Article

Tomb-stones of Mahmud Shah I of Pahang

From Munshipedia, the MBRAS digital historical encyclopedia

Tomb-stones of Mahmud Shah I of Pahang

W. Linehan, writing in 1926 in the Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, reports the discovery at Pahang Tua of Achehnese-type tomb-stones bearing the Arabic epitaph of Muhammad Shah I, the first Sultan of Pahang. The article’s central contribution is the identification of the earliest known Islamic tombstone in Pahang, dated 16 Jumada al-Awwal 880 AH (17 September 1475 AD), which provides a striking contemporary corroboration of the genealogy of three Malacca Sultans recorded in the Sejarah Melayu.

Summary

Linehan discovered the two tomb-stones at Dusun Pinang, on the eastern bank of the Pahang Tua river, approximately half a mile from its junction with the Pahang river. The stones, of the type commonly known as “Achehnese,” are inscribed on all four sides: one face carries the epitaph with the deceased’s name, genealogy, and date of death, while the remaining faces are filled with Quranic texts. The Arabic inscription was deciphered with the assistance of Haji Abu Bakar, Malay Secretary to the Sultan of Pahang, and further refined by Dr. G. F. Pijper, an Arabic scholar, who provided amended readings based on photographs of the stones (pp. 188–189).

The article addresses a notable historical gap: no local tradition survived regarding the burial site of Pahang’s first Sultan. Linehan attributes this to successive invasions by the Siamese, Achehnese, and Bugis, together with internal disturbances, which destroyed the continuity of the country’s history in the minds of its inhabitants (p. 188). He then raises the question of whether the stones genuinely mark the burial place, presenting four reasons to doubt this—no tumulus is present, no record exists of Malay royalty at Pahang Tua before Bendahara Ali (c. 1806–1847), the local population was entirely ignorant of the stones, and the removal of tombstones from royal graveyards in Pekan Lama is not unknown—against the counter-argument that unmistakable traces of Siamese occupation at Langgar near Pahang Tua make the area a plausible seat of power for the first Malay Sultan, who succeeded the Siamese (pp. 191–192).

Drawing on the Sejarah Melayu, Linehan reconstructs Muhammad Shah’s biography: son of Sultan Mansur Shah of Malacca and Puteri Wanang Seri, daughter of the captive Siamese Viceroy of Pahang, he was exiled to rule Pahang after slaughtering a playmate for an imaginary affront. He took one hundred youths and one hundred maidens of noble family to colonize his new territory, which extended from Sedili Besar to Trengganu (p. 192).

Key Findings

  • The epitaph is dated 16 Jumada al-Awwal 880 AH, corresponding to 17 September 1475 AD, making it the earliest Islamic tombstone yet discovered in Pahang—predating that of Raja Fatimah (901 AH) and “Marhum” Abdul Jalil (917 AH) (p. 191).
  • The inscription records the genealogy: Muhammad Shah, son of Sultan Mansur Shah, son of Muzaffar Shah, son of Muhammad Shah, providing independent corroboration of three Malacca Sultans named in the Sejarah Melayu (pp. 188–189).
  • The stones measure approximately one foot seven inches in height and are set three and a half feet apart (p. 188).
  • Muhammad Shah predeceased his father Sultan Mansur Shah, whose death did not occur until 1477 AD and whose tombstone is preserved in Raffles Museum, Singapore (p. 192).
  • A striking palaeographic difference exists between the Quranic texts (thick, ungainly script, absent diacritical marks) and the epitaph (finer script, well-shaped letters with diacritical points), suggesting the stones were produced in a workshop with pre-inscribed Quranic panels (p. 191).

Conclusion

Linehan’s definitive historical takeaway is that the inscription constitutes a contemporary, independent record of the first Sultan of Pahang that corroborates the Sejarah Melayu’s genealogical narrative, and that Muhammad Shah’s reign marks the permanent colonization of Pahang by the Malays with the consequent introduction of Muhammadanism into the country (p. 192).

Context

  • Linehan was a colonial-era official in Pahang who acted as both discoverer and primary interpreter of the inscription, enlisting local and external scholarly assistance in a manner typical of the period’s collaborative antiquarian practice.
  • The article reflects the administrative-antiquarian framing of the 1920s, in which colonial officers documented and authenticated pre-colonial heritage sites as part of broader efforts to establish historical continuity for the Malay states under British protection.

References