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Keramat (shrine)

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Keramat
The Keramat Bukit Kasita burial ground in Bukit Purmei, Singapore.
Alternative namesMakam keramat
General information
StatusWorship,
TypeMausoleum, grave or shrine (sometimes it can be all three)
CountryIndonesia, Malaysia and Singapore

A keramat, or makam keramat, is a type of shrine in the Malay Peninsula, usually associated with pseudo-Islamic beliefs. A typical shrine is often centred around a grave which is venerated and cared for by devotees.

History

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Etymology

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The word Keramat is derived from the Arabic term Karāmāt, which refers to miraculous, supernatural abilities performed by Muslim ascetics and saints.[1][2] The word is also considered synonymous with the subcontinental term Dargah, as well as the Arabic term Maqām, all used to denote shrines that are centred around graves.[1][2] Sometimes, the shrine is named with Makam keramat, derived from the Arabic words Maqām and Karāmāt.[1][2]

Islamic cultural views on keramat

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An orthodox Islamic view, adhered to mostly by Hanbalis and Salafists, is that any form of grave veneration is forbidden in Islam, including the construction of mausolea.[3][4][5] The Shafi'i school of thought forbids the construction of shrines in publicly owned land.[6][7] However, some Muslim scholars have argued that it is permissible to construct a dome over one's grave for veneration, for example Ismail Haqqi Bursevi in Rūḥ al-bayān argues that constructing a mosque over graves is permissible to honour the deceased.[8] Shi'ite scholars also believe it is permissible to build shrines for the deceased and worship them, as long as Allah is still invoked.[9]

Indonesia

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An example of a makam keramat shrine in Kalimantan.

In Indonesia, makam keramat are the shrines built around graves of Muslim ascetics, known as Wali.[10][11] Some makam keramat can be found inside mosques, for example the 19th-century Nurul Abrar Mosque which contains twelve enshrined graves, one belonging to a Sayyid Abubakr who was a descendant of Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of Muhammad.[12] Some makam keramat are also unnaturally long, for example the Abbasid-era tomb of Habib Abdullah, a grandson of prominent Hadith scholar Ali al-Uraydi.[13] Due to the popularity of makam keramat, false makam keramat comprising empty graves have been built for profits, although these have been demolished by the authorities upon discovery.[14]

Malaysia

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Keramat shrines are commonplace in Malaysia, for example the mausoleum of Syed Mustapha Idris in Penang.[15] However, the Malaysian Islamic council follows a more orthodox Islamist view regarding keramat shrines, forbidding people from praying at the graves and even threatening prosecution if one is caught in the act.[1] They have also not hesitated with ordering the destruction of keramat shrines if they are worshipped too much.[1]

Singapore

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A keramat shrine, located at Siglap

Most keramat shrines in Singapore have been bulldozed in order to make way for redevelopments and urbanisation, with the human remains reinterred in the Pusara Abadi Muslim Cemetery.[16][17] However, there are still a minority that remain, which are the Keramat Habib Noh, Keramat Bukit Kasita, Makam Puteri Radin Mas Ayu, Makam Haji Abdul Qadir, the enshrined grave of chieftain Tok Lasam at Siglap and finally, keramat shrines within the Loyang and Tanjong Kling areas.[16][17] A large multifaith shrine, Keramat Kusu, sits on the banks of Kusu Island.[18] Not all enshrined keramat have been associated with Islam, and there have been some associated with Hindus, Sikhs, and Chinese folk religion.[16]

The Keramat Iskandar Shah is currently part of Fort Canning, a tourist attraction. However, the shrine has lost its religious attributions and is now a monument within the Fort Canning attraction site.[16]

Not all enshrined graves are considered keramat; the shrine of Khwaja Habibullah Shah in Kubur Kassim is not considered to be a keramat despite its mystical connotations.[16] Similarly, the now-demolished family mausoleum of Fakeh Haji Abdul Jalil in Kampong Glam was not considered to be a keramat, even though the entombed man was revered as saintly.[2] The shrine of Muhammad Salih Waliullah in Masjid Jamae Chulia is not a keramat, but rather, regarded as a Dargah instead.[16]

