Sayyid Salih bin Muhsin Al-Hamid

Sayyid Ṣāliḥ bin Muḥsin al-Ḥāmid (1895–1976, Arabic: السيد صلح بن محسن الحامد) also known as Habib Salih Tanggul in the Malay Archipelago was a Hadhrami Sufi scholar and a Wali who was considered as one of the most eminent Ba 'Alawi masters of the twentieth century along with the likes of Ahmad Mashhur al-Haddad, Abdul Qadir al-Saqqaf and others.

Born into a familial heritage of scholarly repute and elevated social status due to his lineage to Husayn ibn Ali on his paternal side and Abu Bakr on his maternal side, he was exposed to an environment of religious devotion which led him to aspire to sainthood and scholarly pursuits in a rural area of Hadhramaut. Under the tutelage of his father and others in the Wadi 'Amd, he had completed initial training in religious legal and spiritual affairs and like many other Hadhramis, young and old, went out of the poverty-stricken Hadhramaut province of Yemen and embarked on a maritime journey with companions to proselytize Islam and engage in commerce.

Eventually settling in Tanggul, in Indonesia, he went into seclusion to worship God alone, and remerged being declared a Qutb by cleric Habib Abu Bakr bin Muhammad al-Saqqaf in recognition of his Maqam with God, he then presented with several Karamat such as the foretelling of political events in Indonesia such as the coming of Adam Malik as foreign minister. Engaged in charitable works, he founded Masjid Riyad al-Salihin after receiving a parcel of land from a generous donor, where he would give lessons encouraging Islamic piety, and would gain a sizable following in the Malay Archipelago.

Birth and family background Sayyid Ṣāliḥ bin Muḥsin al-Ḥāmid was born on the 4th of November 1895 in the village of Korbah Ba Karman in the Wadi ‘Amd region of Hadhramaut to Sayyid Muḥsin bin Aḥmad al-Ḥāmid and Shaykhah ʿĀ’ishah Bā ʿAbūd. His father Muḥsin bin Aḥmad was a Habib, an Alid cleric of the Wadi ‘Amd who belonged to the al-Hamid branch of the descendants of Shaykh Abū Bakr bin Sālim, a major Sufi figure of the city of Tarim from the Ba ‘Alawi Sada, the primary Husayni tribe of Hadhramaut descended from Ali al-Uraydi, the younger brother of Musa al-Kazim. Salih bin Muhsin's full paternal lineage is as follows;

Ṣāliḥ ibn Muḥsin ibn Aḥmad ibn Abī Bakr ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sālim ibn ʿUmar ibn Ḥāmid ibn al-Shaykh al-Fakhr Abī Bakr ibn Sālim ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Saqqāf ibn Muḥammad Mawlā Dawīlah ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿAlawī al-Ghayūr ibn Muḥammad al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam ibn ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad Ṣāḥib Mirbāṭ ibn ʿAlī Khāliʿ Qasam ibn ʿAlawī ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlawī ibn ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Aḥmad al-Muhājir ibn ʿĪsā ibn Muḥammad al-Naqīb ibn ʿAlī al-ʿUrayḍī ibn Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq ibn Muḥammad al-Bāqir ibn ʿAlī Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Shahīd ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib wa-Fāṭimah al-Zahrā’ bint al-Nabī Muḥammad.

Salih bin Muhsin was a 36th generation descendant of the Prophet Muhammad on his paternal side. It was from this marriage that Salih al-Hamid's father Muhsin had acquired the nickname Habib al-Bakri. He then moved his entire family and himself to Tanggul for unclear reasons, but his descendants believe it was for further missionary work. However, Habib Salih did not immediately resume preaching upon arrival, he decided to seclude himself from those around him, engaging in intensive worship for three years. It was not until when Habib Abu Bakr bin Muhammad al-Saqqaf, an eminent cleric, commanded his presence at Gresik with him, that he broke his state of seclusion.

After many years of religious service to the people of Tanggul, Salih bin Muhsin received a large piece of land as a donation from a wealthy merchant by the name of Hajji Abdurrashid. He then told the beggar, “You must be Prophet Khidr, so please pray for me.” The man then supplicated and told him a guest is coming, then left. Soon a man dressed in all black emerged from the train station, and asked Habib Salih where Habib Salih's house is. Then Habib Salih replied that there is no Habib Salih but him, the man then said, “Then you are the one that I am looking for,” he then left, leaving Habib Salih stunned. After that particular incident his residence would often be full of visitors seeking his blessings.

Political influence Being a principal source of spiritual nourishment and guidance in Tanggul of his time, many people would draw to near to him to seek his blessings and counsel for their worldly affairs, amongst this crowd would often include political figures or state officials. One of these political figures that sought his help is Adam Malik, the former vice-president of Indonesia, during the rule of the Indonesian Communist Party, Malik would often receive death threats due to his work at the National News Agency (ANTARA), these death threats were supposed to have come from Soebandrio, the minister of foreign affairs at the time. Malik then went to Habib Ali Kwitang and sought a way of protection from these death threats from him, Habib Ali then recommended Malik to go visit Habib Salih at his residence at Tanggul. Habib Salih welcomed him and let him stay for one night after which he told Adam Malik to return to Jakarta and hide, seeking God's protection, and that he would one day take up Soebandrio's position of being foreign minister. This would come to be true after the September 30th Movement upon which in 1966, Adam Malik become the foreign minister of Indonesia.

A similar occurrence had happened with Alwi Shihab who was a student struggling with legal documents and visas, Shihab came to Habib Salih to ask for his blessings who then told him to bathe in two wells near his residence and then to meet Adam Malik, the foreign minister of the time. Shihab was initially sceptical about the idea as ordinary citizens like himself would struggle to meet with a high-ranking state official like Malik, but Habib Salih provided him with a letter and told him not be afraid of Malik, as he would take his position of Foreign Minister one day. Many years later this came to be true when Alwi Shihab become Foreign Minister in the era of Abdurrahman Wahid’s presidency.

Death and legacy Salih bin Muhsin died on the 3rd of October 1976 at the age of 82 years after increasing illness and was buried in the complex of the Mosque that he founded, Masjid Riyad al-Salihin, after Dhuhr prayers. His Haul, commemoration is done on the tenth of Shawwal every Hijri year. He had three sons and three daughters with his wife Fatima al-Habshi, his sons are Abdullah, Muhammad and Ali, and his daughters are Nur, Fatima and Khadija. His family and descendants still continue to exercise spiritual influence over the populace of Tanggul, Jember.