Draft:Tuan Guru Haji Ahmad

Tuan Guru Haji Ahmad (born Ahmad Syafi'i; 7 May 1885 – c. 1949) was an Indonesian ulama, educator, and trader. He is known as the first person to established an Islamic education institution in Bengkalis.

Early life and education
Ahmad was born Ahmad Syafi'i on 7 May 1885 in Kuok, a village in Bangkinang, Kampar Regency, as the second child of the three children of Muhammad Ali and Hajar. In the early of 20th century, he travelled to Bengkalis with his friends to trade commodity goods, such as fruits, secondary crops, and other garden products, to Strait of Malacca to be sell. Ahmad then stayed in Bengkalis and continued his trading activities for two years. In 1914, he moved to Kedah, British Malaya, to pursue an Islamic education with a famous cleric at a boarding school there for seven years. After completed his education, Ahmad traveled to Mecca in order to perform hajj. He traveled barefoot from British Malaya and visited several countriees in order to find an additional income and logistics for his journey. After performing the Hajj, Ahmad stayed in Mecca for three years to pursue an Islamic education from famous scholars there. He then moved to Perak after finishing his education and lived there for ten years.

Personal life
Ahmad was first married to Rohimah binti Sani, a women from Perak, after returning from Mecca. They had 15 children, including Mariah binti Ahmad, Hamid, and Alwi Ahmad. His second marriage was to Khadijah binti Sulaiman, a women he met during his teaching time in Bengkalis. They had five children, including Abdul Karim, A. Hamid, Hasan Ahmad, and Ahmad Idris. Both of the marriage lasted until Ahmad's death in c. 1949.

Career
Ahmad started his career as an educator by spending his time teaching Islam to residents in various regions while living in Perak and Kedah. In 1924, he returned to Bengkalis and established an Islamic school with the halaqa system at Parit Bangkong Grand Mosque. The school teaches several religious sciences, including tafsir, fiqh, tawhid, nahwu shorof, history of Islam, and etc. Among his students were Abdullah Nur who also teaches with him at the school. Ahmad also became a teacher at a school near orphanage and taught Islamic knowledge to residents in mosque and prayer room in Bengkalis and surrounding areas for free. At the beginning of Ramadan, he returned to Perak to gather with his family and returned to Bengkalis after Eid al-Fitr to continued his teaching activities.

In 1930, Ahmad brought his family from Perak to moved to Bengkalis and continued their teaching, and preaching activities there. He then established a mosque in Pangkalan Batang which was named Al-Muttaqin Mosque.

In 1937, along with Zakaria bin Muhammad Amin, Ahmad established Al-Khairiyah, the first formal education institution in Bengkalis and became a teacher there for ten years. This school was built on waqf land belonging to Abdul Rahman at the Great Mosque of Parit Bangkong located on Jalan Sultan Syarif Kasim, which is now the former Dayang Dermah Orphanage. Students at Al-Khairiyah came from various regions, such as Selat Panjang, Bagansiapiapi, Rupat, Tanah Putih, Merbau, Sungai Apit, Bukit Batu, and others. After the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies arrived in Bengkalis, in 1943, Al-Khairiyah was closed and the students were returned to their respective homelands.

During the Japanese occupation, educational activities in schools were stopped because the Japanese army prohibited the existence of activities or associations that teach religious knowledge. This unsafe and conducive situation resulted in the school being closed and resulted in Ahmad returned to Perak. After the Japanese left Indonesia, he returned to Bengkalis and continued his teaching activities until his death in c. 1949.

Death
Ahmad died in Pangkalan Batang, a village in Bengkalis, Central Sumatra, in c. 1949. His age was reported as 60 and 63. He was buried there behind Al-Mustaqim Mosque near the sea.

Legacy
On 23 October 2017, Ahmad's name was inaugurated as the name of Bengkalis Regional Library.