't ) latul ltnatl

288. Ihid.
289. See hi.s articlc, "Sukscsi itu Surrrrrtull.rlt," Sntra Maslid, no.2JJ (Fcbru.rry 1994),
pp. 17-8. Similar rssessrllcnw can bc rcad in his articlc, 'Sukscsi 1988: Srr.rtu
Keharusan," Media Dahulab, nct.237 (March 1994), pp. 34-5.
290. See Alfian,'Pancasila dan Perubahan Masyarakat" in his book, PoirtiA,
Kebudayaan dan Manusia Indonesia (akarta: LP3ES, 1980), pp. 104-33. Eduin \Vierinsa
291. Johns, "Indonesia," p.224.
292. See Safroedin Bahar,'Pancasila Sebagai Ideologi Dalam Kehidupan Pertahanan
Keamanan," in Oetojo Oesman et. a1., eds., Pancasila Sebagai ltleologi (akarta: Does Traditional Islamic Malav Literature
BP 7 Pusat, 1991), p.350.
293. Moerdiono (State Secretary) wrote an ardcle on rhe mawer, entitled "Pancasila Contain Shi'itic Elements? 'Ali and FAtimah in
Sebagai Ideologi Terbuka," in Oesman et. al., eds., Pancasila Selragai ldeologi,
pp.397-42r. Malay Hikayat Literature
294. Jakana Post, April 23,1993.

Faisal Ismail is a lecrurer ar tbe State Institute for Islamic Studies (l A I N)

Sunan Kalij aga, Yo gnkarta-
Abstraksi: Banyah, ahli tentang sastrd Melayu klasik berpen dapat bahwa
pengaruh Persiz dikeabui cukup besar terhadap wstra Melayu tradisional.
Halini terlihat dari sejumlah teks-teks sastra Melayuyang sangatpopuler,
sePerti Hikayat Bakhtiar, Hikayat Amir Hamzah,Hikayat Muham-
mad Hanafiyah dan Kitab Seribu Masalah yangdiketahui rnerupakan
semdcdm adaptasi atau bahhan terjemahan langsung dari teks-tehs Per-
sia.
Persoalan pokoh yang ingin diangkat tulisan ini adalah; apakah
terdapatnya pengaruh Persia dalarn sastra Melayu klasik itu sekaligus
rnerupakan indikzsi dari pengaruh Syi'ah terhadap Islarn Sunni yang
berkembang sejak sernula di Nusantara?
Persoalan hubungan antara pengaruh sastra Persia dalarn sastra
Melayu tradisional dengan tersebarnya pengarub Syi'ab di Indonesia
sebenarnya telah pernah dibahas beberapa ahli, termasuk di antaranya
adalah Baroroh Baried dari Universiras Gadjab Mada, Yogyakarra.
Teupi, menurut lVieringa, tulisan Bariedyang brjudul "Sbi'ab Elentents
in Malay Literature" (Unsur-unsur Syi'ab dalam Sastra Melayu) rnasih
belum mdmpu secard mryakinkan membuktikan adanya korelasi yang
kuat di dntdla kedua hal di atas. Ini terutalnd sebab Baried sendiri
rnendasarkan tulisannya pada katalog-katalog manuskrip larna, yang
bersifat urnLtm. Dan, harena itu, tidak cukup rnernadai untuk
nengasuTnsikan pengaruh Syi'ah di bagian tertentu Kepulauan
Nusantara dalartt periode rcrtentu pttla.
,,1rtiA'cl irri rrtutc,tl,d ,t(ilglr(1ii rtlang !entang pengaruh Syi'ah di

\tnltalrl,ttttL.r. l,/ '.\'. , //,,. 'rj ',ttu|'il'li',',Lt t,,l |,'\',, I lttt.

 ',.1 l,lutnllitttul,,t

l''l usan tara da n gd n, tet il pe rt i n t l u rt gharT tt n sur u r s, r d t d, lx, r & t r t r /.r \

-
ts ! t.a
Persia dalam sastrd.Melayu hlasih. tJntuh hepentingat, i),r, panuli,
,*tut'asJ
rn_em us at kan pe n t b ab asan pada ko nn o Io n klikay at
gi y an g t * dopot do I o t
Nur Muhammad; dan rnelihat pula prionon yang innoinkan ,Ali dan
Fati rn ah da I arn I ircr atur hi hay at M e ky u. p e n'u I i s"ke m udi
an rn ern b ah a s
praktek'praktek heagarnaan yang biasa dirakuhan kaum Muslirn
syi,ah,
r.rlt':ll qt*tloJl e#ll'',$l
s.eryni pelngatan hari Asyura, yang juga umum dipraktekkan
ke|ompok masyarakat Mustim iunii dl Nusantara.
beibagai
ak1l &
Kosmologi sastra Melayu yang dibahas penulis di sini adalah yang
terdapat dalam Hikayat Nur Muham mai, sebuah teks yang
aiitaii e{Llgr,$Js .f li;*=ytll pl-cll &.fui
sebagai diterjemahkan dari bahasapersia Dalam hikavat
iii aiceriakan
tentang bagaimana Nur Muhamrnad yang dicipukan Allah dalarn
bentuk yang sudah dirnanusiautihan, persinya ialam bentuk
burung al*rtloll Joaill dla6 $s
yang mernbuat dunia tercipta tatkala tittton air menetes dari
tubuhnyi.
l3ria rcn^ng "burung" inilah diadaptasi dararn sas*a Merayu sebigai
'buru.ng pingai",
ldng rnerupakan'citra dari ,,ruh Tuhari,,. Dalarn
k.onteks ini, penulis kernudian membahas kedudukan'hur,,
dalarn pan dan gan Syi'ah.
kohoy)
salah saru argulnen yang paring rnenarik dari artiker ini adarah
te.ltlngdpdydngdisebutpenulissebagai "de-syi'ahisasi"literaturhikayat >.*iJt oi ,.trr fidt .s;>Ut .7"!t ; ;ra<*At U ,6 :i;dLiJl
di dunia Melayu. Meiurut prrrlir, serirub riteratur htikayat di
persia itu- agaknya
,t' t,tvt L*jl li-o .6J-,J.AJ| .sr.$t .7r!t ,rfc f t* 4J $-ru1l
\11sary1ra-lang sebagiannya diperygaruhi sastra
di h a si I kan pada rn as a-m asa'au al'k lim i sas i. Ke n apa
centaterita yan g terdapat dalam bikayat-hikayat tersebut san gat
de m i ki an ? karen a c-2L#
"+K- J', ;XJt ;*;(tr ay-;,{lt ,-r!t ..;,;1'**; dr, )J, Jy,
menarik
bagi orang-ordrg Melay.u yang bari *^ri hlam. popul)r.iri
,artro
a;-t, tgii rt" ,ll ili* .iJi w6 s qji,- -!"g qr(-t ,i,;* ,-i ort<--:
ya,ng dlpengaruhi sasia persia ini sernakin m)ningk)t
lylaltu ketika
I-stam netakukan penetrasi lebih luas di Nusantara; .4:i.JtrJl ,:(Jtir ;rV *+;_
rnelilui bahasa si
(, ! o.l r,. 1 ot tr a y an g dipe n gar wh i un s ur un,s ur p er si a ter s e b ut m e n y e bar
-
.r*-,,1,il1 :_-i;Jl -r--*y $ ct<Jt ..r-o t-o;; Of +y s:Jl L_L!l ajiJl
dalarn literatur Nusan^ra lainnya yang rnenggunakan
bahasa Aceh,
Minangkabau, Jawa, Sasak, Sunda, Makisar, Bf,gis ddn
lain_lain. ,oit Jl j-^:.i JJJ) *i-ll t* t-t's cJ-U: ,'.-riJt .syy-lt .rr!t t-r^;
T:top! perkembangan lebih lanjut, Eetihn hikayi_iikayat
*kry
tersebut diabadikan dakrn bentuk naskah, kirausnya .t Jl.,rrll l-r'n .,l ql-rJl .r *:;;l 6;jJl
sejak ab'ad 19, rnaka ,rJl C)-)l .,le;rJt
yrii'/1tat "dc'syi'ahisasi." yxr\ Me layu tersebut. Hasi lnya, tidak ianyak
lagi "pmgaruh syi'ah'dalam literatir sastra Melayu secara keseruruhan. C. cs.rJi:Jl cs;x)ll .r'r1t ,rU rr-,,UJl ..,rlt :p <i)tlt clSJ- ;!
