JAPAN — Breaking the fast together or bukber has become a tradition in Indonesia every Ramadan. But apparently this is also felt in Japan. In fact, it’s not only Muslims who celebrate bukber, but non-Muslims also celebrate it and feel the happiness of Ramadan. This phenomenon was experienced and felt directly by Ustaz Cecep Sobar Rochmat, Dai Ambassador Dompet Dhuafa 2024 Japanese assignment.
When looking at this event, it is not wrong what the Prophet said in one of his sayings that “For the fasting person there are two happiness, first when he breaks the fast, and second happiness when later meeting his Lord”. It turns out that the happiness of breaking the fast together is also felt by some non-Muslim communities who in fact have Shinto cultural beliefs, so they are not affiliated with one of the Abrahamic religions.
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For them, bukber is something very exciting, as expressed by one of the Japanese students who participated in this activity. Meanwhile, bukber for preachers is one of the methods and strategies of da’wah with a wisdom approach.
“This phenomenon does not only occur in big cities like Tokyo, but also in several cities that I have visited, such as Chiba City, Gifu, Osaka, and Nagoya,” said Ustaz Cecep.
In Nagoya, where Ustaz Cecep serves daily as imam, khatib, and lecturer during Ramadan 1445 AH, there is an even more unique phenomenon. There is a non-Muslim Shinto believer named Yasuo Takagi. He is an employee who works at a school in Nagoya. Not only does he enjoy attending bukber, but he also often attends Maghrib, Isha and Tarawih prayers in congregation with other Muslims at the Indonesian Mosque in Nagoya. In fact, Yasuo is also very serious about participating in Islamic studies.
“I had a dialog with him several times, even though he had not yet made the leap of faith. But it turns out that he admitted that he felt calm and peaceful when participating in prayer rituals. He does not feel bored with the recitation of the Qur’an that the imam recites half a juz every night,” said Ustaz Cecep.
“A smile always appears on his face as a manifestation of the joy he feels. I see the happiness radiating from his face every time he finishes the Witr prayer and listens to the cultum. That might be proof that dhikr is actually calming. I assumed that perhaps he considered this prayer ritual to be like the Buddhist tradition of yoga or meditation, which many people pay a lot of money to attend for the sake of tranquility. But on the other hand, I strongly believe this is a process towards Allah’s guidance that will come in the future,” he continued.
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In the midst of metropolitan cities like Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya, interactions between citizens are based solely on professionalism. Individualism is the cultural root of this country’s civilization, where there is no sense of caring for one another in daily life. So actually this ideology has indirectly eroded their humanity, where humans are creatures who cannot live alone because humans are social creatures.
This is where Yasuo, when participating in bukber activities and prayer rituals, found that among Muslim communities social interaction is very important and happy. Greeting each other despite new acquaintances, helping each other in mutual cooperation, mothers together cooking and preparing takjil menus. Young people are busy cleaning the place for prayer and bukber. When they joke with each other, they feel the intimacy of family.
It is things like this that Yasuo does not find in Japanese society, which is notoriously nafsi-nafsi (individualistic). Neighbors may not even know each other, there is no tradition of visiting each other’s homes, and staying overnight in someone else’s home is something that is hard to find. This is because the home is private. If they want to hold a meeting with other families, they prefer to do it outside the house.
In Japanese tradition, when a child reaches the age of 20, they have to be independent. Sometimes, there are even ‘coming out’ parties and parents no longer have the right to forbid their children. Those who are 20 years old and above are allowed to drink alcohol and have sex. Even sadly, the child also no longer cares about his parents. This situation is very different from the civilization of Muslim families, where we are required to always be filial piety to parents. Both in prayer and in daily relationships, where heaven is under the soles of the mother’s feet.
The Prophet said, “His pleasure is in the pleasure of parents”. While in another hadith the Prophet said, “The prayer of parents to their children is like the prayer of a prophet to his people”. So the interaction between parents and children is not only a relationship in the world, but also determines the fate of both of them later in a more eternal realm, namely the afterlife.
If parents can educate their children well and children can be devoted to their parents, then the place for both of them is heaven. But if it is the other way around, then their place of return is hell. This value is not in the blue print dictionary of the brain and beliefs of most people in developed countries, including Japan. On the one hand, a first-time tourist to Japan will feel amazed when they see Japan from the outside. This country will appear as a disciplined country, its citizens obey the rules, clean, has excellent urban planning and public transportation.
But there are many things they do not know, such as how the Japanese have a spiritual crisis, their hearts are very dry, in desperate need of spiritual watering and inner touch. They only pay attention to the physical aspects, but not the inner and psychological aspects. Their only goal in life is to work and work.
This also has an impact on the world of education, which in fact in universities prioritizes science and engineering faculties, rarely universities have faculties in the social humanities. So people here often get very heavy life pressure, both in work and family and colleagues. So when they have mental and physical problems, they have nowhere to turn and are mentally broken. They are not prepared for circumstances that do not meet their expectations, so many commit suicide.
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“I’ve heard many stories about people who end up crashing into trains. There are also those who drink poison or even jump from tall buildings.”
In conclusion, the field of da’wah for the Japanese people who are in dire need of spiritual watering and spiritual dryness is still very wide. May Allah swt provide a lot of guidance in this country where laws and regulations are very good. The only thing they lack is shahada. Wallahu a’lam.
Ustaz Cecep Sobar Rochmat, Dompet Dhuafa Ambassador Japan 2024