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 A History Of The Arrival And The Development Of Islam In Kedah  By Ismail Haji Salleh (Translated by Haji Hashim bin Samin) |
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The shortest route for Arab, Iranian and Indian traders to reach the east coast of the Peninsula was via a land route that cut across from Kuala Kedah to Senggora, using the present rail route, by using perahus, rafts, and elephants or just by walking. From Kuala Merbok, traders could also push and pole their way on rafts or just ride an elephant to Patani. In those days, Kuala Sungai Muda is the present Kuala Merbok. In Kedah itself, there were land routes connecting the upper parts of such rivers as Sungai Tapa, Suntai Petani, Sungai Belum, Sungai Sai and Sungai Pergau to gold mines in Kelantan and Pahang. In fact, from Senggora or Patani, traders could continue their journey into Cambodia, Champa and on to China, a journey that would take less time than if they were to sail around the Peninsula. (Moorhead, F.J. 1957, 37; Hall D.G.E., 1955, 22). Kedah also supplied them with such transportations as perahus, bamboo rafts, elephants, oarsmen, and porters who would carry all their goods if they need to walk or climb through a higher altitude. Kedah also provided rest houses (pasanggrahan), eating establishments, guard posts and tax collectors at certain places along the land route. The work of taming elephants required the service of reliable shamans. "Pendiat" or elephant traps could be found anywhere in this State. It is still unclear whether this State was called "Kadah" because of the number of 'kadah' that could be found here. 'Kadah' referred to pits where elephants were trained to be good transporters. "Kalah" or "Kalaha" was Found by Kurds from the Kalahar Tribe The State of Kedah, which was opened in 11th century A.D. was originally named "Kalah" (Muhammad Hassan, 1968: 3). "Kalaha" was the name of a tribe of Kurds, i.e. the natives of Iran who migrated to the Nusantara in the 10th and 11th century A.D. When the "Kalahar" tribe settled in Kedah, the other tribes moved on to settle down in other parts of the Malay Archipelago (Omar Amin Husin, 1962: 185). Historians had proven that the Kingdoms of Pasai, Rokan, Kuntu and Siak in Sumatra were opened by Muslim Iranians as far back as 969 A.D. Tombstones engraved in the Pahlawi script were found there. Legor, or Nakhorn Si Thammarat was opened by Kunu Iranians who named the city, Jamguerd. Arabs pronounced it as "Jamkut". The same could be said of a settlement in Leren, near Gerisik in East Java, which was believed to have been opened by Iranians of the Lor tribe. Zainab binti Maimun who was buried in Leren in 1101 A.D. had Sulaiman al-Farisi as one of her ancestors (Omar Amin Husin, 1962: 179) When the Kalahar tribe arrived in Kedah, they named the place in accordance with the name of their tribe: Kalahar. Muhammad Hassan in his book, "Al-Tarikh Salasilah..", wrote its name as "Kalaha". Arabs pronounced it as "Kalah". These Kurds tribes who had migrated to the Nusantara did so not only for trade, but also in search of a calm and peaceful life, away from their own strife-torn land. These Iranians had also migrated to Africa, India, The Middle East, the Far East and New Zealand. The Malay Archipelago or "Nusantara" was also one of their destinations. The Migration of Muslim Merchants from China to Kedah Muslim merchants from Arabia, Iran and other places, congregated in the port of Canton (now Guangzhou) in China. Caliph Sayidina Uthman ibn Affan (644-656) used to send his envoy, Saad Abi Waqqas and an entourage of fifteen others, on a sea voyage to china with the purpose of asking the emperor of China to embrace Islam. Chinese records of 651 A.D. admitted having received an envoy from "Han Mi Mo Moni" ("Amir ul-Mu'minin") and in the 7th century A.D. the emperor of China, Tai Ti Sung embraced Islam (Abdullah Ishak, 1992: p. 250-251). Around 877 A.D., Arab and Iranian merchants were attacked and killed by rebels who were fighting against the government of China. These merchants who had lived for 200 years in Canton were massacred. It was estimated that the number killed were between 120,000 to 200,000 people (Naguib Al-Attas, 1969: 11). A large number of these Muslim traders and their families sought refuge in Kedah. Another rebellion broke out around 900 A.D. in Yong Chow. This time, around 5,000 people including Muslim traders were murdered. Those who survived migrated to Kedah and Palembang (Abdullah Ishak, 1992:440). The status of Canton as a busy port was thus taken over by Kedah. As far back as the 8th century A.D., Islam had taken roots in England. Two pieces of gold coins kept in the British Museum testified to the fact that King Offa, the ruler of Mercia had embraced Islam. It coins displayed the two the Muslim confession of faith. The Kingdom of Mercia was located between River Thames and the Humber River, comprising Kent, Essex and London. In 825 A.D. Mercia was attacked and assimilated by other territories and its status as a Muslim Kingdom then disappeared. 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 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. 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.: 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:
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 Sung 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:
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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