Keramat shrines in Singapore

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  • Keramat Habib Noh, a large mausoleum located atop a hill along Palmer Road which entombs the remains of Habib Noh, a 19th-century Muslim mystic.[1][2]
  • Keramat Bukit Kasita, a Malay royal burial ground located in the Bukit Purmei housing estate.[2]
  • Keramat Iskandar Shah, a monument located within the Fort Canning tourist attraction site.[16]
  • Keramat Kusu, a shrine located on Kusu Island which entombs the remains of an Arab Muslim saint. It is a multifaith shrine with shrines for Tua Pek Kong and Datuk Keramat worship as well.[16]
  • Makam Puteri Radin Mas Ayu, believed to be the tomb of a semi-legendary Javanese princess, located in Telok Blangah.[16]
  • Tomb of Daeng Awang Sulong (d. 1965) on Pulau Samulun, which is merely a standalone grave that is revered as keramat.[17]
  • Keramat shrines can also be found in the Loyang and Tanjong Kling shipyards, well cared for and still containing their respective graves.[16]

Evolution into Datuk Keramat

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Main article: Datuk Keramat

The Chinese-Malay folk religious worship of Datuk Keramat is an evolution of the keramat concept, involving Chinese shrines revolving around the statue representing a Malay Muslim old man, known as a Datuk. The worship of Datuk Keramat is still around in Malaysia and Singapore. In 1987, the Datuk Keramat faith was slightly clamped down when administrators were ordered to remove the Islamic symbols from their shrines in temples.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Muhammad Faisal Husni (2018). The grave that became a shrine: the lives of keramat graves in Singapore (Master of Arts (Research) thesis). Nanyang Technological University. doi:10.32657/10220/47512. hdl:10220/47512.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Rivers, P. J. (2003). "Keramat in Singapore in the Mid-Twentieth Century". Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. 76 (2 (285)): 93–119. ISSN 0126-7353.
  3. ^ Trimingham, J. Spencer (16 July 1998). The Sufi Orders in Islam. Oxford University Press. p. 105. ISBN 9780198028239. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  4. ^ Ibnu Qudamah (2008). Khathab, M.S.; Sayyid, S.S.; Shadiq, Ibrahim S. (eds.). al-Mughni [The Enricher] (in Indonesian). Jakarta, Indonesia: Pustaka Azzam.
  5. ^ Ibn Abideen (2011). Radd al-Muhtār 'ala al-Durr al-Mukhtār [Answering The Perplexed: A Commentary Of The Chosen Pearl]. Beirut, Lebanon: Dar Al Kutub Al Ilmiyah. ISBN 2745125109.
  6. ^ Keller, Nuh H.M. (2017). Al-Maqasid: Nawawi's Manual of Islam. Turkey: Amana Publications. ISBN 9781590080115.
  7. ^ al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid (2011). Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn [The Revival Of The Religious Sciences] (in Arabic). Jeddah: Dār al-Minhaj.
  8. ^ Bursevi, Ismail. "Rūḥ al-bayān" [The Spirit of Elucidation]. Dar Ihya at Turath. Beirut, Lebanon.
  9. ^ Subhani, Ja'far (2020). Martin, Abdullah (ed.). Wahhabism (2nd ed.). New Age Spiritual Publishers.
  10. ^ Hadi, S.A. (10 April 2024). "7 Enshrined Graves that are frequently visited by government officials and important figures in Indonesia". Okezone (in Indonesian). Retrieved 18 June 2025.
  11. ^ Tamami, Muhammad H. (30 December 2022). "5 places for ziyarat to the graves of Wali in Jakarta". Liputan (in Indonesian). Retrieved 18 June 2025.
  12. ^ Siregar, Rusman (10 December 2018). "Makam Keramat in a mosque at Kuno Mangga Dua". SINDOnews Daerah (in Indonesian). Retrieved 18 June 2025.
  13. ^ Ansari, S.S. (12 April 2015). "The story of a very long sacred grave in Tangerang". Viva (in Indonesian). Retrieved 18 June 2025.
  14. ^ Selamet, Ikbal (17 April 2025). "Built only because of a revelation in a dream, 8 makam keramat shrines in Cianjur were destroyed". Detik (in Indonesian). Retrieved 18 June 2025.
  15. ^ "The Makam Dato Koyah: working with a community in Penang – Convicts, Creolization and Cosmopolitanism in the British and French Empires". 10 July 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Gibson, William L. (2022). A complete catalogue of keramat in Singapore (Digitised ed.). Singapore National Library Board.
  17. ^ a b c "Contested shrines: Keramat in Singapore's Tomorrowland". Academia. 4 August 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
  18. ^ "The Origin Stories of Keramat Kusu". biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
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