Jawi Scripts

Assalammualaikum.

For this entry, I would like to share about Malay writing which is Jawi alphabet. Jawi ( جاوي‎) is an Arabic alphabet for writing in Malay language. Jawi is written from right to left with 36 alphabets.

Jawi alphabets

Eventually, Jawi has been used for religious and cultural purposes by Malay people. At the early stage of Islamisation, the Arabic script was taught to the people who had embraced Islam in the form of religious practices, such as recitation of Quran. The Arabic script was accepted by Malay people with the acceptance of Islam. Furthermore, the used of Jawi script was the main factor to introduce Malay as the lingua franca of the region, with the spread of Islam. In addition, Jawi was used not only amongst the ruling class, but also the common people. The Islamisation and Malayisation of the region popularized jawi into a dominant script.

Manuscript of Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa was in Jawi

Today, Jawi is used for religious and Malay cultural administration in Terengganu, Kelantan, Kedah and Johor. Jawi scripts are also seen at the rear of Malaysian ringgit banknotes. The usage of Jawi now has been replaced by a Latin alphabet called Rumi. Various efforts were made to revive the Jawi script in Malaysia and Brunai as it is important in Malay and Islamic spheres.

McDonald in Kelantan

We should not discard or abandon the jawi script even though Malays are generally using the romanised script. This is because the jawi script belongs to us and is part of our heritage— Pendeta Za’ba in the foreword of the book Panduan Membaca dan Menulis Jawi (1957)

reference: Jawi alphabets , Jawi