wali (waliy). Term which means “protector,” “benefactor,” “companion,” or “governor.” A wali is a friend of God -- a saint or a Sufi whose tomb is visited for its blessing. A wali is also a legal guardian of a minor, woman, or incapacitated person.
For the Arabs, the word wali is synonymous with “saint.” The companion word wilayat means “sainthood.” How the terms wali and wilayat first came to be applied to Sufis is not known, but from an early date it was explained that the Qur’anic verse: “{God} loves them, and they love {God}” {see Sura 5:59} meant that God is their friend, and they are God’s friends. The Qur’an also contains repeated reference to “the friends of God” -- the awliya’ Allahi.
Saints are thought to constitute an invisible hierarchy, with a discrete cosmological ranking. In all there are perhaps forty thousand “friends of God,” including three hundred chosen (akhyar), forty deputies (abdal), seven pious (abrar), four pillars (awtad), three substitutes (nuqaba’), and one pole or nourisher (qutb, ghawth). The numbers in some categories vary, but the importance of this cosmological scheme for Sufi devotion cannot be overstated. The qutb saint, in particular, is posited as the axis around which the entire universe revolves. He is “the perfect man” (al-insan al-kamil), for the sake of whose perfection all the elements of nature, and even all other humans, have been brought into existence. Muhammad was the perfect man in his time, but since the world would cease to function without a qutb saint, others have come after Muhammad, though they lacked his prophetic mandate.
Sainthood and prophethood, therefore, overlapped as authoritative categories for mystically minded Muslims. The differentiation was as essential as it was problematic. On the one hand, the qutb saint was differentiated from the hidden imam of the Shi‘ites (though they shared a common theological mold as salvific mediators); at the same time, he was distinguished from the Prophet Muhammad -- usually on a temporal basis, implying that the qutb was doing the work of the Prophet in his generation. For some Sufi theorists, moreover, the distance of sainthood from prophethood was as slight as a single vowel: walayat meaning “lordship” was reserved for prophets, while wilayat or “friendship” was reserved for saints.
Wilayat also had a practical connotation. It defined the geographical area within which a particular saint was recognized as the preeminent spiritual leader for his generation. In populous urban centers or remote regions of Asia where more than one Sufi order had been introduced, conflicting wilayat claims were inevitable, but they were less frequent and less intense than might be expected. The Wahhabiya movement has been uncompromisingly opposed to the veneration of saints and has destroyed many shrines where the saints were venerated.
Walī (Arabic, plural Awliyā') is an Arabic word meaning "friend", "client", "kinsman", "patron". It generally denotes "friend of God" in the phrase walīyu 'llāh. In English, wali most often means a Muslim saint or holy person. It should not be confused with the word Wāli which is an administrative title that was used in the Muslim Caliphate, and still today in some Muslim countries, such as the Wali of Swat.
waliy see wali
A wali is most commonly used by Muslims to indicate a saint, otherwise referred to by the more literal "friend of God".
When the Arabic definite article al is added, it refers to one of the names of God in Islam, Allah – al-Walī, meaning "the Helper, Friend".
In the traditional Islamic understanding, a saint is portrayed as someone "marked by [special] divine favor ... [and] holiness", and who is specifically "chosen by God and endowed with exceptional gifts, such as the ability to work "miracles". The doctrine of saints was articulated by Muslim scholars very early on in Islamic history, and particular verses of the Quran and certain hadith were interpreted by early Muslim thinkers as "documentary evidence" of the existence of saints. Graves of saints around the Muslim world became centers of pilgrimage – especially after 1200 CC – for masses of Muslims seeking their barakah (blessing).
Since the first Muslim hagiographies -- the first Muslim biographies of saints -- were written during the period when the Islamic mystical trend of Sufism began its rapid expansion, many of the figures who later came to be regarded as the major saints in orthodox Sunni Islam were the early Sufi mystics such as Hasan of Basra (d. 728), Farqad Sabakhi (d. 729), Dawud Tai (d. 777–781), Rabia of Basra (d. 801), Marut Karkhi (d. 815), and Junayd of Baghdad (d. 910). From the twelfth to the fourteenth century, the general veneration of saints, among both people and sovereigns, reached its definitive form with the organization of Sufis ... into orders or brotherhoods". In the common expressions of Islamic piety of this period, the saint was understood to be "a contemplative whose state of spiritual perfection ... [found] permanent expression in the teaching bequeathed to his disciples". In many prominent Sunni creeds of the time, such as the famous Creed of Tahawi (c. 900) and the Creed of Nasafi (c. 1000), a belief in the existence and miracles of saints was presented as "a requirement" for being an orthodox Muslim believer.
Aside from the Sufis, the preeminent saints in traditional Islamic piety are the Companions of the Prophet, their Successors, and the Successors of the Successors. Additionally, the prophets and messengers in Islam are also believed to be saints by definition, although they are rarely referred to as such, in order to prevent confusion between them and ordinary saints; as the prophets are exalted by Muslims as the greatest of all humanity, it is a general tenet of Sunni belief that a single prophet is greater than all the regular saints put together. In short, it is believed that "every prophet is a saint, but not every saint is a prophet".
