Habibie Haji First Class

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JAKARTA - Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie had a special experience of going on a pilgrimage for the first time. By the Arab Prince, Habibie was treated like a sultan. Habibie never wanted that exclusivity. But it's too special.

Since childhood, Habibie was educated to be a devout Muslim by his parents in Pare-Pare, South Sulawesi. His obedience is seen in Habibie's daily life. According to him, prayer is able to provide peace and clear the mind.

Moreover, according to Habibie, prayer movements are no less beneficial for the body. The prayer movement is a form of exercise so that blood flow is smooth and the brain is fresh so that he can return to his routine.

The spiritual and health benefits reminded Habibie even more of the Almighty. Habibie also completes the prayer service by regularly reading the Koran. Behind that, Habibie praised his wife, Hasri Ainun Besari.

"My wife actually reads the Koran twice a day. He did not know how to finish the Koran several times. For me, I read religious books from the point of view of interpretation, because I am more interested in content, and so is my wife. If I don't understand, my wife often explains what she means," Habibie said in the book The Power of Ideas (2018).

“When I was a child in Pare Pare, I won several times a competition to read the Koran from my peers. Only at that time there was no MTQ. But if I was asked if I read about the scenario of religion, or religious groupings in Indonesia, I said no. Whether in religion there are groups A, B, and C, I don't know. I'm not a consumer for that, and I don't belong to group A or B. Because spirituality is a journey into an individual's journey,” he added.

Since the age of three, Habibie has been accustomed to reading the Koran. It was all thanks to his father, Alwi Abdul Jalil Habibie, who often invited Habibie to recite the Koran together.

Habibie's increasing ability made his father find him a proper Koran teacher. Then, Habibie met a teacher named Hasan Alamudi, also known as Kapitan Arab.

“My father is a man who is obedient to his religion. And all of us children, including Rudy, joined other children of the same age, learning the Koran. To the students, our Koran teacher did not charge anything, as usual Koran teachers in villages. The remuneration that we provide to teachers is only to look for firewood and fill bathing barrels and drinking water that we draw from the well," wrote A. Makmur Makka in the book Inspirasi Habibie (2020).

First class Hajj

Prior to performing the Hajj in 1984, a year earlier Habibie had performed Umrah for the first time. Habibie at that time was still serving as the Minister of Research and Technology (Menristek). He wanted to fulfill the wishes of his mother, Tuti Marini Puspowardojo.

The mother wanted Habibie to immediately carry out the pilgrimage. In order to fulfill his mandate, Habibie immediately called the Indonesian Ambassador in Jeddah, Achmad Tirtosudiro. To him, Habibie asked Achmad to arrange a departure schedule for Habibie and his family (Ainun, Habibie's two children: Thareq and Ilham) and two of his assistants.

The umrah trip made an impression on Habibie. Habibie was happy to be able to visit Padang Arafah, Jabal Rahman, and visit Mina to get an overview of the Wukuf situation.

At the same time, Habibie's intention to perform the pilgrimage emerged. However, the pilgrimage plan will only be implemented in the next 10-12 years. However, humans only plan. God decides.

Habibie received a direct invitation from the Arab Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz who happened to have visited Indonesia. Sultan bin Abdul Aziz was so amazed by the genius of Habibie who was able to awaken the flame of Indonesian aerospace.

In the view of Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, Habibie is a Muslim scholar who is able to make Islam proud in the eyes of the world. This admiration made Habibie awarded an exclusive pilgrimage package to the Holy Land.

“The Minister of State for Research and Technology, Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, has fulfilled the call of Prophet Ibrahim. 'I was called to go on a pilgrimage this year. I have been planning this for a long time,' he said. Habibie's intentions were unmitigated. Besides him and his wife, Habibie's entourage was about 12 people. This amount includes his two children, his mother-in-law, and several of his staff,” wrote Tempo Magazine's report entitled Performing the Hajj (1984).

Unmitigated. Habibie was treated like a sultan (king) – from departure to return. Habibie provided a special flight. The problem of Habibie's concern about hot weather was also immediately resolved.

Habibie always has an air-conditioner (AC) ready everywhere. In fact, all that Habibie received were first-class facilities. The Prince also immediately intervened to entertain Habibie who was exhausted.

The Arab prince ordered his servant to take medicine and a glass of water for Habibie. Nevertheless, the Arab Prince took his own medicine and a glass of water to give directly to Habibie.

Not only that. When he went to the Arafah desert, Habibie was accompanied by a convoy using air conditioning. Habibie also got two special tents. He gets special service and is guarded by 24-hour security officers.

Moreover, Habibie also had the opportunity to pray directly behind the Imam of the Grand Mosque. This luxury then made Habibie ask the Arab Prince about his kindness. The Prince only replied that Habibie was a guest of Allah.

"Habibie, you are God's guest. God's guest determines God himself. We are only the King's family, just carrying out our duties. That you are accepted in such a way, is a sign of our gratitude to you for giving us honor. That's all we can do. we give it to you," said the Arab Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz.

Arriving in Indonesia. Habibie felt tired of being treated so luxuriously. Because, Habibie wants to experience the pilgrimage like ordinary people.

When he got the opportunity to go on a second pilgrimage, Habibie then advised his staff not to tell anyone about Habibie's plans to go to the holy land.

However, as stated earlier, humans can only plan, God acting again happens. Habibie was still treated like a sultan.

“After everything was prepared, then the staff asked for a visa to the Saudi Arabian embassy. It wasn't even 24 hours before Habibie got the king's telegram. Contents: Your Majesty, you are our guest. Habibie was surprised. However, in the end, he got on the plane again like before without spending a penny,” concluded A. Makmur Makka in another book, The True Life of Habibie: The Story Behind Success (2008).

*Read other information about Hajj or read other interesting articles from Detha Arya Tifada.

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