Commission VIII Of The House Of Representatives Asks The Ministry Of Religion To Be Careful About Discourse On Paying Hajj Dams In Indonesia

Illustration. Prospective Hajj from West Kalimantan headed for the bus during the release event in Pontianak before heading to the Holy Land, Tuesday, June 20, 2023. (ANTARA PHOTO-Jessica Helena Wuysang)

JAKARTA - Member of Commission VIII DPR RI Anim Falachuddin asked the Ministry of Religion (Kemenag) to be careful if they want to implement the discourse on the implementation of dam payments or fines for tarmatu Hajj in the country. According to him, the Ministry of Religion must finalize the discourse before it is decided.

"This discourse is an extraordinary leap but the Ministry of Religion must be careful. Do not let it hinder the spread or absence of the implementation of the pilgrimage. We in Commission VIII only coordinate and do not have the right to fatwa. We hope that the Ministry of Religion must further finalize this discourse before making a decision, "said An'im, Wednesday, February 5.

To note, so far Dam's payments have been made in the Holy Land during the implementation of the pilgrimage. Dam payments must also be made by pilgrims who complete the hajj, namely performing Umrah first and then carrying out the pilgrimage.

The amount of dam, said An'im, is quite large. In 2023 alone, 120 million SAR funds were collected, equivalent to IDR 480 billion.

An'im said, in the implementation of Hajj, it often raises the ummah of waivers or differences of opinion among Muslims. He gave an example when there were differences of opinion related to the implementation of mabit in the mudzdalifah.

"Some consider it mandatory and some consider the seeds in the muzdalifah to be sunnah," he said.

The caretaker of the Lirboyo Islamic Boarding School in Kediri, East Java said that in making decisions regarding the implementation of the pilgrimage, it should also involve ulama-ulama halain or Saudi Arabian clerics who are referred to by Indonesian pilgrims.

He gave an example of great scholars such as Syekh Yasin Al-Fadani, an hadith expert from Indonesian descent who lives in Saudi Arabia, who is a reference for the Islamic people in Indonesia. The World Musnid title was echoed by Sheikh Yasin because he had the most knowledge in the world at his time.

"So if the Ministry of Religion wants to make a decision regarding the implementation of the pilgrimage, especially the payment of DAM, there must be support from the Meccan cleric who has a mass base in Indonesia," said Kiai An'im.