Name : Amirotul Nabilah

NIM : 20178401471020

Semester : 6

Analysis The Characters of "Ayat-Ayat Cinta"

A Novel by Habiburrahman El Shirazy

The analysis I did was an analysis of the characters in the novel Ayat-Ayat Cinta by
Habiburrahman El Shirazy, published by Republika. In around 2007, this novel was the most
popular novel and was loved by people in various circles. This novel not only describes the
beauty of love but is also combined with dakwah, religion, culture and even politic.
Habiburrahman had created many novels that were once best-sellers, it was not surprising if
this novel also won various awards and was made into a film shown in 2008.

Short story of this novel was about a man who became the main character. Fahri's name
was written, a man who approached the word perfect. He was kind, handsome, independent,
religious, clever, helpful, assertive and other good characters. Fahri was a student who studied
at Al-Azhar-Cairo, Mesir. In his story, Fahri is loved by 4 women with different backgrounds.
Such is Maria Girgis, a Christian woman who admires the Holy Qur'an, she was the neighbor of
Fahri's flat and she loves Fahri because of his sincerity and kindness. Next Nurul, Fahri's friend
at Al-Azhar University and she was the daughter of a well-known kyai in Indonesia. Same with
Nurul, Fahri actually likes her, but Fahri feels inferior because of his family background which is
only a farmer. The third was Noura, Fahri's neighbor who always tortured by his stepfather.
Fahri felt sympathy so he always help Noura when she was in trouble. Because of that Noura
was crazy about Fahri, even she had accused him of raping her. The last woman who also loves
Fahri was Aisha. Aisha was a beautiful woman like an angel, she loved Fahri since the incident at
the Metro where Fahri defended the religion of Islam.

Next I will discuss the characters from the novel Ayat-Ayat Cinta:

1. Fahri bin Abdullah Shiddiq

Fahri was the main character in the novel "Ayat-Ayat Cinta" and He was a protagonist
character. Fahri described as a young man who upholds his principles and always maintains his
honor. At that time, he lived in Mesir to study S2 at Al Azhar University. He had handsome face,
smart, assertive, religious and kind makes many women fall in love with him.
 Fahri had many good characters and good habits. First, Fahri was responsible and had
highest education. This character was found in quote “Sebagai yang dipercaya untuk menjadi
kepala keluarga meskipun tanpa seorang ibu rumah tangga-aku harus jeli memperhatikan
kebutuhan dan kesejahteraan anggota. Dalam flat ini kami hidup berlima; aku, Saiful, Rudi,
Hamdi, dan Misbah. Kebetulan aku yang paling tua, dan paling lama di Mesir. Secara akademis
aku juga yang paling tinggi. Aku tinggal menunggu pengumuman untuk menulis tesis master di
Al-Azhar. Yang lain masih program S.1. Saiful dan Rudi baru tingkat tiga, mau masuk tingkat
empat. Sedangkan Misbah dan Hamdi sedang menunggu pengumuman kelulusan untuk
memperoleh gelar Lc. Atau Licence.”( Page:19)

Fahri was the oldest family member who stayed longest in Mesir. At that time he was
undergoing a Masters program. This shows that Fahri was a man who had highest education
among his friends. Beside it he had responsible character, because he always pays attention to
the needs and welfare of the other members.

The other proof of Fahri's character was found in the quote “ Cuacanya buruk. Sangat
panas. Apa tidak sebaiknya istirahat saja? Jarak yang akan kautempuh itu tidak dekat. Pikirkan
juga kesehatanmu, Akh,” lanjut beliau sambil meletakkan tangan kanannya dipundak kiriku.”
“Semestinya memang begitu Syaikh. Tapi saya harus komitmen dengan jadwal. Jadwal adalah
janji. Janji pada diri sendiri dan janji pada Syaikh Utsman untuk datang.”(Page:31)

That quote is a conversation between Fahri and Shaikh Ahmad. From the conversation it can be
seen that Fahri's character always holds the promise, even in hot weather he still fulfills his
promise to meet the Shaikh Utsman.

