HAJI ABDUL MALIK KARIM AMRULLAH

Prof. Dr. Haji Abdul Malik Karim Amrullah, better known by the nickname Hamka (born in Batang
River, Tanjung Raya, Agam Regency, West Sumatra, Dutch East Indies on February 17, 1908 and died in
Jakarta, Indonesia on July 24, 1981 at the age of 73 years) was an Indonesian ulama, novelist, philosopher
and political activist.

Hamka was born on 17 February 1908 (Hijri Calendar: 13th of Muharram 1362AH)in
Minangkabau, West Sumatra, as the first child of seven brothers. He was raised in a family of
devout Muslims. His father was Abdul Karim Amrullah, a clerical reformer of Islam in
Minangkabau who was known as Haji Rasul, while his mother, Sitti Shafiyah, came from artists
of Minangkabau descent. The father of Abdul Karim, Hamka's grandfather, namely Muhammad
Amrullah was known as a follower of cleric Congregation Naqsyabandiyah.

Prior to education in formal schools, Hamka lived with his grandmother in a house south of
Maninjau. When he was six years old, he moved with his father to Padang Panjang, West
Sumatera. Following common tradition in Minang, as a child he studied the Quran and slept in a
mosque which is near the place where he lives, because Minang boys did not have a place to
sleep in the house. In the mosque, he studied the Quran and silek, while outside it, he likes to
listen to kaba, the stories which are sung along with traditional Minangkabau music. Interaction
with these storyteller artists gave him knowledge of the art of storytelling and word processing.
Later, through his novels, Hamka often plucks vocabulary and Minang terms. Like the writer
who was born in the realm of Minang, rhymes and proverbs adorn his works.

In 1915, even after the age of seven, he enrolled in a village school (Sekolah Rakyat) and studied
general science such as numeracy and literacy. At those times, as considered by Hamka himself,
as one of the beautiful eras in his life. In the morning, he rushed off to school so that he can play
before class started. Then after school, he would go play again with his friends, such as hide and
seek, wrestling, chasing after one another, like the other kids his age played. Two years later,
while still learning every morning at the village school, he also studied in Diniyah School every
afternoon. But since his father enrolled him in Sumatera Thawalib in 1918, he could no longer
attend classes at the village school. He quit after graduating two classes. After that, he studied at
the Diniyah School every morning, while in the afternoon and evening studying in Thawalib
back at the mosque. Those are young Hamka's activities every day, something which, as he
admitted, not fun and curbed the freedom of his childhood.

While studying in Thawalib, he was not considered as a smart child, he even often did not attend
in a few days because he felt bored and chose to seek knowledge in his own way. He preferred to
be in a library owned by his public teacher, Zainuddin Labay El Yunusy rather than messing
around with lessons that he must memorize in class. In the library, he was free to read a variety
of books, even some he borrowed to be taken home. However, because of the books he had
borrowed have nothing to do with lessons in Thawalib, he was scolded by his father when he was
caught busy reading Kaba Cindua Mato. His father said, "Are you going to be a pious person or
become a storyteller?"
In an effort to prove himself to his father and as a result of his contact with the books he was
reading about the appeal of Central Java, causing Hamka to be very interested to migrate to the
island of Java. At the same time, he was no longer interested in completing education at
Thawalib. After studying for four years, he decided to get out of Thawalib, while the school's
educational program is designed for seven years. He came out without obtaining a diploma. In
those days after that, Hamka was taken to Parabek, about 5 km from the Bukittinggi in 1922 to
learn with Sheikh Ibrahim Musa, but did not last long. He preferred to follow his heart to seek
knowledge and experience in his own way. He decided to leave for Java. However, the first
attempt was discovered by his father.

Hamka has ventured into a number of places in Minangkabau since he was a teenager, he was
nicknamed by his father as "The Faraway Kid" (Si Bujang Jauh). At the age of 15, after
experiencing an event that shook his soul, the divorce of his parents, Hamka decided to go to
Java after learning that Islam in Java is more advanced than in Minangkabau, especially in terms
of movement and organization. But when he was in Bengkulu, smallpox stroke him, so that after
about two months of being in the bed, he decided to return to Padang Panjang. Even so, his
intention to go to Java was not diminished. In 1924, a year after recovering from smallpox, he
departed to Java.

Arriving in Java, Hamka went to Yogyakarta and settled in the house of his father's younger
brother, Amrullah Ja'far. Through his uncle, he got the opportunity to follow the discussions and
trainings organized by Islamic movements, Muhammadiyah and Sarekat Islam. In addition of
studying with the Islamic movements, he also expanded his views in the disruption of Islam's
progress by Christianization and communism. While in Java, he was active in various social and
religious activities. On many occasions, he studied to Bagoes Hadikoesoemo, HOS
Tjokroaminoto, Abdul Rozak Fachruddin, and Suryopranoto. Before returning to Minangkabau,
he had wandered into Bandung and met with Masjumi leaders such as Ahmad Hassan and
Mohammad Natsir, which gave him the opportunity to learn to write in the magazine Islam
Defenders (Pembela Islam). Subsequently in 1925, he went to Pekalongan, East Java to meet
Sutan Mansur Ahmad Rashid, who was the chairman of Muhammadiyah, Pekalongan branch at
the time, and learn Islam to him. While in Pekalongan, he stayed at his brother's house and
started giving religious talk in some places.

In his first wandering in Java, he claimed to have a new spirit in studying Islam. He also saw no
difference between Islamic reformation mission in Minangkabau and Java. The reformation in
Minangkabau is aimed at the purification of Islam who is considered one of the practices, such as
congregation, imitation, and khurafat, while in Java is more focused to the effort of combat of
backwardness, ignorance and poverty.

After his marriage to Sitti Raham, Hamka Muhammadiyah branch is active in the management
of Minangkabau, whose origin stems from the association Joints bakalnya Safe founded by his
father in 1925 in Batang River. In addition, he had become the head of Tablighi School, a
religious school founded Muhammadiyah on January 1, 1930.

Since attending the congress of Muhammadiyah in Solo in 1928, Hamka never missed attending
congresses next Muhammadiyah. Upon his return from Solo, he began to assume various
positions, until finally he was appointed as Chairman of Muhammadiyah branch of Padang
Panjang. After the 19th Muhammadiyah Congress in Bukittinggi in 1930, followed by the next
congress in Yogyakarta, he meets an invitation to set up a branch of Muhammadiyah in
Bengkalis. Subsequently in 1932, he was sent by Muhammadiyah to Makassar in order to
prepare and move the spirit of the people to welcome the Muhammadiyah Congress to-21 in
Makassar. While in Makassar, he had published Al-Mahdi, the Islamic science magazine,
published once a month. In 1934, a year after attending a congress of Muhammadiyah in
Semarang, he was made a permanent member of the Council of Muhammadiyah Council for the
region Central Sumatra.

Muhammadiyah increasingly uphill career when he moved to Medan. In 1942, along with the fall
of the Dutch East Indies to the Japanese colonial power, Hamka was elected as leader of East
Sumatra Muhammadiyah to replace H. Mohammad Said. But in December 1945, he decided to
return to the Minangkabau and the release position. The following year, he was elected Chairman
of the Assembly of West Sumatra Muhammadiyah leaders replace SY Sutan Mangkuto. This
position he embraces until 1949.

In 1953, he was elected as the leader of the center Muhammadyiah Muhammadiyah Congress to-
32 at Purwokerto. Since then, he has always chosen the Muhammadiyah Congress further, until
in 1971 he pleaded not elected because he was senile. However, he was still appointed as an
adviser to the central leadership of Muhammadiyah until the end.