BANDUNG, WEST JAVA — In one of the sessions in the Gemilang Islamic Boarding School Program “Intimate Santri at the Golden Age”, Dompet Dhuafa Sharia Supervisory Board Member, KH Wafiudin Sakam, delivered material on how humans recognize themselves, so that they can reach the presence of Allah Swt. The material entitled “Knowing Yourself, Reaching the Divine” was delivered to 19 elderly participants of the Gemilang Islamic Boarding School held at Emaki Almasoem Resort, Lembang, West Bandung, on Friday (4/5/2024).
The discussion began by reviewing the terminology of the word lust and dissecting the concept of self in Islam. If lust in the Indonesian language is interpreted with negative connotations, namely evil desires or bad impulses and desires, then actually in Islam, the word nafs (نَفْسٌ) means a person’s self or individual personality. Whereas the human desire or emotional drive is called hawa (الْـهَوَي).
Like the word hawa in the Qur’an in the fourth surah, An-Nisaa verse 135:
فَلاَ تَّبِعُواْ الْهَوَى أَن تَعْدِلُواْ
“So do not follow your desires to deviate from the truth.”
Read also: Fourth Gemilang Pesantren: A Forum for Mutual Self-Motivation
Ustaz Wafi then invited and encouraged the elderly students to become alkayyis, namely intelligent believers who managed to conquer themselves and work for the situation after their death. This invitation is based on the understanding of the Prophet’s hadith narrated by Tirmidzi.
الكَيِّس مَنْ دَانَ نَفْسَهُ, وَعَمِلَ لِما بَعْدَ الْموْتِ, وَالْعَاجِزُ مَنْ أَتْبَعَ نَفْسَه هَواهَا, وتمَنَّى عَلَى اللَّهِ رواه التِّرْمِذيُّ
“An intelligent person is one who prepares himself and does charity for the day after death. But a foolish person is one whose soul follows his lusts and only wishes for Allah.” (HR Tirmidhi)
The spiritual motivator then explained that in recognizing oneself, there has been a paradigm shift in which many people consider themselves to be merely physical. That is, chasing the pleasures of the world, then later when the time is dead, the body will be destroyed to reunite with nature. After that, it’s over and will just perish.
In fact, no. Humans are spirits from the side of Allah that are inserted into the body, which one day, at any time, Allah can easily take it back. When this body dies, then it is actually just a process of separation between the spirit and the body. The body will be destroyed while the spirit will remain alive.
“If we have this understanding, we will not be afraid of old age or even death. Instead, we will try to gather as many provisions as possible to face Allah when He calls us back to Him,” he explained.
Read also: Pesantren Gemilang: Let the age be old, but not the Spirit
In fact, continued Ustaz Wafi, death is a gateway that will bring a servant together with the Creator. So that way, there will always be enthusiasm looking at old age. Because in fact, the soul’s place is in the afterlife and eternal. Ustaz Wafi explained this by quoting the verse of Al-Qur’an surah Al-A’la verse 17:
وَالۡاٰخِرَةُ خَيۡرٌ وَّ اَبۡقٰىؕ
“But the life hereafter is better and more lasting.”
For Ustaz Wafi, strengthening the paradigm of the afterlife is to build optimism in life for everyone. Especially for the elderly.
This effort can be trained by increasing the remembrance of Allah with a special method. The point is to cleanse oneself as well as to connect the heart to Allah. This remembrance is sure to reassure the mind and generate optimism in life.
“I have also felt the loneliness. My peers have gone before me. Old friends have separated, perhaps because they have retired and live far away. The children are busy pursuing careers and carrying out their responsibilities towards their own families. The characteristic of old people is often loneliness. So events like this, I think are very necessary,” explained Wafiudin.
Ustaz Wafi also highly appreciated this pesantren activity for the elderly. As a speaker, he explained that for religious material sessions, there is no need for heavy delivery. Such as fiqh about differences of opinion, debates about ways of worship, about jihad, and the like. But it is more beautiful with material that leads to how to reassure the mind, and any worship that is light but has high value. So that with that, it can be collected for provision before death.
From the spiritual and psychological side, it is also very necessary to convey how to forgive all the things they don’t like. Perhaps a dark life history, perhaps disappointment with people, or feeling hurt.
“We must know and be able to do how to forgive rather than to forget. Then increase the remembrance of Allah to calm the heart even more. So that if we get used to it, later if we die, we will die with husnulkhatimah,” he exclaimed.
This is the fourth time that Pesantren Gemilang has been held. This program is specifically for elderly participants who want to improve their quality after retirement.
The participants were very enthusiastic in participating in every series of activities for three days and two nights. Most of them joined this event because they wanted to fill their lonely days with useful activities. After returning from this event, they became motivated human beings to remain optimistic about living the day even though there was not much to do. (Dompet Dhuafa)
Text and photo: Riza Muthohar
Editor: Dhika Prabowo