Abdulaziz Al-Rashid

Abdulaziz Al-Rashid
Born	Abdulaziz Al-Rashid 1305 A.H – 1887 A.D. Kuwait city
💀Died	3 Dhu al-Hijjah 1356 AH – 3 February 1938 (51 years old) Jakarta, Indonesia3 Dhu al-Hijjah 1356 AH – 3 February 1938 (51 years old)
🏳️ Nationality	Kuwaiti
💼 Occupation

Abdulaziz bin Ahmed Al-Rashid (1887 Kuwait – 3 February 1938 Jakarta), a Kuwaiti historian and writer who worked in the press and wrote on history. He is the author of many books, the most important of which is the book "Tarikh al Kuwait" (The History of Kuwait). He was one of the advocates for a correct understanding of Islam with Yusuf bin Isa Al-Qana’i, who were among the first preachers who permitted the reading and printing of newspapers and called for the teaching of modern sciences and stood against the advocates of reaction in Kuwait, his blood was shed by one of the religious sheikhs described as puritanical. He participated in the battle of Jahra in 1920, and he was wounded. He is considered the first historian of Kuwait, because he was the first to issue a book on the history of Kuwait in 1926. He is also called the pioneer of journalism in Kuwait, because he published the first magazine in Kuwait, the Kuwait Magazine, in 1928. The magazine issues, which were published between March 1928 and March 1930, have been collected in a book called "Adad majallat al kuwait" (The Issues of Al-Kuwait Magazine). On 18 February 2009, the Kuwaiti Writers Association announced its initial agreement with the Ministry of Communications to issue commemorative postage stamps in memory of the pioneers of the cultural movement, and he was among the names presented.

Upbringing

According to what was stated in the book of Abdul Aziz Al-Rasheed and his role in the literary movement by Dr. Yaqoub Al-Hajji, his father Ahmed Al-Rashid immigrated to Kuwait from Zulfi with two of his brothers. Abdulaziz Al-Rasheed was born in the Al-Wasat neighborhood of Kuwait City, he entered the Kuttab to learn the Qur’an when he was six years old with Mullah Zakaria al-Ansari; he completed the Qur’an after two or three years. Then he became a student of Sheikh Abdullah Al-Khalaf at the age of fourteen. He worked with his father in trade, and he used to travel to the Caucasus on camels to sell leather there.

His study

He went to the city of Al-Zubayr in Iraq to seek knowledge with its sheikh, Muhammad bin Abdullah Al-Aujan, and stayed with him for a whole year to study Hanbali jurisprudence. In 1903, he returned to Kuwait and got married at the age of sixteen. In 1906, he went to Al-Ahsa, in the city of Mubarraz, specifically, to seek knowledge with Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Abdul Qadir. He did not leave Mubarraz until after his father came to him asking him to return to Kuwait. But he fled from him and went to Al-Ahsa again in 1908, and remained there for a period of time and then returned to practice pearl diving with his father.

In 1911, he went to Baghdad to join the Dawoodi School with Mahmoud Shukri Al-Alusi and began with him to explain Al-Suyuti on the Alfiyyah of Ibn Malik (Ibn Malem millennium), and he did not complete it with him for an unknown reason; he completed it at the hands of his cousin Ali Ala Al-Din Al-Alusi. Sheikh Mahmoud Al-Alusi encouraged Abdul Aziz Al-Rashid to research about the veil issue and respond to women’s unveiling advocates, most notably among them, the student of Sheikh Mahmoud Al-Alusi, the poet Maarouf Al-Rasafi.

Al-Rasheed wrote his first book, "Tahdhir al-muslimin min ittibae ghayr sabil al-muminin" (Warning Muslims about following other than believers’ way), in 1911, and he calls in this book to the woman’s staying at home and condemning her going out to schools.

Al-Rasheed left Baghdad for Cairo when he heard about the opening of the House of Call and Guidance in February 1912 by Sheikh Rashid Rida. Al-Rasheed asked to join that house, but his request was rejected for an unknown reason. Then he went to Makkah Al-Mukarramah in the same year, and then went to Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah, which he stayed in for a year, then returned to Al-Zulfi, and wore the robe and turban in the manner of the scholars of the Levant and Iraq.

His work in Kuwait

When Abdul Aziz Al-Rashid returned to Kuwait, the country was experiencing the beginning of its cultural renaissance after the establishment of the Mubarakiya School in 1911. He accompanied many advocates of reform in that period, such as Youssef bin Issa Al-Qina’i and the poet Saqr Al-Shabib. He became one of the most prominent advocates of reform after his appointment as headmaster of the Mubarakiya School in 1917; he worked as a school principal for two years, until 1919. He introduced a number of new subjects into the school, such as geography, engineering, and the English language; these subjects were forbidden by some scholars at that time. This made it difficult for him to work because the school was supported by parents’ donations..

In 1921 he was a member of the first Kuwaiti Shura Council, and in 1922 the National Library was established.

