The 100 Greatest Muslims (2022): 80 - Ibn Bajja, The 12th Century Andalusian Who Became the First Eminent Philosopher of Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain)

Ibn Bajja, or Ibn Bajjah  (Latin: Avempace), in full Abu Bakr Muḥammad ibn Yaḥya ibn al-Sayigh al-Tujibi al-Andalusi al-Saraqusti, (b. c. 1095, Zaragoza, Taifa of Zaragoza, Al-Andalus [present day Aragon, Zaragoza (province), Spain] — d. 1138, Fes, Almoravid Empire [present day Fes, Morocco]), was earliest known representative in Spain (Andalus) of the Arabic Aristotelian–Neoplatonic philosophical tradition initiated by al-Farabi and was a forerunner of the polymath scholar Ibn Tufayl and of the philosopher Ibn Rushd (Averroes).  Abu Bakr Muḥammad ibn Yaḥya ibn aṣ-Ṣa’igh at-Tujibi ibn Bajja  (Latin: Avempace) was an Arab Andalusian polymath, whose writings include works regarding astronomy, physics, and music, as well as philosophy, medicine, botany, and poetry.  

Ibn Bajja was born in Zaragoza, in what is today Aragon, Spain, around 1085 and died in Fes, Morocco, in 1138. Rulers of Zaragoza shifted constantly throughout Ibn Bajja's young life.  However, in 1114, a new Almoravid governor of Zaragoza was appointed: Abu Bakr 'Ali ibn Ibrahim as-Sahrawi, also known as Ibn Tifilwit.  A close relationship developed between Ibn Bajja and Ibn Tifilwit. Ibn Bajja enjoyed music and wine with the governor and also composed panegyrics and muwashshahat to publicly praise Ibn Tifilwit, who rewarded Ibn Bajja by nominating him as his vizier.  In a diplomatic mission to meet the overthrown Imad ad-Dawla Ibn Hud, Ibn Bajja was placed in jail for some months for reasons unknown. Ibn Tifilwit was killed during a quest against the Christians in 1116, ending his short reign and inspiring Ibn Bajja to compose mournful elegies in Ibn Tifilwit's  honor.  Ibn Bajja also had a talent for singing and composition in music. In the beginning of his career, he wrote the manuscript Risalah fi l-alḥan (Tract on Melodies) and incorporated his commentary on al-Farabi’s treatise based on music. He determined the correlations between different melodies and temperament. 

After the fall of Zaragoza in 1118 at the hands of King Alfonso The Battler, Ibn Bajja looked for shelter under Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Yusuf Ibn Tashfin, another brother of the Almoravid Sultan in Xatiba. Ibn Bajja worked, for some twenty years, as the vizier of Yusuf Ibn Tashfin. Throughout these decades, it is clear that Ibn Bajja was not as agreeable with those close to the ruler, Ibn Tashfin, as he was during the previous reign of Ibn Tifilwit. Writings by Ahmad al-Maqqari gives us insight into the hostility and disagreements between Ibn Bajja and the father of a famous physician respected by Ibn Tashfin, Abd al-Malik.  A poetry anthology, Qala’id al-iqya (Necklace of Rubies), was also created by a courtier of Ibn Tashfin, Abu Nasr al-Fath ibn Muhammad ibn Khaqan, which condescendingly placed Ibn Bajja in last place. 

Under Ibn Tashfin, Ibn Bajja was imprisoned twice. The details of the imprisonment are not well understood but do indicate that Ibn Bajja occasionally fell out of favor with the Sultan.  Despite being disrespected, Ibn Bajja remained with the Almoravid empire for the rest of his life, until his death in 1138. 

Ibn Bajja was an important Islamic philosopher, among his many other trades.  In his time, Ibn Bajja was seen as a controversial figure, receiving criticism from his peers like Ibn Tufayl.  However,  he was also respected by his peers and even his critics.  While Ibn Tufayl was noted for criticizing Ibn Bajja's work, he also described him as having one of the sharpest minds.

During Ibn Bajja's time, Islamic philosophy, and the post-hellenic world, was mainly divided into two opposing branches of thought.  The Eastern branch, which was led by Ibn Sina, and the Western branch, which was led by Ibn Bajja.  His main philosophical works include the unfinished politico-ethical treatise Tadbir al-mutawahhid  (Governance [Management] of the Solitary), the Kitab al-nafs (Book on the Soul), and the Risala fi l-Ghaya al-insaniyya (Treatise on the Objective of Human Beings).  

The two key pillars of Ibn Bajja's philosophy are solitude and conjunction.  Solitude represents the isolation the philosopher commonly seeks in order to protect himself from the corruption of society.  Conjunction refers to the philosopher's quest for the lowest celestial intelligence.  Conjunction is required for the human soul's development.  

Ibn Bajja’s chief philosophical tenets seem to have included belief in the possibility that the human soul could become united with the Divine. This union was conceived as the final stage in an intellectual  ascent beginning with the impressions of sense objects that consist of form and matter and rising through a hierarchy of spiritual forms (i.e., forms containing less and less matter) to the Active Intellect, which is an emanation of the deity. 

Ibn Bajja’s most important philosophical work is Tadbir al-mutawaḥḥid (“The Regime of the Solitary” or "The Conduct of the Solitary), an ethical treatise which argues that philosophers can optimize their spiritual health only in a righteous environment, which in many cases may be found only in solitude and seclusion. The work remained incomplete upon his death.

In Tadbir al-mutawahhid, Ibn Bajja examines the mode of life best suited to the solitary or the true philosopher who is destined to live in a "corrupt" city-state that has fallen short of al-Farabi's ideal of the "virtuous" city.  In this connection, Ibn Bajja did not question Aristotle's (or al-Farabi's) maxim that humankind is a political animal by nature.  Instead, Ibn Bajja observed that humankind may nevertheless be forced in certain circumstances to shun this ideal and to seek fulfillment in a life of solitude.  For Ibn Bajja, the solitary life is intellectual and is achieved ultimately through conjunction or contact with the active intellect.  Although Ibn Bajja vacillates between the mystical ideal of the Sufis and the Aristotelian ideal of the contemplative life, his basic sympathies remain Aristotelian and Neoplatonic.  In Ibn Bajja's "Farewell Address", Ibn Bajja stated categorically that "reason is God's dearest creation to Him .. and to the extent man is close to reason, he is close to God.  This is possible only through rational knowledge, which brings man close to God, just as ignorance cuts him off from Him."

Ibn Bajja's other philosophical works included commentaries on the works of  Aristotle and al-Farabi. He also wrote a number of songs and poems and a treatise on botany. Ibn Bajja is known to have studied astronomy, medicine, and mathematics. 

