229 JOURNAL OF ENGLISH EDUCATION AND TECHNOLOGY Vol. 03 No. 03, Oct 2022, pp. 242 - 254 Available online at: http://jeet.fkdp.or.id/index.php/jeet/issue/current ISSN: 2721-3811 (media online) Strengthening the Character of Qolbu Management-Based Students in the Digital Era M. Thoyyib 1 , Muhammad Aziz 2 Institut Agama Islam Al-Hikmah Tuban mthoyyib@gmail.com 1 , mohaziv@gmail.com 2 ABSTRACT Strengthening the character of student is one the efforts made by universities as formal education to change and strengthen the character of students for the better so that they are not easly carried away by negative currents of digitalization. The are various efforts that can be made in strengthening student character, one of wich is by implementing qolbu management. Qolbu management is character education that is carried out by bringing the heart closer to Allah SWT because in essence the heart is source dan reflection of human character. A clean heart will create a good character, while a bad heart will create a bad character. So that with the implementation of character strengthening based on good heart management, it is hoped that it will make student`s heart more consistent, clean, and help student achieve happiness in this world and in the hereafter. Keywords: Character strengthening, Qolbu management, Digital era I. INTRODUCTION Digitalization brings humans into a more advanced era compared to the previous era, where previously all activities were done manually, today it can be done digitally so that it is easier, more practical, and more efficient. Digitalization is supported by the rapid development of technology and information and is supported by the creation of electronic media such as smartphones which make it easier for humans to carry out daily activities (Aziz, 2020a). The development of digitalization has penetrated into various daily sectors marked by the emergence of various kinds of media innovations that http://jeet.fkdp.or.id/index.php/jeet/issue/current http://u.lipi.go.id/1580741566 mailto:mthoyyib@gmail.com1 230 offer convenience for its users, such as how to shop through online shopping applications, communication that can be done via cellular phones, how to transact through mobile banking, as well as innovations in various other daily activities. The development of digitalization that extends to various sectors of life has also penetrated into the world of education, where currently the teaching and learning method has developed from an offline system now developed into a system into a blended learning system or a combination of online and offline learning systems (Sufyan & Ghofur, 2022). This system is increasingly being used during the COVID- 19 pandemic in Indonesia which limits offline teaching and learning activities. This way of learning is applied to every element of education including in higher education. The reconstruction of the learning system in universities provides a variety of conveniences for students that were not found in previous generations. If ancient students were looking for various references as material for doing assignments by visiting the library and looking for references through books, students today are facilitated by the availability of Google and e-books that can be accessed for free, easy, and practical. This can certainly support the quality and insight of today's students because of the wider knowledge they have. In addition, students can also take advantage of the ease of digitalization in various ways, such as: increasing insights through webinars, improving the quality of human resources through various online training activities, and pioneering and developing businesses by implementing promotional and sales activities online and offline. The variety of conveniences and opportunities provided in this era must certainly be utilized as well as possible by students so that they can help students in exploring and increasing their potential. Students as agents of change must be able to drive change for the better in society so that they have superior values. But behind the conveniences offered, digitalization can also have a negative impact on students. Digitalization can change and erode moral values among Indonesian students as is often included in news coverage today where there is rampant violence, harassment, and brawls involving students. According to Thomas Lickona, there are ten signs to watch out for in a nation because it can trigger destruction, including: increased violence among adolescents, deteriorating use of grammar, the influence of gangs or gangs that can trigger violent acts, self-destructive 231 behaviors such as drugs, alcohol, and promiscuous sex, further eroding understanding of good and bad, declining work ethic, declining respect for parents and educators, declining sense of individual and citizen responsibility, cultivating dishonesty, and rampant mutual suspicion and hatred for others (Septiana, 2020). These signs have appeared in Indonesia and tend to increase, one of the main causes of the event is the occurrence of a moral crisis. There needs to be solutions and efforts that must be formed to overcome the moral crisis that occurs in Indonesia. As the realm of education, campuses should be a medium to reconstruct the moral decline that is currently occurring by conducting learnings that can strengthen the character of students so that they do not easily fall into the negative currents of digitalization. Higher education as the real of formal education should have learning innovations to support character strengthening programs in