Wali Songo

Introduction of
Wali Songo
History

The Wali Sanga (also transcribed as Wali Songo) 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 songo is Javanese for the number nine. Thus, the term is often translated as "9 saints".

Each man is often attributed the title sunan in Javanese, which may derive from suhun, in this context meaning "honoured".

Most of the wali were also called raden during their lifetimes, because they were members of royal houses. (See "Style and Title" section of Yogyakarta Sultanate for an explanation of Javanese nobility terms.)

The graves of Wali Sanga are venerated as locations of ziarah (ziyarat) or local pilgrimage in Java. The graves are also known as pundhen in Javanese.

Origins

Some Muslim mystics came to Java from Gujarat, India via Samudera Pasai (part of what is now Aceh). The earliest wali songo was Maulana Malik Ibrahim (originally from Samarkand) who arrived on Java in 1419 CE.
Tracing the lineage back further than Maulana Malik Ibrahim is problematic. Although silsila are listed in various Javanese royal chronicles (such as Sejarah Banten) to denote ancestral lineage, the term in Sufism refers to a lineage of teachers. Some of these spiritual lineages are cited by van Bruinessen in his study of the Banten Sultanate, particularly in regard to Sunan Gunung Jati who was an initiate of various Sufi orders.
Although popular belief sometimes refers to the wali songo 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 CE).
Most of the wali songo had some Chinese ancestry; for example, Sunan Ampel (Chinese name Bong Swi Ho), Sunan Bonang (Ampel's son, Bong Ang), and Sunan Kalijaga (Gan Si Cang).

Synopsis

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: "The most probable explanation is that there was a loose council of nine religious leaders, and that as older members retired or passed away, new members were brought into this council." However, it should be borne in mind that the term "wali songo" 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.
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 blood relationship.

• Maulana Malik Ibrahim also called Sunan Gresik: Arrived on Java 1404 CE, died in 1419 CE, 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 in 1401 CE, died in 1481 CE in Demak, Central Java. Can be considered a focal point of the wali songo: 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 CE. 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 CE in Rembang (near Tuban) on the north coast of Central Java. Died in 1525 CE. Brother of Sunan Drajat. Composed songs for gamelan orchestra.

• Sunan Drajat: Born in 1470 CE. Brother of Sunan Bonang. Composed songs for gamelan orchestra.

• Sunan Kudus: Died 1550 CE, buried in Kudus. Possible originator of wayang golek puppetry.

• Sunan Kalijaga: Buried in Kadilangu. 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), thus grandson of Maulana Ishak.

• Sunan Gunung Jati: Buried in Cirebon. Founder and first ruler of the Banten Sultanate.

Sunan Maulana Malik Ibrahim

Sunan Maulana Malik Ibrahim or Makdum Ibrahim As-Samarkandy (also known as Syeikh Maghribi or Sunan Gresik) was an Uzbek who arrived on Java island in 1404 and worked at Gresik and Leran until his death in 1419. He was also known as Kakek Bantal. He founded the first Islamic school or pesantren in Java. He was a brother of Maulana Ishak, who was the father of Sunan Giri and a scholar in Samudra Pasai near modern Aceh. Malik Ibrahim is generally considered the earliest of the Wali Sanga, nine mystics who propagated Islam on the island of Java.
Ibrahim and Ishak were both sons of a Persian Ulama called Maulana Jumadil Kubro who resided in Samarkhand. It is strongly believed that Maulana Jumadil Kubro was the tenth generation of Hussein bin Ali (grandson of Muhammad) through Ali al-Uraidhi ibn Ja'far al-Sadiq.
Maulana Malik Ibrahim lived for 13 years in Champa (approximately the southern half of what is now Vietnam) beginning in 1379 CE. He married a princess and had two sons Raden Rahmat Sunan Ampel and Sayid Ali Murtadha (aka Raden Santri).
After arriving on Java, he engaged in small business by opening a small shop selling sundries and treated sick people in the community. He taught people of new techniques in agriculture and accepted people of lower castes outcasted by Hinduism.
Maulana Malik Ibrahim was laid to rest in 1419 A.D in Gapura, Gresik, East Java.

Sunan Ampel

Sunan Ampel (also Raden Rakhmat)  was one of Wali Songo, who spread Islam in Java. He can be considered a focal point of the wali songo, because several of them were descended from him and/or studied with him.
Local legend says that he built the great mosque of Demak Masjid Agung Demak in 1479 CE , but other legends attribute that work to Sunan Kalijaga.