Ibn Bajja is the author of the Kitab an-Nabat ("The Book of Plants"), a popular work on botany, which defined the sex of plants. His philosophical theories influenced the work of Ibn Rushd (Averroes) and Albertus Magnus.  Most of his writings and books were not completed (or well-organized) due to his early death. He had a vast knowledge of medicine, mathematics, and astronomy.  His main contribution to Islamic philosophy was his idea on soul phenomenology, which was never completed.

Ibn Bajja was, in his time, not only a prominent figure of philosophy but also of music and poetry. His diwan -- his collection of poetry -- was rediscovered in 1951. Though many of his works have not survived, his theories in astronomy and physics were preserved by Ibn Maymun (Moses Maimonides) and Ibn Rushd (Averroes) respectively, and influenced later astronomers and physicists in the Islamic civilization and Renaissance Europe, including Galileo Galilei.  

Ibn Bajja wrote one of the first (argued by some to be the first) commentaries on Aristotle in the western world. While his work on projectile motion was never translated from Arabic to Latin, his views became well known around the western world and to western philosophers, astronomers, and scientists of many disciplines. His works impacted contemporary medieval thought, and later influenced Galileo and his work. 

In his commentary on Aristotle's Meteorology, Ibn Bajja presented his own theory on the Milky Way galaxy.  Aristotle believed the Milky Way to be caused by the ignition of the fiery exhalation of some stars which were large, numerous and close together and that the ignition takes place in the upper part of the atmosphere, in the region of the world which is continuous with the heavenly motions. On the other hand, Aristotle's Arabic commentator Ibn al-Bitriq considered the Milky Way to be a phenomenon exclusively of the heavenly spheres, not of the upper part of the atmosphere and that the light of those stars makes a visible patch because they are so close.  Ibn Bajja's view differed from both, as he considered the Milky Way to be a phenomenon both of the spheres above the moon and of the sublunar region. 

Ibn Bajja proposed that for every force there is always a reaction force. While he did not specify that these forces be equal, it is considered an early version of the third law of motion which states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

In recognition of Ibn Bajja's early contributions to astronomy and physics, in 2009, a crater 62 miles from the South Pole of the Moon was designated "The Ibn Bajja" crater by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

Adamec, Ludwig W. (2009), Historical Dictionary of Islam; Scarecrow Press. 

Esposito, John L. (1998). The Oxford History of Islam;  Oxford University Press.

Jenkins, Everett, Jr. (1999). The Muslim Diaspora: A Comprehensive Reference to the Spread of Islam in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas, Volume 1, 570-1500; Jefferson, North Carolina, McFarland & Company, Inc.

Lapidus, Ira M. (2014).  A History of Islamic Societies; New York City, New York, Cambridge University Press. 

McGinnis, Jon (2007).  Classical Arabic Philosophy: An Anthology of Sources. Hackett Publishing Company. 

Meri, Josef W. (2005); Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia; New York, Routledge.

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avempace

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Bajja_(crater)

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Avempace

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

The 100 Greatest Muslims (2022): 81 - Aurangzeb, The 17th Century Indian "Conqueror of the World"

Muhi al-Din Muhammad (b. November 3, 1618, Dahod, Gujarat, India – d. March 3, 1707, Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, India), commonly known as Aurangzeb (Persian: "Ornament of the Throne") and by his regnal title "Alamgir" (Persian: "Conqueror of the World"), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling from July 1658 until his death in 1707. Under his emperorship, the Mughals reached their greatest extent with their territory spanning nearly the entirety of South Asia. Widely considered to be the last effective Mughal ruler, Aurangzeb compiled the Fatawa 'Alamgiri and was amongst the few monarchs to have fully established sharia and Islamic economics throughout South Asia.

Belonging to the aristocratic Timurid dynasty, Aurangzeb's early life was occupied with pious pursuits. He held administrative and military posts under his father Shah Jahan (r. 1628–1658) and gained recognition as an accomplished military commander. Aurangzeb served as the viceroy of the Deccan in 1636–1637 and the governor of Gujarat in 1645–1647.  He jointly administrated the provinces of Multan and Sindh in 1648–1652 and continued expeditions into the neighboring Safavid territories. In September 1657, Shah Jahan nominated his eldest son Dara Shikoh as his successor, a move repudiated by Aurangzeb, who proclaimed himself emperor in February 1658. In April 1658, Aurangzeb defeated the allied army of Shikoh and the Kingdom of Marwar at the Battle of Dharmat.  Aurangzeb's decisive victory at the Battle of Samugarh in May 1658 cemented his sovereignty and his suzerainty was acknowledged throughout the Empire. After Shah Jahan recovered from illness in July 1658, Aurangzeb declared him incompetent to rule and imprisoned his father in the Agra Fort. 

Under Aurangzeb's rule, the Mughal Empire reached its greatest extent with their territory spanning nearly the entire South Asia. His reign was characterized by a period of rapid military expansion, with several dynasties and states being overthrown by the Mughals. His conquests acquired him the regnal title Alamgir ('Conqueror'). The Mughals also surpassed Qing China as the world's largest economy and biggest manufacturing power. The Mughal military gradually improved and became one of the strongest armies in the world. A staunch Muslim, Aurangzeb is credited with the construction of numerous mosques and patronizing works of Arabic calligraph.  He successfully imposed the Fatawa al-Alamgir as the principal regulating body of the empire and prohibited religiously forbidden activities in Islam. Although Aurangzeb suppressed several local revolts, he maintained cordial relations with foreign governments.

Aurangzeb is generally considered by historians to be one of the greatest emperors of the Mughals. While there is considerable admiration for Aurangzeb in the contemporary sources, he has been criticized for his political executions and demolition of Hindu temples. Furthermore, his Islamization of the region, introduction of the jizya tax and abandonment of un-Islamic practices caused resentment among non-Muslims. Aurangzeb is commemorated by Muslims as a just ruler and as the Mujaddid (centennial reviver) of the 11th-12th Islamic century.

Aurangzeb, also spelled Aurangzib (Arabic: Awrangzīb), kingly title ʿAlamgir, original name Muḥi al-Din Muḥammad, emperor of India from 1658 to 1707, the last of the great Mughal emperors. Under Aurangzeb, the Mughal Empire reached its greatest extent, although his pro-Islamic policies would ultimately lead to the Empire's dissolution. 

Aurangzeb was the third son of the emperor Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal (for whom the Taj Mahal was built). He grew up as a serious-minded and devout youth, wedded to the Muslim orthodoxy of the day and free from the royal Mughal traits of sensuality and drunkenness. He showed signs of military and administrative ability early.  These qualities, combined with a taste for power, brought him into rivalry with his eldest brother, the brilliant and volatile Dara Shikoh, who was designated by their father as his successor to the throne. From 1636, Aurangzeb held a number of important appointments, in all of which he distinguished himself. He commanded troops against the Uzbeks and the Persians with distinction (1646–47) and, as viceroy of the Deccan provinces for two terms (1636–44, 1654–58), reduced the two Muslim Deccan kingdoms to near-subjection.

