Hamka

Haji Abdul Malik Karim Amrullah, universally known by the acronym Hamka (1326-1401 AH / 1908-1981 CE), was one of the most influential Indonesian Islamic scholars, authors, and public figures of the 20th century. Born in Maninjau, West Sumatra, he was the son of the reformist scholar Abdul Karim Amrullah (Haji Rasul), who was himself a student of Ahmad Khatib al-Minangkabawi.

Hamka was largely self-educated, developing his scholarship through voracious reading and intellectual engagement rather than prolonged formal study. He became a prolific author, writing in Malay/Indonesian across multiple genres: Islamic scholarship, social commentary, biography, and fiction. His novels, including Di Bawah Lindungan Ka'bah (Under the Protection of the Ka'bah) and Tenggelamnya Kapal Van der Wijck, remain classics of Indonesian literature.

His crowning scholarly achievement is the massive 30-volume Tafsir al-Azhar, a Quran commentary written partly during his imprisonment under the Sukarno government (1964-1966). This tafsir combines Islamic scholarship with Indonesian cultural context and remains the most important Quran commentary in the Indonesian language. He also authored numerous works on Islamic thought, history, and ethics, including his celebrated biographical series on the history of Islam.

Hamka served as the first chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (Majelis Ulama Indonesia, MUI). He was a key figure in modern Indonesian Islam, combining traditional Islamic scholarship with engagement with modern Indonesian society and literature. He is celebrated in Indonesia as a National Hero. He passed away in Jakarta in 1981, leaving a literary and scholarly legacy of enormous breadth that continues to shape Indonesian Islamic thought.