Today, Remembering the days, living as a santri many years ago, life seemed “upnormal“. But, if time could be replayed, I may not be able to live it like that again.
But that life experiences came in handy when later, years later, during my years as a journalist, I got to meet so many different people: from bandits to pandits; from beggars to artists; from coro to ndoro; from the poor to the very rich; from criminals to officials. Etc. At times like that, I always remember the teachings of the teachers at the pesantren: life does not need to be nervous and stuttering.
I have experienced boarding at two Islamic boarding schools, Pondok Pesantren Al-Qodiri and Al-Fattah, in Jember City, East Java. But before that, I had actually been included in a hut. But, unfortunately, after the first night had passed, early in the morning, when the students left for the mosque for congregational prayers, I ran away…
In 1985, Al-Qodiri was not what it is today, which has grown so big that it has universities and branches in many places. At that time Al-Qodiri was better known as a tarekat pesantren. Precisely the Qodiriyah wan Naqsabandiyah Order. Therefore, every Friday night, the Manaqiban of Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jailani is held regularly. Suppose it’s Sweet Friday night (Legi). In that case, the congregation of manaqib can reach thousands of people from various regions in Indonesia. But especially for santri, the manaqib (short version) is every midnight. Until now, Al-Qodiri is still being cared for by KH Ahmad Muzakki Syah.
Meanwhile, Al-Fattah is one of the Salaf Islamic boarding schools in Talangsari, Jember. It is located next to the Ash-Shiddiqi Putra (Ashtra) Islamic Boarding School, nurtured by KH Achmad Shiddiq, Rais Am PBNU 1984-1991. Even these two pesantren have a connecting hallway.
Al-Fattah Islamic Boarding School was raised by KH Dhofir Salam. Unfortunately, when I was staying at Al-Fattah in 1989, Kiai Dhofir had already passed away. However, I still had time to feel the traces of Al-Fattah as a salaf pesantren: occupying the gothakan or stage booths. The poles are made of wood. The walls and the floor are made of woven bamboo.
In the 1980s, the terms “school while staying” or “studying while staying” often changed places. This is because not many Islamic boarding schools have formal educational institutions like today. Thus, many students also study outside the pesantren. Maybe I fall into the category of school while staying. Other friends may be the opposite, staying while attending school. The pressure point is different.
My initial goal from Banyuwangi to Jember was to study at the Jember State Religious Teacher Education (PGAN) (now Madrasah Aliyah Negeri 2). But parents do provide an additional condition: they can go to school as long as they stay. There was no choice; that was the first time I had an actual stay; no more running away.
But at Al-Qodiri at that time, many students entered the category of boarding while attending school. The initial goal was to stay while studying at formal educational institutions scattered in the city of Jember. But there are not a few “full-blooded” students who are indeed staying for the Koran and taking the blessings of the Kiai.
At the beginning of this article, I can still imagine what I called the “upnormal” life. You can start from this: for about three years at Al-Qodiri, I lived in a cubicle measuring approximately 3×4 square meters with more than 10 students. We know that the gothakan or the santri room is a multi-purpose room. There we put and store everything: clothes, books and other school supplies, kitchen utensils and food ingredients, shoes and sandals (if you don’t want to be ghasabed), and various other things. All are placed or stored in cupboards or shelves attached to the wall. So, apart from being versatile, the students’ rooms are always colourful.