Syeikh Abdullah Fahim bin Syeikh Ibrahim ( Jawi: ; 1869 – 27 April 1961) was a Malaysian nationalist and religious scholar. He was

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Ma ...

's first

mufti A Mufti (; ar, مفتي) is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion ('' fatwa'') on a point of Islamic law (''sharia''). The act of issuing fatwas is called ''iftāʾ''. Muftis and their ''fatwas'' played an important rol ...

after

Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the s ...

. He was also the paternal grandfather of former

Prime Minister of Malaysia The prime minister of Malaysia ( ms, Perdana Menteri Malaysia; ms, ڤردان منتري مليسيا, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset) is the head of government of Malaysia. The prime minister directs the executive branch of the fede ...

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Tun Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi ( Jawi: عبد الله بن احمد بدوي; born 26 November 1939) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 5th Prime Minister of Malaysia from October 2003 to April 2009. He was also the sixth president of ...

. Abdullah Fahim known as “Pak Him” and “Chaiain” was born in

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow val ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries by area, fifth-largest country in Asia ...

in 1869. He was a respected Islamic scholar and had set up and ran many religious schools, also known as ''madrasah'' or ''sekolah pondok''. He was the ''mudir'' or director of Madrasah Idrisiah in

Kuala Kangsar The Kuala Kangsar ( Perak Malay: ''Kole Kangso'') is the royal town of Perak, Malaysia. It is located at the downstream of Kangsar River where it joins the Perak River, approximately northwest of Ipoh, Perak's capital, and southeast of ...

. He also started a ''madrasah'' in Kepala Batas, Prime Minister

's current hometown. This was around the time he became

's first

. He died on April 26, 1961 in

Kepala Batas, Kedah Kepala Batas (Jawi script, Jawi: كڤالا باتس, Kedah Malay, Kedahan: ''Kepala Bataih'') is a small town in Kubang Pasu District, Kedah, Malaysia. The Sultan Abdul Halim Airport is located here. References

Kubang Pasu District Tow ...

. He was one of the key people who started Hisbul Muslimin, which later became known as

Parti Islam Se-Malaysia The Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS; ms, Parti Islam Se-Malaysia; ms, ڤرتي إسلام سمليسيا, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset) is an Islamist political party in Malaysia. As the party focused on Islamic fundamentalism, PA ...

PAS PAS or Pas may refer to: Companies and organizations * Pakistan Academy of Sciences * Pakistan Administrative Service * Pan Am Southern, a freight railroad owned by Norfolk Southern and Pan Am Railways * Pan American Silver, a mining company in ...

, one of the main opposition parties in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

which fights for an Islamist agenda. Both his son and grandson became leaders in

UMNO The United Malays National Organisation ( Malay: ; Jawi: ; abbreviated UMNO () or less commonly PEKEMBAR), is a nationalist right-wing political party in Malaysia. As the oldest continuous national political party within Malaysia (since its i ...

, the sworn enemy of PAS. Recently, on 12 February 2008,

launched

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia The National University of Malaysia ( ms, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, abbreviated as UKM) is a public university located in Bandar Baru Bangi, Hulu Langat District, Selangor, Malaysia. Its teaching hospital, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia ...

's newly set-up Islam Hadhari Institute's first Chair, which was named after Abdullah Fahim. The Prime Minister in his speech said the Islam Hadhari Institute was the first of its kind in the country and he hoped that it would emerge as a leader in promoting Islam in and outside the country. On the Chair, named in honour of his grandfather's contribution and determination in fighting for the importance of development of Islam in

, the Prime Minister said he was deeply honoured.

References

Further reading