Kingdom of Perlak: The story unfolds

Dear readers, today, I feel like translating and adapting some more contents from the Malay novel “Berpetualang ke Aceh: Mencari Diri dan Erti.” This one came from the chapter titled “KeSultanan Perlak: Bermulanya sebuah cerita”… Regarding an old Islamic kingdom which existed in the Malay Archipelago since some 1,200 years ago! Go on… Read!

KINGDOM OF PERLAK: THE STORY UNFOLDS

Long before the kingdom of Melaka appeared on the scene, an Islamic Sultanate called Perlak already exist within the confines of present-day Aceh. In fact, while the forefathers of the Sultans or Kings of Melaka was just learning what sort of an animal a lion is when first arriving in Temasek (old name of Singapura or Singapore), Perlak was already a regional superpower well-respected in the Malay Archipelago.
Oh… For information, a lion is called “singa” in Malay and “pura” is an ancient Malay term for a city. Thus according to the legends, a Malay prince saw a lion while exploring Temasek thus he decided to build a kingdom there and call it Singapura. The last king of Singapore is also the founder of Melaka.
As for Perlak, most historian tend to consider it as an Islamic Syiah Sultanate opposed to the Sunni or Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jammah sect. Because some believe the Syiahs contradict basic articles of faith, thus Perlak is not considered as the oldest Islamic state in the Malay Archipelago, unlike the kingdom of Samudera-Pasai which is said to embrace the Shafiee sect, one of the four sects under the Sunni banner. This is quite unfortunate as Perlak was already a flourishing Sultanate 400 years before Samudera Pasai came into prominence and 600 years before Melaka made its mark. Thus the kingdom of Perlak was not given due attention except by those who are willing to search deeper to find its significance in the scheme of things.

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Rasyid shifts through some paragraphs in his work about Aceh and relevant matters which he is compiling into a book.
“Hmm… That should do,” he whispered to himself, pleased. “Let everyone know that once upon a time, there exist a major Islamic kingdom in this part of the world. Let them realise this and stop talking only about Melaka, Melaka, Melaka… Or if referring to earlier kingdoms, its always about the Buddhist state of Sriwijaya or the supposedly Hindu Majapahit… So tiring!”
The guy started making research on the ancient history of Perlak after learning of the existence of an old tomb in Perak, said to be some 1,000 years old belonging to a saintly character who originated from the kingdom. Before that, Rasyid had only heard the name Perlak from the old Malay legend of Badang, the strong-man of ancient Singapura. It mentioned of a warrior named Benderang who came from Perlak to challenge Badang in duels of strength... As far as Rasyid was concerned, that was all he needed to know about Perlak. But since knowing the identity of the person buried in the old tomb situated somewhere secluded in the town of Teluk Intan, his perspective on the matter was totally changed and the avid researcher never looked back.
Rasyid is willing to spend long odd hours denying sleep and rest to go to and fro libraries or Internet Cafes where-ever he happens to be to look for answers. It just happens that the guy has a habit of just zipping to some part of the country at whim and fancy, so there… And now he wants the whole world to know what he has managed to discover and uncover.

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It is said in the annals of history, early in 9 century AD, came a group of 100 Islamic missionaries from the Middle East who set sail and stopped at the harbour of Perlak. Lead by someone known as Nakhoda Khalifah (The Caliph Captain), they were said to be fugitives on the run after failing to overthrow the Caliphate of Bani Abbasiyah in Baghdad.
The group is said to comprise some descendants of the Prophet Muhammad SAW. The Prophet had plenty of descendants through his daughter Fatimah Az-Zahrah who married Saidina Ali (Saidina ia a title of respect given to people prominent in Islamic history). Some descendants of the Sahabah (close friends of the Prophet) were also believed to be among the group. Among the prominent personalities in the group is Ali bin Muhammad bin Jaafar Al-Sadiq… “Bin” here means, the son of, as in Ali, son of Muhammad.
During that time, Perlak was ruled by a king of Persian descent. The king and his people were attracted by the group’s humility and fine character and thus submitted to Islam. The group were well-accepted and Ali was married off to the king’s sister whose name was Makhdum Tansyuri.
Now, there are sources which said Ali’s actual name is Ali Muktabar Muhammad bin Ad Diba’ie bin Ja’afar As Sadiq. But Rasyid is more prone to believe the earlier version, that Ali is the son of Muhammad who is in turn the son of Ja’afar As Sadiq.
Anyway, Merah Syahir Nuwi died around 840 AD… And so the son of Ali and Makhdum Tansyuri were coronated as the new King of Perlak, Sultan Alaiddin Sayyid Maulana Abdul Aziz Syah. That is the start of the Sultanate of Perlak which would cover a span of 400 years!
Ali is known as a descendant of Imam Ja’afar Al-Sadiq, a learned and pious Muslic scholar and community leader (hence the calling Imam which also applies to the leader of a congregation in prayer). In turn, Imam Ja’afar is a descendant of Saidina Hussein who is Prophet Muhammad’s grandson. In fact this scholar is practically deified by the Syiah sect as one of their Maksum (faultless) Imams. So we know where Ali came from… What about Merah Syahir Nuwi, the former king of Perlak? More important, who is Nakhoda Khalifah who leads the group of 100 missionaries there?
There are ancient writings saying Merah Syair Nuwi is a descendant of a Persian noble known simply as Salman who came to Aceh earlier. Meanwhile, the city of Perlak became known as Bandar Khalifah (The City of the Caliph) after the arrival of the group of 100 Islamic missionaries, in memory of their leader Nakhoda Khalifah. But before we try to uncover who is Nakhoda Khalifah, let us find out who is this Salman that gave rise to Merah Syahir Nuwi.

