Hajj & Seeking Knowledge in Makkah

Around 1840 he set out for the hajj by sailing ship from Tanjung Perak (steered by Madurese sailors), a year before Dzulhijjah. He spent eight years in Makkah deepening his study of tafsir (Qur’anic exegesis), hadith, Syafi’i fiqh (jurisprudence), memorisation of the Qur’an, and khat and calligraphy. He was a contemporary of Syaikh Ahmad Khotib (Minangkabau), Syaikh Nawawi al-Bantani, Syaikh Mahfudz Termas, and KH. Syamsul Arifin (Situbondo). A 2022 UINSA undergraduate thesis records his teacher as Syaikh Ahmad Khatib as-Sambasi.