In the modern world, traditional Sunni and Shia ideas of saints have been challenged by puritanical and revivalist Islamic movements such as the Salafi movement, Wahhabism, and Islamic Modernism, all three of which have, to a greater or lesser degree, formed a front against the veneration and theory of saints. As has been noted by scholars, the development of these movements has indirectly led to a trend amongst some mainstream Muslims to resist acknowledging the existence of Muslim saints altogether or to view their presence and veneration as unacceptable deviations. However, despite the presence of these opposing streams of thought, the classical doctrine of saint veneration continues to thrive in many parts of the Islamic world today, playing a vital role in daily expressions of piety among vast segments of Muslim populations in Muslim countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Turkey, Senegal, Iraq, Iran, Algeria, Tunisia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Morocco, as well as in countries with substantial Islamic populations like India, China, Russia, and the Balkans.
Regarding the rendering of the Arabic wali by the English "saint", prominent scholars such as Gibril Haddad have regarded this as an appropriate translation, with Haddad describing the aversion of some Muslims towards the use of "saint" for walī as "a specious objection ... for [this is] – like 'Religion' (din), 'Believer' (mu'min), 'prayer' (salat), etc. – [a] generic term for holiness and holy persons while there is no confusion, for Muslims, over their specific referents in Islam, namely: the reality of iman with Godwariness and those who possess those qualities." In Persian, which became the second most influential and widely spoken language in the Islamic world after Arabic, the general title for a saint or a spiritual master became pīr (Persian, literally "old [person]", "elder"). Although the ramifications of this phrase include the connotations of a general "saint," it is often used to specifically signify a spiritual guide of some type.
Amongst Indian Muslims, the title pīr baba is commonly used in Hindi to refer to Sufi masters or similarly honored saints. Additionally, saints are also sometimes referred to in the Persian or Urdu vernacular with "Hazrat". In Islamic mysticism, a pīr's role is to guide and instruct his disciples on the mystical path. Hence, the key difference between the use of walī and pīr is that the former does not imply a saint who is also a spiritual master with disciples, while the latter directly does so through its connotations of "elder". Additionally, other Arabic and Persian words that also often have the same connotations as pīr, and hence are also sometimes translated into English as "saint", include murshid (Arabic, meaning "guide" or "teacher"), sheikh and sarkar (Persian word meaning "master").
In the Turkish Islamic lands, saints have been referred to by many terms, including the Arabic walī, the Persian s̲h̲āh and pir, and Turkish alternatives like baba in Anatolia, ata in Central Asia (both meaning "father"), and eren or ermis̲h̲ ("to reach, attain") or yati̊r ("one who settles down") in Anatolia. Their tombs, meanwhile, are denoted by terms of Arabic or Persian origin alluding to the idea of pilgrimage (mazar, ziyaratgah), tomb (ḳabr, maḳbar) or domed mausoleum (gunbad, ḳubba). But such tombs are also denoted by terms usually used for dervish convents, or a particular part of it (tekke in the Balkas, langar, 'refectory,' and ribaṭ in Central Asia), or by a quality of the saint (pir, "venerable, respectable," in Azerbaijan)."
According to various traditional Sufi interpretations of the Qur'an, the concept of sainthood is clearly described. Some modern scholars, however, assert that the Qur'an does not explicitly outline a doctrine or theory of saints. In the Qur'an, the adjective wali is applied to God, in the sense of God being the "friend" of all believers (Q2:257). However, particular Quranic verses were interpreted by early Islamic scholars to refer to a special, exalted group of holy people. These included 10:62: "Surely God's friends (awliyāa l-lahi): no fear shall be on them, neither shall they sorrow," and 5:54, which refers to God's love for those who love him. Additionally, some scholars interpreted 4:69, "Whosoever obeys God and the Messenger, they are with those unto whom God hath shown favor: the prophets and the ṣidiqina and the martyrs and the righteous. The best of company are they," to carry a reference to holy people who were not prophets and were ranked below the latter. The word ṣidīqīna in this verse literally connotes "the truthful ones" or "the just ones," and was often interpreted by the early Islamic thinkers in the sense of "saints." Furthermore, the Qur'an referred to the miracles of saintly people who were not prophets like Khidr (18:65-82) and the People of the Cave (187-26), which also led many early scholars to deduce that a group of venerable people must exist who occupy a rank below the prophets but are nevertheless exalted by God. The references in the corpus of hadith literature to bona fide saints like the pre-Islamic Jurayj̲, only lent further credence to this early understanding of saints.
Collected stories about the "lives or vitae of the saints", began to be compiled "and transmitted at an early stage" by many regular Muslim scholars, including Ibn Abi al-Dunya (d. 894), who wrote a work entitled Kitab al-Awliyaʾ (Lives of the Saints) in the ninth century, which constitutes "the earliest [complete] compilation on the theme of God's friends." Prior to Ibn Abi al-Dunya's work, the stories of the saints were transmitted through oral tradition; but after the composition of his work, many Islamic scholars began writing down the widely circulated accounts, with later scholars like Abū Nuʿaym al-Isfahani (d. 948) making extensive use of Ibn Abi al-Dunya's work in his own Ḥilyat al-awliyaʾ (The Adornment of the Saints). It is, moreover, evident from the Kitāb al-Kas̲h̲f wa 'l-bayan of the early Baghdadi Sufi mystic Abu Sa'id al-Kharraz (d. 899) that a cohesive understanding of the Muslim saints was already in existence, with al-Kharraz spending ample space distinguishing between the virtues and miracles (karamat) of the prophets and the saints. The genre of hagiography (manakib) only became more popular with the passage of time, with numerous prominent Islamic thinkers of the medieval period devoting large works to collecting stories of various saints or to focusing upon "the marvelous aspects of the life, the miracles or at least the prodigies of a [specific] Ṣufi or of a saint believed to have been endowed with miraculous powers."
