Sir Richard Olof Winstedt (1878–1966) — Sir R. O. Winstedt — was a British colonial administrator and Malay scholar, the leading British Malay scholar of his generation. He is acknowledged by Voorhoeve in the introduction to the 1955 edition of Raniri’s two Malay treatises for his help in the study of the Maxwell manuscript of the *Ḥujjat aṣ-ṣiddīq li-dafʿ az-zindīq* of Nūruddīn ar-Rānīrī, first in London and later in Leiden, while the Royal Asiatic Society granted permission to reproduce the text of the second part.
The Maxwell manuscript of the Ḥujjat
The Maxwell manuscript of the *Ḥujjat aṣ-ṣiddīq* — Royal Asiatic Society, London, Maxwell collection no. 93, pp. 119–145 — is the only known complete manuscript of the treatise, and is the basis of the facsimile in the 1955 edition. The first part of the codex contains the well-known Malay handbook of faith and religious duties entitled Bidāyat al-mubtadi bi-faḍl Allāh al-muhdī. Voorhoeve records that he was enabled to study the manuscript “first in London and later in Leiden” through the help of Sir R. O. Winstedt, while the Royal Asiatic Society granted permission to reproduce the text of the second part.
Significance
Winstedt’s help in the study of the Maxwell manuscript is one of the principal channels by which the *Ḥujjat aṣ-ṣiddīq* of Raniri entered European scholarship. The Maxwell manuscript — the only complete witness to the treatise — was made accessible to Voorhoeve through Winstedt’s good offices, and the 1955 facsimile edition is the result. The fact that a British Malay scholar should have facilitated the Dutch edition of an Achehnese Malay treatise is itself a document of the international scholarly collaboration that underlies the modern study of Malay religious literature.
See Also
Source
Twee Maleise geschriften van Nūruddīn ar-Rānīrī: in facsimile uitgegeven met aantekeningen door P. Voorhoeve. Uitgaven van de Stichting De Goeje, No. 16. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1955. Inleiding §3a (“Inhoudsopgave”), p. 37, where Winstedt’s help is acknowledged.
Sir Richard Olof Winstedt (1878–1966) — Sir R. O. Winstedt — was a British colonial administrator and Malay scholar, the leading British Malay scholar of his generation. He is acknowledged by Voorhoeve in the introduction to the 1955 edition of Raniri’s two Malay treatises for his help in the study of the Maxwell manuscript of the *Ḥujjat aṣ-ṣiddīq li-dafʿ az-zindīq* of Nūruddīn ar-Rānīrī, first in London and later in Leiden, while the Royal Asiatic Society granted permission to reproduce the text of the second part.
The Maxwell manuscript of the Ḥujjat
The Maxwell manuscript of the *Ḥujjat aṣ-ṣiddīq* — Royal Asiatic Society, London, Maxwell collection no. 93, pp. 119–145 — is the only known complete manuscript of the treatise, and is the basis of the facsimile in the 1955 edition. The first part of the codex contains the well-known Malay handbook of faith and religious duties entitled Bidāyat al-mubtadi bi-faḍl Allāh al-muhdī. Voorhoeve records that he was enabled to study the manuscript “first in London and later in Leiden” through the help of Sir R. O. Winstedt, while the Royal Asiatic Society granted permission to reproduce the text of the second part.
Significance
Winstedt’s help in the study of the Maxwell manuscript is one of the principal channels by which the *Ḥujjat aṣ-ṣiddīq* of Raniri entered European scholarship. The Maxwell manuscript — the only complete witness to the treatise — was made accessible to Voorhoeve through Winstedt’s good offices, and the 1955 facsimile edition is the result. The fact that a British Malay scholar should have facilitated the Dutch edition of an Achehnese Malay treatise is itself a document of the international scholarly collaboration that underlies the modern study of Malay religious literature.
See Also
Source
Twee Maleise geschriften van Nūruddīn ar-Rānīrī: in facsimile uitgegeven met aantekeningen door P. Voorhoeve. Uitgaven van de Stichting De Goeje, No. 16. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1955. Inleiding §3a (“Inhoudsopgave”), p. 37, where Winstedt’s help is acknowledged.