The Preaching of Islam: A History of the Propagation of the Muslim FaithArnold, Thomas Walker, Sir
Islamic
The Preaching of Islam: A History of the Propagation of the Muslim Faith
Arnold, Thomas Walker, Sir
Islam -- History; Islam -- Missions -- History; Islam -- Relations
neighbouring island of Madura, where he built a mosque and won over
many to the faith.
We must now return to Arya Damar, the governor of Palembang. (See p.
380.) He appears to have brought up his children in the religion which
he himself feared openly to profess, and he now sent Raden Patah, when
he had reached the age of twenty, together with his foster-brother,
Raden Ḥusayn, who was two years younger, to Java, where they landed at
Gresik. Raden Patah, aware of his extraction and enraged at the cruel
treatment his mother had received, refused to accompany his
foster-brother to Majapahit, but stayed with Raden Raḥmat at Ampel
while Raden Ḥusayn went on to the capital, where he was well received
and placed in charge of a district and afterwards made general of the
army.
Meanwhile Raden Patah married a granddaughter of Raden Raḥmat, and
formed an establishment in a place of great natural strength called
Bintara, in the centre of a marshy country, to the west of Gresik. As
soon as the King of Majapahit heard of this new settlement, he sent
Raden Ḥusayn to persuade his brother to come to the capital and pay
homage. This Raden Ḥusayn prevailed upon him to do, and he went to the
court, where his likeness to the king was at once recognised, and where
he was kindly received and formally appointed governor of Bintara.
Still burning for revenge and bent on the destruction of his father’s
kingdom, he returned to Ampel, where he revealed his plans to Raden
Raḥmat. The latter endeavoured to moderate his anger, reminding him
that he had never received anything but kindness at the hands of the
king of Majapahit, his father, and that while the prince was so just
and so beloved, his religion forbade him to make war upon or in any way
to injure him. However, unpersuaded by these exhortations (as the
sequel shows), Raden Patah returned to Bintara, which was now daily
increasing in importance and population, while great numbers of people
in the surrounding country were being converted to Islam. He had formed
a plan of building a great mosque, but shortly after the work had been
commenced, news arrived of the severe illness of Raden Raḥmat. He
hastened to Ampel, where he found the chief missionaries of Islam
gathered round the bed of him they looked upon as their leader. Among
them were the two sons of Raden Raḥmat mentioned above (p. 382), Raden
Paku of Giri, and five others. A few days afterwards Raden Raḥmat
breathed his last, and the only remaining obstacle to Raden Patah’s
revengeful schemes was thus removed. The eight chiefs accompanied him
back to Bintara, where they assisted in the completion of the mosque,
[1241] and bound themselves by a solemn oath to assist him in his
attempt against Majapahit. All the Muhammadan princes joined this
confederacy, with the exception of Raden Ḥusayn, who with all his
followers remained true to his master, and refused to throw in his lot
with his rebellious co-religionists.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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