"ry
Mlsllnya saia, 'Ali bisa yyay.saja.disanjung, ndTnun ,(Jrnar jasl a '-e e.-.Jt+ tjjti .|t
s.ebelumnya dikutuk, kini tida| kgt dlg*niarkin
yang
cJlJl .f t***41 ,-fJl ;yi;Jl ,L:;;l
begitu negatif. Bahkan "/
hut.ukan-terhadap '(Jmar dibuar{ doi ,ortro Metayi. Den c(Gajah N,Iada) l:Lr a..-G: o)s)sl.:f-"\lt ga_;rya4At
{on"dennihian
terjadi "netralisasi" ,rtur-urrui Syi,ah, sehingga hawrt ilusltn
-t*.-r {-,1+
Sunni c^;
di Nusantarapada urnurnnya tidai ragi ,rterrtpr.lnyai ht,heratan -rl-r;r {-rt+ o+Lf o! rflVicringa) t^+lS.r-fc rf+ ;5J, ,U;t=fu
terhadap
pen garuh Persia terse hn.
)P l.J!-u-!t JL4! r--{ ;) .\'l,i',,/, l;/rncrr/., irt ,\l,il4, l,ittr,iltnt
C"J.,-*t

\tnltt ltltuttkr. | ,,1 ,. N,, t t,),)t,

 'thhl I t'N I l|,l r.ltutyltl utl'nt\ ,,tr,t | ,,N t ltl,l r1,'|tltl,t!rt,\
r('rqJ *r-R' in i-xo 16cr- tlKrt tn{ l[..- t{ll.J n 1fc1c f
6<pr-- ftttro
tr-fr: n -tq.? a*o- ff l[n tlKri 1f .1-r
larco f o$r lrri-fl rr(fCJ. tf..,r, Jtn" j, tr:c trl" td tf
t1tic'' f r6r..*p -tf hq,l n qf,r ,.1[.,- tft.-t)- r^r .r,c r
j. jl- tt5lr f rn I trKf,r' n' ra .lr 65rr- 1c 5f ;r-
i<l 1f t[-t' rh f 'r' lgrf f f tf tflrfr c;ro lt r-
lrr-r?'
rfr2 r[ft' f tl't1.rl;l*, a-r rrylr- l#r :9- tt'c f yt.tr
ctfr- 4 rft rfnf f rf rr,r r- tnr"- ITK;,i^?
S.d( t? a
lf.Y-f ? 4{co. n{ -f tn / *1 ng.? {p "f tI, ,4 .o--p.
-f -fr fc:r'r rrn ry lrf 4a .rf \ 4c irrn cof c.,
t,-F trf,J fi. rrr
fi1" qfl" tri'-f { ,n{ rm.J qfla. lpnar 1
1g.r,a
1f 5x-: 1fi -fir: /? tfT:1 Itnr--i. f v1o -t
cTfre' <a 1-gic
? tm{ lf.ry? t' r,\-r t[-r(r r;-l f lfft r6""'q tlK'f,t rf -:fr tfSr-.q f, tfd.: f 1;r-l r-rr
llKf,'' t-{o n{t' tf 'lrJ t qp tfrrla ttr.(-? tf-y f 16r<*11.
!d r[c | *' fi -q'.-p tDf t' g rr ai-:t i 1K.,- l+rr --r t' lpaqo tf,:? tf Irnq lc ?tf,J ;'h r1t'c rf*re qf
'n=
1;-.rJr .1( iC tft if '{4r tdf , Cl>! f tffl,-r? d{ Fn"4, -s1l1? f tRtrS tn-t a"l rf
cq1.? ro
-q- )1 -6rr. trfr-
tTKrl tr-"' tF-?'{ *.q 1pr': f Jr-\ tf)q- tlKt'rr f c-.' af5r {.{ * 4 tffi tnl" tf#c: f )-l fc x ctff
Jr 51f A -.+"- rT t1../c tp-t dt t@ tr.t f 16.,- f q{ t( {s t6,c,-r 1;.r1r-F f t6.,-' t1Krt tff.J. i:fp t6qr-!'
rr\t' aK'f sr q.fl lmf i:r acl {.*'.e ttrrt-r of
']t' P tt'*. -.c fi" rfr.ro qrc f ffrf,S tf,*t f rf' tf!r.r{ ;
c{q' '\rlo'
r"? f frt? ."T.>f ta C--1C: f-1-fF ,o*r\ C5A C{<>-o '"
lrFt iXP rn-*n? f rrs rf:rr tn ..4 ;r;4 t[.+1" cf 12.-.t-;
t.t :lf 1[.^ tf.ot'J- q'rgto O ,"-. l-rr t5r+p r5/r, 1ps f s;rf2 @oprv$ tf5l- lTFtr
ffryl rfl g a-r tff.-r, rfna K
-? rfi.rCJ i4) 'c{"*? {5, f s;-1c 16r.<1. oC {A rftr rIKf,r tfi l6f-1f fff q t[-rf tpJr'r.r. v.5t Jr[, r\n i.,n, rt {-*t-t jnca
r.txtv.t,It l ut4rl
^Plqt't vllutttr 7'1 utnl' 1
 l,lutr lliot'ry"
ersian influence in knowrr to have had a largc inrplct upon tra
ditional Ma|ay literature. Many popular Malay texts, such as
the Hikayat Bakhtiar, Hikayat Arnir Harnzah, Hikayat
M ub amm ad H an afi1ryab, and Kiab Seribu Masalah to n ame only a few,
are known to be adaptations or direct translations of Persian texts.l
By common consent it is believed that this Persian influence did have
an Indian origin. One assumes that (southern) India was the possible
source of early Indonesian Islam.2
One of the earliest works of Malay literature, and according
to Brakel possibly the oldest Malay hikayat, is the Hikayat
Muhammad Hanafi1ryah. Its translation from Persian into Malay may,
as Brakel argues, well have taken place not much later than the (middle
of the) fourteenth century.3 The story tells about Hasan and Husayn
and the drama of Karbela, and in addition describes, purely legendary,
howMuhammad ibn a|-Hanafiyyah takesvengeance for his two half-
brothers, defeats Yazid and helps Zayn al: Abidin to the throne. The
part about Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah is truly a hikayat, but the
first part may be styled a maqtal (maktel), a technical term for (a text
on) the slaying of Husayn at Karbela. It is known thatMalay hikayat
were meant to be recited and perhap s the Hikayat Muhammad
Hanafi1ryab was once connected with the Ashura rituals. The Hikayat
Muhammad Hanafiyyah was not only received into Malay literature
at an early period, but it has remained popular a long time since. In
the second half of the nineteenth century it was even one of the best-
sellers of the indigenous press.a This raises questions about the devel-
opment of Indonesian Islam because the Hikayat Muharnmad
Hanafi1ryah is a Shi'itic text of the more extreme kind, whereas Indo-
nesia Islam is Sunnite.
