Weaving Holistic Piety: a Study of Gus Mus' Thoughts in His Book “Saleh Ritual Saleh Sosial”

Abstract

Ahmad Mustofa Bisri’s (Gus Mus) ideas in his book Saleh Ritual Saleh Sosial critique the phenomenon where ritual piety is often separated from social piety. This is highly relevant to the condition of modern society, which sometimes tends to emphasize the formality of worship more than religious social values. This study aims to deeply analyze Gus Mus' thoughts on the balance between ritual and social piety and its implications in the context of modern religious life. This research employs a qualitative method with critical discourse analysis as the technique. The primary data source is Gus Mus’ book Saleh Ritual Saleh Sosial, combined with other relevant literature. The analysis process identifies the main themes of Gus Mus' thought and relates them to the emerging social phenomena. The findings reveal that Gus Mus emphasizes the importance of harmonizing ritual and social piety, reminding that religion not only teaches the relationship between humans and God through ritual worship but also between humans through social charity. Modern society often falls into religious formality, which tends to be individualistic and neglects social responsibility. According to Gus Mus, ideal piety touches two dimensions, ritual and social. His thoughts are highly relevant in the context of modern religious life, which should return to balancing these two aspects to achieve comprehensive piety.