When Shah Jahan fell seriously ill in 1657, the tension between the Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb made a war of succession seem inevitable. By the time of Shah Jahan’s unexpected recovery, matters had gone too far for either son to retreat. In the struggle for power (1657–59), Aurangzeb showed tactical and strategic military skill, great powers of dissimulation, and ruthless determination. Decisively defeating Dara at Samurgarh in May 1658, he confined his father in his own palace at Agra.  In consolidating his power, Aurangzeb caused one brother’s death and had two other brothers, a son, and a nephew executed.

Aurangzeb’s reign falls into two almost equal parts. In the first, which lasted until about 1680, he was a capable Muslim monarch of a mixed Hindu-Muslim empire and as such was generally disliked for his ruthlessness but feared and respected for his vigor and skill. During this period he was much occupied with safeguarding the northwest from Persians and Central Asian Turks and less so with the Maratha chief Shivaji, who twice plundered the great port of Surat (1664, 1670). Aurangzeb applied his great-grandfather Akbar's recipe for conquest: defeat one’s enemies, reconcile them, and place them in imperial service. Thus, Shivaji was defeated, called to Agra for reconciliation (1666), and given an imperial rank. The plan broke down, however; Shivaji fled to the Deccan and died, in 1680, as the ruler of an independent Maratha kingdom.

After about 1680, Aurangzeb’s reign underwent a change of both attitude and policy. The pious ruler of an Islamic state replaced the seasoned statesman of a mixed ethnic and religious kingdom.  Hindus became subordinates, not colleagues, and the Marathas, like the southern Muslim kingdoms, were marked for annexation rather than containment. The first overt sign of change was the re-imposition of the jizya, or poll tax, on non-Muslims in 1679 (a tax that had been abolished by Akbar). This, in turn, was followed by a Rajput revolt in 1680–81, supported by Aurangzeb’s third son, Akbar.  Hindus still served the empire, but no longer with enthusiasm. The Deccan kingdoms of Bijapur and Golconda were conquered in 1686–87, but the insecurity that followed precipitated a long-incipient economic crisis, which in turn was deepened by warfare with the Marathas. Shivaji’s son Sambhaji was captured and executed in 1689 and the Maratha kingdom was broken up. The Marathas, however, then adopted guerrilla tactics, spreading all over southern India amid a sympathetic population. The rest of Aurangzeb’s life was spent in laborious and fruitless sieges of forts in the Maratha hill country.

Aurangzeb’s struggles in the south prevented him from maintaining his former firm hold on the north. The administration weakened, and the process was hastened by pressure on the land by Mughal grantees who were paid by assignments on the land revenue. Agrarian discontent often took the form of religious movements, as in the case of the Satnamis and the Sikhs in the Punjab. 

In 1675, Aurangzeb arrested and executed the Sikh Guru (spiritual leader) Tegh Bahadur, who had refused to embrace Islam.  The succeeding Guru, Gobind Singh, was in open rebellion for the rest of Aurangzeb’s reign.  Other agrarian revolts, such as those of the Jats, were largely secular. 

In general, Aurangzeb ruled as a militant orthodox Sunni Muslim.  He put through increasingly puritanical ordinances that were vigorously enforced by muḥtasibs, or censors of morals. The Muslim confession of faith, for instance, was removed from all coins lest it be defiled by unbelievers, and courtiers were forbidden to salute in the Hindu fashion. In addition, Hindu idols, temples, and shrines were often destroyed.

Aurangzeb maintained the empire for nearly half a century and in fact extended it in the south as far as Tanjore (now Thanjavur) and Trichinopoly (now Tiruchchirappalli). Behind this imposing facade, however, were serious weaknesses. The Maratha campaign continually drained the imperial resources. The militancy of the Sikhs and the Jats boded ill for the empire in the north. The new Islamic policy alienated Hindu sentiment and undermined Rajput support. The financial pressure on the land strained the whole administrative framework. When Aurangzeb died after a reign of nearly 49 years, he left an empire not yet moribund but troubled with a number of menacing problems. The failure of the Mughals to cope with these problems after the reign of Aurangzeb's son, Bahadur Shah I, led to the collapse of the Mughal Empire in the mid-18th century.

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

Adamec, Ludwig W. (2009), Historical Dictionary of Islam; Scarecrow Press. 

Avari, Burjor (2013). Islamic Civilization in South Asia: A History of Muslim Power and Presence in the Indian Subcontinent.  Routledge.

Durant, Will (1993) [First published 1935]. The Story of Civilization: Our Oriental Heritage. Simon & Schuster. 

Eraly, Abraham (2007).  The Mughal World.  London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.  

Esposito, John L. (1998). The Oxford History of Islam;  Oxford University Press.

Irvine, William (1971). The Later Mughals.  Atlantic Publishers & Distributors.

Jenkins, Everett, Jr. (2000). The Muslim Diaspora: A Comprehensive Reference to the Spread of Islam in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas, Volume 2, 1500-1799; Jefferson, North Carolina, McFarland & Company, Inc.

Khan, Muhammad Mojlum (2008).  The Muslim 100: The Lives, Thoughts and Achievements of the Most Influential Muslims in History, Leicestershire, United Kingdom: Kube Publishing Ltd.

Kruijtzer, Gijs (2009). Xenophobia in Seventeenth-century India.  Leiden University Press. 

Lapidus, Ira M. (2014).  A History of Islamic Societies; New York City, New York, Cambridge University Press. 

Richards, John F. (1996) [first published 1993]. The Mughal Empire.  The New Cambridge History of India. Vol. 5. Cambridge University Press. 

Sarkar, Jadunath (1972). History of Aurangzib.  Calcutta: M.C. Sarkar & Sons.  Bombay (Mumbai): Orient Longman.

Tillotson, Giles (2008). Taj Mahal. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. 

Truschke, Audrey (2017). Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King.  Stanford University Press. 

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurangzeb

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aurangzeb

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

The 100 Greatest Muslims (2022): 82 - Ibn Tufayl, The 12th Century Author of Hayy ibn Yaqdhan (Philosophus Autodidactus), the Precursor for Robinson Crusoe

Ibn Tufayl (or Ibn Ṭufail) (full Arabic name: ʾAbu Bakr Muḥammad bin ʿAbd al-Malik bin Muḥammad bin Ṭufayl al-Qaysiyy al-ʾAndalusiyy; Latinized form: Abubacer Aben Tofail; Anglicized form: Abubekar or Abu Jaafar Ebn Tophail), (b. 1105, Guadix, Andalusia, Almoravid Dynasty [today's Spain] – d. 1185, Marrakesh, Almohad Caliphate [today's Morocco]) was an Arab Andalusian Muslim polymath.  He was a writer, philosopher, theologian, physician, astronomer, and vizier.  

