Al-Arqam
Islamic religious sect
Al-Arqam, also known as Darul Arqam, is a Malaysian-based Islamic movement founded by Ashaari Muhammad. Named after Al-Arqam ibn Abi al-Arqam, a companion of Muhammad, the movement was officially banned by the Malaysian federal government on 21 October 1994. Following the ban, over five members, including Ashaari Muhammad, were arrested in Thailand under the Internal Security Act (ISA) and deported to Malaysia.
Despite the ban, the movement's influence persisted through several business ventures that became widely recognized, including the Rufaqa' Corporation, Global Ikhwan, and GISBH (Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings). These enterprises, particularly Global Ikhwan, attracted widespread media attention, notably for the Ikhwan Polygamy Club and Obedient Wives Club which were perceived as efforts to revive Al-Arqam.
In addition to its business ventures, the movement continued to face scrutiny for its religious teachings. Two books authored by Khadijah Aam, Ashaari’s wife, were banned on religious grounds for claims that Ashaari had been empowered by God with supernatural abilities. These claims further fueled concerns among religious authorities about Al-Arqam’s deviance from orthodox Islamic teachings.
Origins
The movement began as a small group that established a relatively isolated, self-sustaining community practising strict adherence to Islamic principles and developing a home-based economy. Founded in 1968 by Ashaari Muhammad, a former government religious teacher, the movement's early days were marked by a halaqah (study circle) in Kampung Datuk Keramat, a Malay suburb of Kuala Lumpur.
The public source identifies “Al-Arqam” as islamic religious sect. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Al-Arqam, Islamic and religious.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Nov 17, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q309868. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1994 and 1968.
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This entry incorporates text from “Al-Arqam” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.