Next, Fahri was Humorist. It was found the quote " Aku tersenyum pada Ashraf sambil
bergurau. “ Hei Ashraf, mau titip pesan pada Presiden Amerika nggak?” “ Apa maksudmu?” “
Itu mumpung ada orang Amerika. Minggu depan mereka mungkin sudah balik ke negaranya.
Kau bisa titip pesan pada mereka agar Presiden mereka tidak bertindak bodoh seperti yang kau
katakan tadi.” (Page:38)

What Fahri said had shown that he was humorist character because he likes to joke with his
friends.

The others character of Fahri was polite and religious. He cupped his hand to his chest
when Alicia would shake his hand. He also explained about his religious rules regarding the law
of contact with people who were not mahram. This was explained in the quote “oh, you’re
welcome. My name is Fahri,” jawabku sambil menangkupkan kedua tanganku di depan dada,
aku tidak mungkin menjabat tangannya.“Ini bukan berarti saya tidak menghormati anda.
Dalam ajaran Islam, seorang lelaki tidak boleh bersalaman dan bersentuhan dengan
perempuan selain istri dan mahramnya.” Aku menjelaskan agar dia tidak salah paham. Alicia
tersenyum dan berseloroh,” Oh, never mind. And this is my name card, for you." (Page: 54)

In another quote also shows the character of Fahri, as in the quote "Yang kutempel
memang arah hidup sepuluh tahun ke depan. Target-target yang harus kudapat dan apa yang
harus kulakukan.Lalu peta hidup satu tahun ini. Kutempel di tempat belajar untuk
penyemangat. Dan memang kutulis dalam bahasa Arab." (Page:142)

We can know that Fahri was a visionary man. He designed his life goals in such way. He know
how he must motivate himself, that's the reason why we can say that he was a diligent and
hardworking person.

“Kapten, aku memilih membuktikan di pengadilan bahwa aku tidak bersalah. Aku yakin
negara ini punya undang-undang dan hukum. Aku minta disediakan pengacara!” “Tindakan
bodoh! Di pengadilan kau akan kalah! Kau akan dihukum gantung! Lebih dari itu kau akan
masuk surat kabar! Kau akan diteriaki orang-orang sebagai pemerkosa! Kenapa kau tidak
memilih mengakuinya dan kita tutup kasus ini diam-diam. Kita buat kesepakan-kesepakatan
dengan kelaurga Noura sekarang. Kalau mereka memaafkan kau mungkin akan bernasib lebih
baik. Kami masih sedikit berbelaskasihan padamu karena kau orang asing. Kalau kau orang
Mesir sudah kami binasakan!” bentak polisi hitam dengan mata melotot. “Aku bukan pelaku
pemerkosaan itu kapten! Aku akan buktikan bahwa aku tidak bersalah!”tegasku. (Page: 308)

Fahri's attitude above, proved that Fahri was having an opinionated character. Whatever the
police promised, Fahri held to his conviction that he was innocent and he had never raped
Noura.

2. Maria Girgis

Like Fahri, Maria was one of the main characters and she was the protagonist character.
In the novel, Maria is a non-Muslim girl who admires Islam, she was smart and had a beautiful
face. She always shows her kind attitude when interacted with the others.

Maria was an Egyptian girl who always smile and had clean skin. The form of physical
and character of Maria was found in the quote "Seorang gadis Mesir berwajah bersih membuka
jendela kamarnya sambil tersenyum." (Page:22)

Next, Maria is a Coptic Christian girl. Maria's identity was explained directly by the
author in the quote “Gadis Mesir itu bernama Maria. Ia juga senang dipanggil Maryam. Dua
nama yang menurutnya sama saja. Dia putri sulung Tuan Boutros Rafael Girgis. Berasal dari
keluarga besar Girgis. Sebuah keluarga Kristen Koptik yang sangat taat. Bisa dikatakan
keluarga Maria adalah tetangga kami paling akrab. Ia seorang Kristen Koptik atau dalam
bahasa asli Mesirnya qibthi, namu n ia suka pada Al-Quran. Ia bahkan hafal beberapa surat Al-
quran. Diantaranya surat maryam. Sebuah surat yang membuat dirinya bangga.” (Page:22)