Can we perhaps find more traces of Shi'ism in traditional Malay
literature besides the Hikayat Muhammad Hanafi1ryah? To examine
this question I propose to look at the roles of 'Ali and Fitimah in
Malay hikayat literature, about whom quite a few stories exisr.s Re-
search into this matter, however, is severely hampered by the dearth
of reliable text editions. The necessary philological Vorarbeiren are
still lacking which means that one has to turn to the 'raw', untreated
materials in the form of manuscripts and lithographed editions. The
most recent publication on 'Shi'ah elements in Malay lirerature', I
know of, written by Baroroh Baried, is based upon synopses in older
manuscript catalogues and therefore could only be of a general na-
ture.t'The rather bold conclusion, however, which was drawn by
\tu'lrt lrlt'tttIt. l i. N,' I l')')l
lltnl llhley I tt.titutd
another scholars, basing himself upon Baroroh Baried's article, that
"the scattered evidence, mostly in works of partly entertaining and
partly moralizing character, was not enough to assume any major
Shi'i influence or period in any part of the Malaysian archipelago"
needs to be modified, as I hope to make clear in the following pages.T
First I will discuss the cosmology Hikayat Nur Mubammad and
then I will look at the roles played by 'Ali and FAtimah in hikayt
literature, i.e. (1) 'Ali and Fltimah as a poor pious couple; (2) FXtimah
as the ideal woman; (3) 'Ali as the master of religious knowledge (as
opposed to the stupidity of 'Umar), and (a) 'Ali as the victorious
warrior. Thereafter Iwill examine the stories about'Alt and FXtimah
against the wider background of a 'de-Shi'itization' of Indonesian
Islam. For the sake of completeness it should be noted that there is of
course more to Malay literature than hikayar. The reason why I have
limited my research to bikayat, is because other texts in which 'Ali
and Fitimah appear, seem to be of a more obscure nature, dealing
with magic and eroticism/mysticism.8
Cosmogonyz the Hikayat Nur Mubdmmdd
The Hihayat Nur Mubammad ('Story of the Mystic Light of
Muhammad'), a text claimed to be translated from Persian,e tells how
the Mystic Light of Muhammad, created by Alllh in the anthropo-
morphized for of a glorious bird, brings the whole world into exist-
ence from drops of water which fall from its body. It seems that the
idea of the Islamic glorious bird could easily be adapted with older
Malay concepts about the'pure bird' Burungpingai), which was an
image of the (divine) spirit.lo Interestingll, w find a very similar
liquid theory in Bengali Islamic syncretistic literature where it is like-
wise told that Nur Muhammad shook his body, at the instance of
Alleh, to produce 124,000 drops oozing out of it, which gave birth to
124,000 prophets. In the same manner other drops, trickling out of
the different parts of. Nur Muhammad.'s body, resulted in the creation
of various objects and spirits.ll
The Malay story exists as an independent hikayat, but it is also
included as a preamble in some versions of Hikayat Muhamrnad
Hanafi1ryah , the Hikayat Syahi Merdan, and r.he Tambo Minan gkabau.
The oldest manuscript known of the Hikayat Nur Muharnrnad (in
Lampung script i.e. from Southern Sumatra) was donated to the
Bodleian Library (Oxford) in 163012 the story runs briefly as fol-
lows: from thc Mystic t.ight Allih made a slorious bird which hrd
\tnltt Lhntkt, l,,l t, N,, t I't,tn
 I tlunn ll:tntnga
lbr its hcrd 'Ali, lor its cyes llrrs.rrr.rnd I luslyn, lirr its rrcck lritirnrth
for its arms Abu Bakr and'umar, for is tail 'Uthmin, for is brcast
Hamzah, for is back 'AbbAs, and for its legs'Aishah and Khadijah.rr
Then Allih gave seven seas to the Mystic Light of Muhammad , the
sea of knowledge, the sea of kindness, the sea of patience, the sea of
intelligence, the sea of thought, the sea of mercy, and the sea of light.
The Mystic Light had to swim in each of those seas for 10,000 years.
When the glorious bird came out of the seas, Alllh ordered it to
shake its body and from the 124,000 drops of water that fell from it,
L24,000 prophets were created. In the same manner other drops
brought into existence the Apostles, the Archangels, the Pen and the
Preserved Tablet, the Throne and the heavens, the sun and the moon,
winds, water and fire, the tree of life and the tuba tree, the seal of
Sulayman and the rod of M0sA. Then the four elements who were
taught their right place by the Light. The dispositions of men are
those of the four elements.
Shi'ah is the Muslim sect that has made the utmost use of light.
According to Shi'ah, the ahl al-bayr belong to an eternal line of cho-
sen persons on whom Alllh bestowed His light.la In the HikayatNur
Muharnmad the most important parts of the glorious bird are all rep-
resented by the ahl al-bayt: 'Ali is its head, Hasan and Husayn its eyes
and Fitimah its neck. Typically, in the oldest manuscript'Ali is called
commander of the faithful, a honorary title which is given to him by
his Shi'ite followers.15 According to Shi'ah doctrine this title was be-
stowed on him by AllAh before the creation of Adam.l6
In a version which was summarizedby Winstedt we find for the
neck of the glorious bird FXtimah the Syrian instead of Fltimah, the
daughter of the Prophet.l/ This is an inreresring slip of the pen, be-
cause Fltimah the Syrian plays a role in another srory about
Muhammad's primordial substance as light. The mistake can, I think,
be traced back to Brakel's version of the Hikayat Muhammad Ha-
nafiyryah, which opens with the legendary history of the Prophet
Muhammad till the beginning of his mission. This version was used
by Winstedt for his summary of.rhe Hikayat Muhammad Hanaf.1ryah.r8
After the opening story about the creation of the Prophetic Light,
version has the story of Fitimah the Syrian. She was a rich Syrian
woman who was well versed in the Tazarat, and hence knew that the
birth of the Final Propher was imminent. She wanted ro become the
mother of the Prophet and therefore she searched his prospective
father who would be recognizable by the light on his forehead. She
\tu,lit I'lttttrkt. I r,l. i, Nr I. l')')i
llaut' Ahlty I tleuture
lbund a man in Mcccl, c.rllcd'Abd Alllh, who;rnswcred the descrip-
tion, and offered herself in marriage to him. 'Abd Allah, however,
slept with Aminah, after which he iost his former radiance. When he
returned to Fltimah, she rejected him as he was no longer interesting
to her, and went back to Syria.