In the late ninth-century, important thinkers in Sunni Islam officially articulated the previously oral doctrine of an entire hierarchy of saints, with the first written account of this hierarchy coming from the pen of Al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi (d. 907-912). With the general consensus of Islamic scholars of the period accepting that the ulema were responsible for maintaining the "exoteric" part of Islamic orthodoxy, including the disciplines of law and jurisprudence, while the Sufis were responsible for articulating the religion's deepest inward truths later prominent mystics like Ibn Arabi (d. 1240) only further reinforced this idea of a saintly hierarchy, and the notion of "types" of saints became a mainstay of Sunni mystical thought, with such types including the ṣiddiqun ("the truthful ones") and the abdal ("the substitute-saints"), amongst others. Many of these concepts appear in writing far before al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Arabi; the idea of the abdal, for example, appears as early as the Musnad of Ibn Hanbal (d. 855), where the word signifies a group of major saints "whose number would remain constant, one always being replaced by some other on his death." It is, in fact, reported that Ibn Hanbal explicitly identified his contemporary, the mystic Maruf Karkhi (d. 815-20), as one of the abdal, saying: "He is one of the substitute-saints, and his supplication is answered."
From the twelfth to the fourteenth century, "the general veneration of saints, among both people and sovereigns, reached its definitive form with the organization of Sufism — the mysticism of Islam —into orders or brotherhoods." In the general Islamic piety of the period, the saint was understood to be "a contemplative whose state of spiritual perfection ... [found] permanent expression in the teaching bequeathed to his disciples." It was by virtue of his spiritual wisdom that the saint was accorded veneration in medieval Islam, "and it is this which ... [effected] his 'canonization,' and not some ecclesiastical institution" as in Christianity. In fact, the latter point represents one of the crucial differences between the Islamic and Christian veneration of saints, for saints are venerated by unanimous consensus or popular acclaim in Islam, in a manner akin to all those Christian saints who began to be venerated prior to the institution of canonization. In fact, a belief in the existence of saints became such an important part of medieval Islam that many of the most important creeds articulated during the time period, like the famous Creed of Tahawi, explicitly declared it a requirement for being an "orthodox" Muslim to believe in the existence and veneration of saints and in the traditional narratives of their lives and miracles. Hence, we find that even medieval critics of the widespread practice of venerating the tombs of saints, like Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 1328), never denied the existence of saints as such, with the Hanbali jurist stating: "The miracles of saints are absolutely true and correct, by the acceptance of all Muslim scholars. And the Qur'an has pointed to it in different places, and the sayings of the Prophet have mentioned it, and whoever denies the miraculous power of saints are only people who are innovators and their followers."
In the modern world, the traditional idea of saints in Islam has been challenged by the puritanical and revivalist Islamic movements of Salafism and Wahhabism, whose influence has "formed a front against the veneration and theory of saints." For the adherents of Wahhabi ideology, for example, the practice of venerating saints appears as an "abomination", for they see in this a form of idolatry. It is for this reason that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which adheres to the Wahhabi creed, "destroyed the tombs of saints wherever ... able" during its expansion in the Arabian Peninsula from the eighteenth-century onwards. As has been noted by scholars, the development of these movements has indirectly led to a trend amongst some mainstream Muslims to also resist "acknowledging the existence of Muslim saints altogether or ... [to view] their presence and veneration as unacceptable deviations." At the same time, the movement of Islamic Modernism has also opposed the traditional veneration of saints, for many proponents of this ideology regard the practice as "being both un-Islamic and backwards ... rather than the integral part of Islam which they were for over a millennium." Despite the presence, however, of these opposing streams of thought, the classical doctrine of saint-veneration continues to thrive in many parts of the Islamic world today, playing a vital part in the daily piety of vast portions of Muslim countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Turkey, Senegal, Iraq, Iran, Algeria, Tunisia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Morocco, as well as in countries with substantive Islamic populations like India, China, Russia, and the Balkans.
Walid I (al-Walid I ibn ‘Abd al-Malik) (Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik) (Al-Walid I) (Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Walīd ibn ʿAbd al-Malīk ibn Marwān) (668 - 715, Damascus [now in Syria]). Umayyad caliph (r.705-715). He was the great builder of the Umayyad dynasty. In 706, he began the reconstruction of the basilica of St. John the Baptist at Damascus into a magnificent mosque. He also built the Great Mosques at Mecca and Medina. Other striking features of his reign were the arabization of the administration and the progress of conquests. During his reign, the Arab empire attained its greatest extent from Transoxiana to Spain.
