Anak Alam

Sidi Afifi al-Akiti is featured in the November issue of Emel magazine, which introduces him as a "... a man with many hats. When he dons his mortarboard he is the ever erudite Oxford scholar. Walking through the historic stone-walled city, he bears the positions of Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, Lecturer in Islamic Studies at the Faculty of Theology – Oxford University’s oldest faculty – as well as holding a Lectureship in World Religions at Worcester College, University of Oxford, where he teaches both Islam and Christianity."

A brief outline of Sidi Afifi’s research for Ph.D, on a set of Imam al-Ghazali manuscripts collectively known as the Madnun, is available from al-Ghazali.org.

Thank you to the folks at Deenport for the head up.

Now, where is that Malay piece on Sidi Afifi?

1. The golden age of FaTani’s madrasah system is between 1850-1950, witnessing a high number of scholars of high calibre, each with their own madrasah. Most of them were graduate of Bendang Daya, who went on to complete their studies in Makkah. (The influence of Meccan schools on Malaysian scholars of the same period has been explored by Prof. Redzuan Othman of UM (ex-Cliffordian, Kuala Kangsar) - see relevant papers).

2. Among the madrasah/pondok of this period are:

a. Pondok Bendang Guchil, by Haji Muhammad Salih

b. Pondok Bendang Badang, by Tuan Minal

c. Pondok Titi, by Tok Titi

d. Pondok Chauk, by Tok Chauk (Haji Abdullah bin Muhammad ‘Aqib)

e. Pondok Tok Raja Haji, by Pak Chu Yeh (Haji Idris Abdul Karim)

f. Pondok Jakar, by Tok Jakar (Haji Abdus Samad)

g. Pondok Bandar, by Haji Abdul Rashid Bandar

h. Pondok Semela, by Tok Semela Tua (Haji Wan Ahmad)

i. Pondok Seridik, by Tok Seridik, etc.

3. During this period, smaller, local madaris exist throughout FaTani. Graduates of these smaller madaris went on to study at the main madaris listed above, and further on, to Makkah and other places.

4. By the end of 1930s, after the first phase in which the graduates of Bendang Daya flourished, a new generation of scholars emerged. They were the generation who studied at the madaris of ex-Bendang Daya scholars. We could simply call them as representatives of the second phase of the Golden Age.

5. Madaris opened between 1930-1950s, even into 1970s actually, were mostly opened by scholars of this second phase. Examples are:

a. Tok Bermin, student of Tok Semela Tua

b. Haji Ahmad Paluan, student of Pak Chu Yeh Tok Raja Haji

c. Tok Chember, student of Haji Abdul Rashid Bandar

d. Haji Hasan Mak Anggul, student of Tok Chauk

e. Tok Guru Dala, student and son-in-law to Pak Chu Yeh

f. Haji Abdul Majid Ambung, student of his father Tok Chauk

g. Haji Ahmad bin Abdul Wahab al-Fusani, student of Tok Chauk and Haji Abdul Rashid Bandar

h. Haji Idris Tok Jong, student of Haji Abdullah Bendang Guchil, etc.

6. As the 20th century came to end, FaTani Dar as-Salam was still churning some notable scholars in addition to the list given above. This most recent generation of scholars includes:

a. Haji Abdullah Bendang Kebun, student of Tok Bermin

b. Haji Abdul Rahman Pombeng, student of Tok Bermin and Haji Hasan Mak Anggul. (Note: Anak Alam met this scholar during an Ijtima’ in Terengganu in 2007, for the first and last time, as this scholar recently passed away, al-Fatihah.)

c. Haji Ismail Semela, student of Tok Bermin

d. Haji Mat Dagang, student of Haji Hasan Mak Anggul

e. Haji Abdul Qadir Bendang Ramah, student of Tok Bermin

f. Haji Abdullah Jabi, student and son-in-law to Haji Ahmad al-Fusani

g. Haji Husin Keresik, student of Tok Guru Dala and Haji Ahmad al-Fusani

h. Haji Abdul Hamid Naba, student of Tok Guru Dala, etc.

7. Of course, the list of scholars mentioned so far only takes into account those who were active in FaTani and does not include those FaTani scholars who were active in other parts of the Peninsula, Nusantara and Makkah.

TBC.

