Religious activities amongst the elderly to get a better quality of life (the implementation of activity theory)

International Journal of Management (IJM)
Volume 11, Issue 2, February 2020, pp. 221–232, Article ID: IJM_11_02_023
Available online at />Journal Impact Factor (2020): 10.1471 (Calculated by GISI) www.jifactor.com
ISSN Print: 0976-6502 and ISSN Online: 0976-6510
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RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES AMONGST THE
ELDERLY TO GET A BETTER QUALITY OF
LIFE (THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ACTIVITY
THEORY)
Nurman Achmad* and M. Arifin Nasution
Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan, Indonesia
*Corresponding e-mail:
ABSTRACT
Elderly is one of the crucial issues faced by many countries in the world today.
Composition of elderly population is growing rapidly in both developed and
developing countries. The increase in the number of elderly people is important to
note, so that they could live long, enjoy their life happily, and improve their quality of
life by doing activities. However, sometimes elderly activities tend to worsen their
quality of life. Therefore, it is necessary to look for activities that can improve their
quality of life with the slogan of living a good quality of life in old age. The research
conducted in Babussalam, Dolok Sigompulon District, North Padanglawas Regency,
North Sumatera, Indonesia raises the activities carried out by the elderly to keep them
busy during their old age. By using a qualitative approach, the research and results of
this study are presented in an ethnographic writing form to describe the activities.
Participant observation and in-depth interviews with the elderly are two tools used to
collect the data. As a qualitative approach, the concept of native point of view is the
strength of this research. Informants are selected using purposive sampling, in order
to get a broader picture. The results of this study found that the elderly who are part

of a group or community of the Naqshbandiyah followers, did the wayfaring and spent
their time in the wayfarers gathering places. Their main objective to carry out these
activities is to get closer to the almighty in order to get a better quality of life.
Furthermore, there are among the elderly who come to wayfarers gathering places
because of carrying out a debt called vow or nazar. For the elderly who are not part
of the tariqa or order community, wayfaring activity is not an option to fill the old age.
Keywords: Activities, Naqshbandiyah Tariqa, Wayfaring.
Cite this Article: Nurman Achmad and M. Arifin Nasution, Religious Activities
amongst the Elderly to Get a Better Quality of Life (The Implementation of Activity
Theory), International Journal of Management (IJM), 11 (2), 2020, pp. 221–232.
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Religious Activities Amongst the Elderly to Get a Better Quality of Life (The Implementation of
Activity Theory)

1. INTRODUCTION
Elderly is one of the crucial issues faced by many countries in the world today. Composition
of elderly population is growing rapidly in both developed and developing countries. Based
on data from the United Nations in 2015, there has been an increase in 2000 and 2015. The
number of elderly is predicted to continue increasing in 2030 and 2050 as well. For example
in Africa, there were 42.4 million in 2000, then it had become 64.4 million in 2015 and it is
predicted to increase to 105.4 million in 2030 and 220.3 million in 2050. Furthermore in
Europe, there has been an increase from 147.3 million in 2000 to 176.5 million in 2015, and it
is predicted to increase to 217.2 million in 2030 and 242.0 million in 2050. Then in Asia,
there were 319.5 million elderly in 2000 and it had increased to 508.0 million in 2015 and it is

predicted by 2030 to continue increasing to 844.5 million and becoming 1,293.7 million in
2050. Looking further, the increase in the number of elderly people from 2000 to 2015 has
shown an increase of 51.9 percent in Africa, 19.8 percent in Europe and 59.0 percent in the
Asian region (World Population Aging 2015).
Indonesia as the fourth most populous country in the world, after China, India and the
United States, and the most populous country in the Southeast Asian region of the 10
countries that are members of ASEAN, the results of the 2010-2035 population projection,
Indonesia will enter the period of aging, where 10% of the population will be aged 60 years
and over, in 2020. This number is predicted to increase as many as 11.8 percent of the total
population of Indonesia in 2025, 13.8 percent in 2030 and 15.8% in 2035 (Infodatin: 2015).
The rise of elderly population number requires special attention and handling in the
implementation of development. One of the problems that occur amongst the elderly is related
to the activities of the elderly in filling their old age. In the future, the elderly can still live
productively in the way they want to continue becoming more mature individuals. Elderly
have the opportunity to be able to determine the life they will live in old age. Being a
productive elderly is an option for them to remain meaningful and useful wherever they are.
During this time, they were getting closer to the end of life, so they remember the death more
than before.
Elderly people become more interested in religious activities because the day of their
death is getting closer, or because they are very incapacitated. In general, they are interested
in religious activities because they consider these activities can create new interest or can be a
new point of attention (Achmad, 2016). An analysis of a research study relating to attitudes
towards religion and religious activities in old age proves that there are facts about increasing
interest or motivation towards religion which in line with age.
There are several religious activities that can be carried out by the elderly, especially the
Muslim ones, either individually, in group, or institutionalized activities. Several studies have
also been carried out in the context of elderly religious activities. One of them was written by
Sudimin, with the title of ‘Religious Activities of Elderly in Uswatun Khasanah Mosque,
North Purbalingga, Purbalingga Regency’. The results of his research showed that religious
activities of the elderly in Uswatun Khasanah Mosque in North Purbalingga, Purbalingga

