Kedah Tua Existed Before Prophet Ibrahim

(The True Name of Kedah Tua)

Introduction

What will be written in this article may be something new for some readers. It may also be difficult to accept on first reading, because for so long the name Kedah Tua has been understood as Kedah Lama, Kedah Purba or Old Kedah.

However, when we return to the Qur’an, especially to the terms that Allah Himself uses in the stories of the prophets, we will see that the name Kedah Tua is not merely a local historical name. It is not merely an archaeological term. It is not merely the name of an old kingdom in the north of the Peninsula.

You must be doubtful, right? Previously, I mentioned that Melaka is in the Qur’an. This time, it is Kedah Tua.

In my position, the name Kedah Tua originates from the Qur’anic phrase:

ٱلْوَادِ ٱلْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى
al-wādī al-muqaddasi Ṭuwā
“the valley that is sanctified, Ṭuwā.”

I do not want you to think this claim is made lightly. So, let us examine the term Kedah Tua more deeply together. It cannot be understood merely as Old Kedah. It cannot be narrowed down merely to an archaeological term. It cannot be viewed only through modern spelling. Rather, Kedah Tua must be traced through the network of place names that Allah Himself introduces in the Qur’an.

This matter may be heavy for some people to accept. However, if it is true, the implications are very great. It means that the Qur’an does not only preserve the stories of the prophets in narrative form, but also preserves place names that can be traced back through language, dialect, sound and local oral heritage.

Greater than that, it opens a door showing that the traces of the prophets should not only be searched for through maps inherited from mainstream history. Those traces must be searched for through the names that Allah introduces in the Qur’an.

If we follow the names that Allah Himself uses, then the traces of Prophet Ibrahim a.s., Prophet Luth a.s., Prophet Musa a.s., Prophet Harun a.s., Prophet Daud a.s., Prophet Sulaiman a.s. and Prophet Muhammad SAW can be read again in a closer relationship with Kedah and Tanah Melayu.

I know this is not a small claim. However, it is also not a claim that can be rejected outright simply because it does not align with what has long been taught.

The Qur’an is a preserved book. A name that comes from the Qur’an cannot be treated lightly. If a place name in our history can be reread through a Qur’anic phrase, then our duty is not to reject it hastily, but to examine it honestly, sincerely and with an open mind.

The Qur’anic Phrases That Form the Basis

Before we enter into the name Kedah Tua, we first need to see how the Qur’an introduces places connected to the traces of the prophets. Before reading the verses below, pay attention to several important matters.

The Qur’an does not only mention the names of human beings, but also mentions the names of places.

The Qur’an mentions land that is blessed. At the same time, the Qur’an also mentions the surrounding area that is blessed.

The Qur’an mentions a valley that is sanctified and the Qur’an also mentions a place that is blessed.

The Qur’an mentions the direction of the prophets’ journeys toward regions that Allah Himself marks with the language of barakah and sanctity.

Therefore, when we want to search for the traces of the prophets, we cannot depend only on the maps of mainstream history, especially the records of outsiders. We are the inheritors of this land, so we are the ones who must look at the signs that exist on our own land. Thus, we must return to the terms that Allah Himself uses in the Qur’an.

The following are four main phrases that must be observed:

Arabic Text: ٱلْأَرْضِ ٱلَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا
Transliteration: allatī bāraknā fīhā
Translation: the land that We blessed within it
Source: Surah al-Anbiyā’ 21:71 concerning Prophet Ibrahim a.s. and Prophet Luth a.s.; Surah al-Anbiyā’ 21:81 concerning Prophet Sulaiman a.s.

Arabic Text: ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْأَقْصَى ٱلَّذِي بَارَكْنَا حَوْلَهُ
Transliteration: al-masjidi al-aqṣā alladhī bāraknā ḥawlahu
Translation: al-Masjid al-Aqsa whose surroundings We blessed
Source: Surah al-Isrā’ 17:1 concerning the Isrā’ journey of Prophet Muhammad SAW.

Arabic Text: ٱلْبُقْعَةِ ٱلْمُبَارَكَةِ
Transliteration: al-buq‘ati al-mubārakah
Translation: the blessed place
Source: Surah al-Qaṣaṣ 28:30 concerning Prophet Musa a.s. when he was called from the direction of the tree in the blessed place.

