The Terengganu Stone
This artist's impression of how the inscribed stone was found is based on documentary and oral sources including an account by Engku Pengiran Anum, who assisted in the discovery at the age of 15.
The most important evidence so far uncovered in the quest to ascertain where Islam first appeared in Malaysia is the text inscribed on the granite stele known as the Terengganu Stone. Dated in the Muslim Lunar year of 702 AH, which corresponds to 1303 CE, the stone inscription is not only the oldest Malay text in the Arabic script in existence, but is the earliest record of the introduction of Islam into the Malay Peninsula. The inscription is also significant in terms of the development of writing and the Malay language.
- Information in the full article includes
- How the stone was found
- Deciphering the inscriptions
- Islam is introduced