Al-Walīd, the eldest son of the caliph ʿAbd al-Malīk ibn Marwān, was fervently orthodox in his religious views. He had a great interest in architecture. As caliph, he confiscated the Christian Basilica of St. John the Baptist in Damascus and had the Great Mosque (Umayyad Mosque) erected on the site. He also had mosques built at Medina and Jerusalem. During al-Walīd’s reign, areas in Central Asia, in coastal northern Africa, and in Spain were conquered and brought under the influence of Islam. Although al-Walīd did not actively direct this expansion, he did give support to capable subordinate officers and officials, allowing them great autonomy in the conduct of their affairs.
al-Walid I ibn ‘Abd al-Malik see Walid I
Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik see Walid I
Al-Walid I see Walid I
Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Walīd ibn ʿAbd al-Malīk ibn Marwān see Walid I
Walid II (al-Walid II ibn Yazid II) (Walid ibn Yazid) (d. April 16, 744). Umayyad caliph (r.743-744). He was remarkably cultivated, but also a libertine. In 743, he sold Khalid al-Qasri, the former governor of Iraq, to the latter’s mortal enemy Yusuf ibn ‘Umar al-Thaqafi, which raised the Yemenis in Syria against him. Before being caliph, he had built the hunting lodge Qusayr ‘Amra, and as a caliph he began with the construction of al-Mushatta.
Al-Walid succeeded to the throne on the death of his uncle, Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, on February 6, 743. As al-Walid grew older, Hisham became more displeased with him and even urged him to step aside in favor of Hisham's son. Hisham spoke to al-Walid about his drinking and living a dissolute life. The caliph commanded al-Walid to send away his best drinking companion. He also cut off funds to the heir and strongly encouraged him to be more respectful in matters religious.
As heir, al-Walid was known for his open handedness. When he became caliph, he took special care of the crippled and blind. He increased the stipend. He named his two sons, al-Hakam and Uthman, to succeed him in that order. There's an eloquent letter on this theme dated May 21, 743 in at Tabari. At Tabari also quotes a number of al-Walid's poems.
Al-Walid at first confirmed Nasr ibn Sayyar as governor of Khurasan. However, bribed by Yusuf ibn Umar, the caliph dismissed Nasr. Al-Walid also appointed his uncle Yusuf ibn Muhammad governor of Medina. Yahya ibn Zayd was found in Khurasan. Nasr urged him to present himself to the caliph, bearing in mind the essential nature of Islamic unity. However, Yahya chose another path and after initial victory was slain.
Al-Walid put Sulayman ibn Hisham in prison. Such a deed, as well as his reputed drinking, singing and immorality aroused considerable opposition. Al-Walid was fond of versifying and he arranged horse races. The upright Yazid ibn al-Walid spoke against the new ruler's moral laxity. A group began plotting his assassination. When approached, Khalid ibn Abdallah declined to join in and even cautioned al-Walid. However, his vague warning aroused the ire of al-Walid who imprisoned Khalid and then gave him to Yusuf ibn Umar for an offer of fifty million dirhams. Yusuf tortured and killed Khalid. This intensely angered many of al-Walid's own relatives.
Hearing of the plot, Marwan ibn Muhammad wrote from Armenia urging a more prudent course of action, one more promising for the stability of the state and the preservation of the Umayyad house. This was disregarded and many armed men moved into Damascus. The caliph was besieged in a castle outside the city. He fought well, but on April 16, 744, at Al-Aghdaf [now in modern Jordan], he was defeated and killed by the forces of Sulayman ibn Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik. He was succeeded by his cousin Yazid III.
Walid II ibn Yazid II, al- see Walid II
Walid ibn Yazid see Walid II
Walide Sultan (Valide Sultana). Title borne, in the Ottoman Empire, by the mother of the reigning sultan and only for the duration of her son’s reign.
Valide Sultana see Walide Sultan
Walid ibn al-Mughira ibn ‘Abd Allah, al- (d. 622). Opponent of the Prophet. He was the head of the numerous and prosperous Banu Makhzum at Mecca.
Wali Songo
The history of arrival and spread of Islam in Indonesia is unclear. One theory states it arrived directly from Arabia before the 9th century, while another credits Sufi merchants and preachers for bringing Islam to Indonesian islands in the 12th or 13th century either from Gujarat in India or directly from the Middle East. Before the arrival of Islam, the predominant religions in Indonesia were Hinduism and Buddhism.
Initially, the spread of Islam was slow and gradual. Though historical documents are incomplete, the limited evidence suggests that the spread of Islam accelerated in the 15th century, as the military power of Melaka Sultanate in Malay Peninsular today Malaysia and other Islamic Sultanates dominated the region aided by episodes of Muslim coup such as in 1446, wars and superior control of maritime trading and ultimate markets. During 1511, Tome Pires found animists and Muslims in the north coast of Java. Some rulers were Islamized Muslims, others followed the old Hindu and Buddhism.
By the reign of Sultan Agung of Mataram, most of the older Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms of Indonesia, had at least nominally converted to Islam. The last one to do so was Makassar in 1605. After the fall of the Majapahit empire, Bali became the refuge for the Hindu upper class, Brahmins and their followers that fled from Java, thus transferring the Hindu culture of Java to Bali. Hinduism and Buddhism remained extant in some areas of East Java where it syncretized with animism. Their traditions also continued in East and Central Java where they earlier held a sway. Animism was also practiced in remote areas of other islands of Indonesia.