Arabic Text: ٱلْوَادِ ٱلْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى
Transliteration: al-wādi al-muqaddasi Ṭuwā
Translation: the valley that is sanctified, Ṭuwā
Source: Surah Ṭāhā 20:12 concerning Prophet Musa a.s. when Allah called him; Surah an-Nāzi‘āt 79:16 also concerns Allah’s call to Prophet Musa a.s. in the sacred valley of Ṭuwā.

These four forms of phrases cannot be separated, because all of them move within one connected block of meaning, namely:

land, place, valley, region and direction that Allah marks with barakah, sanctity and selection.

First Basis: Prophet Ibrahim a.s. and Prophet Luth a.s. Were Saved to the Blessed Land

The first verse we need to open is Surah al-Anbiyā’ 21:71:

وَنَجَّيْنَـٰهُ وَلُوطًا إِلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ ٱلَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا لِلْعَـٰلَمِينَ

“And We saved him and Luth to the land that We blessed within it for all worlds.”

This verse is very important. Allah does not merely mention that Prophet Ibrahim a.s. and Prophet Luth a.s. were saved. Allah mentions the direction of that rescue, which was toward:

إِلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ

to that land

That land was not ordinary land. Allah describes that land as:

ٱلَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا

which We blessed within it

This shows that the traces of Prophet Ibrahim a.s. and Prophet Luth a.s. must be searched for in the land that Allah marks as possessing barakah. Barakah is not the same as rahmah. Barakah involves physical examination.

The land we are searching for is not merely a land named by human beings. It is not merely a location inherited from later politics. It is also not based solely on historical traditions formed centuries after the prophets.

The Qur’anic basis in this verse is clear:

Ibrahim and Luth moved toward the blessed land.

Thus, when we discuss Kedah Tua as Muqaddasi Ṭuwā, we are actually reopening the possibility that the land of barakah mentioned in the Qur’an has a much wider connection than the usual assumption.

Second Basis: Prophet Musa a.s. Was Called in the Valley That Was Sanctified, Ṭuwā

The second basis consists of two verses. The main verse is Surah Ṭāhā 20:12:

إِنِّيٓ أَنَا۠ رَبُّكَ فَٱخْلَعْ نَعْلَيْكَ ۖ إِنَّكَ بِٱلْوَادِ ٱلْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى

“Indeed, I am your Rabb. So remove your sandals. Indeed, you are in the valley that is sanctified, Ṭuwā.”

The second verse is Surah an-Nāzi‘āt 79:16:

إِذْ نَادَىٰهُ رَبُّهُۥ بِٱلْوَادِ ٱلْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى

“When his Rabb called him in the valley that is sanctified, Ṭuwā.”

The important phrase in both verses is:

ٱلْوَادِ ٱلْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى

al-wādī al-muqaddasi Ṭuwā

The phrase consists of three elements: al-wādī means valley, al-muqaddas means that which is sanctified and Ṭuwā is the specific name or attribute of that valley.

Third Basis: Prophet Harun a.s. Enters Through the Mission Born from Ṭuwā

The event of Ṭuwā did not stop with Prophet Musa a.s. alone. After Allah called Prophet Musa a.s. in that sanctified valley, his prophetic mission expanded into a great task, which was to confront Fir‘aun. At this moment, the name of Prophet Harun a.s. enters the network of that event.

Prophet Harun a.s. is not mentioned as someone who was present in the valley of Ṭuwā together with Prophet Musa a.s. However, the mission of Prophet Harun a.s. was born from the request of Prophet Musa a.s. after the great call at Ṭuwā. In other words, Ṭuwā became the starting point of the mission of Musa and Harun, not merely Musa’s personal experience.

In Surah Ṭāhā, after Prophet Musa a.s. was called in the sanctified valley, he asked Allah:

وَٱجْعَل لِّي وَزِيرًا مِّنْ أَهْلِي ۝ هَـٰرُونَ أَخِي ۝ ٱشْدُدْ بِهِۦٓ أَزْرِي ۝ وَأَشْرِكْهُ فِيٓ أَمْرِي

“And appoint for me a helper from my family, Harun, my brother. Strengthen through him my support. And make him share in my affair.”