According to Brakel the story of Fitimah the Syrian seems to be
based on a tradition contained in the Sirah ol Ibn IshXq where the
woman in question is anonymous.le Brakel furthermore suggests that
the name FXtimah may point to Shi'ite influence, but this is in my
opinion too far-fetched. There are quite a few Arabic stories about a
'woman who wanted 'Abd AllAh's light and the name Fltimah the
Syrian may be based on traditions which state that she was Fitimah
bint Murr.rc The story is also known in Javanese where the woman
is called Patimah Sami (Fltimah the Syrian') and where 'Abd Allih
is presented as the son of the King of Medina. Both in Malay and in
Javanese the story of Fltimah the Syrian is an episode in a Hikayat
Nabi, a body of legends dealing with the Prophet.2l
The Poverty of 'Ali and Fitimah
Many hadith speak of the poverty of the household of 'Ali and
FAtimah. Modern historians limit its duration to the first years of
their marriage, but in legends the poverty of 'Ali and FXtimah is pic-
tured as an enduring situation which is intimately connected with
their piety and detachment from worldly goods. In the Hikayar Ali
Katain dengan Fatirnah ('Story of the marriage of 'Ali and FAtimah'),
already immediately after the marriage ceremony'Ali cannot give
his wife anything to eat. V'hen he has earned some money, he gives it
away to beggars. In the end, however, he is miraculously rewarded
by Alllh.
In the Hikayat Sultan lbrahim, a story about the famous S0fi
IbrAhim ibn Adham, an exemplary story is included about patience:
once upon a time the Prophet went to FAtimah's house, taking a
friend with him. Fltimah at first did not want to open the door,
because she had nothing to put on save one garment. The Prophet
then gave his shawl to FAtimah, who put it on. The Prophet and his
friend thereupon entered Fitimah's house, but it was bare, and
FXtimah sat there in silence, with bowed head. The Prophet spoke:
"O *y daughter, bear patiently this situation with its suffering. In
Heaven yor-r will attain to greatness and riches, because this world is
the mrrkct lirr thc hcrcaftcr."2ll
\n,lttl'ltt'rtl,t.l,/ t \" r i'r'
 Llnu ll i"t utSi,t
In the I tihayat Nabi dan Orang Miskin ("I'he story of rhe Prophet
and a poor man') FAtimah is once upon a time visited by a begging
mendicant. Vhen she thinks about what ro give to rhe pooi man, she
suddenly hears the word of Allih who orders her to give the best
garment she has to the beggar. So she does and the beggar goes ro the
market to sell the beautiful garment. When 'Llmar sees rhis, he thinks
that the beggar has stolen the garment from Fitimah and he takes ir
by force and gives it to the Prophet. The beggar goes ro the Prophet
and complains about 'IJmar's unjust behavior. The Prophet then sells
the garment to a woman named Lady Ma'wa for a thousand ringgit
and gives the money to the mendicant. Lady Ma'wa orders a slave
girl to go to Fitimah's house to give her garment back together with
three other clothes, each worth about a thousand ringgit.If FXtimah
would accept this gift, the slave girl would be free. At first Fitimah
does not want to open her door, because she normally only opens
the door to her husband. She finally opens the door when she hears
from the slave girl that this has to be done in order to ser her free.
Vhen Fltimah sees the gift of Ma'wa, she is upser because she thinks
that AllAh has refused her alms ro rhe mendicant. She cries bitterly
and her grief reaches the seven strata ofthe heavens and the Throne
of AllAh and all creatures weep hearing Fltimah cry ro Allih. Then
AllAh sends Gabriel to rhe Prophet to order him to say ro Fltimah
that Alllh has accepted her alms. So he does and Fltimah stops cry-
ing, accepts Ma'wa's gift and the slave girl is free.3
In Spat's lithographed Malay anthology we find a shorr srory en-
titled 'The generosity of the commander of the faithful 'Uthmin'
(kemurahan hati arnirulmu'rninin Uthman).2a One day 'UthmXn ibn
'AffXn saw that a man in the market tried to sell a chainmail. Upon
questioning him 'Uthmln was informed that 'Ali was the owner of
the chainmail and thar someone had already offered 71, dirham for ir.
Thereupon the chainmail was pur up for auction and 'UthmAn fi-
naily could buy it for 400 dirbam. 'Uthmln ordered rhe merchant to
bring the money and the chainmail to Fltimah's house without let-
ting it known to anyone. This was done and when Fltimah came out
of her house she saw 'Ali's chainmail and some pitchers filled with
dirham. She told this to 'Ali who wenr ro the Prophet to inform him
about this. At that moment Jibril, the angel of revelation, also came
to the Prophet and informed him rhat this was a deed of 'Urhnrin.
The Prophet was pleased and when 'Uthmin paid his r('sl)cers ro rlrc
Prophet, he was askcd abotrt his dccd.'LJrhrniin ;lnswerctl rh,rr 'Ali
t,,.1,.,1t|i,',t1, l,.l , \;.. t t"t,
had sold his chainrnail only bccausc hc suffered hardship and there-
fore 'Uthmln had bought it. 'Uthmin's purpose was that 'Ali should
use the chainmail in the war and use the money to buy something
useful. The Prophet told him that Allih would reward'Uthmln in
this world and in the hereafter. Vhen 'Uthmln had returned to his
house he saw his own pitchers as well as ten other pitchers' each
filled with 4OO dirbam. On the coins was written: 'This is a gift from
the Lord, the Compassionate, for'Uthmin ibn Affln'.
Although a dating of the story about 'Ali's harness is unknown, it
probably belongs to the early Malay hikzyat. A variant version of
ihis story is known in Javanese where it is used as a brief interlude in
the Serat Yusup, a verse biography of the prophet Joseph. It is given
the title Sinom Kere ('rheSinom of the harness').5 This story is cited
in the Serat Yusup because of its equivalence to the miraculous return
of the king of Egypt's riches after he had exhausted them to buy
Joseph.26 Despite this, in my view, rather contrived argument
for its
inclusion (or better perhaps: iust because of this implausible argu-
ment), I am inclined to think that in the story of Joseph this small
interlude of no more than a few verses must be a later insertion.u If it
is an interpolation, it has at least a respectable age. We already en-
counter it in a manuscript from Cirebon which was copied, or possi-
bly even composed, in the Javanese year Jumadilawal 1555, i.e. late
in7633 A.D.28 The precise origins and development of the SeratYusup,
however, remain to be investigated. Pigeaud proPoses that it may be
based on a Malay model, rewritten with reference to Arabic texts.'
Fitimah, the Ideal'V'oman
Fltimah epitomizes the ideal woman. As we saw, she does not
care for the material benefits of life. The Hikayat Ali Kawin dengan
Fatirnah ('Story of the marriage of 'Ali and Fitimah') describes her as
exceedingly beautiful. Kings asked for her hand, but Gabriel descended
from heaven to announce that her union with 'Ali was decided by
divine decree and that Allih was to be FXtimah's uali. She is a faith-
ful wife: inrhe Hikayat Fatimah Berkau'karadengan PedangAli ('Srory
of Fitimah talking with 'Ali's sabre') it is told that when she was
once suspected of having committed adultery, it turned out that she
had spoken to 'Ali's sabre Dhulfakar, asking him how many infidels
'Ali had slain. The Prophet teaches her in this hikzyatas wellas in the
tli.haltat Ntl,i McnNajar Anahnya Fatintah (' Story of the Prophet teaches
his rl.rtrqlrtt'r' l;itirn,rh') ,tlrorrl thc dtrties of rt wile towrtrcls hcr lrtrsb.lnd.
t.,lt.tltl.tutLt l,'l ' . t t
"
 lU4 l,luru ll tLttrrgt I'ltut, lltlat I ttr,/tiltr ltr'l

'l'he name ljltimah itscll,

whosc ro.t involvcs idcas,r'curtirrs rnd joincd iu nrlrrilgc wirlr.rrrotlrcr Itusl;.tud. Bclilrc thc ct>ttsr.tttttti;t-
"rnd
separation, is commonly explained as meaning that Allnh has sepa-
tion of the marriagc, 'l'lrttitn was brought back by good spirits, but
rated her and her party from Hell. Descriptions of Fatimah's ,ole as
his wife did not recognize him anymore' The case was brought to
intercessor on rhe Day ofJudgment amplify this explanarion.s In the
'I-Jmar who could not settle it. 'Ali, however, knew what had hap-
story about her wedding with 'Ali we read that Fitimah had requested
pened, and Tamim al-Dl.ri was reunited with his wife and children.a'
as her wedding gift the sins of women on rhe Day of Resurrection.
