Abdullah Abdul Kadir
Abdullah bin Abdul al Kadir (1796–1854) (Arabic: عبد الله بن عبد القادر 'Abd Allāh bin 'Abd al-Qādir) also known as Munshi Abdullah, was a Malayan writer. He was a famous Malacca-born munshi of Singapore and died in Jeddah, a part of the Ottoman Empire.
Abdullah Abdul Kadir | |
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A page of the Hikayat Abdullah written in Malay in the Jawi script, from the collection of the National Library of Singapore. A rare first edition, it was written between 1840 and 1843, printed by lithography, and published in 1849. | |
| Born | Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir 1796 Malacca |
| Died | 1854 (aged 57–58) Jeddah, Ottoman Empire |
| Occupation | Author, translator and teacher |
| Period | 19th century |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Subject | Early Malay history |
Munshi Abdullah has been popularly regarded as among the most cultured Malays who ever wrote, one of the greatest innovators in Malay letters and the father of modern Malay literature.
The term Munshi means "teacher" or "educator". Munshi Abdullah was a great-grandson of a Hadhrami Arab trader, and also had Indian Tamil and to a smaller extent, Malay ancestry. Owing to his ethnic and religious background, the Malays would refer to him as a Jawi Peranakan or Jawi Pekan.
Munshi Abdullah followed his father's career path as a translator and teacher of colonial officials in the Malay Archipelago, mainly the British and the Dutch.
J.T. Thomson, a contemporary of Abdullah, described him thus: "In physiognomy he was a Tamilian of southern Hindustan: slightly bent forward, spare, energetic, bronze in complexion, oval-faced, high-nosed, one eye squinting outwards a little. He dressed in the usual style of Malacca Tamils. Acheen seluar, check sarong, printed baju, square skull cap and sandals. He had the vigour and pride of the Arab, the perseverance and subtlety of the Hindoo - in language and national sympathy only was he a Malay."