Ahead Of Lebaran, The Number Of Pilgrims To Gus Dur's Grave Increases

Gus Dur's tomb at the Tebuireng Islamic Boarding School Complex, Jombang, East Java. (Twitter/@AlissaWahid)

JAKARTA - Pilgrims at the tomb of KH Abdurrahman Wahid or who is familiarly called Gus Dur at the Tebuireng Islamic Boarding School, Jombang Regency, East Java, are increasing in number ahead of Eid al-Fitr 2023. The management of the Tebuireng Islamic Boarding School, Teuku Azwani, in Jombang, Thursday, said that currently the number of pilgrims is already above 1,000 people per day. They pray and get closer to Allah SubhanahuWa Ta'ala (SWT). "Alhamdulillah, the 3rd week of Ramadan has started to be crowded with pilgrims. On average, above 1,000 people per day," he said, as quoted by Antara. He said, pilgrims came from various regions, especially East Java. They were riding private vehicles and rental cars, such as minibuses. He admitted that during Ramadan there was indeed a change in schedule for pilgrimage, namely for the morning starting at 08.00 WIB and closing at 15.30 WIB. Meanwhile at night, after the previous years of prayer, he said, there were always more who made pilgrimages on the last 10 days of Ramadhan, who believed in good time to be filled with religious activities, including pilgrimages. "Last night in Ramadan there was a night Lailatul Qadar night which was filled with glory, so many hoped to meet," he said. The Pilgrims took advantage of Ramadhan's last 10 days to pray and pray for scholars who had died and seek blessings.

In addition, residents from the ranks of the Tebuireng Islamic Boarding School Boarding School Management, Jombang, also made a pilgrimage,masyayikhdanauliyaJombang, in the last 10 days of Ramadan. Some of those visited were Masyayikh Tebuireng, then the KHAsy'ari grave in Hard Village, which is the father of KH Hasyim Asy'ari, then the grave of KHBisri Syansuri at the Denanyar Islamic Boarding School. The group also visited the grave of KH Wahab Hasbullah at the Tambak Beras Islamic Boarding School, then the tomb of KHTamim Irsyad in Rejoso, and the grave of Sayyid Sulaiman in Mojoagung, Jombang. Activities were carried out with joint prayers in the tomb area. During Eid al-Fitr, his party said the tomb would remain open to the public because usually many pilgrims also came during Lebaran.