الرحلةThe Journey

داود بن عبد الله الفطاني

Daud al-Fatani (RH)

Dawud ibn 'Abd Allah al-Fatani

Also known as: Syeikh Daud al-Fathani, Dawud al-Fatani

c. 1183–c. 1263 AH · c. 1769–c. 1847 CE

Fiqh Shafi'i Sufism

The most prolific Malay scholar of his age, whose Jawi kitab are still taught in pondok schools.

Dawud al-Fatani left Patani as a young man and spent the rest of his life in the Hijaz, where he became the leading teacher of students from the Malay world in Makkah.

He wrote dozens of works in Jawi on law, belief and Sufism, among them Furu' al-Masa'il, Bughyat al-Tullab, Munyat al-Musalli and al-Durr al-Thamin. They became staple texts in the pondok schools of Patani, Kelantan, Terengganu and beyond, and they are still reprinted and taught today. He also helped establish the Malay scholarly community in Makkah that shaped the region's learning for the next century.

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Life journey

  1. c. 1769 CE Patani فطاني
    Born in Kerisik, Patani.
  2. 1790 CE Makkah مكة
    Studied and taught in Makkah and Madinah for over three decades; the year he left Patani is approximate.
  3. 1847 CE Ta'if الطائف
    Died c. 1847 CE · c. 1263 AH

Teachers

Key works

  • Furu' al-Masa'il فروع المسائل
    Branches of Legal Questions
    A major Jawi work of Shafi'i law.
  • Munyat al-Musalli منية المصلي
    The Worshipper's Wish
    A Jawi guide to prayer, still taught in pondok.

Places in their life

The Ka'bah in al-Masjid al-Haram, Makkah
The Ka'bah in al-Masjid al-Haram, Makkah
Photo: Adli Wahid (minor modifications by Basile Morin), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sources

  • Wan Mohd. Shaghir Abdullah, Syeikh Daud bin Abdullah al-Fathani: Ulama dan Pengarang Terulung Asia Tenggara (1990)
  • Azyumardi Azra, The Origins of Islamic Reformism in Southeast Asia (2004)
Draft, awaiting scholarly review.
Birth and death years approximate (death reported as 1263 or 1265 AH). He lived into the 19th century; please confirm he fits the 'no modern scholars' rule.