THE NINETY-NINE LAWS OF PERAK: A STUDY OF ISLAMIC AND ADAT INFLUENCE IN THE MALAY SOCIETY BY MOHAMAD HAZIZIE BIN SULKAFLE A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Human Sciences in History and Civilization Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences International Islamic University Malaysia OCTOBER 2017 ABSTRACT This dissertation studied one of the intellectual heritages of the Malay society in the corpus of law; the Ninety-nine Laws of Perak. Basically, this study analyzes the influence of Islam and adat in this set of laws and the nature of the interactions between the two. Instead of seeing those interactions as conflicting in nature and creating tension between them, this study points out that those interactions actually happened in a harmonious and tolerance manner. Despite all the shortcomings, traditional Malay society theoretically believed that it was adat which needed to be conformed by Islam and not vice versa. Hence, to achieve these aims, this study analyzed the Islamic elements in this set of laws such as the aspect of statemanship, laws on qiṣāṣ, ḥudūd, marriage and divorce. As for the adat elements, first and foremost, this study highlighted that adat has been unanimously accepted by Muslim scholars since the16th century as a subsidiary source of laws in Islam. This was followed by analyzing the extent those adat elements such as laws on agriculture and transactions conformed to the guidelines provided to be accepted as source of laws. A key distinction of this study is that the existance of adat elements in traditional Malay laws did not make them “less” Islamic. Previous studies tend to put qiṣāṣ and ḥudūd as the benchmark for the traditonal Malay laws to be accepted as “Islamic-based laws”. Yet, Islam is not only about qiṣāṣ and ḥudūd. It is also highlighted in this study that for a fair assessment of the traditional Malay laws, it is time for researchers to accept them as it is, instead of comparing them with the contemporary concept of laws. After all, these traditional Malay laws signify the intellectual legacy of the Malay society and their civilization. ii ABSTRACT IN ARABIC iii APPROVAL PAGE I certify that I have supervised and read this study and that in my opinion; it conforms to acceptable standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a dissertation for the degree of Master of Human Sciences in History and Civilization. …………………………………….. Wan Suhana Wan Sulong Supervisor …………………………………….. Hafiz bin Zakariya Co-Supervisor I certify that I have read this study and that in my opinion it conforms to acceptable standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a dissertation for the degree of Master of Human Sciences in History and Civilization. …………………………………….. Fauziah Fathil Examiner This dissertation was submitted to the Department of History and Civilization and is accepted as a fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Human Sciences in History and Civilization. …………………………………….. Mohd Helmi Mohd Sobri Head, Department of History and Civilization. This dissertation was submitted to the Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences and is accepted as a fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Human Sciences in History and Civilization. …………………………………….. Mohammad Abdul Quayum Dean, Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences iv DECLARATION I hereby declare that this dissertation is the result of my own investigation, except where otherwise stated. I also declare that it has not been previously or concurrently submitted as a whole for any other degrees at IIUM or other institutions. Mohamad Hazizie Bin Sulkafle Signature…………………....………. Date …….………………. v COPYRIGHT INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA DECLARATION OF COPYRIGHT AND AFFIRMATION OF FAIR USE OF UNPUBLISHED RESEARCH THE NINETY-NINE LAWS OF PERAK: A STUDY OF ISLAMIC AND ADAT INFLUENCE IN THE MALAY SOCIETY I declare that the copyright holder of this dissertation are jointly owned by the student and IIUM. Copyright © 2017 Mohamad Hazizie Bin Sulkafle and International Islamic University Malaysia. All rights reserved. No part of this unpublished research may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder except as provided below 1. Any material contained in or derived from this unpublished research may be used by others in their writing with due acknowledgement. 2. IIUM or its library will have the right to make and transmit copies (print or electronic) for institutional and academic purposes. 3. The IIUM library will have the right to make, store in a retrieved system and supply copies of this unpublished research if requested by other universities and research libraries. By signing this form, I acknowledged that I have read and understand the IIUM Intellectual Property Right and Commercialization policy. Affirmed by Mohamad Hazizie Bin Sulkafle ……..…………………….. ……………………….. Signature Date vi DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my beloved parents vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS All glory is due to Allah the Almighty, whose Grace and Mercy have been with me throughout the duration of my programme. Although, it has been a challenging task, His Mercy and Blessings on me has eased the herculean task of completing this dissertation. I am most indebted to my supervisor, Dr. Wan Suhana Wan Sulong, whose enduring disposition, kindness, promptitude, thoroughness and friendship have facilitated the successful completion of my work. I would like to put on record and appreciate her detailed comments, useful suggestions and inspiring queries which been considerably improved this dissertation. Her brilliant grasp of the aim and content of this work led to her insighful comments, suggestions and queries which helped me a great deal. Despite her commitments, she took time to listen and attend to me whenever requested. The moral support she extended to me is in no doubt a boost that helped in building and writing the draft of this research work. I am also grateful to my co-supervisor, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hafiz Zakariya, whose support and cooperation contributed to the outcome of this work. Lastly, my gratitude to my beloved family especially my parents, for their prayers, understanding and endurance while I was away. Once again, we glorify Allah for His endless Mercy on us which enabled the successfull writing this dissertation. Alḥamdulillāh. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ........................................................................................................................ ii Abstract in Arabic ........................................................................................................ iii Approval Page .............................................................................................................. iv Declaration ................................................................................................................... v Copyright ..................................................................................................................... vi Dedication .................................................................................................................... vii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... viii List of Tables ............................................................................................................... xi List of Figures .............................................................................................................. xii Table of Transliteration ................................................................................................ xiii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ...................................................................... 1 1.1 Background of the Study ............................................................................ 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem............................................................................ 3 1.3 Research Objectives and Questions ............................................................ 5 1.4 Significance of the Study ............................................................................ 6 1.5 Literature Review ....................................................................................... 7 1.6 Research Methodology ............................................................................... 15 1.7 Proposed Chapter Outline ........................................................................... 17 CHAPTER TWO: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF PERAK ....................... 19 2.1 Introduction................................................................................................. 19 2.2 Pre-Sultanate Kingdoms in Perak ............................................................... 19 2.2.1 Gangga Nagara .................................................................................. 20 2.2.2 Beruas and Manjung ......................................................................... 21 2.3 The Sultanate of Perak ................................................................................ 24 2.3.1 The Achehnese in Perak .................................................................... 25 2.3.2 The Eighteenth Century Perak .........................................................