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The Baiturrahman Ali Shah (reigned 1514-1530) was the in the state of Aceh Darussalam. “original” Malay, where pre-classical Hamzah Fansuri was the first scholar
Mosqueis one of the first king who laid the foundation for The second was Sheikh Muhammad archaic elements were less used, but who needs to be explained. Based on
remains of the Aceh the development of Aceh into the most Yamani, who was an expert in also the emergence of a new genre in the available resources, both local and
Kingdom. prominent kingdom in the 17 century Islamic jurisprudence. Both Sheikhs the writing tradition in the Malay world, foreign, several scholars argue that
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Source: Directorate of archipelago. 24 discussed the problems of a’yan the so-called “kitab” ---works that contain Hamzah Fansuri most probably lived
History and Cultural Aceh witnessed the most important thabitah. At one point the discussion the substance of Islamic teaching of in Aceh before and during the reign of
Values, Ministry of stage in the development of Malay stopped as no one could judge the which the Bustan as-Salatin is one Sultan Alauddin Ri’ayat Shah (1589-
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Education and Culture as it grew into the common language matter. Hence, both sheikhs sailed. example. 1602). While Shamsuddin al-Sumatrani
of the Republic of in the archipelago. Two explanations Then came a ulama from Gujarat is estimated to have lived during the reign
Indonesia. below offer strong evidence that Aceh, named Sheikh Muhammad Jilani ibn Kitab Literature of the next king, Sultan Iskandar Muda
supported by stable political conditions Hassan ibn Muhammad, Hamid was It should be emphasized that the (1607-1636). Both scholars held positions
as “Sheikh al-Islam” and served as the
and developed trade, contributed the name of his clan, the Qurayshwas term ‘kitab literature’ was first used by king’s advisers, especially in the field
significantly to the development of Malay his tribe, Ranir the name of his Hooykaas and then Brakel and refers of religion. The most important thing to
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language and culture. At the same country, Shafi’i his School (mazhab). to a group of texts characterized by emphasize here is that Hamzah Fansuri
time, it should be noted here that the The sheikh taught logic, Arabic Islam or the results of adapting Arabic/ and Shamsuddin al-Sumatrani were
development of Islam is an inherent part literature, Islamic jurisprudence and Persian works, unlike other fiction and leading scholars, particularly in Aceh, in
of the development and establishment law in the state of Aceh Darussalam. historical works that developed in the the late 16 and early 17 centuries.
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of the Malay language. In line with And many students wanted to study Malay world. More specifically, it refers to
Aceh’s position in the 16 and 17 Islamic mysticism. The sheikh literary works written in Aceh in the 16 Hamzah Fansuri wrote many books,
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centuries as the leading Islamic center complied and he came again at a and 17 centuries by leading religious but what have been found until now are
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in the archipelago, intellectual activities later time. Hence, the sheikh sailed to scholars, namely Hamzah Fansuri, three mystical treatises, respectively the
concerning language and texts were Mecca. Syamsuddin as-Sumatrani, Nuruddin Sharab al-‘Ashiqin (Beverages of the
closely linked to efforts to contextualize The quotation above, from the Bustan ar-Raniri, and Abdul Ra’uf as-Singkili that Intimate People), Asrar al-‘Arifin (Secrets
and disseminate Islam in Aceh and in the as-Salatin by Nuruddin al-Raniri, is not contain Islamic teachings ranging from of the Gnostics) and al-Muntahi (End
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Malay-Indonesian region in general. Path). The Sharabal-‘Ashiqin is regarded
only a testimony of Aceh’s cosmopolitan Sufism, jurisprudence, theology, and as his first Malay workand it is also the
In the year nine hundred ninety after nature---especially as seen from the Islamic history. In Aceh, these works are first mystical treatise in Malay. Another
the Hijrah two priests came from religious side---but also that shows the commonly called “Kitab Jawoe” (book version is entitled Zinat al-Muwahidin
Mecca. One was a man named use of Malay had been firmly established written in Malay in Jawi script) or “Jawi (Jewelry of the Monotheists). While the
Sheikh Abul-Khair bin Sheikh Ibn as the medium of expression in the books” in the Malay world generally. findings on his mystical poems are only
Hajar. He composed a book entitled religious intellectual discourse, in social Kitab literature has special linguistic less than 32 threads. His poems are
Saif al-Qati’ on the word a’yan life and for political diplomacy. The quote patterns and manifests it self into an considered to be the first ‘Malay poetry’.
thabitah and he taught Islamic law above does not only show the use of Islamic lingua franca in the Archipelago. 28 Shamsuddin al-Sumatrani (d. 1630

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