The paper examines the dating of writings on Islam originating in the Malay world in the form of either treatise (risālah) or book (kitāb) as there are disagreements on the date of the advent of Islam in the region. The researchers revisit the polemic of the topic of the oldest known Malay manuscript tten in 12th century A.D., is 400 ye a

The paper examines the dating of writings on Islam originating in the Malay world in the form of either treatise (risālah) or book (kitāb) as there are disagreements on the date of the advent of Islam in the region. The researchers revisit the polemic of the topic of the oldest known Malay manuscript between the ‘Aqā’id al-Nasafī by anonymous author dated 1590 A.D and the Baḥr al-Lāhūt of Shaykh ʿAbdullah ʿArif which was said to have been written in 12th century A.D., is 400 ye are some methodological issues that need to be resolved in comparing both treatises.