Abd al-Rauf al-Sinkili was a famous scholar in Aceh. He was born around 1615 at Singkil. When he was young, he went to Arabia and studied fiqh, tafsir and Kalaam. He spent 20 years of his life in search of knowledge in Meeca, Medina, Yeman and Doha. Most of his time, he spent in Medina. He went back to Aceh in 1661 and served as Qadhi Malik al-Adil in the Acehnese court during the period of Sultanah Taj al-Alam Safiyyat al-Din Shah (1641-1675).
Abd al-Rauf al-Sinkili was fluent in Arabic and Malay. He wrote 20 books, from these books he shows proficiency of Arabic and Malay and reveals his profound knowledge of the Quran and Hadith.
Abd al-Rauf al-Sinkili is regarded as one of the greatest Islamic scholars in Aceh. His religious thoughts attracted great attention from many other Islamic scholars. One of the famous students of Abd al-Rauf al-Sinkili was Burhanuddin Ulakan from west Sumatra. It was Burhanuddin Ulakan who propagate Islam in West Sumatra. He learned Fiqh, Hadith, Tafsir and Taweed from Abd al-Rauf al-Sinkili. He was not only preaching Islam in West Sumatra but he was also a Mujahid. He fought as brave as a lion aganist Dutch invaders.
Abd al-Rauf al-Sinkili also served under patronage of Queens of Aceh. It is said that Syeikh Abdul Rauf died in Aceh in 1693 during the reign of Sultanah Kamalat Shah (1689-1699), and buried at the site near the
Aceh River, and known as Teungku Syiah Kuala.
Abd al-Rauf al-Sinkili was a Mujahid and Mufti of Aceh. He had a close relationship with Sultan in order to help him at court. According to Abd al-Rauf al-Sinkili, a Qadhi must have sense of Justice, possessing intelligence and knowledge of Quran, Hadith, and Islamic laws.