Regency were good enough because the activities had been scheduled. Motivations of the
elderly in religious activities were congregational prayers and recitations so that their hearts
are comfortable and peaceful. It could also increase their religious knowledge and obedience
to Allah SWT and prepare their deeds of worship for the afterlife. But the obstacles faced due
to forgetfulness, a sense of laziness, decreased health and unsupportive environment.
Nurzeha then studied the implementation of religious guidance and awareness on the
elderly at the UPTD (Technical Implementation Unit) PSLU (Elderly Social Care
Institution) Tresna Werdha Natar. From the results of the research, Nurzeha said this activity
was very useful for the elderly to know more about the religion that was delivered by

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Religious Instructors with the method and material in Religious Guidance are: Religious
Lecture Method, and Material presented by the Religious Instructors are: 1) Aqeedah, such as:
everything related to God, such as the Form of Allah, the natures of Allah, angels, holy book,
the Prophets, the Judgement Day, qhoda and qhodar, pillars of Islam; 2) Shari’a (prayer,
worship and dhikr); 3) Sholawat.
There are many more elderly religious activities that have been studied which can open
our thinking horizons about the elderly and religious activities. One of many forms of
diversity can be realized through religious activities. The results of research conducted by
Francis, Yablon, and Robbins (2014) reinforce the explanation that people who are active
with religious activities will feel happier than the passive ones. Through religious activities,
the elderly will get a better life (happiness). The happiness of life felt by the elderly will
continue to be maintained if they also maintain their religious activities. Fauzi (2012) defined

religious activity as a design or arrangement of activities that are religious in nature, taking
place continuously in an organization that aims to produce experiences on a religious teaching
or dogma. Furthermore, Maisyaroh (2009) defined religious activity as a form of effort carried
out to realize or apply the faith into religious behaviors. According to Suardiman (2011), there
are various forms of religious activities that can be carried out by a person, such as: the five
daily prayers and other prayers, fasting, zakat-oriented activities, Hajj, attending or holding
recitations, implementing advices and avoiding prohibitions of each adhered religious
teaching, reading religious books, following religious radio/TV shows, helping orphans, and
exploring the contents of the Qur'an and so on. In addition to these forms of religious
activities, in Sumatra, especially North Sumatra, there is wayfaring as a form of religious
activity. This wayfaring is usually carried out by the Naqshbandiyah Tariqa adherents which
not limited by age and gender. However, there is a wayfaring created specifically for the
elderly.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. The Social System
Parsons (1991) gave birth to a functional theory of change. Like its predecessors, Parsons also
analogous to social change in society as well as growth in living things. The main component
of Parsons' thinking is the process of differentiation. Parsons assumes that every society is
composed of a set of subsystems that are different based on their structure and based on their
functional meaning for a wider society. When the community changes, generally the
community will grow with a better ability to overcome life's problems. It can be said that
Parsons belongs to the group that views optimism as a process of change. When included in
the aspect of community empowerment, this social system theory leads to one of the strengths
that the group must possess so that the group is empowered by having a group of
people/mass. If the group has a large mass and is able to survive and develop to become
bigger then the group can be said to be empowered.
Wilson (1996) states that there are 7 stages in the community empowerment cycle. The
first stage is the desire of the community itself to change for the better. In the second stage,
the community is expected to be able to release obstacles or factors that are resistance to

progress in themselves and their communities. In the third stage, the community is expected
to have received additional freedom and feel they have responsibility in developing
themselves and their communities. The fourth stage is an effort to develop a broader role and
limit of responsibility, this is also related to interest and motivation to do a better job. At this
fifth stage the tangible results of empowerment begin to appear, where a greater sense of
ownership results in better performance outcomes. In the sixth stage there has been a change
in behavior and impression towards him, where success in improving performance can

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Religious Activities Amongst the Elderly to Get a Better Quality of Life (The Implementation of
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increase psychological feelings above the previous position. In the seventh stage the
community that has succeeded in empowering itself, feels challenged for a greater effort to
get better results. This empowerment cycle illustrates the process of individual and
community efforts to follow a journey towards higher individual and job achievement and
satisfaction.

