Jawi (Jawi: ‫ ;جاوي‬Kelantan-Pattani: Yawi; Acèh: Jawoë) is an Arabic script for writing Malay, Acehnese,

Banjarese, Minangkabau, Tausūg and several other languages in Southeast Asia.

Jawi is one of the two official scripts in Brunei and is used as an alternative script in Malaysia and Malay-
dominated areas in Indonesia. It used to be the standard script for the Malay language but has since
been replaced by a Latin alphabet, called Rumi (literal meaning: Roman). In most areas, Jawi has since
been relegated to a script used for religious, cultural and certain administrative purposes.

Jawi can be typed with the Jawi keyboard. Its day-to-day usage is maintained in the more-conservative
Malay-populated areas such as Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang in Malaysia and Pattani.[1]

Contents

1 Etymology

2 Early history

3 The spread and extent of Jawi script

4 Jawi today

5 Letters

5.1 Spelling

6 Examples

7 References

8 Further reading

9 External links

Etymology

According to Kamus Dewan, "Jawi" (‫ )جاوي‬is a term synonymous to 'Malay'.[2] The term has been used
interchangeably with 'Malay' in other terms including Bahasa Jawi or Bahasa Yawi (Kelantan-Pattani
Malay, a Malay dialect used in Southern Thailand), Masuk Jawi[3] (literally "to become Malay", referring
to the practice of circumcision to symbolise the coming of age), and Jawi pekan or Jawi Peranakan
(literally 'Malay of the town' or 'Malay born of', referring to the Malay-speaking Muslims of mixed Malay
and Indian ancestry).[4] With verb-building circumfixes men-...-kan, menjawikan (literally 'to make
something Malay'), also refers to the act of translating a foreign text into Malay language. The word
Tulisan Jawi that means "Jawi script" is another derivative that carries the meaning 'Malay script'.[2]

Early history

Prior to the onset of Islamisation, when Hindu-Buddhist influences were still firmly established in the
region, the Pallava script was primarily used in writing the Malay language. This is evidenced from the
discovery of several stone inscriptions in Old Malay, notably the Kedukan Bukit inscription and Talang
Tuo inscription. The spread of Islam in Southeast Asia and the subsequent introduction of Arabic writing
system began with the arrival of Muslim merchants in the region since the seventh century. Among the
oldest archaeological artefacts inscribed with Arabic script are; a tombstone of Syeikh Rukunuddin dated
48 AH (668/669 CE) in Barus, Sumatra; a tombstone dated 290 AH (910 CE) on the mausoleum of Syeikh
Abdul Qadir Ibn Husin Syah Alam located in Alor Setar, Kedah; a tombstone found in Pekan, Pahang
dated 419 AH (1026 CE); a tombstone discovered in Phan Rang, Vietnam dated 431 AH (1039 CE); a
tombstone dated 440 AH (1048 CE) found in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei; and a tombstone of Fatimah
Binti Maimun Bin Hibat Allah found in Gresik, East Java dated 475 AH (1082 CE).[5][6] Islam was spread
from the coasts to the interior of the island and generally in a top-down process in which rulers were
converted and then introduced more or less orthodox versions of Islam to their peoples. The conversion
of King Phra Ong Mahawangsa of Kedah in 1136 and King Merah Silu of Samudra Pasai in 1267 were
among the earliest examples.

