Hikayat Abdullah is a major literary work by Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir, a Malacca-born Munshi of Singapore, composed in the hikayat genre. It was completed in 1845 and first published in 1849, making it one of the first Malay literary texts to be published commercially. Abdullah's authorship was prominently displayed in this text and the contents were conveyed in simple, contemporary Malay. Unlike typical classical Malay literary works that contain mythical and legendary stories, Abdullah's work dealt with social realism. The book was published in Latin script in 1915 by William Shellabear.
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.
Abdullah bin Abdul al Kadir (1796–1854) also known as Munshi Abdullah, was a Malayan writer. The term Munshi means "teacher" or "educator". He was a famous Malacca-born munshi of Singapore and died in Jeddah, a part of the Ottoman Empire.
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.