[The note is essentially a short summary of a very informative article by al-Fadhil Ustaz Ahmad Fathi al-FaTani, published in whole in Majalah Pengasuh, July/August 2008, a monthly publication of Majlis Agama Islam Kelantan. The magazine is another magazine that I could recommended for subscription. It is published in Malay, in Jawi script.]

1. Fathani, the Southern Thailand, first embraced Islam when its Hindu King, Phya Tu Nakpa, was made Muslim by a Persian scholar, Syeikh Sa’id (whose tomb is now in Kampung Bira). He took the name of Sultan Isma’il Shah Dhillu Allah fi al-’Alam, the Shadow of God in the Universe.

2. His three children also became Muslims and took the name Muzaffar Shah, Siti A’ishah and Mansur Shah. (reference: Hikayat FaTani).

3. FaTani thereupon was bestowed the title Dar as-Salam, a title it shares with Acheh, Brunei and Palembang.

4. Syeikh Sa’id was appointed to the post of Royal Teacher, with the title Datuk Seri Raja Faqih, and started the close relationship between the aristocrats and the scholars.

5. The conversion of the royal family most likely took place in the 15th century, around 1457. Islam became widespread and in mid-16th century the first recorded campus of a madrasah was opened by Faqih Wan Musa al-Leqihi in Kampung Sena, FaTani. This took place as FaTani emerged as an important learning centre, at the same time of Acheh, Johor, Banten and Demak rose to prominence as centres of higher Islamic learning.

6. The next madrasah was opened at Kampung Teluk Manik (Narathiwat), by the nephew of Faqih Wan Musa, Wan Husin. In the ground of the madrasah stands until today the historic ancient mosque of Wadi al-Husin Mosque, often cited as a best example of traditional Malay religious architecture still standing, (and rightly so! – see among others, the replica at Islamic Arts Museum, KL.) Wan Husin, also a faqi and a hafiz, has blood-relation to Syeikh Daud al-FaTani, the foremost Islamic star in the kingdom.

7. The family of Wan Musa and Wan Husin down to Syeikh Daud represent the Hadhrami lineage of the FaTani scholar. Another equally brilliant family line of scholar is that of Kampung Pauh Bok, whose career spans primarily between 17th-18th century. The first among them is Lebai Abdul Rahman Pauh Bok, who left two sons, Syeikh Wan Abdul Rahman and Syeikh Abdullah. The former became successor of his father at the madrasah for a long span of time and later known as Tok Syeikh Perubok or Tok Nyang Perubok. The latter is the author of the text Tanbihul Ghafilin which is still being read and available in bookstores until now.

8. The madrasah of Pauh Bok became influential under the successive, four generations leadership of Lebai Abdul Rahman’s descendants. Among notable scholars who studied here are Syeikh Abdul Samad al-Falimbani, who mentioned that he received a talqin for bai’ah dhikir from Syeikh Abdul Rahman Pauh Bok, Syeikh Daud al-FaTani, Tuan Hasan Besut, and Syeikh Abdul Rahman bin Abdul Ma’ruf al-FaTani.

9. The success of Pauh Bok is evidenced by the ability of its graduates who were not only scholars par excellence in their fields, but leaders of society who were able to replicate the system of Pauh Bok in their own place of origin.

10. The next wave of Islamic scholarship in FaTani took place in the 19th century with the establishment of Pondok Bendang Daya by Syeikh Wan Mustafa al-FaTani, who is a descendant of Faqih Wan Musa. Madrasah Bendang Daya played a crucial role in sustaining scholarly output from FaTani, notable under the leadership of Tok Bendang Daya, Syeikh Wan Abdul Qadir, the second son of Syeikh Wan Mustafa.

11. The two sons of Tok Bendang Daya, however, did not return home after completing their studies in Makkah. Pak Da E’il (Syeikh Wan Ismail) chose to stay in Mekkah, while his brother Syeikh Wan Ibrahim (Pak Chu Him) decided to open a madrasah in Kedah and later will be known as Pak Chu Him Gajah Mati, Pendang, Kedah.

12. The golden age of traditional pondok/madaris in FaTani however is said to happen between the 19th to 20th century.

(TBC).

Could I recommend readers to visit al-Malakawi’s blog? Alhamdulillah, the blog’s owner is a teacher at Pondok Pasir Tumboh, and while I was there, I also managed to sit down and learn a few texts from him, may Allah bless him and all teachers and students there, amin!

Not posting the rest of the article here as the whole article has been posted on Baalawi.net sometime in May 2009.