ACTNews, MALANG - KH Mahfudz Syaubari, the caretaker of the Riyadlul Jannah
Islamic Boarding School in Ledok Village, Pacet, Mojokerto, East Java mentioned
that one of the verses of Surah Al-Baqarah talked about waqf. For him, waqf is
a manifestation of the commands in these verses.
"So what is
the Quran? It is a book that is a guide for those who are mindful of Allah. Who
are they? They are the believers of the unseen, and those who establish the
salat, including those who do anything based on its proper procedures, in worship,
transactions, and conduct," said KH Mahfidz Syaubari.
These verses are
then followed by a command to give from what have been provided to them. For KH
Mahfudz, giving waqf is a form of giving donations. If waqf is managed
properly, KH Mahfudz is sure that it can produce a strong civilization.
"And they are people who always try to be able to successfully manage what they have so they can be is around them, and can be self-sufficient, and they can perform almsgiving. Waqf is form of donation. If a community regularly gives donation, and the funds from this donation is well-managed, it can result in an excellent civilization. So the existence of this waqf is not only to educate but, really, also to encourage, to strengthen self-reliance, to be generous to one another and to provide good examples," said KH Mahfudz.
KH Mahfudz Syaubari in the rice field that will be supported by the
waqf funds, (ACTNews / Erwin Santoso)
One of the manifestation
of waqf is by funding agricultural lands through waqf. Yayasan Penguatan Peran
Pesantren Indonesia (YP3I) which KH Mahfudz Syaubari co-founded, in
collaboration with Global Wakaf - ACT and Gerakan Masyarakat Pesantren untuk
Ketahanan Pangan Indonesia (Gema Petani) will support 500 hectares of rice
fields with waqf funds from the community.
"It will be
a sin if we don't facilitate this movement for food security. What we are
seeing here is our movement to support the farmers. It will surely improve
agriculture. When I was a kid, producing only 7-9 quintals of rice per hectare
was considered good enough at that time because everything was simple back then.
There were no shoes, no sandals, no cellphones, no laptops, no sophisticated
tools, "said KH Mahfudz.
Nowadays,
farmlands are considered fruitful if they can produce dozens of quintals of
rice KH Mahfudz adds, it is an obligation for the community to come up with
innovations for farmers so that their agricultural patterns can be better.
"In the
next few days we will cultivate a massive plot of land in East Java. Thanks to
our cooperation with Global Wakaf - ACT, we will cultivate about 500
hectares," said KH Mahfudz while pointing out the patch of land in Morodadi
Village, Singosari District, Malang City, Sunday (10/18).
In the future,
this movement will not only prosper the farmers, but also the surrounding
community. We have a food waqf program. From these rice fields, the rice will
go to the Waqf Rice Granary. The unhulled rice will be milled, rice will be
distributed, Insha Allah, to the community, including the impoverished farmers,"
said Global Islamic Philanthropy President and Chairman of ACT Supervisory
Board Ahyudin.
Because of the
great potential of waqf, Ahyudin invited the public to take part in this
movement. "Let's take part in the waqf movement. Let’s free the community
from poverty. Let us fight for the food sovereignty of the people. Insha Allah,
if they are food-sovereign, Insha Allah, they will be independent, have self-esteem,
not be easily dictated and be free from poverty," said Ahyudin. []