KH. Muthohharun Afif in Education KH. Idris Kamali

After the lecture at Ma’had Aly, the author as usual accompanied Kiai Muthohharun Afif to bring books/items that the Kiai needed when studying at the idarah. Not infrequently, the author chats with Kiai Muthohharun while waiting for the Maghrib call to prayer, because coincidentally his course starts after Asar. It was from these small conversations that stories from his youth emerged.

In his day, Kiai Idris Kamali’s students were known to be strict with themselves. Their lives are filled with deliberation, mutola’ah, and fasting; while they completed the Qur’an in a week methodically Bisyauqin family. For them, being a santri is not just learning but forging themselves. Deliberation every night to discuss various book genres has become a habit that must be followed by all students under Kiai Idris’ guidance. From that generation Kiai Muthohharun grew up.

Also read: The Story of a Student Teacher: Kiai Idris Kamali and Kiai Tholchah Hasan

There is a story that Kiai Muthohharun tells with a small smile at the corner of his lips. One night after the Isha congregation, Kiai Idris went around the mosque checking on his students: who was reciting the Koran, who was in deliberation, who was found to be careless.

That night, young Kiai Muthohharun was not seen. He was with two friends; Kiai Rozaq Kediri and a santri from Central Java are taking part in the studies of Kiai Ishaq Lathif who is involved in the fields of nahwu and syrah kitab.

The first day, they missed attendance. The second day was still quiet. However, on the third day, when Kiai Muthohharun wanted to recite the Koran, Kiai Idris simply threw the three of them out.

“Want to go out!” he said. Firm, no nonsense.

Of course the three students were shocked, but they didn’t argue.

Not long after this incident, the three of them went to the teacher’s room. With low but respectful voices, they knocked on the door of the Kiai who witnessed many of the manners being instilled.

“Assalamu’alaikum, Kiai,”

They haven’t really entered yet, the reprimand has already picked them up. “What about you? I’m not forbidding you from dancing with other people. But what I’ve decided must be done.”

Also Read: KH’s Istikamah and Discipline. Idris Kamali in Teaching

The meaning of his speech is simple, but profound: knowledge can come from anyone, but the teacher’s manners and rules are still respected.

According to Kiai Muthohharun’s belief, Yai Idris’ anger was not born of jealousy, nor was it because of a prohibition. Only matters of manners and manners in Islamic boarding schools are always strictly maintained.

After the warning was finished, Kiai Idris took out a piece of paper from his book. “Write your name. Sign. Sing follow the deliberation.”

The three students wrote their names and signed their names.

What made the young Kiai Muthohharun surprised and amazed was what happened next. As soon as the book was closed, Kiai Idris took a snack and started joking. The atmosphere suddenly changed, as if the anger was just a passing gust of wind.

This warning shows that learning discipline and deliberation are an important part of Kiai Idris’ education system. Even when reprimanding, what is maintained is manners, not emotion.

Unbearable Longing

Kiai Idris often said, “Isun was born in Makkah, I want to die in Makkah.” This sentence is not just a wish, but rather like a will spoken in the heart. In 1973, that desire finally brought him back to his hometown. The news of his return penetrated the hearts of his students, causing a longing that they did not know how to redeem.

Among them, Kiai Muthohharun was the student who studied with Kiai Idris Kamali the longest. Since graduating from Aliyah in 1968 until his teacher left, he almost never moved far from the place where Kiai Idris imparted his knowledge.

Also read: The story of Yai Idris and Gus Sholah about love for the environment

A desperate longing made the young Kiai Muthohharun and his two friends follow him to Mecca. Armed with permits in hand, three names were recorded as leaving: a student from Madura, Kiai Muthohharun, and Adnan Syarif from Lumajang. There is no other reason that drives them except longing and respect for the supreme teacher.

There are no tears in the story—just a journey born of love for knowledge. Reprimand, anger, laughter and longing intertwine, faithfully accompanying the teacher-student relationship in the Islamic boarding school tradition.

From this story, the author understands why Kiai Idris Kamali’s students later became pious, useful people and had critical views. All of this was born from Kiai Idris’s never-tired upbringing, strong discipline and penance which became the breath of his life.

---

---

Writer: Muhammad Fatkhun Niam, Malaysal Mahhad Aly Hasyim’ri Asy’a
Editor: Rara Zarary