Episode 5
Sheikh Yusuf al-Makassari — Scholar, Fighter, and Wanderer
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Sheikh Yusuf al-Makassari (1626–1699) was one of the most extraordinary of the archipelago's scholars in the course of his life. Born in Gowa, South Sulawesi, he sought knowledge as far as Makkah, Madinah, and various centres of Islamic learning, then became a great scholar with cross-border influence. He later served in the Sultanate of Banten and helped lead the resistance against Dutch colonisation. For this he was captured and exiled — first to Sri Lanka, then to Cape Town, South Africa. In that land of exile, rather than being extinguished, he became a founder of the Muslim community in South Africa; to this day he is honoured there as one of the founding figures of Islam. Sheikh Yusuf is a symbol that knowledge and steadfastness know no borders. He is recognised as an Indonesian National Hero, and his name is honoured in three countries: Indonesia, South Africa, and Sri Lanka. His tombs are in Cape Town and also in Gowa. Reflection: a true believer keeps spreading benefit wherever he is, even in a place of banishment. Trial and exile did not stop the light of knowledge from shining on. Sources & Notes: the story of Sheikh Yusuf is among the most documented — his exile by the Dutch, his role in South Africa, his Indonesian National Hero title (conferred 1995), and the existence of his tombs in Cape Town and Gowa are officially recorded historical facts. Several of his sufi works are also still studied.
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Sheikh Abdus Shamad al-Palimbani — the Sufi Scholar of Palembang