Ahmad Syafi'i Maarif

Ahmad Syafi'i Maarif (31 May 1935 – 27 May 2022), popularly known as Buya Syafi'i, was an Indonesian Islamic scholar and intellectual.

Ahmad Syafi'i Maarif was born on 31 May 1935 in the nagari of Calau, in present-day Sumpur Kudus District of Sijunjung Regency in West Sumatra.

He had four full siblings and 11 half-siblings.

His father, Ma'rifah Rauf Datuk Rajo Malayu, was a gambier trader and the chief elder in his region.

Maarif's mother died when he was a year old, and he was brought up by his aunt Bainah.

In 1942, he enrolled at Sekolah Rakyat, a local elementary school open to native students under the colonial system.

He studied Qur'an and Islamic lessons after school in a madrasa owned by Muhammadiyah, and Qur'an recitation in a surau in the evenings.

Maarif completed his elementary education in five years, one year fewer than the norm.

However, he did not receive his graduation certificate due to the Indonesian National Revolution.

Under the ensuing economic hardships his family experienced, he was unable to resume his education until 1950, when he again enrolled in a madrasa managed by Muhammadiyah, this time in Tanah Datar Regency.

He studied there for three years and graduated.

In 1953, at age 18, Maarif moved to Java with two cousins to continue his education.

He initially wanted to enroll in a madrasa taught by Mohammad Sanusi Latief in Yogyakarta.

However, he was not admitted as the class was at capacity.

After his attempt to enroll, Maarif instead became a teacher in the madrasa, teaching Indonesian and English.

At the same time, he and his cousin enrolled in a mechanical school, finishing the training in a few months.

He was later accepted to the madrasa after submitting a new application, although he had to restart his studies from the middle school level.

During his time there, Maarif was a youth member in Muhammadiyah's scouting organization, Hizbul Wathan.

He was also an editor for Muhammadiyah's student magazine, Sinar.

His father died on 5 October 1955, and he finished his education on 12 July 1956.

Due to financial constraints, Maarif decided against pursuing further education at that time.

At age 21, he was recruited as a teacher by the Muhammadiyah branch in Lombok.

He taught in another Muhammadiyah-run school for approximately a year until March 1957, when he returned to his hometown.

He then moved to Java to enter Cokroaminoto University in Surakarta, leaving as a baccalaureate in 1964.

He resumed his education at the Faculty of Social Science and Education in Yogyakarta State University, completing his bachelor's degree in 1968.

While studying at university, he was active as a Qur'an recitation teacher and worked in a garment shop.

After working in the shop for about a year, he opened his own small shop and briefly worked as a volunteer teacher in Wonogiri Regency and Surakarta.

He later became the editor of the Muhammadiyah-owned magazine, Suara Muhammadiyah, and a member of the Indonesian Journalists Association.

He learned on the job at Suara Muhammadiyah, mentored by Mohammad Diponegoro.

He then received a Fulbright Scholarship to study history at Ohio University in 1972, obtaining a master's degree in 1976.

Supported by another scholarship, he went to the University of Chicago and obtained his doctorate in 1983, with a dissertation entitled Islam as the basis of state : a study of the Islamic political ideas as reflected in the Constituent Assembly debates in Indonesia.

After graduating from Chicago, Maarif returned to Indonesia as a lecturer.

He was elected to the executive board of Muhammadiyah in 1990, and in 1995 became its vice-chairman.

He was also a visiting lecturer at McGill University between 1993 and 1994, and at other universities in Malaysia and the United States.

In 1996, he was appointed a professor of history at Yogyakarta State University, his alma mater.

He was chairman of Muhammadiyah between 1998 and 2005.

Educated in the United States, he was known for his moderate and progressive interpretation of Islam and his opposition to the direct influence of Islam in politics.

Maarif was appointed to replace him in 1998.

Following the fall of Suharto, Muhammadiyah's then-chairman Amien Rais resigned to take part in politics and run for president in the 1999 election.

He was elected for a full five-year term as chairman in 2000.