Azman Ismail
Lahir 1952; aktif sejak 1979Born 1952; active since 1979
Azman Ismail adalah guru besar UIN Ar-Raniry lulusan Universitas Al-Azhar dalam bidang tafsir, yang menjabat Imam Besar Masjid Raya Baiturrahman Banda Aceh dari 2003 hingga 2025. Pada 2004 ia, sebagai dosen Fakultas Adab, termasuk Tim Penulis Ensiklopedi Pemikiran Ulama Aceh.
Azman Ismail is a professor at UIN Ar-Raniry, trained in Qur'anic exegesis at Al-Azhar University, who served as Grand Imam of the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque in Banda Aceh from 2003 to 2025. In 2004, as a lecturer of the Faculty of Adab, he was a member of the writing team of the Ensiklopedi Pemikiran Ulama Aceh.
Azman Ismail lahir di Banda Aceh pada 14 April 1952. Ia berasal dari keluarga ulama Pagar Air, Aceh Besar; ayahnya, Teungku Haji Ismail bin Teungku Haji Ahmad, dikenal sebagai imam Masjid Lueng Bata. Pendidikan awalnya ditempuh di MIN Suka Damai, SMI Jambo Tape, dan MAAIN, lalu ia belajar di Fakultas Tarbiyah IAIN Ar-Raniry, Jurusan Bahasa Arab. Biografi dalam Ensiklopedi Pemikiran Ulama Aceh (2004) mencatat gelar sarjana pada 1979, kemudian serangkaian pendidikan di luar negeri, yakni diploma studi Islam, Lc., bahasa Arab, magister, dan doktor pada 1986. Sumber lain menyebut seluruh jenjang itu ditempuh di Fakultas Ushuluddin Universitas Al-Azhar, Kairo, dalam bidang tafsir hingga tingkat doktor.
Sepulang dari Kairo, Azman Ismail menjalani karier ganda sebagai akademisi dan pemuka agama. Ia pernah menjadi guru MAN, bertugas di Kantor Wilayah Kementerian Agama, menjadi dewan hakim Musabaqah Tilawatil Qur'an, dan anggota Majelis Permusyawaratan Ulama (MPU) Aceh. Di IAIN dan kemudian UIN Ar-Raniry ia menjabat Wakil Dekan, Wakil Rektor III, Dekan Fakultas Adab, dan Ketua Senat universitas, serta meraih jabatan guru besar. Ia juga berperan sebagai penghubung antara Pemerintah Aceh dan pengelola Baitul Asyi di Makkah, wakaf yang dikaitkan dengan Habib Bugak Asyi dan manfaatnya diterima jemaah haji asal Aceh.
Peran publiknya paling dikenal sebagai Imam Besar Masjid Raya Baiturrahman, jabatan yang ia emban dari 2003 hingga 2025. Masa itu mencakup tsunami Desember 2004, ketika masjid menjadi tempat perlindungan dan simbol ketahanan kota. Pada 13 Agustus 2025 posisinya diteruskan oleh Teungku Haji Muhammad Ali (Abu Paya Pasi). Badan Komunikasi Pemuda Remaja Masjid Indonesia (BKPRMI) Aceh menyampaikan apresiasi atas masa keimamannya.
Karya tulisnya mencerminkan perpaduan tafsir, bahasa Arab, filologi, dan sejarah masjid. Di antaranya adalah Syariat Islam di Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (2007), Al-Qur'an, Bahasa, dan Pembinaan Masyarakat, Islam dan Budaya Aceh, Masjid Raya Baiturrahman dalam Lintasan Sejarah, Profil-profil Imam Masjid Raya Baiturrahman, Hikmah Tsunami di Baiturrahman, Filologi (Teori dan Praktek), dan Suara Khatib Baiturrahman. Ia juga menulis di Jurnal Adabiya, Jurnal Substantia, dan Harian Serambi Indonesia. Bagi studi Aceh, tulisannya tentang Baiturrahman merupakan dokumentasi dari dalam tentang lembaga keagamaan paling simbolik di Aceh, sedangkan karyanya tentang filologi terhubung dengan tradisi naskah yang menjadi kekuatan Fakultas Adab.
Kedudukannya sebagai Imam Besar selama lebih dari dua dekade menjadikan Azman Ismail salah satu penghubung paling nyata antara dunia akademik IAIN Ar-Raniry dan kehidupan keagamaan publik di Banda Aceh. Khutbah, tulisan, dan dokumentasinya tentang Baiturrahman merupakan sumber penting bagi siapa pun yang ingin memahami peran masjid itu dalam sejarah Aceh modern.
Dalam Ensiklopedi Pemikiran Ulama Aceh (Ar-Raniry Press, 2004), Azman Ismail merupakan salah satu anggota senior Tim Penulis IAIN Ar-Raniry. Bagian "Sekilas Tentang Penulis" mencatat bahwa pada 2004 ia dosen Fakultas Adab, menempuh pendidikan dasar dan menengah di Banda Aceh, dan menulis di Adabiya, Substantia, serta Serambi Indonesia. Bersama Aslam Nur, Misri A. Muchsin, dan Nurchalis Sofyan dari Fakultas Adab, ia ikut menghadirkan perspektif bahasa, sastra, dan sejarah dalam dokumentasi pemikiran ulama Aceh.
