Hamka was an influential Indonesian Islamic scholar who made many contributions through his long career as a writer, journalist, Islamic preacher, politician, and academic. He authored over 100 books on topics including history, literature, religion and politics. During his life he held many leadership roles including as the chairman of Muhammadiyah and the Council of Islamic Scholars of Indonesia. Hamka lived through the Japanese occupation of Indonesia, the revolution for independence, and the early years of the independent nation, using his writings to provide guidance to Muslims during changing political eras.

1. HAMKA
Shahirah Shaharuddin | Raudah | Ezzra | Sara Husna

2. Slide’s Content
1. Insight of Hamka’s Life
2. The works of Hamka during his lifetime
3. His contributions throughout different era(s)

3. 1
Insight of
Hamka’s Life
Let’s start with the first set of slides

4. “• Haji Abd al-Malik Karam Amrullah (acronym- HAMKA)
• February 16th, 1908 in Maningjau, Minangkabau, Indonesia
• Hope of family to become an alim, to succeed his father
• Enrolled in Daniyyah school, no subjects caught his interest, was
uncontrollable by teachers
• Only interested in Al-Araa (prosody)- syi’ir (poetry) & manaeiq
(syllogism), establish his strong Arabic foundation as it was easy for him
to memorise
• 12 years old : spent time in library reading foreign non-religious novels
• Affected psychologically: divorce of his parents; custom to marry,
divorce and remarry and he was rebellious against this custom
• 1923 (15 years old) - went to Java for more non-religious readings but
was sick on the way there so he went again the next year
• Encountered “new” Islam – address modern social and cultural
problems, unlike the dogmatic and rigid teachings in Minangkabau

5. •June 1925: back to Minangkabau as a more confident person and more aggressive
in his speech; result of meeting different scholars and involved in different
organizations
•Criticised for lacking in Arabic grammar and verbs, flew to Makkah in 1927 to
gain more complete knowledge in Islam
•1928: back to Minangkabau but not to his home as his father’s criticism haunts him, accepted
a job in Medan as a religious teacher and journalist
•After meeting with St Mansur, consented to go home
•1929: married long time fiancée, Siti Raham. He was 22, she was 15. Lasted til she died 1972.
•Received degree from Al-Azhar, Cairo in 1958 (aged 50) and National University of Malaysia
in 1974 (aged 66)
•“Man of the Year” 1980 by Berita Buana
•Great career as journalist, Islamic preacher, politician, alim and prolific writer

6. 2
The Works
of Hamka
Let’s move on to the second set

7. not interested
in traditional
subjects
taught in
religious
school
not favoured
by the
traditional
‘ulama
preferred
reading
subjects (e.g
history,
poetry,
literature)
his books on
literature &
history >
books on
religious
sciences
Hamka’s Preference

8. Hamka’s Career
 Editor and Author :
edited magazine, Khatib al-Ummah and journal, Pedoman Masyarakat
 Preacher :
for Muhammadiyah
 Writer :
wrote more than 100 books and poetry
 Director :
for Kuliyyah Muballighan

9. Title of the book Summary
Si Sabariah (1929) About a mother who demanded her daughter get a
divorce and marry a richer man
Layla Majnun (1932) Modelled after the famous Arabic romance
Di Bawah Lindungan Kaabah (1936) About a young man forced to leave his lover
because of Nadat
Tenggelamnya Kapal Van Der Wijck (1938)
Merantau ke Deli (1939)
About the criticized the practice of Nadat in
Minangkabau.
Tuan Direktor (1939) It contrasts the character of businessmen and the
simple and pious Muslim
Hamka’s Books

10. Hamka’s Books; History
 he chose a historical approach for many of his writings
 gathers all available data and then gives his own analysis at the end
 has been criticized for seldom mentioning his sources and, in narrative,
being less than critical about what is narrated
 his historical works are lively and always have the practical goal of teaching
something to the readers
 must be understood in the context of his own purpose, his intended
audience, as well as the above perspective

