INSIDE SCOOP OF THE FORGOTTEN LEGACY: First Mufti of Singapore

Singaporeans, get your facts right. When you ask Singaporeans, who is the first Mufti of Singapore? They tend to recall the 2nd Mufti which is utterly dissappointing. :( 

Isn't he just a cute old man? :)

Born as Mohd. Sanusi bin Mahmud bin Abdul Rahman bin Abdul Rahim bin Azmi,  

He is Singapore's first Mufti for 3 years.

He married a beautiful egyptian woman named Saiedah Hassan of also turkish descendent. 

They had two daughters and six sons together.

And they are: (not in order,sorry)

1) Fauziyah 

2) Mustafa

3) Mohammad

4) Abdullah

5) Huda

6) Abdul Mohsen

7) Nasser

8) Mohktar

Haji Sanusi was a bright and extremely intelligent student. He studied in Victoria Bridge School and Al-Azhar University with the highest distinction, making him the first Singaporean to achieve that. 

He also studied in Indonesia and Haramain. He can speak English, Arabic, Malay and French. 

He is one of the finest Ulama' of all time (according to me , hehe)

Haji Sanusi is a Banjar and he is the descendent of Sheikh Arsyad Al-Banjari, author of the famous book: Kitab Sabilul Muhtadin.

It has been known that Aminah and Abdullah (parents of Arsyad Al-banjari) were pious people but did not have any children. Yet.

On the night of Ramadhan which was supposedly to be Lailatul Qadr (Night of Power), Abdullah saw a tree in a position of ruku' and called to Aminah. (When you ask Allah for anything on the Night of Power, it is guaranteed that Allah will grant it.) So they prayed to have children of pious people, of the knowledgeable for a whole seven generations.

Haji Sanusi is the sixth generation of Al-Banjari. One spot left. :)

He contributed a lot to society. He was a President of the Syariah Court and also work in Jami'ah Singapore. He wrote a lot of books.  Some of his books are:

1) Undang-undang keluarga dalam Islam

2) Kamus Istilah As-Sanusi

3) Sains and Teknologi dalam Islam

4) Kamus Arab Komunikasi

5) Taman Mu'min

6) Ru'yah

He worked with Ahmad Ibrahim in Singapore before Ahmad Ibrahim taught in IIUM. He was friends with the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj. 

But... Why was his post just for a short term? Why didn't the Government of Singapore renew his contract? He was after all the most influential and knowledgeable religious person in Singapore...

Here's the story:

Lee Kuan Yew wanted the land of Wakaf for the development of Singapore (since it's such a small country, he wanted to use every land there is!) So, he requested to the Mufti of Singapore to issue a Fatwa (Islamic Ruling by Ulama') for him to use the Wakaf land.

Haji Sanusi wrote back, saying that, if the land was to be used, it must be for the development of Muslims only. And since Singapore is a multi racial country, that was impossible.

They didn't renew his contract. The next muftis were all people who bowed down to the wishes of the government. Singapore is after all a soft type of authoritarian government. Haji Sanusi had the kind of faith that everyone wished for. He did what was in the command of Islam and did not bow down to the whims and desires of men. :') *happy tears* Not many people can do that. 

He was always gentle with people. He had a charismatic personality. He was loved by the people around him. It has been many years since he passed away, but his memories will be kept in the hearts of his beloved ones and the hearts that touched.

Rest in Peace, my grandfather. See you in Jannah, Inshaa Allah.  :') 

** Note: References are found in old articles, letters and personal experiences of the sons and daughters. Letters to Lee Kuan Yew are also available. Except that it's with one of his sons.

Trust me though, a muslim is never a liar, right? :)

Toodles y'all. Salamun alaik.