Zakaria bin Muhammad Amin

Haji Zakaria bin Muhammad Amin (March 1913 – 1 January 2006) was an Indonesian ulama, politician, and writer from Bangkinang, Kampar. He was an ulama in Bengkalis Regency, and was the first head of Islamic religious administration in Bengkalis. Zakaria was the son in law of Tuan Guru Haji Ahmad, the first ulama of Bengkalis Regency. In 2023, he was posthumously awarded the title of Regional Hero of Riau by the Riau Regional People's Representative Council.

Early life and education

Zakaria bin Muhammad Amin was born in Bangkinang, Kampar in March of 1913. He was the eldest child of Taraima, a seamstress, and Muhammad Amin, a trader, both from Kuok. He had three brothers and two sisters: Hasyim bin Muhammad Amin, Ahmad bin Muhammad Amin, Siti Mariam binti Muhammad Amin, Syarafiah Norwawi binti Muhammad Amin, and Ahmad Sanusi bin Muhammad Amin; three of them are paternal half-siblings.

Zakaria spent his childhood herding buffalo in the rice fields and played the gambus. He began his schooling in 1920 at Tweede Inlandsche Public School in Bangkinang, during the period of Dutch colonialism.

In 1923, along with his maternal aunt, Fatimah, Zakaria travelled to Mecca as part of the hajj. Zakaria continued his education by studying with the scholars in Mecca such as Ali Al-Maliki, Syekh Umar Al-Turki, Umar Hamdan, Ahmad Fathoni, and Syekh Muhammad Amin Quthbi. He then studied various of islamic knowledge such as Interpretation of the Quran, Hadith, Tawhid, and Arabic literature using the Halaqa method. His sanad can be traced from the teachings of Syekh Ahmad Khatib Al-Minangkabawi, a Shafi'i scholar at Masjid al-Haram who was the teacher of Ahmad Dahlan, founder of Muhammadiyah, and Hasyim Asy'ari, founder of Nahdlatul Ulama.

After he completed his studies in Mecca, Zakaria moved to Temerloh, Pahang, and continued his Islamic knowledge study for six years under Muhammad Saleh, until Saleh's death in 1929. Zakaria then studied Matan Jurumiyah, an Arabic science book. He then moved to Kuala Lipis, a district in Pahang, but moved after it flooded in late 1929.

Zakaria and his friends moved to Bengkalis, the capital city of Bengkalis Regency, Riau. He then continued his Islamic study with Tuan Guru Haji Ahmad, the first ulama in Bengkalis Regency. He then moved to Bagan Datuk, Perak, after his marriage with Ahmad's daughter, Mariah, in 1933.

Military career

During the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies, he led the resistance movement there along with Abdullah Nur and nationalists in Bengkalis.

During the 1948 Dutch invasion of Indonesia, Zakaria led the resistance movement in Bengkalis as a captain. After he moved to Dumai, he joined and continued to lead the resistance movement, and later received the honorary title of Mayor.

Scholarly career

Zakaria started his career as a preacher and teacher at Parit Bangkong Mosque in Parit Bangkong, Bengkalis, at the age of 16.

In 1930, one year after returning from British Malaya, he began to write two books: Balqurramhi fi Sunniyyati Qunut Subhi and Kumpulan Khutbah Jumat dan Hari Raya Sebanyak Dua Belas Judul Khutbah. These two books discuss Zakaria's opinions on the issue of Salah, which was a popular subject of Islamic academic discussion at that time.

In 1937, along with Tuan Guru Haji Ahmad, he established Al-Khairiyah, the first Islamic boarding school in Bengkalis Regency. Being the first, it drew students from many regions of Riau to study there. He continued preaching and teaching his students at Al-Khairiyah and at various mosque in Bengkalis, until Al-Khairiyah was closed in 1942 due to the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies.

In 1948, he was appointed to become the first head of Islamic religious administration in Bengkalis. From 1950 until 1972, he was the head of Ministry of Religion in Bengkalis, and was the first person to hold the position. He later became a judge for the district level of Musabaqah Tilawatil Quran in Bengkalis, from 1964.

On 17 July 1963, Zakaria established MDTA Mahbatul Ulum, a Islamic school for children and young adults. This school had six classrooms when first built, which were used for teaching various Islamic disciplines such as Nahwu Shorof, Fiqh, Tawhid, Akhlaq, Hadith, Tarikh, and Interpretation of the Quran, using a classical education method. Mahbatul Ulum was reportedly successful in motivating its students to become preachers, and was used as a place to celebrate religious events in Bengkalis. The school floor was renovated in 1977 by Bengkalis regent, Himron Saheman, at a cost of Rp 350.000 (USD 23).

