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Vol. 15 No. 1 (2026)
Religion, Literature, and Culture

Articles

The Aesthetics of Surrender: A Theological Inquiry into the Concepts of Tawakkul and Divine Destiny in Tere Liye’s Novel The Falling Leaf Never Hates the Wind

Published 2026-09-03

  • Fadlil Munawwar Manshur

Fadlil Munawwar Manshur
Faculty of Cultural Science, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Abstract

This paper examines the theological aesthetic representation of surrender, tawakkul (trust in God), and divine destiny (qadar) in Tere Liye’s novel The Falling Leaf Never Hates the Wind. It stems from an academic concern regarding reductive, popular readings that often dismiss the suffering depicted in popular literature merely as romantic melodrama or helpless fatalism. Employing a theological literary criticism and comparative aesthetics approach, this study bridges the Western theological discourse on self-emptying (kenosis) with the Islamic concepts of tawakkul, ridha (contentment with divine will), and destiny acceptance. The findings demonstrate that the metaphor of the "falling leaf" does not denote despair or passive defeat in the face of fate; rather, it manifests as an active form of self-transcendence imbued with conscious moral agency and pure spiritual beauty. The inner surrender portrayed in the text reflects profound psychological resilience, wherein relinquishing the ego and embracing divine destiny serve as a pathway to liberation and spiritual maturation for the characters.

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