The early Islamic period
The arrival of Islam in the late 13th and early 14th century CE, and its consequent acceptance by much of the Malay World during the 15th and 16th centuries, was an important historical event which greatly influenced the Malay lifestyle and culture. The integration of Islam into everyday life is an ongoing process in Malaysia even today.
While the conversion of the Sultan of Pasai, North Sumatra, in the late 13th century, and the acceptance of Islam by the Melakan Sultanate in the early 15th century are both well documented in Malay and European sources, the process of Islamization, particularly in Malaysia, is not very clear. Evidence of the spread of Islam before the Melakan period consists of Arab, Persian and Chinese textual sources, together with gravestones and pillars inscribed with Arabic script which have been found along the trade routes. However, these sources do not indicate the first Malaysian location to receive Islam, or provide evidence as to the role of the local people in its propagation. Academics agree that trade was the major factor in spreading the religion, but they are divided as to whether Islam arrived via West Asia, India or China.
Although Islamic inscriptions dating to the 11th century CE have been found in Vietnam, Brunei and Java, and artefacts, including Arabic coins bearing dates from this same century, have been found in Malaysia, the earliest confirmed evidence of the introduction of Islam to Malaysia comes from the stele known as the Terengganu Stone, discovered in the state of the same name. The inscribed Islamic proclamation, dated 1303 CE, is the oldest extant Malay text in the Arabic script, and is proof that Islam had been introduced to the east coast of the Peninsula a century before the conversion of the Melakan ruler. The use of some Sanskrit religious terms has led some scholars to speculate that the inscription was produced during the transitional period when the population was in the process of conversion.
Melaka's conversion to Islam was a watershed event which contributed greatly to its meteoric rise as the region's most powerful commercial centre. During its 15th-century heyday, Melaka was renowned as a hub of Islamic studies and was responsible for the Islamization of its dependencies on the Malay Peninsula, the southern archipelagos and Sumatra. Islamic coinage was introduced to the Melakan Sultanate by Pasai and was later adopted by other Malay sultanates.
Other evidence of early Islam includes a 15th-century tomb and inscribed pillar at Pengkalan Kempas, Negeri Sembilan, and many elaborately carved gravestones known as Batu Aceh, which are found in most Peninsular states. Their shapes and inscriptions provide important indications of the history of the early Islamic period and the extent of the Islamization of the Malay World.
