Abridin sat alone at the back of the class. He sat on a two-meter-long bench. The bench had four supporting legs. He wanted to use the second period break to reflect for a moment. His gaze was fixed on Mount Samoan. The mountain stood tall. Majestic. Mighty. Mount Samoan was so beautiful when the rainy season approached. Seen from a distance, the land of Rabbani, the young green leaves swayed merrily. Like the sails of a sailor's ship in the film Popeye the Sailor Man, the movement of the leaves following the direction of the blowing wind. However, the beauty of the green tree leaves on the mountain would change to yellow, like the yellow of rice ready for harvest. The surroundings of the mountain at night turned into a Ring of Fire. Such was the fate of Samoan when the dry season struck.
Before I knew it, Abridin had been sitting alone at the back of the classroom for ten minutes. He seemed to be harboring some kind of problem. Was it a problem with his family in Flores? A problem with his friends? A problem with Mukhlis? Or a problem with me. Who knows? But those guesses could become initial hypotheses for a problem that could be analyzed.
“Assalamualaikum… Din, what are you doing?” A voice came from the side wall of the classroom, toward the back, where Abridin was sitting alone. He didn’t seem to heed the greeting.
"Assalamualaikum.. Abridin.!!"
“Waalaikumsalam.. Eehh.. You are Lis.” With a surprised voice, Abridin answered Mukhlis’ greeting.
“What are you doing, Din? I’ve been looking for you at the syirkah, marth'am, hujroh, maktabah, but you weren’t there. So you’re here. If you have a problem, don’t keep it to yourself. It’s not good to keep it to yourself. Who knows, maybe I can help you.” Mukhlis tried to offer empathy.
“Or are you still angry with me, because my head is not shaved..?”
"No, no, Lis, I'm not angry with you, I'm just thinking about my parents back in the village. They must be busy plowing the fields right now, and my father is working alone, because my mother can only deliver rice for him. Meanwhile, I'm here playing around and always breaking discipline, studying is also not working properly and my Arabic is still very lacking." Abridin tried to tell his friend about his pent-up problems.
"I already guessed, you must be imagining your parents, seen from the look on your face looking at the green Samoan mountain. Actually, I think like you, Din, I also imagine my parents who are working to earn a living for me, but as Kiayi Ilham said when we first entered this land of Rabbani, if I'm not mistaken, at the Public Lecture on Islamic Boarding Schools, he said:
"My children, you entered this land of the Lord as Islamic mujahids. If you die, you will be martyrs in the path of Allah, because you are seeking knowledge.
God willing حَتَّى يَرْجِعَ
"Whoever leaves the house to seek knowledge will be on the path of Allah until he returns." (HR. Tirmidhi No. 2575).
"He continued his explanation, saying that our job here is simply to study and pray for our parents who are working," Mukhlis explained at length. Mukhlis simply wanted to comfort his friend, who was facing problems and pain.
“Yes Lis, I forgot that Kiayi Ilham’s message at that time was as wide as the ocean of wisdom, I forgot to write it down in my notebook, but the message I remember most was Don’t be like Columbus’ followers, they didn’t believe in Columbus and finally some of them chose to get off the ship.” Abridin explained with a suddenly cheerful face.
"Yes Din, I agree with you, that we should not be like Columbus' followers, we should not give up on learning, we must be enthusiastic, and we must often pray for our parents Din."
“Yes Lis, thank you for helping me with this problem”
"You're welcome, Din. May Allah always protect Kiayi Ilham, the Ustads and all our parents."
Amen..
The sound of Jaros's voice that morning, approaching midday, was deafening, even audible all the way to the Kemutar Telu Center in Taliwang City. They concluded their exchange of stories and advice. Moments later, the sound of students' boots began to arrive at their respective classrooms for lessons after the second period break.
To be Continued.
