The Malay Heritage Foundation‘s (MHF) Sembang Ilmu Series (SIS) returned for a new season, the ninth session in March 2023. The SIS forum, supported by Sultan Mosque, adopted a new theme this season – Asatizah Berwarisan. For the first session, three young and seasoned asatizah touched on Turath: Warisan Keagamaan dan Keilmuan Islam di Alam Melayu.
Saturday, 18 March 2023 – MHF General Manager, Julina Khusaini, welcomed the audience and speakers in Sultan Mosque’s auditorium. She then invited MHF Chairman Dr. Norshahril Saat to deliver his opening address. He briefly introduced the Sembang Ilmu Series (SIS), and unlike the previous years, SIS adopted a new theme – Asatizah Berwarisan, this season. Dr. Norshahril shared that three more sessions are being planned for the year. This time, MHF is working closely with Sultan Mosque, which is celebrating its 200th anniversary and is also regarded as a key gathering spot for Singapore’s Muslim community.
MHF Vice-Chairman and moderator of the first Asatizah Berwarisan session, Dr. Azhar Ibrahim, was invited next to provide a muqaddimah prolegomenon. He shared the history of Kampong Gelam and its strong relationship with the Sultan Mosque. The latter was built at the beginning of the 19th century or in 1824. At the same time, the area of Sultan Mosque and Kampong Gelam became the centre of scientific development and the primary printing hub in the Malay world. Various genres of publications, such as Kitab, Hikayat, and Syair. This session reveals and analyses the books of Turath produced in that area. Dr. Azhar added that the panel would also explore the thought pattern of the scholars involved in the publications of these works that follow the development of the times and technology.
Ustaz Dr. Mohamed Qusairy Thaha, General Manager of Sultan Mosque, opened an opening to set the context. He shared that Singapore is the largest printing hub in the Malay world. More than 27 publishers and printers before the 1920s, and most publication genres belong to sociology, forming nearly 50% (about 47.5%). In addition to Hikayat (stories) and Syair (poetry), Kitab (books) or Risalah (brochures) form around 20% of the total printing of Jawi in Malay. Dr. Qusairy then asked the audience about the factors contributing to this development in different phases. He also shared the twists and turns in the history of Malay publications in Singapore. He noted that most publishers operated a one-person team out of their initiatives. They comprise Mission Press, Malay Press (Jawi Peranakan Company 1879), and American Press, among others. Dr. Qusairy listed his analysis of growth and decline factors for these publishers, such as keeping the faith, healthy competition, changes in strategy and purpose, touching on current issues/problems, a greater meaning behind writing and the first failure becomes the driver of the subsequent success.
Dr. Qusairy also shared his findings regarding the title in the Kitab (books) category with the audience. He expressed concerns about the few titles available in Singapore at the National Library. The rest, according to him, can only be found overseas, such as in the USA, London, etc. This is considered a sad state because we may have the list of titles here, but unfortunately, we do not possess our copy of the publication. He cited Tarjuman Al-Mustafid (1693, 1884), wrongly regarded as merely a translation. It is a form of intertextual, a genre of Muslim literature and the process of interpretation itself, especially (but not solely) that of scripture. It is also regarded as the first of such genres in Malay, with its constructive thinking and conciliating disputes. It has been known as the translation of Tafsir Baidawi for more than three centuries. Dr. Qusairy talked about Bustan Al-Arifin (1820) whom he mentioned the late Ustaz Ahmad Sonhadji drew inspiration, Sabil Al-Muhtadin (1859, 1872), Sifat DuaPuluh (1884, 1886, 1888, 1889, 1892) and Muhammad Hanafiah (1889, 1891, 1875, 1894, 1896). Among the prominent names of writers during the post-1920s revealed by Dr. Qusairy are Shaikh Tahir Jalaluddin (Al-Imam (leader) – anti-colonial spirit), Muhammad Fadhlullah Suhaimi (issue of women’s empowerment and the point of touching dogs), Kiayi Zuhri Mutammim (astronomical calculations/knowledge to determine Hari Raya), Syed Abdullah Al-Edrus (social problems in society) and Ustaz Ahmad Sonhadji (interpretation, sermons, integrity issues, career, and education). In conclusion, Dr. Qusairy highlighted the significant motive and purpose behind the development of printing and publishing. Promoting unity, the cultural and social upliftment of the society, expansion of intellectual horizon, resentment of the colonial domination and playing its part in the struggle towards National Independence, and uplifting the quality of life economically, socially, and politically are some of the reasons behind this movement.
The next speaker, Ustazah Liyana Rosli Asmara, Head of Harmony Centre at An-Nahdhah Mosque, presented on Munshi Abdullah: Bible Translations into Malay. She set the context of her presentation by asking the audience a few questions about Munshi Abdullah: What is his motive in translating the Bible? What is his principle as a Muslim who studies and helps other religions? What is the effect of his efforts that made many Malays become Christians? These are some burning questions and controversies surrounding Munshi Abdullah during that period. Ustazah Liyana then dived into the term K.O.N.T.E.K.S to better understand who Munshi Abdullah was. K stands for Keimanan (Faith). According to her, Munshi Abdullah already had a strong interest in the Malay language and used this opportunity to expand his knowledge further. Munshi Abdullah was widely known as the first Malay writer to depart from the traditional Malay literary style by writing in simple, colloquial Malay. O stands for Olahan (Having gone through a process). This refers to the sentence processing, word translation, and language used by Munshi Abdullah while working on four different bible translation projects, where he faced challenges. N stands for Nasihat (Advice). Ustazah Liyana shared that she appreciated Munshi Abdullah’s writings which were in the form of advice and reflection. She also shared how he was harshly labelled as Paderi Abdullah (Priest Abdullah) for this translation works. T stands for Tawaduk (Humility). Some instances include Munshi Abdullah sharing his ignorance in understanding some knowledge and apologising for the translation quality.
