Pondok Pesantren Daar el-Qolam is located in Pasir Gintung, Jayanti, Tangerang, Banten. It was founded on January 20, 1968 by K. H. Ahmad Rifai Arief under the advice of his father, H. Qasad Mansyur. Rifai himself is an alumnus from Pondok Modern Gontor, which is located in Ponorogo, Jawa Timur, since 1966 and ever taught there for two years. Afterwards, he came home and founded his own educational system, which is called Daar el-Qolam.
Today, Daar el-Qolam is recorded as the largest pesantren ever in Banten Province, yielding more than 240 teachers and 4000 students who stay in an area about 30 hectare in perimeter. Daar el-Qolam provides many facilities, especially for supporting education, as other schools do, even if Daar el-Qolam is a pesantren-based school.