As a philosopher and novelist, Ibn Tufayl is most famous for writing the first philosophical novel, Hayy ibn Yaqdhan.  As a physician, he was an early supporter of dissection and autopsy.

Born in Guadix, near Granada, Ibn Tufayl was educated by Ibn Bajja (Avempace). His family descended from the Arab Qays tribe. Ibn Tufayl was a secretary for several leaders, including the rulers of Ceuta and Tangier, in 1154. He also served as a secretary for the ruler of Granada, and later as vizier and physician for Abu Yaqub Yusur, the Almohad caliph, to whom he recommended Ibn Rushd (Averroes) as his own future successor in 1169.   Ibn Rushd later reported this event and describes how Ibn Tufayl then inspired him to write his famous Aristotelian commentaries:

Abu Bakr ibn Tufayl summoned me one day and told me that he had heard the Commandeer of the Faithful complaining about the disjointedness of Aristotle's mode of expression — or that of the translators — and the resultant obscurity of his intentions. He said that if someone took on these books who could summarize them and clarify their aims after first thoroughly understanding them himself, people would have an easier time comprehending them. “If you have the energy,” Ibn Tufayl told me, “you do it. I'm confident you can because I know what a good mind and devoted character you have, and how dedicated you are to the art. You understand that only my great age, the cares of my office — and my commitment to another task that I think even more vital — keep me from doing it myself.”

Ibn Rushd became Ibn Tufayl's successor after Ibn Tufayl retired in 1182.  Ibn Tufayl died several years later in Morocco in 1185. The astronomer Nur Ed-Din Al-Bitruji was also a disciple of Ibn Tufayl. Al-Bitruji was influenced by Ibn Tufayl to follow the Aristotelian system of astronomy, as he had originally followed the Ptolemaic system of astronomy.

Ibn Tufayl's work in astronomy was historically significant as he played a major role in overturning the Ptolemaic ideas on astronomy.  This event in history is called the ''Andalusian Revolt”, where he influenced many, including Al-Bitruji, to desert the Ptolemaic ideas.

Ibn Tufayl is the author of Hayy ibn Yaqdhan (Ḥayy bin Yaqẓan or Hayy ibn Yaqzan --"Alive, Son of Awake"), also known as Philosophus Autodidactus in Latin, a philosophical romance and allegorical novel inspired by Avicennism and Sufism, and which tells the story of an autodidactic (a self-educated) feral child (Hayy), raised by a gazelle and living alone on a desert island, who, without contact with other human beings, discovers ultimate truth through a systematic process of reasoned inquiry. Hayy ultimately comes into contact with civilization and religion when he meets a castaway named Absal (Asal in some translations). Hayy determines that certain trappings of religion, namely imagery and dependence on material goods, are necessary for the multitude in order that they might have decent lives. However, imagery and material goods are distractions from the truth and ought to be abandoned by those whose reason recognizes that they are. 

The names of the characters in the novel, Hayy ibn Yaqdhan, Ḥayy, Salaman, and Absal were borrowed from Ibn Sina's tales.  The title of the novel is also the same as Ibn Sina's novel. Ibn Tufayl did this on purpose to use the characters and the title as a deliberate reference to Ibn Sina, as Ibn Tufayl wanted to touch upon Ibn Sina's philosophy.

Ibn Tufayl's Philosophus Autodidactus was written as a response to al-Ghazali's The Incoherence of the Philosophers.  In the 13th century, Ibn al-Nafis later wrote the Al-Risalah al-Kamiliyyah fil Siera al-Nabawiyyah (known as Theologus Autodidactus in the West) as a response to Ibn Tufayl's Philosophus Autodidactus.

Hayy ibn Yaqdhan had a significant influence on both Arabic literature and European literature.  The novel went on to become an influential best-seller throughout Western Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. The work also had a "profound influence" on both classical Islamic philosophy and modern Western philosophy.  It became one of the most important books that heralded the Scientific Revolution and the European Enlightenment, and the thoughts expressed in the novel can be found in different variations and to different degrees in the books of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Isaac Newton, and Immanuel Kant.   

A Latin translation of Hayy ibn Yaqdhan, entitled Philosophus Autodidactus, first appeared in 1671, prepared by Edward Pococke the Younger. The first English translation (by Simon Ockley) was published in 1708. These translations later may have inspired Daniel Defoe to write Robinson Crusoe, which also featured a desert island narrative.  The novel also inspired the concept of "tabula rasa" developed in An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690) by John Locke, who was a student of Pococke.  His Essay went on to become one of the principal sources of empiricism in modern Western philosophy, and influenced many enlightenment philosophers, such as David Hume and George Berkeley.  Ibn Tufayl's ideas on materialism as set forth in the novel also have some similarities to Karl Marx's historical materialism. Ibn Tufayl's work also foreshadowed Molyneux's Problem, proposed by William Molyneux to Locke, who included it in the second book of An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Other European writers influenced by Philosophus Autodidactus included Gottfried Leibniz, Melchisedech Thevenot, John Wallis, Christiaan Huygens, George Keith, Robert Barclay, the Quakers, Samuel Hartlib, and Voltaire.  

Ibn Ṭufayl, in full Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ṭufayl al-Qaysi, also called Abu Bakr Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ṭufayl al-Qaysī, (Latin: Abubacer), was influenced by the works of Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and Ibn Bajja (Avempace), the latter of whom was instrumental in introducing the Islamic philosophical tradition to Spain,  and was a contemporary of Ibn Rushd (Averroes). He served as the court physician and general adviser to the Almohad ruler Abu Yaʿqub Yusuf from 1163 to 1184.

Ibn Tufayl's Hayy ibn Yaqhdan depicts the life and growth of a fictitious figure, born on a desert island in the Indian Ocean.  This figure is able to rise by degrees to the highest level of intellectual insight or discovery. Through observation and reflection, Hayy is able, without any contact with other human beings, to discover the truth about God, the physical world, and the ultimate conjunction with the active intellect.  Unlike his predecessor, Ibn Bajja, Ibn Tufayl argued that the contemplative or intellectual ideal of the Neoplatonists is not enough, because in that ideal the soul is not able to overcome the consciousness of its separate identity in relation to the Necessary Being.  In Sufi fashion, Ibn Tufayl argued instead that to achieve the condition of perfect union with its source, the soul must rise to the level of ecstasy that the Sufis have called extinction in unity.  This represents the total annihilation of selfhood and the recognition that in reality nothing exists other than the True One.  Everything else, spiritual or corporeal, considered in itself is nothing, as the Sufi masters had always contended.

