Before 780 new students of the Faculty of Sharia and Law at UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta, Prof. Jimly Asshiddiqie did not open his talk with constitutional articles. Instead, the constitutional law expert and former Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court began by sharing a page from his own life story, that he came from a madrasah.

“Those of you who come from a madrasah or any type of secondary school need not feel discouraged. I am a madrasah graduate, and I went on to become one of the founders of the Constitutional Court,” he said.

The message was delivered at the Studium Generale (Public Lecture) of the Faculty of Sharia and Law at UIN Sunan Kalijaga, held at the Multipurpose Building on Thursday (9/3/2026). The event, themed “Becoming a Generation of Justice Enforcers: The Role of Faculty of Sharia and Law Students in Building a Constitutional Indonesia,” was attended by new FSH students of the 2026/2027 academic year, introduced as Justicia Muda (Young Justicia).

Yet this experience was not offered merely as a personal success story. Behind his journey from a madrasah to the stage of constitutional law, Prof. Jimly pointed to an intellectual foundation that UIN Sunan Kalijaga students need to build: the willingness to read the “verses of scripture” (ayat quraniyah) and the “verses of the universe” (ayat kauniyah) side by side.

Scientific knowledge developed by scholars, Prof. Jimly said, is essentially the product of reading the regularities of nature, or sunatullah. For this reason, studying the development of science is part of humanity's effort to read the signs of God spread throughout life.

“We must be familiar with the ayat kauniyah, including the thought of Plato and Aristotle. We must also be familiar with the ayat quraniyah. These must become one within our inner reading,” he said.

Affirming Integration-Interconnection

Prof. Jimly's idea finds its context within UIN Sunan Kalijaga's academic tradition. The university has developed the integration-interconnection paradigm as a foundation for bringing together Islamic sciences with the social sciences, humanities, science, and technology.

Within this framework, religion and science are not positioned as two separate domains. Instead, they are connected to build a more holistic way of understanding human beings, nature, and social issues. What Prof. Jimly conveyed to the Justicia Muda reinforced the relevance of this paradigm within legal education.

Integration-interconnection, then, does not remain merely an institutional identity for UIN Sunan Kalijaga. The paradigm functions as a way of thinking: bringing together the ayat quraniyah with the ayat kauniyah, connecting text with context, and opening a dialogue between the Islamic intellectual heritage and the development of contemporary knowledge.

This perspective also challenges the assumption that modern science is entirely synonymous with the West. Prof. Jimly invited students to revisit the contributions of Muslim scientists throughout the history of scientific development.

He cited Ishaq bin Ali ar-Ruhawi, who in the 9th century wrote Adab al-Tabib on medical ethics, as well as Al-Khawarizmi, whose intellectual legacy lives on in the term “algorithm.”

These historical traces show that science has grown through encounter, translation, critique, and cross-cultural exchange. A rigid separation between religious knowledge and secular knowledge, therefore, may only narrow the academic horizon.

In Indonesian history, an effort to bring the two together was also introduced by B.J. Habibie, through the pairing of science and technology with faith and piety, known through the terms IPTEK (Science and Technology) and IMTAK (Faith and Piety).

Understanding Law in Three Layers

For students of the Faculty of Sharia and Law, the integration-interconnection paradigm carries direct consequences for how law is understood. It is not enough for students to master the wording of statutes and legal procedures; they must also understand the underlying values, the process of interpretation, and the social context in which the law operates.

Sharia serves as the fundamental source of value. Fiqh represents the understanding and opinions of religious scholars in interpreting sharia, while qanun brings norms into the form of regulations that apply within collective life.

The three cannot be treated as identical, yet neither should they be absolutely separated. Sharia provides value orientation, fiqh reflects the dynamics of interpretation, while qanun represents the institutionalization of norms through the legal system.

Within this context, legal education at UIN Sunan Kalijaga occupies a distinctive scholarly space. Students are encouraged to study positive law while also exploring the philosophical, religious, historical, and social foundations that lie behind it.

From that scholarly space, the author of more than 85 books guided the Justicia Muda toward an issue closer to the future of their profession: how law is positioned within the life of the state.

Law as “Imam”, Leaders as “Role Models”

Indonesia, Prof. Jimly stressed, is a state of law (negara hukum), not a state of power. As a consequence, officials, leaders, and citizens are all subject to agreed-upon rules. The highest authority in the administration of the state is not a figure, but the law itself.

Prof. Jimly connected this principle to the concept of making the Qur'an an imam. In his explanation, an imam can be understood as a system of values and rules that serves as a guide, while the Prophet Muhammad serves as the role model in living out those values.

The same logic applies to public officials. They do not stand above the system, but are bound by its rules and must serve as role models in obeying them. Holding office does not grant special license to deviate from the law, rather, it increases one's responsibility to demonstrate compliance with it.

This explanation was then linked to the trajectory of Plato's thought. In the Republic, the goodness of a state rests on the quality of its leader. A good state is imagined to arise from the leadership of a philosopher possessing both knowledge and virtue.

However, in the Laws (Nomoi), Plato's focus shifts toward the importance of law, norms, and systems of rules. This shift shows that the life of a state cannot rely entirely on the personal qualities of a single leader.

Students as “National Players”

Prof. Jimly's message found concrete grounding when he referenced the Constitutional Court's ruling on the presidential nomination threshold (presidential threshold). He highlighted the role of four UIN Sunan Kalijaga Faculty of Sharia and Law students who filed the petition that led to this landmark ruling on Indonesia's presidential nomination system.

For Prof. Jimly, this step demonstrates that students can take part in constitutional debate and influence the direction of legal change.

“This is an example that UIN students can compete with leading state universities. All of you must take part in improving the quality of constitutional democracy and safeguarding Indonesia's Law-Based State, grounded in Pancasila and the Constitution,” he said.

He encouraged UIN Sunan Kalijaga students to become “national players”, present in the nation's major conversations, bold in putting forward ideas, and capable of producing thought that leaves its mark on the course of history.

The constitution, in Prof. Jimly's view, represents the highest agreement binding the life of the state. He invited students to look to the Charter of Medina as one historical reference for shared agreement within a pluralistic society.

From there, the constitution can be understood not merely as a document outlining institutional structures and the division of power. It is also a moral and political bond that allows different groups to live together under one shared agreement.

The challenge for the new generation, according to Prof. Jimly, is to build political institutions that are modern, effective, and efficient, while freeing them from the constraints of feudal culture. The principle of the rule of law must be present in the actual practice of governing the state, not remain merely a constitutional statement.

“When we become law enforcers, we can drive change, improve quality, and safeguard the integrity of national life, both as a state of law and as a democracy,” Jimly said.

It is at this point that UIN Sunan Kalijaga's integration-interconnection paradigm takes on concrete form. It is not merely a concept explaining the relationship between disciplines, but a foundation for producing future law enforcers capable of connecting knowledge with values, law with justice, and authority with ethical responsibility.

For a state of law is not safeguarded by rules neatly stored away in books. A state of law lives through people who are knowledgeable, hold integrity, and are brave enough to ensure that power always operates under the law. (humassk)