ABSTRACT
The exact time Islam first arrived in Pattani remains unknown, but it may well have been as early as the tenth century.1 According to historical records from Kelantan, a preacher from Pattani came and started spreading Islam in 1150 ce. This suggests that Islam had reached Pattani well before the fifteenth century as information regarding its early presence becomes more certain.2 Such studies claim that Islam had entered Pattani far earlier than it did in Malacca, and Pattani had been the Southeast Asian centre of Islam for many centuries.3 However, Scupin opines that “although some early scholars have posited that Islam came to Pattani, the principal Muslim center of south Thailand, at an earlier date than its entry into Malacca, no firm evidence has been established to corroborate this conclusion”.4 There are also some records suggesting that the king converted to Islam in 1457 ce,5 300 years after Islam was likely introduced to the area.6 Nonetheless, this study shows the importance of offering studies of Islam in general and tafsīr in particular in Thai academies and colleges.
