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With the advent of Islam, a new writing script known as jawi came into being. It was a derivation of Arabic-Persian scripts and was used by the Malays with additional letters to include the Malay phonemes. The use of jawi enhanced the development of the Malay language, enabling it to spread extensively throughout the region. The Malay language eventually emerged as the lingua franca of the region. In many royal courts, the Malay language written in jawi became the diplomatic language for dealing with neighbouring states and Western powers. A fairly uniformed jawi script enabled Malay literature to spread throughout the region, which saw literary and religious works in Malay translated into some regional dialects. The art of writing jawi later evolved into an illuminative art which was practiced in feudal courts as a symbol of grandeur and power. Most importantly, jawi was used not only amongst the ruling class, but also the common people. The Islamisation of the region popularised jawi into a dominant script.
Kedatangan Islam membawa bersama satu bentuk penulisan yang dikenali sebagai jawi. Ianya berasal dari aksara Arab-Parsi dan ditambah bebrapa lafi huruf bagi membunyikan fonem Melayu. Penggunaan jawi telah mempertingkatkan lagi perkembangan bahasa Melayu ke seluruh Kepulauan Melayu. Tulisan jawi digunakan di istana-istana, sebagai bahasa diplomatik dengan negara-negara jiran dan kuasa barat. Penggunaan jawi yang meluas menyebabkan kesusasteraan Melayu dan bahan-bahan agama tersebar luas dan diterjemah juga ke alam bahasa dialek. Penulisan jawi menjadi satu seni yang indah dan dijadikan lamabang kekuasaan dan kemakmuran. Paling ketara ialah penggunaan jawi tidak terbatas kepada kaum bangsawan sahaja, tetapi kepada orang-orang biasa juga.
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