E stands for Esa (One). In his dialogue with Alfred North, Munshi Abdullah mentioned that his translation works could benefit Muslims in a way that the Bible’s human values are like the ones encouraged and taught in Islam. Hence, Munshi Abdullah believed he should do his best so that more could benefit from his translation works. K stands for Kritis (Critical) – which means Munshi Abdullah gave his best to ensure and share the quality of each translation and accurate translation. The final letter S stands for Sejarah (History). In a nutshell, Munshi Abdullah encouraged everyone to read Hikayat. Ustazah Liyana asked another set of questions toward the end of her lecture: What is the meaning of faith we understand in this age? What is the cause of our concern about other cultures and religions? Can the religious learning process today strengthen our faith/belief? She stressed that preserving Turath is essential to help the young generation appreciate the identity, heritage, and tradition of Islam and Malay. Ustazah Liyana added that it is vital to access Turath to develop a critical thought culture and form a knowledgeable society. To cap her presentation, she mentioned Turath as proximity and closeness to the thinking of scholars and pious individuals and efforts to use creative platforms for introducing the Turath approach.
Ustaz Alfian Yasrif Kuchit, a Ph.D. candidate at the Law Faculty, NUS, was introduced as the final speaker. In his own words, he defined Turath as broad and part of a network, flowing and not in isolation. Ustaz Alfian shared that he would cover Ahkam Legal Code 1893, Constitution of the Johor Government 1895, Law for Members of Kelantan Council for Islam and Malay Customs (no.14 /1916) as well as Islamic Religious Administration Enactment (Selangor) 1952 in his presentation—a brief history of Sultan Abu Bakar of Johor including his state visits to Egypt and Turkey. The relationship between Ottoman Empire and Johor Sultanate began during Sultan Abu Bakar’s reign when he visited Istanbul on his way to visit Europe. As a result of the connection between these two empires, Ottoman Empire was given respect as they were regarded as the capital of an Islamic empire. The thought and ideologies flourished and significantly influenced the community of Malay Johor through the introduction to Ahkam Legal Code in Arab (1893). Subsequently, the Malay version was made available in 1913, known as Islamic Civil Law. With a Western taste in his interests, Sultan Abu Bakar maintained independence from Britain. He stimulated economic development in Johor when most Southeast Asian states were incorporated into European colonial empires (Dutch, Portuguese, etc.). He had an excellent understanding of the political systems and the dynamics of Western powers. He saw the need to strengthen the national governance system so as not to give opportunities to the colonialists to intervene in state affairs. Ustaz Alfian explained that Islamic Civil Law contains a discussion of jurisprudence, published from the Islamic sharia in Arabic and has been used by the Johor government since day one. One interesting thing he noted is the recognition that there is a difference – between two concepts, namely, jurisprudence and sharia. Ustaz Alfian also cited the reasons why it took almost two decades to publish the Malay version.
Ustaz Alfian then shifted his attention to Sultan Muhammad IV, who took various measured steps to develop the state of Kelantan. Among the actions taken was establishing several court buildings in Kota Bharu, namely the High Court, located in Istana Balai Besar; Middle and Lower Courts in Kelantan Council for Religion and Malay Customs (MAIK), Kelantan in Jalan Sultan and a Lower Court has been established in Batu Mengkebang, Ulu Kelantan. He cited a quote from Sultan Muhammad IV that collectively, our purpose in the word religion is that everything that depends on the religion of Islam brings goodness and benefits. What we want with the word Malay tradition is that which complements and reflects good Malay customs and manners. Many changes were brought about during his reign, resulting in the rapid development of the State of Kelantan. Being an energetic and true King, and always mingled closely with his subjects and was ever willing to accept advice from his ministers and members of the State Executive Committee. Ustaz Alfian also touched on the Administration of Muslim Law (State of Selangor) in the last part of his presentation. The enactment comprises ten parts and is used as a model and point of reference for other states and Singapore (after gaining its independence). Wrapping up his presentation, Ustaz Alfian revisited his examples of Sultan Abu Bakar of Johor and how the circulation of ideas to the Malay world, including but not limited to legal instruments, such as enactment and ordinance, and how various international figures, such as in Cairo and Istanbul play an essential role in channeling ideas and influence to the Malay land.
The forum concluded with a Q&A segment where the panellists were invited to answer several questions from the on-site audience. An on-site audience joined the session, and virtual viewers tuned in from MHF’s Facebook Live. Three more sessions of SIS’ Asatizah Berwarisan are planned for this season. SIS is a discursive platform for our youths and young professionals to deliberate and discusses issues relating to the socio-cultural development of the Malays in Singapore from a contemporary perspective. SIS supports and provides a platform for youths to discuss these issues and topics with MHF.
Follow MHF on Facebook and LinkedIn and subscribe to our YouTube and newsletter for regular updates on all MHF events, webinars, lectures, and exciting news on Singapore’s Malay arts and heritage scene. Would you like to consider supporting the foundation’s initiatives to ensure that the heritage of the Malay community in Singapore continues to be protected, preserved, and promoted as part of the national agenda (Singapore story)? In this case, you may do so by supporting us through a one-time or monthly donation here.
Useful Links