Vice President Visits Mahligai Old Islamic Cemetery Complex in Barus, North Sumatra

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin during a visit to Mahligai Old Islamic Cemetery Complex, in Aek Dakka Village, Barus, North Sumatra, Wednesday (15/2/2023). ANTARA/HO-BPMI Setwapres

JAKARTA - Vice President Ma'ruf Amin made a visit to the Mahligai old Islamic Cemetary complex, in Aek Dakka Village, Barus, North Sumatra, accompanied by his wife, Wury Ma'ruf Amin, and North Sumatra Governor Edy Rahmayadi.

As reported by ANTARA, Wednesday, February 15, the Vice President was seen leading tahlil and praying solemnly in the area of the graves of these Islamic preachers.

In the old tomb complex, there is the Tomb of Tuan Syekh Rukunuddin who died on 13 Safar in 48 Hijriyah in the 7th century at the age of 102 years 2 months 10 days.

For information, the Mahligai Cemetery Complex is a place where there are many old tombs, numbering around 215 pairs of tombstones with an area of about 3 hectares which are located on a hill.

According to history, during the time of Caliph Umar bin Khattab, many envoys of the caliph and Arab merchants, especially from Yemen, expanded to Asia.

At that time, the Barus area in North Sumatra became a stopover because the area was directly facing the open ocean.

Many Arab, Jordanian, Yemeni, Persian, and Indian merchants made voyages to this area for the purposes of the spice business and the purchase of camphor.

Meanwhile, the scholars who were envoys of the Caliph set foot on Barus to start spreading Islam in Indonesia. Not surprisingly, in the Barus area, there are many graves of scholars, while Barus City itself is about 290 kilometers from Medan City.