Reframing Museum Epistemology: Sanad as a Counter-Archive in Islamic Curatorial Practice in Pahang, Malaysia

Abstract

This study critiques the dominance of colonial archival frameworks in museological institutions in the Malay world, which often present historical narratives in a linear manner while marginalizing the intellectual foundations of Islamic civilization in the region. Although decolonization movements are increasingly gaining traction, their approaches are frequently limited to issues of representational inclusivity without fundamentally restructuring the underlying Eurocentric epistemological frameworks. In response, this article advances the concept of sanad (the chain of knowledge transmission) as an epistemic counter-archive for reconstructing museum curatorial practices. Sanad is demonstrated not merely as a sequence of historical names, but as an integrated intellectual infrastructure that binds together core Islamic disciplines—such as law (fiqh), theology (‘aqidah), and spirituality (tasawwuf)—into a coherent, authoritative, and authentic system of knowledge. Employing a qualitative methodology that combines contemporary museological analysis with the Islamic intellectual tradition, this study takes the Pahang State Museum as its primary case study, examining the potential integration of key historical documents such as the Hukum Kanun Pahang into a sanad-based narrative framework. The findings indicate that the application of sanad has the capacity to shift museum storytelling from a colonial-centered administrative chronology toward a relational mapping of knowledge networks, foregrounding the role of scholars (ulama) as the principal agents in the construction of civilization. In conclusion, the development of a sanad-based curatorial model not only functions as an empirical instrument to challenge distortions in European historiography, but also offers a new paradigm for modern cultural institutions. This model ensures that the historical identity of local communities is understood and appreciated within an autonomous Islamic epistemological framework, free from Western hegemonic influence.