[1] Under the troubled reign of Jamal ul-Alam Badr ul-Munir (1703-1726) he served as an official with the title Maharaja Lela.
According to one version he performed the hajj to Mecca but returned to Aceh in order to help his badly cornered master.
[2] When the three sagis (regions) of Aceh rebelled against Jamal ul-Alam in the fall of 1726, Maharaja Lela was ordered to hold the fortress of the capital until matters had been settled.
Meanwhile Maharaja Lela loyally held the fortress against the other parties and vainly asked Jamal ul-Alam, who had withdrawn to Pidië, for assistance.
"[5] The Dutch also worried about the support that the king of Aceh gave to a Minangkabau prince who tried to build a power base around the important port town Barus in 1734.
Opium and cotton was sold to Aceh in exchange for Southeast Asian produce which was then brought to China.