Empowering Santri through the Talaqqi Method in Qur'anic Learning at Pondok Modern Al-Aqsha

Abstract

This article reports on the implementation of the talaqqi method combined with tahsin and a personal approach within a community service and empowerment (PPM) program conducted by six students of the Qur'anic Studies and Tafsir program at UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung at Pondok Modern Al-Aqsha, Jatinangor, Sumedang Regency. Background: Although Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) are institutional environments with a strong normative commitment to Qur'anic recitation excellence, empirical gaps in tajwid mastery, makharij al-huruf precision, and hafalan consistency persist among santri at the secondary level. Existing studies on talaqqi and tahsin predominantly position researchers as external observers of long-established institutional programs, rarely documenting the dual experience of student practitioners who simultaneously implement an intervention and are pedagogically shaped by it, nor situating talaqqi within a broader community-empowerment theoretical framework. Objectives: This community service activity aimed to (1) describe how talaqqi and tahsin were applied across three empowerment programs Qur'anic Reading Development (PBQ), substitute tahfidz mentoring, and substitute teaching of pesantren subjects; (2) identify obstacles encountered and adaptive strategies employed; and (3) examine the contribution of the empowerment process to the development of the four professional teaching competencies of the student practitioners. Methods: A qualitative descriptive approach with a participatory case-study design was used, drawing on participant observation, informal interviews, and documentation across approximately one month of fieldwork, analyzed via data reduction, display, and conclusion drawing with source triangulation to ensure credibility. Results: Talaqqi and tahsin demonstrably strengthened santri participation, self-confidence, and recitation motivation; common errors clustered around makharij al-huruf imprecision, misapplication of idgham, ikhfa', iqlab, and qalqalah rules, and inaccurate mad-qashr distinctions. Full technical mastery of tajwid required longer engagement than the three-week intervention period allowed. Key constraints included heterogeneous ability levels within single halaqah groups, a 30-minute daily tahfidz session ceiling, absence of visual teaching aids, abrupt scheduling changes for substitute teaching, and santri psychological fatigue from densely packed daily schedules. Each constraint was addressed through adaptive strategies: flexible individual approach, rotating setoran schedules, oral-demonstrative kaidah explanation, and murajaah-first lesson entry. Conclusion: The program produced a mutual-empowerment dynamic santri gained in Qur'anic recitation competence and motivational orientation, while student practitioners developed all four professional competencies (pedagogic, personal, social, and professional) through direct and complex engagement with real classroom conditions. The article proposes a model for designing pesantren-based PPM programs with extended duration, visual instructional support, and strengthened scheduling coordination between the host institution and student practitioners.