Halimah Alaydrus

Halimah binti Utsman Alaydrus is an Indonesian preacher and writer, born on 2 April 1979 in Indramayu, West Java¹; her Hadhrami sayyid lineage is recorded by the Rabithah Alawiyah¹. She chose pesantren education over formal schooling, studying in Indonesia and then at Daruz Zahro in Tarim, Hadhramaut¹, and she is known for her women's study assemblies and for never showing her face on camera¹.

Alaydrus studied at the Darullughah Wadda'wah pesantren in Bangil from 1991 to 1995, then at Al-Anwar in Sarang until 1996, then at At-Tauhidiyah in Tegal, before travelling to Yemen and graduating in 1998 from Daruz Zahro in Tarim¹. She chose the pesantren path by her own decision, leaving formal schooling aside¹.

Alaydrus teaches in regular women's study assemblies (majelis taklim) in Jakarta and its surroundings, and makes preaching journeys across Indonesia and to Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Australia, Egypt, the Emirates and Oman¹. She founded the annual Muhasabah Cinta Event and co-founded al-Wafa, a network of women Daruz Zahro graduates working in preaching¹. Her audience addresses her in recordings as "Ustadzah Halimah", and her video and audio lessons reach a wide female audience on YouTube and Instagram¹.

Her books include Bidadari Bumi, Tutur Hati, Pilar Cahaya, Muhasabah Cinta, and Wahai Anakku, her translation of al-Ghazali's Ayyuhal Walad¹.

Alaydrus is among Indonesia's most prominent women preachers: about 2.8 million Instagram accounts followed her in a 2025 study, and her YouTube channel had about 874,000 subscribers in September 2024 — platform figures that change constantly and are not presented by the museum as fixed facts¹.

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