Maria was a girl who admires the Holy Qur'an, as proof she was able to memorize two
surahs in Qur'an where the others Muslim may not be able to memorize it. It was found in the
quote “ Kau juga suka menghafal Al-Quran aku tidak salah dengar ? heranku. “Ada yang
aneh?” Aku diam tidak menjawab. “aku hafal surat Maryam dan surat Al-Maidah di luar kepala
“Benarkan?” Kau tidak percaya? Coba kausimak baik-baik!” Maria lalu melantunkan surat
Maryam yang ia hafal. Anehnya ia terlebih dahulu membaca ta’awwudz dan basmalah. Ia tahu
ada bab dan tata cara membaca Al-Quran.Pada saat Maria dan fahri di dalam Metro."
(Page:24)

From the conversation between Fahri and Maria above shown that Maria was an unique girl,
she was also a strange Coptic. She was Christian but she knows very well how to read Qur'an,
even she was be able to memorizes it.

“Ia gadis yang sangat cerdas. Nilai ujian akhir Sekolah Lanjutan Atasnya adalah terbaik
kedua tingkat nasional Mesir. Ia masuk Fakultas Komunikasi, Cairo University. Dan tiap tingkat
selalu meraih predikat mumtaz atau cumlaude. Ia selalu terbaik di fakultasnya. Ia pernah
ditawari jadi reporter Ahran, koran terkemuka di Mesir.” (Page:25)

Through the narrative of the author above, proved that Maria was a smart girl. The author
explained that Maria always won the best title in her Faculty and her grades was always
cumlaude at every level.

In another quote also shown the character of Maria, as in the quote "Ia melantunkan lagu
Majida Rumi dengan sangat indah. Suara Maria tak kalah merdunya dengan suara penyanyi
tersohor dari Lebanon itu." (Page:111)

From that we can know that Maria's character had a beautiful voice, even her voice was no less
tunable with the voice of a famous singer. Of course we can think that a famous singer was
expert and no doubt about his ability.

Maria was a girl who had a beautiful and clean face, explained in the quote “Yang paling
menawan tentu saja Maria. Dengan gaun malam merah tua dan menggelung rambutnya ia
terlihat sangat cantik. Wajah pualamnya seperti bersinar di kegelapan malam.”(Page:124)
The quote above was a physical explanation of Maria's character through Fahri's vision. It was
explained that Maria's appearance was beautiful, beside it she had curled her hair that night, it
was made her look more elegant.

The last character of Maria was kind. We can understand that from the conversation
between Maria and Bahadur “Hai Maria bicara kau! Kalau tidak kusumpal mulutmu dengan
sandal!”Si Muka Dingin menyalak seperti anjing. ”Tuan Bahadur, memang benar, malam itu
aku turun menghibur Noura. Tapi Noura tidak bisa dihibur. Ia menangis terus dan tidak
berbicara sepatah katapun padaku. Aku jengkel lalu ya kutinggal dia. Setelah itu aku tidak tahu
kemana dia. Kukira dia kembali ke rumah anda.” (Page: 125)

The quote above shown that Maria had a kind heart. To help Noura from her
stepfather's deeds, Maria lied to Bahadur and said that she did not know where Noura was.

3. Aisha Greimas

Aisha also includes as the main characters of "Ayat-Ayat Cinta" novel. Aisha was a foreign
student who uses a veil in her face, smart, beautiful and rich. She comes from a family of
Turkish, German and Palestinian descent. Aisha was included in the category protagonist
character and had an important role in the novel.

