Editing Jawi script (section)

==Early history==
[[File:Batu_nisan_beraksara_Jawi_di_Aceh.jpg|thumb|200px|left|A tombstone in [[Aceh]] with Jawi inscription dated from 16th or 17th century. The inscription are: <br/>'''1st row''': ''bahwasanya inilah nisan kubur''<br/>'''2nd row''': ''yang mulia bernama Meurah Meukuta''<br/>'''3rd row''': ''bergelar orang kaya kapai''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Laksamana Wanita Abad Ke-16/17 M Bernama Meurah Meukuta Bergelar Orangkaya Kapai Laksamana |url=https://www.mapesaaceh.com/2018/10/laksamana-wanita-abad-ke-1617-m-bernama.html |access-date=2022-05-11}}</ref>]]

Prior to the onset of [[Islamisation]], the [[Pallava script]], Nagari, and old Sumatran scripts were 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 [[Islam in Southeast Asia|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 [[anno hegirae|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 District|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).<ref name="Shahrizal">{{cite web |author=Mahpol |first=Shahrizal |year=2002 |title=Penguasaan tulisan jawi di kalangan pelajar Melayu : suatu kajian khusus di UiTM cawangan Kelantan (Competency in Jawi among Malay students: A specific study in UiTM, Kelantan campus) |url=http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/895/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220713092647/http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/895/ |archive-date=13 July 2022 |access-date=13 July 2022 |website=UM Students' Repository |publisher=Students' Repository, [[Universiti Malaya]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |author=Abdul Rashid Melebek |author2=Amat Juhari Moain |title=Sejarah Bahasa Melayu (History of Bahasa Melayu) |publisher=Utusan Publications |year=2006|isbn=967-61-1809-5 |pages=52}}</ref> 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 [[Sultan Mudzafar Shah I|Phra Ong Mahawangsa]] of [[Kedah Sultanate|Kedah]] in 1136 and King [[Malik ul Salih|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]]. The Arabic script was accepted by the Malay community together with their acceptance of Islam and was adapted to suit spoken [[Classical Malay]]. Six letters were added for sounds not found in Arabic: ''ca'', ''pa'', ''ga'', ''nga'', ''va'' and ''nya''. Some Arabic letters are rarely used as they represent sounds not present in modern [[Malay language|Malay]] however may be used to reflect the original spelling of Arabic loanwords. The sounds represented by these letters may be assimilated into sounds found in Malay's native phoneme inventory or in some instances appear unchanged. Like the other Arabic scripts, some letters are obligatorily joined while some are never joined.<ref>John U. Wolff, ''Indonesian Readings'' Edition: 3, SEAP Publications: 1988: {{ISBN|0-87727-517-3}}. 480 pages.</ref><ref>Robert Leon Cooper ''Language spread: studies in diffusion and social change'', Center for Applied Linguistics, Indiana University Press,: 1982 p. 40 {{ISBN|0-253-32000-3}}.</ref> 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.<ref name="siti hawa">{{Cite book |author=Siti Hawa Haji Salleh |title=Malay Literature of the 19th Century |publisher=Institut Terjemahan Negara Malaysia Berhad |year=2010 |isbn=978-983-068-517-5 |pages=8}}</ref>

The oldest remains of Malay using the Jawi script have been found on the [[Terengganu Inscription Stone]], dated 702 [[Islamic calendar|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.<ref name="Shahrizal"/>

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, [[Classical Malay 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.<ref name="siti hawa"/> Other forms of Arabic-based scripts existed in the region, notably the [[Pegon alphabet]] used for [[Javanese language|Javanese]] in [[Java]] and the [[Serang alphabet]] used for [[Buginese language|Buginese]] in [[South Sulawesi]]. Both writing systems applied extensive use of [[Arabic diacritics]] and added several letters which were formed differently from Jawi letters to suit the languages. Due to their fairly limited usage, the spelling system of both scripts did not undergo similar advanced developments and modifications as experienced by Jawi.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Matlob |title=Pandai Jawi |publisher=Cerdik Publications |year=2007 |isbn=978-983-70-1054-3 |pages=237–238}}</ref>