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PAS : KE ARAH PEMERINTAHAN ISLAM YANG ADIL
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Salam,
Prof. Azhar & ppim-netters,
Dear Brother,
As a student of history, I've got these observations to make regarding
Munshi Abdullah or Abdullah Munshi (AM):
1. If I'm not mistaken, even during his time, AM was declared an
infidel
(kafir) by some contemporary Muslims, for executing perhaps the first Malay
translation of the Bible in the "jawi" script. He rationalised his effort
as a knowledge-seeking endeavour. I remember reading this in "Hikayat
Abdullah" - his biography - in the Sastera Melayu classes of my lower
secondary school days of the mid-1960s.
2. AM's idol was Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles (1781-1826) (plus his
wife) -
the brilliant naturalist, historian, anthropologist British Lieutenant
Governor of Java and Sumatra and the founder of colonised Singapore. His
description and admiration of his physical countenance (forehead, eyes,
aquiline nose, lips etc) and the perfect matrimonial relationship between
this (according to him) exemplary couple, is at once interesting as it is
nauseating. Please refer "Hikayat Abdullah".
While we're at Sir Thomas, allow me to quote one of his statements (among
my favourite quotations):
'...the Malayu (sic) always prepared to avenge with the "kris" the
slightest insult on the spot; but with the knowledge that such an immediate
appeal is always at hand, prevents the necessity of it often being resorted
to, an habitual politeness ensues, and it has often been said, that if the
Malayus are savages, they are by far the most polite savages that we know
off.'
(Raffles, TS 1965[1817]. The history of Java, Vol. 1. Oxford University
Press: Kuala Lumpur: 532.
3. Many modern Malay nationalist writers brand AM as just "seorang
dalang
British", serving his colonial master. But AM was mighty proud of that. You
have to read his other biography (a continuation of the first), "Pelayaran
Abdullah" to understand why he bragged about the freedom of his mind and
the flowering of the ceative mind under the British East India Company that
was governing Malacca and Singapore of his time. Who was he bragging it to?
Of course the miserable souls of Pahang (I'm not so sure about Terengganu)
and Kelantan.
He sailed from Singapore to Pahang where the Pahangites came in droves to
meet him (he has carved a name for himself by then), awed at the scholar
and thinker that was he, as they related to him about their sufferings
under the Pahang Royalty injustices. Some of them even asked him to bring
them back to Singapore where "freedom" was to be found. When he reached
Kelantan, the ailing Sultan was at his death bed (or has already left this
transitory realm). There was a civil war between his two warring princes;
according to AM, the winner would sit on the throne of Kelantan.
4. During the early 1970s, I began to read critics of AM. By the
mid-1970s,
Prof. Syed Naquib al Attas (presently of ISTAC) affirmed that the father of
Malay literature was not AM but Hamzah Fansuri, the Sufi poet of 17th
century Aceh. I shall stop here, for this great but extremely controversial
seeker of God deserves justice in another writing.
5. To conclude, I'm of the opinion that AM has done a great deal in
recording the history of his time, albeit a personal perception and
interpretation of it. He has indeed contributed to the development of Malay
scholarship and literature. He was also a man "pious enough" to care to
perform the Haj (he died during the journey to the holy land, if I'm not
mistaken). Perhaps his main fault was that he was a British "stooge" who
was fluent in a few languages: Malay, Tamil (he was an Indian-Malay),
Arabic, English. I remember him defending the old spelling system of the
"jawi" script when his adult English colonial student recommended
assertively that the system should be more (what we would say now as)
"user-friendly". Interestingly, when Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka invented the
new "ejaan jawi Dewan", the Dewan system is almost exactly what that
English student suggested, 150 years ago!!
Frankly I don't think that AM wanted his Bible Malay translation to be a
tool for coverting Muslims. His approach was scholarly and one that
stretches the inquisitive mind. That remained his pride until his death.
While his brethren langusihed under the yoke of unjust Sultans, he enjoyed,
according to him, the potentials of creativity and freedom of the spirit
while being the subject of the "British Raj".
May Allah s.w.t. forgive him.
(Disclaimer: The above notes and opinions are mine and I'm responsible for
them. They are being written as a spontaneous reaction to a question. All
historical facts must be ascertained by referring to the original works of
Abdullah Munshi. We must do justice to him. Sincerely, Mohamed Hatta
Shaharom)
----- Original Message -----
From: "e2f" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Monday, April 16, 2001 5:25 PM
Subject: H-Net* Siapa Munsyi Abdullah
>
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> PAS : KE ARAH PEMERINTAHAN ISLAM YANG ADIL
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Assalamualaikum wbt....
> Berkenaan dengan terjemahan bible yang dibuat oleh beliau itu bagi saya
> ianya mempunyai dua implikasi yang berbeza bergantung kepada tanggapan
> orang terhadap terjemahan yang dibuat oleh beliau:-
>
> i) Jika kita anggapkan yang terjemahan yang dibuat oleh beliau itu
> dapat membantu orang melayu/Islam mengesani kelemahan yang terdapat di
> dalam bible/agama kristian dan menggunakannya untuk menghentam balik
> dakyah yang dilancarkan oleh mereka, ia adalah baik dan semoga dapat
> membantu kita orang melayu/Islam agar tidak terpikat dengan dakyah
> mereka. Saya mengharapkan inilah nawaitu Munsyi Abdullah, dan jika benar
> semoga beliau diberi rahmat atas terjemahan yang dibuatnya
>
> ii) Sebaliknya jika kita anggapkan bahawa terjemahan itu adalah
> bertujuan untuk menarik orang melayu/Islam kepada agama kristian atau
> untuk mempromosikan agama kristian ini di tanah melayu, saya juga setuju
> dengan pandangan saudara dan semoga Allah menyediakan ganjaran yang
> seteruknya atas niatnya itu. Harapan saya bukan ini nawaitu beliau.
>
> wassalam.
>
>
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