students. Character strengthening-based learning innovation has a teaching model where students are not only taught through classroom learning. But also adding learnings that can grow and strengthen their positive character by being assisted by guidance and coaching from lecturers. With character education in the campus environment, it can make students have good guidelines and character in the eyes of the community so that it becomes an added value of the campus in the eyes of the community. Education and the application of religious sciences in the campus world play an important role in shaping and strengthening the character of students, making humans mature, foster personality (personality) and a sense of responsibility (Khoiroh, 2020b, p. 154) such as in Islamic universities that apply several activities in strengthening student character, such as: congregational prayers, tahtimul qur'an, spiritual lectures, and other religious activities. This is done as an effort to improve the character of students so that they are expected not to fall easily into negative behavior and have better morals and character. Islam strongly upholds the existence of ahlaqul karimah for every human being and calls for the development, development, and improvement of these morals, besides that Islam also advocates the application of these morals in everyday life (Mumtahanah, 2011). As a religion rahmatallil'alamin Islam explains that to cultivate a good character man can do so by cleansing his heart and soul so that Allah will guide him in devotion, faith and sincerity. As contained in the letter of Asy-Shams verses 7-8: 232 اَها ( )فَأَْلَهَمَها فُُجوَرَها ٧َونَْفٍس َوَما َسوَّ ٨َوتَْقَواَها( ) That is to say: And the soul and its perfection (His creation). So God inspired to the soul (the way) its ungodliness and piety. (Qs. Asy-Shams 7 – 8). A clean heart and soul will lead man to the possession of a character far from malice, pride, and other negativity. Likewise, in the real of higher education, if character strengthening education is implemented in the campus area, it will help students and all elements of the campus in an effort to cleanse the heart and soul so that it can usher in a better character construction. From this description, it can be seen that the main point in efforts to strengthen character in students lies in the heart. Therefore, it is necessary to implement regulation-based education and improvement in the heart so that it can create a clean heart and increase positive character in students in the digitalization flow. This is what underlies the author to focus his writing on "Strengthening the Character of Qolbu Management-Based Students in the Digitalization Era”. II. CHARACTER REINFORCEMENT The character comes from the Greek word charassian or in English is to mark which means to mark or focus. Character is associated with how a person implements the values of good and bad in his actions and behavior (Aziz, 2020b). If a person is unable to implement good behavior on himself, such as behaving dishonestly, arrogantly, cruelly, and other negative behaviors then the individual is said to be an individual who has a bad character. Vice versa, if a person implements his actions in accordance with applicable norms and morals, the individual is said to be an individual with good character. According to the Language Center of the Ministry of National Education, character is defined as innate, heart, soul, personality, behavior, and disposition. Meanwhile, according to experts, character has varied meanings, such as the opinion of Kertajaya who explained that character is a characteristic found in an object and individual. These characteristics are original and rooted in the personality of the object or individual and will later encourage someone to act, behave, and respond to something. Meanwhile, according to Suyanto, character is a way of thinking and acting which will become a characteristic of each individual in life and working together in their environment (Mumtahanah, 2011). Based on some of the understandings above, it can be concluded that character is an original trait found in an individual that can later encourage a person to behave and 233 act so that the character can become a characteristic of the individual. Although it is original and deeply rooted basically a person's character can be changed and improved so that it becomes stronger and more positive. According to Lickona, the character that can be formed is divided into three interrelated parts, including: moral concept (moral knowing), moral attitude (moral feeling), and moral behavior (moral behavior). These three parts are needed in life in society to be in accordance with the moral values prevailing in society (Sriwilujeng, 2019). Character change and strengthening can be done through character education strengthening programs carried out in the real of education where the teaching and learning process must be carried out in a directed and continuous manner so as to produce a positive, strong, and resilient character (Aziz, 2020b). Character building and strengthening in the world of education is a strategic way to create a superior generation in the future. These activities must be carried out through good planning, appropriate approaches, and effective learning methods. Strengthening character education is an education that supports social, emotional, and ethical development in students (Muchlas & Hariyanto, 2013). According to Lickona "character education is the deliberate effort to help people understand, care about, and upon corer