Page:Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje - The Achehnese - tr. Arthur Warren Swete O'Sullivan (1906).djvu/226

 of the Sultans. They are those of the rulers to whom the former prosperity of Acheh and her adat-institutions are generally ascribed.

The others vary according to the taste of each of the sultans, who decide for themselves the contents of their seals.

To the right of the nine-fold chab is to be seen the small oblong private seal of the sultan. This is regarded as more or less establishing the legality of the large seal, and bears the words as-Sultan Muhamat Dawōt Shah.

In the left hand top corner of the document is written al-mustaḥiqq (pron. in Ach al-mòseutahaʾ) the "rightful possessor" by which expression Tuanku Muhamat Dawōt makes known his claims to the throne of Acheh.

Less weighty documents which are not considered worthy of the ninefold seal exhibit in its place a single seal of the sultan, an engraving of which has also been given. Round its border run the words "Allah" and "His word is the truth and to him belongeth dominion". In the centre appears "This is His Majesty Sultan Alaédin Muhamat Dawōt Shah Juhan, the Blessed, Allah's shadow in the world".

This seal is also ratified by the addition of the small oblong one. It is used for example in the letters of recommendation given by the Sultan to his messengers, to foreign traders etc.

The letters patent given to the Panglima Meusigit Raya are composed in a mixture of Malay and bad Arabic, of which the following is a translation:

"In the year of the Hijrah of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace!) one thousand three hundred and seven, on the 4th day of the month Rabiʿ al-Awwal, being Monday, with the help of Allah the omniscient King, and with the blessing of the Prophet, the Lord of Men, and of his four companions, which be Abu Bahr, Omar, Uthmān and Ali (may they be pleasing unto Allah!) and with the blessing of the glorious Pole of the world and the brilliant frame work of the skies, the immutable knower, the true Beloved the lord Shaik Abdul-Qādir Jīlānī , and with the blessing of all the devout Walis