A preliminary note on the Dayah Tanoh Abee

Abstract

This paper describes the famous zawiyahs called as Dayah Tanoh Abee (DTA) located in Seulimum, a subdistrict of Banda Aceh. Its importance is considered to be based on its founding fathers’ origin, the connection between the Aceh Darussalam Sultanate and the Ottoman Empire, and its contribution to the Islamization of Southeast Asia . This article also analyses the role of the Ottoman Empire’s geography in this regard. The argument contained herein is grounded on my interview of the DTA’s last leader. Al-Firus al-Baghdadî, the DTA’s founder, and six othe Islamic scholars migrated from Baghdad, the seat of the former Abbāsid Empire and site of great symbolic value, to Aceh in 1627. This fact is important, because Baghdad at that time was an Ottoman province. He and his three brothers settled near Banda Aceh and began teaching. The Aceh Darussalam Sultanate was ruled by Sultan Iskandar Muda (1607-1636), who was doing his best to build relationships with other Islamic countries, especially those in the Middle East, to bolster economic and military ties and make progress in developing the religious sciences. He therefore encouraged scholars to come to Aceh, visit other Islamic regions, write on Islamic jurisprudence and other subjects, and implement Islamic law in his sultanate. As a distinguished example of his approach, he appointed Shamsuddin Sumatranî as Syaikh ul-Islam. Ever since its establishment, the DTA has been a leading center of such distinctive Sūfi orders as Naqshbandiyyah and Shattariyya. Moreover, the invaluable manuscripts held in its library have given it a distinguished status in Southeast Asia. After finishing their education in the zāwiyah, many of the local and regional students embarked upon their own travels to proselytize other Southeast Asian peoples by founding their own religious education centres. During this nearly four-hundred-year process, the DTA became known as one of the Southeast Asia’s leading religious teaching centers and possessor of its oldest manuscript library.