The embryo of Pesantren Daarut Tauhid began when a couple of teenagers, who were high school students, asked Aa Gym to deliver a ceramah keagamaan (religious speech) at their school, SMA-3 of Bandung. These teenagers would never have asked Aa Gym to do something like that before Aa Gym had done i’tikaf and undertaken the hajj. They recognised the authority of Aa Gym to give them religious advice since they witnessed the radical changes in Aa Gym’s personality and religiosity. They also heard of the revealing dreams of the Prophet Muhammad, experienced by Aa Gym himself and his family, which contributed to their confidence in Aa Gym.

Aa Gym’s speech was so successful in impressing his audience, who were all SMA-3 students, that they asked him to come there on a monthly basis. Yet this frequency was not satisfactory to some of the audience. They then set up a weekly pengajian at Aa Gym’s home, during which they listened to Aa Gym’s advice concerning religious matters. Those attending steadily grew week by week, occupying only a small room in Aa Gym’s house, then its main room, next its garage, and later its front yard and even the street. From no more than ten attendants at the beginning, in late 1987, it drew a following of about 400 people by 1989.

Initially the pengajian was informally organised by those pioneering SMA-students. Then, as the number of jemaah grew, it was formally organised by the so-called KMIW (Kelompok Mahasiswa Islam Wiraswasta, Islamic Student Group for Entrepreneurship). This group, as the name suggests, was in fact set up by Aa Gym and some of his friends to develop economic activities, under the banner of Islam and thus implementing an Islamic system of economy. The group was active in silk-screening and printing services. It consisted of Aa Gym, his brother and sister, and a few friends. The group then found the weekly pengajian to play an important part in their activities, which were viewed to serve the spiritual and ethical needs of their businesses ventures.

Aa Gym began to find the space for the weekly pengajian at his parent’s home in Gegerkalong Hilir limited. They then took the initiative to look for a larger and more strategic place. These were some rooms in Gegerkalong Girang whose surrounding yards were wide enough for a huge gathering. They rented the rooms to live in as well as a centre for their activities.

As time went, the pengajian became more popular and about eight hundred Muslims attending. The pengajian itself was by then popularly known as the Pengajian Tauhid; a religious sermon that focused on intensive comprehension and application of tauhid as the basis for the enhancement of Islamic morality.

Given the massive following, Aa Gym felt it necessary to set up a formal institution and organise the pengajian. On September the fourth 1990, Aa Gym and the KMIW therefore founded a yayasan (foundation) called Yayasan Daarut Tauhid, with Aa Gym as its chairman. The foundation of the yayasan was accordingly the official foundation of Pesantren Daarut Tauhid, formalising the pengajian activities that had been ongoing since late 1987. The yayasan form was chosen because it encompasses both religious and economic activities and provides the legal and formal requirements for those activities.^[25]

The foundation of Pesantren Daarut Tauhid was viewed by Aa Gym and his companions as the Will of Allah. Asked about the emergence of the pesantren, he replied:

People at Daarut Tauhid point to many occurrences that prove this is the Will of Allah. Aa Gym’s spiritual progress since 1987, involving i’tikaf, true visions, and pilgrimage to Mecca, is an often mentioned proof. Another proof is the emergence of KMIW. The establishment of this group implies that, in the first place, Aa Gym did not think in terms of a pesantren. At the time he just thought to form a group that puts together Muslims with similar interests, that is entrepreneurial activities, under the spirit of Islam. Therefore, that Aa Gym and his fellows came to the decision to found a pesantren institution in 1990 was perceived as their being led by the Will of Allah. The final proof is the bizarre funds Daarut Tauhid enjoys in funding its development. Donations came anonymously. They came either in the form of money or building materials. It is believed that these bizarre funds were sent over by pious Muslims, who donated in the name of Allah. This truly demonstrates the Will of Allah in developing Daarut Tauhid.

In deciding its direction, Daarut Tauhid has formulated the philosophical principles that have become the bases for its activities and have served as its main objective. Daarut Tauhid is set up to produce a Muslim community with three main characteristics:

The foundation of Daarut Tauhid drew both positive and negative responses although the former was immensely stronger. The positive response was clearly demonstrated by the pengajian attendants. The massive number of pengajian attendants made large donations to support the financial necessities of building the pesantren. No less than four hundred thousand rupiahs would be collected at each single pengajian. Besides, many individuals made their own separate donations in the form of either money or materials. These certainly accelerated the development of Pesantren Daarut Tauhid.

Negative response came mainly from neighbouring religious specialists, particularly because they doubted the piety of Aa Gym and his capacity and competence to be a kyai. Such doubt was prompted by their claim that Aa Gym once belonged to an anak kolong gang, a group of ABRI-children who acted superior and were thus often considered troublemakers. Although not explicitly, Aa Gym himself seemed to confirm this when telling me that such distrust “might be related to my past.” He often confesses his lack of Islamic authority either at public talks or personal encounters. For example, when Aa Gym and I were having a conversation in the mosque and a follower approached him to ask that Aa Gym wish him good luck, Aa Gym told the follower: “Unlucky you are to attend Daarut Tauhid, a pesantren led by an unqualified leader like me.” Thus, Aa Gym sees the negative response as partly arising from his own weaknesses.

Aa Gym also sees these negative responses as a predictable form of tension that his rapid emergence as a kyai would engender. The negative response is said to be most notable from the religious functionaries at the closest mosques. A functionary of the biggest mosque in KPAD complex, for example, felt overshadowed from his position since people now tended to pay more attention and thus respect to Aa Gym than to him. In facing this situation, Aa Gym tried to be wise in avoiding any conflict by making every attempt to maintain a good relationship. Aa Gym often praised him on many public occasions, acknowledging him as his religious teacher—as indeed he was. On many personal occasions, Aa Gym also tried to convince him that what he had been doing was his way of ibadah, purely for the sake of Allah. Aa Gym was eventually successful in convincing this functionary, who has since supported the development of Daarut Tauhid.

Pesantren Daarut Tauhid continues to grow amazingly, enjoying a profound support from Muslims locally and from a wider area. Its current form is only a strand of its continuum of rapid change. This portrait of the pesantren might be considerably different from that in the near future. Yet, regardless of this probable change, the nature of the relationships between the kyai and his followers will certainly shape these changes. Therefore, I would like to construct in the following chapter the pattern of these relationships. In so doing it is of course necessary to depict first the nature of both the leader and his followers.