Sunan Ampel (born Raden Ahmad Rahmatullah; 1401–1481) was one of the Javanese nine revered saints

Wali Songo The Wali Songo (also transcribed as Wali Sanga) are revered saints of Islam in Indonesia, especially on the island of Java, because of their historic role in the spread of Islam in Indonesia. The word ''wali'' is Arabic for "trusted one" (" ...

, credited for the spread Islam in

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...

. According to local history around Demak the

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

of Demak Masjid Agung Demak was built by Sunan Ampel in 1479 CE, but other source credited the construction of the mosque to

Sunan Kalijaga Sunan Kalijaga (1460-1513), born as Raden Mas Said son of a Duke of Tuban in East Java, Indonesia, was one of the "nine saints" of Javanese Islam (Wali Sanga). the "Kalijaga" title was derived from an orchard known as "Kalijaga" in Cirebon. O ...

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. Biography Ibrahim's origin is unclear, although it is generally ag ...

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

Champa Champa ( Cham: ꨌꩌꨛꨩ; km, ចាម្ប៉ា; vi, Chiêm Thành or ) were a collection of independent Cham polities that extended across the coast of what is contemporary central and southern Vietnam from approximately the 2nd ...

Court. 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 ( jv, ꦩꦗꦥꦲꦶꦠ꧀; ), also known as Wilwatikta ( jv, ꦮꦶꦭ꧀ꦮꦠꦶꦏ꧀ꦠ; ), was a Javanese Hindu-Buddhist thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia that was based on the island of Java (in modern-day Indonesia ...

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

Ahmad al-Muhajir Ahmad al-Muhajir ( ar, أحمد المهاجر, ', ; 260-345 AH or c. 873-956 CE) also known as Al-Imām Aḥmad bin ʿĪsā was an Imam Mujtahid and the progenitor of Ba 'Alawi sada group which is instrumental in spreading Islam to India, South ...

, a

Hadhramaut Hadhramaut ( ar, حَضْرَمَوْتُ \ حَضْرَمُوتُ, Ḥaḍramawt / Ḥaḍramūt; Hadramautic: 𐩢𐩳𐩧𐩣𐩩, ''Ḥḍrmt'') is a region in South Arabia, comprising eastern Yemen, parts of western Oman and southern Saud ...

saint who migrated from

Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is han ...

(now in Iraq) to Yemen to avoid strife during the

Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttal ...

. 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 (; 1371–1433 or 1435) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and court eunuch during China's early Ming dynasty. He was originally born as Ma He in a Muslim family and later adopted the surname Zheng conferr ...

. 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, daughter of a Chinese captain at

Tuban Tuban is a town located on the north coast of Java, in Tuban Regency (of which the town is the administrative capital), approximately west of Surabaya, the capital of East Java. Tuban Regency is surrounded by Lamongan Regency in the east, ...

named Gan Eng Cu. This marriage produced several children: sons

Sunan Bonang Sunan Bonang (born Raden Makdum Ibrahim in Tuban, East Java, in 1465 CE; died in 1525 CE at Pulau Bawean) was one of the Wali Songo, along with his father Sunan Ampel and his brother Sunan Drajat. Bonang is a village in Rembang Regency. Suna ...

and Sunan Drajat became wali songo; daughter Syarifah became the wife of

Sunan Ngudung Sunan may refer to: *Hadith collections in Islam: ** Sunan Abi Da'ud ** Sunan al-Tirmidhi **Sunan al-Sughra ** Sunan Ibn Maja *Sunan (Indonesian title), honorary title in Java island, Indonesia *Sunan Yugur Autonomous County, in Gansu, China * Suna ...

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 (کسلطانن دمق) 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 found ...

. 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. Architectu ...

Activities

Teacher of

Sunan Giri Sunan Giri (also called Raden Paku or Joko Samudro), Muhammad Ainul Yakin (born 1442 CE in Blambangan (now Banyuwangi) is considered one of the Wali Sanga (revered saints of Islam) of Indonesia. History He was the son of Dewi Sekardadu and ...

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 {{Indonesia-reli-bio-stub id:Walisongo ms:Walisongo

Genealogy

Activities

See also

Notes