Reformist Ulama and Remembered Father: Haji Rasul in Early Twentieth-Century Minangkabau and in Buya Hamka’s Memoir Ayahku

Abstract

Haji Abdul Karim Amrullah, known as Haji Rasul, was a prominent figure in early twentieth-century Minangkabau Islamic reform. His son Hamka’s Ayahku provides a substantial account of that career while also recording how reformist authority was remembered within a family. This article examines both Haji Rasul’s public role and Hamka’s construction of his father as a historical subject. It applies the historical method through heuristics, source criticism, interpretation, and historiography, reading the 2019 edition of Ayahku alongside Hamka’s autobiographical and historical writings and scholarship by Murni Djamal, Taufik Abdullah, and James L. Peacock. The analysis connects doctrinal disputes, the Belasting crisis, religious education, print activity, and opposition to the Guru Ordonansi without reducing these episodes to a single political trajectory. It identifies a recurring narrative emphasis on principled religious judgment, educational responsibility, and collective deliberation. Comparison with Kenang-kenangan Hidup reveals a different emphasis on childhood discipline and emotional distance, followed by accounts of intellectual companionship and affection. Erikson’s concept of identification helps interpret this relationship as represented in the texts, rather than establish a psychological diagnosis of Hamka. The article argues that Ayahku’s biographical subjectivity offers evidence about the remembrance of reformist authority, while its factual claims still require contextual verification. Its contribution lies in relating Haji Rasul’s institutional history to the narrative practices through which his son preserved, questioned, and reinterpreted his legacy.