Fall of Dream Pesantren (Move WRITE)
Dad's Memories
A few minutes passed and the tahlil was over, the villagers of Candi returned to their homes. The night breeze accompanied each step away from the whitewashed house with a simple roof. The moon divides their light so that everyone can find their way home.
Some of my relatives are still sitting on the porch. Pakde Ghofur, Pak Salam, Lek Ipul, and Ammar chatted interspersed with coffee smoke trying to chat with their noses.
Ammar was just pensive while bowing his face. His eyes were tired; he was crying too much. He is also human, entitled to grieve and cry. But not in a public place.
“Your father is strong, le. Given any trials remain steadfast.”
“Iya, Pakde.”
“Why should a person like your father be called first?”
“Iyo, Fur. Why good people always die first.” Add Mr. Salam, Dad's closest neighbor as well as a friend to coffee and chat at night.
“All that is only God knows. It has all been outlined since the time of azali.”
“That's God's secret. Sometimes good people like you have to be called first. On the contrary, those who are evil and like to vile are given a longer deadline to repent.” Ammar answered with a blank look.
“You are indeed suitable to be the successor of your father, le. May Allah always give you and your mother, and your sister the patience to face this test.”
“Amin . . .” Ammar agreed in his heart.
Ammar is always patient in the face of calamity. For him, the disaster was a test from Allah to his faithful servant. The more terrible the calamity or the test that befalls a servant, the higher the faith of a servant can be known. If he can pass the test, his degree will rise by His side.
Just like a student who is working hard to prepare for the test he will face tomorrow. Once the student can pass the exam for a certain period of time and effort, of course, the student can rise to the next level. If the student cannot pass the test that will face him tomorrow, the student will not increase in level.
“I'm sorry too, Le. Your father's services can hardly be counted. Your father taught me religion started at zero. When I was a thug, lazy, your father often negur and ngajak najai together. Although younger, his stubbornness sometimes brings blessings.”
Ammar never forgot the events of that time, when his uncle wanted to learn nahwu and shorof to his father. Pakde said that he was ashamed if he lost to his son who could read the book of baldness. Dad ended up teaching pakde nahwu and shorof every morning and evening if you have no other needs.
It does not take long for Pakde to master the science of nahwu and shorof. Since it used to be nyantri, pakde certainly already understand the purpose even though always sleeping. It only takes three months for the pakde to understand in its entirety about nahwu and shorof.
No half-hearted, pakde directly chose the book of sharh ibn ‘aqil. Dad was surprised to learn what his sister-in-law had chosen. As soon as he saw the look in his eyes that showed his spirit demanded knowledge, father finally obeyed the will of the pakde. Now, the ability of nahwu and shorof pakde almost equal the father.
Ammar, who inherited his father's knowledge, certainly knows more about these two things than pakdena. After aliyah, he had memorized alfiyah and fathul qorib. He deliberately ended his undergraduate studies normally for four years, actually he could finish it faster. Not only the age factor, the skill factor in organizing is also high. He was chairman of BEM[1] for two consecutive terms.
Graduating scholars, Ammar has buried hundreds of books of Islamic history from the time of the Prophet to the classical period. He has a small library at home. There are over three hundred Islamic history books and dozens of Islamic novels. There are also several Arabic dictionaries and yellow-billed books belonging to his father, such as the book of ihya’ and bidayah wa an-nihayah by Ibn Kathir.
Ammar is a bookish teenager. Almost every book he found interesting, he bought with his own savings. He would rather read history books than books about science. The spirit of learning and reading it has grown as a youth. Behind the books of his father who sucked his attention, little Ammar has had a character who is still a foreign name for ordinary people. That man was Hasan bin Ziyad.
Hasan bin Ziyad was one of the great scholars of his time. He is a pious figure as well as a faqih. His keenness in the field of fiqh made him a mufti[2] for forty years. Surely there is an interesting story from him that makes Ammar make it as a role model in terms of studying as well as learning and reading.
Starting from ordinary people who do not understand about the science of religion, Hasan bin Ziyad began his studies to a renowned Iraqi jurist at that time and is often referred to as a jurist fiqhul ra’yi or law taking with logic. Hasan studied directly with his master, Imam Abu Hanifah, one of the four imams of the madzhab.
He began studying his fiqh at the age of eighty. In his forty years of study with Imam Abu Hanifa, there was not a single day he missed by sleeping in a bed.
After forty years of studying fiqh to Imam Abu Hanifa, the teacher felt that all his knowledge had been passed on to Hasan who at that time had reached one hundred and twenty years of age. At that age, Hasan ibn Ziyad was appointed mufti for forty years until he was one hundred and sixty years old.
This indicates the obligation to study without regard to age anymore. It might be impossible if someone starts to learn at the age of old and senile. It can be broken by the power of intention. Once there is a strong intention in one's heart, all that can prevent it must be avoided by Allah, the All-Giver.
[1] Student Executive Board
[2] Persons entitled to a fatwa.
