The role of Syed Ahmad bin Muhammad Semait in disseminating islamic teachings in modern Singapore :his approach and methodology

Abstract

This research looks into the role of Syed Ahmad Bin Muhammad Semait in the dissemination of Islamic teachings in modern Singapore. This study starts by tracing the history of Islamisation of the Malay-Indonesian Archipelago with a focus on the roles and contributions of scholars in this region. It then studies the ideas and thoughts of Syed Ahmad and how they are transmitted in his writings and translations. It also discusses the impact of Syed Ahmad's contributions to Islamic education in modern Singapore. Data were collected through interviews of his family members, students and friends. Library research was carried out on his literary output. The findings show that Syed Ahmad's selected appropriate subject matters to write about and translated in accordance to the problems of the community. The scholar wrote in modern Malay language. His magnum opus, the translations, commentary and analysis of Sahih Bukhari, is his greatest work of his forty years in propagating Islam through print media. The book attests to Syed Ahmad's philosophy of providing important Islamic texts to the public. This is the first such work in the Malay language.