THE HISTORY AND TEACHING STYLE OF SHEIKH MUHAMMAD ALI SHUKREE IBN USMAN IN HIS PROPAGATION OF AL-TARIQAH AL-QADIRIYYAH CONCEPT

Abstract

The objectives of this study are to investigate the history of Sheikh Muhammad Ali ShukreeIbn Usman and to examine his instructional strategies in his propagation of at-Tariqah al- Qadiriyyah concept in Thailand. It is a descriptive research recording the data from in-depth interview and the main informant is the descendants of Sheikh Muhammad Ali Shukree Ibn Usman and people suggested by grandchildrens. The study found that Sheikh Muhammad Ali ShukreeIbn Usman was born in Ayuthaya province in 1848, the year of the Rooster, in the reign of King Rama III (Phra bat Som det Phra Nang klao Chao Yu Hua). He was born in a rather poor family and worked as a herdboy for earning his living. By Allah’s determination, he had an opportunity to study in the Middle East when he was 7 years old. He had been in Makkah and other countries in the Middle East for 40 years. However, nobody recognizes his teachers and number of them. After his education in the Middle East, he had been spreading knowledge to Muslims in Ayutthaya province and its neighboring provinces using an ideational conversation method inteaching and interpreting philosophical knowledge without any main textbooks while there were treasuries of religious textbooks in various fields such as Fiqh and Tasawwuf. As for his teaching style, essentially there are mainly two methods which are gradual teaching with touch-speech teaching.