Persianate Prose and the Making of Malay Muslim Literature | Center for Southeast Asian Studies Kyoto University

From the Author

This book is about the Persianate origin of a large number of Muslim pious literature produced from Africa to South-East Asia. Particular attention is paid to “Durr al-Majālis,” a collection of Muslim stories produced by Sayf Zafar (13th–14th CE), a writer and scholar of Central Asian background, during the Delhi Sultanate. Daneshgar has demonstrated that Durr al-Majālis’ stories were reproduced and circulated in Persian, Arabic, African, Afghan, Bengali, Chinese, Turkish, Turkic, Kurdish, Indian, and Malay contexts. Durr al-Majālis was not only used by rulers, scholars and thinkers but also by villagers, warriors and even illiterate people who relied on oral reading of Durr al-Majālis’ stories. It contains various legal, theological-philosophical, metaphysical, chivalrous and mystical accounts. This book shows how this Persian collection of stories shaped the idea of Islam, Islamic teachings and stories across the Muslim World, and in the Malay-Indonesian World in particular.

Acknowledgments
Transliteration Format
Table of Figures
List of Tables
Preface

Part A: On Literature, Context and Text
1. Introduction
Durr al‑Majālis in Southeast Asia
The Persian-Malay Network: Historical Ties between Muslims
Persian Phonology in Malay Language
Persian Origin of Malay Islamic Literature

2. Durr al-Majālis: Origins and Identity
Reception of the Text
Bibliographical and Biographical Details

3. Transregional Circulation
Durr al-Majālis in Punjabi
Durr al-Majālis in Pushto
Durr al-Majālis in Bengali (and in Bengal)
Durr al-Majālis in Turkic Languages and Contexts
Durr al-Majālis in the Arabic Zone
Durr al-Majālis in Kurdish

4. Islamic Themes and Novelty
Belief and Doctrine
Philosophical Theology
Occultism and Magic
About the Prophets
A Killing Story of Sunnis and Shīʿīs, and the idea of de-Shīʿitisation
Dialogue

5. Persianate-Malay Islamic Stories: A Comparative Analysis
On Persian-Malay Muslim Literature
Shared Islamic Stories in Persian and Malay
Close Similarities

6. A Critical Persian Edition and Critically Edited Translation of Durr al-Majālis
Persian Edition
English Translation
Formation

Part B: Persian Edition and English Translation
Persian Edition
English Translation

Part C: Appendices
Appendix A: A Description of Select Persian-Language Manuscripts
Appendix B: A Description of Select Translated Copies
Appendix C: A Description of Select Printed Volumes
Appendix D: Personal Digital Collection

Bibliography
Index
Persian Preface

Persianate Prose and the Making of Malay Muslim LiteratureText, Translation and Commentary of the Durr al-Majālis

From the Author

Contents