In the story of the ten rabbis, khaltf 'IJmar ibn al-Khattib was
This was granted to her by Alllh with the following command: 'My
once upon a time visited by ten rabbis from Khaybar who asked him
beloved makes the intercession for womankind' (Bohwa hehzsihku
all kinds of theological questions, and 'tlmar ordered to call 'Ali to
itu memberi syafaat akan segalaperempuan).Firimah will be the first answer them. After the first set of questions had been answered, four
person ro enrer Paradise after the Resurrection. In the Hikzyat Darma
of the Jews embraced Islam, and when 'Alt had answered all ques-
Tasiah ('story of Darma Tasiah') and the Hikzyat sairah dan Hadi
tions about vicious men and women who were changed into ani-
('story of sairah and Hadri') we read about pious women who had mals, the other six also converted themselves to Islam. Then each of
been faithful to their husbands and therefori by netitnah,s blessing
them put another question to 'Ali, but afier all problems had been
entered heaven.31
solved by him, they repeated the shahhdab and confessed that his was
the only just way.9
The rVisdom of 'Ali and the Stupidity of .Umar In the story of Fadlun the pious Fadlun is falsely accused by a
The Propher once said: 'I am the city of knowledge, but 'Ali is its
wicked widow, whose advances he spurns, of theft and murder. The
gate'. In legends 'Ali is described as rhe most knowledgeable of the
kbalif 'rJmar considers himself obliged to sentence Fadlun to death,
companions of Muhammad, as regards both theologiial questions
but in answer to Fadiun's prayer, 'Ali comes in the twinkling of an
and marrers of positive law. rwe find a reflection of th"e idea that the
eyelid and reveals Fadlun's innocence by causing the widow's un-
Prophet transmitred spiritual knowledge to'Ali in the HikayatNabi
born baby to speak as a witness.rs
mengajar Ali (Story of the Prophet teaches 'Ali') where the prophet
explains rhe four stages of the mystical path (syariat, tarekat, hakikat
'Ali as the Victorious Varrior
y! mak,far) to 'Ali. 'Ali's wisdo- .r-oppo*d to the stupidity of 'Ali's role as victorious warrior is expressed in Shi'ah tradition by
'IJmar is stressed in three srories, i.e. the siory of Tamim al-bfui,
the his heroic titles Haydar, 'the lion', Haidar'i karrar, 'the impetuous
story of the ten Jewish rabbis, and the story of Fadlun.
lion' , Asad All,Ah al-Gbalib,'the lion of Alllh, the Victorious', or Sllr-
orthodox tradition reveres in umar thelust ruler, who according i Yazdan, 'the Lion of AllAh'. In Malay his common epithet, espe-
lo gl9 legend, which is known in Malay as Hikzyat Abu Samah, even
cially of course in works with a Shi'ah coloring, is Harirnau AllAh,
had his own sinful son scourged to dearii in spite of the prayers
of the 'the tiger of Alllh'. The word harirnau, 'tiger', here renders the Per-
faithful and the tears of the cilestial nymphs. In rhe Hikayit Nabi dan
sian and Arabic words for'lion', an animal which is not indigenous
prang Miskin we already sav/ an .*r-pl. of 'IJmar's misbeharrior, in Southeast Asia.-%
but in the three afore-mentioned stories about the srupidity of .IJmar,
In various stories it is told how'Ali defeats infidel kings and their
we find an even srronger reflection of the Shi'itic.nrip.rhy ro ,IJmar
armies. It is impossible to give a complete enumeration. Matthes, for
who was the first to thwart the claims of 'Ali. As is well-lnown the
example, mentions a Macassarese story about an infidei king who
name of 'lJmar is never pronounced by a true Shi'ite without
a curse worshipped a holy tree and who was defeated by'Ali, after which he
and in Shi'itic theatre his role is portrayed in the darkesr colours.i:
embraced Islam. As Islamic Macassarese literature is generally based
. In the story of ramim al-Dlri, it is related that a companion of
the Prophet, called Tamim al-DXri, was caught by an iniid"l
on Malay, one would expect a Malay original for this story, but I do
1irn, not know of its existence in Malay literature.rT The following ex-
after which he had many adventures. Meanwhile,
v.rrs ,,fr,.,. rris dis- amplcs r-rrty sul'l'icc: in tltc Llikayat Raja Khandafr, 'the story of King
appearance, Tamim's wife was divorcr'd from hcr huslr.rrrci hy.IJrrr.rr,
Khrrn<l.rk', ,r v('r'y lcr',crttl,try ronrlnce of the \W;rr <tf the Ditch, the

i",l'., ltlt,,rtLa |,'l | \" t l 1't.

lUa, l,lrttn ll t"tttct
inl'idcl King Kh.rncl.rk (lronr Ar.rbic lil.wn6la1,, the' 'rtt.,tt' wlrrt lr tlrc
Prophet had dug around Medina to dcle nd hinrsell ;lt.lirr\t lltc .ttt.tck
of the men of Mecca) and his son Badar (origin;rlly ,t pl.tcc n.rrne !)
suffer defeat and death through Ali's hand. In the llikayat Antir al-
Mu'mintn '[Jmar ('Story of the commander of the faithlul 'Umar'),
which has been preserved in one unique Leiden manuscript (Cod.Or.
3345 (1)), 'Ali defeats the Persians and personally kills their leader
Rostam Pulad. In the Hikayat Tatkala Rasul Allah Mentberi Sedekah
Kepada Seorang deruisy ('the story of how the Prophet of AllXh gave
alms to a dervish') the enormous poverty of Muhammad and his
Companions is the reason for 'Alt to fight infidels and to confiscate
their riches.rs
A' Shi'it ization' of Malay Hikayat Literature
de-
Traces of Shi'ism can still be found in Indonesian Islam. A well-
known example is that the month Muharram is called Sura (derived
from Ashura) in Javanese, Sundanese and Macassarese, and Asan'Usen
in Acehnese. On the 10th of Muharram, Ashura day, we find in such
disparate regions as Aceh, Java and South Sulawesi the consumption
of Ashura porridge, known as kanji Asyura in Aceh, as bubur Sura in
Sundanese, or as jepe'surain Macassarese. As there already exists a
fairly extensive literature on the Shi'ah in Indonesia, I will not repeat
what is already known.re lt is however worthy of remark that Shi'itic
traces in Indonesian Islam are generally not recognized as such by
the common (Sunni) believer. Furthermore, we can now oniy speak
of Shi'itic trdces: in the course of time, and especially since the nine-
teenth century, contacts with the Arabian world increased when In-
donesians more and more went to Arabia for study and Hadrami
sayyid became increasingly prominent in Indonesian religious life.