ethical values" which means that character education is an effort that is deliberately made to help a person in understanding, caring, and acting in accordance with ethical values (Octavia & Rube’i, 2017). In simple terms, it can be understood that character strengthening education is an effort to build the character of students so that they can act and behave in accordance with the norms prevailing in society. Strengthening character education is an important aspect that can reconstruct the character of the younger generation so that it must be implemented in every real of education, one of which is in the real of higher education. Students as agents of change are not enough to be given intellectual learning, especially in the modern era. Rapid advances in technology and information make campuses need to add moral and spiritual-based learning so that intellectual development in students can be accompanied by strong character and superior competitiveness in the digitalization era. 234 III. PURPOSE OF CHARACTER REINFORCEMENT Character as a characteristic of disposition and behavior possessed by an individual needs to be directed so that it can help minimize the occurrence of negative actions, especially in the younger generation. Through strengthening character education, it is hoped that it can make students know and be able to internalize character values and noble morals and can be applied in everyday life because in essence humans are people who have good character since they were born (Harun, 2013). Basically, every child has a Divine fitrah, which is like a foundation in the form of a spirit that tends to know its God. With that fitrah, man actually has a tendency towards religion and an absolute thing that leans towards his good behaviors. However, the role and upbringing of parents can make children deviate from their fitrah. Therefore, it is important to have the role of parents and schools to keep children in their fitrah so that they can have ahlaqul karimah. In its application, strengthening character education has several objectives, including: developing the potential of students as human beings and citizens who have national character values. Develop commendable habits and behaviors of learners and in line with universal values and cultural traditions of a religious nation. Instilling the spirit of leadership and responsibility of education as the next generation of the nation. Develop students' abilities to become independent, creative, and national-minded human beings. As well as developing the school life environment as a learning environment that is safe, honest, full of creativity and friendship, and with a high sense of nationality and full of strength (Zubaedi, 2015). In addition to some of these goals, strengthening character education also has other goals, including: 1. Developing a national education platform that puts the meaning and value of character as the soul or the main generator of education delivery. 2. Building and equipping Indonesia's Golden Generation 2045 to face the dynamics of future change with 21st century skills. 3. Restoring character education as the spirit and foundation of education through the harmonization of sports (ethical and spiritual), sports (aesthetics), thought sports (literacy and numeracy), and sports (kinesthetic). 4. Revitalizing and strengthening the capacity of the education ecosystem to support the expansion of the implementation of character education, 235 building a network of community (public) involvement as learning resources inside and outside the school, 5. Preserving the culture and identity of the Indonesian nation in supporting the National Movement for Mental Revolution (GNRM). IV. QOLBU MANAGEMENT Qolbu management consists of two words, namely management and qolbu. Etymologically, management (Khoiroh, 2020a, p. 80) comes from English, namely management comes from the basic word to manage which means to manage. In Webster's cooleglate dictonary it is explained that the word manage comes from the Italian Bahsa, namely managlo from the word managlare which in Latin is called manus which means hand. In more detail, the word management or manage has the meaning of guiding, supervising, managing, and achieving certain affairs (Warisno, 2019). Management is a social process related to human effort with the help of humans and other resources, which in carrying out their business uses efficient and effective methods to help achieve pre- planned goals (Warisno, 2019). According to Eka Prihantin, management is a process carried out by a person so that the business that is run can run well, which in its achievement requires several things, such as planning, thinking, directing, organizing, and utilizing all the potential that exists both in personal and material terms more effectively and efficiently (Prihatin, 2011). Meanwhile, according to Hasibuan, management is a science and art regarding the regulation of the use of human resources and other resources effectively and efficiently to achieve a goal. Based on the understanding of management above, it can be understood that management is an arrangement and management carried out by a person to help the individual in achieving his goals. Management plays an important role in the management of individuals and organizations because through good management the use of various kinds of resources can be controlled so that their use and utilization are more optimal. In addition, management also plays a role in minimizing negative things that can happen to individuals or organizations. While qolbu comes