2.2. Elderly Theory
2.2.1. Activity Theory
This theory states that successful aging depends on how an elderly person feels satisfaction in
activity and maintains the activity as long as possible. The quality of these activities is more
important than the quantity of activities carried out (Padila, 2013). Becoming Old is a
situation that occurs in human life. The aging process is a process throughout life that not
only starts from a certain time, but starts from the beginning of life. Being old is a natural

process which means that someone has gone through the stages of his life, namely neonates,
toodlers, pre school, school, teenagers, adults and the elderly. This different stage starts both
biologically and psychologically. The existence of the elderly is characterized by increasing
life expectancy from year to year, this requires efforts to maintain and improve health in order
to achieve a healthy, happy, efficient and productive old age.

2.3. Religious Activities
Religion in old age is a characteristic of religiosity or a person's belief in the period that has
passed the development in the previous period up to the age of 60 years and over which aims
at behavior that is in accordance with religious teachings. Intensive and efficient development
in various aspects, including religious aspects. The religious aspect through religious
guidance is an effort to improve the practice of worship by way of practice / training to
strengthen the belief in the truth of the religious teachings that he adheres to. Then there needs
to be a platform that can lead them to remain on the path of religion and behave in accordance
with religious teachings, with thus the Taklim assembly has an important role in reaching it,
so that the elderly can realize the importance of worshiping and drawing closer to God
Almighty, so that in their old days they will find peace of life, happiness, peace, wisdom and
peace. soul, thus the health of the elderly is expected to be physically and spiritually
maintained. Religious spiritual formation is very much needed for them. the religious
formation of the elderly through the majelis taklim is directed at changing their religious
mental attitude. Circumstances that had not been diligent in worshiping, becoming willing to
worship, who had originally closed themselves became accommodating and easily interacted
with their friends. Who previously did not care about their environment, turned into a growing
social soul.

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This study uses a qualitative approach to obtain activities and views on elderly wayfaring in
Babussalam and its relation to the lifes of the elderly. Emik view or native point of view is the
strength used to analyze elderly activities in the wayfaring house. Emik view is used for
phenomenon-based social cultural studies, by developing diachronic, synchronous,

comparative, global sciences and cultural conceptions. Emik is important in research to
eliminate the interests and motivations of outside researchers and remove misrepresentations
in traditional scientific traditions.
Harris (1976) saw emik as something that is in the mind of inside people, while the ethic
is how to know what is in the minds of the inside people. Emik reveals the actual parts of the
interactive potential context in the meeting of enographers with informants to discuss

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something dominant. The subjects of this study were elderly who carried out the activity of
wayfaring in Babussalam, Pasar Simundol, Dolok Sigompulon District, North Padanglawas
Regency, North Sumatera Province, Indonesia. The technique of determining informants is
very important because they are the source of information. Koentjaraningrat, (1993) stated
that the determination of informants as data source uses more social reality considerations. It
means, informants who represent the community are selected by purposive sampling, which is
the selection of informants based on certain criteria. According to Usman (2004), purposive
sampling is used if the informant is chosen specifically based on the aims and objectives of
the study. In this study, purposive sampling was used to find data that matches the
predetermined criteria as well as the aims and objectives of the study (Muda et al., 2018 and
Pohan et al., 2018). When the researchers went to the field, there were some elderly people
who were doing wayfare or suluk. Next, the researchers determined 3 people to be
interviewed. This was based on the willingness of the informants to be interviewed. Then
researchers looked for families of the elderly. In addition, the managers of the elderly
wayfaring house also became informants in this study.