Genealogy

A long lineage  indicates that Sunan Ampel was a descendant of Ahmad al-Muhajir, a Hadhramaut saint who migrated from Basra (now in Iraq) to Yemen to avoid strife during the Abbasid Caliphate.
However, another theory claims that Sunan Ampel had Chinese ancestry and identifies him as Bong Swi Hoo.
The two theories are not mutually exclusive, because Muslims from China interacted extensively with southeast Asia during the time of Zheng He. It was also common for a Muslim man to marry a local woman when settling far from his country of origin.
The father of Sunan Ampel was Maulana Malik Ibrahim also known as Ibrahim as-Samarkandy ("Ibrahim Asmarakandi" to Javanese ears). His mother was a princess of Champa and Sunan Ampel was born there in 1401 CE.
Sunan Ampel came to Java in 1443 CE, possibly to visit his aunt Dwarawati, a princess of Champa who was married to Kertawijaya, the king of Majapahit.
Sunan Ampel married Nyi Gede Manila, daughter of a Chinese captain at Tuban named Gan Eng Cu. This marriage produced several children: sons Sunan Bonang and Sunan Drajat became wali songo; daughter Syarifah became the wife of Sunan Ngudung and the mother of Sunan Kudus ; and another daughter became the first wife of Raden Patah and mother to Trenggana, who succeeded his father as leader of the Sultanate of Demak.
Some sources suggest that Raden Patah was the cousin of Sunan Ampel.
Sunan Ampel died in Demak in 1481 CE.

Activities

Teacher of Sunan Giri and Raden Patah.

Sunan Giri

Sunan Giri (also called Raden Paku or Joko Samudra), Muhammad Ainul Yakin (born 1442 CE in Blambangan (now Banyuwangi) is considered to be one of the Wali Sanga of Indonesia.

History

He was the son of Dewi Sekardadu and Maulana Ishak of Melaka (brother of Maulana Malik Ibrahim), but later adopted as a son by Nyai Semboja (a female merchant). A traditional story says that he was the son of a Hindu princess, who had come to Blambangan as a missionary. The princess was forced to abandon him in a crisis and set him adrift on the ocean in a small boat, from which he was rescued by sailors, a story reminiscent of the Biblical Moses. (see Sejarah Banten).

Education and contributions

As a young man Sunan Giri studied in the school of Sunan Ampel, whose daughter he eventually married, and where Raden Patah was his fellow student.
He later established his own school in Desa Sidomukti at Southern Gresik in East Java—a location from which he got his name ("Giri" means "hill"). The Islamic School which he established was not only an institute of religious studies, but also center for various local civic activities and social development.

Political leadership

The king of Majapahit granted Giri the authority to expand his role in political leadership, which later on to lead to the greater development of the school, popularly known as Giri Kedaton. Sunan Giri was also known as Prabu Satmata, due to his remarkable record.
Sunan Giri foretold the rise of Mataram, and spread Islam to Lombok, Sulawesi, and Maluku. He was a proponent of orthodox Islam, and disapproved of innovation (much like "modernist" Islamic scholars of the 1800s and 1900s).

Later history of the Giri Kedaton school

Giri Kedaton, as a center of religious and political authority led by century head Pangeran Singosari was known for his most persistent resistance to the Dutch VOC and to Amangkurat II, who collaborated with the Dutch colonization efforts.
The creation of popular children's toys and games such as Jelungan, Jamuran, lir-ilir and Cublak Suweng is attributed to Sunan Giri. His name is also associated with Gending Asmaradana and Pucung (Javanese poetry)—although they had been mostly influenced by pre-Islamic Javanese beliefs and traditions, but show signs of eventual Islamization.

Sunan Bonang

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sunan Bonang, whose real name was Raden Maulana Makdum Ibrahim, was born in Tuban, East Java in 1465 CE and died in 1525 CE at Pulau Bawean.
He was one of the Wali Songo, along with his father Sunan Ampel and his brother Sunan Drajat.
He was a descendant of Majapahit nobility in Tuban and a Chinese captain named Gan Eng Cu. . After becoming a prominent ulama, he tried to make ordinary Javanese familiar with Islam. He achieved it through art.
He changed traditional Javanese songs, which had been heavily influenced by Hindu philosophy, and incorporated Islamic thought. He also employed gamelan as medium of Islamic learning. One of his teachings is Tombo Ati, which literally mean 'Cures of the Heart.'