In 1986, the school underwent second round of renovations with the help from Riau Governor, Imam Munandar, at a cost of Rp 9.600.000. A third round of renovations took place in 1989 as part of the Abri Masuk Desa program created by President Suharto. Through the Local Revenue Fund Education Facility Assistance Project (Proyek Bantuan Sarana Pendidikan Dana Pendapatan Asli Daerah) from 1990 to 1991, four additional classes and a prayer room were built at the school. In 1991, a donation was given to the school from 263 parents of students and 40 other donors, to pay the salary for nine teachers. Each contributed more than Rp.1000, totalling more than Rp. 500.000.

Zakaria used a classical education system in managing MDTA Mahbatul Ulum, with each teacher being individually responsible for the teaching methods used in their class. The school academic year used the Islamic calendar system, which starts in Shawwal and ends in Sha'ban, with a full month of holidays in Ramadan. Zakaria served as school principal, and as the supervisor of teaching and learning process for the third grade. His friend, Ustaz Ali Buyung, served as the vice principal and the supervisor for the first grade. The rest of the school staff such as Amri Almi, Abdul Hamid Asy'ari, Suhailis, Sulaiman, Rita Puspita, Ahmadi, Harani, and Abdul Jalil Abbas served as the supervisors for the eight other year levels. Almi also served as the school secretary.

Zakaria, who was also called Abah by his students, later became a religion teacher at musholla in Sri Pulau, Bengkalis.

Political career

Zakaria was a member of the Masyumi Party until it was banned on the 15th of August 1960, by President Sukarno, for supporting the PRRI Rebellion. He was a member of the People's Representative Council (DPR) in Bengkalis. When Central Sumatra became a stronghold of the PRRI, Zakaria was one of the delegation from Bengkalis at the Riau DPRDS conference on 7 August 1955, who signed a petition for the former Riau province to be separated from Central Sumatra. This occurred on the 9th of August 1957, when the Indonesian government issued Emergency Law Number 19 of 1957, which divided Central Sumatra into three provinces, Riau, Jambi and West Sumatra.

From 1974 until 1986, he worked as a councillor, representing the United Development Party. He also worked as a administrator of Nahdlatul Ulama in Bengkalis Regency.

Views

Political views

Zakaria was a conservative and adhered to Ahlus Sunah Wal Jamaah, a political view of Nahdlatul Ulama which was based on Sunni Islam.

During his time as a councillor for the United Development Party in the New Order, Zakaria was often offered for a position in People's Representative Council (DPR) but refused, stating that his purpose in joining politics was just to help Islamic parties with their campaigning. When his friends such as Abdullah Nur and Ustaz Mil joined Golkar, he refused to follow them, as he felt it would be contrary to his views. They however remained friends, with Zakaria stating that politics could not break their friendship.

Theology

Zakaria was a devout Muslim and was a follower of the Madhhab al-Shāfiʿī school of thought. He acknowledged the existence of four other Imams of the Madhhab school. Zakaria's views on Islamic theology such as the caliphate tended to be moderate, and prioritized discussions of the issues of brotherhood in Islam. He stated that the four Imams of the Madhhab should never say their opinion is the most correct, and should be ready to discard their opinion if they learn of a more accurate one.

Marriage and family relationships

Zakaria married his first wife Mariah binti Ahmad in 1933. Mariah was the daughter of Zakaria's teacher Tuan Guru Haji Ahmad and his first wife, Rohimah binti Sani. Their marriage lasted until Mariah's death in 1955, due to illness after the events of the Dutch invasion of Indonesia. They had three sons, Nashruddin, a civil servant, Azra'ie, a lecturer, and Syakrani Zakaria, a harbormaster, and four daughters, Aminah, a school principal, Zaharah, a politician, Ulfah, a gynecologist, and Hanim Zakaria, a junior school teacher in Pekanbaru.

Zakaria married his second wife, Siti Zainab binti Kimpal, 22 years his junior, in 1956. Zainab was an Indonesian actress and singer from the Ratu Asia Troupe. Their marriage lasted until Zakaria's death in 2006. They had three sons, Zulkarnain and Nukman, both are civil servant, and Gamal Abdul Nasir Zakaria, an Arabic and Islamic education lecturer at Universiti Brunei Darussalam, and four daughters, Rinie Yuslina Fairuz, and Rita Puspa, both a civil servant, Nida Suryani, a science teacher, and Sri Purnama Zakaria, an English teacher.

Bibliography

• Amin, Zakaria bin Muhammad (1930). Balqurramhi fi Sunniyyati Qunut Subhi (in Indonesian).
• Amin, Zakaria bin Muhammad (1939). Kumpulan Khutbah Jumat dan Hari Raya Sebanyak Dua Belas Judul Khutbah (in Indonesian).

Death and legacy

Zakaria died at his residence in Kelapapati, Bengkalis, on the 1st of January 2006 at 06.30 WIB (UTC+07:00), due to diabetes at the age of 92, and was buried at Taman Makam Islam Harapan.

In 2023, he along with twelve other people was posthumously named as a Regional Hero of Riau Province by Riau Regional People's Representative Council, in recognition of his contributions to the progress of Riau.

Issue

Citations