16 Facts About Ahmad Dahlan

Ahmad Dahlan, was an Indonesian Muslim religious leader and revivalist, who established the Muhammadiyah organization.

Ahmad Dahlan performed the Hajj pilgrimage when he was 15 years old, and he lived in Mecca for another five years.

Ahmad Dahlan returned to Indonesia in 1905, and two years later, he joined the Budi Utomo organization.

Ahmad Dahlan's health continued to deteriorate until he died on 23 February 1923.

Ahmad Dahlan, born as Muhammad Darwis, was born in the Muslim quarter of the city of Yogyakarta, known as Kauman, which was ruled by the Yogyakarta Sultanate, under the boot of colonial rule, on 1 August 1868.

Ahmad Dahlan was the fourth child of seven children of Kyai Haji Abu Bakr bin Kyai Sulaiman, and his wife, Siti Aminah Binti Kyai Haji Ibrahim.

Ahmad Dahlan's father was a palace courtier of the Sultanate of Yogyakarta and served as an imam and a preacher at the Kauman Great Mosque.

Ahmad Dahlan's mother was a descendant of several kyai's, with both her father-in-law and grandfather-in-law being kyai's.

Ahmad Dahlan was the 12th generation descendant of Maulana Ibrahim, better known as Sunan Gresik, a member of the Wali Sanga, a group of revered saints of Islam in Indonesia, with a lineage tracing back to Muhammad himself.

Ahmad Dahlan was raised in the Kauman area of Yogyakarta and was initially taught directly by his parents in a family environment.

Ahmad Dahlan continued his journey and boarded a Chinese merchant vessel which was bound for Singapore.

Ahmad Dahlan then continued his journey to Mecca, and boarded the Mispil ship, which departed for Europe via Aden and Jeddah.

In Mecca, Dahlan associated with other fellow Indonesian pilgrims from Sulawesi, West Java, West Sumatra, Aceh, and other areas, which helped all of them conceive of a common interest against the Dutch colonial authorities of Indonesia and the need to revive Islam in Indonesia.

Ahmad Dahlan became the student of Ahmad Khatib Al-Minangkabawi, an Imam at Masjid al-Haram, who was the teacher of Zakaria bin Muhammad Amin, an ulama, and Hasyim Asy'ari, the founder of Nadhlatul Ulama.

Ahmad Dahlan joined Budi Utomo in 1909, hoping to preach reform to its members, but his supporters urged him to create his organization.

Ahmad Dahlan created Muhammadiyah in 1912 as an educational organisation as a means of realising his reformist ideals.