History and Culture of Tamil Muslims, and Muslim

settlements in Tamil Nadu

Muhammed Abdulla Shabeerali. M
MA History Second Year, Department of History
Pondicherry University
Email ID: [email protected], Mobile No: 8903529767
Section: Social and Economic History
Abstract – This study is an attempt to analyse the history of the Muslims’settlement in different
parts of Tamilnadu. There are about 3 to 4 million Tamil Muslims in India mostly in Tamil
Nadu state and also in neighboring Kerala. A significant Tamil-speaking Muslim population
numbering 1.8 million or more live in the Northern, Eastern provinces and Colombo in
Sri Lanka and many other pockets across central, southwest provinces; however they are
listed as a separate ethnic group in official statistics. There are around 500,000 in Malaysia
and 20,000 in Singapore. Tamil Muslims are largely urban traders rather than farmers. There
is a substantial diaspora of Tamil Muslims, particularly in South East Asia, which has seen
their presence as early as the 13th century .In the late 20th century , the diaspora expanded
to the North America and Western Europe. The Muslims living in Tamil Nadu are classified
into many categories on the basis of their origin, language and the like. Majorities of
the Muslims of Tamil Nadu are Tamil speaking and Urdu is the mother tongue of a section
of the Muslims. The different segments in the Tamil Muslim society such as Rawthar, Labbai,
Marakkayar and Deccanis are very important .A chain of Muslim trading settlements grew up
along the east coast from Pulicat to Colochel in Kanniyakumari. Many of their richest
settlements were located in the coastal towns of Thanjavur, Ramanathapur am and Thirunelveli
districts. By the beginning of The eighteenth century towns such as Nagore,Kayalpatanam
,Kilakkarai And Adirampatanam had become celebrated throughout the Indian Ocean Trading
region for the wealth and profusion of their religious institutions. Arabu-Tamil was used by
Arabs who came and settled in Tamil Nadu. The settled Arabs in Tamil Nadu learnt Tamil
through Arabic Script and wrote Tamil in Arabic script. It is believed that the origin
of Arabu-Tamil is as old as contact of Arabs with Tamil Nadu.

Keywords – Arab traders, Muslim Settlements, Sonakar, Thulukkar, Anjuvannam, Marakayar,

Mohulla System, Labbais, Rowthers, Navayats, Pañchu Kotti ,Achhcu Katti, Pathans, Arabic-
Tamil language.

1
 Indian Ocean Trade and Arab Settlements

Malabar and Coromandel costs holds a significant position in ancient and medieval
Indian Ocean trade. Moreover, this place was a spot for interaction for four major civilizations
of that period, the Perso -Arabic, the South East Asian, Indian and Chinese. Cultures that often
seem so widely divergent were in fact in constant contact and exchange with each other.

The age - old trade contact between South India arid Arabia from the Sangam period
(2nd cent A.D.) got strengthened further after the birth of Islam. The spread of Islam was
closely linked with the expansion of the wide-ranging maritime trade network. These merchant
missionaries also spread the message of Prophet Mohamed among the local population and
people were attracted towards .Islam. The social inequalities and the rigid caste system then
prevalent in South Indian society were favorable for this process and thus Islamic society
swelled by such conversion. The antiquity of Islam, the earlier names of the Muslims of the
Coromandel Coast are traced with the help of literature, inscriptions and tradition. ‘Definitions
of nomenclature of the titles of the people constituting .the different segments in the Tamil
Muslim society such as Rawthar, Labbai, Marakkayar and Deccanis are given in detail.1

A chain of Muslim trading settlements grew up along the east coast from Pulicat to
Colochel in Kanniyakumari. Many of their richest settlements were located in the coastal towns
of Thanjavur, Ramanathapur am and Thirunelveli districts. They had links with the wider
trading world of the Arabian Peninsula and the Indian Ocean. The port towns of the
Coromandel coast came to be identified as centers of formal Islam in South India by the 12-
13th centuries. The localities such as Pulicat, Nagapattanam, Kilakkarai and Kayalpattanam2
contained significant number of Tamil speaking Muslims who could be classed as permanently
professing Islam and were actually recognised as such within the wider society3

The Arab merchants who came to the coastal region of peninsular India for the purpose
of trade either contracted marriages or settled in their places of adoption and married local
women temporarily or permanently. The Arab mariners must have practiced a sort of Muta
marriage4 (temporary marriage with a woman for a stipulated period) while they were in the
ports of south India. They usually married the local women and stayed with them for a few
weeks or months. The advantages were two fold; they secured not only a wife but also a place
for board and lodge. The children born out of such marriages belonged to the mother's stock
and remained with the mothers5. Thus, the Arab colonies grew in the coastal towns. The Arabic
inscription of A.H. 116/134 A.D. at Tiruchirappalli and the inscriptions of the ninth century at
Kayalpattanam about endowments given to the mosques by Pandya rulers are conclusive
evidence about the presence of Muslims in Tamil Nadu right from eighth century. More also
2
argues that the Arab travellers of the tenth century, like Abuzeyed, Almasudi, Sulaiman Al
Islaki, and Ibn Haukal have not mentioned the presence of Tamil Muslims.

