UNAIR NEWS – A wise man once said travel broadens the mind. That’s what Ahmad Musyaddad, an English Language and Literature alumnus from the Faculty of Humanities Universitas Airlangga, does. He is selected as one of the imams of masjid in the United Arab Emirates.
The selection was officially held by the Ministry of Religion in May 2023 as a collaborative project between Indonesia and the UAE to find Indonesians who can lead rawatib prayers in one of the UAE’s mosques.
Musyaddad outperformed 518 other participants, making him one of 44 men to leave for the UAE this month. His first duty will be started on January 26, 2024, in the Masjid Emirate Ras Al-Khaimah UAE.
“It exceeded my expectations. It’s my first time joining the selection, where the average of competitors is 25 years and above with similar experience. I wanted to get more experience. Alhamdulillah, I thank Allah for the opportunity,” he said.
It was not easy for Musyaddad to accomplish such an achievement. He had to pass several stages of selection, including memorizing 30 Juz of the Quran, where the participants must continue the randomly selected Quran verses. Followed by the Arabic Language Proficiency Test, which includes Fiqih and Arabic khutbah.
He has been memorizing the Quran since elementary school. He completed the 30 juz while studying at Madrasatul Quran of Tebuireng Boarding School, Jombang.
Musyaddad has won several achievements in the field. He won the MTQ provincial competition and secured third place in Quran Memorization and English tafsir in 2023.
Since his first year, Musyaddad has taken part in the Tahfidzul Quran student club and led the club in 2022. He also led the prayer at the Masjid Ulul Azmi of Universitas Airlangga several times.
“I grow up in a Quranic environment in the Tahfidzul Quran student club since my first year in the uni. In 2022, I got the opportunity to lead the club. Sometimes, I led the prayers at the Masjid Ulul Azmi by the ustaz’s order. That’s what encourages me to join the selection,” he said.
Though he does not speak Arabic fluently, he made it to the final round. He had once learned the materials when he was studying in Jombang.
Musyaddad hoped that the achievement would pave the way the gate for a brighter future. “I hope that the program will be a great start for amazing experiences. Since all of the imams are official delegations from Indonesia, hopefully, more people will be interested in spreading their knowledge in the UEA,” he told UNAIR NEWS.
Author: Aidatul Fitriyah
Editor: Khefti Al Mawalia
