1. Introduction

Amazing, the early evidence of the coming of Islam to the Malay regions was a gravestone. Of course, it was not an ordinary gravestone, but a gravestone which was from about eight centuries ago. On the 13^th century, the gravestone was found in Minye Tujoh (North Sumatra, Indonesia). The naming of gravestone was based on the name of the place where it was found.

The contents of Minye Tujoh inscription:

R.O Winstedt (1972: 185) in Fauziah (2005)

1. Hijrah nabi Mungstapa yang Prasaddha
2. Tujuh ratus asta puloh savarssa
3. Hajji catur dan dasa varsa sukra
4. Raja Iman (vara) di rahmat Allah
5. Gutar Bahasa Pihak Kedak Pasema
6. Illah ya rabbi Tuhan samuha
7. Taroh dalam svargga Tuhan tatuha
8. Mungstapa, (Arabic; Mustafa), Hijrah, nabi, prasaddha

Meaning:

1. After hijrah (Mohammed‘s emigration from Mecca to Medina) of the Prophet, the dead lover.
2. 781 years.
3. Dzullhijjah Month (the last month of Islamic lunar calendar), 14 days, Friday.
4. The King of Faith, Allah‘s mercy for His Majesty.
5. From Bara family, language has rights of Kedah and Pasai.
6. Oh Lord, oh my God of the universe.
7. Please take the His Majesty into God‘s heaven.

Fauziah continues:

“If we pay attention, the quotations above are poems carved on the gravestone. The words have mixed with the Arabic and Sanskrit language. The manuscripts are prayer for King of Pasai who died in1380 A.D.

The people in South India (Coromondel Coast) have become Moslems before then. The reason is Malikul Saleh‘s gravestone is from Kembayat (Cayat). There is an Islamic literature that we do not receive directly from the Middle East and it entered the Malay region through India book review.”

2. When and How is the Influence of Arabic to Malay Language?

The era between the early of 13^th century and the end of 15^th century in Malay literature treasury was called as the transitional era, an era of transition from Hindu to Islamic civilization. With the entering of Islamic civilization, the Malayans had known writing tradition. Beforewards, only the oral tradition prevailed in their literature.

On the last decade of 13^th century, the influence of Sanskrit language began to decrease on the Malay language. The influence had diminished since the decreasing of Crivijaya‘s influence in Sumatra island. Gradually, the influence of Sanskrit was lessening until it was defeated by the Arabic influence that had spread on the early of 14^th century.

The entering of Islam to the Malay land on the 13^th century had opened the way for the entering of Arabic influence to the Malay language. According to Collins, the Arabic influence had felt by being absorbed in lexical materials from the Arabic to the Malay language although they were not too much on that era. Based on the almanacs found in some inscriptions, the oldest evidence of the Arabic influence to the Malay language was still from the 13^th century.

The 14^th century was a struggling era for the two big civilizations that existed in Malay. The Islamic influence had infiltrated and brought Arabic, that time the Hindu influence still could hold out for almost one and half centuries. Unfortunately, there was not too much historical evidences neither inscription nor manuscript that stated about the Sanskrit language situation on this struggling era. This situation, according to Muhadjir, was caused by two things; first, the Malay language native speakers were not fond of documenting any works or any things through writing; second, those evidences were not kept sufficiently. But, it was clear that the Sanskrit influence was weaker.

Nevertheless, it agreed with Fauziah who said that this era was the transitional era. Because, on the 15^th century, the Malay kingdom in Malacca had become an Islamic Kingdom. In its development, Islam‘s spread centered in the Malay Kingdom. Besides the Malacca kingdom, the Pasai Kingdom in Aceh also had become an Islamic Kingdom, thus these kingdoms helped each other in spreading Islam to around Indonesia.

Thus, the history had brought Arabic literacy to the Malay language that created Jawi letter (Arab-Malay or Arab Pegon). There were so many evidences about Jawi writing that had been used since a long time ago in Malay. The eldest inscription that used this Jawi writing even was from 1303 AC, several decades before the year that was mentioned on Minye Tujoh gravestone. The Malay inscription on early 13^th century was called as Trengganu Inscription.

The Arabic words on the Trengganu inscription were many. Even, the inscription which was found in Ulu Trengganu (now is included in Negeri Trengganu Darul Iman, Malaysia) contained about the Islamic law in that country when the inscription was made.

Nevertheless, Sanskrit language influence was still strong in Malay language that time. It was proved by being found the words which were from Sanskrit much more than the words which were Arabic. Paterson, according to Collins, counted the sum of Sanskrit vocabulary two times more than Arabic vocabulary. One special word in Sanskrit was Dewata Mulia Raya to say God, in Modern Malay was changed by Allah, borrowing from Arabic.

