Sunan Ampel, biography of Sunan Ampel in Indonesia

Sunan Ampel, biography of Sunan Ampel, history of Sunan Ampel, and the story of Sunan Ampel as a preacher's guardian in politics

Traces of his da'wah are very well known, ranging from the relics of the Great Mosque of Demak to the teachings of Moh Limo which are adapted to the conditions of the local community. Sunan Ampel whose full name is Raden Muhammad Ali Rahmatullah or Raden Rahmat, was born in Champa (Cambodia) around 1401. He is a descendant of nobility, the son of the great scholar Sheikh Maulana Malik Ibrahim, as well as the nephew of the King of Majapahit. Because of the political turmoil in Champa, around the 15th century, Raden Rahmat traveled to Java to fulfill his mission of spreading Islam. On his way to Java, Raden Rahmat stopped in Palembang and succeeded in converting the Duke of Palembang Arya Damar, who had secretly changed his name to Ario Abdillah. He also stopped in Tuban and anchored in Majapahit. Because of his good relationship with the King of Majapahit at that time, Prabu Brawijaya, Raden Rahmat was given a plot of land in Ampeldenta, Surabaya. It was there that the first base of Raden Rahmat's da'wah was established. Because he spread Islam in the Ampeldenta area, he was known as Sunan Ampel. In the Surabaya area, his da'wah began by establishing the Ampeldenta Islamic boarding school, where he educated cadres of Islamic propagators. Among the famous students of Sunan Ampel were Sunan Giri, Raden Patah, Raden Kusen, Sunan Bonang, and Sunan Drajat. The Islamic da'wah carried out by Sunan Ampel coincided with the weak position of the Majapahit kingdom. Although Prabu Brawijaya refused to convert to Islam, he respected Sunan Ampel's position and allowed his preaching, as long as it was not carried out by coercion. Before building the pesantren, Sunan Ampel attracted the attention of the community by distributing handicrafts in the form of a fan made of roots and rattan chicken. For those who want to take it, there is no need to exchange it for money, but with two sentences of creed. Regarding the condition of the people at that time, many of them adhered to animism, meditating, gambling cockfights, drinking liquor, and so on which were contrary to Islamic teachings. For this reason, Sunan Ampel emphasized the principle of Moh Limo in his da'wah as follows: Moh Main (don't gamble) Moh Ngombe (not drunk) Moh Maling (don't steal) Moh Madat (does not smoke opium) Moh Madon (no adultery) In addition, Sunan Ampel also brought the term Islam closer to the language of the local community. The word "salat" is replaced with "prayer" (originally: worship and nyang ). Places of worship are also not called musala but “violating”, similar to the word “studio”. Then, the student of knowledge is given the name santri, which comes from shastri , namely people who know the Hindu scriptures (Nur Hamiyatun, Journal of Islamic Da'wah and Communication , Vol. 5(1), 2019). Sunan Ampel's Islamic da'wah is also through political channels. In the book Atlas Wali Songo (2016) written by Agus Sunyoto, Sunan Ampel served as the ruler of Surabaya replacing the previous ruler, Arya Lembu Sura died (P. 197). Sunan Ampel also established a network of da'wah and kinship through the marriage of the sons and daughters of Islamic propagators with the Majapahit rulers. For example, Retna Panjawati, daughter of Arya Lembu Sura who is Muslim, married Prabu Brawijaya. Mas Murtosimah, daughter of Sunan Ampel was married to Raden Patah (Adipati Demak), and so on. In Demak, which is the area of ​​Sunan Ampel's preaching, together with Raden Patah and the local rulers, he founded the Great Mosque of Demak. The name Sunan Ampel is immortalized as the name of one of the four pillars of the mosque. From the family side, Sunan Ampel has two wives, namely Nyai Ageng Manila or Ni Gede Manila, daughter of Tumenggung Wilatika and Mas Karimah, daughter of Ki Wiro Suryo. From his two wives, Sunan Ampel has seven children, including Maulana Makdum Ibrahim (Sunan Bonang) and Syarifuddin (Sunan Drajat). Sunan Ampel is estimated to have died in 1481 in Demak. He was buried west of the Ampel mosque, Surabaya.