[3] Thawil was a student of Sheikh Nawawi al-Bantani, an Indonesian Islamic teacher from Banten who became the Imam of the Great Mosque of Mecca.
[8] Thawil received basic Islamic religious education such as reading al-Quran from his father directly, Imam As'ad who was also a cleric at his pesantren at Tanara.
In addition, he also studied other sciences such as nahwu (arabic grammar), sharaf (morphology), fiqh, and tawhid from his father.
But only arrived in Surabaya he met his prospective teacher who will carry out hajj to Mecca, next he expressed his desire to learn from him.
[10][7] At Masjid al-Haram, Thawil followed the lesson given by Ahmad Zayni Dahlan, Mufti of Mecca, especially regarding nahwu, fiqh, and al-sīra al-Nabawiyya.
[8] Thawil married in his exile in Manado with a Minahasa girl of a local pastor named Magdalena Runtu (b.
The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa which claimed at least 36,417 deaths,[13] followed by an outbreak of animal diseases in 1885 caused living standards to plummet and inadvertently made the people believe in superstition and shamanism.
[13] To add to the already difficult lives of the people, the Dutch colonial government imposed harsh and unfair regulations towards the population.
The Muslims of Banten initiated a jihad with Arsyad Thawil playing a decisive role which made him a sought-after target by the colonial government.
The exiled destinations for many notable ulama included the Banda Islands, Bukittingi, Buton, Flores, Manado and among others.
When take care of Hajj he then often visited the Dutch consulate office in Jeddah and became acquainted with Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje who eventually became his friend in discussing the teachings of Islam.
[11] On the 79th anniversary of his death, the Provincial Office of Social Affairs of North Sulawesi will file Arsyad Thawil as a national hero.