Tuhfat al-Nafis

Tuhfat al-Nafis (Arabic: تحفة النفيس; English: The Precious Gift) is a work of Malay literature written by the Bugis[1] Raja Ali Haji in Jawi in around 1866–1870.

A manuscript copied in 1890 and published in 1923 is in the Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, London.

[2] Tuhfat al-Nafis begins with a summary taken from the Sulalatus Salatin (Malay Annals), and then tell a more detailed history of the Johor-Riau Sultanate.

Tuhfat was a dynamic figure in the Bugis principality, who with military and diplomatic dexterity managed to gain an important position in the Riau states, Selangor, Sambas and Matan-Sukadana.

A recurrent theme in the first half of Tuhfat al-Nafis is conflict between the Minangkabau people of Riau as well as Bugis and Malay alliance forces.