Title: The Land of Five Towers

Author: Ahmad Fuadi

Publisher: Gramedia Pustaka Utama
Rating: 5/5

The Land of Five Towers is the most inspiring and extraordinary novel which I have ever read.
Honestly, I have read the novel many times yet it never bores me. There are a lot of stories and
life lessons that I can learn from and I think that they are worth sharing. And, for those of you
who want to know more about life as an Islamic Boarding School Student (IBS Student) or Anak
Pondok Pesantren, I highly recommend you to read this Novel.

A. Fuadi, the author of the novel, told about his true story when he was a student in Islamic
Boarding School. Halfheartedly, he had to fulfill his mother’s wish and decided to go to East
Java in order to study at IBS. At first, Fuadi thought that IBS would never fit him. But, after
staying for a quite long, he had come to realize that his decision to leave his hometown was not
bad at all. Soon, he started to get used to the condition and learning atmosphere at the school.
He even got along very well with five boys who came from different regions and archipelagos
across Indonesia. They usually got together under the mosque’s minaret sharing and talking
about their big dreams. ‘Man Jadda wa Jadda’ which means ‘He who struggle will surely
succeed’ was one of the powerful mantras which Fuadi and his friends learned and made them
not afraid of dreaming BIG.

The novel depicts clearly of how Islamic Boarding School (IBS) or Pondok Pesantren really is.
Many people think that IBS is a place for disruptive or bad students. So it becomes the platform
for healing them into a good one. This book proves it wrong. IBS is way better than that. Just
imagine, from around two thousand people who enrolled and took test, only four hundred of
them who got accepted. It shows that the competition to get into the IBS itself is very tough.
Moreover, IBS is the place not only to learn Islam, but it is also a great place to learn other
subjects such as Mathematics, English, History, etc. The aim of the IBS itself is to create a great
leader who masters both religion and common knowledge.

What amaze me so much are the language system of the school and the quality of teachers.
First and foremost, the school expects the students to speak only either in Arabic or English.
Bahasa Indonesia or other local languages are totally forbidden. Can you imagine if you are a
new student but you are unfamiliar with both languages? How can you even make a
conversation? Or how can you understand the instructions from the teachers? Well, that’s what
most of new students worry about when they first enter the school. However, as time goes by,
as they are sincere to go through several processes of learning, they eventually get used to
communicate in those languages in their daily basis. Secondly, reading on how the teachers
inspire and ignite the students’ spirit is one of my favorite parts from the novel. According to
the book, all of the teachers do not gain any salaries in forms of money from the school.
However, they are still really sincere in teaching and educating the students. Ustad Salman, for
example, is one of the best teachers who is not only a smart and wise person but he also knows
best on how to motivate his students. When his students are demotivated, he always gives
them an advice with his words of wisdom.

Beside the novel has tons of inspiring and delightful stories, I also take at least three important
lessons from it.

Firstly, ‘going to extra miles’ is the habit of successful people. NEVER SETTLE FOR MEDIOCRITY.
This was the habit which Fuadi and his friends applied in order to survive especially on their
final examination which was considered as the toughest examination they ever had. This habit
encourages us to be more than ordinary people. If other people walk for achieving their
dreams, then we have to run. If other people study for an hour, then we must study for two or
three hours. One of the advantages for having this habit is that it teaches us not to
underestimate our goals.

Secondly, we always have to be grateful with everything Allah SWT has given to us and with
everything we have done. Sometimes we tend to forget to say ‘Alhamdulillah’ for every little
thing we have got. And, sometimes we do not realize that we have done many great things in
our lives just because we usually compare ourselves with other people’s achievements. As what
Fuadi had experienced, although he had done many great things such as being chosen as the
member of school reporter or being able to give a speech in front of the British Ambassador, he
still got influenced by his rival, his junior high school friend, who always sent him a letter
sharing about his achievements going to one of the best public high schools and even got
accepted into Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB). His friend’s letters usually made him
demotivated and ever think of resigning from the Islamic Boarding School. Based on Ustad
Salman’s advices, we should not let the element outside ourselves influence and interfere our
lives. We are the ones who have the power to control the state of our heart. So, do not give
that power to others. And, regarding to the success, everyone has their own timeline. People
might be successful earlier than us but it does not mean we cannot succeed like them. Just be
patient and keep going. Man Shabara Zhafira. He who is patient will be fortunate.

Thirdly, following parents’ wishes is a noble task in Islam. Sometimes we tend to reject our
parents’ wish because their wish does not fit us. Their wish does not in line with our goals. But,
please put aside our ego for a while and remember the hadith which says that the pleasure of
Allah lies in the pleasure of the parent, and the anger of Allah lies in the anger of the parent.
We may have a big dream of being a doctor, an engineer, or even an astronaut. However,
without our parents’ approval or blessing, can we even make our dream come true? It may be
hard because Allah will never give us an ease to achieve our dream. Following our parents’ wish
may be hard in the beginning, but we have to believe that there is a big reward waiting. Based
on the novel, Fuadi’s dream of going to Public High School was rejected by his parents. But,
after he tried to follow his parents’ wish, he found a lot of pearls in Islamic Boarding School
which he probably might not get in Public High School. We might have to bury deep the dream
that we have fought for a long time, but we must believe that Allah will give us the better
replacement. In addition, when we follow our parents’ wish sincerely, we will get at least two
advantages. The door to Jannah or paradise will be wide opened for us and of course Allah will
lead and give us an ease to get better reward.

These are what I get after reading the Land of Five Towers novel. Although the story from this
novel has been made into a movie, but still I really suggest you to get the book and read it right
away because there are a lot of wonderful stories and details which you do not get from the
movie.

Dery