Then Allah answered in Surah Ṭāhā 20:36:

قَالَ قَدْ أُوتِيتَ سُؤْلَكَ يَـٰمُوسَىٰ

“He said: You have been granted your request, O Musa.”

This means that the trace of Prophet Harun a.s. also cannot be separated from the mission of Prophet Musa a.s. The call began at al-wādī al-muqaddasi Ṭuwā. Musa’s request to be assisted by Harun was accepted after that.

Fourth Basis: Prophet Daud a.s. and Prophet Sulaiman a.s. Within the Network of the Blessed Land

After the Qur’an mentions the rescue of Prophet Ibrahim a.s. and Prophet Luth a.s. to the blessed land in Surah al-Anbiyā’ 21:71, the same surah then mentions Prophet Daud a.s. and Prophet Sulaiman a.s.

Allah says in Surah al-Anbiyā’ 21:78-79:

وَدَاوُۥدَ وَسُلَيْمَـٰنَ إِذْ يَحْكُمَانِ فِي ٱلْحَرْثِ إِذْ نَفَشَتْ فِيهِ غَنَمُ ٱلْقَوْمِ وَكُنَّا لِحُكْمِهِمْ شَـٰهِدِينَ

فَفَهَّمْنَـٰهَا سُلَيْمَـٰنَ ۚ وَكُلًّا ءَاتَيْنَا حُكْمًا وَعِلْمًا ۚ وَسَخَّرْنَا مَعَ دَاوُۥدَ ٱلْجِبَالَ يُسَبِّحْنَ وَٱلطَّيْرَ ۚ وَكُنَّا فَـٰعِلِينَ

“And Daud and Sulaiman, when they judged concerning the crop when the sheep of a people strayed into it at night, and We were witness to their judgment. So We gave Sulaiman understanding of it. And to each We gave judgment and knowledge. And We subjected the mountains and the birds to glorify with Daud. And We were the Doer.”

Then in Surah al-Anbiyā’ 21:81, Allah mentions Prophet Sulaiman a.s. and the wind:

وَلِسُلَيْمَـٰنَ ٱلرِّيحَ عَاصِفَةً تَجْرِي بِأَمْرِهِۦٓ إِلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ ٱلَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا ۚ وَكُنَّا بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَـٰلِمِينَ

“And to Sulaiman, the fierce wind, moving by his command toward the land that We blessed within it. And We are Knowing of all things.”

This verse is very broad. Allah does not mention that Sulaiman’s wind moved in an ordinary manner, but Allah mentions the direction of its movement:

إِلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ ٱلَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا

toward the land that We blessed within it

This is also a very important verse for reading the relationship between Prophet Sulaiman a.s. and the land of barakah. If Prophet Ibrahim a.s. and Prophet Luth a.s. were saved to the blessed land, then Prophet Sulaiman a.s. was given wind that moved toward the blessed land.

Thus the term al-arḍ allati bāraknā fīhā becomes a phrase with a very significant scope. It becomes a point of connection between Ibrahim, Luth and Sulaiman. It is further clarified in YaSin 36:13 to 31.

Therefore, when we study Kedah Tua as Muqaddasi Ṭuwā, we cannot separate it from this network, because Kedah Tua stands within a major discussion about blessed land, sacred valley, chosen place and the traces of the prophets.

Fifth Basis: Prophet Muhammad SAW and al-Masjid al-Aqsa Whose Surroundings Were Blessed

Then the Qur’an mentions the journey of Prophet Muhammad SAW in Surah al-Isrā’ 17:1:

سُبْحَـٰنَ ٱلَّذِيٓ أَسْرَىٰ بِعَبْدِهِۦ لَيْلًا مِّنَ ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْحَرَامِ إِلَى ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْأَقْصَا ٱلَّذِي بَـٰرَكْنَا حَوْلَهُۥ لِنُرِيَهُۥ مِنْ ءَايَـٰتِنَا ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْبَصِيرُ

“Glory be to the One who took His servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa whose surroundings We blessed, so that We may show him some of Our signs. Indeed, He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.”

