Syed Isa Bin Mohamed Bin Smith (Syed Isa Semait)

Syed Isa bin Mohamed Bin Smith (b. 2 July 1938, Singapore–d. 7 July 2025), also known as Syed Isa Semait, was Singapore’s longest-serving Mufti, the country’s top Islamic religious leader, and held the office from 1972 to 2010. He played a key role in guiding and shaping the religious life of the Republic’s minority Muslim community amid rapid social and economic development and challenges.

Early life and education
The third out of five children, Syed Isa was born to Syed Mohamed Semait and Sharifah Mariam binte Muhammad Al-Idrus in Singapore. He attended Madrasah Khairiah in Still Road with his elder brother, Syed Ahmad Semait. When Syed Isa was seven, his father, a clerk, died, and his mother struggled to make ends meet for her five children. At the suggestion of family friends, Syed Isa and his elder brother were enrolled in the Darul Ihsan orphanage at Lorong 29, Geylang, and they switched schools to Madrasah Aljunied on Victoria Street. Syed Isa played soccer and was a member of the scout troop, and attended English lessons after school.¹

After completing his studies at Madrasah Aljunied, Syed Isa joined his brother’s import-export business which imported and exported goods, mostly textiles, to and from the Middle East. He later joined the Iraqi consulate in Singapore as a clerk and typist. He also enlisted in the civil defence force, and transferred to the Malayan Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve, before getting accepted to Al-Azhar University in Egypt for Islamic studies.² Syed Isa left for Egypt in 1961. He co-founded Perkemas, the Singapore Students' Welfare Assembly for Singaporeans at Al-Azhar, becoming its first chairman. He also had a temporary stint at the Singapore Embassy in Cairo, working as an interpreter for Ambassador Ahmad Ibrahim, who was the Republic’s first attorney general.³

Upon his return to Singapore in August 1969 with a degree in Islamic jurisprudence, Syed Isa worked for his brother’s bookstore, Pustaka Nasional, in Geylang Serai, and taught new converts the basics of Islam on Sunday mornings. He was also appointed as a deputy kadi, or assistant registrar, of Muslim marriages.⁴

In 1971, at his friends’ persuasion, Syed Isa applied for the post of Mufti of Singapore, previously held by Haji Sanusi Mahmood. As the leading Muslim scholar, the mufti’s role is to interpret Islamic teachings, set out rulings on religious issues, lead the community, advise the government on Muslim affairs and look after the community’s interests.⁵

Contributions as Mufti
Syed Isa was appointed Mufti on 7 February 1972, at the age of 33. Two months later, he married Sharifah Muznah Mohamad Al-Hadad, a graduate of Madrasah Al-Maarif. They would go on to have four daughters. In an interview with Malay-language daily Berita Harian on his appointment, Syed Isa encouraged Muslim Singaporeans to have high ambitions and work hard and honestly to achieve these dreams.⁶ He also urged the community to cultivate a love for reading, and actively educated the community about their religion, including through the Malay media.

One of Syed Isa’s most critical decisions as mufti was to depart from the prevailing method of sighting the moon to determine Islamic calendar dates, especially for the start of the fasting month and the Hari Raya days.⁷ Instead, he proposed using astronomy. All along, Muslim leaders had failed to sight the moon in Singapore, given its size, and took the lead from Malaysia on festival dates. Thus he faced considerable opposition from religious leaders and others, who felt the new mufti had cast aside tradition. However, he persuaded the public that his proposed method of calculation was based on what Prophet Muhammad had taught his followers about determining the start of Islamic calendar months, and that astronomy is a precise science. In 1974, this method was also adopted by the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs and its Malaysian counterpart to determine festival dates, after a joint discussion with the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore – also known as the Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS).⁸

Even while building close ties with his counterparts in the region, Syed Isa believed that Singapore Muslims should find their own solutions to the challenges they faced as a minority community in a small, multiracial and globally connected country. Not long after he returned from Cairo in 1969, he became an active member of the Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO), which brings together leaders from various faiths. He became an IRO council member in 1975, and later a life member.⁹ When the Presidential Council for Religious Harmony was convened in 1992, Syed Isa was appointed as a member, a role he would occupy till 2010. He was also a member of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights.¹⁰

One key challenge facing the Muslim community in the 1970s was the redevelopment of villages, and with them the demolition of mosques and surau, or prayer houses, to make way for new housing estates and industries. In 1974, Syed Isa was among a group of Muslim leaders who met Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and Malay Members of Parliament to discuss the matter, and backed Lee’s proposal of a mosque building fund. For a start, 50 cents would be deducted from the salary of every working Muslim resident every month, and the funds would be used to build a larger new mosque in every new HDB town. This move reassured the community that their religious needs were met amid resettlement and rapid urban development.¹¹

Syed Isa also exercised leadership over the issue of land acquisition in the 1980s and 1990s, which affected the community institution of wakaf, or religious endowments that generated income for charitable and social purposes. Traditionally, Muslim scholars ruled that wakaf properties cannot be pulled down, and the few precedents could not provide guidance on the lawfulness on the redeveloping such properties. Under Syed Isa’s leadership, the Fatwa Committee ruled that endowed properties could be redeveloped to generate income that would continue to serve purposes outlined by their benefactors. This enabled MUIS to consolidate and boost the value of these community assets.¹²