The spread of Islam in eastern islands of Indonesia is recorded in 1605 when three Islamic pious men collectively known as Dato' Tallu came to Makasar, namely Dato'ri Bandang (Abdul Makmur or Khatib Tunggal), Dato'ri Pattimang (Sulaiman Ali or Khatib Sulung) and Dato'ri Tiro (Abdul Jawad or Khatib Bungsu). According to Christian Pelras (1985), Dato' Tallu converted the Kings of Gowa and Tallo to Islam and changed their name to Sultan Muhammad.
The spread of Islam was initially driven by increasing trade links outside of the archipelago. Traders and the royalty of major kingdoms were usually the first to convert to Islam. Dominant kingdoms included Mataram in Central Java, and the sultanates of Ternate and Tidore in the Maluku Islands to the east. By the end of the 13th century, Islam had been established in North Sumatra; by the 14th in northeast Malaya, Brunei, the southern Philippines northeast and among some courtiers of East Java; and the 15th in Malacca and other areas of the Malay Peninsula. Although it is known that the spread of Islam began in the west of the archipelago, the fragmentary evidence does not suggest a rolling wave of conversion through adjacent areas; rather, it suggests the process was complicated and slow.
Despite being one of the most significant developments in Indonesian history, historical evidence is fragmentary and generally uninformative such that understandings of the coming of Islam to Indonesia are limited. There is considerable debate amongst scholars about what conclusions can be drawn about the conversion of Indonesian peoples. The primary evidence, at least of the earlier stages of the process, are gravestones and a few travellers' accounts, but these can only show that indigenous Muslims were in a certain place at a certain time. This evidence cannot explain more complicated matters such as how lifestyles were affected by the new religion or how deeply it affected societies. It should not be assumed, for example, that because a ruler was known to be a Muslim, that the process of Islamization of that area was complete. Instead, what is known is that the Islamization process was, and remains to this day, continuous in Indonesia. Nevertheless, a clear turning point occurred when the Hindu empire Majapahit in Java fell to the Islamized Demak Sultanate. In 1527, the Muslim ruler renamed newly conquered Sunda Kelapa as Jayakarta (meaning "precious victory") which was eventually shortened to Jakarta. Islamization increased rapidly in the wake of this conquest, spurred on by the spiritual influences of the revered Sufi saints Wali Songo (or Nine Saints).
Malik Ibrahim (b. before 1350, Kashan, Persia - d. April 7, 1419, Gapurosukolilo, Gresik), also known as Sunan Gresik or Kakek Bantal, was the first of the Wali Songo, the nine men generally thought to have introduced Islam to Java (Indonesia).
Ibrahim's origin is unclear, although it is generally agreed that he originated from outside of Java. He is thought to have been born in the first half of the 14th century. Ibrahim is known by several names in the Babad Tanah Jawi and other texts. In the texts, Ibrahim is identified as Makhdum Ibrahim as-Samarqandy (localised to Syekh Ibrahim Asmarakandi). This indicates a possible origin from Samarkand in modern-day Uzbekistan.
Malik Ibrahim was born in Kashan, Persia (modern day Iran). Malik Ibrahim belonged to a Sayyid and highly educated family in Kashan. His great grandfather migrated from Samarkand to Kashan. Ibrahim came to Java with his father, Syekh Jumadil Qubro or Kubro, and his brother Maulana Ishaq, from Persia. They were descendants of Muhammad through Hussein ibn Ali. According to this version, Qubro stayed in Java while his sons went abroad for dakwah. Ibrahim went to Champa (in modern-day Vietnam), while his brother went to Pasai in northern Sumatra. During his 13 years in Champa, Ibrahim provided healthcare and taught farmers more efficient ways to grow crops. He also married one of the king's daughters, whose name has been Indonesianised as Dewi Candrawulan, and had two sons. When he felt that he had converted enough people in Champa to Islam, Ibrahim returned to Java without his family.
Ibrahim landed at Sembalo, Learn, Manyar (9 kilometres (5.6 mi) north of modern-day Gresik) in the late 14th century, where he became acquainted with the local people. He began trading out of the harbor, dealing equally with people from different castes - different social classes based on the dominant Hindu religion. By doing so, Ibrahim found popular support from the lower castes, which led to numerous conversions. He also continued his work from Champa, teaching the locals ways to improve harvests and treating the ill.
Through his trading, Ibrahim also became acquainted with the ruling class and nobles. After journeying to Trowulan to meet the king of Majapahit, he was granted a landing on the outskirts of Gresik which was used for preaching. Ibrahim also founded an Islamic boarding school there.
A legend associated with Ibrahim is that one day, while travelling, he came across a young woman about to be sacrificed to the gods in order to end a long-standing drought. After stopping a group of men from stabbing the woman, Ibrahim prayed for rain. When his prayers were answered, the group he had faced converted to Islam.
Ibrahim died on 12 Rabi' al-Awwal, 822 AH (April 7, 1419 CC). He was buried in Gapura village, Gresik, East Java.
Before the 19th century, Ibrahim was not considered one of the Wali Songo, the saints who spread Islam to Java. After his grave was rediscovered in the early 19th century, he was included in the core group. He was first listed as a Wali Songo in Babad Dipanegara. Today his grave, which is without a headstone, is a common destination for pilgrims, who read the Qu'ran and the life of Muhammad; they also partake in a dish unique to the area, harisah rice porridge. In 2005 over 1.5 million pilgrims went to the grave, for which there is an entry fee. Most come on the anniversary of his death, based on the Islamic calendar.