Here, the wording is slightly different. For Ibrahim, Luth and Sulaiman, the Qur’an says:

ٱلْأَرْضِ ٱلَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا

the land that We blessed within it

For Prophet Muhammad SAW, the Qur’an says:

ٱلَّذِي بَارَكْنَا حَوْلَهُ

whose surroundings We blessed

Although the difference in wording seems small, the actual meaning is not small. Bāraknā fīhā points to barakah within that land. Bāraknā ḥawlahu points to barakah around that center. Therefore, the masjid, the land, the valley and the blessed region must be read as one network of Qur’anic terms. This means Surah al-Isrā’ cannot be separated from Surah al-Anbiyā’ and Surah Ṭāhā. All these terms bind one another and open meanings for one another.

Summary of the Foundational Phrases

When all these phrases are gathered as above, we can see a very clear network. The Qur’an does not tell the traces of the prophets as something separate from place. Rather, the Qur’an connects the prophets with land, valley, place, masjid and region marked by Allah with the language of barakah and sanctity.

Prophet Ibrahim a.s. and Prophet Luth a.s. are not only mentioned as having been saved. They were saved to the land that Allah blessed within it. This shows that the direction of their movement was not a random direction in an act of rescue. It was toward a land that had been given command and sign by Allah.

Prophet Musa a.s. was not merely called in an unknown place. The Qur’an mentions that he was called in the valley that was sanctified, Ṭuwā. In Surah al-Qaṣaṣ, the place of that call is also described as al-buq‘ah al-mubārakah, meaning the blessed place. Thus the story of Musa carries two matters at once: the blessed place and the sanctified valley.

Prophet Harun a.s. enters through the mission born from the event of Ṭuwā. After Prophet Musa a.s. was called in that sanctified valley, Prophet Musa a.s. asked that Harun be appointed as a helper and partner in the prophetic mission. Thus Ṭuwā was not merely a point in Musa’s personal experience. It became the starting point of the mission of Musa and Harun in confronting Fir‘aun.

Prophet Daud a.s. and Prophet Sulaiman a.s. are also within the same network. In Surah al-Anbiyā’, after the Qur’an mentions the blessed land in the story of Ibrahim and Luth, the same surah mentions Daud and Sulaiman. Then Allah mentions the wind of Sulaiman moving by his command toward the land that Allah blessed within it. This shows that the term blessed land is very important. It is a vast field that connects several prophetic traces.

Then Prophet Muhammad SAW is connected to al-Masjid al-Aqsa whose surroundings Allah blessed. Here, the wording is no longer only bāraknā fīhā, meaning We blessed within it, but bāraknā ḥawlahu, meaning We blessed its surroundings. Thus the Qur’an introduces another form of relationship between a center of worship, its surrounding region and barakah.

From all these verses, we see one major pattern. The Qur’an uses the terms blessed land, blessed place, sanctified valley and masjid whose surroundings are blessed when speaking about the traces of the prophets. This means that the search for the traces of the prophets cannot depend on modern names alone. It must be traced through the language that Allah Himself uses in the Qur’an.

Here we need to return to the name Kedah Tua, because it becomes extremely important. If this name is read only as Old Kedah, then we are only seeing it through modern translation and archaeological terminology. But when it is examined through the network of Qur’anic phrases, especially al-wādī al-muqaddasi Ṭuwā, the name Kedah Tua begins to open to a much deeper reading.

However, before we arrive at the spoken form Kaddaeh Tuwa, we need to understand the two main words that form that phrase.

The first is muqaddas. The second is Ṭuwā. Therefore, in the next section, we will examine the word muqaddas from the perspective of Qur’anic language, root letters and original meaning. This is important because if Kedah truly preserves the sound trace of qaddas / kaddas, then we must first understand what muqaddas means in the language of the Qur’an.

Linguistic Analysis of Muqaddas

Before we arrive at the name Ṭuwā, we must first pause at the word that comes before it, namely ٱلْمُقَدَّسِ.

