Azhar Idrus

Azhar Idrus, whose birth name is Zamrul bin Idrus and who is widely known as Ustaz Azhar Idrus, is a Malaysian independent Islamic preacher, born on 12 February 1964 in Kampung Ladang, Kuala Terengganu, in the state of Terengganu. ^{1 2}

He is famous for a relaxed, humorous delivery in his religious lectures, addressing his audience in the Terengganu dialect, and for recorded lectures that circulate widely in Malaysia and online. ¹

He was called "Azhar" by his family from childhood, until the nickname replaced his birth name in common use. He received his primary education at Sekolah Rendah Hj Mohd Sharif in Alor Star, Kedah, and continued his secondary education in Alor Star and then at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sultan Sulaiman in Kuala Terengganu, up to Form Six. ¹

He studied the religious sciences by talaqqi (traditional tutelage) with a series of teachers around Kuala Terengganu: with his first teacher, Tuan Guru Haji Syed Mokhtar, he completed some forty Jawi books, and with later teachers he studied Arabic works of grammar, morphology, principles of jurisprudence, hadith terminology, Qur'anic principles, rhetoric, exegesis, inheritance law and the Prophet ﷺ's biography. ¹

In his youth he played guitar in a local music band around Kuala Terengganu, worked as a music teacher in 1985, and later as a graphic artist at the Kuala Terengganu branch of the Utusan Malaysia newspaper; he was also a keen photographer and a cyclist who represented his state in races in the 1980s. ¹

After his marriage in 1990 he left his newspaper job and worked at batik chanting, and in that period he began to study the religious sciences in earnest, inspired by an old friend who had been transformed by studying religion in Patani, in southern Thailand. ¹

His lectures are known for their humour and closeness to young people; question-and-answer sessions alongside the comedian Zizan Raja Lawak drew wide attention, and he is active online through his personal website and a photography site. ¹

His books include the question-and-answer series "Anda Bertanya Ustaz Azhar Idrus Menjawab" (You Ask, Ustaz Azhar Idrus Answers) on contemporary issues (2011) and on the community's questions (2012), "Ustaz Azhar Idrus Live!" (2013), "Deme Wasap, Ambe Reply" (2014), written in the Terengganu dialect, and "Tazkirah Senafas" (2015), among other works on jurisprudence and photography. ¹

The article records that he is married with twelve children; the museum publishes no family detail beyond what understanding his work requires. On 4 November 2019 he fell from his bicycle on his way home in Kuala Terengganu, breaking his left arm and his nose; he was taken to hospital, underwent surgery, and was discharged after recovering. ¹

Wikidata records his social-media following at over a million followers on more than one platform; these are platform figures that change constantly, and the museum records them only as attributed to their source. ²

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