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

Hayy ibn Yaqdhan (Ḥayy ibn Yaqẓan) ("Alive, son of Awake") is an Arabic philosophical novel and an allegorical tale written by Ibn Tufayl in the early 12th century in Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain).  Names by which the book is also known include the Latin: Philosophus Autodidactus ('The Self-Taught Philosopher'); and English: The Improvement of Human Reason: Exhibited in the Life of Hai Ebn Yokdhan. Ḥayy ibn Yaqdhan was named after an earlier Arabic philosophical romance of the same name, written by Ibn Sina during his imprisonment in the early 11th century, even though both tales had different stories.  The novel greatly inspired Islamic philosophy as well as major Enlightenment major Enlightenmennt thinkers. Ḥayy ibn Yaqdhan is the third most translated text from Arabic, after the Qur'an and the One Thousand and One Nights.  

Hayy ibn Yaqdhan, along with three poems, is all that remains of the writings of Ibn Tufayl (c. 1105 – 1185), who lived under the Almohads and served Sultan Abu Yaqub Yusuf.  The book was influential among medieval Jewish scholars at the Toledo School of Translators run by Raymond de Sauvetat, and its impact can be seen in The Guide for the Perplexed of Maimonides.  It was "discovered" in the West after Edward Pococke of Oxford, while visiting a market in Damascus, found a manuscript of Hayy ibn Yaqdhan made in Alexandria in 1303 containing commentary in Hebrew.  Edward Pococke's son, Edward Pococke, Jr.,  published a Latin translation in 1671, subtitled "The Self-Taught Philosopher." George Keith, the Quaker, translated it into English in 1674, Baruch Spinoza called for a Dutch translation, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz championed the book in German circles, and a copy of the book went to the Sorbonne.  Daniel Defoe (c. 1660 – 1731), author of Robinson Crusoe, was heavily influenced by the work as well as by the memoir of the Scottish castaway Alexander Selkirk.  

In the Muslim world, the book is an honored Sufi text.

The story revolves around Ḥayy ibn Yaqdhan, a little boy who grew up on an island in the Indies under the equator, isolated from the people, in the bosom of an antelope that raised him, feeding him with her milk. Ḥayy has just learned to walk and imitates the sounds of antelopes, birds, and other animals in his surroundings. He learns their languages, and he learns to follow the actions of animals by imitating their instinct. 

Hayy makes his own shoes and clothes from the skins of animals, and studies the stars. He reaches a higher level of knowledge, -- a level of knowledge only achieved by the finest of intellects.  His continuous explorations and observation of creatures and the environment lead him to gain great knowledge in natural science, philosophy, and religion. He concludes that, at the basis of the creation of the universe, a great creator must exist. Ḥayy ibn Yaqdhan lived a humble modest life as a Sufi and forbade himself from eating meat.

Upon reaching the age of 30 years old, Hayy meets his first human, who has landed on his isolated island. At the age of 49, Hayy is ready to teach other people about the knowledge he gained throughout his life.

Hayy ibn Yaqdhan is an allegorical novel in which Ibn Tufayl expresses philosophical and mystical teachings in a symbolic language in order to provide better understanding of such concepts. This novel is thus the most important work of Ibn Tufayl, containing the main ideas that form his system.

Ibn Tufayl was familiar with the differences in the ideas of al-Ghazali and those of the Neoplatonizing Aristotelianists, al-Farabi and Ibn Sina.  In Hayy ibn Yaqdhan, Ibn Tufayl sought to present a conciliating synthesis of the Islamic speculative tradition with al-Ghazali’s Sufi-influenced recasting of Islamic mysticism and pietism. Ibn Tufayl borrows from Ibn Sina, using the title of one of his allegories and drawing inspiration from his "Floating Man" thought experiment, but transforming the subject's sensory deprivation to social isolation.

With this novel, Tufayl focuses on finding solutions to the three main problems discussed during his period:

1. Humans, on their own, are able to reach the level of al-Insan al-Kamil -- "the person who has reached perfection" or, literally "the complete person" -- by merely observing and thinking of the nature, without any education.
2. The information that is obtained through observation, experiment, and reasoning, does not contradict with revelation. In other words, religion and philosophy (or science) are compatible, rather than contradictory.
3. Reaching the absolute information is individual and is something that any human being is able to achieve.

Beyond leaving an enormous impact on Andalusi literature, Arabic literature, and classical Islamic philosophy, Hayy ibn Yaqdhan influenced later European literature during the Age of Enlightenment, turning into a best-seller during the 17th-18th centuries. The novel particularly influenced the philosophies and scientific thought of vanguards of modern Western philosophy and the Scientific Revolution such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Christiaan Huygens, Isaac Newton, and Immanuel Kant. Beyond foreshadowing Molyneux's Problem, the novel specifically inspired John Locke's concept of tabula rasa as propounded in An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690), subsequently inspiring the philosophies of later modern empiricists, such as David Hume and George Berkeley.  The novel's notion of materialism also has similarities to Karl Marx's historical materialism.  The first English translation by Simon Ockley inspired the desert island narrative of Daniel Defoe's classic Robinson Crusoe. 

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

Adamec, Ludwig W. (2009), Historical Dictionary of Islam; Scarecrow Press. 

Attar, Samar (2010). The Vital Roots of European Enlightenment: Ibn Tufayl's Influence on Modern Western Thought. Lanham: Lexington Books.

Baroud, Mahmud (2012). The Shipwrecked Sailor in Arabic and Western Literature: Ibn Tufayl and His Influence on European. London.

Esposito, John L. (1998). The Oxford History of Islam;  Oxford University Press.

Jenkins, Everett, Jr. (1999). The Muslim Diaspora: A Comprehensive Reference to the Spread of Islam in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas, Volume 1, 570-1500; Jefferson, North Carolina, McFarland & Company, Inc.

Khan, Muhammad Mojlum (2008).  The Muslim 100: The Lives, Thoughts and Achievements of the Most Influential Muslims in History, Leicestershire, United Kingdom: Kube Publishing Ltd.

Lapidus, Ira M. (2014).  A History of Islamic Societies; New York City, New York, Cambridge University Press. 

McGinnis, Jon.  Classical Arabic Philosophy: An Anthology of Sources. Hackett Publishing Company. 

Meri, Josef W. (2005); Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia; New York, Routledge.

Nasr, Seyyed and Leaman, Oliver (1996). History of Islamic philosophy. Routledge. 

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autodidacticism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayy_ibn_Yaqdhan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Tufail

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ibn-Tufayl

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

The 100 Greatest Muslims (2022): 83 - Malik Ibrahim, The 14th Century Persian Missionary Who Became First Wali Songo -- the First Introducer of Islam -- in Indonesia

The history of arrival and spread of Islam in Indonesia is unclear. One theory states it arrived directly from Arabia before the 9th century, while another credits Sufi merchants and preachers for bringing Islam to Indonesian islands in the 12th or 13th century either from Gujarat in India or directly from the Middle East.  Before the arrival of Islam, the predominant religions in Indonesia were Hinduism and Buddhism. 