This research used Observation and In-depth interview as the tools to collect the data. The
explanation of each tool is presented bellow:

Observation
Observation was conducted in the field by looking at the activities of the elderly during the
wayfaring. As supporting material, researchers also observed the wayfaring facilities and
environment to get a deeper picture of elderly activities in the wayfaring house (Achmad et
al., 2017 & Badaruddin et al., 2017). However, as instructioned by the managers of the
wayfaring house, we could not see directly the elderly who were doing wayfare, because it
was feared could disrupt their concentration. So the managers were the ones who
demonstrated the wayfaring activities.
In-depth interview, conducted on the elderly
The interviews were conducted on three elderly people who were conducting the wayfaring
activities by using the in-depth interview guide. And to enrich the data, the researchers also
interviewed the managers of wayfaring house and the families of the elderly who were doing
wayfaring.

4. RESULT AND DISCUSSION
4.1. Result
Wayfare or suluk literally means going through (the road). In relation to Islam and Sufism, the
word of wayfaring means going through the path (of spiritualism) to Allah. Taking the path of
wayfare (wayfaring) includes a lifelong discipline in carrying out the exoteric rules of Islam
(shari'a) as well as esoteric rules of Islam (the essences). Wayfaring also includes the desire
to know the self, understand the essence of life, the Search of God, and the Search for the
True Truth (Divine Truth or Ilahiyyah), through lifelong self-forging by carrying out the outer
shari'a as well as the inner shari'a in order to achieve the sanctity of the heart to know the self
and God. The word of suluk comes from the terminology of the Qur'an, Fasluki, in the AnNahl verse 69, Fasluki subula rabbiki zululan, which means And take the path of your Rabb
which has been facilitated (for you). Someone who takes the path of suluk or wayfaring is
called salik.
Wayfaring house is a non-formal religious institution where there are students and

murshids who pursue the science of Sufism and improve the quality and quantity of their
worship. There are students who live in the wayfaring houses, while some come during a
certain period or just come back and forth to stay in touch with certain goals such as
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friendship visit, asking for medication, asking for prayers, and so forth. Pasar Simundol
Wayfaring House was established in 1988 which was directly led by Tuan Guru Syekh
Khalifah Hajad (Master Guru Sheikh Khalifa Hajad). Pasar Simundol Wayfaring House is
closely related to the Naqsabandiyah Besilam Langkat and Gunung Selamat Tariqas in
Rantauprapat. The wayfaring house is the last branch of wayfaring house that developed from
Besilam. According to Tuan Muda Pasar Simundol (Young Master of Pasar Simundol),
Besilam has given birth to many Khalifas (title for selected people after being able to do
wayfaring and establish a wayfaring house) who spread in several regions in Indonesia. Tuan
Muda Simundol is the second generation of this wayfaring house. The first generation, as well
as the founder, is Tuan Guru Syekh Khalifah Hajad (young master's parent). Tuan Guru
Khalifah Hajad is one of Tuan Guru's students in Besilam. Tuan Guru Hajad had passed
several examinations and certifications by Besilam to establish Simundol Wayfaring House.
The complex of this wayfaring house is quite spacious because there is a plan for building
expansion. The complex is indeed located on the side of the road and the people must walk as
far as 50 m to get to the wayfaring house building. The wayfaring house itself is located
before entering the residential area of Simundol Market and the people must go through a
distance of 1 km to reach the residential area. When walking to the wayfaring house from the
market, several ponds will be passed. These ponds are the streams of several ponds above it.

These ponds are drained by a spring from the hill which was discovered by the Syekh
Khalifah Hajad himself to support the means of the wayfaring house. The wayfaring house
itself is divided into several parts and connected by skybridge-like structures to the tuan
guru's house. Besides the wayfaring room and musholla, there are several empty spaces. The
rooms can also be used for wayfaring if the number of participants is quite a lot and doesn't fit
in just one room. In the middle between the wayfaring room and musholla, there is a kitchen
where the participants and tuan guru eat together. The size of the kitchen is 7x4 meters and
connected directly to tuan guru's house, which has several rooms and is filled by his two
children and son/daughter-in-law. Sometimes the participants can talk and exchange ideas in
the kitchen.

