Pengaruh Minat Menghafaz, Kecemerlangan Hafazan, Penghayatan Agama Dan Sahsiah Pelajar Tahfiz

The Influence of Memorization Interest, Excellence in Memorization, Religious Appreciation, and the Character of Tahfiz Students.

Abstract

The increasing enrolment of students in the tahfiz education sector indicates that society regards this field as an important medium for character formation. However, issues related to students’ character in tahfiz institutions have emerged, yet these issues have not been empirically examined. Based on previous studies, factors such as interest in memorisation, memorisation excellence, and religious appreciation have been investigated, but they have not been integrated within a single study. Therefore, this study aims to measure the levels of all variables, determine the model fit for character formation, analyse the relationships and influences of the variables on character, and examine religious appreciation as a mediating factor between memorisation excellence and the character formation of tahfiz students. A survey method was employed, with data collected through questionnaires developed based on Focus Group Discussions (FGD). The improved questionnaire was subsequently distributed to 905 tahfiz students in institutions under the Selangor Association of Tahfiz al-Quran Institutions (PITAS). Descriptive analysis was used to determine the mean scores of all variables. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) confirmed the existence of two sub-factors of religious appreciation—(i) makruf and (ii) munkar—and two sub-factors of character—(i) mahmudah and (ii) mazmumah. Meanwhile, Structural Equation Modelling (SEM-AMOS) was employed to test the study’s hypotheses. Descriptive findings show the following mean scores: interest (mean = 3.65), memorisation excellence (mean = 3.47), religious appreciation (makruf sub-factor, mean = 3.59; munkar sub-factor, mean = 2.10), character (mahmudah sub-factor, mean = 3.80; mazmumah sub-factor, mean = 2.25). SEM analysis indicates that the character formation model achieved good fit indices (RMSEA = 0.06, GFI = 0.92, CFI = 0.93, and Chisq/df = 4.10). Religious appreciation was found to be a partial mediator in the relationship between memorisation excellence and character.Overall, this study concludes that interest, memorisation excellence, and religious appreciation positively influence the character formation of tahfiz students. All these factors should be emphasised to enhance the quality of students’ character in line with societal expectations.