Sunan Kalijaga (1460-1513), born as Raden Mas Said son of a

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...

Tuban Tuban is a town located on the north coast of Java, in Tuban Regency (of which the town is the administrative capital), approximately west of Surabaya, the capital of East Java. Tuban Regency is surrounded by Lamongan Regency in the east, ...

East Java East Java ( id, Jawa Timur) is a province of Indonesia located in the easternmost hemisphere of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean border its northern and ...

, Indonesia, was one of the "nine saints" of Javanese Islam (

Wali Sanga The Wali Songo (also transcribed as Wali Sanga) are revered saints of Islam in Indonesia, especially on the island of Java, because of their historic role in the spread of Islam in Indonesia. The word ''wali'' is Arabic for "trusted one" ("gua ...

). the "Kalijaga" title was derived from an orchard known as "Kalijaga" in

Cirebon Cirebon (, formerly rendered Cheribon or Chirebon in English) is a port city on the northern coast of the Indonesian island of Java. It is the only coastal city of West Java, located about 40 km west of the provincial border with Central J ...

. Other accounts suggest the name derives from his hobby of submerging himself in ''Kali'' ("river" in Javanese). Others note that the name Kalijaga derived its nature from the Arabic notion of ''qadli dzaqa'' which means "holy leader" in the

sultanate This article includes a list of successive Islamic states and Muslim dynasties beginning with the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (570–632 CE) and the early Muslim conquests that spread Islam outside of the Arabian Peninsula, and continuin ...

Names

Sunan Kalijaga was known by the following names and titles: *Raden Said *Lokajaya *Syaikh Melaya *Raden Abdurrahman *Pangeran (prince) Tuban *Ki Dalang Sida Brangti *Ki Dalang Bengkok *Ki Dalang Kumendung *Ki Unehan *Pangeran (prince) Santi Kusuma

Life

Sunan Kalijaga was a close friend of Sunan Gunungjati, and is said to have lived to the age of one hundred. He witnessed the downfall of

Majapahit Majapahit ( jv, ꦩꦗꦥꦲꦶꦠ꧀; ), also known as Wilwatikta ( jv, ꦮꦶꦭ꧀ꦮꦠꦶꦏ꧀ꦠ; ), was a Javanese Hindu-Buddhist thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia that was based on the island of Java (in modern-day Indonesia ...

, the kingdoms of Demak,

Banten Banten ( id, Banten; Sundanese: , romanized ''Banten'') is the westernmost province on the island of Java, Indonesia. Its capital city is Serang. The province borders West Java and the Special Capital Region of Jakarta on the east, the Ja ...

, and Pajang in 1546. Among his missionary activities (''

dawah Dawah ( ar, دعوة, lit=invitation, ) is the act of inviting or calling people to embrace Islam. The plural is ''da‘wāt'' (دَعْوات) or ''da‘awāt'' (دَعَوات). Etymology The English term ''Dawah'' derives from the Arabic ...

''), he built two

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

s, Masjid Agung Cirebon and Masjid Agung Demak. His main mentor was Sunan Bonang, another of the ''Wali Sanga''. Kalijaga's beliefs and teaching are more

sufis Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...

tic than salaf, applying arts and culture as medium for his ''dawah''. He was also tolerant to local tradition. His

exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretation ...

from the Quranic perspective led him to believe that people will keep away from ''dakwah'' if their personality is questioned. In this premise one should consider a step by step approach to his people by the principle of following yet influencing. To him, if Islam is truly or fully understood, then people will gradually give up their old habits. This method can be seen in Indonesian artworks, particularly in carvings, shadow puppets ( wayang kulit),

gamelan Gamelan () ( jv, ꦒꦩꦼꦭꦤ꧀, su, ᮌᮙᮨᮜᮔ᮪, ban, ᬕᬫᭂᬮᬦ᭄) is the traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. T ...

(javanese traditional musical performance), and singing. From this idea he popularized ''Baju Takwa'' (a traditional dress custom for Indonesian Moslem), Sekaten (a festivity), and Grebeg Maulud, amongst others. Sunan Kalijaga was buried in Kadilangu southeast of Demak.

''Babad Tanah Jawi'' ("History of the land of Java")

In the ''

Babad Tanah Jawi ''Babad Tanah Jawi'' ( jv, ꦧꦧꦢ꧀ꦠꦤꦃꦗꦮꦶ, "History of the land of Java"), is a generic title for many manuscripts written in the Javanese language. Their arrangements and details vary, and no copies of any of the manuscripts are ...

'', a chronicle of large Javanese manuscripts, there are no formal signs of Sunan Kalijaga's conversion to Islam so it is not clear if Kalijaga is already Muslim at the time of his "conversion". In this legend, he is said to be the son of Tumenggung Wilatikta, and in the service of the

empire, and Kalijaga whose religion is unspecified but has the Arabic name "Said". Following gambling losses, Said resorts to highway robbery on the north coast of Java. Sunan Bonang one day passes and is pulled up by Said. Sunan Bonang suggests it would be better for Said to rob a person who will later pass dressed in blue with a red hibiscus behind his ear. Three days later, this person passes, and is Bonang in disguise. Said attacks, but Bonang turns himself into four persons, traumatising Said such that he becomes an ascetic. He takes the name "Kalijaga", becomes a wali and marries the sister of Sunan Giri.Ricklefs (1991), p. 10.

References

*Sunyoto, Agus (2014). ''Atlas Wali Songo: Buku Pertama yang Mengungkap Wali Songo Sebagai Fakta Sejarah''. 6th edition. Depok: Pustaka IIMaN.

External links

Sunan Kalijaga Facebook Fans Page
{{Islam in Indonesia Wali Sanga 1450 births 1513 deaths

Names

Life

''Babad Tanah Jawi'' ("History of the land of Java")

See also

References

External links