الرحلةThe Journey

عبد الملك بن عبد الله

Tok Pulau Manis (RH)

'Abd al-Malik ibn 'Abd Allah (Tok Pulau Manis)

Also known as: Tok Ku Pulau Manis, Syeikh Abdul Malik bin Abdullah, Syeikh Abdul Malik Terengganu

c. 1060–1149 AH · c. 1650–1736 CE

Fiqh Shafi'i Sufism

Terengganu's first great scholar, a student of al-Singkili, who taught at Pulau Manis and wrote on fiqh and Sufism in Malay.

'Abd al-Malik ibn 'Abd Allah was born in Terengganu and, after his first lessons at home, went to Aceh to study with 'Abd al-Ra'uf al-Singkili, from whom he received the Shattari path. Around the age of thirty he travelled to the Haramayn and studied there for nearly ten years, by Malay accounts with Ibrahim al-Kurani among others.

Back in Terengganu he opened a centre of learning at Pulau Manis, near Kuala Terengganu, remembered as one of the first pondok-style institutions in the Malay Peninsula. Tradition says he advised Sultan Zainal Abidin I, the first sultan of Terengganu, who married his daughter. He wrote in Malay: a translation and commentary of Ibn 'Ata' Allah's Hikam, among the earliest Sufi books in the language, and Kitab al-Kifayah on belief and fiqh. His tombstone gives his death as 1149 AH (1736).

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Life journey

  1. c. 1650 CE Kuala Terengganu كوالا ترڠݢانو
    Born at Kampung Pauh in Hulu Terengganu, by most accounts.
  2. 1670 CE Banda Aceh آتشيه
    Studied with 'Abd al-Ra'uf al-Singkili in Aceh; the years are approximate.
  3. 1680 CE Madinah المدينة
    Studied in Makkah and Madinah for nearly ten years, including with Ibrahim al-Kurani; the years are approximate.
  4. 1690 CE Kuala Terengganu كوالا ترڠݢانو
    Died 1736 CE · 1149 AH
    Returned to Terengganu and taught at Pulau Manis, near Kuala Terengganu, where he is buried.

Teachers

  • Abdul Rauf Singkel (RH) c. 1615–1693 CE
    'Abd al-Malik studied with al-Singkili in Aceh and received the Shattari path from him.
  • Ibrahim al-Kurani (RH) 1616–1690 CE
    'Abd al-Malik studied with al-Kurani in the Haramayn, by Malay accounts.

Key works

  • Hikam Melayu
    The Malay Hikam
    A Malay translation and commentary of Ibn 'Ata' Allah's al-Hikam, among the earliest Sufi books in Malay.
  • Kitab al-Kifayah الكفاية
    The Sufficient
    A Malay book on belief and Shafi'i fiqh.

Places in their life

Masjid Raya Baiturrahman, Banda Aceh
Masjid Raya Baiturrahman, Banda Aceh
Photo: ROFIQOHHASAN, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
al-Masjid al-Nabawi, the Prophet's Mosque, Madinah
al-Masjid al-Nabawi, the Prophet's Mosque, Madinah
Photo: TheHadiRahim, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sources

  • Wan Mohd Shaghir Abdullah, Penyebaran Islam & Silsilah Ulama Sejagat Dunia Melayu
  • Muhammad Abu Bakar (ed.), Ulama Terengganu: Suatu Sorotan (1991)
  • Azyumardi Azra, The Origins of Islamic Reformism in Southeast Asia (2004)
Draft, awaiting scholarly review.
Birth year approximate (some give 1678); travel years approximate. Check his study with al-Kurani and the account of Sultan Zainal Abidin I marrying his daughter.