BANGKOK, THAILAND — On April 10, 2023 at 10:00 AM local time, Dai Ambassador Dompet Dhuafa assigned in Thailand, Ustaz Dasram Effendi also witnessed the passing of one of the descendants of the Founder of Muhammadiyah, KH Ahmad Dahlan in Bangkok, Thailand. He is Haji Muhammad Tan Wacom, a relative of KH Ahmad Dahlan’s grandson, Winai Dahlan.
It was known that H Muhammad Tan Wacom died at the age of 73. He was then prayed at Masjid Jawa Bangkok by his family and relatives, including Ustaz Dasram Effendi.
In some sources it is mentioned that KH Ahmad Dahlan had descendants who lived in Bangkok, Thailand. One of KH Ahmad Dahlan’s grandchildren, Aminah Dahlan, revealed that there are now 28 descendants of KH Ahmad Dahlan living in Bangkok, Thailand. Most of them are married to Thai citizens, but some are married to people of Javanese descent.
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Based on Aminah’s story, only two descendants of KH Ahmad Dahlan in Bangkok can speak Indonesian, they are herself and her older brother named Rambai.
The traces of KH Ahmad Dahlan’s descendants in Thailand can also be seen from the history of the spread of Islam in Thailand. The fourth son of KH Ahmad Dahlan, Irfan Dahlan had been doing da’wah in Thailand since the 1930s. At that time, the majority of people in Thailand embraced Buddhism, so that Islam was still not very well-known there. Irfan Dahlan also helped doctors there as well as doing da’wah and teaching about Islam.
KH Ahmad Dahlan’s extended family in Thailand often visits Indonesia and has the Dahlan Family Line Group. In April 2013, KH Ahmad Dahlan’s extended family of 22 grandchildren and great-grandchildren from Bangkok and the United States, traveled to Indonesia for a grave pilgrimage and to meet other descendants of KH Ahmad Dahlan in Jakarta.
On this occasion, Ustaz Damran Effendi also remembered a hadith of the Messenger which reads: “If a person dies, his alms are cut off except for three things, (namely) jariyah alms, useful knowledge, or prayers of pious children.” (HR. Muslim number 1631)
Ustaz Dasram then prayed for the deceased:
“O Allah, please forgive, give mercy, free and deliver him. And glorify his place, widen his entrance, wash him with clear and cool water, and cleanse him from all mistakes like a white cloth clean from dirt. Replace his home with a better home than the one he left behind, and a better family than the one he left behind, and a better wife than the one he left behind. Put him in heaven, and protect him from the torments of the grave, and its slander, and from the torments of hellfire,” said Ustaz Dasram Effendi
(Dompet Dhuafa/Dai Ambassador Dompet Dhuafa Thailand/Ronna)