4.2. Discussions
4.2.1. Wayfaring Activities of Elderly
For the elderly who just followed the wayfaring, the initial activities of wayfaring are
conducted on Monday night and Thursday night, but there are also elderly who do not
conduct the activities on those days because they had been participating in the activities for a
long time. For those who want to do wayfaring for the first time, the participants cannot
continue after Tuesday night and so on. The rule they must follow is just every Monday night
and Thursday night with a total of 10 times. In doing wayfaring, participants are also given
guidances on how to conduct wayfaring. Tuan muda usually conducts a kind of briefing for
all participants, while at the same time tariqa-ing the hearts of the participants. This process
holds to purify the heart from all worldly affairs and make it only remember ALLAH SWT.
In doing wayfaring activities, tuan guru also monitors the movements of the hearts of the
participants. He monitors the participants with just the eyes of the heart. If the participants
find things that are beyond the guidances of tuan muda, the participants are required to
convey the matter to tuan muda. The aim is to provide an explanation of the incident and not
get lost in other guidances. However, the explanation is not accompanied by questions such as
"What does the incident mean, Tuan Guru?" In doing wayfaring activities, participants also
often find supernatural-related events, such as seeing the head without the body, feeling
drawn by something when doing dhikr, or seeing white light which comes into the mind and

then disappears in a blink of an eye, etc.

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There is a courtesy when the participants want to face tuan muda. When they want to
climb the stairs of tuan muda's house, they must step using the right foot first. If they step
using the left foot, the wayfaring activities become null and void. After climbing the stairs,
the first foot to face must be the right one as well. If the left foot is used first, then the
activities become null and void. After that, when the participants want to talk to tuan guru,
their head is not allowed to face him and they must bow down. If it is violated then the
activity will be canceled all.
After doing tawaju’, the participants usually return to the wayfaring room. Specifically
after the shubuh, dzuhur, and isya’ prayers, the participants eat first before going to the
wayfaring room. The wayfaring room itself is divided into two, one part for male and one part
for female participants. Each of 2 parts of wayfaring room is rectangular with a size of 8 x 3
meters. The room is like an empty ward that has nothing. When the wayfaring season comes,
this room will be filled with dozens of wayfaring participants. The participants will distribute
themselves regularly to their respective wayfaring locations. Usually, they are only given a
size of 2 x 1 meter. In the middle of the wayfaring room, there are ropes which are mounted
lengthwise to hook the nets of the participants so that their nets could stand face to face.
Meanwhile, the women's wayfaring room is right accross the kitchen room. The
characteristics are the same as the male participants' wayfaring room.
The elderly wake up at 3:00 a.m., go to the bathroom to take a shower and clean the body,
do sunnah prayers, then wait for shubuh prayer by doing dhikr. One hour is short for the

elderly. After the shubuh call to prayer, the elderly carry out the shubuh prayer together. The
priest of shubuh prayer usually tuan guru himself. After praying, the elderly still spend 30
minutes to 1 hour to dhikr. Exactly at 9:00 a.m., after breakfast, they return to the wayfaring
room and close themselves in a white net to continue the dhikr. They do it until 12.00 p.m.. At
12:00 p.m., they have prepared to leave their wayfaring location in order to go to the mosque.
They will carry out the zuhr prayer together. After the zuhr prayer, the activity continued with
dhikr on the 2nd floor of the mosque for men and on the 1st floor of the mosque for women.
After doing dhikr for about an hour, they head to the dining room for lunch. The lunch menu
is simple, but contains adequate nutritions to maintain their health.
After lunch, the elderly go to their respective rooms to continue their wayfaring activities.
They do wayfaring until right before Ashar prayer time. Before entering Ashar prayer time,
the elderly have to be in the mosque. While waiting for the prayer, they do dhikr in the
mosque. When prayer time comes, they pray in congregation with tuan muda as the priest.
After praying, the elderly will do dhikr again. At 5.30 p.m. they take a shower. After
showering, they go directly to the mosque to attend maghrib prayer. Before do the prayer,
they will do dhikr in the mosque. Once the prayer time comes, they will do the prayer
together. After the prayer, they do dhikr again on the 2nd floor of the mosque for men.
Whereas the women go to the 1st floor of the mosque. They will continue to do dhikr while
waiting for the Isha prayer time to come. After doing Isha prayer together, they do dhikir for a
while then went to the dining room for dinner. After dinner, they will go to their respective
rooms to do wayfaring again until night. Those activities are repeated by the participants
everyday during their wayfaring period. The wayfaring period varies, there are elderly who
only do wayfaring for 3 nights, some do it for a week and some do it for a month. The length
of wayfaring period depends on the wishes of the elderly. The longer the wayfaring period,
the greater the costs incurred when registering.
The purpose of wayfaring is to plant noble characters starting with repentance, which is
the awareness of all mistakes both to Allah SWT, as well as to humans. Its implementation
must be with sincerity to improve the self by fostering sincerity to undergo riyāḍah and
getting used to living in zuhud and obey the rules. Then the effort to instill noble characters