Initially, the spread of Islam was slow and gradual. Though historical documents are incomplete, the limited evidence suggests that the spread of Islam accelerated in the 15th century, as the military power of Melaka Sultanate in Malay Peninsular today Malaysia and other Islamic Sultanates dominated the region aided by episodes of Muslim coup such as in 1446, wars and superior control of maritime trading and ultimate markets.  During 1511, Tome Pires found animists and Muslims in the north coast of Java. Some rulers were Islamized Muslims, others followed the old Hindu and Buddhism.

By the reign of Sultan Agung of Mataram, most of the older Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms of Indonesia, had at least nominally converted to Islam. The last one to do so was Makassar in 1605. After the fall of the Majapahit empire, Bali became the refuge for the Hindu upper class, Brahmins and their followers that fled from Java, thus transferring the Hindu culture of Java to Bali.  Hinduism and Buddhism remained extant in some areas of East Java where it syncretized with animism. Their traditions also continued in East and Central Java where they earlier held a sway. Animism was also practiced in remote areas of other islands of Indonesia.

The spread of Islam in eastern islands of Indonesia is recorded in 1605 when three Islamic pious men collectively known as Dato' Tallu came to Makasar, namely Dato'ri Bandang (Abdul Makmur or Khatib Tunggal), Dato'ri Pattimang (Sulaiman Ali or Khatib Sulung) and Dato'ri Tiro (Abdul Jawad or Khatib Bungsu). According to Christian Pelras (1985), Dato' Tallu converted the Kings of Gowa and Tallo to Islam and changed their name to Sultan Muhammad.

The spread of Islam was initially driven by increasing trade links outside of the archipelago. Traders and the royalty of major kingdoms were usually the first to convert to Islam. Dominant kingdoms included Mataram in Central Java, and the sultanates of Ternate and Tidore in the Maluku Islands to the east. By the end of the 13th century, Islam had been established in North Sumatra; by the 14th in northeast Malaya, Brunei, the southern Philippines northeast and among some courtiers of East Java; and the 15th in Malacca and other areas of the Malay Peninsula. Although it is known that the spread of Islam began in the west of the archipelago, the fragmentary evidence does not suggest a rolling wave of conversion through adjacent areas; rather, it suggests the process was complicated and slow.

Despite being one of the most significant developments in Indonesian history, historical evidence is fragmentary and generally uninformative such that understandings of the coming of Islam to Indonesia are limited. There is considerable debate amongst scholars about what conclusions can be drawn about the conversion of Indonesian peoples. The primary evidence, at least of the earlier stages of the process, are gravestones and a few travellers' accounts, but these can only show that indigenous Muslims were in a certain place at a certain time. This evidence cannot explain more complicated matters such as how lifestyles were affected by the new religion or how deeply it affected societies. It should not be assumed, for example, that because a ruler was known to be a Muslim, that the process of Islamization of that area was complete. Instead, what is known is that the Islamization process was, and remains to this day, continuous in Indonesia. Nevertheless, a clear turning point occurred when the Hindu empire Majapahit in Java fell to the Islamized Demak Sultanate. In 1527, the Muslim ruler renamed newly conquered Sunda Kelapa as Jayakarta (meaning "precious victory") which was eventually shortened to Jakarta.  Islamization increased rapidly in the wake of this conquest, spurred on by the spiritual influences of the revered Sufi saints Wali Songo (or Nine Saints).

Malik Ibrahim (b. before 1350, Kashan, Persia - d. April 7, 1419, Gapurosukolilo, Gresik), also known as Sunan Gresik or Kakek Bantal, was the first of the Wali Songo, the first of the nine men generally thought to have introduced Islam to Java (Indonesia).

Ibrahim's origin is unclear, although it is generally agreed that he originated from outside of Java. He is thought to have been born in the first half of the 14th century. Ibrahim is known by several names in the Babad Tanah Jawi and other texts. In the texts, Ibrahim is identified as Makhdum Ibrahim as-Samarqandy (localised to Syekh Ibrahim Asmarakandi). This indicates a possible origin from Samarkand in modern-day Uzbekistan.   However, the most reputable sources note that Malik Ibrahim was born in Kashan, Persia (modern day Iran).  Malik Ibrahim belonged to a Sayyid and highly educated family in Kashan.  His great grandfather migrated from Samarkand to Kashan. Ibrahim came to Java with his father, Syekh Jumadil Qubro or Kubro, and his brother Maulana Ishaq, from Persia. They were descendants of Muhammad through Hussein ibn Ali. According to this version, Qubro stayed in Java while his sons went abroad for dakwah. Ibrahim went to Champa (in modern-day Vietnam), while his brother went to Pasai in northern Sumatra. During his 13 years in Champa, Ibrahim provided healthcare and taught farmers more efficient ways to grow crops. He also married one of the king's daughters, whose name has been Indonesianised as Dewi Candrawulan, and had two sons. When he felt that he had converted enough people in Champa to Islam, Ibrahim returned to Java without his family.

Ibrahim landed at Sembalo, Learn, Manyar (9 kilometres (5.6 mi) north of modern-day Gresik) in the late 14th century, where he became acquainted with the local people. He began trading out of the harbor, dealing equally with people from different castes - different social classes based on the dominant Hindu religion. By doing so, Ibrahim found popular support from the lower castes, which led to numerous conversions. He also continued his work from Champa, teaching the locals ways to improve harvests and treating the ill.

Through his trading, Ibrahim also became acquainted with the ruling class and nobles. After journeying to Trowulan to meet the king of Majapahit, he was granted a landing on the outskirts of Gresik which was used for preaching. Ibrahim also founded an Islamic boarding school there. 

A legend associated with Ibrahim is that one day, while travelling, he came across a young woman about to be sacrificed to the gods in order to end a long-standing drought. After stopping a group of men from stabbing the woman, Ibrahim prayed for rain.  When his prayers were answered, the group he had faced converted to Islam.

Ibrahim died on 12 Rabi' al-Awwal, 822 AH (April 7, 1419 CC). He was buried in Gapura village, Gresik, East Java. 

Before the 19th century, Ibrahim was not considered one of the Wali Songo, the saints who spread Islam to Java. After his grave was rediscovered in the early 19th century, he was included in the core group. He was first listed as a Wali Songo in Babad Dipanegara. Today his grave, which is without a headstone, is a common destination for pilgrims, who read the Qu'ran and the life of Muhammad; they also partake in a dish unique to the area, harisah rice porridge. In 2005 over 1.5 million pilgrims went to the grave, for which there is an entry fee. Most come on the anniversary of his death, based on the Islamic calendar. 

