Kedah - 940 AD

SUMBER : DARUL MUTTAQIN

The 940 A.D. Kedah Visited by Abu Dulaf

In 940 A.D. Abu Dulaf Al-Muhalhil from Bukhara stopped over in Kedah and made the following observations :-

" When I arrived in Kalah, I found it to be a beautiful place surrounded by the walls of its fort, flower gardens and flowing water from springs in the ground. I saw tin mines, which were incomparable to any other in this world. Within the city I saw makers of " qala'I " swords, i.e. original Indian (Hindi) swords….as in China, there were people who ate un-slaughtered meats. The people had a system of laws, which include the use of prisons and a system of fines as forms of punishment.

They ate wheat, dates, vegetables which were weighed before being sold and breads which were sold in piles. They did not have Turkish baths (hamam), but bathe in fast flowing rivers. They currency was the silver dirham…called ' fahri ' . The wore very expensive silks just like the people in China.. the King of Kalah paid tributes to China, and mentioned the name of the Chinese emperor in their Friday sermons and the King of Kalah faced the direction of the emperor when praying… "(Paul Wheatley, 1961:217).

Abu Dulaf reported that the people of Kedah knew how to use wheat flour, ate dates, bread and vegetables, just like the Arabs. It was clear that the Malays had absorbed some Arab cultures. According to Paul Wheatley in his small notes in the same page, the silver dirham called " Fahri " was the currency used in Khurasan, North Iran. In Kedah, the barter system was practiced, and the "fahri" was used only when very necessary. The " qala'I " swords, which were forged in Kedah became an export item known to the Arabs a "al-sayf al-Hind" (Fatimi, 1963:212).

Abu Dalaf caused a bit of confusion when he said that the King of Kalah " ….mentioned the name of the Emperor of China in his Friday sermons and the King of Kalah prayed in the direction of the emperor... "

Abu Dalaf was confused because the Muslims in Kedah did not mention the name of Caliph Al-Mutaqqi (940-944) who had just ascended the throne in Damascus in their sermons. Perhaps they mentioned the name of King of Sribuza (Sri Wijaya) or other such names which he though to be the name of the Chinese emperor.

The direction he mentioned, was the direction of power adhered to by the King of Kalah or Kedah, and not the direction faced when praying. Abu Dulaf could have assumed that the King of Kedah had not yet embraced Islam, even though all his subjects had already done so.

Observations made by Abu Zaid (916 A.D.) and Mas'udi (943 A.D.)

Abu Zaid a citizen of Siraf wrote the following notes in 916 A.D. :-

" Kalah was a territory under King al-Zabaj (Sri Wijaya), located between China and Arabia … Kedah port attracted ships from Oman, and from here ships set off for Arabia …Kedah was a trading centre for sandalwood, camphor, aloe's wood, ivory, tin, charcoal, " sepang " wood, all sorts of spices and other items which were too numerous to be counted.." (Paul Wheatley 1961: 218).

Mas'udi who wrote in 943 A.D. on the migration of Arab and Iranian merchants from Canton to Kedah in 877 A.D. was a Muslim traveler who wrote many books. In his book, " Muruj al-Dhahab wal ma'adin al-Jawahar " written in 943 A.D. observed:-

"…around Kalah and Sribuza (Sri Wijaya) were gold and silver mines. The sea routes placed Kedah a lttle further than some routes from Arabia to China. Today Kedah is a centre of attraction for Muslim merchants from Siraf and Oman. From here they boarded Chinese ships to go to China. Kalah sea is shallow and difficult to sail on and there are many small islands and straits." (Paul Wheatley, 1961: 218-219).

It is clear that Kedah was a large port used by Muslim merchants from Arabia and Iran in the 9th and early 10th century A.D. When entering its port, ships must employ local pilots who were skillful navigators of the sea around Kedah.

Ever since 877 A.D., Kedah had become one of Sri wijaya's busiest ports. Muslim and non-Muslim traders gathered in Kedah before continuing their journey to China or Palembang. However, the King of Kedah kept a policy good relationship in politics and economy with China.

After the migration of 877 A.D., the Chinese took to sailing their own ships when exporting their own goods. In the 8th and the 9th century A.D. Chinese sailors did not go further than Kedah. Chinese ships that could venture further than Kedah, only made their appearance during the time of the Song and the Ming Dynasties (Moorhead, 1957:7).

Kedah had Embraced Islam Since 877 A.D.

Arab and Iranian traders opened their own settlements wherever they trade. That was what had happened in Canton, champa, India, Africa and other places. They became well respected and influential in all levels of society.

There is no doubt that Islam had arrived in Kedah in the 9th century A.D. and some of its local population had already embraced the religion. Dr. Syed Naguib al-Attas made the following assumption:-

" After the Muslims had formed a large settlement in Canton (ever since the first century Hegira or the 7th century A.D.), they were free to practice their own religion and to execute their own civil laws, it would therefore easy to assume that they would continue the practice in their new settlement in Kedah and Palembang, after their migration from Canton. The migration could be the first indication of the coming of Islam into the Malay Archipelago (Nusantara). "

(Syed Naguib al-attas, 1969: 11)

Chinese travelers noted that there were many people in Kedah who had the word ' pu ' at the beginning of their names. Experts on the Chinese language agreed that ' pu ' could be a corruption of the word ' Abu '. This only serves to prove that there were already a large number of Muslims at that time.

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7 Januari 2022 > 4 Jamadilakhir 1443H: 3.14 pm