Hamka

Hamka
Hamka in 1954
Born	Abdul Malik (1908-02-17)17 February 1908 Batang River, Tanjung Raya, Agam Regency, West Sumatra, Dutch East Indies
Died	24 July 1981(1981-07-24) (aged 73) Jakarta, Indonesia
Nationality	Indonesia
Notable work	Al-Azhar Exegesis Tenggelamnya Kapal van der Wijck Di Bawah Lindungan Ka'bah
Main interests	Al-Qur'an Exegesis, Islamic law, Islamic history, tasawuf, and literature
Influences Priests, Ahmad Khatib, and others
Influenced Muhammadiyah dan Indonesian Ulema Council
Signature

Prof. Dr. Haji Abdul Malik bin Dr. Syekh Haji Abdul Karim Amrullah, better known by the nickname Hamka (born in Batang River, Tanjung Raya, Agam Regency, West Sumatra, Dutch East Indies on 17 February 1908 and died in Jakarta, Indonesia on 24 July 1981 at the age of 73 years) was an Indonesian ulama, novelist, philosopher and political activist.

Hamka was born on 17 February 1908 (Hijri Calendar: 13th of Muharram 1362AH)in Minangkabau, West Sumatra, as the first child of seven brothers. He was raised in a family of devout Muslims. His father was Abdul Karim Amrullah, a clerical reformer of Islam in Minangkabau who was known as Haji Rasul, while his mother, Sitti Shafiyah, came from artists of Minangkabau descent. The father of Abdul Karim, Hamka's grandfather, namely Muhammad Amrullah was known as a follower of cleric Congregation Naqsyabandiyah.

Prior to education in formal schools, Hamka lived with his grandmother in a house south of Maninjau. When he was six years old, he moved with his father to Padang Panjang, West Sumatera. Following common tradition in Minang, as a child he studied the Quran and slept in a mosque which is near the place where he lives, because Minang boys did not have a place to sleep in the house. In the mosque, he studied the Quran and silek, while outside it, he likes to listen to kaba, the stories which are sung along with traditional Minangkabau music. Interaction with these storyteller artists gave him knowledge of the art of storytelling and word processing. Later, through his novels, Hamka often plucks vocabulary and Minang terms. Like the writer who was born in the realm of Minang, rhymes and proverbs adorn his works.