Abdul Malik Karim Amrullah, better known by his pen name Hamka (17 February 1908 – 24 July 1981) was an Indonesian ʿālim, philosopher, writer, novelist, lecturer, politician and journalist.

Raised in a family of devout Muslims, his father was Abdul Karim Amrullah, a clerical reformer of Islam in Minangkabau, also known as "Haji Rasul".

[3] When he was four years old, Hamka and his family moved to Padang Panjang, where he learned to read the Qur'an and recite prayers under the guidance of his half-sister Fatimah.

[5] In 1918, Hamka left the Village School after three years, because he wanted to emphasize religious education, and his father registered him in a Thawalib.

After studying at Diniyah School every morning, Malik attended Thawalib classes in the afternoon and returned to the surau in the evening.

Although his activities from morning to evening were filled with learning, he was known to be a troublemaker, annoying his friends and cutting class to watch movies at a theater.

[6] Hamka travelled all over Minangkabau as a teenager, gaining the nickname Si Bujang Jauh, (the Boy from Afar) from his father.

[6] Hamka decided to leave for Java at the age of 15, when he learnt that the Islam taught there was far more advanced in terms of structure and organisation.

From Maninjau, Malik started his journey with the money his grandmother gave him, In Bengkulu, he planned to meet a relative from his mother's tribe to ask for additional fees, however, he contracted smallpox.

[6] In Pekalongan, Hamka met his father who failed to leave for Egypt after the postponement of the International Caliphate Congress.

His teacher Zainuddin and the owner of the printing press, Bagindo Sinaro, helped produce and distribute the magazine.

[6] In February 1927, he made the decision to go to Mecca to expand his religious knowledge, including learning the Arabic language and performing his first hajj pilgrimage.

During the pilgrimage, Hamka and several other pilgrims candidate founded the East Indian Association (Persatuan Hindia Timur), an organisation giving lessons to Dutch Indies pilgrims-to-be.

He sent his writings to the newspaper Pembela Islam in Bandung and Voice of Muhammadiyah, which was led by Abdul Rozak Fachruddin, in Yogyakarta.

In addition, he also worked as a correspondent for the daily paper Pelita Andalas and wrote trip reports, especially about his journey to Mecca in 1927.

In the same year, he was appointed as editor of the "Progress Era" (Kemajuan Zaman) magazine, which was based on the results of the Muhammadiyah conference in Padang Panjang.

Sutan's plea finally convinced Malik to return to his hometown in Maninjau, which at the time was in ruins due to the 1926 earthquake, including his father's home in Padang Panjang Lantah.

During his time in Medan, he worked as an editor and became editor-in-chief of a magazine Pedoman Masyarakat, which he founded with Islamic cleric M. Yunan Nasution.

After the novel was published in 1938, he wrote Sinking of the van der Wijck, which was written as a serialised story in Pedoman Masyarakat.

In addition, he also published several novels and books such as: Merantau ke Deli ("Going Away to Deli"), Kedudukan Perempuan dalam Islam ("Women's Position in Islam"), Tuan Direktur ("The Director"), New Forces, Driven, In The Valley of Life, Father, Modern Mysticism, and Falsafah Hidup ("Life Philosophy").

After his marriage to Siti Raham, Hamka's Muhammadiyah branch was active in Minangkabau, whose origin stemmed from the association Joints bakalnya Safe founded by his father in 1925 in Batang River.

Upon his return from Solo, he began to assume various positions, until finally he was appointed as Chairman of the Muhammadiyah branch at Padang Panjang.

The following year, he was elected Chairman of the Assembly of West Sumatra Muhammadiyah leaders replacinc SY Sutan Mangkuto, holding this position until 1949.

[8][9] In 1973, he testified in support of Vivian Rubiyanti Iskandar's petition before the West Jakarta District Court for legal recognition of her gender, saying that "[her desire to transition] does not run contrary to Allah's law, but in keeping with the teachings of Islam, which holds good will to all in high esteem".

On the sixth day of treatment, Hamka had time to perform the Duha prayer with the help of his daughter, Azizah, for tayammum.

The team of doctors stated that his kidneys, lungs, and central nervous system were no longer functioning, and his condition could only be maintained with a pacemaker.

Hamka's body was taken to the Al-Azhar Grand Mosque and prayed for again, before being buried in the Tanah Kusir Public Cemetery, South Jakarta, led by the Minister of Religion Alamsyah Ratu Perwiranegara.