Manuscript > Bustān al-salāṭīn

Detail Information

Title: Bustān al-salāṭīn
Full Title: Bustān al-salāṭīn
Author: Nūr al-Dīn al-Rānīrī
Place, Date of Birth: Ranir, Gujarat, India, none
Place, Date of Dead: Ranir, Gujarat, India, 1658
Place of Activity: Aceh
Language: Malay
Script: Jawi
Subject Matter: Traditional Historiography
Genre: Prose
Date of Autograph (century): 17
Found in : Winstedt 1920: 151-2; Lombard 2007: 41-2; Hermansyah 2011: 227
Notes: Bustan al-Salatin, the garden of kings, was written in Acheh by Nur al-Din al-Raniri as the order of Sultan Iskandar Thani during the period 1638-1641. This work looks similar with Taj al-Salatin not only in its title but also in the contents. Chapter I of the work describes the creation of the heavens and the earth. It also contains the creation of Nur Muhammad (Prophetic Light of Muhammad), Lawh Mahfuz (the Preserved Tablet), Qalam al-‘Ala (the Lofty Reed-Pen), Arash (Throne), Kursi (the Footstool of God), angels, jinn and iblis, and Sidrat al-Muntaha (the Lote Tree of the Uttermost End). Chapter II discusses the deeds of prophets from Adam until the Prophet Muhammad. It also contains the story of kings of Ancient Persia, Byzantium, Egypt and Arabia. Chapter III deals with the principles of both leadership and just kings. Chapter IV tells the story of pious kings and Muslim saints, then continued with the description of the tyrants in Chapter V and heroes in Chapter VI. Chapter VII describes the status of the intellect as the source of all knowledge. As for Chapter VII, the writer identifies it as Bustan al-Arifin, the garden of the wise.