Muhammad Jiwa Zainal Adilin II of Kedah

Paduka Sri Sultan Muhammad Jiwa Zainal Adilin Mu'adzam Shah II ibni al-Marhum Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Halim Shah I (Jawi: ڤدوك سري سلطان محمد جيوا زين العابدين معظم شاه ٢ ابن المرحوم سلطان أحمد تاج الدين حليم شاه ١; 1699 – 23 September 1778; also spelt Sultan Muhammad Jiwa Zain al-‘Adilan Mu’azzam Shah) was the 19th Sultan of Kedah and reigned from 1710 to 1778. He is widely known as the founder of Alor Setar with many current landmarks in the city being attributed to him.

He went on pilgrimage to Jambi and Palembang, where he met the Arab religious teacher Shaikh Abdul Jalil, then journeyed with him to Java and India. He returned to the mainland from his exile in Langkawi and formally was installed at the Istana Bukit Pinang in May 1710.

Sultan Muhammad Jiwa founded Alor Setar in 1735, which was Kedah’s eighth administrative centre since the establishment of the Kedah Sultanate. The earlier administrative centres were located in Kota Bukit Meriam, Kota Sungai Emas, Kota Siputeh, Kota Naga, Kota Sena, Kota Indera Kayangan and Kota Bukit Pinang.

After founding the city, Sultan Muhammad Jiwa went on to build his palace, the Istana Kota Setar. The original building was a wooden structure which had been demolished several times due to attacks by the Bugis (1770) and the Siamese (1821). The current concrete building was completed during the reign of Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Mukarram Shah in the mid-19th century.

This palace is also renowned as the Istana Pelamin Palace when the building was expanded to add a pavilion and several rooms when Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim wanted to marry off his five children. After 1941, this palace was used as a school and an office for several organizations including the office for the Kedah chapter of St John Ambulance and the Scout movements. On 25 July 1983, this palace was declared the Kedah Royal Museum.

Another structure attributed to Sultan Muhammad Jiwa was the Balai Besar (Grand Audience Hall). Initially the function of the building was as the Balai Rong Seri or Balai Penghadapan (audience hall), that was situated at the back area of the Istana Kota Setar complex. The pillars, roofs and floors were made of wood and still stands to this day.

The Balai Nobat was also built by Sultan Muhammad Jiwa upon founding of Alor Setar. The 18 metre-tall and 5 metre-wide three-tiered octagonal tower's purpose was to keep all the royal musical instruments including the serunai (wooden flute), nafiri, gendang (drum) and gong (also known as a nobat).

Kedah achieved its greatest extent during his reign, its borders stretched from Terang in the north to Krian in the south.