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A single headstone dated 903 A.D., found at the cemetery in Kampong Tanjung Inggeris had the following name inscribed on it: "Sheikh Abdul Qadir ibni Hussain Shah Alirah". "Langgar" was an Old Persian word meaning a school or a place where religious education was given. Sheikh Abdul Qadir was an Iranian. The word "Alirah", written in Jawi could not be clearly read; it could be "Shah Alam" or "Shah Al-Yara" or even "Shah Kalahar". What is clear is that there was already a Muslim settlement with its "langgar" in Langgar at that time. And if there was a Sheikh who died here, there must have been a Muslim religious school here too. It would only be logical to find Muslim settlement in Langgar, which was located near the Kedah River; one of the short cuts to China, via Kuala Kedah and Patani. In Bujang Valley, especially at site 14, was found silver dirhams of Caliph al-Muawakkil era. None of the dirhams found were complete: one was half complete while the other had only a quarter left. On the half portion of the coin was inscribed the date, 234 Hegira or around 848 A.D., i.e during the rule of Caliph al-Mutawakkil in Baghdad. (Quaritch-Wales 1940: pl. 51) In Bujang Valley too, at site 18, were found pieces of glass which if re-constructed would form the glass chimneys of 10th century Arab lamps. Many pieces of glass were found and it was possible that there were many glass chimneys and funnels for their lamps were brought over here (Quarith-Wales, 1940:pl 68). Thousands of beads in all forms and colours were collected by archeologists at Bujang Valley and Sungai Mas. Among them were beads from the Middle East. Besides their use as decorative items and gifts, they were also used in barter trading at that time. Among trade items brought by Arab and Iranian traders were woven and embroidered cloths, gold jewellery, mirrors, shiny metals, medicinal spices, and perfumes such as "narwastu" and "ambar kasturi". A piece of stone, measuring 19 cm X 37 cm. was found among a pile of temple stones kept in the Bujang Valley Archeological Museum in Merbok, Kedah. On the stone was inscribed, "ibnu Sardan 213". Whether the stone was a broken piece of headstone or a boundary
is not clear. The date 213 Hegira is the year 823 A.D. Ibnu Sardan
was the name of an Arab family well known as intellectuals, skilled
navigators and Muslim missionaries (Othman Mohd. Yatim, 1990: 40-41). The most interesting is the one at the old cemetery at Kampong Seberang Tok Soh, near Pinang Tunggal, 9 kilometres from Sungai Petani. The grave was undated and unnamed but the headstone was done in the manner for a court official from Acheh. The headstone was inscribed with the "Shahadat" (oath of Muslim faith) and a few verses from the Koran. Villagers of Kampong Seberang Tok Soh called it the grave of Raja Bersiong (the King with Fangs) because of it was located near an earth fort. Kedah people were very fond labeling anything old and mysterious with the name, Raja Bersiong. This headstone undated and unnamed remained a solid historical evidence. The War between Sri Rama and Andaman When Islamic forces were invading India in 1000 A.D., there was a Hindu Kingdom at the Coromandel Coast, called Chola, which had a strong naval force. Relations between Chola and Srivijaya was not at all bad, but Chola was unhappy over the laws and rules enforced by Srivijaya on all foreign shipping, as well as the economic monopolies the Kingdom held in the Nusantara. Atttacks by Muslim forces in Northern India, and the bustling trade conducted by Muslim merchants: Arabs as well as Iranians, caused much discomfort to Rajendra Chola. In 1025, King Rajendra Chola attacked Srivijaya, and it was said that Kedah, which had become one of its important centers was utterly destroyed (D.G.E. Hall, 1955:50). The Tamil dialect used by Rajendra Chola, pronounced Kedah as
"Kadaram". An inscription found at a temple in Tanjore,
reads: The inscription in Tajore then went on to list the states in the Srivijayan Empire, destroyed by Rajendra Chola. Among the States recognized, were Pannai (Pane in Sumatra), Malayur (Jambi), Legor, Phanrang in Champa, Trang and Chaiyya in Thailand, Lamuri (Acheh), Nikobar Island and Kadaram (Kedah). Kedah was mentioned by Rajendra as one of the States, that had fiercely opposed him and we know that one of the reasons was its many Muslim subjects. Kedah almost became a desert through the destructive attack by Chola. "As for the Island of Langkapuri, after the War between Sri Rama and Andaman, it became deserted as no one live on it any more." That was how "Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa" depicted the aftermath of the War between Sri Rama and Andaman. The First King of Pre-Islamic Kedah About 1000 years ago the Shiites of Iran began a campaign of prosecution against the Sunnis forcing them to flee Iran. The Sunnis were indeed in a direful state. They needed to migrate in large numbers to a place, which would offer them safety from the Shiites (Omar Amin Husin, 1970:27). Some