Trip to Indonesia - 1st to 4th July 2011

Habib Zein bin Ibrahim bin Semait

A brief on Habib Zein bin Ibrahim bin Semait

Picture taken after Isya' Prayer on the night of the haul at Sukabumi.

He is the cousin of our former Mufti, Syed Isa bin Semait and our late local scholar, Syed Ahmad bin Semait. He was born in Indonesia, but is currently residing in Madinah. Annually, during the month of Rajab & Syaaban, he will make trips to Malaysia & Indonesia. He used to visit Singapore too, often staying at his cousin's (the late Syed Ahmad) house or at Masjid Ba'alawie. But he has not done so since the passing of his cousin (Syed Ahmad).

There are many books written by Habib Zein. Among them is a book in Arabic titled "An-Nujumuz Zahirah" which have been translated into Malay by Ustaz Leyaket Ali. The book was published by Masjid Al-Mukminin and was well-received by its congregation. The cover of the book is shown below.

Habib Syeikh bin Salim Al-Attas

A brief on the late Habib Syeikh bin Salim Al-Attas

Picture taken at Kiyai Abdullah Mokhtar's house.

He is the brother of Habib Muhammad bin Salim Al-Attas, the late imam of Masjid Ba'alawie (Singapore). As much as the late Habib Muhammd bin Salim is famous in Singapore, his late brother Habib Syeikh is famous in Sukabumi for his character, knowledge and dedication towards the spread of Islam.

Habib Muhammad bin Salim passed away in 1976 and is buried at Pusara Aman Cemetary (Singapore), just in front of the Pusara Aman Mosque.
Habib Syeikh bin Salim passed away in 1978 and is buried within the premises of his Pesantren (Sukabumi, Indonesia).

4th July 2011

After breakfast at Hj Ismail house at Bogor, we visited Persentren Darul Ulum, where Haji Ismail house is located.

Dzulkifli was surprised to find his name from among the list of contributors for one of the waqaf project for Darul Ulum.

This is the 2nd floor of the mosque that Haji Ismail, with the help of Ustaz Salleh and his students built. They named it "Ruang Sheikh Omar Bin Abdullah Al-Khatib", in memory of Ustaz Salleh's teacher - Syeikh Omar Al-Khatib, who is well-known for his knowledge.

After that, we did a bit of shopping at Bogor itself before heading to Condet, Jakarta. We had to re-adjust our itenary to fit in the lunch invitation by Habib Ali bin Muhammad Al-Haddad whom we met at the majlis haul for Habib Syeikh bin Salim Al-Attas at Sukabumi.

Once we entered Condet, we parked our car at Masjid Al-Hawi, before we walked across the road to Maqam Al-Hawi, where among those buried there is the famous Habib Omar bin Hud Al-Attas, who had many students from Singapore.

Ziarah Maqam Al-Hawi, Condet, Jakarta

The entrance to Maqam Al-Hawi

Inside Maqam Al-Hawi.

This is the Maqam of Habib Muhsin bin Muhammad Al-Attas who passed away in 1938.

After that, we then head down to visit Habib Ali bin Muhammad Al-Haddad. We planned to make the visit a very short one, hoping to squeeze in other visits, but it was not to be. Habib Ali really welcomed us and prepared a sumptuos lunch for us.

At Habib Ali bin Muhammad Al-Haddad's house.

We had tea after lunch, prepared by Dzulkifli.

Within the premises of his house, there is also the admnistrative office of Darul Mustafa, where it handles the admin issues pertaining to students studying in Darul Mustafa, Haudramaut, Yemen.

Soon, it was time for us to leave Habib Ali's house and head straight to the airport, and back home. We reached Changi Airport safely at about 10 p.m. Alhamdulillah.

Picture taken from the screen in our airplane. Can you spot the airplane going in circle?! No wonder we reached Singapore slightly later... ;)

3rd July 2011

3rd July: Haul Habib Syeikh bin Salim Al-Attas

We were woken up by the cries of "Haiya ala shalah" ("Come on, lets pray!") by students of the Pesantren.

After subuh prayer, Habib Zein bin Ibrahim bin Semait gave a short talk, followed by breakfast.

Hj Ismail with Habib Abdur Rahman.