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Rasyid had spent more than 3 months studying all available resources on Perlak but was not able to find official records to clarify the matter. However, after going through some old tales, he has no doubt the Salman in question is Saidina Salman Al-Farisi, a Sahabah (close companian) of the Prophet Muhammad who introduced the war technique of building a ditch around a city to ancient Arabia. The technique is well-known is his native Persia but not in Arabia. Salman suggested it in the battle of Khandaq, to protect the city of Madinah against the unbeliever Quraish tribe and their allies. And so a ditch was built to surround the city which is the base of Islam after the Prophet was forced out of his native city Mekah… And the believers survived the attack and triumphed.
According to one story, Salman was promoted as an Ahlul Bait, a member of the Prophet’s holy family. This man is known to be an avid traveller before embracing Islam at the hands of the Prophet in Madinah. Salman is also well-known as a Persian of noble descent but how many realise he is actually among the heirs of the throne of Persia, one of the two biggest kingdom on the globe during that time, the other one being the Empire of Rome?
“That’s why there are ancient Malay text which address Saidina Salman Al-Farisi as Prince or King Salman,” Rasyid said, explaining the history of Perlak to some interested friends. “It’s just that Salman who is a descendant of King Nurshirwan the Just, also known in old texts as the King of the East and West, was not interested in riches, power or fame.”
As a royal-blooded personality, Salman was more interested in acquiring knowledge about the ultimate truth and the meaning of life. So he was willing to leave everything, riches, power and fame not withstanding to travel and look for answers. In one account, the Persian noble is said to have embraced the Zoroastrian faith, the main faith in his native Persia. The religion used to be Monotheistic in its believe in the Unity of things but in time become corrupted with elements of fire-worship. Salman then became a Nasrani (an old term for followers of Christianity)… The Muslims believe, this faith is derived from the teachings of the Prophet Isa (Jesus Christ) but was corrupted too in time.
Sometime later, Salman learned from some hermits of the existence of an old Monotheistic faith known as the religion of Hanifiyah (the straight ones) which is actually the faith of the Prophet Abraham… Or to put it correctly, Islam (in higher understanding, all Monotheistic religions is actually Islamic, referring to the meaning of the word which implies peace in submission to the will of the Creator), but slightly different to the Islam known now as it was practiced under the Syariat (rules) of Ibrahim to fit the times. However, Salman was also told the Hanifiyah religion is practically extinct in Persia. If he really wants to learn it, he has to find a certain someone in Arabia. That was the method of religion practiced by Prophet Muhammad before he received the revelations to spread the final method of practice or the Syariat towards the end-times. And so, after ages of searching, travelling, studying and practicing all sort of faiths, Saidina Salman Al-Farisi finally found the truth, after meeting the Khatamul Anbiya, the closure for all the Prophets, Muhammad… May God blesses the holy Prophet.
Rasyid is not sure when did Salman arrived in Perlak… Is it before of after meeting the Prophet? Based on the accounts mentioned in history books, there is the possibility he arrived in Perlak prior to meeting the Prophet as his descendant Merah Syahir Nuwi was known as an unbeliever who only embraced Islam after the group lead by Nakhoda Khalifah came. But there is also the possibility Salman came to Perlak after that, specifically after the demise of Saidina Ali which saw the founder of the Ummaiyad Chalipate, Muawiyah bin Abu Suffian grabbing the leadership of the Islamic community through unsavoury means. Maybe that’s why Salman left the Middle East? Because he couldn’t bear all the evils and misdoings during the time of Muawiyah, thus he went far away and arrived in Perlak? God knows best…


Hmm… I think this should be enough for the moment… Hope you, my dear readers find this beneficial… Please leave some comments so that I can make improvement along the way OK… Cheers!