Near Ibrahim's grave is a stone marker bearing an inscription in Arabic, translated below:
Both of Ibrahim's sons went on to spread Islam to Java after they became adults. The eldest, Ali Rahmatullah, is better known as Sunan Ampel and is a member of the Wali Songo himself. The youngest was named Ali Murthada. Ibrahim's work in eastern Java was continued by Raden Paku (later known as Susuhunan Giri) in Giri (now part of the Jepara Regency of Central Java) and Raden Rahmat, who founded an Islamic school in Ngampel, near Surabaya.
Every year, the Gresik city government holds a festival to celebrate Ibrahim's birth. Known as Gebyar Maulid, the festival also serves to promote local culture.
The Wali Songo (also transcribed as Wali Sanga) are revered saints of Islam in Indonesia, especially on the island of Java, because of their historic role in the spread of Islam in Indonesia. The word wali is Arabic for "trusted one" ("guardian" in other contexts in Indonesia) or "friend of God" ("saint" in this context), while the word sanga is Javanese for group of monks or the number nine. Thus, the term is often translated as "Sangha of saints".
Although referred to as a group, there is good evidence that fewer than nine were alive at any given time. Also, there are sources that use the term "Wali Sanga" to refer to saintly mystic(s) other than the most well-known nine individuals.
Each man is often attributed the title sunan in Javanese, which may derive from suhun, in this context meaning "honored".
Most of the wali were also called raden during their lifetimes, because they were members of royal houses.
The graves of the Wali Sanga are venerated as locations of ziarah (ziyarat) or local pilgrimage in Java. The graves are also known as pundhen in Javanese.
The earliest Wali Sanga was Malik Ibrahim. He is thought to have been in the first half of the 14th century. Malik Ibrahim was of Sayyid lineage and came from a highly educated family in Kashan. His great-grandfather migrated from Samarqand, and that is why his family is also known as Samarqandi. They were originally a converted Central Asian Muslim pir from Samarkand. With centuries of Turkish, Mongol and Ottoman rule over Middle East, many of them started claiming Sayyid ancestry to legitimize their rule over the population.
Syekh Jumadil Kubra, to whom all the saints of Java appear to be related, is a name that appears to almost certainly be a corruption of Najmuddin al-Kubra. The name Syekh Jumadil Kubra has attached itself to various legendary and mythical personalities,. These personalities have a common connection in that they are the ancestors or preceptors of the founders of Islam in Java - an oblique acknowledgement, perhaps, of the prestige of the Qubrowi in the period of Islamization.
The sufis themselves traced their ancestors to erstwhile Hindu and Buddhist Javanese kings. Tracing the lineage earlier than Malik Ibrahim is problematic, but most scholars agree that Kubra's lineages are of Chinese descent and not Arab. Although Kubra's silsila -- his spiritual genealogy -- is listed in various Javanese royal chronicles (such as Sejarah Banten) to denote ancestral lineage from erstwhile Hindu Kings, the term in Sufism refers to a lineage of teachers.
Although popular belief sometimes refers to the wali sanga as "founders" of Islam on Java, the religion was present by the time the Chinese Muslim admiral Zheng He arrived during his first voyage (1405-1407 CC).
Many of the earliest Wali Sanga had Chinese ancestry both paternally and maternally. For example, Sunan Ampel (Chinese name Bong Swi Ho), Sunan Bonang (Ampel's son, Bong Ang), and Sunan Kalijaga (Gan Si Cang).
Dewi Candrawulan, a Muslim Princess from Champa, was the mother of Raden Rahmat (Prince Rahmat), who was later known by the name of Sunan Ampel. Sunan Ampel was the son of Maulana Malik Ibrahim, and the ancestor or teacher of some of the other Wali Sanga.
The composition of the nine saints varies, depending on different sources. The following list is widely accepted, but its authenticity relies much on repeated citations of a handful of early sources, reinforced as "facts" in school textbooks and other modern accounts. This list differs somewhat from the names suggested in the Babad Tanah Jawi manuscripts.
One theory about the variation of composition is that there was a loose council of nine religious leaders, and that as older members retired or died, new members were brought into this council. However, it should be borne in mind that the term "wali sanga" was created retroactively by historians, and so there was no official "group of nine" that had membership. Further, the differences in chronology of the wali suggest that there might never have been a time when nine of them were alive contemporaneously.
At first, it was not easy for Islam to enter and thrive in the archipelago. Even in the historical record, in a span of about 800 years, Islam had not been able to establish a substantial presence. Notes from the time of the Tang Dynasty of China indicated that merchants from the Middle East had come to the kingdom of Shih-li-fo-shi (Srivijaya) in Sumatra, and Holing (Kalinga) in Java in the year 674 CC, i.e., in the transitional period of Caliph Ali to Muawiyah. In the 10th century, a group of Persians called the Lor came to Java. They lived in an area in Ngudung (Kudus), also known as Loram (from the word "Lor" which means North). They also formed other communities in other areas, such as in Gresik. The existence of the gravestone of Fatimah binti Maimun bin Hibatallah in Gresi, dated to the 10th century CC, is considered evidence of the incoming migration of the Persian tribes.
