Habib Noh bin Mohamad Al-Habshi (; 178827 July 1866) was an Arab mystic who is regarded in

Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

as a ''

wali The term ''wali'' is most commonly used by Muslims to refer to a saint, or literally a "friend of God".John Renard, ''Friends of God: Islamic Images of Piety, Commitment, and Servanthood'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008); John ...

'' (

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

saint). Allegedly 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 ...

, Habib Noh was raised in

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

. He also spent some time in

Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman (Islam), Aman (دار الأمان; Arabic for 'The Safe Abode') and historically as Queda, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of ...

, before settling down in Singapore after it became a British settlement.

Personal life

Habib Noh's family allegedly descended from

and lived in the now-

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

i part of

Hadhramaut Hadhramaut ( ; ) is a geographic region in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula which includes the Yemeni governorates of Hadhramaut, Shabwah and Mahrah, Dhofar in southwestern Oman, and Sharurah in the Najran Province of Saudi A ...

. According to tradition, Habib Noh was born in 1788 on a ship en route to

, where he was raised. His father, Mohamad Alhabshee, worked for the British colonial government in Penang. The family also lived in

for a brief period. Around 1819, at the invitation of Syekh Salim bin Abdullah Sumayr, and shortly after

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

had been designated as a British settlement, Habib Noh relocated to

Tanjong Pagar Tanjong Pagar ( alternatively spelled ''Tanjung Pagar'') is a historic district located within the Central Business District of Singapore, straddling the Outram Planning Area and the Downtown Core under the Urban Redevelopment Authority's urba ...

. Habib Noh would remain in Singapore for the rest of his life, although he seldom ventured beyond his house and the Arab Street-based

Sultan Mosque Masjid Sultan, also referred to as Sultan Mosque, is a widely known religious landmark in Singapore. This mosque, which can be found in the Kampong Glam district at the intersection of North Bridge Road and Muscat Street, is highly significant in ...

. He also meditated on Mount Palmer and reportedly enjoyed watching Chinese opera performances at a nearby Buddhist temple. In his lifetime, Habib Noh was already recognised as a ''

'' or saint in the Sufi tradition, specifically as the "patron saint of Malay sailors".

Death and legacy

Habib Noh died on 27 July 1866 in

Telok Blangah Telok Blangah ( , , ) is a subzone region and housing estate located in the area behind Keppel Harbour in Bukit Merah, Singapore. Telok Blangah is represented by three contiguous subzones of Bukit Merah in Urban Redevelopment Authority, URA maste ...

, at the age of 78. His funeral was reportedly attended by "thousands of pilgrims". As legend has it, he was to be buried in another Muslim cemetery, but his casket proved to be unmovable until "someone remembered his wish to be laid to rest at the peak of Mount Palmer". Moreover, the putative owner of Mount Palmer died three days after selling the plot of land in which Habib Noh would be buried. A mausoleum was established in 1890 by Arabian philanthropist Syed Mohamad bin Ahmad Alsagoff. According to Torsten Tschacher, Habib Noh "is certainly the most popular contemporary saint in contemporary Singapore". A 2021 study noted that his tomb "is frequented till today by visitors of various ethnoreligious backgrounds". When the Japanese attacked Singapore in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Habib Noh's tomb "was untouched by bombs or shells that fell about the harbour". Similarly, efforts to redevelop his resting place have allegedly been foiled by the spirit of Habib Noh himself, with extraordinary incidents such as "exploding bulldozers" being reported. In November 2022, teenage student Muhammad Irfan Danyal Mohamad Nor was arrested for, among other things, planning to blow up Habib Noh's tomb because he believed that it was "un-Islamic".

References

Citations

Works cited

Books and journals

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Newspapers

* * * {{refend 1788 births 1866 deaths 19th-century Arab people Arab Muslims Islam in Singapore Muslim mystics Sufi saints