The Story Of A Former Punk Boy Who Repented And Now On Hajj: Better To Be A Former Thug Than A Former Ustaz

SURABAYA - Fatchul Supriyanto, 33 is a candidate for the Hajj pilgrims (CJH) who are members of the three flying group (kloter).

Fatchul never thought he would fulfill the fifth pillar of Islam at a relatively young age. The former punk boy was decided to be the heir to replace Hajj, because his father died a year ago.

Departing for Hajj, the man from Lamongan became a big lash for him to be able to change for the better both in terms of worship and other muamalah.

Since being declared the successor to Hajj, Fatchul began to look for kiai and gus from Islamic boarding schools in the Kediri area to encourage him.

Gus Rofik Kediri, one of the Gus Fatchul referred to motivated him by saying "It's better to be a former thug, than to be an ex-ustaz," said Fatchul, in Surabaya, Monday, June 6, 2022.

There was a moment of fear in him about his sins in his youth. "Yes, I was afraid that there would be a reply right in Mecca, but yes, if our intentions are to change for the better, why not," he said.

He tells of his past life. After completing high school education, the man who is now a member of the Indonesian Army has joined the punk boys in his area.

"His name is also young, I want to find my identity. I joined the punk boys. So it's a wrong association," said the man who just two years ago let go of his single life.

Even though he joined a group of street children, Fatchul is grateful that he never got pierced, tattooed parts of his body, or tasted drugs.

His life with punk children, of course, is beyond the knowledge of his parents. For him, abstinence made the parents he loved feel sad about the life he was living at that time.

"At that time, my parents did not know about the life I was living. Moreover, my father was a migrant worker in Malaysia," he said.

Spending his youth with his punk friends, eventually had an impact on his ritual life. "If you drink alcohol, it's normal to leave prayer, it's normal, the name also joins the existing association," he said.

However, this pilgrim who departed with his beloved mother never left Friday prayers. "Not once have I left Friday prayers, because that's a man's pride," he said.

Feeling the emptiness in the punk world, the following year he joined his uncle selling Lamongan mixed tofu in the city of Surabaya. In this city of heroes, Fatchul met a TNI man who eventually led him to become a civil servant.

The husband of Nia Maf'ulah hopes that through this ritual journey he can further establish himself as a better person. "Before the heirs were registered as a substitute for Hajj, my prayers were still often empty. If I was tired, I had often passed my prayers. Now I try to pray five times on time," he said.

At the mustajabah place of Makkah Madinah later, Fatchul wanted to pray for his father who had died before him, to be given a blessed life, and to be blessed with a son that he had not gotten in two years of his marriage.