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Siti Jenar introduced were understood as (or the Pahang Digest) was put together one in charge of religious affairs, dealing Mukamil in 1589, especially after he
manifestations of religious patterns not for the royal ruler of Pahang, Sultan with social behavior that was clearly had successfully mediated between
under royal control and that they were ‘Abd al-Ghafar Muhyi al-Din Shah contrary to Islamic law like drinking conflicting economic elites: the wealthy
considered to cause on the reemergence (1592-1614). It contains many strong alcohol, gambling, and not doing prayers and the royal family. Therefore, as
of a clerical-king who would undermine Islamic elements. In fact, almost half of or fasting; and (2) a juridical body that announced in the Hikayat al-Mukammil,
the power center, Mataram. its articles are translations of Islamic dealt with social issues like marriages, soon after assuming power, he appointed
legal texts of the Shafi’i school. Like the divorces, and inheritance matters. a jurist to head the kadi institution and
The Kadi: An Islamic Legal Malaccan texts, this text also considers Beaulieu’s information was confirmed by who became the kadi malik al-adil (the
Institution the king of Pahang as the “caliph” that of Jacob Compostel, a Dutch envoy jurist of the just king) with the title Raja
responsible for the enforcement of who visited Aceh in 1536. He noted that Indera Purba. The Hikayat Aceh also
The role of Islamic kingdoms in the Islamic law. The Hikayat Patani says that the Sheikh al-Islam, whom he called says that the kadi malik al-adil, in this
implementation of the sharia can in Patani, the king implemented Islamic “the great bishop” (archbishop), held case Sheikh Sham al-Din, a 17 century
th
be traced back to classical texts. In law after he had converted to Islam. court almost every week to judge thieves leading scholar in Aceh, did not only
Malacca, the rules were codified in It was reported that he ended his idol and alcohol drinkers, as well as those play an important role in the judicial
the Law of Malacca, comprising royal worship and stopped eating pork, even who committed acts in violation of royal processes in the kingdom but he was
rulings on almost all aspects of life, though many other pre-Islamic customs commands. Compostel did not name of also involved in the royal policies of the
and in the Maritime Laws of Malacca, were preserved. the Sheikh al-Islam when he was in Aceh kings. It is important to emphasize that
which specifically regulated the safety and he only mentioned that the court in Aceh, the kadi malik al-adil, as noted
of maritime trade in the kingdom. Both The rulers of Aceh also wanted to rules were often carried out on the orders by the Dutch historian Van Langen, was
laws show in what way the kingdom impose Islamic law in their kingdom. of Sultan Iskandar Muda. known to be the “head of the Supreme
played a role in implementing Islamic The Bustan as-Salatin notes that Sultan Court” responsible for the enactment of
law. The Law of Malacca, for instance, Ala al-Din (1579-1586) was a pious king The importance of the kadi in the public Islamic law. In fact, in a tribunal trial his
contains the regulations on the rights and known to have urged his people to abide administration of Aceh can also be presence was an absolute requirement
obligations of the king, as well as those by Islamic teachings. In fact, in Aceh, seen from local sources. The Hikayat for a court ruling to be accepted as valid,
of the political elites in the kingdom; Islamic law was also implemented by Atjeh notes that the kadi was an exalted as was his endorsement of the sultan’s
marriage and divorce law, criminal an institution especially designed for position in the royal government decisions. The kadi malik al-adil was
law to create safety in the kingdom; the task, i.e. the institution of the kadi. structure, equal to that of the economic thus crucial within the royal bureaucracy.
and regulations pertaining to trading Unlike Malacca where the king made elites, the wealthy, and the military elites, The king was the patron of the scholars
activities. All these regulations were a legal decisions himself, in Aceh there the hulubalang (lit. military commanders). who served as important agents for
combination of laws derived from the was a separate legal institution occupied Moreover, it also describes the kadi’s the enforcement of Islamic law in the
by scholars. Beaulieu, a French traveler
involvement in the selection of the new
Qur’an and customary law. kingdom.
who arrived in Aceh in 1621, noted that sultan after Ali Ri’ayat Shah’s death in
A similar situation could be found in there were two legal institutions in the 1579. Beaulieu also noted the kadi’s Efforts to enforce Islamic law by the ruler
Pahang. The legal provisions in Pahang kingdom: namely (1) a purely judicial involvement in the rise to power of al- can also be found in other kingdoms

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