This is the word that becomes the first key in the phrase:

ٱلْوَادِ ٱلْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى
al-wādi al-muqaddasi Ṭuwā
“the valley that is sanctified, Ṭuwā.”

The word مُقَدَّس comes from the root:

ق د س
qāf, dāl, sīn

This root carries the meaning of qudus, sacredness, purity, cleanliness, freedom from impurity, separation from an ordinary state and being in an honored position.

In the Qur’an, the root ق د س is not used for ordinary cleaning. It appears in two major matters. First, in relation to sanctifying Allah, and second, in relation to a place that Allah Himself describes as sanctified.

The first example is when the angels spoke to Allah in Surah al-Baqarah 2:30. They said:

وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ

Wa naḥnu nusabbiḥu bi-ḥamdika wa nuqaddisu laka

“While we glorify You with praise and sanctify You.”

Here, the root ق د س is used in connection with sanctification for Allah. This shows that this root carries a high meaning, not merely physical cleanliness or freedom from outward dirt.

Then the second example is in Surah al-Mā’idah 5:21. The same root is used for a place:

ٱلْأَرْضَ ٱلْمُقَدَّسَةَ

al-arḍa al-muqaddasah

“the land that is sanctified.”

These two examples are very important to prove that the root ق د س is not used only in the context of tasbih and sanctification for Allah, but also for a land. This shows that in the language of the Qur’an, a place can receive the attribute muqaddas, meaning a place that has been sanctified and given a special standing.

Therefore, when the Qur’an uses the root ق د س for a place, that place cannot be read as an ordinary place. It is not merely old land, not merely a historical area and not merely a ritual place or an archaeological excavation site, nor a land honored by human beings. Rather, it is a place that has been given the status of sanctification by Allah Himself.

Here, the meaning of muqaddas needs to be refined together. The phrase مُقَدَّس does not merely carry the meaning of “sacred” in a general sense. It carries the meaning of something that has been sanctified. In Arabic, this form indicates that the place has received the effect of sanctification. In other words, the place is not sacred because human beings elevate it, but because Allah describes it as a place that has been sanctified.

That is why when the Qur’an mentions:

ٱلْوَادِ ٱلْمُقَدَّسِ

its meaning is not merely a beautiful valley, an old valley or a famous valley. It is a valley that has been sanctified by Allah.

It comes from the verb:

قَدَّسَ
qaddasa

From the perspective of linguistic form, مُقَدَّس carries the meaning of something that has received the effect of sanctification. In other words, it is not merely “sacred” in a general sense, but:

That which has been sanctified.

That which has been made sacred.

That which has been separated from ordinary impurity.

That which has been removed from the status of an ordinary place.

That which has been honored through a particular selection.

Therefore, when the Qur’an mentions:

ٱلْوَادِ ٱلْمُقَدَّسِ

it means:

Not merely a beautiful valley.

Not merely an old valley.

Not merely a famous valley.

Not merely a valley where a historical event once occurred.

Rather, it is a valley that has been sanctified by Allah.

This makes the phrase al-wādi al-muqaddas extremely striking in meaning. That is why I state that the word muqaddas cannot be translated in an ordinary way. It is not merely “qudus” or “holy” in a general sense. It carries the meaning of a place that has been chosen, separated, sanctified and honored.

Now observe carefully the reading of Kedah Tua as we have discussed above.

If the name Kedah still preserves the phonetic trace of qaddas / kaddas in the tongue of the northern people of the Malay Peninsula, then it is not a place name severed from the root of meaning mentioned earlier. It is not merely the name of a state. It is not merely the name of an old kingdom.

It carries the memory of the meaning:

a place that is sanctified.

From Muqaddas to Qaddas, Kaddas and Kaddaeh

The full word that we are examining is:

muqaddas

In the study of loanwords, a foreign phrase that enters a local language usually does not remain one hundred percent in its original form. Arabic words that enter Malay have been proven capable of undergoing phonetic, morphological, spelling and semantic adaptation according to the Malay language system.

Thus, in examining the phrase muqaddas, we cannot stop at its original Arabic form alone. We must see how the sound of that phrase can adapt when it enters the local tongue.

