محمد أرشد البنجاري
Arshad al-Banjari (RH)
Muhammad Arshad al-Banjari
Also known as: Datu Kelampayan, Syekh Arsyad al-Banjari
1122–1227 AH · 1710–1812 CE
Fiqh Shafi'i
Scholar of Banjar in Borneo, author of Sabil al-Muhtadin, a Malay classic of Shafi'i law.
Arshad al-Banjari showed such promise as a boy that the Sultan of Banjar paid for him to study in Makkah and Madinah, where he stayed for about thirty years alongside 'Abd al-Samad al-Palimbani and other Malay scholars.
On his return to South Kalimantan he founded a centre of learning, reformed religious administration and the courts, and corrected the direction of prayer (qiblah) of several mosques. His Sabil al-Muhtadin, a two-volume work of Shafi'i law in Jawi Malay, is still studied in pondok and pesantren across the Malay world. The grand mosque of Banjarmasin, Masjid Raya Sabilal Muhtadin, is named after the book.
Life journey
- 1710 CE Martapura (Banjar) مرتافوراSent by the Sultan of Banjar to study in Makkah and Madinah for some thirty years.
- 1739 CE Makkah مكةThe year he left is approximate.
- 1772 CE Martapura (Banjar) مرتافوراDied 1812 CE · 1227 AH
Teachers
- Muhammad al-Kurdi (RH) 1715–1780 CEArshad al-Banjari studied Shafi'i fiqh with al-Kurdi in Madinah.
- Muhammad al-Samman (RH) 1718–1775 CEArshad al-Banjari studied Sufism with al-Samman and received the Sammaniyyah order.
Key works
- Sabil al-Muhtadin سبيل المهتدينThe Path of the GuidedA two-volume Malay work of Shafi'i law.
Places in their life
Photo: Adli Wahid (minor modifications by Basile Morin), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Sources
- Azyumardi Azra, The Origins of Islamic Reformism in Southeast Asia (2004)
- Abu Daudi, Maulana Syekh Muhammad Arsyad al-Banjari (1980)