Cover Image

Religious scholars (ulama') and political leaders (umara') in the classical Malay texts: A comparative religion approach

This paper aims in analyzing the roles of religious scholars (Ulama’) and political leaders (Umara’) during the Hindu-Buddhist and Islamic periods in the Malay Archipelago. Different roles have been entrusted to the religious authorities by the Malay rulers. During the period of Indian cultural and...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Abdul Jalil, Mohd. Noh, Mohd Amin, Wan Mohd Azam
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Fakulti Tamadun Islam, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) 2017
Subjects:
BP1 Islam
BP171 Relation of Islam to other religions
BP188 Islamic religious life
BP600 Other beliefs and movements
BQ Buddhism
Online Access:http://irep.iium.edu.my/59012/1/97-1148-1-PB.pdf
http://irep.iium.edu.my/59012/
http://jurnalumran.utm.my/index.php/umran/article/view/97/105
http://dx.doi.org/10.11113/umran2017.4n3.97
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
id my.iium.irep.59012
record_format dspace
spelling my.iium.irep.590122018-01-12T08:05:51Z http://irep.iium.edu.my/59012/ Religious scholars (ulama') and political leaders (umara') in the classical Malay texts: A comparative religion approach Abdul Jalil, Mohd. Noh Mohd Amin, Wan Mohd Azam BP1 Islam BP171 Relation of Islam to other religions BP188 Islamic religious life BP600 Other beliefs and movements BQ Buddhism This paper aims in analyzing the roles of religious scholars (Ulama’) and political leaders (Umara’) during the Hindu-Buddhist and Islamic periods in the Malay Archipelago. Different roles have been entrusted to the religious authorities by the Malay rulers. During the period of Indian cultural and religious dominance, religious scholars had a special position at the court and played a significant role in maintaining the legitimacy of the king. Close relationship between religious scholars and the Malay rulers is also evident after the coming of Islam to the archipelago. Once again, religious authorities had been entrusted with a special role by the ruling elite. However, the new Muslim scholars took on a significantly different role with regard to functions from that of their Hindu-Buddhist predecessors. Analysis on the roles of both authorities will be made based on evidence found in two classical Malay texts namely the Sejarah Melayu and Bustan al-Salatin. This paper concludes how, after the spread of Islam to the Malay Archipelago relationship between religious scholars and secular leaders changed drastically. Religious scholars (Ulama’) maintained a less direct relationship with political leaders compared to the role of the Brahmin of the devaraja cult. They merely acted as moral advisors to the rulers who would decide whether to accept or to reject religious advice presented to them based on the needs at that time. Fakulti Tamadun Islam, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) 2017-11 Article REM application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/59012/1/97-1148-1-PB.pdf Abdul Jalil, Mohd. Noh and Mohd Amin, Wan Mohd Azam (2017) Religious scholars (ulama') and political leaders (umara') in the classical Malay texts: A comparative religion approach. Umran: International Journal of Islamic and Civilizational Studies, 4 (3). pp. 35-42. ISSN 2289-8204 http://jurnalumran.utm.my/index.php/umran/article/view/97/105 http://dx.doi.org/10.11113/umran2017.4n3.97
institution Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia
building IIUM Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider International Islamic University Malaysia
content_source IIUM Repository (IREP)
url_provider http://irep.iium.edu.my/
language English
topic BP1 Islam
BP171 Relation of Islam to other religions
BP188 Islamic religious life
BP600 Other beliefs and movements
BQ Buddhism
spellingShingle BP1 Islam
BP171 Relation of Islam to other religions
BP188 Islamic religious life
BP600 Other beliefs and movements
BQ Buddhism
Abdul Jalil, Mohd. Noh
Mohd Amin, Wan Mohd Azam
Religious scholars (ulama') and political leaders (umara') in the classical Malay texts: A comparative religion approach
description This paper aims in analyzing the roles of religious scholars (Ulama’) and political leaders (Umara’) during the Hindu-Buddhist and Islamic periods in the Malay Archipelago. Different roles have been entrusted to the religious authorities by the Malay rulers. During the period of Indian cultural and religious dominance, religious scholars had a special position at the court and played a significant role in maintaining the legitimacy of the king. Close relationship between religious scholars and the Malay rulers is also evident after the coming of Islam to the archipelago. Once again, religious authorities had been entrusted with a special role by the ruling elite. However, the new Muslim scholars took on a significantly different role with regard to functions from that of their Hindu-Buddhist predecessors. Analysis on the roles of both authorities will be made based on evidence found in two classical Malay texts namely the Sejarah Melayu and Bustan al-Salatin. This paper concludes how, after the spread of Islam to the Malay Archipelago relationship between religious scholars and secular leaders changed drastically. Religious scholars (Ulama’) maintained a less direct relationship with political leaders compared to the role of the Brahmin of the devaraja cult. They merely acted as moral advisors to the rulers who would decide whether to accept or to reject religious advice presented to them based on the needs at that time.
format Article
author Abdul Jalil, Mohd. Noh
Mohd Amin, Wan Mohd Azam
author_facet Abdul Jalil, Mohd. Noh
Mohd Amin, Wan Mohd Azam
author_sort Abdul Jalil, Mohd. Noh
title Religious scholars (ulama') and political leaders (umara') in the classical Malay texts: A comparative religion approach
title_short Religious scholars (ulama') and political leaders (umara') in the classical Malay texts: A comparative religion approach
title_full Religious scholars (ulama') and political leaders (umara') in the classical Malay texts: A comparative religion approach
title_fullStr Religious scholars (ulama') and political leaders (umara') in the classical Malay texts: A comparative religion approach
title_full_unstemmed Religious scholars (ulama') and political leaders (umara') in the classical Malay texts: A comparative religion approach
title_sort religious scholars (ulama') and political leaders (umara') in the classical malay texts: a comparative religion approach
publisher Fakulti Tamadun Islam, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)
publishDate 2017
url http://irep.iium.edu.my/59012/1/97-1148-1-PB.pdf
http://irep.iium.edu.my/59012/
http://jurnalumran.utm.my/index.php/umran/article/view/97/105
http://dx.doi.org/10.11113/umran2017.4n3.97
_version_ 1643615489588461568
score 13.211869

Similar Items