Hamzah Fansuri

A Sumatran Sufi poet, regarded as the first author to write mystical works in Malay and the pioneer of the syair verse form (d. c. 1590; date disputed — 1527 and early-17th-century views also exist). Drawing on Ibn Arabi, he was the most ardent exponent in the Malay/Southeast Asian world of wahdat al-wujud and the seven-stages (martabat) scheme, working under the patronage of the Aceh Sultanate. A generation later his doctrine was condemned as heretical by Nuruddin ar-Raniri and his works were burned by royal decree. His nisba points to Barus/Fansur on Sumatra's northwest coast; his burial place is disputed (rival claims: Oboh-Subulussalam, Ujung Pancu, Mecca, and Barus). (Sources: TDV Islam Encyclopedia 'Hamza Fansuri'; Indonesian/English Wikipedia; Istanbul University Journal of Islamic Studies.)