Ahmad Khatib

Shaikh Ahmad Khatib al-Minangkabawi (1860 – 1916) was a Minangkabau Indonesian Islamic teacher. He was born in Koto Tuo, Ampek Angkek, Agam Regency, West Sumatra on 6 Dzulhijjah 1276 H (1860 M) and died in Mecca on 8 Jumadil Awal 1334 H (1916 M). He served as the head (imam) of the Shafi'i school of law at the mosque of Mecca (Masjid al-Haram). Many Indonesian Islamic reformist leaders learned from him, including Ahmad Dahlan, as founder Muhammadiyah and Hasyim Asyari, as founder Nahdlatul Ulama.

Although Ahmad Khatib was an orthodox Sunni Muslim, he still hoped to reconcile the matrilineal system in Minangkabau with the laws of inheritance prescribed in the Quran. Through his Minangkabau students who studied in Mecca and well as those he taught in Indonesia, he encouraged a modified Minangkabau culture based on al-Quran and the Sunnah.

His eldest son Abdulkareem owned a book store in Makkah. His son Abdulmalik Alkhatib was an ambassador of the Ashraf to Egypt. His son, Sheikh Abdulhameed Alkhateeb, was the first Saudi Arabian ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. And his grand son, Fouad Abdulhameed Alkhateeb, was a Saudi Arabian ambassador, humanitarian, author, and businessman. In his capacity as a diplomat, he represented his homeland in Pakistan, Iraq, the United States of America, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Republic of Turkey, the People's Republic of Bangladesh, Nepal, and finally as Saudi ambassador to Malaysia.

Khatib was born on 26 June 1860 in Koto Tuo, Agam. His parents were Abdullatief Khatib and Limbak Urai. In 1870 he attended Dutch's school then continued his study to Kweekschool in Bukittinggi.

...
Wikipedia