Typical Indonesian elements, but also elements of Perso-Indian ori-
gin were gradually purged.
The hikayat which were mentioned so far, probably v/ere ali pro-
duced at an early age of Islamization. The evidence for their relativc
old age is circumstantial: firstly, these stories were especially attrac-
tive for neophytes. Secondly, as Islam penetrated into the ot hcr l.trr-
guages and literatures of the archipelago through the intcrnrcdi"rry ol'
Malay, many, if not all, of the afore-mentioned storics;trc,tlso lotrrtrl
in other Indonesian literatures, such as Acehncsc, Mirt,trtrk,tb,trr,
r r
Javanese, Sasak, Sundanese, Macassarese, I}.rei ncsc, ct c. lJcr'.t r r st' t l t t'st'
literary products are anonymous;rnd cannot bc d.rtcrl, i1r is irrrPosrilrlt'
l,lant, llalay I tt(titstr lA/
to cstlblish thc yclr or cvcn the period when they were written.
As the majority of the Malay manuscripts date from the nine-
teenth century it is only natural to find only remnants of Shi'itic
influences in the bikayatwhich have survived. The textual witnesses
cannot be characterized as distinctly Shi'itic. Yet it is remarkable to
find so much attention for 'Ali and Fltimah in hikayat literature.
What is more, their roles in hikzyat arewholly congruous with popular
Shi'itic imagery. Especially in the stories about'Ali as the wise judge,
'Ali can be praised at 'I-Jmar's expense. 'I-Imar, however, is not por-
trayed too negatively and the normal Shi'itic cursing of 'Umar's name
is entirely left out.
Several scholars have pointed at a gradual process of'de-
shi'itization' of differenr texrs, such as the Hikayat Muhamrnad
Hanafi1ryah,rhe Hikayat Banjar or the Tajusalatin.QUndoubtedly the
stories about 'Ali and Fltimah over the years must also have under-
gone this process. In this connecrion it is interesting to observe that
Malay literature contains some variants of the 'anti-'IJmar' stories
I
which may perhaps be interpreted as Sunni transformarions. A vari-
il ant of the story of Fadlun can for example be found in the Raudah al-
'ulam|', but there'tlmar acquits the youth (who is here called IsmX'il
instead of Fadlun), and 'Ali does not inrervene.+r A variant of the
story of the ten rabbis, which according to Van Ronkel is "in many
ways inferior to the other one", is the Hikayat Abu Bakr dan rahib
Yabudi, also known as Hikayat Sulaiman al-Farsi.4 Here severalJew-
ish rabbis come from Syriato hhalif Abu Bakr instead ro khalif'IJmar,
and promise to embrace Islam, if their (theological) questions can be
answered satisfactorily.a5 These versions, however, never reached the
popularity of their Shi'itic counrerparrs. This is different with a srory
which echoes the Hikayat Nabi Mengajar Anaknya Fatimab, namely
the so-called Hikayat Partana Islam, in which the Prophet, ar rhe re-
quest of a woman named Islam, Sallm or SalAmah, sets forth all that
a woman has to do or refrain from in respecr to her husband and the
recompense that awaits her in the hereafter for the practice of wifely
virtues.s
Summing up then, the prominenr place of 'Ali and Fitimah in Malay
hikayat literature is to be explained by the early introduction of these
stories as popular reading marter for neophltes when Indonesian Islam
still had a Shi'ah tinee. In rhe course of time the popular srories, in
which 'Ali ,rnrl lris l,rnrily phyed a prevalent part, were-gradually neu-
trrrliz.ccl l, rrrt lr .ln ('xl('nr rlr,rr no Surrni bclicvcr cotrld objcct to thcnr.
\',.1',, l,lt'ttLt Lt t
l0ll l,lurn l\'rctnga
Endnotes
1. G.E. Marrison,'Persian influcncc.s in Malay life (1280-1650)',lournal o/'thc Ma-
layan Branch ofthe Royal Asiatic Society 28 (1955), pp. 52-0. L.F. Brakel, 'Persian
influence on Malay literature', Abr-Nahrain9 (1970), pp. 1-16.
2. G.!gJ. Drewes, 'New light on the coming of Islam to Indonesia?', Bijdragen tot
de Taal-, Land-en Volkenkunde 124 (1968), pp. $3-a59 is a survey of the early
history of lndonesian Islam.
3. Lode Brakel, 'On the origins of the Malay hikayat', Reoieta of Indonesian and
Malayan A/fairs 13 (1C79), pp. 1-33.
4. I. Proudfoot, Early Malay pinted boohs. A provisional account of materiak ltult-
lisbed inthe Singapore-Malaysia area up to 1920, noting holdings in major Ttultlic
collections (Kuala Lumpu r, 7993) , pp. 29-30.
5. I will not discuss stories like Hihayat Hasan Husain Tatkala Kanak-hanah (' Story
of the childhood of Hasan and Husayn'), Hihayat Hasan tlan Hnsain Ahan Mari
('Story of the imminent death of Hasan and Husayn') or Carira Tabut ('Tale of
the cof{in), because they are probably 19th century texts and are not represented
in other Indonesian literatures (see for these stories Jumsari Yusuf et al. (eds.),
Sastra Indonesia Lama Pengaruh Islam [akarta,1984), p. 109 ff.
6. Baroroh Baried, ' Shi'ah elements in Malay lirerature', Sarrono Kartodirdjo (ed.),
Profihs of Malay Culture: Historiograph!, Religion and Politics (lakarta, 1976), pp.
59-65.
7. K.A. Steenbrink, 'Indian teachers and their Indonesian pupils: on intellectual
relations between India and Indonesia, 1600-1800', Itineraio 12, 1 (1988), p. 131.
8. Fatimah is e.g. rnentioned in a crocodile charm and in a charm for sowing dis-
sension between husband and wife (Walter Williarn Skeaq MaLaT magic: An In-
troduction to thc Folklore and PoltuLar Religion of the Malay Peninntl,zr (London,
1965),pp.298-299i573-574) and Ali in a charm to acquire velour and in an as-
pect-compass known as Rajal al-ghayb or linazah Sayidini 'Ali ibn Abff Telib
(Skeat, Malay magic, pp. 653 and 561). I do not know if the use of a certain
flower, the kembang Patimah, or rose of Jericho (anastatica Hierochontica), for
the advancement of the opening of the birth passages, has anything to do with
FAtimah (Arie Andries Haspels, (Jterine nttrtture in Cental Jaoa (Goes, 1,9a1,;
Ph,D. thesis University of Amsterdam), p. 21. For eroticism/mysticism, see
G.\(.J. Drewes and L.F. Brakel, The poerns of Hamzah Fansuri (Dordrecht,
Cinnaminson, 1986), pp. 18-20; see also Theodore G.Th. Pigeaud, Literattffe of
Java.Yoltme 111 (fhe Hague, 1970), p.3+1,.
9. Edwar Djamaris, 'Penelitian naskah "Hikayat Nur Muhamrnacl" dalarn sasrra
Indonesia la,ma', Bahasa dan Sastra 5 (1980), p. 15.
