Abd al-Rauf al-Singkili

Abd al-Rauf al-Singkili, prominent scholar of Aceh, the first to produce a complete Quranic exegesis translation into the Malay language, and head of the Shattari Sufi order in Southeast Asia.

الإنجازات

Authored «Tarjuman al-Mustafid», the first complete Quranic exegesis in the Malay language

Served as chief mufti of the Aceh sultanate under four successive ruling sultanas

Spread the Shattari Sufi order across the Malay archipelago

Embodied a scholarly bridge between the Hijaz and Southeast Asia

Abd al-Rauf ibn Ali was born around 1024 AH/1615 CE in the town of Singkil in Aceh, northern Sumatra (present-day Indonesia). He traveled to the Hijaz, Yemen, and Syria for nearly nineteen years in pursuit of knowledge, studying hadith, jurisprudence, and Sufism under prominent scholars in Mecca and Medina, and joined the Shattari Sufi order.

He returned to Aceh to serve as chief mufti of the sultanate under its four successive ruling sultanas, making a distinctive contribution to Islam in Southeast Asia through his «Tarjuman al-Mustafid», the first complete Quranic exegesis in the Malay language, making the meanings of the Quran accessible to ordinary Muslims across the Malay archipelago. He also wrote works on jurisprudence and Sufism in both Arabic and Malay.

His Legacy

Abd al-Rauf al-Singkili died in Aceh around 1105 AH/1693 CE, honored with the title «Tengku Syiah Kuala». His commentary «Tarjuman al-Mustafid» remained the primary reference for Quranic exegesis in Malay for centuries, and the Shattari order he represented continues to be practiced in Indonesia and Malaysia today.