Mystic Trends of Hadrami Sayyids on the Sufism of Malabar
Dr. Hussain. Randathani
The migration of Hadrami sayyids to Malabar region of Kerala produced tremendous changes in the life and culture of Muslims of Kerala as happened elsewhere on the Indian Ocean coasts. Their migration was mainly towards the Malabar region, the western coast of India, where the rulers have been very cordial towards the immigrants from the Middle East. The Zamorins, rulers of Calicut and later the Vellatiris, the rulers of Valluvanad, and the Kolathiris of the Northern Malabar accorded all facilities to the migrants particularly those from Arab lands in order to develop foreign trade in their respective principalities. The policy of equity and justice, characteristic of the Zamorins ‘rule and the complete security of person and property that the Zamorins vouchsafed to all those who frequented their dominions had attracted many trading communities to Calicut among whom the Arabs predominated . As told by Barabosa “the king gave each one (Moorish merchant) a Nair to guard and serve him, a Chetty scribe for his accountant and to take care of his property and a broker for his trade.”[1] The friendship developed between the Zamorins and the Arabs became so close that in the ninth century a Zmorins is said to have embraced Islam and presented a rob of honour (khil’a) to Ka’ba.[2]
Many Hadrami traders and preachers had settled themselves at Calicut. When Sufism developed into orders (tariqa) many sufis from Arab lands migrated here and maintained their hospices. Ibn Battuta says that, a monastery was maintained in Calicut to reside for the spiritual leaders and Arab Muslims. Here offerings were made in the name of Shaikh Abu Ishaq Gazeruni (d.1034). Shaikh Shihabuddin Gazeruni was the head of the monastery.[3]
It was the tolerance and respect shown by the Zamorin towards the Muslims that attracted Shaikh Sayyid Jifri, a prominent Ba Alawi sufi of Hadhramaut to come and settle at Calicut in 1746 A.D. He was received by Manavikraman, the Zamorin along with Muhyaddin b. Abdussalam, the qazi of Calicut. The king requested the shaikh to settle at Calicut and granted him a coconut groove on the banks of the Kallai river and a land and a house near the pond at Kuttichira. He was exempted from all the taxes.[4] Following Shaikh Jifri his brother Hasan Jifri reached Calicut in 1754 AD. He later settled at Tirurangadi. More members from the Jifri and other Hadrami sayyid families migrated to Malabar and settled at various parts. Quilandy became a centre of sayyid families from Hadhramaut. Other centres of Ba Alawi migration were Koilandy, Pantalayani, Kadalundi, Ponnani, Malappuram, Parappanangadi, Thirurangadi, Chaliyam, Kuttayi, Chavakkad, Kannur, Valapatanam, Kappad and Cochin. In all the places the sayyids started sufi centres and served the common people by providing spiritual relief.
The sufis or tangals, as the sayyids are called in Kerala, practiced spiritual treatment called white magic(al ruqya or simiya) which is a branch of spiritualism (ilm al Ruhani) to cure physical and mental diseases. It is a kind of secret knowledge transmitted through the family members. One has to get a consent or ijaza from the elders or the guide (murshid) to practice white magic. The practitioners should adhere to the rules of religion and should abstain from vices. The common people visited these sufis to save themselves from mental agonies and worries or physical problems. The sufis gave them some divine threads after chanting some Quranic verses or names of God and blowing on them, a practice which was observed by most of the Hadrami sayyids. Water also was provided after chanting some verses over it and asking the patients to drink them with utmost reverence. Some times Quranic verses were written on porcelain plates or on some leaves, often on the leaf of Jack fruit tree, with some black ink often called as Arabic ink and the patient was asked to wash the writings with water and drink. Some sufis chant some verses on the head of the patients to get rid of evils. Sometimes some mysterious verses were written on paper of zink plates(takidu) and put it in aluminum or copper cases (amulets) and the patients were asked to tie them around their neck or on the wrist. Different types of squares are drawn in papers or in metal plates, some Arabic alphabets are written in the squires and they are kept in some particular places to drive away the devil or to fulfill desires. The numerical system based on Arabic letters(abjad) is followed for calculations in white magic.[5] The sufis followed astrology and other classical methods to cure the diseases or knowing the fate of the future. Different calculations called pal kanakku or Qurrat al Anbiya or mashi nottam are used different purposes.[6]
The Hadramis believe that their divine power is a gift from prophet Muhammad which was transferred from the sheikh to his disciples and it will continue till the end of world. They started hospices (ribat or taqiyya)or mosques in the name of famous sufis like Shaikh Muhyaddin, Shaikh Rifai, Nafeesaal Misri and Abul Hasan Al Shadili of Egypt to spread the message their sufi doctrines in the length and breadth of the region. They prescribed the Muslims to recite the poetical compendium called maulids (panegyrics )[7] or praisings of sufis written in local dialect called malas[8] in the houses to keep away the evils and for prosperity. The Ratib[9] of Haddad[10] was specially prescribed by the Alawi sufis.
