الشيخ يوسف المقاصري
Shaykh Yusuf al-Maqassari (RH)
Also known as: Syekh Yusuf, Tuanta Salamaka
1036–1111 AH · 1626–1699 CE
Sufism & Theology Shafi'i Sufism Fiqh
Scholar and freedom fighter from Makassar, exiled by the Dutch to the Cape, where Islam in South Africa began.
Shaykh Yusuf was born in Gowa in South Sulawesi and spent about twenty years studying in Aceh, Yemen, the Hijaz and Damascus, receiving initiation into several Sufi orders. He then settled in Banten in Java, where he married into the royal family and advised Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa.
When the Dutch East India Company attacked Banten he led guerrilla resistance until he was captured in 1683. The Dutch exiled him to Ceylon and then, fearing his influence, to the Cape of Good Hope in 1694. With his companions he founded the first Muslim community there. He is a national hero of both Indonesia and South Africa.
Life journey
- 1626 CE Gowa (Makassar) غوا
- 1649 CE Makkah مكةTravelled via Banten and Aceh to Yemen, the Hijaz and Damascus, studying for some twenty years. The dates are approximate.
- 1672 CE Banten بنتنAdviser to Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa; led resistance against the Dutch until 1683.
- 1684 CE Ceylon (Colombo) سيلانExiled by the Dutch to Ceylon.
- 1694 CE Cape of Good Hope (Faure) رأس الرجاء الصالحDied 1699 CE · 1111 AHExiled to the Cape of Good Hope. His shrine at Faure is honoured as a founding site of Islam in South Africa; his remains were later returned to Gowa.
Teachers
- Ahmad al-Qushashi (RH) 1583–1661 CEShaykh Yusuf studied with al-Qushashi during his years in Madinah.
- Ibrahim al-Kurani (RH) 1616–1690 CEShaykh Yusuf studied with al-Kurani in Madinah and received the Shattari order from him.
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)
- Suleman Dangor, Shaykh Yusuf (1982)