Aisha was a foreign girl who uses a veil. It seen in the quote"Perempuan bercadar masih
bercakap dengan perempuan bule. Keduanya sangat dekat denganku. Aku bisa mendengar
jelas apa yang mereka bicarakan. Tentang asal mereka masing. perempuan bercadar itu
ternyata lahir di Jerman, dan besar juga di Jerman. Namun ia berdarah Jerman, Turki dan
Palestina.” (Page:54)

The description from Fahri's character proved that Aisha was a German-born girl who also has
Turkish and Palestinian blood.

In physical terms, Aisha was a white girl. Her character was saw when Fahri talk about
Aisha's face. It was seen in the quote “Wajah Aisha perlahan terbuka. Dan wajah putih bersih
menunduk tepat di depanku.subhanallah.” (Page:214)
Aisha also had a beautiful face. It was shown in the quote “Yang ada di depanku ini
seorang bidadari ataukah manusia biasa. Mahasuci Allah, yang kmenciptakan wajah seindah
itu. Jika seluruh pemahat paling hebat di seluruh dunia bersatu untuk mengukir wajah seindah
itu tak akan mampu. Pelukis paling hebat pun tak bisa menciptakan lukisan dari imajinasinya
seindah wajah Aisha. Keindahan wajah Aisha adalah karya seni mahaagung dari Dia Yang
Mahakuasa. Aku benar-benar merasakan saat-saat istimewa. Saat-saat untuk pertama kali
melihat wajah Aisha.”(Page:214)
Aisha's physical form was explained through the view of Fahri's character. It proved that Aisha
was a beautiful girl, she made Fahri's character admire her beauty.

The other character of Aisha was shown in the quote“Aisha menjawab dengan bahasa
Arab fusha yang terkadang masih ada susunan tata bahas yang keliru, namun tidak
mengurangi pemahaman orang yang mendengarnya. Suaranya terasa lembut dan indah, lebih
lembut dari suaranya saat berkenalan di Metro dan beberapa kali bertemu, di Tahrir dan di
National Library. Aku tidak tahu kenapa. Apakah karena aku kini telah jatuh cinta padanya?
Jatuh cinta untuk perama kalinya. Dan semoga juga untuk terakhir kalinya.” (Page:216)

The quote above explains that Aisha had soft and beautiful voice when talking to the others.
This was seen from the author's statement through the dialogue quotation above.

”Aku juga sangat mencintaimu. Kau besarkanlah jiwamu suamiku, aku akan berada
disampingmu. Aku tidak akan termakan tuduhan jahat itu. Aku yakin akan kesucianmu. Kalau
seandainya kau mengizinkan, aku ingin dipenjara bersamamu agar aku bisa menyediakan
sahur dan buka untukmu.” (Page 350)

Aisha's feeling above shown that Aisha's character was loyal. This was evidenced through the
quote above. How Aisha felt when she was far from her husband, feeling afraid, and wanting to
always accompany her husband was a form of loyalty.

One last character of Aisha was willing to sacrifice. This character was a special feature for
Aisha. Where conditions are difficult requires her to think deeply and sincerely to take a tough
decision. In the quote "Menikahlah dengan dia, demi anak kita. Kumohon! Jika Maria tidak
memberikan kesaksiannya, maka aku tak tahu lagi harus berbuat apa untuk menyelamatkan
ayah dari anak yang kukandung ini.” Setetes air bening keluar dari sudut matanya." (Page:377)

From the quote it was very clear that Aisha was willing to sacrifice for her child, husband and
Maria. Her actions which put the interests of the others first are a form of self-sacrifice.

4 .Nurul Azkiya binti Ja'far bin Abdur Razaq

Nurul was Fahri's friend at Al Azhar University, she was the only daughter of a cleric in
East Java, Indonesia. Nurul was one of the many girls who love Fahri. She had good
characterization like beautiful, refined mind and she was also an active person in organization.
Because of that, she was the Protagonist character, but in this novel she was only as an extras
character.