10. Tlreodore G. Th. Pigeaud und P. Voorhoeve, Htntlschnftcn tus Indonesrcn
(Stuttgart, 1985), pp. 47 I{.;Y.1. Braginsky, The Syxem of Classical M.tl.ry Liter.t-
utre \Leiden, 1993), p. 66-67.
11. Asim Roy, The klamic STncretistic Tradition in Bengal (Princctorr: Prirrccton
University Press, 1983), p. 129.
12. This MS,Jav. e.2, is describecl in M.C. Ricklefs ancl P. Voorh,>crc, lndontnart
Manuscripts in Great Britain. A catalogue of uranuscripts in lntlorrcsi,rrr l,rrrgrr.rgcs
in British pnblic collections (Oxford, 1977), p.105,r. t.cidcrr IJrrivcrsiry l.ibr.rry
Cod.Or. 12.582 is a courplctc phorot:opy. lusctl thc rr'.urslil,,r'.rlr,,rr bv P.
Voorhoeve, Cod.Or. 84217 019\.
l.l. llt'grrrrrrrrli,,l N4S.l .rv. t.
tlrr'r.rtttc tL st riptiorr ol rlrc glolr,rls Iirtl c.rrr [c leuutl
.lq
irr N.rri,rrr,rl l il,r',rrv .l ,rk.rrr.r
N4 l..l/tl(., .r lgth ccrrrury MS, which was ccliretl in
[)j,rrrr,rris,'l)crrt.lrri,rrr rr,rsk,rlr', pp. )O-2.1.
l'1. tJ. Rubrrr,'l)r'r'-t'xisrr'nr'r' .rrrtl light. Aspccts of rhe concept of Nur Muharnrnati',
lsrtrl Oritnt.tl .9rutlits 5 (1925), p. 65.
15. Hcinz H:rlr., D.r st'ltiitischt'Islarn. von dtr Religion ztr Reaolntion (Mr.rnchen,
19ea), p. 19 .
16. E. Kohlberg, "Ali b. Abi Taleb', EncycLopaedia lranica. Vol''re I (London, Bos-
ton anci Henlev, n.d.), p. 843.
12. It is unc,-lear which MS or lithography was usetl by winstect. He gives the i'r-
pression that he has used National Library Jakarta v.d.W. /6 A, contaiui'g .r
-story written in 1668, but which, according to L.F. Brakel, The Hik.D,at
Muhammad HanafiyTah ffhe Hague, 1.975), p.49 lacks the motif of the mvstic
bird.
18. L.F. Brakel, Tbe Story of Mubammad Hanafi,y2ah ffhe Hague, I9l7), p.78.
19. Brakel, The Hikayat Muhammad HanafiTyab, p. a8. Cf. A. Guillaurne, The lft of
Muhammad. A translation of IshAq \ Sireh Rasill Atlih (Ox{ord, 1955), pp. 6g-69.
20. See Rubin, 'Pre-existence', pp. 83-86.
21. Brakel, The Hthayat Muhantm,ttl Han,zfiyyah, p.49 wrongly ass''res that in
Javanese this episode corlsrirures an independent hihayat. I hope tci return r. thc
story of Patirnah Sami in a later publication in which l will di-scus.s a lZrh cel-
tury MS of this text which is now in the library of the Royal D.tch Milirary
Academy in Breda (KMA 6544).
22. Russell Jc>nes, Hikayet Sultan Ibrahim: Thc Short Version of thc Melry, Tttt
(Dordrecht: Fori-s Publications, 1983), pp. 18-21 (lr4alay texr and English trans-
lation).
23. National Library Jakarta Ml. 42h, pp. 113-118; transliterated in ynslf et
Juur-sari
a1,., Saur,z Intlon esia, pp. 7 l-7 J.
24. C.Spat, BungaRamltai;Malctschleesboek(Breda, 1920), pp.62-63 (inMalayscript)"
U'f.rtunatelv I co*ld not rrace the MS which spat used for his editio'.
25. Accortling to the Javarese version 'Ali orderecl .l servant to sell his harless be-
canse he needed rnonev for his wedding, see Bernard Arp-s, Tentbang in T.,lo
Traditions. Performence end Intcrpretation ofJaaanese Litcr,zture (London, 1991)
167-168. Sinorn is the name of a verse fonn. See also Titik pudiiasturi. ,Serar
Ynsup. Peranannya dalarn kehid'pan masyarakat Jawa', Lcntber,tn ststrt
uniaersitts Indonesia 16, April 1992, p.58 where 'Utirrnln cloes nor b'y 'Ali's
harnes.s, but frees a slave. This is not another version, but is ba-sed lrDon a llllsrln-
dc'rstanding on the part of the interpreter of the wortl iot ('har'ess') which is
ctrnfitsecl wiit hcrc ('beggar')! The salre rnistake is rnacle in the Inclgnesian rrans-
lariorr .f thc Kitab Yruf'(alih bahasa: Hardjana Hp; alih aksara: Titiek pucl-
ji.rsttrti), Jakarta, 1981, p. 86.
It . Arps. Tottl,,tn,<, p. )58.
2Z' lt is p,rssiblc, I think, to show tltat Sinon Kc'rr is an interpolation by means of
tlrc l,rlrrrrrl,r Al x - Al, irr which X st:rucls for tht.inrcrp,,l.rr..l p.rrr.rgc, w[ilc A1
.tlttl A.) st.trrrl Ior tlrr',r'itr',irr,tl ('nvironnlcnt irr which X h.rs bccrr irrscrtctl. lf X is
,ilr lnr('ll)r)l,rt('11 p.rrr.rlir', A I A.' w,,rrr kl lorrrr .r lrorrrog('r)('()1 wll()lc wilIerrt X.
lrr i,l,.rl (,t\(1 ( !t(lr,lr(.li,t llu(,rl)ol.tti,,rr r.rrr lr..Pr.,,r,i,l,,,l orr llrr.r,r,lr,vt,lr, rr,trrrt.tv
tlt,' l,'r, l', ,'l ttt, trt,,rl, rt.rrr.rrrr, .ur(l lirrlirrirti, \lru( lu11. (rr.,. I .i\4. I Jlrl('nr,(.1\,
'l lr, l,r,,l'1, rrr,,1 rrrr,.r;,,,1ttt,,1 tr llrt ()l,l l.rv.r1,..,,.li.rrrr.rr.rrr.r l,,rl,,ryi1'. li1,l, t,.,,,t
 Lltrn l\iontt+r
tot dc T,zal., L.tntl.c,tt Volkcnhuntlc 145 (1989), PP. 128 310). This is thc crsc with
Sinom Ktrc in Kitab Yusuf ctn at leasr the merrical and narrative level: (1) thc
rnetrical strucrure of A1 (canto 8) is the same as A2 (canto 10), i.e. pangkur,
whereas X (canto 9) ts in sinomi (2) the narrative srmcrure of A1 and A2 taken
together does not display a structural gap. I have not studied linguistic evidence
for the interpolation.
2g. Kitalt Yusuf, alih bahasa: Hardiana HP; alih aksara: Titiek Pudjiastuti (Jakarta,
1981), p. 534. The date of this MS is discussed in B. Arps, 'Yusup, Sri Tanfung',
and fragrant water. The adoption of a popular Islamic poem in Banyuwangi,
East Java', VJ.H. Houben, H.MJ. Maier and V. van der Molen (eds'), loo'ting
in odd mirrors: the Java Se,z (Leiden, 1992), pp- l2l- 122.
