Sayyid Abdullah Al-Aidarus

Who was Sayyid Abdullah Al-Aidarus?

Sayyid Abdullah ibn Syekh Al-Aidarūs Saiyid ʿAbdullāh ibn Šayḫ al-‘aidarūs was a Hadhrami Arab religious leader who lived in the 16th century. He is best known for being the great-grandfather of Tun Habib Abdul Majid, the Bendahara of the Johor-Pahang empire whose descendants have established ruling houses in Malaysia and the Riau Islands in Indonesia.

Sayyid Abdullah was a native of Tarim, Hadhramaut, and was born to a family of influential Islamic leaders in the region. His great-grandfather, Sayyid Abu Bakr, the patron saint of Aden, was the founder of the Aydarussiya clan. Sayyid Abdullah was among the earliest Hadhrami Arab settlers in Aceh, and like many other kinsmen who come after him, served as the Naqib of Aceh. The Sultan of Aceh, Sultan Alauddin Mansur Syah persuaded Sayyid Abdullah to marry his daughter, and his son Sayyid Zainal Abidin, was born out of this union. In his later years, he led his life in a local village, Kampung Pasir, where he died of old age. His son with the Achenese princess, Zainal-Abidin also became a religious leader and migrated to Johor where he married Tun Kaishi, the daughter of Tun Jenal, the Bendahara of Sekudai and took up the Malay name of "Tun Dagang" while staying with the Bendahara's family.