PBNU Deputy: NU-Muhammadiyah Brothers Who Prioritize Tolerance

Illustration of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) flag. (doc. Nu.or.id)

JAKARTA - Deputy General Chairperson (Waketum) of PBNU Zulfa Mustofa likens Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah to brothers and sisters who have the same passion in promoting the values of tolerance in life.

"NU never fasts first. Muhammadiyah fasts first because you go first everywhere. The sister doesn't. Tarawih is also like that, his brother comes home first because there are fewer people," said Zulfa in his statement Sunday, August 4, quoted by Antara.

Zulfa's statement was delivered when giving a key speech at the National Gathering of the Pokja of the Taklim Council with the theme "Taklim Council as the Base for Building Civilizations of Humans" in Jakarta.

Muhammadiyah was born first, namely in 1912, while NU was born later (1926). However, the number of NU pilgrims was more so that Zulfa mentioned NU as the bongsor's younger brother.

He argues that NU and Muhammadiyah are different in the aspect of branches (furu), not the point (ushul). If so, what needs to be raised is the spirit of tolerance (tasamuh).

Zulfa also shared his experience of being a preacher at the Muhammadiyah mosque for almost 20 years. It was stated that the Muhammadiyah management deliberately invited Muhammadiyah congregation to know the way of thinking, fatwa, worship, and worship in the style of NU from the NU kiai directly, not from others.

He hopes that what Muhammadiyah has done can be imitated by mass organizations or other institutions so that there is no misunderstanding between Muslims.

The same thing can also be applied in studying a book. Zulfa said that his teacher, KH Sahal Mahfudh, invited him to read any book, including the works of Ibnu Taimiyah and Ibnu Qayyim al-Jawziyah.

"But Kiai Sahal advised him to take a clear one and leave what was not clear from the books he studied," he said.

He then highlighted the administrators of mosques and taklim assemblies who sometimes monopolize their institutions. They invite lecturers from their own group and convey material, including about other groups, based on their own perspective. According to him, things like this are not wise and will actually cause misunderstandings among Muslims.

"Just let it go. Lecturers are taken from other groups so that people become intelligent," he said.

He is of the view that differences of opinion, both in the branch areas (furu) and principal (ushul), should not make the administrators of the taklim assembly, mosques, and dai not harmonious. For him, although different in ushul, non-Islam is his compatriot and the devil of the water.

Zulfa regretted the preachers who conveyed the narratives of hatred against fellow Muslims because they did not understand the issue of furu and ushul.

"We must also not hate people who are different in furu problems because they are fellow compatriots, fellow human beings, and fellow humans," he said.