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KITA Discourse Series 2025/5: A revisionalist take on the role of Shaykh Muhammad Sa’id al-Linggi and his spreading of the Aḥmadiyya-Idrisiyya Ṭarīqa in the Malay World during the early twentieth century
A REVISIONALIST TAKE ON THE ROLE OF SHAYKH MUHAMMAD SA’ID AL-LINGGI AND HIS SPREADING OF THE AḤMADIYYA-IDRISIYYA ṬARĪQA IN THE MALAY WORLD DURING THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY
By:
DR. CHRISTOPHER M. JOLL
Research Associate
Religious Studies Program
School of Social and Cultural Studies
Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
21 October 2025 (Tuesday)
2.30 p.m. – 4.00 p.m.
KITA Meeting Room, Institute of Ethnic Studies (KITA), 4th Flr, Administration Block, Kolej Keris Mas, UKM Bangi
Abstract
The pivotal role of Shaykh Muḥammad Sa’ìd al-Linggi (1875–1926) in spreading the Aḥmadiyya-Idrisiyya in Kelantan and Negeri Sembilan over the early-twentieth century might be well known, but this presentation focuses upon aspects of his career missed by others. These incrementally came into focus while working on a compendium of Malay ‘ulamaconnected the Meccan-based Patani School of Malay ‘ulama connected to the former Malay Kerajaan of Patani (in present-day South Thailand). I present reasons for conceiving Shaykh Muḥammad Sa’ìd al-Linggi as a member of this mobile and culturally cosmopolitan Patani Malay diaspora. In addition to his maternal grandmother being one of Shaykh Dā’ūd bin ‘Abd Allāh al-Faṭānī’s (1769–1847) sisters, he spent ten years in Patani between 1882 and 1992. Furthermore, five of these were spent studying with the famous Shaykh Zayn al-‘Ābidīn bin Muḥammad al-Faṭānī, or Tuan Minal (1820–1913). Reconsidering the career of this murshid presents an opportunity to reimagine the importance of the Aḥmadiyya-Idrisiyya in Mecca during the late-nineteenth century, during which other Malay ‘ulama from the east coast of Siamese-Malay Peninsula were inducted into this ṭarīqa. I present reasons for arguing that his decision to relocate from Mecca to Kelantan—rather than Patani—in the early twentieth century was related to the arrest (in 1902) of Patani’s last Sultan that led to another exodus of Malay ‘Ulama from Patani to Kelantan, Kedah—and Mecca. I conclude with a note about a lesser-known chapter of Shaykh Muḥammad Sa’ìd al-Linggi’s legacy. This is connected with his having spread the Aḥmadiyya-Idrisiyya to one of the many Malay communities in Central Thailand around the former Siamese capital of Ayutthaya, at the end his career. This represents a timely reminder about Malay elements in Central Thailand’s cultural geography.
Presenter’s Profile
Dr. Christopher M. Joll is a New Zealand religious anthropologist and historian, who has spent most of the last two decades studying Thailand’s scattered between Central Thailand and the Malaysian border. He is the author of Muslim Merit-making in Thailand’s Far-south (Springer, 2011). In addition to being a research fellow at the Centre of Excellence for Muslim Studies at Chulalongkorn University’s Institute of Asian Studies, he supervises a cohort of post-graduate students at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Institute of Ethnic Studies.
Programme:
Date: 21 October 2025 (Tuesday)
Time: 2.30 p.m. – 4.00 p.m.
Venue: KITA Meeting Room, 4th Flr Administration Block, Kolej Keris Mas, UKM Bangi
Platform: Zoom (link below)
2.30 p.m.: Introduction & Welcoming Remarks by the Moderator
2.35 p.m.: A revisionalist take on the role of Shaykh Muhammad Sa’id al-Linggi and his spreading of the Aḥmadiyya-Idrisiyya Ṭarīqa in the Malay World during the early twentieth century – Dr. Christopher M. Joll
3.35 p.m.: Q & A Session
4.00 p.m.: End
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the presentation(s) are those of the presenter(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of KITA.
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