TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Pesantren in Kediri invites public to study during Ramadhan
Hundreds of youths and students from various regions are studying from Kitab Kuning (classical Islamic textbooks written in Arabic) at the Pesantren Lirboyo school in Kediri, East Java.
Change Size
Every verse: A student reads the Quran. (JP/Sigit Pamungkas)
W
hen most Muslims return to their home villages for family gatherings during Ramadhan and the Idul Fitri holiday, hundreds of youths and students from various regions are studying from Kitab Kuning (classical Islamic textbooks written in Arabic) at the Pesantren Lirboyo school in Kediri, East Java.
Founded in 1910 by Kyai Sholeh Banjarmelati with his son-in-law KH Abdul Karim in Lirboyo village, Mojoroto district, the pesantren (Islamic boarding school) is famous for the study of Kitab. Lirboyo is one of the largest schools of the Salafiyah group still teaching Kitab Kuning, which discusses the Quran and Hadith (the Prophet’s sayings) from various angles.
It is called Kitab Kuning, or yellow book, because at the time of writing there was only yellow paper. As a product of Islamic scholars of the past and written in the pre-modern style common before the 17th century, it is a major religious reference for present-day ulemas.
Read also: Malang mosque guides the blind with braille Quran
At a cost of Rp 50,000 (US$3.84) Pesantren Lirboyo welcomes anybody to participate and stay in modest rooms for the whole month of Ramadhan. Inevitably, a large number of people throng the boarding school to study the book, along with students of the pesantren. The boarding school management imposes no age limits on those interested in delving into the highly valued book, attracting participants from various levels of education.
The overwhelming interest exceeds the capacity of the school’s 15-square-meter rooms, each occupied by 30 to 50 people. Many other participants stay on the school’s terraces or at the local mosque. For them, the opportunity to study the book at Lirboyo is of primary importance.
