Gus Lilur Criticizes PBNU Rais Aam’s Arabic Speech, Cites Six Reading Errors

NU young figure, Khalilur R Abdullah Sahlawiy or Gus Lilur (Ist)

SURABAYA - The spotlight on the Nahdlatul Ulama General Board (PBNU) has again come from the Nahdliyin community. NU Young Figure, HRM Khalilur R. Abdullah Sahlawiy or Gus Lilur, delivered a critical note on the Arabic-language speech delivered by Rais Aam PBNU KH Miftahul Akhyar at the closing of the National Consultative Meeting (Munas) and the NU Grand Conference (Konbes) in Bangkalan.

According to Gus Lilur, the study was compiled as a form of evaluation of the quality of organizational leadership, especially in maintaining the tradition of Islamic scholarship which is the hallmark of Nahdlatul Ulama.

"This writing and research is part of the historical record so that Nahdliyin citizens can clearly assess the quality of the leadership figure needed to bring PBNU forward," said Gus Lilur in a written statement, Sunday, June 28.

The graduate of the Religious Program (MAN-PK) and alumnus of the Denanyar Islamic Boarding School said that the tradition of the pesantren places the accuracy of reading Arabic texts based on the rules of nahwu and sharaf as an important part of the scientific authority of a scholar. Departing from this background, he admitted to listening carefully to Rais Aam's speech at the PBNU which was broadcast through the NU Online channel.

According to Gus Lilur, one of the things of concern is the quote about the prosperity of a country delivered in the speech. He argues that the material comes from the book Nasihatul Muluk by Imam Al-Ghazali, but is not accompanied by a reference during the speech.

"According to my assessment, the material read was from the book Nasihatul Muluk by Imam Al-Ghazali, but I did not hear any mention of the name of the book or its author during the speech," he said.

In addition, Gus Lilur also highlighted the pronunciation of the Hijri year which was delivered at the beginning of the speech. According to him, the Arabic sentence structure that was spoken when referring to the year 1448 Hijriah actually meant 14,048 Hijriah.

He explained that based on the rules of adad science that he studied in the book Alfiyah Ibnu Malik, the mention of the number should be arranged in the form of "tsamaniyah wa arba'in wa arba'imi'ah wa alf" or other arrangements that still follow the grammatical rules of Arabic.

In addition, Gus Lilur admitted that he found six technical errors in reading the manuscript of the speech, which he said consisted of four mistakes in harakat and two mistakes in pronunciation.

He gave an example of the use of the phrase "bi badzlil was'i" which he said should be read "badzlul wus'i", because it is a term commonly used in the literature of fiqh when explaining the concept of ijtihad.

In another part, he also assessed that the sentence "wa mulkuhum azmat" should read "wa mallakahum azimmat" so that it is in accordance with the structure of the language and the meaning intended in the text.

Furthermore, Gus Lilur said the word "jaizun" should be read "jaizan" because it is in the position of maf'ul tsani in the nahwu rule. He also corrected the reading of the phrase "an anhi" which he said was more appropriate to be read "aninha" based on the sharaf rule.

In addition to the mistake of harakat, Gus Lilur admitted that he found two pronunciation errors that he considered could change the meaning of the original text. According to him, the phrase "li fadh lil 'ibad" should read "li hifzhil 'ibad", while the pronunciation of "bis sawiyyah" should be read "al-umur al-sirriyyah" as stated in the book Nasihatul Muluk.

According to Gus Lilur, a number of these notes show the importance of accuracy in reading Arabic-language manuscripts, especially for a Rais Aam PBNU who is a symbol of scientific authority in the Nahdlatul Ulama environment.

"Rais Aam is the highest representation of the syuriah council and the guardian of NU's scientific tradition. Therefore, accuracy in reading and understanding the text is very important," said Gus Lilur.

Until this news was written, there was no response from Rais Aam PBNU KH Miftahul Akhyar and PBNU regarding the criticism delivered by Gus Lilur.