Veneration of the tombs[11] is deep rooted among the Ba Alawi sayyids. They erected tombs over their sufi masters and learned ones and venerated them. Muslims in general visited the tombs and offerings are made to the tombs inorder to invoke the dead to fulfill their needs. Vows for visiting the shrines or promising offerings to them for fulfilling desires are the common tradition among the Mappila Muslims. A living or dead sufi played an important role in the social and cultural life of the common people that the sufi shrines or mausoleums became a centre of hope and refuge. For sufficient rain, to get rid of the locusts, to get a fine harvest, to get profits in the business, the people despite their religious differences gave offerings in the name of the sufi saint and made prayers at his dargah (shrine). It is believed that the saints while alive were endowed with barakah, a beneficent supernatural potential or virtue and this force emanates from their tombs, so that a visit to a shrine can benefit the supplicant.[12] In Malabar tombs have been erected over all the important Ba Alawi Sayyids. The tombs of Shaikh Jifri at Calicut and that of Sayyid Alawi at Mamburam[13] are still famous. The tombs are decorated with lamps and green silk clothes and Muslims even believed that covering the tomb with a new cloth is a sacred deed. Sometimes some oil is kept in a bronze lamp as sacred and the lamp is lit throughout the day and night. People take oil from the lamp and smear it on their head and moustache as a mark of respect. At Mambram tomb the custodian keep a flag with him and it is waved over the head of the visitors as a mark of healing their mental and physical problems. The people who visit the tomb will make their prayers and they kiss the velvet cover of the tomb as a part of baraka. The non Muslims of the area also visit the tomb and give offerings to fulfill their needs.
The sufis and their tombs played a very significant role in the religious in the social reforms and religious amity in Malabar. They fought against the caste system through the propagation of the Islamic ideals among the people, particularly among the lower class. The sixteenth century Portuguese writer, Gaspar Correa reports that,”by becoming Moors they (the lower class) could go wherever they liked and eat as they pleased. When they became Moors, the Moors gave them clothes and robes with which to cloth themselves.”[14] When the lower castes realised that conversion to Islam accorded them higher status in the society and they would surpass many vexations and discriminations, they accepted Islam in large scale. C.A. Innes has pointed out that a “number of recruits come from time to time from the ranks of Tiyyans and from the Cherumans and the serf caste to whom the “honour of Islam,” bring franchisement from all the disabilities of an out caste.”[15]
The Ba Alawi ascendancy over other sufi orders in Malabar was brought with the arrival of Shaikh Jifri of Hadhramaut at Calicut in 1748. It was Shaikh Jifri who introduced the Ba ‘Alawi tariqa in the region. About the same time Sayyid Abdul Rahman ‘Aidarus (d.1164/1751) also migrated to Malabar and settled at Ponnani. He also maintained the Ba Alawi tariqa with a slight difference that his way was very close to Kubrawiyya order, an off shoot of the Qadiri tariqa. Both Jifri and Aidarus held influence over the common people, particularly the fisherman folk of the coast. These people found the sayyids as saviors when they were neglected by the upper castes and this led to the conversion of a large number of fishermen community to Islam. The Valiya Tangals, as the successors of ‘Abdurahman Aidarus were known, continued as the spiritual leaders while the line of Shaikh Jifri was continued by his nephew Sayyid ‘Alawi (d.1260/1844) who established his centre at Mambram near Tirurangadi. The popularity of Sayyid ‘Alawi became increased so much so that he came to be regarded as the Qutb-al Zaman (the Pivot of the Age) by his contemporaries . The famous ‘ulama and sufis of the time became his spiritual disciples. He gave leadership to the Mappilas in the period of troubles and his presence became a great relief to the tenents.[16] After his death his son Sayyid Fazl (d. 1318/ 1901)[17] continued the work of his father and inaugurated an era of reformation in the society along with the Ba Alawi lines. The Makhdums of Ponnani, and the renowned ‘ulama of Malabar like ‘Umar Qazi[18] of Veliyamcode and Aukoya Musliyar[19] of Parappanangadi actively assisted the proselytizing and reforming endeavour of Sayyid ‘Alawi and his son. A number of mosques in southern Malabar were constructed at their behest. The litanies and devotional songs belonging to the Ba Alwi order became common among the Mappilas in nineteenth century. Rituals like māla and maulūd recitations [20] provided a feeling of oneness to the community. The Mappila festivals called nērchas[21] also played an important role in providing solidarity to the community. The nērchas were generally held to commemorate the heroic deeds of sufis and martyrs. The commemoration included not only of the local martyrs but also of the martyrs of battles of Islam like those at Badr and Karbala.