At the early stage of Islamisation, the Arabic script was taught to the people who had newly embraced
Islam in the form of religious practices, such as the recitation of Quran as well as salat. It is not too far-
fetched to say that the Arabic script was accepted by the Malay community together with their
acceptance of Islam and they didn't take long to modify the script and adapt it to suit the spoken
Classical Malay – it is written from right to left and has 6 sounds not found in Arabic: ca pa ga nga va and
nya. Many Arabic characters are never used as they are not pronounced in Malay language, and some
letters are never joined and some joined obligatorily so.[7][8] This was the same for the acceptance of
Arabic writing in Turkey, Persia and India which had taken place earlier and thus, the Jawi script was
then deemed as the writing of the Muslims.[9]

The oldest remains of Malay using the Jawi script have been found on the Terengganu Inscription Stone,
dated 702 AH (1303 CE), nearly 600 years after the date of the first recorded existence of Arabic script in
the region. The inscription on the stone contains a proclamation issued by the "Sri Paduka Tuan" of
Terengganu, urging his subjects to "extend and uphold" Islam and providing 10 basic Sharia laws for
their guidance. This has attested the strong observance of the Muslim faith in the early 14th century
Terengganu specifically and the Malay world as a whole.[5]
The development of Jawi script was different from that of Pallava writing which was exclusively
restricted to the nobility and monks in monasteries. The Jawi script was embraced by the entire Muslim
community regardless of class. With the increased intensity in the appreciation of Islam, scriptures
originally written in Arabic were translated in Malay and written in the Jawi script. Additionally local
religious scholars later began to elucidate the Islamic teachings in the forms of original writings.
Moreover, there were also individuals of the community who used Jawi for the writing of literature
which previously existed and spread orally. With this inclusion of written literature, Malay literature
took on a more sophisticated form. This was believed to have taken place from the 15th century and
lasted right up to the 19th century.[9] Other forms of Arabic-based scripts existed in the region, notably
the Pegon alphabet of Javanese language in Java and the Serang alphabet of Bugis language in South
Sulawesi. Both writing systems applied extensively the Arabic diacritics and added several letters other
than Jawi letters to suit the languages. Due to their fairly limited usage, the spelling system of both
scripts did not undergo similar advance developments and modifications as experienced by Jawi
script.[10]

The spread and extent of Jawi script

A copy of Undang-Undang Melaka ('Laws of Malacca'). The Malacca system of justice as enshrined in the
text was the legal source for other major regional sultanates like Johor, Perak, Brunei, Pattani and
Aceh.[11][12]

The script became prominent with the spread of Islam, supplanting the earlier writing systems. The
Malays held the script in high esteem as it is the gateway to understanding Islam and its Holy Book, the
Quran. The use of Jawi script was a key factor driving the emergence of Malay as the lingua franca of the
region, alongside the spread of Islam.[13] It was widely used in the Sultanate of Malacca, Sultanate of
Johor, Sultanate of Brunei, Sultanate of Sulu, Sultanate of Pattani, the Sultanate of Aceh to the Sultanate
of Ternate in the east as early as the 15th century. The Jawi script was used in royal correspondences,
decrees, poems and was widely understood by the merchants in the port of Malacca as the main means
of communication. Early legal digests such as the Undang-Undang Melaka Code and its derivatives
including the Codes of Johor, Perak, Brunei, Kedah, Pattani and Aceh were written in this script. It is the
medium of expression of kings, nobility and the religious scholars. It is the traditional symbol of Malay
culture and civilisation. Jawi was used not only amongst the ruling class, but also the common people.
The Islamisation and Malayisation of the region popularised Jawi into a dominant script.[14]

Royal correspondences for example are written, embellished and ceremoniously delivered. Examples of
royal correspondences still in the good condition are the letter between Sultan Hayat of Ternate and
King John III of Portugal (1521), the letter from Sultan Iskandar Muda of Acèh Darussalam to King James I
of England (1615), and the letter from Sultan Abdul Jalil IV of Johor to King Louis XV of France
(1719).[14] Many literary works such as epics, poetry and prose use the Jawi script. It is the pinnacle of
the classic Malay civilisation. Historical epics such as the Malay Annals, as listed by UNESCO under
Memories of the World, are among the countless epics written by the Malay people. The Sufic poems by
Hamzah Fansuri and many others contributed to the richness and depth of the Malay civilisation. Jawi
script was the official script for the Unfederated Malay States when they were British protectorates.

Jawi today