He had suggested establishing a new school after people were reluctant to study English at the Mubarakiya School. It has become a faculty; a ceremony was held to ensure the success of the school’s idea. He suggested a way to reveal the students’ talents and their oral information in front of the attendees who were led by Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Hamad Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, Saleh Al-Ibrahim, Hamed Al-Naqeeb, Youssef Al-Naqib, Hamad Al-Khaled, and a number of other attendees.

And he wrote the play himself, and the students successfully performed it. He wrote a play called "Al muhawara al islahiya" (The Reformist Dialogue), which was printed in Baghdad in 1924. It was criticized by Sheikh Ahmed Al-Farsi, and it was represented on 3 March of the same year at the Ahmadiyya School. It shows the conflict between the modernists and imitators.

The most famous work of Abdul Aziz Al-Rashid is his book « Tarikh Al Kuwait" (The History of Kuwait), which was published in 1926. The book remained hostage to customs, and some copies of it leaked to Kuwait. It was gifted to the Tunisian leader Abdelaziz Al-Ta’ali. The book was printed in the modern printing press in Baghdad; Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah helped him to collect official documents and contracts to document "Tarikh al Kuwait" (the history of Kuwait), and the idea of registering the history of Kuwait had been in his mind for a long time. He told his friend Ahmad Al-Fahd Al-Khaled that he was looking forward to writing down the history of Kuwait so that it would be a gift to his country and the people. In 1925 he began collecting the information required for the book from some trustworthy men such as Hamad Al-Khalid, Shamlan Al-Saif, Hamed Al-Naqib, and Mulla Hussain Al-Tarkit. He used to go to the people he trusted, and he also asked about the events that took place outside Kuwait, such as the reason behind the migration of Aal Sabah family from Hadar to Kuwait, where he asked Ibrahim ben Muhammad Al Khalifa from Bahrain about that. After he finished his writings, he presented them to some of his companions, and Mr. Hashem Al-Rifai suggested to him that he go to Sheikh Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to provide him with other information and some documents. Abdul Aziz Al-Rasheed sent a letter to Sheikh Ahmed Al-Jaber asking him to see a number of documents and papers. Sheikh Ahmed Al-Jaber ordered the head of his office, Mulla Saleh bin Muhammad Al-Mulla, to provide Abdul Aziz Al-Rasheed with everything he wanted.

At that time, he was publishing many articles in a number of newspapers, such as Al-Shoura newspaper, whose correspondent was in Kuwait, Al-Yaqin magazine, and Al-Hilal magazine. After he issued the book "Tarikh al Kuwait" (the history of Kuwait), he had the idea of creating a magazine in the name of Kuwait, and he sent a letter to Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to allow him to issue a magazine in the name of Kuwait, and he said in his letter: “Issuing a magazine for Kuwaitis in Kuwait is a wish; reaching its summit is one of the highest aspirations of the soul, and for the sake of what it desires in this life.” Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah agreed to issue the magazine, and stipulated that Yousef bin Issa Al-Qina’i be the observer to this magazine, so Abdul Aziz Al-Rasheed agreed on that. In 1928, he issued the Kuwait magazine, the first in the Gulf. It was printed by his friend, the Syrian writer Khair al-Din al-Zarkali, and he printed 500 copies. The number of participants in it reached 300 people, most notably the Sheikh of Al-Azhar Mustafa Al-Maraghi. After that, he left Kuwait for Bahrain. He continued to issue the magazine until it completed its second year and its tenth issue in March 1930. The magazine’s goal was to spread reform and eliminate backwardness in the Arab and Islamic world. A number of Arab intellectuals at that time wrote in the magazine, such as Abdel Qader Al Maghribi, Shakib Arslan, Abdel Aziz Al Thaalbi, and Muhammad Ali Taher.

Moving to Indonesia (1931–1937)

Abdul Aziz Al-Rasheed met King Abdulaziz bin Saud on 14 February 1931 in Makkah Al-Mukarramah in a banquet held in honor of senior pilgrims and their families. He praised King Abdul Aziz in a poem, and agreed with him to go to Indonesia to call to the Salafi sect and to invite Muslims there to go for Hajj. This was the idea of Abdullah Al-Sulaiman Al-Hamdan, Minister of Finance of King Abdulaziz. After the end of the Hajj season in that year, he went to Java on one of the pilgrims’ ships, and took with him 100 pounds and a luxurious clothing gift from King Abdul Aziz.

When he went to Indonesia, he was aware of the ongoing conflict between the members of the Hadrami Arab community; they were divided into two groups: the Alawites and the Guidanceists. The origin of the dispute is social inheritances, which are the class divisions, where the Alawites (they are Shafi’i sect and descend from the descendants of the Prophet) and the marriage took place between them according to the social status.

In July 1931, Al-Rasheed arrived in Jakarta after he met on his way in Singapore his Iraqi friend Younis Bahri, where they agreed to compose the hearts of the Hadramis. Al-Rasheed was a guest of Ahmed Al-Sorkati. He and his Iraqi friend Younis Bahri tried to resolve the dispute by referring the dispute to Al-Azhar in Cairo to issue a fatwa according to the Shafi’i school, but he did not succeed. In September 1931, he issued a magazine called “Al Kuwait wa Al-Iraqi” (the Kuwait and the Iraqi) with his Iraqi friend. The magazine continued to be published in Java until 25 January 1933, when his Iraqi friend Younis Bahri disappeared. Al-Rashid leaned on the side of the Guidanceists against the Alawites, and almost paid with his life for that.