In his notes, Marco Polo relates that when returning from China to Italy in 1292 CC, he did not travel via the Silk Road, but instead traveled by sea towards the Persian Gulf. He stopped in Perlak, a port city in Aceh, southern Malacca. According to Polo, in Perlak there were three groups, namely (1) ethnic Chinese, who were all Muslims; (2) Westerners (Persians), also entirely Muslim; and (3) indigenous people in the hinterland, who worshipped trees, rocks, and spirits. In his testimony, Polo said, regarding the "Kingdom of Ferlec (Perlak)" - "This kingdom, you must know, is so much frequented by the Saracen merchants that they have converted the natives to the Law of Mohammet — I mean the townspeople only, for the Java hill-people live for all the world like beasts, and eat human flesh, as well as all other kinds of flesh, clean or unclean. And they worship this, that, and the other thing; for in fact the first thing that they see on rising in the morning, that they do worship for the rest of the day.
One hundred years after Polo, the Chinese Muslim Admiral Zheng He came to Java in 1405 CC. When he stopped in Tuban, he noted that there were 1,000 Chinese religious Muslim families there. In Gresik, he also found there were 1,000 Chinese Muslim families, with the same amount reported in Surabaya. On Zheng He's seventh (last) visit to Java in 1433 CC, he invited his scribe named Ma Huan. According to Ma Huan, the Chinese and the Arab population of the cities on the northern beaches of Java were all Muslim, while the indigenous population were mostly non-Muslim as they were worshipping the trees, rocks, and spirits.
Early in the 15th century CC, Ali Murtadho and Ali Rahmat, sons of Malik Ibrahim (also known as Sheikh Ibrahim Samarqandi), relocated from the Kingdom of Champa (Southern Vietnam) to Java, and settled in the Tuban area, precisely in the Gesikharjo Village at Palang District. Malik Ibrahim was buried there in 1419. After the funeral, both of his sons then headed to the capital of Majapahit, because their aunt (Princess Dwarawati) was married to the King of Majapahit. By the King's order, both of them then were appointed as officials of the Majapahit Empire. Ali Murtadho as Raja Pandhita (Minister of Religion) for the Musims, while Ali Rahmat was appointed as Imam (High Priest for Muslims) in Surabaya. Ali Rahmat was known as Raden Rahmat (Prince Rahmat), who then became Sunan Ampel.
In sum, multiple sources and conventional wisdom agree that the Wali Sanga contributed to the propagation of Islam (but not its original introduction) in the area now known as Indonesia. However, it is difficult to prove the extent of their influence in quantitative terms such as an increase in the number of adherents or masjids in the areas of their work in contrast to localities where they were not active.
Some of the family relationships described below are well-documented; others are less certain. Even today, it is common in Java for a family friend to be called "uncle" or "brother" despite the lack of a blood relationship.
- Sunan Gresik (Malik Ibrahim): Arrived on Java 1404 CC, died in 1419 CC, buried in Gresik, East Java. Activities included commerce, healing, and improvement of agricultural techniques. Father of Sunan Ampel and uncle of Sunan Giri.
- Sunan Ampel: Born in Champa (Southern Vietnam) in 1401 CC, died in 1481 CC in Demak, Central Java. Can be considered a focal point of the wali sanga. He was the son of Sunan Gresik and the father of Sunan Bonang and Sunan Dradjat. Sunan Ampel was also the cousin and father-in-law of Sunan Giri. In addition, Sunan Ampel was the grandfather of Sunan Kudus. Sunan Bonang in turn taught Sunan Kalijaga, who was the father of Sunan Muria. Sunan Ampel was also the teacher of Raden Patah.
- Sunan Giri: Born in Blambangan (now Banyuwangi, the easternmost part of Java) in 1442 CC. His father Maulana Ishak was the brother of Maulana Malik Ibrahim. Sunan Giri's grave is in Gresik near Surabaya.
- Sunan Bonang: Born in 1465 CC in Rembang (near Tuban) on the north coast of Central Java. Died in 1525 CC and buried in Tuban. Brother of Sunan Drajat. Composed songs for gamelan orchestra.
- Sunan Drajat: Born in 1470 CC. Brother of Sunan Bonang. Composed songs for gamelan orchestra.
- Sunan Kudus: Died 1550 CC, buried in Kudus. Possible originator of wayang golek puppetry.
- Sunan Kalijaga: His birth name is Raden Mas Said, and he is the son of Adipati Tuban. Buried in Kadilangu, Demak. Used wayang kulit shadow puppets and gamelan music to convey spiritual teachings.
- Sunan Muria: Buried in Gunung Muria, Kudus. Son of Sunan Kalijaga and Dewi Soejinah (sister of Sunan Giri).
- Sunan Gunung Jati: Buried in Cirebon. Founder and first ruler of the Cirebon Sultanate. His son, Maulana Hasanudin, became the founder and the first ruler of the Banten Sultanate.
