The History of Islamic Education of Salafi in Tanah Melayu
(1820-1950)
Siti Marpuah
1
, Shakila Ahmad
2
Lecturer at Department of Islamic Studies, Centre for General Studies and Co-curricular,
Universitas Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia
1
Lecturer at Department of Islamic Studies, Centre for General Studies and Co-curricular,
Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia
2
{marpuah@uthm.edu.my
1
, shakila@uthm.edu.my
2
}
Abstract. Islamic education Salafi / Pondok is the foundation of the construction
of human civilization in the past. In the Muslim community in Tanah Melayu,
especially in the Johor-Riau area, there are many forms of scholarship inherited
from the old generation to the new generation. This includes Salafi's Islamic
education which consists of the study of classical books, studies based on the
manuscripts of the yellow books or jawi writing texts in the Riau district of Riau.
These books will break the various Islamic disciplines such as books of
Jurisprudence, Aqidah, Sufism, Shari'a, Muamalat and so on. In this period the
process of Islamization of science gave birth to Islamic Malay characters, the
body of Islamist movements such as the tarikat and emerging institution of
pondok which gave birth to figure and ulama in Johor Riau which then spread in
the archipelago and Malaya. This study will focus more on the history of Islamic
education of salafi in Johor Riau especially and in Malaya in general.
Keywords: Salafi Islamic Education, Classical Books, Malay Islamic Figures
1. Introduction
Islam is a universal religion that comes from Allah SWT to all people. It gives light to
humans in shaping civilization towards perfection based on the guidance of the divine
revelation, while not setting aside the role of human reason. The light of Islam was felt by the
people in the Malay world when it started to spread Islam. This effort has yielded results that
can be witnessed to this day because the task of spreading Islam is entrusted to every Muslim,
irrespective of race, color, posterity,and position. Hence, Muslims are all around the world and
are made up of various races and colors.
The arrival of Islam has brought renewal to the life of a different Malay society with the
establishment of a new Islamic-based civilization[1]. In the era of traditional Islamic education
in Johor Riau, only in the reign of Raja Ali Ibni Raja Jaafar Yang Dipertuan Muda Riau 8th
only emphasized on religion. He has built many Islamic education centers and invited scholars
to teach in Riau. He also frequently sought advice from his cousins who were proficient in
religious knowledge especially Raja Ali Haji, the son of Raja Haji Ahmad ibni Raja Haji.
That study related to Salafi Islamic education in Johor-Riau districts needs to be done
because to know how the actual development of Islamic education in Johor Riau. The
WESTECH 2018, December 08, Medan, Indonesia
Copyright © 2019 EAI
DOI 10.4108/eai.8-12-2018.2283991