STRUGGLE FOR SEEKING KNOWLEDGE IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY IN AHMED SHAWQI’S SYUHADĀ’UL-`ILMI WAL-GHARBAH: A SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS

This research aims to reveal the semiotic meaning contained in the poem entitled Syuhadā’ul`Ilmi wal-Gharbah written by Ahmed Shawqi. Shawqi saw and observed the conditions of the Egyptian people at that time who were experiencing difficulties, sorrow, poverty, ignorance, and British colonialism. Therefore, the Egyptian government sent young people to western countries to study in the hope that after returning to Egypt, they could build their country and nation. In order to reveal the semiotic meaning contained in the poem entitled Syuhadā’ul-`Ilmi wal-Gharbah, the semiotic theory was used through methods of heuristic reading and hermeneutic reading or retroactive reading. Meanwhile, the reading technique was conducted by reading one by one or reading gradually from the heuristic reading to the hermeneutic reading or retroactive reading. The results of the research indicated that knowledge was one of the ways to solve the problems of poverty, ignorance, and resistance to British colonialism in Egypt. However, in reality, young Egyptians who were sent to western countries had accidents and killed them. Therefore, Shawqi emphasized that Egyptian youths remained patient and enthusiastic about seeking knowledge in a foreign country in order to build their state and nation in the future.


INTRODUCTION
Many events, incidents, physical and non -physical struggles were experienced by ear-lier Arab scholars while seeking knowledge.
Those were beyond human ability because their intention was solely to seek knowledge and on-struggles in seeking knowledge were recorded by Arab scholars in their works. The story of Jabir Abdullah's journey from Hijaz (now Jeddah) to Syria (now Damascus) in his study, for example, was written by Abdul Fattah Abu Ghaddah. In his books, Abu Ghaddah raised and wrote several events and life experiences of Arab scholars in seeking knowledge (Nasrullah, 2018;Sholikhudin, 2016: 154).
Abu Ghaddah stated that there are at least 6 (six) things to be considered regard-  Al-Shafi'i, may God Almighty have mercy on him, said: Knowledge is better than supererogatory prayers, and he said: After the obligatory prayers, there is nothing better than seeking knowledge, and he said: Whoever wishes to have the benefit of this world, let him acquire knowledge, and whoever wishes to have the benefit of the world hereafter, let him acquire knowledge (Rahman, 2011 (Teeuw, 1988: 43;Chamamah-Soeratno, 1991: 18;Sangidu, 2004: 18).

‫ن‬ ‫نِك‬ ‫ا‬
Likewise, the poem entitled Syuhadā'ul-`Ilmi wal-Gharbah can be regarded as a semiotic symptom, namely as a signifier whose meanings (the signified) needs to be revealed.
This tragedy gives own meaning that needs to be analyzed dan described in this study.
Based on the introduction above, the problem will be taken care and that to be answered in this research is how is the meaning of meaning of the poem Syuhadā'ul-`Ilmi wal-Gharbah in relation to the struggle for seeking knowledge in a foreign country in Ahmed Shawqi's Syuhadā'ul-`Ilmi wal-Gharbah. So that this research aims to explore and to reveal the struggle for seeking knowledge in a foreign country so that to be emulated by future generations, especially in Egypt and generally in other countries. Therefore, the meanings contained in this poem are very important to understand, reveal, and studied further.  (Jazil, 2015: 5 Since childhood, Shawqi was good at poetry so that many poets at that time came to explore his knowledge. In 1927, Shawqi published his poetry anthology entitled Esh-Shawqiyyat (Rusmana, 2011). In addition, Shawqi's passion for literature, especially poetry and drama, encouraged him to publish a drama book entitled
The meaning of one of his poetry anthologies entitled

Syuhadā'ul-'Ilmi wal-Gharbah
(Martyrs in Seeking Knowledge in a Foreign Country) would be revealed by utilizing the semiotic theoretical framework and the heuristic reading and hermeneutic or retroactive reading methods as follows.

