Biography of Shaykh Mahfudz Termas (Part-1)

 

Biography of Shaykh Mahfudz Termas (Part-1)

Islam Nusantara as a variant of the interpretation of Islam that combines the values ​​of Islamic teachings with local culture gets more space and sympathy from the Indonesian people. This can be seen from the tendency of Muslims in Indonesia to uphold cultural values ​​and local wisdom. As we all know that in the history of the spread of Islam by Wali Songo, the path of wisdom was taken to reduce community resistance, which at that time was still very thick with Hindu and Buddhist culture.

After the formation of the network of archipelago scholars in Mecca, which was pioneered by Sheikh Yusuf al-Makasari in the 16th century AD, then strengthened by Sheikh Khatib al-Mingkabawi (Minangkabau) and Sheikh Khatib al-Sambas (Sambas) made the achievements of the archipelago scholars increasingly high in the field of education. Islamic science and thought. In this paper the author will not discuss one by one the biographies of the existing Nusantara scholars, but the author will focus on one of the influential scholars in several fields of Islamic disciplines such as the science of the Qur'an, hadith, fiqh, and ushul fiqh, namely KH. Mahfudz Termas or Sheikh Mahfudz Termas.

The author's tendency to comment on the biography of Sheikh Mahfudz Termas is based on two reasons, the first being an internal reason, namely Islam Nusantara. The second reason is an external reason, namely his expertise in the field of jurisprudence, so according to the author's view, the big name KH. Mahfudz Termas deserves to be equated with Ibnu Hajar al-Haitami who is the ideological son of Sheikhul Islam Zakaria al-Anshari who is none other than Mujtahid Fatwa Madzhab Syafii. The views above are not without scientific references and logical arguments, many references are behind the writer, one of which is his phenomenal work entitled "Hasyiah al-Tirmisi al-Musammah al-Manhal al-Amim bi Hasyiah al-Manhaj al- Qawim wa Mauhibah dzi al-fadl ala Syarhil Allamah Ibni Hajar al-Haitami".

Mahfudz Termas whose full name is al-Imam al-Allamah al-faqih al-Ushuli al-Muhaddits al-Muqri Muhammad Mahfudz bin Abdullah bin Abd. Mannan al-Termasi al-Jawi al-Indonesi was born in one of the villages called Termas, Pacitan, East Java, Indonesia on 12 J. Tsani 1285 H. At the time of KH. Mahfudz Termas was born, he could only see his mother, because his father, Sheikh Abdullah was not by his side because he was in Makkah.

However, KH. Little Mahfudz Termas grew up under the guidance of his mother and aunt in a religious environment. Thanks to the guidance of the mother who cares so much about her child's education, it is not surprising that at such a young age, KH. Mahfudz Termas easily memorizes the Qur'an. Not only that, thanks to his perseverance in learning, in a relatively short period of time, the basics of religious knowledge he learned from several teachers around his residence could be mastered well.

In 1291 H. KH. Mahfudz Termas went to Mecca and studied several scientific disciplines from the masyaykhs, but it did not last long, because a few years later he returned to Java and studied with KH. Salih Darat in Semarang. According to historical data, while studying at KH. The Salih Darat, KH. Mahfudz Termas had one halaqah with one of the national heroes, namely RA Kartini and several other figures.

After feeling enough to learn from KH. Saleh Darat, KH. Mahfudz Termas returned to Mecca again. It was here that he strengthened his intellectual journey by learning from some leading scholars, such as Sheikh Abu Bakar Syatha al-Dhimyathi. In the author's view, from Sheikh Abu Bakar Syata al-Dhimyathi this is the ideology of KH. Mahfudz Termas was formed. Because when viewed from his way of thinking about jurisprudence, then Sheikh Abu Bakar Syata is a highly respected scholar of Shafi'i jurisprudence. His great works are widely studied in some Islamic pesantren and colleges in Indonesia. The work in question is I'anatut Thalibin Syarah Fathul Mu'in .

Apparently the thirst of KH. Mahfudz Termas of knowledge is not only in the area of ​​fiqh. Of the many works that have been published in the form of books and books, all of them are varied and consist of various scientific disciplines. One of the sciences that he studied was the science of hadith. This is the reason behind the sincerity of KH. Mahfudz Termas in collecting several transmissions of sanad.