A study of Sayyid Shaykh Al-Hadi`s (1867-1934) and Abdullah Ahmad`s (1878-1933) contributions to Islamic reform in the Malay world

Abstract

This study has three central purposes. Firstly, it compares the careers and educational activities of Sayyid Shaykh al-Hadi (1867-1934) and Haji Abdullah Ahmad (1878-1933), ardent representatives of the Islamic reformist movement in the Malay world in the early twentieth century. Secondly, it also examines the fundamental similarities and differences between the aim and content of their socio-religious reforms in addition to their methodological approach to the socio-religious problems in the Malay world. Finally, it explores the main social and religious contributions of these two reformists to the Islamic reformist movement in the Malay world. The historical-analytical method is employed in the thesis. The study is based on the examination of articles and books written by al-Hadi and Haji Abdullah. They were significant representatives of the urban-based intellectual and religious movement that emerged in the Malay world in the early twentieth century who came from the wealthy and intellectual families. While al-Hadi was a descendant of a Malay-Hadhrami family, Haji Abdullah was a member of a local Minangkabau family. They played a pivotal role in the introduction and modernization of the madrasahs in the Malay world. Whereas al-Hadi’s madrasahs were short-lived because of the financial constraints and the absence of the Malay parents’ interest in his madrasahs, Haji Abdullah’s madrasahs were long-lived owing to the Minangkabau parents’ positive attitudes towards his educational activities, and his associations like the Syarikat Usaha Adabiah supported the sustainable administration and maintenance of the educational institutions. As for the socio-religious reforms of both reformists, there are remarkable similarities between their methodological approach to the socio-religious problems in the Malay world. Impressed by the Cairo-centred reformist discourse led by Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī and Muḥammad ‘Abduh, they campaigned for a return to the pristine teachings of Islam, namely the Qur’ān and the Ḥadīth, because they considered that the main cause of the “backwardness” of the Malay world was due to “corrupted” religious rituals and practices. Therefore, they condemned the rooted religious ceremonies in society. In brief, the study focuses on the similarities and differences between the background, educational activities and socio-religious ideas of al-Hadi and Haji Abdullah.