Di Bawah Lindungan Ka'bah (novel)

Di Bawah Lindungan Ka'bah

Cover of a late printing
Author	Hamka
Country	Indonesia
Language	Indonesian
Genre	Novel
Publisher	Balai Pustaka (I-VI) Bulan Bintang (VII-present)
Publication date	1938
Media type	Print (hardback & paperback)
Pages	52
OCLC	63981241

Di Bawah Lindungan Ka'bah (Under the Protection of Ka'bah) is the 1938 debut novel of the Indonesian author Haji Abdul Malik Karim Amrullah (1908–1981). Written while the author worked in Medan as the editor of an Islamic weekly magazine, the novel follows the doomed romance of a young Minang couple from different social backgrounds. Generally praised for its simple yet eloquent diction, the novel has been twice adapted into film, first in 1977 and then in 2011.

Haji Abdul Malik Karim Amrullah, better known as simply Hamka, was the Sumatran-born son of a devout Muslim who viewed local traditions as hindering the progress of religion – his father's opinions influenced his. After a trip to Java and Mecca beginning when he was sixteen, he became a religious scholar in Deli, East Sumatra, then in Makassar, South Sulawesi. During these travels, especially while in the Middle East, he extensively read works by Islamic scholars and authors, such as those by the Egyptian writer Mustafa Lutfi al-Manfaluti, as well as Arabic-language translations of European works. In 1935 he left Makassar for Medan, North Sumatra, where he became the editor of an Islamic weekly magazine, during which time he wrote Di Bawah Lindungan Ka'bah, his first novel.

Hamid is a young Muslim living in Sumatra. Two years after his father dies, the six-year-old Hamid and his mother move in with Haji Ja'far and his wife Asiah, members of the Minang nobility. There, Hamid finds a playmate in the couple's daughter Zainab. They are raised as brother and sister, and Ja'far pays for Hamid's education.

By the time he becomes an adult, Hamid no longer accepts the traditional class system, instead viewing everyone as equals. He finds himself attracted to Zainab for her noble character; unbeknownst to him, Zainab also has feelings for him. After moving to Padang Panjang, Hamid becomes distanced from his adopted family. However, he continues to correspond with Zainab.