11. Title About the book Type
First
Publication
Sejarah Ummat Islam
(History of the Muslim
Community)
• chronological sequence of historical events in Islamic
history
• written in narrative style
• the nine saints of Java and their miraculous stories
• the arrival of Europeans
• the records of Mataram kingdom (Central Java)
History 1949
Kenang-Kenangan Hidup
(The Memories of Life)
• contains four parts
• his life story from 1929-1949
• childhood, education, marriage, professional career, the
Indonesian revolution, the struggle for self-government
Autobiography 1950
Dari Perbenda-haraan
Lama
(From the Old Heritage)
• a compilation of the articles on Islamic history of Indonesia
• the struggle of Islam in Indonesia; a brief reference is made
to Hamzah Fansuri as a mystical figure whose mystical
ideas were attacked by Nuruddin al-Raniri
History 1955
Antara Fakta dan Khayal
"Tuanku Rao"
(Between Fact and
Fiction "Sir Rao").
• objections to the writings of Ir . Mangaradja Onggang
Parlindungan in his book “Tuanku Rao”
History 1974
Ayahku
(My Father)
• biography of HAMKA’s father, Dr. H. Abdul Karim Amrullah
• History of the struggles of Islam in the Sumatera Autobiography 1982

12. 3
Contributions
To Society
Last content

13. Japanese
Invasion Era• the life of the people of Medan was greatly changed
• HAMKA was much disliked by the people, and many saw him as a Japanese agent
and even accused him of being a traitor
• the Indonesians need to fight against both the Japanese and the Dutch colonial
governments

14. 1942
• a critical point in Indonesian history where the Japanese army landed in Medan
• many of the people of Medan customary activities were banned
• the Magazine Pedoman Masyarakat, edited by HAMKA, was banned
• the people were also forced to participate in the fulfilment of the Japanese dream of
controlling Asia
1944
• HAMKA was appointed by the Japanese authorities as chairman of the local organization of
Muslim ‛ulama’ or Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (People's Representative Council) when he
was still a leader of the Muhammadiyah in Medan
1945-
1949
• gradual elimination of HAMKA's role in the Muhammadiyah at Medan
• in 1945, he left Medan to return to his birthplace, Padang Panjang, where he resumed the
directorship of Kulliyatul Muballighan until 1949
• he wrote few books in 1946-1949
• In 1947 he was appointed the leader of Front Pertahan Nasional (FPN, National Defense
Front)
1950
• this period was a time of "physical revolution" in Indonesia
• many of HAMKA's books written during that time had political overtones, and were intended
to clarify the purpose of independence, foster national unity, and above all, define the roles
of all Indonesians

15. Jakarta 1950-’81
• After war against Dutch, a new independent Indonesia emerged, lead by Sukarno and
Hatta
• Hamka decided his role in new Indonesia should be religious in nature and related to
Islam as based on his previous works

16. 12/
1949
• Moved to Jakarta and offered to be a journalist at newspaper Merdeka (Freedom) and
with the weekly magazine, Pemandangan (Perspective)
• Published the biography of his father, Ayahku (My Father), his own autobiography
Kenang-Kenangan Hidup, Perkembangan Tasauf dari Abad ke Abad, Riwayat
Perjalanannya ke Negeri-Negeri Islam (The Record of His Travel to Islamic
Countries), and Empat Bulan di Amerika (Four Months in America).
1955
• Became a prominent member of the Islamic political party Masyumi (Majlis Syârā Muslim
Indonesia; Consultative Council of Muslim Indonesia).
• In Jakarta, Appointed advisory positions; Advisor to the Departmen Agama (The
Department of Religion), Cultural advisor for the Ministry of Education and Culture, and
professor of Islamic Journalism at the Islamic University in Makassar.
1954-
1959
• he was an elected member of parliament on the Masyumi ticket. Him and M Natsir
proposed that Indonesian society should be based on Islam
1960-
1962
• Masyumi banned by Sukarno who gained more power. HAMKA disagreed with Sukarno
and PKI because of ideological differences. PKI launched character assassination
campaign against HAMKA

17. 1964 – 1966
• Imprisoned and later released. Wrote Tafsár al-Azhar, and the other Antara Fakta dan Khayal
"Tuanku Rao" (Between Fact and Fiction in "Tuanku Rao")
• 1966- - Became imām of al-Azhar mosque, chairman of Muäammadiyah, and professor at
several Islamic Universities, but most of his time was devoted to Panji Masyarakat, the last
weekly magazine
1975
• HAMKA was appointed as chairman of Majlis ‛Ulamā` Indonesia (MUI, Council of Islamic Scholars
of Indonesia)
• He wrote Perkembangan Kebatinan di Indonesia which elaborates on strategies for the Muslim
preacher dealing with kebatinan ((a group, especially in central Java, whose mystical beliefs are
based on a mixture of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, and animism)
1981
• He passed away

18. Thank you.