Near Ibrahim's grave is a stone marker bearing an inscription in Arabic, translated below:

This is the grave of a man who is sure to be forgiven by Allah and be granted happiness by The All-Gracious, the teacher of princes and adviser to sultans and viziers, friend of the poor and destitute. The great religious teacher: Malik Ibrahim, renowned for his goodness. May Allah grant His pleasure and grace, and bring him to heaven. He died on Senin, 12 Rabi' al-Awwal, 822 Hijri.

Both of Ibrahim's sons went on to spread Islam to Java after they became adults. The eldest, Ali Rahmatullah, is better known as Sunan Ampel and is a member of the Wali Songo himself. The youngest was named Ali Murthada.  Ibrahim's work in eastern Java was continued by Raden Paku (later known as Susuhunan Giri) in Giri (now part of the Jepara Regency of Central Java)  and Raden Rahmat, who founded an Islamic school in Ngampel, near Surabaya. 

Every year, the Gresik city government holds a festival to celebrate Ibrahim's birth. Known as Gebyar Maulid, the festival also serves to promote local culture.

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

Wali Songo

The Wali Songo (also transcribed as Wali Sanga) are revered saints of Islam in Indonesia, especially on the island of Java, because of their historic role in the spread of Islam in Indonesia. The word wali is Arabic for "trusted one" ("guardian" in other contexts in Indonesia) or "friend of God" ("saint" in this context), while the word sanga is Javanese for group of monks or the number nine. Thus, the term is often translated as "Sangha of saints".

Although referred to as a group, there is good evidence that fewer than nine were alive at any given time. Also, there are sources that use the term "Wali Sanga" to refer to saintly mystic(s) other than the most well-known nine individuals.

Each man is often attributed the title sunan in Javanese, which may derive from suhun, in this context meaning "honored".

Most of the wali were also called raden during their lifetimes, because they were members of royal houses. 

The graves of the Wali Sanga are venerated as locations of ziarah (ziyarat) or local pilgrimage in Java. The graves are also known as pundhen in Javanese.

The earliest Wali Sanga was Malik Ibrahim. He is thought to have been in the first half of the 14th century.  Malik Ibrahim was of Sayyid lineage and came from a highly educated family in Kashan. His great-grandfather migrated from Samarqand, and that is why his family is also known as Samarqandi.  They were originally a converted Central Asian Muslim pir from Samarkand. With centuries of Turkish, Mongol and Ottoman rule over Middle East, many of them started claiming Sayyid ancestry to legitimize their rule over the population. 

Syekh Jumadil Kubra, to whom all the saints of Java appear to be related, is a name that appears to almost certainly be a corruption of Najmuddin al-Kubra.  The name Syekh Jumadil Kubra has attached itself to various legendary and mythical personalities,.  These personalities have a common connection in that they are the ancestors or preceptors of the founders of Islam in Java - an oblique acknowledgement, perhaps, of the prestige of the Qubrowi in the period of Islamization.

The sufis themselves traced their ancestors to erstwhile Hindu and Buddhist Javanese kings. Tracing the lineage earlier than Malik Ibrahim is problematic, but most scholars agree that Kubra's lineages are of Chinese descent and not Arab. Although Kubra's silsila -- his spiritual genealogy -- is listed in various Javanese royal chronicles (such as Sejarah Banten) to denote ancestral lineage from erstwhile Hindu Kings, the term in Sufism refers to a lineage of teachers. 

Although popular belief sometimes refers to the wali sanga as "founders" of Islam on Java, the religion was present by the time the Chinese Muslim admiral Zheng He arrived during his first voyage (1405-1407 CC).

Many of the earliest Wali Sanga had Chinese ancestry both paternally and maternally. For example, Sunan Ampel (Chinese name Bong Swi Ho), Sunan Bonang (Ampel's son, Bong Ang), and Sunan Kalijaga (Gan Si Cang).

Dewi Candrawulan, a Muslim Princess from Champa, was the mother of Raden Rahmat (Prince Rahmat), who was later known by the name of Sunan Ampel. Sunan Ampel was the son of Maulana Malik Ibrahim, and the ancestor or teacher of some of the other Wali Sanga.

The composition of the nine saints varies, depending on different sources. The following list is widely accepted, but its authenticity relies much on repeated citations of a handful of early sources, reinforced as "facts" in school textbooks and other modern accounts. This list differs somewhat from the names suggested in the Babad Tanah Jawi manuscripts.

One theory about the variation of composition is that there was a loose council of nine religious leaders, and that as older members retired or died, new members were brought into this council.  However, it should be borne in mind that the term "wali sanga" was created retroactively by historians, and so there was no official "group of nine" that had membership. Further, the differences in chronology of the wali suggest that there might never have been a time when nine of them were alive contemporaneously.

At first, it was not easy for Islam to enter and thrive in the archipelago. Even in the historical record, in a span of about 800 years, Islam had not been able to establish a substantial presence. Notes from the time of the Tang Dynasty of China indicated that merchants from the Middle East had come to the kingdom of Shih-li-fo-shi (Srivijaya) in Sumatra, and Holing (Kalinga) in Java in the year 674 CC, i.e., in the transitional period of Caliph Ali to Muawiyah.  In the 10th century, a group of Persians called the Lor came to Java. They lived in an area in Ngudung (Kudus), also known as Loram (from the word "Lor" which means North). They also formed other communities in other areas, such as in Gresik. The existence of the gravestone of Fatimah binti Maimun bin Hibatallah in Gresi, dated to the 10th century CC, is considered evidence of the incoming migration of the Persian tribes.

In his notes, Marco Polo relates that when returning from China to Italy in 1292 CC, he did not travel via the Silk Road, but instead traveled by sea towards the Persian Gulf. He stopped in Perlak, a port city in Aceh, southern Malacca.  According to Polo, in Perlak there were three groups, namely (1) ethnic Chinese, who were all Muslims; (2) Westerners (Persians), also entirely Muslim; and (3) indigenous people in the hinterland, who worshipped trees, rocks, and spirits. In his testimony, Polo said, regarding the "Kingdom of Ferlec (Perlak)"  - "This kingdom, you must know, is so much frequented by the Saracen merchants that they have converted the natives to the Law of Mohammet — I mean the townspeople only, for the Java hill-people live for all the world like beasts, and eat human flesh, as well as all other kinds of flesh, clean or unclean. And they worship this, that, and the other thing; for in fact the first thing that they see on rising in the morning, that they do worship for the rest of the day.

