At the Grand Mosque, Syatori studied directly with Sheikh Ahmad Khatib Al Palimbani (from Palembang) and Sheikh Ahmad Khayyat. And with his senior friends, among the closest ones (mukhalith) were Wahab Hasbullah (Jombang) and Mas Mansur (Surabaya), Syatori studied and studied references to books by previous scholars, which at that time became mandatory reading for students of the Grand Mosque, such as the works of Sheikh Nawawi Al Banani (Banten), Sheikh Abdus Shomad Al Palimbani (Palembang), Sheikh Arsyad Al Banjari (Martapura), Sheikh Yusuf Al Makassar (Makassar), in addition to the works of Muhammad Abduh, Jamaluddin Al-Afghani, Al Ghozali, and Ibn Al Arabi.
What is interesting is when Syatori left the Grand Mosque. Although I do not know what prompted him, he did not return to Majalengka immediately but stopped for a few years in Shantiniketan, West Bangali, India. In that city, Syatori met Rabindranath Tagore, a writer, playwright, artist, musician, philosopher, and an education practitioner with the open nature model and formed close relationships, and even learned a lot from him. (Before Shantiniketan, Tagore and his father had made long trips throughout India, studying history and astronomy until finally arriving at Shantiniketan in 1901, living in an Ashram and starting an open-air school, with shady trees, beautiful gardens, and a library to establish the character of civil independence oriented to the freedom of the universe).
Establishing Pondok Santi Asromo
Leaving Shantiniketan, Syatori also, before returning to Majalengka, stopped for some time in Calcutta (there is no record of meeting with whom in this city). This city at that time was already crowded with supporters of the Swadeshi movement, a political-cultural-economic movement that was pioneered and developed. Mahatma Gandhi (popularly called Gandhism) and declared in Gujarat in 1883. In Calcutta itself, on October 2-4, 1907, there was a massive Swadeshi community protest against the nobility and British colonialism, resulting in violent clashes with the national police, resulting in many casualties. Syatori likely learned and absorbed a lot of Swadeshi (Gandhism) experiences, passion and teachings during his time in Calcutta.
In 1912, Syatori returned to Majalengka, welcomed not only by his family but also by his old circle of friends, and it was there that he announced the change of his name to Abdulhalim. Not long after that, with the help of some prominent figures and old friends, Abdulhalim began to pioneer religious and social movements. By marrying neo-Sufism teachings obtained from Mecca and embracing the yellow books, the ideology of civic independence education in the open, the Swadeshian of Gandhi, coupled with the socialization of youth who like to watch wayang kulit, Abdulhalim laid the foundation for his movement.