	Picture 1. Trengganu Inscription from Side A
	Picture 2. Trengganu Inscription from Side B
	Picture 3. Trengganu Inscription from Side C
	Picture 4. Trengganu Inscription from Side D

Several words in the inscription were influenced by Arabic:

Side A:

1. Rasul Allah dengan yang orang….bagi mereka….
2. ada pada Dewata Mulia Raya beri hamba meneguhkan agama Islam
3. dengan benar bicara darma meraksa bagi sekalian hamba Dewata Mulia Raya
4. di benuaku ini penentu agama Rasul Allah salla‘llahu ‘alaihi wa sallama Raja
5. mandalika yang benar bicara sebelah Dewata Mulia Raya di dalam
6. bhumi. Penentua itu fardlu pada sekalian Raja manda-
7. –lika Islam menurut setitah Dewata Mulia Raya dengan benar
8. bicara berbajiki benua penentua itu maka titah Seri Paduka
9. Tuhan mendudukkan tamra ini di benua Trengganu adipertama ada
10. Jum‘at di bulan Rejab di tahun sarathan di sasanakala
11. Baginda Rasul Allah telah lalu tujuh ratus dua….

Side B: this side doesn‘t contain vocabularies from Arabic.

Side C: this side doesn‘t contain vocabularies from Arabic.

Side D: this side doesn‘t contain vocabularies from Arabic.

3. Manuscript

The eldest Malay Manuscript, which was written on 1521AC and 1522 AC by using Jawi writing, was in Ternate. This manuscript was a letter written by the king of Ternate for the king of Portuguese. On that letter, he told some important information to Portuguese, such as political fluctuation that happened in the kingdom next to Ternate, Tidore kingdom. The king who wrote this letter named Sultan Abu Hayat, and that letter itself was written in Jawi letter and used Malay language. Blagden‘s words which were quoted by Collins, the content of that letter still could be understood although the language style used was different from the Malay language generally.

In scanning process

Picture 5
The letter of the king of Ternate which was written in Malay language and Jawi letter

He wrote this letter by using the Malay language with certain aims, especially diplomatic aim. The king of Ternate himself was not a Malayan, but an Ambon who used the Malay language. But, here was the peculiarity like Collins said. At least, it showed how important the position and how large the influence of the Malay language at that time, thus that language was used for diplomatic language in international scale and written in Jawi not in Latin although it was addressed to the king of Portuguese. How the Arabic influence in Jawi letter penetrated and rooted into the Malay language thus its scripts were also used by “Ambon people” who spoke the Malay language.

Those two evidences above were only the beginning of the long historical series of Arabic influence to the Malay language. At the end of 16^th century, it was estimated that Sulalatussalatin (The Malay Annals), and the kings‘ history, were written in Aceh. The title clearly used the Arabic language. A lot of Malay works and translation were created during this century. Aqaid that contains theological concepts, was written on 1590 A.D, there was also an Arabic grammar script that was from 1582 A.D. The manuscript, Erpenius collection, used Jawi letter which was collected in Aceh on the early 17^th century. This collection was estimated from the end of 16^th century or on the same period with the works of Hamzah Fansuri which were usually believed that those were created before 1590 A.D. in Baros, Northwest Sumatra. The copy of Hamzah Fansuri script contains of historical record, private conflict with Nuruddin al-Raniri, a Moslem scholar who had some important works for the spreading of Islam and Malay language.

Exactly a year before the 17^th century, a King of Brunei whose kingdom‘s capital was destroyed by the Spain troops, finally wrote a letter using the Malay language to King of Spain in 1559 A.D. This letter is the last evidence shows the Malay language situation before it entered the golden era of Malay language on the 17^th century, besides a note which was written by a Dutch merchant, De Houtman, who was arrested in Aceh on the same year.

The end of 16^th century was a separating point between Old Malay and Classic Malay, or the end of Transition Malay era, observed from literature history side. But, when the exact separation between the old Malay and classic Malay language could not be determined because that separation did not happen directly and occurred in slow like any other language transition.

4. Conclusion

The Arabic influence to the Malay language happened gradually. At the first time, the influence was weak, but together with the coming of Islam, it was stronger that it challenged the Sanskrit language domination and finally marginalized the influence of the language brought by Hindu civilization.

The strong of Arabic influence still continued until Classic Malay era, the thing that made Liaw Yock Fang, which was quoted by Fauziah, had opinion that no Malay tale that was not influenced by Arabic.