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into the heart is done by doing a lot of dhikr who are acknowledged to have noble qualities.
Besides that, the habit of worshiping and the decrease of tendency towards worldly things
have given rise to the nature of taqwa, tawādu’, grateful for favors and qanā‘ah. The practice
of laṭa’if dhikr has also brought spiritual experience which fosters inner calm which is not felt
before following the wayfaring. This inner calm is further strengthened when the participants
realize that such spiritual experience could not be found outside the wayfaring activities. This
awareness has encouraged the sālik to become a better person by doing a lot of good deeds.
According to the researchers, the noble characters or good deeds are done because of the
influence of the good values experienced by the sālik. Those values are contained both in the
spiritual experience as well as in the routines that are accustomed. In the study of character
education, these values have a strong influence on character education. As stated by Frankel,
the values contained in the spiritual world do not materialize but have powerful influence in
character building and visible in every person's actions and appearance.
The values in the teachings of the tariqa are a process of experience which integrated with
the pattern of life so that they can grow and develop spontaneously to encourage good
behavior. Although the values are in the spiritual and inner worlds of a sālik, but the
researchers observed that the values influence the changes in attitudes and behaviors of every
human personality. This is in accordance with the formulation of Rath, Harmin and Simon
about several indicators of values that can affect all behaviors of human life, namely goals,
aspirations, attitudes, interests, feelings, beliefs and convictions, as well as anxiety, problems
and obstacles (E. Louis Rath, Merril Harmin and B Sidnye Simon, 1978: 29). These nine

indicators are almost entirely contained in the practice of tariqa teachings as part of wayfaring
activities. The goals of the sāliks are embedded in a prayer sentence which always uttered,
namely ilāhī anta maqsūdī wariḍoka maṭlūbī. The aspirations of the sāliks are embedded in
the desire to repent in order to become a better person. The sincere and ridha attitudes of the
sāliks are expressed in their willingness to practice the teachings and live in the wayfaring
house by obeying its rules. The interest of the sāliks is seen from their effort to worship
without wanting to be disturbed by worldly pleasures (khusyu’). The feeling as well as beliefs
and convictionsof the sāliks can be indicated from their seriousness and determination
(istiqomah) in carrying out the tariqa teachings to get closer to the God. The last is anxiety,
problems and obstacles that are embedded in the mind through acceptance of inner views
when doing the dhikr or tafakkur. With the embeddedness of some of these values in mind,
they could become a strong influence on the formation of Islamic characters or noble
characters.
4.2.2. Driving Factors for the Elderly to do Wayfaring
Factors are one of the effects that make someone want to do something that is considered
capable of making themselves better or vice versa. Factors usually give birth to a tendency
that makes someone want to do something that is considered true. Wayfaring house is one
place where the elderly want to get closer to the Almighty. The elderly join the wayfaring not
without a reason and problem in their life. The elderly attend the wayfaring due to the factors
that encourage them to join and feel how the wayfaring is. As for the factors of the elderly to
join the wayfaring are:
Heart’s Desire
The heart matter becomes one of the main factors in carrying out the wayfaring. Everyone
who wants to do wayfaring should open the heart and have strong intention to get a good
impact. So, it is the heart's desire to get closer to the God through wayfaring which becomes
the people reason to do wayfaring. Almost all informants who come to wayfaring house want
to get closer to the God. Bringing the heart closer to the God is a way towards a better quality
of life.

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Nazar or Vow
Nazar or vow is a promise to the self to do something if getting or achieving a certain thing.
The nazars of the elderly in the wayfaring house are mostly because they want to recover
from a disease. When they recover, they express their desire to do wayfaring. Even there are
some sick or unhealthy elderly who participate in the wayfaring activities.
4.2.3. Family and Elderly Views about Wayfaring
The elderly consider that wayfaring is the most effective thing to get closer to the God and be
able to open the door of their hearts. The interviewed elderly were aware of religion because,
so far, they had only wasted their time for unseful things. In addition, the elderly do consider
wayfaring is one of the activities in old age. Tariqa as a spiritual movement specifically
focuses on the effort to climb the divine achievement. This serious effort is evidenced by the
high commitment and concentration of the effort towards the God in various forms of ritual
techniques formalized in spiritual practices. On the other hand, there is a lot of participation of
tariqa in almost all aspects of life, including political, social and cultural aspects. Those
aspects put the tariqa as part of the respected community units because it is an inseparable
part of social life. The involvement in social life is important in seeing the role of tariqa
because, generally, tariqa has its own role in the life of society.
One of the tariqas which has received much attention from scholars and researchers is
Naqshbandiyah Tariqa, since it is considered to have a role in people's life. The tariqa is not
only able to build spiritual awareness, but more than that, it is also able to build social life of
the community in its own way. The role of this tariqa is proven by its ability to dialectic with
power, which is considered as part of the survival efforts and at the same time disseminating
the network to strengthen the influence in order to be accepted and get a strategic position

