Arya Saloka Goes Back to Iqro to Play Ustaz Adam in Munafik: Melawan Iblis

JAKARTA, Jakartaweekly.com—Actor Arya Saloka admitted that he felt nervous when he had to recite verses from the Quran for the film Munafik: Melawan Iblis. To convincingly portray Ustaz Adam, Arya even went back to the basics, relearning how to read the Quran starting with Iqro.

The horror film, produced by Unlimited Production, officially opened in cinemas across Indonesia on Thursday, September 3, 2026. Previously, Munafik: Melawan Iblis received a positive response, with tickets for special screenings reportedly selling out in several cities.

Arya said reciting Quranic verses was one of the biggest challenges he faced while preparing for the role. He went through script readings, studied ruqyah, and received guidance from an ustaz to improve his memorization and pronunciation.

“What made me nervous was the way I recited the Quranic verses. During the preparation, Dimas Aditya and I went through the stress together. That process was actually very enjoyable for me, from script readings, learning about ruqyah, to studying with an ustaz who guided me in memorizing the Quran,” Arya said.

He said the process even led him to revisit the fundamentals of Quranic reading.

“I went back to learning from Iqro to correct my pronunciation. There were many obstacles, from the length and timing of the recitation to each individual letter, so that audiences could truly feel that we were portraying ustaz characters who were proficient in reciting the Quran, rather than just doing it superficially,” Arya said.

According to Arya, the effort also paid off during the automated dialogue replacement (ADR) process, or dialogue re-recording. He said the Quranic recitations recorded during filming required very little re-recording.

“Alhamdulillah, during the ADR process, there was very little re-recording needed for the Quranic recitations. Almost all of them were our original recitations from the set,” he said.

Dimas Aditya, who plays Ustaz Anwar and serves as Ustaz Adam’s fellow ruqyah practitioner in the film, revealed that Arya had actually undergone spiritual preparation even before production began.

According to Dimas, the preparation made Arya particularly well suited to play Ustaz Adam. He was also impressed by how quickly Arya was able to memorize Quranic verses within a relatively short period.

In the film, Arya plays Ustaz Adam, a religious teacher and ruqyah practitioner. The character is involved in a fatal accident while returning home after helping a family drive an evil spirit out of their child. The accident takes the life of his wife, Aini, prompting Adam to stop practicing ruqyah and live with prolonged grief.

Adam’s life changes when Anwar asks him to save Fitri (Acha Septriasa), a nurse and the daughter of Mansur (Donny Damara), a respected figure in the village where Adam lives. Initially reluctant, Adam eventually returns to practicing ruqyah after remembering his late wife’s message.

However, as he becomes involved in Fitri’s case, Adam discovers a dark secret behind the supernatural terror haunting her.

Playing Ustaz Adam also gave Arya a different perspective on ruqyah. He admitted that he had previously viewed ruqyah simply as a process of driving demons or evil spirits out of a person’s body.

“When I was a child, I once witnessed a ruqyah session at a mosque near my home when they held a mass ruqyah session. People were screaming and crying out, and at the time, what I had in my mind was that what I was seeing was probably similar to what I had seen on television,” Arya said.

After studying ruqyah specifically for the film, Arya realized that the practice was not solely about driving out evil spirits, but was also connected to psychological aspects.

For Arya, Munafik: Melawan Iblis is not solely reliant on frightening audiences with jump scares. He said the film also offers a story that resonates with many people, particularly its portrayal of how people’s actions do not always match their words.

“Perhaps many people in this world still fall into the category of hypocrites. I am among them too, but hopefully Allah will protect me from that. Sometimes what we say does not necessarily correspond with how we behave,” Arya said.

He added that the film also carries a message about accepting and sincerely embracing one’s destiny through Ustaz Adam’s journey.

“This film is not just about horror, fear and jump scares; it has everything. And through the character of Ustaz Adam, we can learn to accept things and sincerely let go,” Arya said.

Besides Arya Saloka, Munafik: Melawan Iblis stars Acha Septriasa, Dimas Aditya, Donny Damara and Nova Eliza. The film is now playing in cinemas across Indonesia.