Martyrdom in Seeking Knowledge
In the first verse of the poem Syuhadā'ul-

Longing for his Country
In the next verse of the poem, Ahmad Syawqi reveals a picture of how the Egyptian people feel by the time they arrive in their country. This was disclosed by Ahmad Syawqi because they have separated far from their country. They parted ways because they aimed to study and seek knowledge in Italy. Literary and textual data relating to the longing of the Egyptians for their country are contained in 14 (fourteen) verses (Shalih Mathar, 2003: 43-44) below.

Gharbah Text
As previously stated, the heuristic reading method is a reading or analysis of word for word, verse by verse, and term by term in the poem which will be semiotically analyzed. Therefore, below are the results of the heuristic reading.

Meaning of Words in Verses 1-2
The blood of these young people is seen as martyrdom because they are struggling in the way of Allah in seeking knowledge. This is done to realize glory for their nation. Their attempt with their education has led them to become martyrs in the way of Allah. They are examples that live up to high dreams. Perhaps their death in this way will awaken dreams in the souls of others. Therefore, they are role models in realizing what they are looking for by realizing the hopes for their nation and their nation's life in a new world (Gershoni et al., 1986;Shalih Mathar, 2003: 45).

Meaning of Words Verses 3-8
The meanings of word per word in verses 3 to 8 are as follows.
Even able to face seven calamities in the past?
Aren't you the descendants of the people who feel great?  (Munawwir & Munawwir, 1984a) shade. To these holy souls, peace be upon them.
Peace be upon them while they were still alive, after the death came, until later when they are resurrected. Peace be upon them when they live again after death, in the afterlife (Shalih Mathar, 2003: 45-46).
So, my brothers, get up and go to their graves. Water them with flowers and wind. Because, as in ancient Arabic myths, there will be reptiles that will come out of the heads of everyone who dies. The animal will say, "Give me water ...". The animal will be in all places, either the battlefield or the grave. therefore, the meanings of the words are as follows.  (130). We sent them typhoons (the great flood), grasshoppers, fleas, frogs, and blood as clear evidence, but they still boasted, and they were previously a people of sin (133).
Poetika : Jurnal Ilmu Sastra Vol. 8 No. 2, December 2020DOI 10.22146/poetika.60169 ISSN 23382503-4642 (online) and seek knowledge at several European universities. On one occasion, they had to take a train in Italy. However, when this train arrived at the Udine city of Italia, the train had an accident which caused 11 (eleven) Egyptian students to die. Their bodies were then brought back to Egypt and captured the attention and provoked the emotions of the Egyptian people (Shalih Mathar, 2003: 49).  (Ata, 1955: 70-71). Shawqi, who was bewildered by the condition of his country, was even more shocked when he heard of the accidents on 11 (eleven) Egyptian students in Italy. Therefore, Shawqi composed a qasida ritsa' (Ghardhu Ritsa'). Ancient Ghardu in old Arabic literature aimed at expressing the kindness of people who died in this world to remember them and the atmosphere of Egypt, with 2 (two) primary aims, namely (1) Delivering the news of the death of young Egyptians who died while seeking knowledge, and (2) ) Advising young people to do their best for their nation (Shalih Mathar, 2003: 49-50).
Therefore, in the verses 1-27, Shawqi conveyed the news about the death of several martyrs while seeking knowledge. Speaking about this shocking incident and its impact on the Egyptians, Shawqi said, "That the blood of the young people who were killed in this incident was a blood that was very expensive and very precious. They went and passed away in the way of Allah and were on the way of glory." Ahmed Shawqi was a man who encouraged young Egyptians to reach for their future when others could only face such glory with tears.
These young Egyptians died on their way to seek knowledge in an accident that made them martyrs in a place far from their country. Their blood spilled all over the railroad iron. We could only offer our condolence to them, condolence from the Egyptian people for them. The announcer of the news of this death had announced their death to all corners of Egypt, from West to East so that news of this death spread to mothers, fathers, the moon, the wind, and others and all became tears for everyone (Haykal, 1984: 13;Shalih Mathar, 2003: 50).