The proselytizing zeal of the sufi leadership caused a tremendous increase of the converts and the Mappila outbreaks in the region in no way affected the conversion but accelerated it in many ways. Many of the Hindu tenants found refuge in Islam to relieve themselves from the yoke of caste atrocities and after shifting to Islam, they joined with the Mappilas in their rebellion. The new converts were always the back bone of the Mappila peasant revolts. The personality and the spiritual enlightenment of the tangals won the hearts of many of the Hindus who approached them for blessings and many of them accepted Islam at their feet. The strength of the community increased due to conversions which provided enough man power to the rebellions. This was one of the considerations which twenty years later prompted T.H. Baber, a judge of the Criminal Court, to suggest that it might be a good idea to outlaw conversion altogether.[22]
The Ba Alawi tradition is still followed in the religious affairs of Malabar. Most often the sayyids lead the community in religio-political affairs. The sayyids who migrated from Bukhara region of Central Asia- the Bukhari sayyids- also follow the way the Ba Alawis and in all respects the sway of the Hadramis in the social, political and religious and cultural field of the Muslims of Malabar is still firmly held.
[1] K.P. Padmanabha Menon, A History of Kerala, Cochin, Government Press, Ernakulam, Vol. 1.1924p.538
[2] P.S.M. Burhanuddin, Hazrath Ubaidullah Madaniyum Arbikkadalile Pavizhadweepukalum, By the Author, 1976, p. 25
[3] Velayudhan Panikkasseri, Ibn Battuta Kanda Keralam, National Book Stall, Kottayam, 1993, pp. 82-83. Abu Ishaq Ibrahim Gazeruni belonged to Shiraz in Persia and died at Gazerun. The sufi order called Gazeruniyya was started in his name. It was believed that the offerings in his name were effective safeguard against the perils in seatravel to India and China. A monastery in his name was also maintained at Zaitun in China
[4] He was born at Tarim in 1139/1726-27 and by the age of twenty attained the perfection of knowledge. He was initiated to the Qadiri order by Muhammad b. Hāmid b. Shaikh 'Abdullah [Trimingham puts the year of the death of Shaikh 'Abdullah as 1720 (Trimingham,op.cit., p.216)]. If it is correct Shaikh Jifri had no chance of meetig him because he was born seven years after the death of 'Abdulla) and to Ba'Alawi order by 'Abdullah al Haddād, Shaikh 'Abdu Rahnan, Kawkabiddurriyya fi Manaqibi Qutub Shaikh Jifri, Published by the Author, 1329/1911 .p.2
[5] For Arabic alphabetical numeral system, see Encyclopaedia of Islam, Brill.,Vol.I,pp. 97-98
[6] For details see Konganam Veetil Ahmad Bava Musliyar, Upakarasaram Athava Upakara Tarjuma, Ponnni, 1988.
[7] Maulid is the expression of individual gratitude, collective awareness and communal appreciation of Allah's mercy. It is an assembly of the praising and remembrance of the Prophet Mohammad.
[8] For mulids and malas see , Munnutti Muppatti Munnu Vaka Mawlid Kitab, Tirurangadi, 1992.
[9] It is a voluntary invocation recited every night by the adherents of BA Alawi sufis.
[10] Imam Abd Allah ibn Alawi al-Haddad, the author of the Ratib,waqs born in 1634 AD.He was a blind sufi with erudite scholarship and highly respected by the followers of Ba Alawis. He died in 1720 AD., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imam_al-Haddad
[11] In Kerala a tomb is generally called jaram or maqam, but for the tomb of Sayyid Alawi at Mambram and that of Jifri at Calicut the word maqam alone is used.
[12] Trimingham, Sufi Orders in Islam, op.cit, p. 31
[13] Mambram is situated near Thirurangadi in Malappuram Dist. of Kerala
[14] Gasper Correa, Lenda da India Eng. Trans. Henry Stanely, Three Voyages of Vasco de Gama, Hakluyt Society, London, 1849, 155f, quoted in Rolland, E.Miller, Mappila Muslims of Kerala, A study in Islamic Trends, Orient Longman, Madras 1971. p. 56.
[15] C.A. Innes, Malabar: Madras District Gazetteers, Superintendent, Government Press, Madras, 1951 (First Published in 1908 edited by F.B. Evans and republished in 1933). p. 186, see also Diwan Bahadur C. Gopalan Nair, Malayalathile Mappilamar, Basel Mission Press, Managlore, 1917, pp. 97 – 98.
[16] For details see, Dr.Hussain Randathani, Mappila Muslims, A Study on Society and Anti Colonial Struggles, Calicut,2007
[17] Karim. C.K, Kerala District Gazatteer, Malappuram, (ed.), Adoor. K.K. Ramachandran Nair, Ernakulam, I 986. p.241-248
[18] Veliyankot Hazrat Umar Qazi (ra)yude Jeeva Charitravum Kritikalum. Mahallu Jama'ath, Veliyancode, 1988.
[19] Karim. C.K, Kerala District Gazatteer, Malappuram,op.cit., p. 254-256
[20] For a study of mala and mawlud see, O. Abu, Arabi-Malayala Sahitya Charithram.Kottayam, 1970
[21] Nerchas are the festivals held to commemorate the death of the divines or the martyrs. For details see,. Stephen Frederic Dale, The Mappilas of Malabar. , I498-1922, Islamic Society on the South Asian Frontier. London. 1980. pp.76 and 222.
[22] Tamil Nadu Archives, Malabar District Records, Magisterial, I 822.pp.236-7
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