Azman Ismail was born in Banda Aceh on 14 April 1952. He comes from a family of ulama from Pagar Air, Aceh Besar; his father, Teungku Haji Ismail bin Teungku Haji Ahmad, was known as imam of the Lueng Bata Mosque. He was educated at MIN Suka Damai, SMI Jambo Tape and MAAIN, and then studied in the Arabic Department of the Faculty of Tarbiyah at IAIN Ar-Raniry. The biography in the Ensiklopedi Pemikiran Ulama Aceh (2004) records an undergraduate degree in 1979, followed by a series of qualifications abroad: a diploma in Islamic studies, an Lc., Arabic language, a master's degree and a doctorate in 1986. Other sources state that all these stages were completed in the Faculty of Usul al-Din at Al-Azhar University, Cairo, in Qur'anic exegesis up to doctoral level.
After returning from Cairo, Azman Ismail pursued a dual career as an academic and a religious leader. He taught at a state madrasah (MAN), worked at the Regional Office of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, served as a judge for Qur'an recitation competitions (MTQ), and was a member of the Aceh Ulama Consultative Council (MPU). At IAIN and later UIN Ar-Raniry he served as Vice Dean, Vice Rector III, Dean of the Faculty of Adab and Chair of the University Senate, and attained the rank of professor. He also acted as liaison between the Aceh government and the managers of Baitul Asyi in Mecca, the endowment associated with Habib Bugak Asyi whose benefits go to pilgrims from Aceh.
His public role is best known through his service as Grand Imam of the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque, a post he held from 2003 to 2025. That period included the tsunami of December 2004, when the mosque became a place of refuge and a symbol of the city's endurance. On 13 August 2025 he was succeeded by Teungku Haji Muhammad Ali (Abu Paya Pasi). The Aceh branch of the Indonesian Mosque Youth Communication Body (BKPRMI) expressed its appreciation for his years as imam.
His writings combine exegesis, Arabic, philology and mosque history. They include Syariat Islam di Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (2007), Al-Qur'an, Bahasa, dan Pembinaan Masyarakat, Islam dan Budaya Aceh, Masjid Raya Baiturrahman dalam Lintasan Sejarah, Profil-profil Imam Masjid Raya Baiturrahman, Hikmah Tsunami di Baiturrahman, Filologi (Teori dan Praktek) and Suara Khatib Baiturrahman. He has also written for Jurnal Adabiya, Jurnal Substantia and the daily Serambi Indonesia. For Aceh studies, his writings on Baiturrahman are an insider's documentation of the most symbolic religious institution in Aceh, while his work on philology connects with the manuscript tradition that is a strength of the Faculty of Adab.
His position as Grand Imam for more than two decades made Azman Ismail one of the clearest links between the academic world of IAIN Ar-Raniry and public religious life in Banda Aceh. His sermons, writings and documentation of Baiturrahman are an important source for anyone seeking to understand the mosque's role in the history of modern Aceh.
In the Ensiklopedi Pemikiran Ulama Aceh (Ar-Raniry Press, 2004), Azman Ismail was one of the senior members of the IAIN Ar-Raniry Writing Team. The "Sekilas Tentang Penulis" section records that in 2004 he was a lecturer of the Faculty of Adab, had completed his primary and secondary education in Banda Aceh, and wrote for Adabiya, Substantia and Serambi Indonesia. With Aslam Nur, Misri A. Muchsin and Nurchalis Sofyan of the Faculty of Adab, he helped bring the perspectives of language, literature and history to the documentation of Acehnese ulama thought.
Gagasan kunciKey ideas
Masjid sebagai arsip sejarahThe mosque as historical archive
Ia mendokumentasikan sejarah, para imam, dan pengalaman tsunami Masjid Raya Baiturrahman.He documented the history, the imams and the tsunami experience of the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque.
Al-Qur'an, bahasa, dan masyarakatQur'an, language and society
Ia menghubungkan kajian tafsir dan bahasa Arab dengan pembinaan masyarakat Aceh.He connects exegesis and Arabic studies with the moral formation of Acehnese society.
FilologiPhilology
Ia menulis pengantar teori dan praktik filologi bagi kajian naskah.He wrote an introduction to the theory and practice of philology for manuscript studies.
Posisi dalam kerangkaPlace in the framework
Tokoh, lembaga, dan konsep yang paling dekat dengan entri ini, beserta sifat hubungannya.The figures, institutions and concepts closest to this entry, and how they relate to it.
Pertanyaan reflektifReflective question
Bagaimana sebuah masjid seperti Baiturrahman dapat dibaca sebagai arsip sejarah keagamaan dan politik Aceh?How can a mosque such as Baiturrahman be read as an archive of Aceh's religious and political history?
Kutip entri ini:Cite this entry: “Azman Ismail”, Acehnologi — Gerbang Studi AcehAceh Studies Gateway, https://acehnologi.com/entri/azman-ismail/