29. Theoclore G. Th. Pigeautl, Literature of Jatta. Volume I (fhe Hague,1967), p'
217.
30. Jane Darnmen McAuliffe, 'chosen of all wornen: Mary and Fatina in Qur'anic
exegesis', IslamochristianaT (1923I), p.27 '
31. About the Hikayat Darma Tasiah I wrore a brief article,'In praise of a virtuons
woman: rhe story of Darrna Tasiah', International Institute for Asian Stutlies Netps'
letter 6 (1995), p. 36. The Hikayat Sairah dan Hadi was described by willern van
der Molen,
,Six
Malay rnannscripts in the Algemeen Rijksarchief at The Hague"
Bijdragen tot de Taal-, I'tnd'en Volhenhunde 140 (1984), p. 330.
32. G.WJ. Drewes, 'Het godsdienstig toneel in Iran" Forum der Lettcren l0 (1970),
p.41;JohanterHaar, Volgelingenttandeimam.Eenkennismahingmetdesji'itische
/.d"zz (Arnsterdarn, 1995), p. 103.
33. See P. Voorhoeve in cttaloguc of Indoncsian Manuscriltts. Part 2 (copenhagen,
lg77), pp.13 1ff. for a discussion of the differenr versions and the relevant sec
ondary literature. Wahyunah Hi. Abd. Gani, Hikayet T'tmim al-Deri (Knala
Lurnpur, 1989) is a transliteration of the longer version.
34. Ph. S. van Ronkel, 'Malay tales about conversion of Jews and christians tcr
Mtrharnmedanism', Acta Orientalia 10 (1932)' pp. 6I'62. Van Ronkel bases his
surnmary on cod.or. 3234 (University Library Leiden), but the srory can alsc'>
be found in Cod.Or. 1751,pp.518-538. For an Arabic version (National Library
Jakarta, KBG 655), see Ph.S. van Ronkel, Supplencnt to the Cetalogue of the Ara'
Itic Manuscripts Prescrued in the Museum of the Bataaia Society of ArX and Scienccs
(Batavia, 1913), pp. 325-326 and P. Voorhoeve, Handlist of Arabic Manuscipts in
the Lihrary ofthe lJniversity of Leiden and other Collections in the Netherlands
(fhe Hague, 1980), pp. 199-200.
35. Nowadays the stor,v is apparently only known insyair form in Malay, see B.A.
Hussainrniya, 'Pertumbuhan dan kejatuhan kesnsasteraan Melaytr di sri Lanka"
Siti Hawa Haii Saleh (ed), Cendehia: Kesusasteraan Melayu Tratlisional (Ktala
Lurnpur, 1987), p.74. Perhaps in former days the story was passecl <'>n * a hikayet,
because in Acehnese literature (which has borrowed on a large scale fron Malay
literature) it is extant as Hikayat Padeulon, which according ro P. Voorhoeve,
'Tlrree old Achehnese manuscripts', Bulletin of tbc School of Orientel nd Aftt-
c.zn studies 14 ( 1952), p.336 must be quite old because of its strong shiite bias. It
is also known in Sundanese as a prose story, but, as far as I know, only in one
MS, i.e. National Library Jakarta Sntl. 145, of which Leiclen Univer-siry Library
Cod. Or. 8369 is r translite ration. Cf. P. Voorh <tevc, Cattlogtc o/'Acchncst Mtnu'
scriprs in tht Lilvary of Lt'idt'n l-Jniut'nity and otltt'r Collt'ctions Outsidt' A,"rh (Lcidcn,
l994), pp. l6(,-167.
Irhu r, Aklt r' I t trt,tl ttt,
.1(,. (lf.
(1. Skirrrrcr, .\1t'tr l\rtttn /l4r'ngktsar ('l'lrc rhyrncd r:hr<>niclc of thc Maclssar
W.rr) try ['.rrrii' Arnin ('s'(ir.rvcrrhagc, 1963), p. 223; Russell Joncs, 'Harimau',
Bijdragtn tot fu 7'aal-, Land"cn Volkcnhundc 126 (1970), pp.260-262.
37. B.F. Matthcs, Kort acrslag aangaande alle mij in Europa ltehende Makassaarse en
Boegincsche handscbriften, oooral die van het Nederland.sch Bijbelgenootschap te
Amsterdam (Arnsterdam: Spin, 1875), p. 8.
38. R. Roolvink, 'Indonesia: vi - Literatures', The Encyclopaedia of klam, new ed!
tion. Volume IX (Leiden and London, l97l), p. 1232 was misled by the tide as
he suggests that this story contains "an appeal for generosiry towards the poor";
cf. H.H. Juynboll, Catalogus z,an de Maleische en Sundaneesche handschriften der
kidsche Universiteits- Bibliotheeh (Leiden, L899), p. 182.
39. Baroroh Baried, 'Le shi'isme en Indonesie', Archipel 15 (1978), pp. 65-84 gives a
useful overview; see also Gilbert Hamonic, 'La fete du grand Maulid a Cikoang,
regard sur une tarekar dite "shlite" en pays Makassar', Archiqtel 29 (1985), pp.
175,191.
40. Cf. Annemarie Schimmel, Die Zeicben Gottes. Die religiose lVelt des Islam
(Munchen, 1995), p. 167.
41. An overview of the various catalogues can be found in Roolvink, 'Indonesia', p.
r l5).
42. Brakel, Tbe Hihayat Muhammad Hanafiyyah, p. 59 {f.; JJ. Ras, Hihajat Bantljar:
A stud,y in Malay Histoiography (Ihe Hague, 1968), pp. l29i 148 and Winstedt as
quoted in A.C. Milner, 'Islam and the Muslim state', M.B. Hooker (ed,.), klant
in Soath-East Asz (Leiden, 1983), p. 48.
43. Voorhoeve, Catalogte of Acehnese Manuscipts, p. 167.
44. Yan Ronkel, 'Malay tales', p. 61.
45. Van Ronkel, 'Malay tales', pp.6l-62. Van Ronkel bases his surnrnary on Cod.Or.
1758, pp. 1837 (Universiry Library Leiden). Other MSS with this tale are K1.
67d (i.e. the last part, not identified by Ph.S. van Ronkel, Snltltlement.Catalogus
.der Maleische en Minangkahausche handschriften in de Leidschc Llnioersitcits-
Bibliotheeh (Leiden, l92l), p.19) and SOAS 7124 (S), described in M.C. Ricklefs
and P. Voorhoeve, Indonesian Manuscipts in Great Bitain; a Catalogue of Manu-
scripts in Indonesian Languages in British Public Collection.s (Oxford, 1977), p.
155. See also P. Voorhoeve, Handlist, pp. 199-2OO s.v. Masa'il al.Yahfid li'L
Imam 'Ali for Arabic versions of these two tales.
46. C. Snouck Hurgronje, Katalog der malaiischen Hantlschriften der Koniglichen
Hofltihliothek in Berlin (Leiden, 1950), pp. l9Q-t92; C. Snouck Hurgronfe, Zlc
Acbehnesc, Volurne II peyden, 1906), p. 125; Juynboll, Catalogus, p. 190.
Edwin \flieringa is a Von Humboldt Research Fellou at the Institute of
Ethnology, Universiry of Milnster, Germany.