with the protection of the power, so that the tariqa often becomes the main partner of the
rulers in the form of mutual relationship with the purpose of reinforcing their respective
positions in the community. Community development is not only limited to theories about
how to develop rural areas but has a meaning that is likely to develop at the community level.
Community development should reflect community actions and awareness of identity.
Therefore, commitment to community development must recognize the linkages between
individuals and the communities in which they are located. Society is a structural
phenomenon and that the structural nature of a group or society has an effect on the way
people act, feel and think. But when we look at these structures, they are clearly not like the
physical qualities of the outside world. They depend on the order of social reproduction,
society which only has an effect on people as long as the structure is produced and reproduced
in what people do. Therefore, the development of society has a logical epistemology and that
is basic in the social obligations that individuals have towards people who develop their
talents.
In empowering the process approach, it is more possible to implement development that
humanizes humans. In this view the involvement of the community in development is more
directed to the form of participation, not in the form of mobilization. Community participation
in the formulation of the program makes the community not merely a consumer of the
program, but also as a producer because it has participated in the process of making and
formulating it, so that people feel they have a program and have responsibility for its success
and have more motivation for participation in the next phase.
Shucksmith (2013) states the bottom-up approach to rural development ('driven from
within', or sometimes called endogenous) based on the assumption that specific regional
resources - natural, human and cultural - hold the key to its development. Whereas top-down
rural development sees its main challenge as overcoming rural differences and peculiarities
through the promotion of universal technical skills and the modernization of physical
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Religious Activities Amongst the Elderly to Get a Better Quality of Life (The Implementation of
Activity Theory)

infrastructure, downward development sees the main challenges as utilizing differences
through maintaining typical local human and environmental capacities. The bottom-up model
mainly concerns the mobilization of local resources and assets. That is, the development
community must be considered not as a theory of development, but development practices
that emphasize the emancipation of institutions that are inappropriate and each weakens the
situation that leads to the participation of participation, community development must be a
mechanism to attract the collective strength of certain members of society - which consists of
men men and women, rich and poor, capable and disabled, etc. - to change in their territory.
This empowerment has a two-way aim, namely to release the shackles of poverty and
underdevelopment and strengthen the position of the community in the power structure.
Empowerment is a process and purpose. As a process, empowerment is a series of activities to
strengthen power or empowerment of weak groups in society, including individuals who
experience poverty problems. As a goal, empowerment refers to the situation or outcome that
a social change wants to achieve; namely the people who are empowered, have the power or
have the knowledge and ability to fulfill their needs both physical, economic and social, such
as having self-confidence, being able to convey aspirations, have a livelihood, participate in
social activities, and be independent in carrying out their life duties.

5. CONCLUSIONS
Location of Babussalam Wayfaring House, Pasar Simundol, Dolok Sigompulon District,
North Padanglawas Regency is far from the city. Simundol Bus is the only public
transportation available to get to the location, but it doesn't directly reach the Pasar Simundol
Village. The last stop of Simundol Bus is in Sibargot Village, which takes 1 hour 45 minutes
and has to take another 45 minutes to go to Pasar Simundol Village by riding a palm oil truck,
because there is no public transportation. The facilities of wayfaring house are not elderly

friendly. Those who come to do wayfaring are elderly people who are the members of groups
or communities of the Naqshbandiyah Babussalam Langkat Tariqa followers, so not all
elderly people are interested to do wayfaring. This means that not all elderly people are free to
do wayfaring. But the families of Naqshbandiyah Tariqa followers consider wayfaring as a
very good activity. Wayfaring can fill the old days of the elderly. The main objective of the
elderly to carry out the activity is to get closer to the Almighty in order to get a better quality
of life. Furthermore, there are among the elderly who come to the wayfaring house because of
carrying out a debt called nazar or vow.

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