Nurul was an activist. The activist character of Nurul was explained directly by Fahri
"Aku langsung bergegas mengambil gagang telpon dan memutar nomor rumah Nurul, ketua
Wihdah, induk organisasi mahasiswi Indonesia di Mesir" (Page: 74).
From Fahri's statement it can be cloncude that Nurul was an activist because she became the
leader of a large organization in Mesir, of course Nurul also had a good leadership spirit.

From a physical point of view, Nurul was a girl wearing a veil and glasses, the writer
determined the character of Nurul directly through a quote "Nurul memakai kaca mata
jilbabnya panjang" (Page: 75)

The style of Nurul when she wore her dress and combined with long hijab can illustrate that she
was a girl who likes to use syar'i clothes in her daily life at university.

Like Maria and Aisha, Nurul also had a beautiful face and good character, this can be
found in the quote "Kau tahu Nurul... Selain cantik dia juga cerdas dan halus budi.." (Page: 225)

The other proof of Nurul's character was found in the quote "Diam-diam aku salut pada
Nurul. Meskipun ia jadi ketua umum organisasi mahasiswi paling bergengsi di Mesir, tapi ia
tidak pernah segan untuk menyempatkan waktunya mengajar anak-anak membaca Al Quran."
(Page: 95)

That quote was Fahri's perspective on Nurul, from that it can be seen that Nurul had a big soul,
being an activist does not become an obstacle for her to become a teacher who teaches the
Holy Qur'an.

5. Noura Bahadur

Same like Nurul, Noura was the extras characters in the novel "Ayat-Ayat Cinta". At the
beginning of the story, Noura had a good character, she was an honest and kind girl. But when
Noura began to love Fahri, her character was changed. Every way he did to get Fahri, including
giving accusations of rape.

At the beginning of the story before Noura knows Fahri, Noura was a girl who had a bad luck. In
her life she was always tortured by her own family. The statement is in accordance with what is
in the quote "Kami kenal gadis itu. Kasihan benar dia. Malangnya nasibnya. Namanya Noura.
Nama yang indah dan cantik. Ia baru saja naik ke tingkat akhir Ma’had Al azar puteri. Tahun
depan jika lulus dia baru akan kuliah. Sudah berulang kali kami melihat Noura didzalimi
kelarganya sendiri. Dia menjadi bulan-bulanan ayahnya dan kedua kakaknya." (Page: 63)

From there we also know that Noura was a student in final grade at Al Azhar.

Furthermore, Noura was a girl who had blonde hair, Noura's physical description
explained by other character's quotes “Apa Noura berambut pirang?” “Pertanyaanmu memang
aneh. Jawabnya ya, dia berambut pirang. Kenapa kau tanyakan itu?” (Page: 79)
 The physical differences Noura had made her tortured and despised by his stepfather, as
well as her sisters who did not like Noura make the opportunity to curse Noura, according to
the quote"Mona dan Suzanna berkulit hitam namun tidak halnya dengan Noura, dia berkulit
putih dan berambut pirang. Hal inilah yang membuat Noura dimusuhi keluarganya yang pada
akhirnya membuat dirinya tercebur kedalam penderitaan yang amat sangat" (page:82)

Noura was white girl and had blonde hair, while her sisters had black skin and hair, so they
think that Noura was the daughter of her mother's relationship with others (cheating)

In the end Noura changed to a bad character. In the past Noura was honest and nice girl
then her character like evil. Noura slanders Fahri for raping her, because she loved Fahri so
much, she lied that Fahri was impregnated her. This can be seen in the following quote: "Apa
yang dikatakan Noura adalah fitnah belaka. Dia harus mendapatkan ganjaran atas tuduhan
kejinya. Entah setan apa yang membuat Noura yang dulu jujur dan baik hati kini berubah
menjadi tukang fitnah yang tidak memiliki nurani" (Page:391)

From the quote above it can be concluded that Noura had bad character, she does not know
how to return the favor to Fahri who has helped him.