from Arabic, namely qolaba which means heart. Etymologically qolbu means improving, potentially to flip through or something more. According to M. Quraish Shihab that in essence one's heart cannot be consistent unless one receives the guidance of the light 236 of God. From this opinion, it can be seen that the qolbu or heart is an object that can be alternating and inconsistent but with the guidance of Illahi's light a person can have a consistent heart and strong guidelines so that he is not easily carried away by negative currents in his life. Biologically, the liver is interpreted as a blood clot. Experts also mention that the liver is like the heart, namely if the organ is damaged, the function of other organs will also be disrupted so that it cannot work optimally so that it can be understood that the liver has an important role in a person. However, in the Qur'an and Hadith qalb has a different meaning from qalb (heart) in the medical world, as revealed by Al-Ghazali that qalb is a gift from Allah Almighty which has a secretive and spiritual nature. Qalb has the power to know, understand, and understand something and can accept all commands, punishments, reproaches, and responsibilities (Zaharuddin, 2013). Based on the explanation of the understanding of management and qolbu above, it can be concluded that qolbu management is an effort made by a person to manage his heart so that he can control himself in dealing with the situation that occurs. Qolbu management skills are also used in recognizing and understanding one's self because through one's heart one can show one's true disposition. If a human being has a clean and clear heart, then that person will show good and positive behavior as well (Aliah, 2019). According to Gymnastiar, qolbu management is a way of managing the liver so that it has positive potential and can develop optimally. The positive potential contained in the individual can accompany a person's ability to think and act so that it can make the individual think positively and can detect and control negative potential in oneself so that it does not turn into a negative action. Meanwhile, according to Hermono and Ridwan, qolbu management is an effort to understand oneself and have the desire and ability to control yourself. Thus qolbu management is the slightest management of the potential and desires that come out of man in order to be filtered his intentions, so as to give birth to a good and glory and full of benefits to assist him in achieving goals both in the world and in the hereafter. Qolbu management has the concept that every desire, feeling, or impulse will be filtered so that it will give birth to a goodness and glory and be full of benefits both in the world and in the hereafter. In addition, through good qolbu management a person can also respond to any form of action or action from outside himself so that 237 it can produce a positive reaction and be far from mudharat things. In other words, every human physical and mental activity has been filtered in such a way by the qolbu management process that it can be understood that through the concept of qolbu management, a person can be directed to be very sensitive in managing the slightest potential that exists in him into something of glory value and gives great benefits, both for himself and other creatures of God. Strengthening The Character Of Qolbu Management-Based Students in the Digital Era Digital is sourced from Greek, namely, digitus which means finger finger. Humans have 10 fingers, which consist of two combined numbers, namely the numbers 1 and 0. So that digital is likened to a binner number in a computer whose code in the database consists of the numbers 1 and 0 which means on and off. In theory, digital means the concept of understanding the times regarding technology and science, where in the previous era all activities carried out manually today can be done automatically so that they are more concise, effective, and efficient (Aji, 2016). The digital revolution in Indonesia first occurred in 1980 which was marked by changes in mechanical and analog technology to digital technology that continues to develop until now. This development became stronger after the invention of a computer system designed to be able to receive and store data automatically and be able to produce output in accordance with the instructions that have been stored in computer memory so that it can help in manipulating data quickly and precisely (Annisa et al., 2020). The advancement of digitalization is increasingly massive when mobile phone and social media devices are created and equipped with various features that can make it easier for humans to carry out daily activities. The educational revolution in higher education has made today's students more familiar with technology and digital communication media so that they can give birth to a more productive and efficient generation. If categorized as students belonging to the millennial generation, this is based on the opinion of Ali and Purwandi the millennial generation are those who were born between the 1980s and the 2000s. So it can be understood that students are part of the millennial generation. With its various advantages, making students is also predicted to be a resource that can lead Indonesia to prosperity (ZUHRI, 2021). 