Solehah Yaacob

Solehah Yaacob is a Malaysian linguist, academic and author who had served as Professor of Arabic linguistics at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) until April 2026. Recognised for her scholarly work on Arabic grammatical philosophy and the historical development of the language, she has contributed several studies examining the relationship between Arabic, civilisation and Islamic intellectual heritage. Her work is frequently associated with IIUM’s broader intellectual project of integrating Islamic values within contemporary academic disciplines.

Solehah Yaacob is widely known for a series of controversial pseudohistorical claims. Her claims include that ancient Malays could fly and taught the Chinese "flying kung fu", that ancient Romans have learned shipbuilding techniques from Malays, and that the abundance of iron ore in ancient Kedah resulted of meteor strikes. In August 2026, IIUM confirmed that it had terminated Solehah's employment with effect from 27 April and that she was no longer permitted to identify herself as a professor or claim any official affiliation with the university.

Early life and education Solehah was born in Pasir Mas, Kelantan and pursued all her tertiary education at IIUM.

Academic career Solehah began her career at IIUM in 1995 and later becoming full professor in 2020.

Solehah also works as the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Arabic Language Specialized Research (J-ALSR) and has overseen publications on contemporary and classical debates in Arabic linguistics. She has also collaborated with Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP), IIIT and other national research bodies on Arabic language studies and the Islamisation of the human sciences.

In September 2025, Solehah claimed on a Gabungan Nasionalis ("Nationalist Coalition") podcast that ancient Malays could fly and had taught the Chinese "flying kung fu". Malaysian historians rejected the claim as myth rather than history. In mid-November 2025, the International Islamic University of Malaysia confirmed it would establish an internal inquiry panel to examine Solehah's claims, pending disciplinary proceedings.

Also in November 2025, independent scholar Sharifah Munirah Alatas pointed out that Solehah's 2018 paper had cited a satirical news from The Onion as factual evidence. The news jokingly claimed that historians had fabricated ancient Greek civilisation. Sharifah Munirah called for Solehah‘s paper to be retracted, citing its use of an unreliable source and improper attribution.

In March 2026, Solehah asserted that Rentap, a prominent 19th-century Iban warrior, was of Malay ancestry and a descendant of the legendary Malaccan figure Hang Tuah. The claim was disputed by Malaysian academics, who accused her of attempting to rewrite Sarawak's history.

In August 2026, Solehah was reported presenting a theory that the abundance of iron ore mined and smelted in ancient Kedah was due to a meteor shower. This theory was refuted with archeological studies of the iron ore recovered at the Sungai Batu Archaeological Complex, showing that the ore was of earthly origins, and there was no records of a meteor shower that could drop iron ore in the area.

Termination from IIUM On 23 August 2026, IIUM confirmed that it had terminated Solehah's employment on 27 April. As part of her termination, Solehah was prohibited from using any titles or positions linking her to IIUM in any promotional materials, media reports, advertisements, social media content, publicity material, or any other form of public dissemination. However, she has crossed the 60-day limit for challenging the dismissal.

Research and scholarship Arabic grammatical philosophy Much of Solehah’s scholarship centres on the classical Arabic grammatical tradition. In her analytical study of the theory of , she re-examines the conceptual foundations of Arabic syntax and its philosophical underpinnings.

Semantics, pragmatics and rhetoric Her 2018 monograph connects the classical field of Arabic rhetoric (balāghah) with modern semantic and pragmatic theory, presenting the two traditions as complementary rather than competing.

Historical linguistics Solehah’s work in historical linguistics frames Arabic as a central civilisational language with a long intellectual reach across regions and time periods. Her DBP monograph discusses the evolution of Arabic and its interactions with neighbouring linguistic and cultural spheres. Her work in this area explores how language, meaning and ethical reasoning interact within both Islamic and modern academic frameworks.

Selected works Books

Articles