الرحلةThe Journey

عبد الرحمن بن محمد العيدروس

Tok Ku Paloh (RH)

Sayyid 'Abd al-Rahman al-'Aydarus (Tok Ku Paloh)

Also known as: Tokku Paloh, Sayyid Abdul Rahman al-Idrus, Engku Sayyid Paloh, Syed Abdul Rahman Paloh

1233–1335 AH · 1817–1917 CE

Sufism & Theology Shafi'i Sufism Fiqh

Sufi scholar of Terengganu, teacher and adviser to Sultan Zainal Abidin III.

Sayyid 'Abd al-Rahman al-'Aydarus, known as Tok Ku Paloh, was born in Kuala Terengganu into a family of Hadrami descent. He studied with his father, the scholar Tok Ku Tuan Besar, and with Wan 'Abd Allah of Patani (Tok Syeikh Duyung), then in Makkah, where his teachers included Sayyid Ahmad Zaini Dahlan.

Back in Terengganu he taught at Kampung Paloh, drawing students from Terengganu, Kelantan, Pahang and Patani. He sat on the State Council and was the teacher and close adviser of Sultan Zainal Abidin III. In 1894 he sheltered Dato' Bahaman, Tok Gajah and Mat Kilau, leaders of the Pahang uprising against British rule, and Haji Abdul Rahman Limbong is remembered as his student. He wrote on Sufism in Malay, notably Ma'arij al-Lahfan, and died at about a hundred years of age.

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Life journey

  1. 1817 CE Kuala Terengganu كوالا ترڠݢانو
    Born at Chabang Tiga, Kuala Terengganu.
  2. 1845 CE Makkah مكة
    Studied in Makkah, with Sayyid Ahmad Zaini Dahlan among others; the years are approximate.
  3. 1855 CE Kuala Terengganu كوالا ترڠݢانو
    Died 1917 CE · 1335 AH
    Returned to Terengganu and taught at Kampung Paloh, from which his name comes.

Key works

  • Ma'arij al-Lahfan معارج اللهفان
    The Ladders of the Thirsting
    A Malay treatise on Sufism and the stages of the spiritual path.

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

  • Muhammad Abu Bakar (ed.), Ulama Terengganu: Suatu Sorotan (1991)
  • Terengganu Strategic & Integrity Institute (TRDI), 'Tok Ku Paloh: Ulama, Penasihat Sultan dan Pejuang Bangsa yang Terbilang'
Draft, awaiting scholarly review.
Most sources give his death as Dhu al-Hijjah 1335 AH (1917); some give 1 Dhu al-Hijjah 1336 AH (1918). The years in Makkah are approximate. Check the account of the Pahang fighters (1894) and the wording on them.