عبد الله فهيم

Abdullah Fahim (RH)

Abdullah Fahim ibn Ibrahim

Also known as: Syeikh Abdullah Fahim, Haji Abdullah Fahim, Pak Him

c. 1286–1380 AH · c. 1869–1961 CE

Fiqh Shafi'i

Makkah-born scholar who taught in northern Malaya and became Mufti of Penang.

Abdullah Fahim was born in Makkah to a family of Patani origin and studied there for many years with the scholars of the Malay community and of the Haram, among them Ahmad al-Fatani. He taught in Makkah before moving to Malaya around the time of the First World War.

He taught in Kedah, Perak and Penang, and later at the madrasah Daeratul Ma'arif al-Wataniah in Kepala Batas, which became a well-known school for religious studies. He was appointed Mufti of Penang in his old age. He was also known for his knowledge of astronomy, and is widely remembered as the scholar consulted on the date of Malaya's independence, 31 August 1957.

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Life journey

c. 1869 CE Makkah مكة
Born in Makkah to a family from Pattani.
1916 CE Kepala Batas كيڤالا باتس
Died 1961 CE · 1380 AH
Taught in Kedah, Perak and Penang, and settled at Kepala Batas; the year he came to Malaya is approximate.

Teachers

Ahmad al-Fatani (RH) 1856–1908 CE
Abdullah Fahim studied with Ahmad al-Fatani among the Malay scholars of Makkah.

Places in their life

Sources

Wan Mohd. Shaghir Abdullah, Wawasan Pemikiran Islam Ulama Asia Tenggara (2000)

Draft, awaiting scholarly review.

Birth year approximate. The year he came to Malaya, his posts and the dates he was mufti need checking against a published biography; the source given is general.