In the case of muqaddas, the element mu- is not a Malay prefix, but part of the Arabic form. However, when this phrase goes through oral transmission and local absorption, the most prominent sound component is:

qaddas

In the Malay tongue, the Arabic sound qāf is often brought closer to the sound k, because the Malay sound system does not always distinguish Arabic qāf from kāf too strictly. Thus qaddas can become:

kaddas

This is where the northern dialect becomes very important.

In the tongue of the northern people, the sound s at the end of a word often changes into h, eh or aih.

Real examples in northern speech:

pedas → pedaeh
kelas → kelaeh
perkakas → perkaeh
bekas → bekaeh

With the same pattern:

qaddas → qaddaeh
kaddas → kaddaeh

Thus the phonetic path becomes:

muqaddas → qaddas → kaddas → kaddaeh

From here, the forms Qaddah, Kaddah or Kedah are no longer too distant. They can be read as modern spellings of an older pronunciation:

Qaddaeh
Kaddaeh
Kedah

Kedah is not a name severed from its sound root. It can be read as the continuation of the pronunciation qaddas / kaddas moving within the tongue of the northern people.

With this reading, we realize that Kedah preserves a phonetic trace of qaddas / kaddas, which is the sound core of muqaddas.

The External Names of Kedah Do Not Invalidate the Kaddaeh Tuwa Reading

Historical sources do record Kedah Tua under various names such as Kadaram, Kataha, Kalah, Qilah, Kalah-Bar and several other forms from Indian, Arab and Chinese sources.

These names are important because they show that Kedah was not a small place known only locally. Kedah had long been known, mentioned and recorded by various foreign peoples in different forms of names.

However, in this article, I will not repeat all the discussions about those names at length. I have arranged a specific discussion on the origin of the name Kedah according to local understanding and mainstream history in another article.

Anyone who wants to see a comparison of other names for Kedah may click the following article link:

The Origin of the Name of the State of Kedah According to Local Understanding and Mainstream History

The article in that link takes a different focus. The focus of this article is not to list all the external names for Kedah. The focus of this article is to examine the name Kedah Tua through the Qur’anic phrase:

ٱلْوَادِ ٱلْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى
al-wādī al-muqaddasi Ṭuwā

Therefore, names such as Kadaram, Kataha, Kalah and Qilah must be seen as comparative material, not as the closing of the discussion.

External records do not necessarily capture the original local pronunciation accurately. Indians, Arabs and Chinese wrote place names based on what they heard, what suited their tongues and what could be entered into their writing systems.

Thus, when they wrote Kadaram, Kataha, Kalah or Qilah, it does not necessarily mean that the local community pronounced the name in the same form.

An external name is not always the same as the original name. External records also do not always preserve local sound accurately. External spelling also does not necessarily preserve the original meaning.

However, external names help us see that Kedah was known in many forms. Those names do not invalidate the possibility that, in the tongue of the local people, the name once lived as Kaddaeh Tuwa, before it was later standardized in modern spelling as Kedah Tua.

From here, we move to the next section, which is the second word in the phrase Muqaddasi Ṭuwā:

Ṭuwā.

Linguistic Analysis of Ṭuwā

Now we enter the second word, namely:

طُوًى
Ṭuwā

This word is very rarely used. It is also not an ordinary word. It appears in two verses related to the story of Prophet Musa a.s.

Surah Ṭāhā 20:12:

إِنِّيٓ أَنَا۠ رَبُّكَ فَٱخْلَعْ نَعْلَيْكَ ۖ إِنَّكَ بِٱلْوَادِ ٱلْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى

“Indeed, I am your Rabb. So remove your sandals. Indeed, you are in the valley that is sanctified, Ṭuwā.”

Surah an-Nāzi‘āt 79:16:

إِذْ نَادَىٰهُ رَبُّهُۥ بِٱلْوَادِ ٱلْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى

“When his Rabb called him in the valley that is sanctified, Ṭuwā.”

In both these verses, Ṭuwā comes after the phrase:

ٱلْوَادِ ٱلْمُقَدَّسِ
al-wādī al-muqaddas
“the valley that is sanctified.”

