Amin al-Deen Abdul Rauf ibn Ali as-Singkili was born in the year 1023 Al-Hijri. His ethnicity is disputed, some say he was of Persian and Arabic descent, but the more prevalent claim is that he was from Minangkabaw. Either way, his family moved to the town of Singkil in Aceh. As-Singkili's first teacher was his father, Ali al-Fansuri, who was one of the leading Muslim scholars in the Aceh Sultanate. But in his teenage years, he enrolled in Madrasahs in Fansur and Banda Aceh.
In his adulthood, Abdul Rauf as-Singkili went on a journey to Arabia, to go to Makkah for the Hajj as well as gain more knowledge. The cities he travelled to include Duha, Hadhramaut, Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah. He is remembered more for his visit to Madinah. There, he studied under the great Ahmad al-Qushashi, who gave him authorisation to spread the Shattari order around the globe. As-Singkili also studied under the mystical scholar Ibrahim al-Kurani, whom he was very close with. Both men were also of the same age. If As-Singkili had doubts, he would ask Ibrahim al-Kurani for his opinions.
Abdul Rauf as-Singkili returned to Aceh after his education was completed, where he became a Mufti and a grand scholar for the Aceh Sultanate. He wrote at least twenty books in the Malay language, mostly concerning Hadith and Tafsir of the Qur'an. He also translated the Qadi al-Baydhawi's Tafsir into the Malay language. Despite his love for Sufism, he was known to have opposed the pantheistic and evil creed of the infamous deviant Ibn Arabi.
Abdul Rauf as-Singkili passed away in the year 1101 Al-Hijri. He was buried at a coastal town cemetery in Banda Aceh, where his disciples were also buried next to him in later years. He became known by the locals with the title “Syiah Kuala” which translates to “Shaykh of the Rivermouth”. In recent times, the 2016 tsunami of Indonesia resulted in the grave being damaged, but it was restored a year later.
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The Early Zuhaad
Non-FictionA collection of short biographies of early Muslim ascetics, such as Al-Hasan of Basra, Junayd of Baghdad, and Bishr ibn al-Harith al-Hafi. All of these ascetics are firm followers of the Qur'an and the Sunnah.
