Fasting month a good time to study the Koran

Fasting month a good time to study the Koran

By Agus Maryono

PURWOKERTO, Central Java (JP): During the current fasting
month of Ramadhan, Muslims have many ways to get divine reward.

For some 250 students of Al-Ikhsan Pesantren (traditional
Islamic boarding school) at Beji village, Kedungbanteng
subdistrict, Banyumas, Central Java, the study of the Koran and
the standard religious textbook popularly called Kitab Kuning
(the Yellow Book) is their choice. Santri (students) intently
take part in the program for the whole month of Ramadhan.

"Usually the recitation of one chapter of the Muslim holy book
requires one hour each day and night. But during the fasting
month, the Koran is studied for 10 hours a day," KH Abu Hamid,
the principal of the Al-Ikhsan school, told The Jakarta Post
recently.

Such an intensive system of studying religion is typical of a
boarding school, which is associated to Nahdlatul Ulama (NU),
Indonesia's largest rural-based Islamic social organization.

"A non-NU school does not use the model of instruction of the
Yellow Book like we do," Abu Hamid said.

The text is called the Yellow Book because its pages are all
yellow. Otherwise, it is called kitab gundul (the book of classic
Arabic), the text of which has no harakah (punctuation marks).

The Yellow Book contains, among other things, the Hadith (the
Prophet Muhammad's quotes), Fiqih (Islamic jurisprudence), Tauhid
(the concept of the Oneness of God), Tasawuf (Sufism) and Nahwu
Saraf (Arabic grammar).

Model of study

Abu Hamid says that the technique of reading the Yellow Book
during Ramadhan is similar to that during the rest of the year.
The teacher reads from the book in Arabic, giving a full
explanation of its meaning in Javanese while students listen
attentively and take note of new words as they are interpreted.

The difference is in the amount of time spent. "Besides, the
reading speed of the book during Ramadhan is higher compared to
other days, because we target to finish the study by the end of
the holy month," said Abu Hamid.

"For example," he added, "a book of Hadith compiled by Bukhari
or Muslim normally requires three years. We can finish it in less
than 30 days," he said. Likewise is the four-volume Imam Al-
Ghazali's Ihya Ulumaddin, which is a very popular classic book in
the world of pesantren. The volumes usually need four years to
finish, but during Ramadhan they can do it within a month.

Another difference, Abu Hamid said, lies in the explanation of
the book's contents. "A teacher explains very little about the
book's contents. He usually reads the book and its meaning
without explanation. That is all," said Abu Hamid. In his
opinion, the quality of the study is not as good as during the
rest of the year, but quantitatively speaking, it is more
extensive.

Abu Hamid said the difference is the aim of the study of the
Koran during Ramadhan, which is meant to pursue divine reward.
"We believe that Ramadhan is a month full of blessings, divine
reward, therefore we spend our time on study," said Abu Hamid.
Thus, by studying the Koran in that manner, he said, teachers and
students also hope to obtain the blessings of the Koran, apart
from obtaining the blessings of Ramadhan.

"With the blessings of Ramadhan, the Koran and the writers of
other books, the students are expected to be able to read all the
books complete with meanings. The other teachers and I have
gained that experience," said Abu Hamid. He said at the beginning
he could not read any of the book but later on he managed to read
it complete with meaning.

He said that to read the Yellow Book without punctuation marks
complete with its meaning in Javanese was an achievement for a
senior student who has studied there for more than five years.

Although the study is done continuously, the students say they
do not feel tired. "I do not feel tired. We are also happy to do
our prayers and recite the Koran continuously during Ramadhan.
This is perhaps one of the blessings of the holy month," said
Saefuddin, a student from the Central Java town of Kebumen.

He said the recitation is done after each of the five daily
prayers. In the evening, it is done after the tarawih (Ramadhan
evening prayer). "Each study session lasts two hours. After the
subuh (early morning) prayer, it may last more than three hours.
We take a rest afterwards and the recitation resumes after the
midday prayer service," said Saefuddin.

Nuryanto, 23, a student from Palembang, South Sumatra, told
The Jakarta Post he had been a part of the program for three
times. He gains a special satisfaction after finishing the Yellow
Book. "On ordinary days, I feel lazy. During Ramadhan though, I
feel inspired because I obtain a lot of knowledge from the book I
read. After Idul Fitri, the post-fasting holidays, we start
studying again and improve our understanding of the contents,
page by page," said Nuryanto.

The way of reading the Yellow Book with a translation in
Javanese is known locally by the term Utawi Iku-Iku, a method of
translating Arabic word by word and, at the same time, explaining
the grammar. Therefore, at the beginning, not every student can
read the Yellow Book, Abu Hamid said.

But if somebody claims to be able to read it, he must have a
good knowledge of Arabic grammar and an adequate vocabulary.