Blending Dhikr and Ablution: The Blessed Story of Chilli Harvesting at Az-Zikra Islamic Boarding School

Rows of red chilli plants stretch across the agricultural area of Pesantren Az-Zikra in Gunung Sindur, Bogor Regency, West Java. Among the verdant rows, farmers pick the ripe chillies ready for harvest. However, one particular habit makes the farming activity here feel different. Before entering the field, the farmers first chant dhikr.

The caretaker of Pondok Pesantren Az-Zikra, KH Muhammad Abdul Syukur Yusuf, explained that the farmers are accustomed to performing dhikr before starting work. He said this practice is part of an effort to ensure the agricultural activities are not solely profit-oriented, but also possess a spiritual dimension. “Before entering the field, our farmers perform dhikr, reciting ‘Masya Allah La Quwwata illa Billah’ while in a state of ablution,” he said during a conversation at the pesantren in Gunung Sindur, Bogor Regency, on Friday.

According to him, this concept is part of Pesantren Az-Zikra’s broader mission to ground the practice of dhikr in various daily activities. “Because we want to ground dhikr, even though it is not yet ideal. Slowly, we are trying to ground dhikr wherever we can,” said the successor to the late Ustadz Arifin Ilham’s da’wah. This concept subsequently gave birth to the term ‘Agro Zikir’, where agricultural activities within the pesantren environment are combined with the habitual practice of dhikr as a spiritual effort to achieve optimal farming results.