HISTORIOGRAFI MELAYU KAJIAN ATAS TUHFAT AL-NAFIS KARYA RAJA ALI HAJI

Abstract

Tuhfat al-nafis is a historical work discussing about the Malay history until the modern era, including the explanation about the family of kingdom selangor written by Raja ali Haji Riau. Tuhfat al-Nafis is less known and studied in this century, perhaps due to the Britain colonialism, this text was not used in school as the obligatory text. Before the independence, Malay children read other Malay texts, such as Sejarah Melayu, Hikayat Abdullah, and Hikayat Hang Tua. The great work of Tuhfat al-Nafis is the most complicated and sophisticated historical work among all Malay works written before the twentieth century. This study is the ultimate work in Malay treatise and culture which increases its writer’s confidence. There are some argumentations showing that tuhfat al-nafis is a great work distinguishing it with other texts. First, historical conception of this study is wider and deeper than other Malay historical texts. Second, its conception and scope of space and time are too wide. Third, from the perspective of historiography,  Raja Ali haji develops a new rule in telling the historical events. Fourth, from the perspective of language, philosophy, and historiography, Raja Ali Haji synthesize between Malay tradition and Islamic tradition. Fifth, its language style and content is easily to read and it is fun to follow its narration