Abdul Karim Amrullah known as Haji Rasul was prominet Muslim reformer who led reformation of Islam in Sumatra.

Personal life

Haji Rasul was born in Sungai Batang, Maninjau

Lake Maninjau

Lake Maninjau is a caldera lake in West Sumatra, Indonesia. It is located 36 km to the west of Bukittinggi, at .-Formation:The Maninjau caldera was formed by a volcanic eruption estimated to have occurred around 52,000 years ago...

, West Sumatra

West Sumatra

West Sumatra is a province of Indonesia. It lies on the west coast of the island Sumatra. It borders the provinces of North Sumatra to the north, Riau and Jambi to the east, and Bengkulu to the southeast. It includes the Mentawai Islands off the coast...

 on February 10, 1879. His father was Muslim ulema

Ulema

Ulama , also spelt ulema, refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of shari‘a law...

, Syekh Muhammad Amarullah Tuanku Kisai and his mother Andung Tarawas. In 1894, he went to Mecca

Mecca

Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...

 studying Islamic law under Shaikh Ahmad Khatib

Ahmad Khatib

Shaikh Ahmad Khatib was a Minangkabau Indonesian Islamic teacher. He was born in Koto Gadang, Agam Regency, West Sumatra on 6 Dzulhijjah 1276 H and died in Mecca on 8 Jumadil Awal 1334 H . He served as the head of the Shafi'i school of law at the mosque of Mecca...

. After he graduated, he taught Islam in Mecca until 1906. Upon his return to Dutch East Indies

Dutch East Indies

The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....

 (now Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

), he founded an Islamic organization known as Muhammadiyah

Muhammadiyah

Muhammadiyah is an Islamic organization in Indonesia. Muhammadiyah, literally means "followers of Muhammad"...

 in West Sumatra. In 1915, Haji Rasul founded Sumatera Thawalib in Padang Panjang

Padang Panjang

Padang Panjang is located in the cool highlands of West Sumatra, inland from the provincial capital Padang. It sits on a plateau beneath the volcanoes Mount Marapi and Mount Singgalang. It has an area of 23 km² and a population of over 40,000...

. Thawalib was an Islamic school that produced many progressive students. He died in Jakarta before independence day on June 2, 1945.

Family

Haji Rasul's son, Hamka

Hamka

Haji Abdul Malik Karim Amrullah, known as Hamka was a prominent Indonesian author, ulema and politician. His father, syekh Abdul Karim Amrullah, known as Haji Rasul, led and inspired the reform movement in Sumatra upon his arrival from the holy land Mecca in 1906...

 was also prominent ulama, politician, and author. Rusdi Hamka, his grandson is politician, member of DPR from United Development Party

United Development Party

The United Development Party , sometimes translated as Development Unity Party is a political party in Indonesia. It is an islamic party and currently led by Suryadharma Ali.-Origins:...

.