The Books of Bustan a-Salatin by Nur al-Din al-Raniri as Historical Text: The Structure and Purpose of Writing

Abstract

The arrival of Islam in the Malay World has resulted in the beginning of intellectualism and rationalism among Malays especially in the 17th century Aceh (1511-1650). One of the prominent scholars of Aceh is Nuruddin Muhammad bin ‘Ali bin Hasanji bin Muhammad Hamid al-Raniri al-Quraisyi al-Shafi‘i, known as Nuruddin al-Raniri (d. 1658). Al-Raniri was an ‘ulama, sufi, jurist and man of letters as well as a historian during the rule of Sultan Iskandar Thani (1636-1641). As a historian, al-Raniri contributes greatly to the development of a new form of Malay historical writing through his concept of universal history and the concept of Islamic history that are manifested in his work on history entitled Bustan al-Salatin fi Dhikr al-Awwalin wa al-Akhirin (The Garden of the Kings on the Recollection of the Past and Present). Therefore, this article attempts to accentuate Bustan al-Salatin as a book of Islamic history through the discussion about the structure of Bustan al-Salatin and al-Raniri’s purpose of writing Bustan.