Sahal Mahfudh

Sahal Mahfudh was an Indonesian Muslim religious leader and scholar of tafsir, fiqh, usul al-fiqh, and tasawwuf from Rembang Regency, Central Java. He was born in 1937 as Muhammad Anwar, and he was the son of an imam of a local mosque, and traced his origins from the lineage of Sunan Giri. He learned the Quran and the basic Islamic sciences from his grandfather and his father, and he also studied with other prominent ulama in Java, such as KH Ahmad bin Syuaib, KH Ahmad Rifa'i, and KH Ahmad Dahlan. He performed the Hajj pilgrimage twice, in 1928 and 1937, and he studied with some scholars in Mecca, such as Sheikh Ahmad Khatib, who was also the teacher of the founder of Nahdlatul Ulama, KH Hasyim Asyari. He returned to Indonesia and became the caretaker of the Pesantren Sarang, which was founded by his grandfather. He taught many books of tafsir, fiqh, usul al-fiqh, and tasawwuf to his students, and he was especially known for his mastery of the Tafsir al-Jalalayn, which he taught every year in the month of Ramadan. He also wrote some books, such as Al-Muqaddimah al-Mufassirin, which is an introduction to the science of tafsir, and Al-Muqaddimah al-Usuliyyin, which is an introduction to the science of usul al-fiqh. He was also active in the social and political affairs of the Muslim community, and he joined the Masyumi party, which was a coalition of Islamic organizations in Indonesia. He was also involved in the struggle against the Communist Party of Indonesia, and he supported the establishment of the Islamic State of Indonesia. He died in 2014, after suffering from a lung and heart problems, and he was buried in his hometown. He left behind many students and pesantren, and he was the father of an influential cleric in Indonesia, Maimun Zubair. He was inaugurated as a National Hero, according to Presidential Decree No. 657 of 1961.