This is very important because Allah does not merely mention a valley. Allah also does not merely mention a valley that is sanctified. Rather, Allah adds a very specific name or attribute:

طُوًى
Ṭuwā

Thus, Ṭuwā is not an ordinary addition and it is not a sound without meaning in that verse. It is not a name without significant meaning. Rather, it is the second key after muqaddas.

From the perspective of sound, the word Ṭuwā is also very close to being examined in the Malay tongue. The Arabic letter ط is the sound ṭā’, a thick t sound. When this sound enters the Malay tongue, it usually becomes an ordinary t, because the Malay tongue does not preserve the thickness of ṭā’ as in Arabic pronunciation.

Then the sound wā in Ṭuwā can remain as wa, or merge in Malay spelling and pronunciation into ua.

Thus, from a phonetic perspective, this path is very reasonable:

Ṭuwā → Tuwa → Tua

However, at this point we are not yet discussing the meaning of Tua as old. That comes later. At this stage, what matters is to show that Tua in Kedah Tua can be examined as a Malay spelling form of Tuwa, while Tuwa still preserves the sound structure of Ṭuwā.

If muqaddas gives the meaning that the place has been sanctified, then Ṭuwā opens a deeper layer of meaning. It brings a discussion about the name of a valley, repetition, multiplication and folding.

This is what makes the phrase:

ٱلْوَادِ ٱلْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى
al-wādī al-muqaddasi Ṭuwā

extraordinary in meaning.

After understanding that muqaddas means a place that has been sanctified, we must then examine what Ṭuwā means according to language and the explanations of the mufassirun. From there, we will see that Ṭuwā is not merely a place name, but a phrase that carries the meaning of repetition, multiplication and layering.

Ṭuwā Means Repeatedly, Twice, Multiplied and Folded

In linguistic and tafsir explanations, Ṭuwā is not only mentioned as the name of a valley. It is also explained with the meanings:

twice
repeatedly
multiplied
folded twice
layered sanctity

It has support in the words of the mufassirun.

In Tafsir al-Jalalayn, Ṭuwā is mentioned as the name of a valley. In Tafsir al-Wasīṭ, al-wādī is explained as a low place between two high areas, al-muqaddas means the sanctified and Ṭuwā is mentioned as the name of a valley. Tafsir Ibn Kathir also states that Ṭuwā is the name of a valley according to the sound opinion. (Surah Quran)

More importantly, Tafsir al-Ṭabarī mentions several opinions about Ṭuwā. Among the opinions narrated from Mujāhid is that Ṭuwā is the name of a valley. Ibn Zayd also mentioned that the name of that sanctified place is Ṭuwā. Qatādah mentioned that the valley was sanctified twice and its name is Ṭuwā. Al-Ṭabarī also mentioned the opinion that the meaning of Ṭuwā is twice. Even from al-Ḥasan, it is mentioned that blessing and sanctification spread upon it twice. (Surah Quran)

Al-Qurṭubī also mentions the reading Ṭiwā with kasrah on the letter ṭā’, narrated from al-Ḥasan and ‘Ikrimah. He explains its meaning as al-muqaddas marrah ba‘da marrah, meaning sanctified once after another. He also connects it to the meaning of something repeated. (Surah Quran)

Thus it is clear that Ṭuwā cannot be read as merely an ordinary name. It has several layers of meaning:

First, Ṭuwā is the name of a valley.

Second, Ṭuwā is connected to a place that is sanctified.

Third, Ṭuwā carries the meaning of twice or repeated.

Fourth, Ṭuwā carries the meaning of multiplied blessing and sanctification.

This is at the same time very consistent with its root:

ط و ي
ṭā’, wāw, yā’

The root ط و ي carries the meanings:

To fold.
To roll up.
To gather.
To close something that is open.
To store something within a fold.
To multiply something through folding.

The same root appears in Surah al-Anbiyā’ 21:104:

يَوْمَ نَطْوِي ٱلسَّمَآءَ كَطَيِّ ٱلسِّجِلِّ لِلْكُتُبِ

“On the day We fold the sky like the folding of a scroll for books.”

The word نَطْوِي in this verse means “We fold.”

Therefore, the root ط و ي does not merely carry the meaning of a place name. It carries a great image of something folded, rolled, stored, multiplied and returned in a layered form.