Sunan Drajat

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sunan Drajat was born in 1470 CE. He was one of the Wali Songo, along with his father Sunan Ampel and his brother Sunan Bonang.
He was a descendant of Majapahit nobility in Tuban and a Chinese captain named Gan Eng Cu. .
Like his brother, he composed gamelan songs as a means for spreading Islamic teachings on Java. One example was the tune Gending 'Pangkur'.
In 1502 CE, he built the masjid in the village of Jelag in Paciran (north of Surabaya)

Sunan Kudus

Sunan Kudus (or Ja'far Shadiq, died 1550), founder of Kudus, is considered to be one of the Wali Sanga of Java, Indonesia
He is said to have originated the wayang golek, and founded the masjid at Kudus using (it is said) the doors from the palace of Majapahit.

History

He was born Jaafar As-Sadiq, the son of Sunan Ngudung and Syarifah (sibling of Sunan Bonang), thus the grandson of Sunan Ampel. It is said that he was a son of an Egyptian sultan who migrated to Java. In the Sultanate of Demak, he was appointed commander of the army. He went forth with Sultan Prawata, battling against Adipati Jipang, Arya Penangsang.

 Activities

He learned a lot from Sunan Kalijaga and apply most of the methods in dawah taught by Kalijaga. Kudus then fled to Central Java to the most empty place there such as Sragen, Simo and also Gunung Kidul.
He was so tolerant to the local culture and even more softer than the other wali up to the point that if someone said to have be having difficulty making dawah in Kudus they will refer back to Sunan Kudus as the most successful person in this area. He makes good use of the symbols appeared in Hinduism and Buddhism and manifested it into architecture especially mosques, minarets, entrance gates and ablutions symbolizing the Noble Eightfold Path of Buddhism.
On one occasion he deliberately called the locals to listen to his sermon by tying his cow named "Kebo Gumarang" in the mosque courtyard, the Hindus whom revered cows as their deity soon became sympathetic after listening to the explanation made by him in Sura al-Baqara. Up until then those people in Kudus refuse to slaughter bulls and cows because of their ancient beliefs in the sanctity of cows.
Sunan Kudus also complied stories on tawhid into series and made the crowd became enthusiastic in listening to those stories. This is the Javanese version of 1001 Arabian Nights prior to The Book of One Thousand and One Nights during the Abassid Caliphate.

References

1. ^ Wali Songo: The Nine Walis

Sunan Kalijaga

Sunan Kalijaga
Sunan Kalijaga (1460–?), born as Raden Mas Said son of a Regent of Tuban in East Java, Indonesia, was one of the "nine saints" of Islam (Wali Sanga). Initially a grass salesman, the "Kalijaga" title was derived from an orchard known as "Kalijaga" in Cirebon. Other accounts suggest the name derives from his hobby of submerging himself in Kali ("river" in Javanese). Others note that the name Kalijaga derived its nature from the Arabic notion of qadli dzaqa which means "holy leader" in the sultanate.
He was a close friend of Sunan Gunungjati, and is said to have lived to the age of one hundred. He witnessed the downfall of Majapahit, the kingdoms of Demak, Cirebon, Banten, and Pajang which in 1546 A.D.
Among his missionary activities (da'wah), he built two mosques, Masjid Agung Cirebon and Masjid Agung Demak. His main mentor was Sunan Bonang, another of the Wali Sanga. Kalijaga's beliefs and teaching are more sufistic than salaf, applying arts and culture as medium for his dawah. He was also tolerant to local tradition. His exegesis from the Quranic perspective led him to believe that people will keep away from dakwah if their personality is questioned. In this premise one should consider a step by step approach to his people by the principle of following yet influencing. To him, if Islam is truly/fully understood, then people will gradually give up their old habits.
This method can be seen in Indonesian artworks, particularly in carvings, shadow puppets (wayang kulit), gamelan (javanese traditional musical performance), and singing. From this idea he popularized Baju Takwa (a traditional dress custom for Indonesian Moslem), Sekatenan (a festivity), and Grebeg Maulud, amongst others.
Sunan Kalijaga was buried in Kadilangu south of Demak.

