Syekh Muhammad Arsyad al-Banjari (1710-1812) is a fiqh cleric basing his lines of thought on Imam Syafi’ie. He coming from Martapura, Tanah Banjar (Banjar Soultanate) is the author of Sabilul Muhtadin. His masterpiece has so far been a reference of Fiqh in Southeast Asia.
He was born in Lok Gabang village on Thursday, 15 Safar 1122 H/19 March 1710 as the first son of Abdullah and Siti Aminah. His full name is Shekh Muhammad Arsyad bin Abdullah bin Abdur Rahman al-Banjari bin Saiyid Abdullah al-Aidrus bin Saiyid Abu Bakar as-Sakran bin Saiyid Abdur Rahman as-Saqaf bin Saiyid Muhammad Maula ad-Dawilah al-Aidrus till to Saiyidina Ali bin Abi Thalib and Saiyidatina Fatimah binti Prophet Muhammad (PBUH<>).
The grandfather of Arsyad named Abu Bakar had successfully established the Mindanao Kingdom in the Philipines and was a soultane of Mindanao. His father, Abdullah ever led a troop from Mindanao in fighting against Portugese and Dutch. He along with his beloved wife then moved to Banjar, Martapura, Kalimantan.
Sheikh Arsyad at glance
In one day the Soultane of Banjar Kingdom, Soultane Tahmidullah paid a visit to villages including Lok Gabang. In Lok Gabang the soultane saw a beautiful painting that makes him impressed. The soultane then asked who was its painter. He then got the answer that its painter was Muhammad Arsyad. Knowing his talent and intelligence the soultane expressed his willingness to look after and educate Arsyad in his palace. Arsyad was 7 years old at that time.
The soultane then expressed his willingness to Arsyad’s parents. His parents fulfilled the soultane’s willingness to look after and educate their beloved son on account of his future to devote himself to religion, nation and state. Due to Arsyad’s good characters all people living in the palace respected him even the soultane himself treated his as his own son.
He was then married with a pious girl named Siti Aminah (Tuan “Bajut”). She was a pious woman respecting her husband. When his wife was pregnant, Arsyad told her that he would like to go studying to Mecca. Siti Aminah supported her husband to go studying in the Holy City. After the soultane gave approval to Arsyad to go to Mecca, he left for Mecca to study.
In the Holy City, Muhammad Arsyad studied to prominent ulema like Syekh 'Athoillah bin Ahmad al Mishry, al Faqih Syekh Muhammad bin Sulaiman al Kurdi and al-'Arif Billah Syekh Muhammad bin Abdul Karim al-Samman al-Hasani al-Madani who was the tasawwuf teacher of Muhammad Arsyad. Under his supervision, Muhammad Arsyad conducted both suluk and khalwat. He was then mandated to be what called as khalifah.
As narrated by Khalifah al-Sayyid Muhammad al-Samman, at that time Indonesia only had four khalifah namely Syekh Muhammad Arsyad al-Banjari (kalimantan), Syekh Abdulk Shomad al-Palembani (Palembang, Sumatera), Syekh Abdul Wahab Bugis (Sulawesi) and Syekh Abdul Rahman Mesri (Betawi Jawa). The four were well-known as the “Four connected from the Land of Java” who studied in al-Haramain al-Syarifain.
Muhammad Arsyad had studied in Mecca for 30 years and in Madinah for 5. Researchers and writers have most of the time mentioned his most important friends like Syeikh `Abdus Shamad al-Palembani, Syeikh Abdur Rahman al-Mashri al-Batawi dan Syeikh Abdul Wahhab Bugis who was also his son in law. (to be continued)
He was born in Lok Gabang village on Thursday, 15 Safar 1122 H/19 March 1710 as the first son of Abdullah and Siti Aminah. His full name is Shekh Muhammad Arsyad bin Abdullah bin Abdur Rahman al-Banjari bin Saiyid Abdullah al-Aidrus bin Saiyid Abu Bakar as-Sakran bin Saiyid Abdur Rahman as-Saqaf bin Saiyid Muhammad Maula ad-Dawilah al-Aidrus till to Saiyidina Ali bin Abi Thalib and Saiyidatina Fatimah binti Prophet Muhammad (PBUH<>).
The grandfather of Arsyad named Abu Bakar had successfully established the Mindanao Kingdom in the Philipines and was a soultane of Mindanao. His father, Abdullah ever led a troop from Mindanao in fighting against Portugese and Dutch. He along with his beloved wife then moved to Banjar, Martapura, Kalimantan.
Sheikh Arsyad at glance
In one day the Soultane of Banjar Kingdom, Soultane Tahmidullah paid a visit to villages including Lok Gabang. In Lok Gabang the soultane saw a beautiful painting that makes him impressed. The soultane then asked who was its painter. He then got the answer that its painter was Muhammad Arsyad. Knowing his talent and intelligence the soultane expressed his willingness to look after and educate Arsyad in his palace. Arsyad was 7 years old at that time.
The soultane then expressed his willingness to Arsyad’s parents. His parents fulfilled the soultane’s willingness to look after and educate their beloved son on account of his future to devote himself to religion, nation and state. Due to Arsyad’s good characters all people living in the palace respected him even the soultane himself treated his as his own son.
He was then married with a pious girl named Siti Aminah (Tuan “Bajut”). She was a pious woman respecting her husband. When his wife was pregnant, Arsyad told her that he would like to go studying to Mecca. Siti Aminah supported her husband to go studying in the Holy City. After the soultane gave approval to Arsyad to go to Mecca, he left for Mecca to study.
In the Holy City, Muhammad Arsyad studied to prominent ulema like Syekh 'Athoillah bin Ahmad al Mishry, al Faqih Syekh Muhammad bin Sulaiman al Kurdi and al-'Arif Billah Syekh Muhammad bin Abdul Karim al-Samman al-Hasani al-Madani who was the tasawwuf teacher of Muhammad Arsyad. Under his supervision, Muhammad Arsyad conducted both suluk and khalwat. He was then mandated to be what called as khalifah.
As narrated by Khalifah al-Sayyid Muhammad al-Samman, at that time Indonesia only had four khalifah namely Syekh Muhammad Arsyad al-Banjari (kalimantan), Syekh Abdulk Shomad al-Palembani (Palembang, Sumatera), Syekh Abdul Wahab Bugis (Sulawesi) and Syekh Abdul Rahman Mesri (Betawi Jawa). The four were well-known as the “Four connected from the Land of Java” who studied in al-Haramain al-Syarifain.
Muhammad Arsyad had studied in Mecca for 30 years and in Madinah for 5. Researchers and writers have most of the time mentioned his most important friends like Syeikh `Abdus Shamad al-Palembani, Syeikh Abdur Rahman al-Mashri al-Batawi dan Syeikh Abdul Wahhab Bugis who was also his son in law. (to be continued)
