Abdullah Ahmad (1878 - 1933) was an Islamic cleric (

ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...

) and

reformist Reformism is a political doctrine advocating the reform of an existing system or institution instead of its abolition and replacement. Within the socialist movement, reformism is the view that gradual changes through existing institutions can ...

hailed from

Padang Panjang ) , image_skyline = PDIKM Padangpanjang.jpg , imagesize = 300px , image_caption = A traditional Minangkabau '' rumah gadang'' ("big house") in Padang Panjang , image_flag = , image_seal = , ima ...

West Sumatra West Sumatra ( id, Sumatra Barat) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the west coast of the island of Sumatra and includes the Mentawai Islands off that coast. The province has an area of , with a population of 5,534,472 at the 2020 cen ...

. He is a founder of Islamic mass organization based in West Sumatra,

Sumatera Thawalib Sumatera Thawalib was one of the earliest Islamic mass organizations in Indonesia, based in West Sumatra. Sumatera Thawalib represented the modernist school of Islam in Indonesia, an Islamic reform with heavy emphasis on the Qur'an, hadith, a moder ...

.Sumatera Thawalib, Sekolah Modern Islam Pertama di Indonesia.
''JPNN''. Retrieved November 29, 2017. He also founded the Islamic magazine '' Al-Munir'', the first Islamic mass media in the Indonesian archipelago. Together with

Abdul Karim Amrullah Abdul Karim Amrullah (born as Muhammad Rasul; 10 February 1879 – 2 June 1945), known as Haji Rasul, was a Muslim reformer who led reformation of Islam in Sumatra, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). Personal life Haji Rasul was born in Sungai ...

, he became one of the first Indonesians who received the honorable degree from Al-Azhar University in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

.Abdullah Ahmad Orang Indonesia Pertama Mendapat Doktor Honoris Causa Universitas Al Azhar Mesir Berdarah Minang.
''Kabarantau''. Retrieved November 29, 2017.

Biography

Abdullah was born to Haji Ahmad, a renowned

Minangkabau Minangkabau may refer to: * Minangkabau culture, culture of the Minangkabau people * Minangkabau Culture Documentation and Information Center * Minangkabau Express, an airport rail link service serving Minangkabau International Airport (''see belo ...

ulama and merchant, and a mother from

Bengkulu Bengkulu is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the southwest coast of Sumatra. It was formed on 18 November 1968 by separating out the former Bencoolen Residency area from the province of South Sumatra under Law No. 9 of 1967 and was fi ...

. Abdullah completed his basic education in the public school, however, he also acquired religious education from his family. In 1895, Abdullah went to

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow ...

for

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

and religious study and returned in 1889.Abdullah Ahmad dan Modernisasi Islam di Minangkabau.
''Sindo News''. Retrieved November 29, 2017. After return from Mecca, he immediately began teaching in Padang Panjang in order to purge the perceived religious non-orthodoxy such as '' bidah'' (religious innovation) and ''

tariqa A tariqa (or ''tariqah''; ar, طريقة ') is a school or order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking ''haqiqa'', which translates as "ultimate truth". ...

'' ( Sufi order). As he was interested in propagating his idea through publication, later he became the agent of newly-founded Islamic magazines such as ''Al-Imam'' in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

and ''Al-Ittihad'' in

. In 1906, he moved to

Padang Padang () is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of West Sumatra. With a Census population of 1,015,000 as of 2022, it is the 16th most populous city in Indonesia and the most populous city on the west coast of Sumatra. Th ...

for becoming a lecturer, replacing his uncle after his death. In Padang, he held Tabligh Akbar (mass religious meeting), which eventually led to the founding of Jamaah Adabiyah, a religious circle which conducted ''Pengajian'' (religious mentoring). Pengajian was held twice every week, moving around different houses. Seeing the insufficiency of systematic religious education upon all the youths in Padang, Abdullah decided to open a religious school in 1909. He was also an active author. Later he established ''Al-Munir'' magazine which modeled after ''Al-Imam'' in 1911 and became a journalist based in Padang in 1914. He also maintained tight network throughout the religious schools in Padang, Jakarta and able to extract support from the youth organization Jong Sumatranen Bond. Utilizing this network, he helped to establish Sumetera Thawalib, one of the first modernist mass organizations in West Sumatra. His depth in the religious knowledge was recognized among the Middle Eastern scholars, and he attended the Cairo Caliphate Congress in 1926 where people discussed the aftermath of the abolition of the

Caliphate A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

. During the time, he received the honorable degree from Al-Azhar University.

References

Bibliography

* {{Islam in Indonesia 1878 births 1933 deaths 20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam Indonesian Muslims Minangkabau people People from West Sumatra