Review : The Land of Five Towers, Man Jadda Wajada

Assalamu'alaikum Wr Wb

How all are you my beloved readers.. I hope today is a good day for you. on this opportunity I will continue my review the book named The Land of Five Towers, or the English edition of the novel "Negeri 5 Menara" by Ahmad Fuadi. As I discussed earlier, this novel is full of motivation, inspiration and moral values. Really ! Let's read my review.

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Village Abouve the Fog

Alif and his father take the bus again with Ismail and other prospective Pondok Madani students. On the bus Alif met Dulmajid and Raja Lubis. Alif was amazed by his new friends who decided to continue their education at Pondok Madani without anyone, he was also amazed by the small children who wanted to go far apart from their parents to attend Pondok Madani. After traveling for half an hour Ismail stood up giving notice and direction to the passengers that soon they would arrive at Pondok Madani and prospective students were expected to prepare themselves. A small and dusty road turned into a view of a vast grass field. Next to the field, there are complex high-rise buildings, large domes and tall towers in the middle of the morning mist, looking like floating in the air.

Upon arrival at Pondok Madani Ismail handed over the task of guiding his friend, Burhan. Alif and other visitors are served by Burhan well. They are directed to register, even invited to take a look at the conditions and various facilities owned by Pondok Madani. Facilities and activities at Pondok Madani are very complete, everything. Almost everything is there, depending on student interest and they are free to choose. Pondok Madani has a 24-hour education system with the aim of producing independent and resilient human beings. Education in Pondok Madani does not distinguish between religious and non-religious subjects. All one and interconnected, religion is directly practiced in each student's activities. The brief tour slowly made Alif calm with his decision to elect the PM, but did not last long. Alif returned to worry after learning that he had to face several tests to be accepted at PM. Alif only has two days to prepare himself.

When that day arrived, Alif, Raja and Dulmajid gathered in the Hall. All day they undergo written and oral tests. The new test results were announced one day after the test was conducted, Alif's father was very happy to see his son pass the test and was declared accepted as a student at Pondok Madani. At the same time Alif was still in the shadow of his best friend Randai who went to school in Bukittinggi High School. Alif wrote a telegram for his mother and a letter to his best friend Randai about the new experience he had at Pondok Madani. Alif's father returned home one day after the announcement.

Man Jadda Wajada

"Man Jadda Wajada" (Who is serious, will succeed). Ten times Ustadz Salman, Alif's homeroom teacher, repeated the word almost an hour non-stop. Every time Ustadz Salman shouted, all the students lit up the same word. This sentence sounds cheering, not only in Alif class but also dozens of other classes. This pearl sentence is simple but powerful to ignite the enthusiasm of students at Pondok Madani. Become a compass for their lives later.

Today Alif not only got a magic spell from Ustad Salman, but also met some of his new friends. They exchanged stories with each other. There was Atang from Bandung with his accent, Raja from Medan with a thick dictionary, Said from Surabaya with his experience, Baso from Sulawesi, Dulmajid from Madura, Teuku from Aceh, and Shaleh from Jakarta. This is the first time Alif has a friend outside of the Minangkabau people.

The Renaissance Man

In the evening, students gather in the Hall to attend the Pondok Madani Student Introduction Week. Three thousand students sat there, they chatted with each other until they sounded like the sound of a wasp migrating. The roar suddenly disappeared when the middle-aged man advanced to the podium. Alif asked to Raja who he was, by looking at Alif as if he did not believe, Raja explained that the man was Kiai Rais. An educator with complete knowledge and experience. Ever attended in Al-Azhar, Medina and the Netherlands. Raja knew him from a book entitled Educator Kiai. According to Raja in the book there is a brief biography of Kiai Rais. He has the nickname the Rennaisance man, which is an enlightened person because of his diverse knowledge and activities. Many suggestions were given by Kiai Rais for new students at Pondok Madani. One of them, students must straighten out the intention to seek knowledge because of Allah. Kiai Rais also requires students to use English and Arabic after four months living in Pondok Madani. Alif was hesitant to do it, but Raja convinced Alif that he could. The end of the event was closed with a prayer and a school hymn.

Shopping Day

After the introductory night, the students returned to the dormitory in command by the head of the hostel named Iskandar. Before going to sleep Iskandar read out the qanun or unwritten regulations in PM. The regulation was intentionally not in written form with the aim that students remember it silently and obey it.

The next day all students were busy shopping for school supplies and the equipment they needed was printed on the graduation letter. Incidentally Alif, Atang, Dulmajid, Said, Raja and Baso were roommates. They decided to shop together. Everything is available at the cooperative. After shopping, they work together to help each other bring the items they buy.

Tyson’s First Attack

The day began before sunset, but Alif and his friends were still busy with a closet in the middle of the field. The hostel looks empty, because it's time for students to go to the mosque. Said continued to encourage his friends to hope that they would arrive at the hostel on time without punishment. Suddenly someone approached them. Alif and friends were caught violating the qanun previously agreed upon. Finally they got the punishment and became the subject of another student's spectacle. On the other hand, under the stairs of the mosque was seen a person in white and turbaned looking at Alif and friends with a keen gaze. The man was Rajab Sujai, Head of Central Security, controlling the discipline at Pondok Madani. The students were very reluctant to him, because of the firmness and creepy sharp gaze that he called Tyson. Discipline is very important in the Pondok Madani.

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I think that is enough for my review today, I hope this is useful and you are inspired by the story. isn't the story from Alif exciting? See you in the next chapters (^_^)