SERANG, BANTEN — Dozens of children of elementary school age always come to Ustaz Apipi’s house every afternoon until night. They come to his house to learn the Qur’an with the correct tajweed. With great enthusiasm, the children flocked to the porch of Ustaz Apipi’s house, a Quran recitation teacher, and moved to the shelter where he used to teach the Quran.
Yes, Ustaz Apipi is an unknown hero. He has been a Quranic teacher for a dozen years with unbeatable dedication to produce a generation with noble character. True nobility radiates from him.
That is Ustaz Apipi’s big dream, to create a generation with noble character. At first, when he was in MTS, he taught children to read Iqro. He pursued this noble activity until high school. Until 2016, he began actively teaching Quran until now.
“That’s why here in 2016 I started actively teaching the Quran myself until now, hopefully until the end of my life. My wish is that when I die, I will be reciting the Quran again,” said Ustaz Apipi.
He has devoted his life to teaching religion to the children in the village. However, since the majority of the villagers live from agriculture, which does not always provide adequate yields, they cannot afford to give Ustaz Apipi a decent salary. However, his sincerity in spreading religious knowledge was extraordinary.
“I remember the words of the Prophet, ‘Whoever teaches one letter of the Qur’an or one chapter of knowledge, then Allah will pour out his reward until the end of the Day of Judgment’. So the motivation is not honorarium or anything. In the village , there is no honorarium, ma’am. That’s why it’s lillahita’ala, the important thing is that we have faith. Hopefully, sustenance comes from wherever Allah prepares for us and our families,” said Ustaz Apipi.
Read also: Dompet Dhuafa Distributes Aid to Orphans, Quran Teachers, and Resilient Families in Bali
“I teach starting from the makhorijul, the letters, the tajweed and even want them to be able to practice the Quran so that they become a generation of Muslims who are trustworthy, pious to Allah Swt, they do not leave the obligations given by Allah Swt,” he continued.
Ustaz Apipi has overcome various challenges. When children’s interest in reciting the Quran is declining, Ustaz Apipi does various activities with children. One of them is bancakan, a tradition of eating together originating from Banten. According to him, to invite children to recite the Quran, first instill a comfortable and pleasant atmosphere.
“That’s why we use tricks, we enter their world. So we play with them. That’s why sometimes we do bancakan, cook rice together, eat together, make cilok, make fried foods, whatever bancakan, we often do it. So that they don’t get bored, so we are the ones who give in to their world and become them, so that they are happy. The point is, if we want to invite someone, they have to be happy with us first, especially now in the age of gadgets,” he said.
Before the house had a proper terrace, the Quran was only taught on mats under the trees. From rain to heat, the children’s enthusiasm for the Quran made Ustaz Apipi even more excited. He even had time to gather the parents of the students to raise money to build a more decent place for the Quran.
Unfortunately, this did not go well. However, Ustaz Apipi also understands the economic conditions in the village.
“So yes, I see the enthusiasm of the children to learn is extraordinary. It’s hot and rainy and they come here with umbrellas, so even though I don’t have a place, I still don’t have a place. We use big mats, we just put them on the trees here, while trying, after that trying. I gather the parents, please help me because the children are enthusiastic, but the community does not fully help, because I know the conditions,” added Ustaz Apipi.
Although plans are not in line with expectations, but in sincerity, we find the wisdom to accept and the courage to grow. According to Ustaz Apipi, the most important thing is our sincerity, how can we purify our intentions, straighten our intentions so that children can seriously learn the Quran and can practice it.
Read also: Dompet Dhuafa Distributes Dozens of Qur’ans and Gifts to Quran Teachers in Lampung
“I always entrust, entrust morals and practice. Please pass on the knowledge from me. That’s the mandate,” he added.
In addition to teaching the Qur’an, Ustaz Apipi also provides understanding and learning of fiqh, hadith, and akidah lessons.
“I have concerns, in this community the level of educational awareness is still lacking. That’s why I made writings for the children’s handbook. That’s why I anticipate starting from the creed. I prioritize morals the most. Morals are above knowledge. That’s why the most important thing for me is how to produce a generation with noble morals. The study must also be good,” he said.
Alhamdulillah, on Monday (11/20/2023), thanks to Ustaz Apipi’s sincerity in teaching the Quran, Allah entrusted a little sustenance through Dompet Dhuafa and donors to be distributed to 24 other teachers scattered in remote Lebak, Serang Regency in the form of money worth IDR 500,000 per Quran teacher and 115 Qur’ans.
“I represent everyone, very happy with the arrival of the Dompet Dhuafa Team. Moreover, accompanied by assistance, just coming I am happy. That shows there is attention from Dompet Dhuafa. I am very grateful to all my friends. Hopefully we can continue to stay in touch to help our struggle, because we lack financial power. We cannot facilitate a place, but we can only facilitate children’s education,” he concluded. (Dompet Dhuafa/Anndini)