Regarding the struggles that Al-Rasheed and the Iraqi traveler Yunus Bahri fought in Indonesia, Al-Amal Al-Mawsili newspaper mentioned in its issue on 19 February 1932 a story that read as follows: The Iraqi tourist Yunus Bahri came to Baghdad from Batavia, the capital of Indonesia, via the Hejaz – Egypt – Palestine – Syria, where he stayed for about seven months after he and his friend Al-Rashid resisted against the ideas of the colonial missionaries; they also supported reconciliation between the two main antagonistic parties in the country (the Alawites party) that preserved the old, and the (Guidanceists) party rebelling there, and reconciling the disputes between them, knowing that in Indonesia there is an association to resist proselytizing, which is the Association (Al-Irshad), which is purely Arab, and the Association (The Islam and Muhammadiyah Company), and its members are from the indigenous people of the country.

He worked in teaching, and gave lessons in hadith jurisprudence and the Arabic language. A year later he returned to Kuwait, which was suffering from the spread of smallpox. He remained in Kuwait for two weeks, after which he went to Bahrain and then the port of Uqair in Al-Ahsa to meet King Abdulaziz ben Saud in October 1932. He heard the wireless and the radio for the first time; he commented on that saying: There is no strangeness in all of this. There is no magic, no astrology, no demons, no priests. Rather, they are the mighty minds that brought their masters to what we see and hear.

He was subjected to an assassination attempt after some of his enemies in Indonesia were waiting for him at his house; they cut his forehead with a sharp object and he fell unconscious. His wife and some of his friends helped him and took him to the hospital, and he recovered from that injury. When he returned to Indonesia in early 1933, Al-Rasheed issued a magazine called Al-Tawhid, and the magazine continued to be published until the end of the year and stopped due to Al-Rasheed’s move to Bakalungan city, where he worked as a principal of the Al-Irshad School. He resided there for three years, and on 18 January 1937 he returned to Kuwait again, where he spent four months, visiting Basra and Baghdad in these months to communicate with his old friends. On 12 May 1937, he left Kuwait, returning to Indonesia. He passed through Bahrain and then Riyadh to visit King Abdul Aziz. He went and performed Umrah in Mecca, then arrived in Singapore in August 1937, from which he went to Java.

Death

Abdul Aziz Al-Rasheed died in Jakarta on the 3rd of Dhu al-Hijjah 1356 AH corresponding to 3 February 1938 AD, and was buried in the Arab Cemetery.

His poems

A poem entitled: “Ya qomi” (Oh my tribe)

Oh my tribe! Their misery is my misery… and my status will rise if their status rises.

Trample lightly because cruelty is an evil… it brings misfortune, annihilation, and affliction.

If you think that cruelty works… then you are wrong in your thinking.

We never knew hearts to be owned by compulsion… so reject the indiscretion and slap the reckless.

Leave deception and condescension... because the reward of those who are arrogant over people is to be humiliated.

Do not unjustly antagonize men... nor turn away from those who were servants.

And you should be gentle in word and deed… if you want your enemies to be kind.

His writings

• Risalat tahdhir al-muslimin min ittibae ghayr sabil al-muminin" (A message warning Muslims against following other than the way of the believers).
• Tarikh al-Kuwait" (The History of Kuwait), in two parts, published in 1926.
• Risalat al-dalayil al-bayyinat fi hukm ta’lim al-lughat" (Evident evidence message regarding the ruling on teaching languages)

Related books

• Al-Shaykh Abdulaziz Al-Rashid: Sirat hayatuh” (Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Rashid: his Biography of His Life), Youssef Yaqoub Al-Hajji.
• Abdulaziz Al-Rashid, al-sahafa wa ruwwadaha fi al-Kuwait” (Abdul Aziz Al-Rashid, the press and its pioneers in Kuwait), 1982.
• Al-Shaykh Abdulaziz Al-Rashid” (Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Rashid), Youssef Yaqoub Al-Hajji, 2001.
• Ruwwad al-haraka al-thaqafiyya fi al-Kuwait” (Pioneers of the Cultural Movement in Kuwait), Alam al Marifa publishing, 16 September 2008.
• Khaled Saud Al-Zayd: “Uda’a’ al-Kuwait fi qarnayn” (Kuwaiti writers in two centuries), Al matbaea al asrya publishing, Kuwait, 1967.
• Qamus tarajim al-shakhsiyat al-Kuwaytiyat fi qarnayn wa nisf “ (Dictionary of Translations of Kuwaiti Personalities in Two and a Half Centuries), Kuwait Government Press 1998.
• A’lam al-shi’r fi al-Kuwait” (Poetry figure in Kuwait), by Ali Abdel-Fattah, Ibn Qutaiba Library, Kuwait, 1996.

References

This article "Abdulaziz Al-Rashid" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Abdulaziz Al-Rashid. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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