Getting to know the Al Fatah Islamic Boarding School in Temboro

 

Getting to know the Al Fatah Islamic Boarding School in Temboro

Recently, the Al Fatah Islamic Boarding School (Ponpes) in Temboro Village, Karas District, Magetan Regency has been in the spotlight. The reason is that this Islamic boarding school has been reported to be one of the new clusters for the spread of the corona virus.

Not only in East Java, Al Fatah Islamic Boarding School or commonly called the Temboro Islamic Boarding School has become the center for the ideological development of the largest Tablighi Jamaat in Southeast Asia.Arifin, 2017:265).

This Islamic boarding school is known to have more than 22,000 students from various countries. Not only that, Pondok Temboro itself is currently the center of the Tablighi Jamaat movement in Indonesia.  

What is the general information about the Temboro Islamic Boarding School that has had a very positive impact on the development of Islam in Indonesia? Here's the review.

1. The history of the establishment of the Temboro Islamic Boarding School

According to information released by the Research and Development Agency and Training of the Ministry of Religion of the Republic of Indonesia (2011:187), Al-Fatah Islamic Boarding School was founded in 1950 by KH. Kholid Umar or well-known by the name of Kyai Mahmud, who is the biological father of Gus Ron along with his brother, namely Kyai Ahmad Shodiq.

In terms of orientation and religious practice, this pesantren adheres to a teaching system similar to the other Nahdhiyin pesantren on the island of Java. However, the Al-Fatah Temboro pesantren combines the concept of Tabligh (da'wah) with the concept of pesantren. This is what distinguishes it from other pesantren.

This boarding school occupies a 50-hectare location in Temboro Village, Karas District, Magetan, East Java. The main purpose of Pesantren Al-Fatah is to learn about the Prophet, the preaching of the Prophet, and the preaching of Allah, to train religious leaders, to spread the religion of Islam to the community through khuruj activities, to improve oneself and to uphold the preaching of the Messenger of God.

2. There is a tradition of memorizing hadith

In Pesantren Al-Fatah Temboro there is a tradition of memorizing hadith for its students. According to Khamim & Hadziq (2018:112), the policy stems from a recommendation from the management of the pesantren which began around 2007/2008 so that students have memorized hadith, which finally until 2012 the activity of memorizing hadith has become a tradition.

This tradition of memorizing hadith has several positive goals, one of which is to familiarize students with interactions based on the traditions of the Prophet.

3. Highly respect Kiai

In the pesantren education tradition, the kiai is highly respected by the santri and the community because it has become a culture and belief that the kiai is a spiritual leader who is a role model in Islam.

At the Temboro Islamic Boarding School, students show respect for the kiai in the form of obeying the Kiai's orders, imitating the Kiai's religious behavior, and even discussing his future with the Kiai.

This was conveyed by Jailani a student who has been at the Temboro Islamic Boarding School for 10 years in a journal by Arifin (2017:277) entitled The Authority of Spiritual Leadership at Pesantren Temboro Based on Jamaah Tabligh Ideology.

4. Student Activities

The activities of the students at the Temboro Islamic Boarding School are filled with many activities and religious studies (diniyyah). Arifin (2017:285) explained that the Kiai at the Temboro Islamic Boarding School always emphasizes the importance of studying religion. It can be seen how the kiai of the Temboro Islamic Boarding School prioritize diniyyah learning in the process of teaching and learning activities in their formal madrasas.

The pesantren curriculum is currently designed to not only teach knowledge but also charity to the santri. Every Sunday, santri is required to do intiqoli (khuruj) one day of the week. Khuruj himself is spending time to preach in total which is done from house to house and from mosque to mosque.

For example, one of the students on Monday afternoon did an intimacy at the village mosque around the pesantren, then returned to the pesantren again in the afternoon the next day. Then for a week doing maqomy (sitting) in the pesantren. This means that the Al-Fatah Temboro pesantren combines the practice of tabligh with the practice of the pesantren.  

5. Widely known to foreign countries

Arifin (2017:288) explained that the Temboro Islamic Boarding School is growing fast and is widely known to foreign countries because it has four indicators, namely pesantren as a da'wah school, 'alim, an expert on the Koran, and an expert in remembrance.

The point is that in Pesantren Temboro there are kiai who have the ability in four things, namely kiai who are experts in da'wah (involved in the da'wah of the Tablighi Jamaat), 'alim means mastering Islamic teachings, experts on the Qur'an mean kiai and students and even many Temboro people understand knowledge of the Qur'an and memorizing 30 juz, and remembrance experts mean the kiai of the Temboro Islamic Boarding School as well as murshid of the Naqsyabandiyah-Khalidiyah tarekat.