They departed from Egypt with their respective hopes. However, it seemed a cruel twist of fate that they died at a very young age. Now they slept in a strange land. They did not die in their own country. The delivery of their corpses to Egypt, their precious homeland, was luck. They were brought from the West and the sun of knowledge was with them. The nation's children disappeared with their arrival. They Poetika : Jurnal Ilmu Sastra Vol. 8 No. 2, December 2020DOI 10.22146/poetika.60169 ISSN 23382503-4642 (online)  These young people had to return to the glo-ry of Egypt once again. Their grandparents had been patient when they found a lot of deterioration, like the seven years of famine that the Egyptians had to experience in the era of Pharaoh, Egypt in the era of Prophet Joseph, which was called Nawazil As-Sab'u, or a heavy calamity that lasted for seven years (Shalih Mathar, 2003: 51).
Meanwhile, in terms of music, this poem uses a long bachr, with a long tafa'il as follows.
The above bachr is in accordance with the atmosphere established by the qasida or poem, which gives him a considerable opportunity to express whatever he wants, such as ritsa' (elegy), telling stories, and munasabah (the source from generation to generation).
Bachr also provides space because it provides opportunities for poets to offer advice following the atmosphere established by the poetry. The words used above are in accordance with qasida or poetry and an expression of sadness that shows a surprising atmosphere as a continuation of the journey and initial purpose. The purpose of these two Shawqi's verses is like an invitation to cling to glory and strive to obtain it. The words used for these other scientific disciplines are as follows.
These words show the meanings of strength, determination, and fortitude of the Egyptians when it comes to dealing with events like these. They will accumulate all their precious wealth for higher aims. Their young people will present and become evidence and advice for all. All of this is proof that the Egyptians can get out of their sorrow, set and realize their goals and hopes for a better future. They will be willing to be patient and endure whatever happens. In his expression, the poet makes use of several isti'arah (metaphor) as in the following ex- The form of tasybih (simile) above considers the coffins carried on the shoulders of these men as despair and suffering. Therefore, this qasida or poem was composed of the poet's view of the reality he met and showed the nation's need to get out of the crisis and the harsh reality he had, namely the British occupation of Egypt that had lasted too long. This long occupation showed Egypt's need for help to get out of a situation of ignorance and backwardness. Furthermore, this nation sent its children to study abroad in order to rid this country of ignorance and backwardness. However, fate did not allow them to finish what the young people had to do in a faraway country. Fate buried them in a place far from the land where they were born. However, there were great hands willing to carry them back to their countries. This was becoming a harsh reality, but it existed and happened. This incident was an example of what was happening to Egypt at that time, which was how this nation at that time was drawn to become a great symbol of the hope of a nation that was buried alive (Aksan, 1956: 12;Shalih Mathar, 2003: 51).

CONCLUSION
The poem entitled Syuhadā'ul-'Ilmi wal-Gharbah (Martyrs in Seeking Knowledge in a Foreign Country) written by Ahmed Shawqi contains meanings that could influence and arouse the enthusiasm of Egyptian youth to become a developed and independent nation from British colonialism. Therefore, the Egyptian government sent young people to study in western countries in the hope that after they were all successful they would return to Egypt to build their country and nation. However, the reality was that these young people had an accident while taking the train and eleven students It was this incident that prompted Ahmed Shawqi to compose and write a poem depicting the struggle of Egyptian youth in seeking knowledge in a foreign country. Of course, this poem is also a historical record and it is hoped that the next generation can read it to emulate Egyptian youth who died while seeking knowledge. Therefore, it is expected that the next young generation will have high enthusiasm in seeking knowledge in order to develop the state and nation to prevent ignorance, poverty, and occupation.
The writer argues that mastery of Science and Technology is the main key to build the strength and competitiveness of a nation in order to produce value-added products and provide a competitive advantage so that a country can develop and develop rapidly. For this reason, Egypt has a strong desire to send its young people to study in order to catch up with the developed countries.
The research results presented in this arti-