One hundred years after Polo, the Chinese Muslim Admiral Zheng He came to Java in 1405 CC. When he stopped in Tuban, he noted that there were 1,000 Chinese religious Muslim families there. In Gresik, he also found there were 1,000 Chinese Muslim families, with the same amount reported in Surabaya. On Zheng He's seventh (last) visit to Java in 1433 CC, he invited his scribe named Ma Huan.  According to Ma Huan, the Chinese and the Arab population of the cities on the northern beaches of Java were all Muslim, while the indigenous population were mostly non-Muslim as they were worshipping the trees, rocks, and spirits.

Early in the 15th century CC, Ali Murtadho and Ali Rahmat, sons of Malik Ibrahim (also known as Sheikh Ibrahim Samarqandi), relocated from the Kingdom of Champa (Southern Vietnam) to Java, and settled in the Tuban area, precisely in the Gesikharjo Village at Palang District. Malik Ibrahim was buried there in 1419. After the funeral, both of his sons then headed to the capital of Majapahit, because their aunt (Princess Dwarawati) was married to the King of Majapahit.  By the King's order, both of them then were appointed as officials of the Majapahit Empire. Ali Murtadho as Raja Pandhita (Minister of Religion) for the Musims, while Ali Rahmat was appointed as Imam (High Priest for Muslims) in Surabaya.  Ali Rahmat was known as Raden Rahmat (Prince Rahmat), who then became Sunan Ampel. 

In sum, multiple sources and conventional wisdom agree that the Wali Sanga contributed to the propagation of Islam (but not its original introduction) in the area now known as Indonesia. However, it is difficult to prove the extent of their influence in quantitative terms such as an increase in the number of adherents or masjids in the areas of their work in contrast to localities where they were not active. 

Some of the family relationships described below are well-documented; others are less certain. Even today, it is common in Java for a family friend to be called "uncle" or "brother" despite the lack of a blood relationship.

 

• Sunan Gresik (Malik Ibrahim): Arrived on Java 1404 CC, died in 1419 CC, buried in Gresik, East Java. Activities included commerce, healing, and improvement of agricultural techniques. Father of Sunan Ampel and uncle of Sunan Giri.
• Sunan Ampel: Born in Champa (Southern Vietnam) in 1401 CC, died in 1481 CC in Demak, Central Java. Can be considered a focal point of the wali sanga. He was the son of Sunan Gresik and the father of Sunan Bonang and Sunan Dradjat. Sunan Ampel was also the cousin and father-in-law of Sunan Giri. In addition, Sunan Ampel was the grandfather of Sunan Kudus. Sunan Bonang in turn taught Sunan Kalijaga, who was the father of Sunan Muria. Sunan Ampel was also the teacher of Raden Patah. 
• Sunan Giri: Born in Blambangan (now Banyuwangi, the easternmost part of Java) in 1442 CC. His father Maulana Ishak was the brother of Maulana Malik Ibrahim. Sunan Giri's grave is in Gresik near Surabaya. 
• Sunan Bonang: Born in 1465 CC in Rembang (near Tuban) on the north coast of Central Java. Died in 1525 CC and buried in Tuban. Brother of Sunan Drajat. Composed songs for gamelan orchestra.
• Sunan Drajat: Born in 1470 CC. Brother of Sunan Bonang. Composed songs for gamelan orchestra.
• Sunan Kudus: Died 1550 CC, buried in Kudus. Possible originator of wayang golek puppetry.
• Sunan Kalijaga: His birth name is Raden Mas Said, and he is the son of Adipati Tuban. Buried in Kadilangu, Demak. Used wayang kulit shadow puppets and gamelan music to convey spiritual teachings.
• Sunan Muria: Buried in Gunung Muria, Kudus. Son of Sunan Kalijaga and Dewi Soejinah (sister of Sunan Giri).
• Sunan Gunung Jati: Buried in Cirebon. Founder and first ruler of the Cirebon Sultanate. His son, Maulana Hasanudin, became the founder and the first ruler of the Banten Sultanate.

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

Akbar, Ummu (2009). Kisah Seru 9 Pejuang Islam [The Interesting Stories of 9 Promoters of Islam]. Bandung: Mizan.

Andaya, Barbara Watson and Andaya, Leonard Y. (2015). A History of Early Modern Southeast Asia, 1400-1830.  Cambridge University Press. 

Azyumardi Azra (2006).  Islam in the Indonesian World:  An Account of Institutional Formation.  Indonesia: Mizan Pustaka.

Coedes, George (1968).  The Indianized States of Southeast Asia. University of Hawaii Press.

Esposito, John L. (1998). The Oxford History of Islam.  Oxford University Press.

Fauzia, Amelia (2013). Faith and the State: A History of Islamic Philanthropy in Indonesia. BRILL. 

Fealy, Greg and White, Sally (2008).  Expressing Islam: Religious Life and Politics in Indonesia. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. 

Freitag, Ulrike (1997). Hadhrami Traders, Scholars and Statesmen in the Indian Ocean, 1750s to 1960s. Leiden: Brill. 

Gade, Anna M. (2004). Perfection Makes Practice: Learning, Emotion, and the Recited Qur’an in Indonesia. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. 

Gunn, Geoffrey C. (2011). History Without Borders: The Making of an Asian World Region, 1000-1800.  Hong Kong University Press. 

Jenkins, Everett, Jr. (1999). The Muslim Diaspora: A Comprehensive Reference to the Spread of Islam in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas, Volume 1, 570-1500. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc.

Lach, Donald F. (2008). Asia in the Making of Europe, Volume I: The Century of Discovery.  University of Chicago Press. 

Lapidus, Ira M. (2014).  A History of Islamic Societies. New York City, New York: Cambridge University Press. 

Meri, Josef W. (2005). Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia. New York: Routledge. 

Ooi, Keat Gin (2004).  Southeast Asia : A Historical encyclopedia, from Angkor Wat to East Timor, Vol. 2. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. 

Renard, John (2009).  Tales of God's Friends: Islamic Hagiography in Translation. University of California Press. 

Ricklefs, M.C. (1991). A History of Modern Indonesia since c.1300, 2nd Edition. London: MacMillan. 

Scheltema, Johann Friedrich (1912).  Monumental Java.  London: Macmillan and Co.

Schoppert, P., and Damais, S. (1997). Java Style.  Paris. France: Didier Millet.

Soedjatmoko (1965).  An Introduction to Indonesian Historiography.  Ithaca: Cornell University.

Sulistiono (2009). Mengenal Jejak Langkah Walisongo [Following the Footsteps of the Walisongo] (in Indonesian). Semarang: Magenta.

Tagliacozzo, Eric (2009). Southeast Asia and the Middle East: Islam, Movement, and the Longue Drive.  Stanford: Stanford University Press..

Wink, André (2002).  Al-Hind: The Slavic Kings and the Islamic Conquest, 11th-13th centuries.  Brill Academic Press.

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_Indonesia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malik_Ibrahim

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wali_Sanga

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888