In his role as chairman of the Fatwa Committee, Syed Isa ruled in 1973 that organ transplants were forbidden, based on the Muslim tradition that no part of the body should be detached or defaced after death. But as transplants became more feasible, Syed Isa saw its lifesaving aspect as an equally important religious consideration, and the committee ruled that organ transplants were permitted. Given community concerns, the government exempted Muslims from organ donation in the Human Organ Transplant Act when it was enacted in 1987, and those who wished to opt in could do so. Syed Isa was the first person to opt in and pledge his kidneys, though the opt-in rate among the community remained low. In 2007, the Fatwa Committee reviewed the matter and ruled that as the law was well known, it was religiously permissible for Muslims to be automatically included in the organ donation system.¹³

Shortly after the discovery of the Jemaah Islamiah terror network in Singapore in 2001, Syed Isa led efforts to clarify that their radical teachings were against Islam. He also supported the effort by several scholars to set up a Religious Rehabilitation Group to counsel the terror detainees, help their families and eventually help them reintegrate into society.¹⁴ Away from the public eye, Syed Isa also helped manage and defuse sensitive issues, including those affecting relations between Muslims and other groups, a role that senior government leaders acknowledged. Through discretion and sound judgement, Syed Isa reassured and calmed the affected parties, and maintained trust with other religious leaders.¹⁵

Syed Isa stepped down as Mufti at the end of 2010, handing over to his deputy Fatris Bakaram.¹⁶ He continued as an advisor to the office of the Mufti and remained active in community circles, valued for his wisdom and advice that had helped create a forward-looking, self-confident Muslim community. In recognition of his commitment to education and knowledge, the Syed Isa Semait Scholar Award and Syed Isa Semait Scholarship were established in his honour. He was conferred the Public Administration Medal (Gold) in 2009 and the Meritorious Service Medal in 2011.¹⁷

He died on 7 July 2025, several days after turning 87.¹⁸

Timeline
1969: Graduates from Al-Azhar University with a degree in Islamic jurisprudence and returns to Singapore
1972: Appointed Mufti of Singapore
1975: Becomes council member of Inter-Religious Organisation
1983–84: President, Inter-Religious Organisation
1992: Appointed to Presidential Council for Religious Harmony
2010: Retires as Mufti

Awards
1982: The Public Administration Medal (Bronze)¹⁹
2009: The Public Administration Medal (Gold)²⁰
2011: The Meritorious Service Medal²¹

Author
Zakir Hussain

References
1. Zakir Hussain, Keeping the Faith: Syed Isa Semait, Mufti of Singapore 1972–2010 (Singapore: Straits Times Press, 2012), 19. (Call no. RSING 297.092 ZAK)
2. Zakir Hussain, Keeping the Faith, 3.
3. Zakir Hussain, Keeping the Faith, 44.
4. Zakir Hussain, Keeping the Faith, 51.
5. Zakir Hussain, Keeping the Faith, 52.
6. Guntor Sadali, “Syed Isa di-lantek sa-bagai mufti baru” [Syed Isa appointed as new mufti], Berita Harian, 24 February 1972 (From NewspaperSG)
7. Zakir Hussain, “Keeping the Faith, Striking a Balance,” Straits Times, 21 January 2011. (From NewspaperSG)
8. Zakir Hussain, Keeping the Faith, 69.
9. Zakir Hussain, Keeping the Faith, 122.
10. Rachel Au-Yong, “3 Religious Leaders Appointed to Minority Rights Council,” Straits Times, 3 April 2015. (From NewspaperSG)
11. Zakir Hussain, Keeping the Faith, 77.
12. Zakir Hussain, Keeping the Faith, 112.
13. Zakir Hussain, “New Ruling Makes It Easier for Muslims to Be Organ Donors,” Straits Times, 27 July 2007. (From NewspaperSG)
14. “PM Thanks Retired Mufti for his ‘Wisdom, Judgment and Leadership’,” Straits Times, 22 January 2011. (From Newslink via NLB’s eResources website)
15. “PM Thanks Retired Mufti for his ‘Wisdom, Judgment and Leadership’.”
16. “Singapore Muslims Get a New Mufti,” Straits Times, 12 November 2010. (From Newslink via NLB’s eResources website)
17. Kor Kian Beng, “Lauded for His Legacy of Faith,” Straits Times, 9 August 2011 (From NewspaperSG); “Recipients: Mr Syed Isa Bin Mohamed Bin Smith,” Prime Minister’s Office, accessed 1 October 2025.
18. Lawrence Wong to Sharifah Muznah on the Passing of Former Mufti Shaikh Syed Isa Semait, Prime Minister’s Office, 8 July 2025.
19. Republic of Singapore Government Gazette 24, no. 48 (9 August 1982), 4414.
20. “ National Day Award Recipients since 1998: Mr Syed Isa Bin Mohamed Bin Smith,” Prime Minister’s Office, accessed 1 October 2025.
21. “National Day Award Recipients since 1998: Mr Syed Isa bin Mohamed Bin Semait,” Prime Minister’s Office, accessed 1 October 2025.

For the Malay version of this article, click here.
Klik di sini untuk versi Bahasa Melayu.

To go back to the home page, click here.
Klik di sini untuk kembali ke halaman utama.

The information in this article is valid as of October 2025 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic. If you have any feedback on this article, please submit it here.