Arabic manuscripts from Buton, Southeast Sulawesi, and the literary activities of Sultan Muhammad ‘Aydarūs (1824-1851)

Abstract

This article examines the Arabic manuscripts of Buton Island, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia, focussing on the Abdul Mulku Zahari collection. In particular, it studies manuscripts of texts composed by the ruler of Buton, Sultan Muḥammad ʿAydarūs (r. 1824–1851) who wrote a large number of Sufi works in both Arabic and Wolio, the literary language of the Butonese court. The manuscripts attest not only the religious and intellectual culture of the court, but also Buton’s connections with the wider Islamic world including the Hijaz and its reformist Sufi movements. The article also situates Muḥammad ʿAydarūs’s Arabic works in the broader context of Butonese history and textual production.