Wali Ullah, Shah (Shah Wali Ullah) (Shah Waliullah) (Shah Wali Allah) (Shah Waliullah Muhaddith Dehlvi) (b. February 21, 1703, Delhi [India] - d. August 20, 1762, Delhi [India]). Distinguished Muslim thinker of eighteenth century North India. Shah Wali Ullah was deeply influenced by a youthful stay in the Hijaz, where he encountered a newly vital commitment to the study of the recorded traditions (hadith) of the Prophet as a basis of intellectual renewal and a foundation for social well-being. His subsequent writings de-emphasized the teachings of the historic law schools in favor of study of the Qur’an (which he translated into Persian) and the hadith. Even more ambitiously, he tried to show the essential unity of the fruits of the epistemologically distinctive Islamic strands of reason (aql), tradition (naql), and the gnosis (ma’rifa) of the Sufis. His work took on urgency in the wake of the decline of the Mughal Empire and he sought out Muslim rulers who would work in consultation with scholars like himself in order to create conditions where Muslim law could flourish. Institutionally, he was the head of the Madrasa-i Rahimiyya, a school founded by his renowned father in Delhi. He was also a revered Sufi elder among the Naqshbandis. Later reformers in the subcontinent looked to him as an exemplar in personality and attainments, a guide to the study of the revealed sciences, a spokesman for an authoritative role for scholars in a properly ruled polity, and an opponent of intellectual and sectarian disunity.
Shāh Walī Allāh received a traditional Islamic education from his father and is said to have memorized the Qurʾān at the age of seven. In 1732 he made a pilgrimage to Mecca, and he then remained in the Hejaz (now in Saudi Arabia) to study religion with eminent theologians. He reached adulthood at a time of disillusionment following the death in 1707 of Aurangzeb, the last Mughal emperor of India. Because large areas of the empire had been lost to Hindu and Sikh rulers of the Deccan and the Punjab, Indian Muslims had to accept the rule of non-Muslims. This challenge occupied Walī Allāh’s adult life.
Walī Allāh believed that the Muslim polity could be restored to its former splendor by a policy of religious reform that would harmonize the religious ideals of Islam with the changing social and economic conditions of India. According to him, religious ideas were universal and eternal, but their application could meet different circumstances. The main tool of his policy was the doctrine of tatbīq, whereby the principles of Islam were reconstructed and reapplied in accordance with the Qurʾān and the Ḥadīth (the spoken traditions attributed to Muhammad). He thereby allowed the practice of ijtihād (independent thinking by theologians in matters relating to Islamic law), which hitherto had been curtailed. As a corollary, he reinterpreted the concept of taqdīr (determinism) and condemned its popularization, qismat (narrow fatalism, or absolute predetermination). Walī Allāh held that man could achieve his full potential by his own exertion in a universe that was determined by God. Theologically, he opposed the veneration of saints or anything that compromised strict monotheism. He was jurisprudentially eclectic, holding that a Muslim could follow any of the four schools of Islamic law on any point of dogma or ritual.
The best known of Walī Allāh’s voluminous writings was Asrār ad-dīn (“The Secrets of Belief”). His annotated Persian translation of the Qurʾān is still popular in India and Pakistan.
Walī Allāh received a traditional Islamic education from his father and is said to have memorized the Qurʾān at the age of seven. In 1732 he made a pilgrimage to Mecca, and he then remained in the Hejaz (now in Saudi Arabia) to study religion with eminent theologians. He reached adulthood at a time of disillusionment following the death in 1707 of Aurangzeb, the last Mughal emperor of India. Because large areas of the empire had been lost to Hindu and Sikh rulers of the Deccan and the Punjab, Indian Muslims had to accept the rule of non-Muslims. This challenge occupied Walī Allāh’s adult life.
Walī Allāh believed that the Muslim polity could be restored to its former splendor by a policy of religious reform that would harmonize the religious ideals of Islam with the changing social and economic conditions of India. According to him, religious ideas were universal and eternal, but their application could meet different circumstances. The main tool of his policy was the doctrine of tatbīq, whereby the principles of Islam were reconstructed and reapplied in accordance with the Qurʾān and the Ḥadīth (the spoken traditions attributed to Muhammad). He thereby allowed the practice of ijtihād (independent thinking by theologians in matters relating to Islamic law), which hitherto had been curtailed. As a corollary, he reinterpreted the concept of taqdīr (determinism) and condemned its popularization, qismat (narrow fatalism, or absolute predetermination). Walī Allāh held that man could achieve his full potential by his own exertion in a universe that was determined by God. Theologically, he opposed the veneration of saints or anything that compromised strict monotheism. He was jurisprudentially eclectic, holding that a Muslim could follow any of the four schools of Islamic law on any point of dogma or ritual.
The best known of Walī Allāh’s voluminous writings was Asrār ad-dīn (“The Secrets of Belief”). His annotated Persian translation of the Qurʾān is still popular in India and Pakistan.
Wali Allah was an Islamic scholar and reformer. He worked for the revival of Muslim rule and intellectual learning in South Asia, during a time of waning Muslim power. He despised the divisions and deviations within Islam and its practice in India and hoped to "purify" the religion and unify all Indian Muslims under the "banner of truth". He is also thought to have anticipated a number of progressive, social, economic, and political ideas of the modern era such as social reform, equal rights, labor protection, welfare entitlement of all to food, clothing, and housing.
Shah Wali Ullah see Wali Ullah, Shah
Shah Waliullah see Wali Ullah, Shah
Shah Wali Allah see Wali Ullah, Shah
Shah Waliullah Muhaddith Dehlvi see Wali Ullah, Shah
