Sunan Ampel (born Raden Ahmad Rahmatullah or Sayyid Ali Rahmatullah; 1401–1481) was one the nine revered Javanese Muslim saints, or Wali Songo, credited with the spread of Islam in

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

. According to local history, around Demak the

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

of Demak Masjid Agung Demak was built by Sunan Ampel in 1479 CE, but other sources attributed the construction of the mosque to Sunan Kalijaga.

Genealogy

The father of Sunan Ampel was

Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malik Ibrahim (died 7 April 1419), also known as Sunan Gresik or Kakek Bantal, was the first of the Wali Songo, the nine men generally thought to have introduced Islam to Java. His habit of placing the Quran, Qu'ran on a pillow led to him rece ...

also known as Ibrahim as-Samarkandy ("Ibrahim Asmarakandi" to Javanese pronunciation). His mother was a princess of the

Champa Champa (Cham language, Cham: ꨌꩌꨛꨩ, چمڤا; ; 占城 or 占婆) was a collection of independent Chams, Cham Polity, polities that extended across the coast of what is present-day Central Vietnam, central and southern Vietnam from ...

Kingdom. Sunan Ampel was born in Champa, in present-day central Vietnam, in 1401 CE. Sunan Ampel came to

in 1443 CE, possibly to visit his aunt Dwarawati, a princess of

who was married to Kertawijaya, the king of

Majapahit Majapahit (; (eastern and central dialect) or (western dialect)), also known as Wilwatikta (; ), was a Javanese people, Javanese Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist thalassocracy, thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia based on the island o ...

. A long lineage indicates that Sunan Ampel was a descendant of

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

, a Prophet in the Islamic religion who was born in Mecca. However, another theory claims that Sunan Ampel had Chinese ancestry and identifies him as Bong Swi Hoo. The two theories are not mutually exclusive, because Muslims from China interacted extensively with Southeast Asia during the time of

Zheng He Zheng He (also romanized Cheng Ho; 1371–1433/1435) was a Chinese eunuch, admiral and diplomat from the early Ming dynasty, who is often regarded as the greatest admiral in History of China, Chinese history. Born into a Muslims, Muslim famil ...

. It was also common for a Muslim man to marry a local woman when settling far from his country of origin. Sunan Ampel married Nyi Gede Manila, the daughter of a Chinese captain at Tuban named Gan Eng Cu. This marriage produced several children: sons

Sunan Bonang Sunan Bonang (born Raden Makdum Ibrahim) was one of the nine Wali Songo (lit. "Nine Saints"), along with his father Sunan Ampel and his brother Sunan Drajat who are said to have established Islam as the dominant religion amongst the Javanes ...

and Sunan Drajat became wali songo; daughter Syarifah became the wife of Sunan Ngudung and the mother of Sunan Kudus; and another daughter became the first wife of Raden Patah and mother to Trenggana, who succeeded his father as leader of the

Sultanate of Demak The Demak Sultanate () was a Javanese Muslim state located on Java's north coast in Indonesia, at the site of the present-day city of Demak. A port fief to the Hindu-Buddhist Majapahit kingdom thought to have been founded in the last quarter of ...

. Some sources suggest that Raden Patah was the cousin of Sunan Ampel. Sunan Ampel died in Demak in 1481 CE but is buried in

Ampel Mosque Ampel Mosque (; ; ) is an ancient mosque located in the Ampel sub-district, district Semampir, Surabaya, East Java. The oldest mosque in East Java was built in 1421 CE by Sunan Ampel where his tomb complex is located within the area. Architectur ...

Activities

Sunan Ampel was teacher of Sunan Giri and Raden Patah. :id:Raden Patah

Notes

*Sunyoto, Agus (2014). ''Atlas Wali Songo: Buku Pertama yang Mengungkap Wali Songo Sebagai Fakta Sejarah''. 6th edition. Depok: Pustaka IIMaN. * Hadhrami people 1401 births 1481 deaths Indonesian people of Arab descent Cham people {{Indonesia-reli-bio-stub id:Walisongo ms:Walisongo

Genealogy

Activities

See also

Notes