Halalbihalal is one of Indonesia’s cultural treasures that serves as a social bridge for society to strengthen communication and relationship (silaturahmi), including building close-knit brotherhood, said Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of Nahdlatul Ulama K.H. Zulfa Mustofa. He added, at that moment everyone gathered without seeing the background of religion, race, tribe, and ethnicity. This tradition, according to him, is what keeps Indonesia intact despite its diversity.
This was conveyed by K.H. Zulfa in a sermon at a halalbihalal event held virtually by Universitas Indonesia (UI), on Monday (9/5). With the theme “Eid al-Fitr 1443 H as Momentum for Developing Relationship, Strengthening Brotherhood in the Harmony of Diversity and Nationality”, this gathering was attended by UI Rector Prof. Ari Kuncoro, S.E., M.A., Ph.D.; Chairman of the Board of Trustees Saleh Husin, S.E., M.Sc.; Chairman of the Academic Senate Prof. Nachrowi Djalal Nachrowi, M.Sc., M.Phil., Ph.D.; and Chairman of the Board of Professors Prof. Harkristuti Harkrisnowo, S.H., M.A., Ph.D.
On that occasion, UI Rector representing the superiors and UI academic community expressed his greeting for Eid Al-Fitr 1443 H. “Hopefully, we as a big UI family will continue to strengthen our relationship, synergize even though we come from various cultures, and always maintain the dignity of UI. May we be among those who achieve victory in worship. The sun always appears from the East, even though we don’t care about it, keep being good throughout your life because UI’s name is engraved in our souls,” said Prof. Ari.
In his sermon, K.H. Zulfa Mustofa also said that the key to the integrity of the Republic of Indonesia and the strength of this nation is silaturahmi. According to K.H. Zulfa, the key to religion is morals because religion comes to perfect human morals. Good morals include human morals to God (habluminallah) and human morals to others(habluminannas). In the month of Ramadan, humans are taught to have good morals towards Allah by worshiping and fasting to increase spirituality. Meanwhile, in the month of Shawwal, humans are taught to be good to humans by forgiving and loving each other. A superior believer is one who can do both.
K.H. Zulfa quoted a poem from Imam Al Busti, that if you want to know the measure of a person’s religion, piety, and humanity, look at how his morals are. Try to perfect your morals because you are respected because of your morals, not because of your physique, wealth, or position. According to him, there are people who are respected when they have positions and wealth. When that person loses his wealth and position, he is abandoned. This shows that if a person emphasizes his title and wealth, when both disappear, his honor also disappears.
“All religions teach good morals. We have to be honest to whoever they are. When they have a good character, it means they are nice people. So far, we are still carried away by narrow fanaticism and group fanaticism, so the eyes of our hearts are closed. We cannot see the goodness or the truth in other people. What is dangerous is when we easily reproach others, even to fellow Muslims,” said K.H. Zulfa.
Differences in society are often seen as differentiating between groups, for example between Islam and Christianity there are differences in beliefs. In fact, there are teachings that are universal to both, such as being fair and kind. Within the Islamic groups, Nahdatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah also have differences in some matters, for example qunut in the Fajr prayer and the number of rakats in the Taraweeh prayer. However, despite their differences, they are still brothers. As Imam Ashhari told his student, I have never reproached a fellow Muslim who still worships in the same qibla direction.
On that occasion, K.H. Zulfa also encouraged fellow humans to help each other and do good without looking at their backgrounds. “Before receiving knowledge, a person must clean his heart as a container so that the knowledge can benefit others. The worship that a person does is not only limited physically, but must also be contemplated in the soul,” said K.H. Zulfa closing his sermon.
The halalbihalal event was followed with a prayer by Chief Executive of Masjid Ukhuwah Islamiyah Achmad Solechan, M.Si. and closed with Eid greetings from the deans and staff of all faculties at UI. .
