Sandalku Dighasab

Ghasab, as it’s fondly called, referring to the act of borrowing other people’s goods without asking permission from the owner. In the past time, I ever had fallen victim of ghasab. It happened initially when I was in Tebuireng Jombang. It made me exhausted to look for my flip-flops when I intended to go out from the mosque of pondok. I just stayed there for a while to pray dhuha. But, my flip-flops were suddenly gone without any trace. Therefore, I couldn’t hold myself to make a revenge. Due to my frustration to search, I decided to take another person’s flip-flops. hahaha.

That incident occurred again when I taught the female students in Madrasah Aliyah. The class is situated inside the complex of female dorm. After teaching in my class, I walked out from the class. However, I was rather shocked when I knew that my flip-flops were gone. I tried to be sincere. I thought, the female student might want “barokah” of their teacher by taking the flip-flops, hehehe. So, I left the complex without wearing any footwear. Fortunately, there was a male student lent me his flip-flops. So, I still could go home comfortably.

Ghasab in Pondok Pesantren

Flip-flops are the most popular object for ghasab. Although most of students (santri) know that ghasab is sinful, they still keep doing that deed when they are in a need to do that. It’s not because they don’t know about the sharia provision of ghasab, but it’s due to their stubbornness to comply with the rules provided by the management of pondok pesantren.

The practice of ghasab still exists in pondokuntil now. Why? There might be several reasons can be explained. It can be due to the lack of students’ awareness regarding the obedience to the rules formulated by pondok. They sometimes belittle the provisions that have been stipulated. The other reason is (perhaps) the amount of flip-flops owned by students is fewer than the amount of students. 

So, it has a potential to provoke the act of gashab. Because, the students who don’t have flip-flops will make an attempt to borrow or do ghasab when they want to go out from their rooms. Even, this situation can get worse when there is an ignorance from the pondok’s management concerning the punishment forghasab, and there is no strategy to make the students obey the rules as well. Students tend to make justification when they do ghasab. They often argue that ghasab is a common practice and everybody (in pondok) also does it.

The lesson that can be taken

To minimize the impact of this practice, in my viewpoint, wearing rather expensive and good-looking sandals are strongly recommended. It can stifle the intention of students to do ghasab. it’s because the target of ghasab is usually only the inexpensive sandals (flip-flops). So, although wearing the expensive ones is riskier, but it’s safer. If we are still unlucky (the footwear is still gone), then we had better to surrender our sandals. Just treat it as our alms/giving for them. So, they will not be burdened by the sin of ghasab because we have forgiven them by surrenderring our goods.

The case of ghasab may never end. Eventhough the prohibition is repeated to the students over and over again, the similar case will recur in the near future. However, there is one strategy that can be implemented. This has been carried out by one of pondok pesantrenin Madura island. To curb the habit of ghasab, there is a routine inspection conducted by a special task force in pondok. At the time of inspection, all students are instructed to go outside and wear footwear. If there is a student who is found out not to have footwear, then the student will be punished. The student must give a sum of money to the task force. Shortly afterwards, the task force will buy him/her flip-flops. It’s an interesting strategy to apply.