Listening, Writing, and Preserving Meaning: The Importance of Imla Lessons at Gontor

“100 per cent religious lessons and 100 per cent general lessons.”

These were the words spoken by KH. Imam Zarkasyi in answer to a question from Soeharto, who was at the time visiting Pondok Modern Darussalam Gontor in the 19-nineties.

With its independent system of education and teaching, Gontor has proven its success in guiding students to acquire knowledge at the pesantren for more than a hundred years.

The imla lesson is one of the subjects taught to students at Pondok Modern Darussalam Gontor.

The aim of this lesson is to accustom students to listening to Arabic vocabulary, and even to train them to write it well and correctly.

It is here that the imla lesson serves not merely as writing practice, but also as a means of sharpening students’ listening skills and accuracy in the Arabic language.

Imla: Training the Ear and Writing Arabic Correctly

The imla lesson at Gontor plays an important role in habituating students to listen to Arabic attentively. Every word uttered by the teacher must be captured carefully so that it can be written down accurately.

Through this process, students learn not only to listen, but also to understand the sounds and structure of words in Arabic. For this reason, imla serves as an important foundational exercise in language learning.

In addition to training the ear, imla also habituates students to write Arabic well and correctly. Small mistakes in letters, vowel marks, or word order can affect the form of the writing, and even its meaning.

Through this exercise, students are encouraged to be more meticulous in writing and not hasty in capturing the lesson. In this way, imla becomes an important means of building accuracy in Arabic from an early age.

Habituating Students to Focus in Learning

Behind its simplicity, the imla lesson in fact teaches students to concentrate on their studies. When the teacher dictates a sentence, students are required to focus their attention so as not to miss a single word.

The slightest lapse in attention can result in writing that is incorrect or incomplete. It is here that imla directly trains students’ concentration within the learning environment.

The habit of focus built through imla becomes an essential provision for students in pursuing knowledge at the pesantren. Students learn that understanding a lesson requires not merely attending class, but also sincerity in listening and taking notes.

For in essence, “Al-ilmu soydun wal kitabatu qoyduhu” — meaning, “Knowledge is like game to be hunted, and writing is its tether.”

Imla shapes an attitude of learning that is disciplined, patient, and attentive to detail. This is what makes the imla lesson appear simple, yet carry great educational value.

Ultimately, the imla lesson at Pondok Modern Darussalam Gontor is not merely an exercise in writing Arabic vocabulary, but part of an education that forms students’ meticulousness, concentration, and responsibility in learning.

Through imla, students are taught to listen attentively, to write correctly, and to understand that every letter carries a meaning that must be preserved.

Amid the speed-driven habits of the digital era, a lesson like this serves as a reminder that knowledge must not only be understood, but also tethered through diligence and precision.

For this reason, imla deserves to be regarded as an important lesson that helps sustain the scholarly tradition and character formation of students at Gontor.