مولانا مالك إبراهيم

Maulana Malik Ibrahim (RH)

Also known as: Sunan Gresik, Syeikh Maghribi, Malik Ibrahim

c. 751–822 AH · c. 1350–1419 CE

Da'wah Shafi'i Sufism

Counted as the first of the Wali Songo; his gravestone at Gresik is dated 1419.

Maulana Malik Ibrahim is counted as the first of the Wali Songo, the nine saints remembered for spreading Islam in Java. Traditions trace his origin to Samarkand, Persia or Champa; he settled at Gresik, a port on the north coast of Java, in the last years of the Majapahit kingdom.

He is remembered as a trader, healer and teacher who won people through kindness rather than force. His gravestone at Gresik, carved in Arabic and dated 822 AH (1419), is one of the earliest firm dates in the story of Islam in Java, and his tomb is still visited.

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Life journey

c. 1350 CE Samarkand سمرقند
Traditions variously trace his origin to Samarkand, Persia or Champa.
1392 CE Gresik ݢريسيق
Died 1419 CE · 822 AH
Settled in Gresik on the north coast of Java; the year he arrived is approximate.

Places in their life

Sources

M. C. Ricklefs, A History of Modern Indonesia since c. 1200 (4th ed., 2008)
Agus Sunyoto, Atlas Wali Songo (2012)

Draft, awaiting scholarly review.

His origin is uncertain; the year of death comes from his gravestone, the rest from tradition.