238 The convenience provided in the digital era does not fully have a positive impact on students but can also change the character of the students themselves. The tendency of students to spend their time in cyberspace can cause laziness so that it can affect their productivity level. In addition, there are currently rampant events that show moral and character degradation such as cyberbullying, eroding respect for others, drugs, and acts of violence that are not infrequently the perpetrators are students. Universities as one of the formal education must do their best to counteract the negative influence of digitalization. One of the efforts that can be done is to apply character strengthening so that it is hoped that students can have a strong character and can draw them closer to God and achieve happiness in the world and the Hereafter. Strengthening character education is also expected to be able to shape the consciousness of students as servants of God and their obligations as caliphs on earth. In essence, human character comes from the heart or qolbu so that if it is likened to the human heart, it is the base of life. If man has a clean and good heart, it will create a good character in man, and vice versa if the heart or qolbu that man has is bad, it will cause bad character. Based on this, it can be understood that the character of students can be improved and strengthened by maintaining the heart and arranging it so that it is always in a clean condition so that it can help humans in achieving their goals both in the world and in the hereafter. In the application of qolbu management, there are several methods that the campus can apply to assist students in achieving qolbun salim (safe heart), including: (Faizin, 2013) 1. Self-recognition Self-recognition is the main source of things to do in managing the liver (qolbu management). This is because through self- recognition and understanding, humans can assess their personality or character so that if there is still ugliness in themselves, then the individual can correct and avoid the behavior from happening again. If man does not know and understand the character and behavior that exists in him, it is impossible for the human being to avoid the filth of the heart that can cause bad character also on him. In addition to conducting an independent assessment, self-assessment can also be done by accepting criticism from family and people around because if humans have an open attitude and accept criticism sincerely, it will develop self-abilities for the better (Mumtahanah, 2011). 2. Liver cleansing 239 In the concept of qolbu management the main key in the creation and strengthening of good character is to keep the heart clean. Cleansing activities must be carried out istiqomah or continuously because in essence humans are imperfect people so they often make mistakes in living life. So that by cleansing the heart istiqomah is expected to prevent and minimize humans from behaving badly in their lives. 3. Self-control The law of self-control is fardu ain or wajin for every human being. Self-control or it can also be called jihadun nafs is an effort made by man to commit to the rules of Allah Almighty and follow all His commandments, so that in this effort man must be able to control his passions so that they are not carried away into dzalim actions. Jihadun nafs is included in the grand jihad which is the jihad or the most arduous war that man must fight compared to the war against the enemy because if man cannot control his passions then it is also difficult for him to jihad against others and obstacles in his life (Afifah, 2017). This is as the Prophet affirmed at the time of the badr war that: "we have just faced a heavy war but the war is very heavy is actually a war against lust”. 4. Self-development Self-development is the process of increasing one's potential, personality in order to continue to grow and develop. This effort is made to help a person in achieving his goals, increase self-confidence so that he can become stronger in the face of trials, and can live a good relationship in his environment. So that it will be an added value for a person if a human being can develop himself because it will make the life he lives more meaningful (Tarmudji, 1998). 5. Ma`rifatullah Ma'rifatullah is an effort made to know Allah Almighty as closely as possible which can be done through cleansing the soul by thinking to Allah istiqomah (Ghazali, 1981). Ma'rifatullah is likened to a director who will straighten out the life orientation of a Muslim, where at this stage man must realize that his life is not for anyone and only for Allah Almighty. If man can reach this stage, it will become the most precious pearl in his life because the human being will enter into the man whom Allah Almighty loves. So for a Muslim ma'rifatullah must be used as the main dream that must be achieved because without ma'rifatullah a Muslim cannot have faith and constancy in life. V. CONCLUSION From the foregoing it can be concluded that the human character comes 240 from the heart or qolbu. A clean heart will create a good character, while a bad heart will give birth to a bad character anyway. In essence, the human heart has an inconsistent nature or is easy to turn around so that it takes the guidance of God's light so that a person can have a consistent heart and strong guidelines so that he is not easily carried away by negative currents in life. One of the efforts that can be made in giving birth to a consistent heart is to apply qolbu management. Qolbu management has the concept that a person can be directed to be very sensitive in managing the slightest potential that exists in him into something of glory value and gives great benefits, both for himself and other creatures of God. 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