Ahmad Surkati

Sheikh Ahmad Surkati
Sheikh Ahmad Surkati
Native name	احمد
Born	Ahmad 1875 CE Udfu, Dongola, Mahdist State (now Sudan)
Died	6 September 1943 (aged 67–68) Jakarta, Indonesia
Resting place	Jakarta
Residence	Indonesia
Alma mater	Ma'had Syarqi Na (Sudan), Darul 'Ulum (Mecca)
Occupation	Islamic scholar, teacher
Years active	1909–1941
Organization	al-Irshad
Known for	Founder of al-Irshad
Title	Sheikh
Parent(s)	Muhammad al-Surkati (father)

Ahmad Surkati (Arabic: احمد بن محمد السركتي‎‎; ʾaḥmad bin muḥammad alsourkatee; Arabic pronunciation: [(ʔ)æħmæd bin mʊˈħæmmæd ælsurkɑtij]; born 1875 CE) was the founder of the organization Jam'iyat al-Islah wa Al-Irsyad al-Arabiyah (Arab Association for Reform and Guidance), which later transformed into Jam'iyat al-Islah wal Irsyad al-Islamiyyah, which is more commonly called as al-Irshad in Batavia, August 1915. Many historians acknowledge al-Irshad role in the reformation of Islamic thought in Indonesia, but unfortunately his name is not mentioned in the discourse of Islamic thought in Indonesia.

Ahmad Surkati was born Ahmad bin Muhammad Surkati al-Anshori in around 1875 CE in Udfu, Arqu island near Dongola town, Sudan. The word Surkati is taken from Dongolawi language meaning Many Books (Sur, books; Katti, many), because His grandfather had a lot of books when he returned from study. It is believed that he was descendant of a Sahabah named Jabir bin Abdillah al-Anshori.

He came from an educated family; both his father and grandfather had studied in Egypt, with his father graduated from Al-Azhar University in Cairo. Surkati received his earliest education from his father and succeeded in memorizing text of al-Quran at young age. Ahmad attending Ma'had Syarqi Na, an institute led by a distinguished scholar in Dongola. After completing his study at the Institute, his father wanted him to pursue education at Al-Azhar in Egypt as he had done. But the intention was never fulfilled, because Sudan was then ruled by the reign of al-Mahdi which was trying to escape from Egyptian ruling. The King of Sudan at the time, Abdullah al-Taaisha, did not allow the people of Sudan to travel to Egypt.