The Malay translation of the Burda is a 16th‑century Malay rendering of Al‑Busiri’s Arabic Burda, notable for containing linguistic evidence of Perak‑Malay influence, referencing the Acehnese‑Perak political context of its time, and preserving editorial notes by Hamzah Fansoeri and J. Doorenbos. The manuscript opens with the basmala and proceeds through a devotional commentary on the poem, employing Malay idioms and Islamic terminology, and includes lines such as “Dengan nama Allah djua kumulai kitab ini, Tuhan jang mahamurah dalam dunia dan mengasihani hamba mu’min dalam negeri achirat”【20260707_232246_DLP-54-Een_16de_eeuwse_Maleise_vertaling_van_de_Burda_van_al_Bu_s_i_ri_OCR.txt, p. 48】.
Description
The manuscript presents the original poem verse‑by‑verse, followed by extensive commentary that explains difficult Malay words, provides Arabic etymologies (e.g., “hs. manusjia; Ar. fPl‑djasam”), and offers theological clarifications. It also contains editorial notes by Hamzah Fansoeri and J. Doorenbos, who corrected the text and supplied variant readings【20260707_232246_DLP-54-Een_16de_eeuwse_Maleise_vertaling_van_de_Burda_van_al_Bu_s_i_ri_OCR.txt, pp. 52-58】. This translation illustrates the diffusion of Arabic devotional literature into the Malay‑speaking world, where such texts were read and recited in suraus and pesantren.
Linguistic features
Analysis reveals deviations from standard Malay, including the occasional nasalization of voiced occlusives after me‑ (e.g., mengebala, mengadar) and the use of forms like bengadjar, kedatang, and keingin that lack the standard Malay -an suffix. These traits show “grote overeenkomst met de toestand die terzake in het Peraks Maleis bestaat”【20260707_232246_DLP-54-Een_16de_eeuwse_Maleise_vertaling_van_de_Burda_van_al_Bu_s_i_ri_OCR.txt, p. 44】, suggesting Perak‑Malay influence.
Historical context (Aceh‑Perak relations)
The manuscript was produced amid close relations between Atjēh and Perak; the source notes that “Gezien de nauwe betrekkingen, die er in de 16th en de 17th ceuw tussen Atjēh en Perak hebben bestaan … is het niet ongerijmd, invloed van het Perakse dialect in een uit Atjèh herkomstig handschrift uit de 16th eeuw aan te nemen”【20260707_232246_DLP-54-Een_16de_eeuwse_Maleise_vertaling_van_de_Burda_van_al_Bu_s_i_ri_OCR.txt, p. 45】. Conversely, Acehnese influence in Perak is described as “duidelijk merkbaar”【20260707_232246_DLP-54-Een_16de_eeuwse_Maleise_vertaling_van_de_Burda_van_al_Bu_s_i_ri_OCR.txt, p. 45】.
See Also
- Atjēh
- Perak
- Sultan Iskandar Muda
- 1579
- Perak Malay
- Burda (Arabic poem)
- Malay language
- Al-Busiri
- Hamzah Fansoeri
- J. Doorenbos
- Burda (poem)
Source
20260707_232246_DLP-54-Een_16de_eeuwse_Maleise_vertaling_van_de_Burda_van_al_Bu_s_i_ri_OCR.txt, pp. 48‑49. 20260707_232246_DLP-54-Een_16de_eeuwse_Maleise_vertaling_van_de_Burda_van_al_Bu_s_i_ri_OCR.txt, pages 52-58 (the complete Malay translation of the Burda with commentary and editorial notes).