Here, the meaning of Ṭuwā becomes truly remarkable. It is not only seen as the name of a valley. It is the name of a valley that is sanctified. It is the name of a valley that is blessed. It is the name of a valley whose sanctity is described by the mufassirun as repeated, twice or multiplied. It is a name that carries folding, repetition and layering.

From here, we can conclude that Ṭuwā can be understood through several layers of meaning:

First, Ṭuwā is the name of a valley.

Second, Ṭuwā carries the meaning of folding.

Third, Ṭuwā carries the meaning of repetition or twice.

Fourth, Ṭuwā carries the meaning of sanctity that is multiplied or repeatedly blessed.

This is very important for understanding the relationship with the name Kedah Tua. If Tua in Kedah Tua is actually Tuwa, then it does not mean old. It does not mean ancient and it does not mean old in terms of age.

Therefore, after this, I believe you have agreed that Kedah Tua should not be read as merely Kedah that is old. It must be read again as:

Kaddaeh Tuwa
Muqaddasi Ṭuwā

With this reading, Tuwa is not merely a sound in the local dialect. It carries a very deep Qur’anic framework of meaning as valley, sanctity, repetition, multiplication and the folding of history.

Conclusion

After all these phrases, root letters and sound journeys have been examined, we arrive at one major conclusion. The name Kedah Tua should not continue to be read simply as Old Kedah. That reading is too ordinary, too modern and confined within the terminology of today’s language.

In this article, you yourself have seen that the Qur’an does not only mention the stories of the prophets. The Qur’an also mentions places, land, valleys, masjids and regions that Allah marks with the language of barakah, sanctity and selection.

Prophet Ibrahim a.s. and Prophet Luth a.s. are connected to the blessed land. Prophet Musa a.s. is connected to the sanctified valley, Ṭuwā. Prophet Harun a.s. enters through the mission born from the event of Ṭuwā. Prophet Daud a.s. and Prophet Sulaiman a.s. are within the network of the blessed land. Prophet Muhammad SAW is connected to al-Masjid al-Aqsa whose surroundings Allah blessed.

Thus, when the name Kedah Tua is examined through this network of Qur’anic phrases, it no longer appears as an ordinary historical name. It begins to open as a noble name that preserves the trace of the Qur’anic phrase ٱلْوَادِ ٱلْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى (al-wādī al-muqaddasi Ṭuwā) in the state of Kedah, Malaysia, through the pronunciation Kaddaeh Tuwa, which returns to Muqaddasi Ṭuwā.

To the best of my knowledge and search, I have not yet found anyone who has opened the name Kedah Tua through the reading framework of Muqaddasi Ṭuwā in this way. What is widely discussed is Kedah Tua as an ancient kingdom, an ancient port, a trading center, Lembah Bujang, Kadaram, Kataha, Kalah and other external names.

However, this time we come through a different door. We enter through the Qur’an, the preserved book of guidance, which not only brings law and reminder, but also preserves names, places, directions of journey and the traces of the prophets. We bring history, we examine language, we integrate external names such as Kadaram, Kataha or Kalah into Kedah Tua. If Muqaddasi Ṭuwā is a name uttered by Allah in the Qur’an, then He is the One who preserves that phrase until the end of time.

Now that name has opened. If you accept this reading, then the implications are very great. Since Prophet Ibrahim a.s. was directed toward this land, then this land already existed before Prophet Ibrahim a.s. This is what is called an Anbiya-centric study in Nusantara, from Ibrahim and Luth to Musa and Harun, from Daud and Sulaiman to Prophet Muhammad SAW, then further upward to Nuh and Adam.

Be proud, O people of Kedah. Be proud, O people of Tanah Melayu. Be proud, O people of Nusantara, because in this land lies a long trace, and in this land too, by Allah’s permission, the Khilafah upon the manhaj of nubuwwah will rise again.

If you are not yet Muslim, then return to Allah. Read the Qur’an with an honest and sincere heart, because it will guide us. Know the Lord who created us, the prophets whom He sent and the final guidance brought by Prophet Muhammad SAW. Do not return to race. Do not return to land alone. Rather, return to Allah, because He is the Lord of all humanity.