6. Syaikh Ahmad Taqiyyudin

Shaikh Ahmad was the extras character in the Novel "Ayat Ayat Ayat Cinta". In his story,
Shaikh Ahmad was young Ulama who had a lot of knowledge. He was expert in reading and
interpreting the Holy Qur'an. Shaikh Ahmad was respected and loved by the people because of
his humble character, according to the quote "Meskipun masih muda, namun kedalaman ilmu
agama dan kefasihannya membaca serta menafsirkan Al Quran membuat masyarakat
memanggilnya Syaikh. Kerendahan hati dan kommitmennya yang tinggi membela kebenaran
membuat sosoknya dicintai dan dihormati." (Page: 17).

7. Syaikh Utsman Abdul Fattah

Besides Shaikh Ahmad, Shaikh Utsman was one of the person who close to Fahri. In the
quote "Beliau selalu datang tepat waktu. Tak kenal absen. Tak kenal cuaca dan musim. Selama
tidak sakit dan tidak ada uzur yang teramat penting, beliau pasti datang." (Page: 3)

From that quote we know that Shaikh Uthman had disciplined character. He always fulfills what
had been his responsibility, it means he was a person who upholds his principles and
commitments.

8. Bahadur
 Bahadur is Noura's stepfather, he had bad character so he was included as antagonist
character. The physical description was explained in the quote "Aku kaget, bagaimana
mungkin Noura berambut pirang, padahal ayah dan ibunya mirip orang Sudan. Hitam.
Rambutnya Negro" (Page: 77).

From that quote it was explained that Bahadur had black skin like a sudan, and had hair like a
Negro.

The identity of Bahadur who had job as a bouncer wad explained in the quote " Ayahnya
akhirnya dapat pekerjaan seebagai tukang pukul di sebuah Nite Club mengapung di atas sungai
Nil" (Page: 127)

This shows that Bahadur had cruel character because he wants to work as a bouncer at
Nite Club.

"Ayah Noura yang bernama Bahadur memang keterlaluan. Bicaranya kasar dan tidak bisa
menghargai orang." (Page: 64)

Bahadur's Attitude above proved that Bahadur had rude, cruel and arbitrary character.

9. Tuan boutros

In the novel, Mr Boutros was the extras character. He was Maria's father, had a good
character and fashionable in his appearance.

Mr. Boutros worked in a bank, as quoted "Begitu keterangan yang aku dapat dari Tuan
Boutros, ayahnya Maria yang bekerja di subuah bank swasta di Maadi." (Page: 116)

Next, the description of Mr. Boutros's physical appearance explained in the quote
"Mereka mendekati kami. Tuan Boutros tampak lebih muda dari biasanya. Ia memakai kemeja
warna krem dengan lengan dilingkis" (Page:115-116)

Mr. Boutros' dressed style like a young man shown that he had a fashionable and stylish
character.

"Rudi yang bertugas mencari mobil kembali bersama Tuan Boutros dan keluarganya.
“Tak usah repot cari mobil, kami datang untuk menjemputmu pulang,’ demikian Tuan Boutros."
(Page: 187).

That event shows that Mr. Boutros had good character because he willingly wants to pick Fahri
and his friend go home.
10. Madame Nnahed

The next extras character was Madame Nahed, Maria's mother who always looks like
the upper class or elite class, according to the quote"Ibu Maria yang berpenampilan seperti
aristokrat Prancis. Parfumnya menyengat." (Page: 116).

It is also a sign that her family was rich and wealthy family.

11. Yousef

The last figure who also played extras character was Maria's younger brother, Yousef. He
was a man who expert in automotive, as in the quote "Ia tahu seluk beluk mobil. Selama jadi
tetangganya kulihat sudah tiga kali dia ganti mobil." (Page: 284)

Thus the analysis I did, the criticisms and suggestions I needed to make this simple analysis
better. I am Sorry if there are deficiencies or advantages in writing. Thanks