The Ustadzah

The Founder

In 1970, in a very remote village, there was a small house located next to the mosque. There lived a middle-aged Ustadzah with three orphans he cared for. Living below the poverty line, the four of them rely on donations from the village community to eat everyday. But poverty does not seem to last long.

One day, an old car looks so neatly maintained, parked in the field of the vast mosque. Inside the house of the Ustadzah, an old man dressed in PNS was prostrating. Witnessed by three adopted children, the man expressed his desire to rise to the position of regent in this company.

The Ustadzah with great devotion began to pray, so that all the wishes of the man were fulfilled. After a few verses were recited, the man finally left feeling happy, full of confidence.

"Your... Is that guy gonna be regent?"

The Ustadzah smiled and stroked the head of his eldest son. "Mah, we leave everything to Allah SWT, Insha Allah if we pray sincerely, then God will grant our prayers"

"When My servants ask you about Me, then (answer) I am near. I grant the supplication of the one who prays when he asks Me, so let them fulfill My commandments and let them believe in Me so that they may always be in straightness." Add The Ustadzah.

(Al-Baqara[2]186)

The next few weeks, the man came with great joy. He bowed and thanked the Ustadzah. According to him, thanks to the prayers offered, he finally managed to be chosen as a regent. The Ustadzah denied it, again he said that it was all because of Allah SWT, not because of him. But the new regent seemed to ignore, he again gave a donation of money that was twice as much as before. The Ustadzah initially refused, but when he saw his three starving adopted children, he finally accepted the man's gift again.

Months after that, suddenly came three patio officials. Just like the instructions given by his new superior (regent), they asked for prayers and blessings on the Ustadzah. Ustadzah soon prayed for him, but he vehemently refused when given any gifts. The Ustadzah sincerely pray for them to get promotion or success in work. After praying, the three men did not give anything. But a month later they returned with trucks of building materials and their builders to renovate the mosque.

The Ustadzah was shocked not to play, at first he refused. But because of the intention of the three people to return the favor by building and repairing the house of God, inevitably the Ustadzah could not refuse it. The originally small village mosque was transformed into so large and magnificent within a few months.

Gradually, rumors about a Ustadzah whose prayers were always granted spread throughout the city. Even some officials from outside the province know that, also 'visit' to the house of the Ustadzah. Every time an official would give money or food to the Ustadzah. If he refuses, then a child named Romah is greedy enough to keep the donations. The Ustadzah had rebuked Romah, but he did not care. He thought that the four of them lived so poor, so they needed money to eat everyday. Because they did not have much choice, the Ustadzah ended up using the money for their daily needs.

The boarding house was finally completed, with three magnificent second-floor buildings along with dozens of rooms. As the founder, Ustadzah was so proud of his cottage, and set a rule that only women can study here. Given that he is the adopted child of all women, it will make it easier for the three of them to take care of the cottage.

Once opened, a lot of applicants who want to attend school in the boarding school. Of course, at first they did not want to study religion seriously. They just want to learn how to be like the Ustadzah, whose prayers are always efficacious. But the education provided by the Ustadzah changed their views, and made the boarding school a great success. As a tit for tat, the success then made the name of the Ustadzah more famous.

In 2000, the middle-aged Ustadzah is now a grandmother who is so old. The disease began to eat away at his thin body. But his three adopted children still force him to pray for every 'guest' that comes. The three greedy children certainly do not want to lose the coffers of free money that continues to flow every day. In the end, Sang Ustadzah fell down the stairs, breaking his neck. Suddenly, the Ustadzah died.

Instead of taking her foster mother to the hospital, Romah forbade her two sisters from telling her about this incident. He hid the body of the Ustadzah in the room, and refused all guests who wanted to ask for prayer. He and his two sisters lied that Ustadzah was very ill and would call them back if his condition improved. In fact, Romah is making a plan, so that this activity continues, so that they continue to get money.

Romah then had the idea to pretend to be the Ustadzah and keep praying for the guests who came. It was Ulun, the youngest adopted child who wore a robe and a long black veil to fool the guests. But it only lasted a few weeks before they were discovered. But, because of Romah's lack of negotiation, the death of the Ustadzah seems to still be successfully covered up.

It was only in the following month that Romah had a terrible idea. He brought the rotting corpse of the Ustadzah into a small cave in the forest. Inside there is a puddle and then the water he replaced with a preservative liquid. He heartlessly drowned his adoptive mother's body and preserved her.

But because it takes a long time to process the preservation of the corpse, it is impossible to remove the Ustadzah every day. Therefore another tactic appeared, he asked the guests to come once a year only, only on the night of one suro. Romah argued that it was the order of the Ustadzah who had begun to age and could no longer pray for people every day. The officials certainly believed without much questioning, because they also believed in the efficacy and myth of one suro night. Plus the prayer of the famous Ustadzah, then there is no prayer that will not be answered. .

But there is a little obstacle, namely a broken neck that makes the head of the corpse always tilted to the right. Of course preservatives will not repair broken bones. But it was resolved by telling someone to hold the body of the corpse. Initially Ulun was the one who was in charge of holding, but when Romah's nephew came to ask for her womb to be aborted five years ago, now Nabila is the one who served for it. Not just holding a corpse every year. Nabila was also in charge of cleaning and taking care of the corpse of the Ustadzah when soaked in the cave. Every day he had to check the condition of the corpse, because it could not be continuously soaked.

Perfect was Romah's plan, he now only need to remove the preserved body once a year. And every night one suro, the corpse was given long black clothes that covered his entire face and body. Perfumes and fragrances are splashed on the lifeless body, so that the smell of preservatives can be disguised. Coupled with the prohibition of kissing the hand or touching the Ustadzah, then no one will know that in front of him is a corpse.