of these Sunni Muslims from Iran, arrived in the Malay Archipelago (Nusantara) at the same time Merong Maha Wangsa or Maha Raja Durbar Raja, arrived in Kedah. Kedah was still burning from the attack by Chola. "Hikayat Merong Maha Wangsa" indicated that the first King of Kedah as Merong Maha Wangsa himself. He was Rome's ambassador, entrusted with the mission of taking the emperor's son to wed the daughter of the Chinese emperor. During the journey,his fleet was attacked by the mythical giant bird, "Geruda", in the seas near the Island of Langkapuri. Merong Maha Wangsa's fleet, which was said to have "filled the sea", was totally destroyed. Only his ship survived. He was forced to land at the foot of Jerai Mountain, where he was installed as King by the local population. "Rome" here referred to territory within the Persian Empire or Iran, which used to be a part of the Eastern Roman Empire. This area had already accepted Islam, ever since the time of Al-Rashidin Caliphs. To Arabs, this former territory of the Roman Empire in the north of Iran, was "Rome". It was here that both Iranians and Turks set up strong Muslim governments, one after another (M.A. Rauf, 1967: 71). The "Garuda" bird was the official transportation of the god Vishnu and was one of many Hindu symbols. It was deemed unavoidable that Merong Maha Wangsa's fleet be attacked by Hindu naval forces. In the 11th and 12th century A.D. attacks on Muslim shipping by Hindu fleets in the Indian Ocean had become a natural phenomenon. Merong Maha Wangsa was said to have married a woman from a seafaring tribe called the "Gergasi" and urged his subjects to emulate him. This is not a Hindu practice. Details From "Al-Tarikh Salasilah" According to "al-Tarikh Salasilah", the first King of Kedah was Maha Raja Durbar Raja who came from the State of Gemurun in Persia (Muhammad Hassan, 1968: 3). He had been defeated by other stronger Iranian states. Gumaran is the present Port of Gambroon in the Caspian Sea. The people in the area had embraced Islam ever since the time of the Al-Rahidin Caliphs (Haji Dasuki: 1962:183). This first King introduced the "nobat' into Kedah. This orchestra had its origin in the palace of Caliph Haru A-Rashid in Baghdad. Its musical instruments were a collection of Hindu and local items. However, "nobat" was used officially by the Muslim Caliphs of Baghdad. Therefore the first Kings of Kedah, according to the two books, were people who were familiar with the grandeur of Islam and the teachings of Propjet Muhammad, even though there was no mention that they were ever Muslims. Maharaja Durbar built his palace, "Kota Sok", sixty miles to the east of Jerai Mountain near the trade junction between Kedah and Langkasuka. Merong Maha Wanga, on the other hand, built is palace east of Jerai Mountain at a yet to be identified place, but thought to be very near Kuala Merbok, the starting point for the road leading to Langkasuka and the east coast. Through these and other similarities, it could be concluded that Merong Mahawangsa and Maha Raja Durbar Raja was one and the same. Merong Maha Wangsa was better known as the first King, because his "Hikayat" (legend) came out earlier and was more widely read by the locals than "Tarikh al-Salasilah", which was only written by Muhammad Hassan in 1928. The Coming of Islam According to "Merong Maha Wanga" "Hikayat Merong Maha Wangsa" explained how Islam was introduced into Kedah. It said that a holy Muslim and one close to God, by the name of Sheikh Abdullah of Baghdad, had a student called Sheikh Abdullah Al-Yamani. Through the effort of his teacher, Sheikh Abdullah A-Yamani was said to have been able to befriend Iblis or Lucifer. Lucifer gave Sheikh Abdullah a wooden staff that would make him invisible whenever he held on to it. Lucifer then took sheikh Abdullah through the air to meet King Pra Ong Maha Wangsa at his palace in Bukit Meriam. At the palace, Lucifer pissed into the wine, about to be drunk by the King. Sheikh Abdullah did not like what Lucifer had done and scolded him, and this evolved into a small quarrel. Lucifer reacted angrily and took away the wooden staff from the Sheikh, thus revealing the Sheikh who was standing in front of the King. The Sheikh then explained in detail what had happened to him and King Pra Ong immediately embraced Islam and sworn never to drink alcohol and changed his name to Sultan Muzaffal Shah. The Coming of Islam According to "Al-Tarikh Salasilah" We did not know when Pra Ong Maha Wangsa embraced Islam, but Muhammad Hassan in his "Al-Tarikh Salasial" placed the year at 531 Hegira or 1136 A.D. as the time when the first King of Kedah embraced Islam. Maha Raja Durber, the name to be found in "Al-Tarikh Salasilah" then took the Muslim name of Sultan Muzaffar Shah. At this stage, al-Muqtafi had just become Caliph in Baghdad and Caliph Harun A-Rashid had died 130 years prior to this. In any case the name of the first Muslim Sultan mentioned by Muhammad
Hassan as Sultan Muzaffar Shah, was considered official.
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