Arabian Night: 1001 Wonders of Ramadan in Al Azhar 55

Thursday October 10th 2024

For Muslims, Ramadan is a blessed month because the rewards for their good deeds are multiplied. Every form of worship, every act of kindness and every good deed done during this month carries more weight and blessings. Allah Swt’s mercies and generosity are showered upon us all in this month. It is said that the gates of forgiveness are open during Ramadan. All prayers are heard. Therefore, Muslims compete to welcome the arrival of this holy month the best they can do.

To welcome its presence in 1445 Hijriyyah, Al Azhar 55 held an annual event called Ramadan Village. This year, the event brought the theme “Arabian Night: 1001 Wonders of Ramadan in Al Azhar 55”. During the month, all students and teachers did the amaliyah Ramadan or practices. For students of grades 1-3, they watched the story of Prophets and retold it in front of the class. Meanwhile, for students of grades 4-6, they delivered a khutbah about the influential Islamic figures in the world. Other than that, all students did some other practices like donating to charity, paying zakat fitrah, performing dhuha and taraweeh prayers, etc. All these activities were recorded in their Ramadan Journal. Alhamdulillah, the amount of the collected ZIS (Zakat, Infaq, & Shaqadah) was Rp.40.045.000,00. From this event, we hope that the students learn about the importance of sharing and helping others, especially in Ramadan.

Aside from the main event, there was a side event specifically dedicated to grade 5 students. It is called MABIT (Malam Bina Iman & Taqwa (literal: faith building night)). They had to stay overnight at school and did some activities like taraweeh and tahajjud prayers, playing Islamic, Quranic & Arabic games, and listening to a story telling of the Prophet. Aside from building students’ faith, we hope that this agenda can build their independence.

See you in the next Ramadan Village!

(Miss Uswah)

Testimony

Prof. Dra. Hj. Suwarsih Madya, M.A., Ph.D.

Amidst the globalized situation which poses challenges of which one is a possible threat to identity, yet provides ample opportunities to excel for those who possess the prerequisites, we need to equip our children as the continuing generation with necessary competencies—affective, cognitive, psychomotor and interactive. In other words, we need to help them grow and develop into total persons and this can be achieved through the whole-child development approach which ensures the development of all potentials. In addition to this is the need for developing some competence which enables the children to communicate globally. All of this will ensure that the children will develop their citizenships both at the national and global levels. How can this ideal development be realized?

If you want to find out about how efforts are made to develop children’s whole potentials, you can come to SD Islam Al Azhar 55 Yogyakarta. Here you can see how the four-year old school has grown fast due to the stakeholders’ trust to send their children to study here. With only 54 children in the first year, this school now has 185 students. These students are educated to respect and preserve the social-cultural environment by learning the local language (Javanese, including the script) and arts (dance). Simultaneously, they certainly learn the national language (Bahasa Indonesia) and national content, which is unquestionable since it is compulsory, and English, which has now become a global lingua franca; thus, a prerequisite for successful global communication. More importantly, children in this school also learn to practise their religion consistently. So, in this school children’s identity is rooted in the local culture, with nationalism and global awareness being inherently developed together with reliogiosity.

Does the whole-child development approach at SD Islam Al Azhar still give room for children to excel? In my belief, when all their potentials are developed, children will have a greater chance to excel and I can see the truth in my belief in this primary school. In the last two years, the students have made great achievements in various competitions held at the local and national levels–gold medals in English, math and science competitions (national), silver and bronze medals in IT competitions (national), silver and bronze medals at colouring and swimming competitions (local) to mention some.

In conclusion, SD Islam Al Azhar has given evidence of the right efforts of true education to develop both intelligence and character.

Prof. DR. Budi S. Daryono, M.Agr. Sc.

Testimoni Sebagai Orang tua menyekolahkan anak Di Al-Azhar 55

Sudah menjadi kewajiban bagi orang tua untuk memberikan pendidikan yang terbaik bagi putra putrinya. Tantangan untuk mendidik anak di Era Global dan Digital pun semakin besar, kita tidak bisa lagi membendung segala perubahan yang begitu cepat terjadi, dan harus mempersiapkan anak-anak supaya bisa survive dan sholeh/sholehah tentunya. Saat ini dunia bagaikan kampung, dimana tidak ada batas-batas untuk melakukan transaksi kehidupan, untuk itu anak harus bisa berkomunikasi dengan bahasa universal sebagai modal utama. Disamping itu, pendidikah Ahlak dan Aqidah harus diberikan secara dini sebagai dasar anak dalam menghadapi gejolak gelombang kehidupan. Atas pertimbangan tersebutlah, kami selaku orang tua memilih untuk menyekolahkan putra kami tercinta Hikari di Sekolah Islam, yang menggunakan dua bahasa pengantar, yaitu Al-Azhar 55.

Prof. DR. Budi S.Daryono, M.Agr. Sc.