After breakfast, we went back to our rooms to rest, as majlis starts at 9 a.m. However, Habib Abdur Rahman told all Singaporean guests to gather at 8.30 a.m. to meet Habib Zein in private.

Habib Zein, Habib Abdur Rahman and majority of the Singaporean guests.

The crowd... much more than last night.

Habib Abdur Rahman

Habib Zein

In Indonesia and even in Singapore, there are quite a number of gatherings where the book of hadith - "Sahih Bukhari" is read.

Habib Abdullah reading "Sahih Bukhari".

and the rest of them took turns...

Habib Zein giving a talk.

Habib Ali bin Muhammad Al-Haddad, currently staying in Condet, Jakarta. We met him before in Singapore. He recognised us and invited us over for lunch at his house on the next day.

Habib Umar bin AbdurRahman Al-Attas from Haudramaut, Yemen, was delighted to know that we are Singaporeans. He asked us if we know his student, Ustaz Leyaket Ali, which we did. Ustaz Leyaket is currently doing his Phd (under MUIS schloarship) at a university in Jogjakarta.

After the event, we head straight to Cibubur for the opening ceremony of the Musholla Al-Barakah. Although it usually takes about 2 hours, the traffic in Indonesia can be very unpredictable.

(Refer to the blog on Musholla Al-Barakah for more info on its opening ceremony.)

At the opening ceremony, one of the guest speakers, Dr Wajihuddin, invited us over to his Orphanage. Although we were very tired by then, we accepted it and head down to his place.

Dr Wajihuddin is a former Indonesian civil servant. He was given good salary, a car and a house - all paid by the Indonesian goverment. His job required him to move around Indonesia and when he saw the poor children being left unattended, he told his wife that they must do something to help them. Hence, he gave up his job and all the perks that came with it. He took in (at first) 12 orphans and they all lived in a bamboo house. Alhamdulillah, now he has more than 300 children under his care and has moved to a more comfortable house. The bamboo house is still there as a remembrance and is currently being used as an admin office for the Orphanage.

Dr Wajihuddin giving his speech at the opening ceremony of Musholla Al-Barakah.

This is where it all started... the bamboo house which Dr Wajihuddin stayed with his family and 12 orphans.

We visited Dr Wajihuddin after the event. We reached here at about 12.30 a.m.!

2nd July 2011

After about an hour of sleep, we woke up for Subuh prayer (Subuh is at 4.30am!!) and immediately got ready to make our way to Sukabumi (about 2 hours drive from Bogor), hoping to avoid the jam or "macet".We wanted to attend a majlis 'haul' for the late Habib Syeikh bin Salim Al-Attas, as we heard Habib Zein bin Semait (from Madinah) will be there too.

We slept (except for the driver, of course) during the journey and arrived at Sukabumi slightly more than 2 hours later. When we finally found the location of majlis, we were surprised as there was hardly anyone around! We were then told that unlike in the past, this year's 'haul' was brought forward to last Wed.

Not to waste our time there, we then proceed to visit the Maqam of Habib Syeikh bin Salim Al-Attas.

Ziarah Maqam Habib Syeikh bin Salim Al-Attas

Ziarah Kiyai Abdullah Mokhtar

With time on our side, we then proceed to visit Kiyai Abdullah Mokhtar, the youngest student of Habib Syeikh bin Salim Al-Attas. He helmed a Pesantren called "Raudhatun Nizam" at Sukabumi with over 250 students, consisting of both boys and girls. One of his students is Kiyai Muhaimin (from Banten) who had given talks in local mosques a few years ago.

Hj Ismail, together with Ustaz Salleh and his students, helped to build the 3rd floor of this building.

Kiyai Abdullah Mokhtar

Pesantren 'Masyhad Nur As-Salafi'

After visiting Kiyai Abdullah Mokhtar, we went for lunch at a nearby restaurant. After that, we decided to head down to Pesantren 'Masyah Nur As-Salafi', hoping to spend some time with Habib AbdurRahman bin Syeikh Al-Attas (son of the late Habib Syeikh bin Salim Al-Attas).

Scenery around the Pesantren


This is the view taken from the 2nd floor of the Pesantren. Can you see the mosque a distant away? It was built by Habib Hassan from Ba'alawie Mosque.