The study proposes living hadith as organizational epistemology, in which prophetic tradition is an active source of managerial knowledge. For practice, faith-based institutions can ask which of their own traditions already answer the questions of purpose, structure, motivation, and evaluation. Because the evidence comes from one institution and mostly from administrators, the concept needs testing in other settings.