(TL/LA/27/01-08)

Translated from the Indonesian version by (LA)

References:   

• Roahedi, Ajat. 2007. “Bahasa Melayu: Jejak Sejarah” (in Malay society, Malay Culture, and their changes; editor: Heddy Shri Ahimsa-Putra). Yogyakarta: Balai Kajian and Pengembangan Budaya Melayu associated with Adicita Karya Nusa.
• Fauziah. 2005. Keberadaan Aksara Arab dalam Kesusastraan Melayu. Medan: Sumatra Utara University.
• Fauziah. 2006. Unsur-unsur Bunyi Kata-kata Serapan dari Bahasa Arab dalam Bahasa Melayu Deli. Medan: Sumatra Utara University.
• Anonim. 2007. “Prasasti Terengganu”. (http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prasasti_Terengganu, 26 September 2007).
• Muhadjir. 2000. Bahasa Betawi: Sejarah dan Perkembangannya. Jakarta: Yayasan Obor Indonesia.
• Collins, James T. 2005. Bahasa Melayu Bahasa Dunia Sejarah Singkat (translator: Evita Elmanar). Jakarta: Yayasan Obor Indonesia.
• Fauziah. 2006. Perubahan Makna Leksikal Kata Kerja Bahasa Indonesia dari Bahasa Arab. Medan: Sumatra Utara University.

Enclosure:

Classification of Absorption Words from Arabic to Indonesian Language

In her research (2006)  Perubahan Makna Leksikal Kata Kerja Bahasa Indonesia dari Bahasa Arab Fauziah said that there were 94 lexical words that had been borrowed from the Arabic language by the Indonesian Language. These were the classification of absorption words from Arabic to Indonesian language:

The absorption words contained of four parts. First part: form and meaning were still the same; second part: form was changed but the meaning was same; third part: both form and meaning were changed; the last part: meaning was changed but the form was same. For further explanation, we can see on the examples below:

1. Form and the meaning were same as the original:

1. abad (century), abadi (eternal), abah (direction), abdi (servant), adat (custom, tradition), adil (just), amal (charity), aljabar (algebra), almanak (almanac), awal (beginning), akhir (last, the end). 
2. bakhil (stingy, miserly), baligh (grown up), batil (plate, incorrect), barakah (blessed).
3. daftar (list), hikayat (tale, story), ilmu (knowledge), insan (human being), hikmah (wisdom, philosophy), halal (allowed, legal), haram (forbidden), hakim (judge).    
4. khas (special), khianat (betrayal), khidmat (respect, humility), khitan (circumcision), kiamat (doomsday).
5. musyawarah (discussion, deliberation), markas (headquarter), mistar (ruler), mahkamah (court of law), musibah (disaster), mungkar (deny, ignore), maut (death).
6. kitab (book, holly book), kuliah (lecture), kursi (chair), kertas (paper), nisbah (family name, ratio), nafas (breath).
7. syariat (Islamic law), ulama (Moslem scholar), wajib (obligation, must), ziarah (pilgrimage).

2. Form was changed, the meaning was same:

1. berkah, barakat, or berkat came from barakah (blessed)
2. buya came from abuya (Islam title for respected religious experts and leaders)
3. derajat came from darajah (degree, level)
4. kabar came from khabar (news)
5. lafal came from lafazh (spell)
6. lalim came from zhalim (tyrannical, despotic, and cruel)
7. makalah came from maqalat (working paper)
8. masalah came from mas‘alat (problem)
9. mungkin came from mumkin (may be)
10. resmi came from rasmiyy (legitimate, formal)
11. soal came from sua:l (problem, question)
12. rezeki came from rizq (luck, fortune, prosperity, and blessing)
13. sekarat came from sakarat (agony, dying)
14. the name of the days in a week: Ahad (Minggu – Sunday-, satu – one-), Senin – Monday- (Isnaini, dua – two-), Selasa – Tuesday- (Salasa), Rabu – Wednesday- (Arba‘a), Kamis –Thursday- (Khomsa), Jum‘at – Friday-, Sabtu – Saturday.

3. Form and the meaning were changed:

1. keparat in Indonesian language is an abusive word which was equal with sialan (shit), came from kafarat that was in Arabic meant tebusan (ransom).
2. logat in Indonesian language is dialek (dialect), came from lughah meant bahasa (language).
3. naskah (script) came from nuskhatun meant piece of paper.
4. perlu (need) came from fardhu meant harus (must).
5. petuah in Indonesian language is nasihat (advice), came from fatwa meant law opinion.
6. laskar in Indonesian language is prajurit or serdadu (soldier), came from ‘askar which has the same meaning.

4. Form was same but meaning was changed

1. ahli in Indonesian language means pakar (expert), came from Arabic which means keluarga (family); ahlul bait “keluarga Rasulullah” (Rasulullah family).
2. kalimat in Indonesian language means rangkaian kata (sentence), came from Arabic which means kata (word).
3. siasat in Indonesian language means strategi (strategy), came from Arabic this means politik (politic) or cara memimpin (the way to lead).
4. makan in Indonesian language means to eat, while in Arabic meant tempat  (place).

Adapted with several changes from:

http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daftar_kata_serapan_dari_Bahasa_Arab_dalam_bahasa_Indonesia, 19 September ‘07  

---

Insert your comment here :