Babad Tanah Jawi ("History of the land of Java")

In the Babad Tanah Jawi, a chronicle of large Javanese manuscripts, there are no formal signs of Sunan Kalijaga's conversion to Islam so it is not clear if Kalijaga is already Muslim at the time of his "conversion". In this legend, he is said to be the son of Tumenggung Wilatikta, and in the service of the Majapahit empire, and Kalijaga whose religion is unspecified but has the Arabic name "Said". Following gambling losses, Said resorts to highway robbery on the north coast of Java. Sunan Bonang one day passes and is pulled up by Said. Bonang suggests it would be better for Said to rob a person who will later pass dressed in blue with a red hibiscus behind his ear. Three days later, this person passes, and is Bonang in disguise. Said attacks, but Bonang turns himself into four persons, traumatising Bonang such that he becomes an ascetic. He takes the name "Kalijaga", becomes a wali and marries the sister of Sunan Gunungjati.

Sunan Murya

Sunan Murya (or Muria) is, according to the Babad Tanah Jawi ("History of the land of Java") manuscripts, one of the Wali Sanga ("Nine Saints") involved in propagating Islam in Indonesia.
He was born as Raden Umar Said, as the son of Sunan Kalijaga and Dewi Soejinah (sister of Sunan Giri). Therefore, he is the grandson of Maulana Ishak, a notable scholar from Pasai and also brother of Maulana Malik Ibrahim . Maulana Malik Ibrahim was the pioneer of Islam in Java, father of Sunan Ampel , and grandfather of Sunan Bonang and Sunan Dradjad.
A big distinction of Sunan Muria - apart from the other Sunans - is his very-close-relationship to common people. He tend to spread his teaching in rural and remote areas, including teaching local people in agriculture, fishery, and other things.
His name is used as the name of the nearby mountain, Mt. Muria.

Sunan Gunungjati

Sunan Gunungjati (1448-1580) was a Javanese wali who founded the city of Cirebon and the Banten Sultanate. Born as Syarif Hidayatullah in AD 1448, he was the son of Nyai Rara Santang, who was the daughter of Prabu Siliwangi (the ruler of Sunda kingdom). His father was Syarif Abdullah Maulana Huda, a leader in Egypt of Hashimite descendant from Palestine.
Sunan Gunungjati worked at Demak and Banten, and was the founder of Banten Sultanate. Many stories say that he was originally from Pasai in Aceh, others say that he was from Pajajaran (the capital of Sunda Kingdom) in West Java. He married the sister of Sultan Trenggono of Demak, and led military expeditions for Demak against Banten, a port of Sunda Kingdom (which was still Hindu at that time). As "Fatahillah" he defeated the Portuguese when they tried to take Sunda Kelapa (now Jakarta) in 1527.
Some stories have Sunan Gunungjati active around the 1470s and 1480s, under the name "Hidayatullah". Other stories have him active around the 1520s, and associate him with the name "Fatahillah". In the 1480s he would have been the grandson of the king of Sunda Kingdom from Pajajaran. In the late 1520s he would have fought the Portuguese near what is today Jakarta. The problem is that some stories say that he died in 1568, by which time he would have been as old as 120 years! Some scholars think that there may have been more than one Gunungjati.

Education

Syarif Hidayatullah studied Islam through venerated scholars in Egypt during his fourteen years of living and travelled to many countries including Indonesia. Egypt is not his only place of learning, as naturally he must have done his pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina and at the same time, met and studied under the various scholars which must have included Sufis.

Leadership

During the dawn of the Kingdom of Bintoro in Demak, he, under the patronage of the ulama established the kingdom of Cirebon known as Kingdom of Pakungwati. He was the only Sunan to have become a king. Gunungjati fully utilizes his kingship to propagate Islam along the coastal area of Cirebon to the most remote area of Pasundan or Priangan.

Da'wah

In his da'wah he upheld the strict methodology propagated by the sheikhs in the middle east but still remained close to the local people by developing basic infrastructures for them and built road connecting the isolated provinces.
He and his prince Maulana Hasanuddin went into several expeditions particularly in Banten. The leader there then voluntarily submit the leadership to him but eventually was appointed as the new leader of the province which later became the kingdom of Banten.
During his 89 year old age he started to focus on dawah and began appointing a new successor. Pangeran Pasarean later became the new king.

 Death

In 1580 Sunan Gunungjati died at the age of 120 in Cirebon. He was buried in Gunung Sembung, Gunung Jati, around 15 kilometer from Cirebon to the west.

References

1. ^ Sejarah Indonesia: Wali Songo