In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Saiful Rijal Nurul Alam is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Shah Berunai. The word "bin" or "binti"/"binte" means 'son of' or 'daughter of', respectively.
Shah Brunei ibni Saiful Rijal[1] (died c. 1582) was the Sultan of Brunei from 1581 to 1582.
Pengiran Muda Besar Shah Berunai ascended the throne in 1581 on the death of his father Sultan Saiful Rijal.[2] The Flemish trader of precious stones named Jacques de Coutre described him as "more a pirate than a king" and most of his followers as "Borneo Bajaus."[3] He died in 1582 without any male descendants and was succeeded by his younger brother Pengiran Muda Tengah Muhammad Hassan.[4] He was noted to be buried in Kianggeh.[5]
Uncertainties
The Boxer Codex indicates that in 1589, the heir apparent was Saiful Rijal's eldest son, Raja Borney. According to Hugh Low, Shah Brunei died without leaving any children, although he notes in a footnote that some accounts claim the sultan abdicated in favour of his brother. The Silsilah states that Shah Brunei was succeeded by his brother, Muhammad Hasan. However, the circumstances surrounding Shah Brunei's succession are more complicated. On 26 December 1600, Olivier van Noort arrived in Brunei Bay and was informed by local officials that the king was under the guardianship of his uncle, who served as regent. This suggests the existence of an infant son of Shah Brunei, possibly Raja Ghafur, who was mentioned by Manuel Godinho de Erédia as the ruler of Brunei in 1600, although he does not appear in any version of the Silsilah. If Muhammad Hasan acted as regent for his nephew, he could not have been the ninth sultan. Consequently, the absence of any mention of the infant in either version of the Silsilah suggests that he likely died shortly afterward, enabling Muhammad Hasan to ascend to the throne sometime in 1601.[6]