The native Hindu rulers of south India like Rashtrakutas6, Kakathyas7, Hoysalas8,
Pandyas9 and Zamorines10 encouraged the settlements of the Muslim traders in their dominions
offering special concessions and inducements because of the profitable foreign trade. Further,
the Arabs were favored because they supplied horses to the south Indian states, cavalry and
men for manning their ships. In return, the rulers assured safety to their merchandise and
person. The Zamorine even gave them freedom to convert his subjects to Islam. He issued an
edict that in order to get sufficient number of Muslims to man his navy, one or more male
members of the Hindu fishermen should be brought up as Muslim11

Therefore, Islam had a firm footing on the Coromandel Coast and its hinterland even in
the early years of the Hijira12. As the Arab Muslim merchant settlements multiplied in the
course of time, they became an integral part of the population. They added a new pattern of
culture and a new channel for intellectual commerce. The Arab merchants enjoyed the liberty
of preaching their faith to the natives. In this with a dual role in mind, they moved close to the
oppressed classes to whom Islam symbolized emancipation, equality and prosperity. To the
efforts of these merchant missionaries are to be ascribed the formation of the earliest
community of Indian Muslims13. Thus, these traders cum preachers did much for the spread
of Islam. They also brought with them Sufis, mystics and other religious teachers and they
peacefully preached the Islamic faith. These missionaries flourished on the evils of the Hindu
society. The rigid caste system inflicted inequality, injustice and inequity on people of low
castes. They were untouchables, never to rise in economic and social status and often harassed
by the high caste people. With conversion, they entered the brotherhood of Islam, free from
bondage and harassment with opportunity for upliftment.

Sonakar

The Muslim population, which integrated in the local society was influenced by Tamil
culture. The early name of the Tamil Muslims was Sonakar or Sonakan or Jonakan. Sonakars
were recognized as the descendants of the Arabs. The official records of Ceylon call the
Muslims population in Ceylon as Sonakar. The earliest settlers among the Muslims of Ceylon
were called Ceylon Sonakar and the recent South Indian Muslim migrants were known as
Indian Sonakar the Muslim population of the Coromandel came to be called as Sonakars from
eighth century. It is also interesting to note that the Mapillas of Malabar were known as Sonaka
Mapillas.14

3
 Thulukkar

The Muslims of the Coromandel Coast were also called as Thulukkar, along with
Sonakar. Thulukkar, meaning the native of Thrkey. Though all the Muslims who frequented
the Coromandel Coast had not come from Thrkey, this term is very extensively and popularly
applied to all the Muslims by the fellow Hindus.15

Anjuvannam

The early Muslims settled on the coastal towns functioned as a guild for themselves, like
the merchant guilds of the Hindus, like Ainoorruvar, and Valanjiar. The name Anjuvannam
found in some copper plates and inscriptions of the 12-13th centuries A.D. along with the
names of other merchant guilds is considered to be the merchant guild of the Muslims.
Anjuvannam is a Persian word meaning assembly or congregation. An old mosque in
Thenkasi (Thirunelveli Dt.) is called "Anjuvannam Pallivasal" (mosque) even to this day.16

Social Segments of the Muslims of the Tamil Nadu

The Muslims of the Coromandel Coast were socially organised into segments or sub-
divisions. They are Rawthar, Labbai, Marakkayar and Deccani. In the view of Dr . J. Raja
Mohamad, The social segments of the Muslims such as Rawthar, Labbai, Marakkayar and
Deccani cannot be called as castes nor are they classes. (Caste is a distinctive feature of
Hinduism and has no place in Islam).17 They are not hierarchically ranked like castes, as all sub
divisions are equal. But it is extremely difficult to distinguish one from another as they merge
with each other. Despite distinctions of the sub divisions or segments, the profession of Islam
is a single distinctive religion to all of them. The names of these sub divisions are rather
occupational titles. It is behaviorally difficult to distinguish the sub divisions on the basis of
occupational distinctions. For example, the Labbai boatmen call themselves Marakkayars.

Marakayar

Marakayar is a word derived from the fusion of the Arabic work ‘Marakab’
meaning ‘boat’ and the Tamil word ‘Rayar’ meaning ‘King’ , while according to another
version, Marakayars is derived from the Tamil word ‘Marakkalam’ meaning ‘ship’ and Rayar
meaning King. Both, however, indicate that the Marakayars are well-versed in the maritime
trade and are also the progeny of the Arab Traders who married local women. In later
years the converts to Islam took the title Marakayar. Tamil was their mother tongue. The
majority of the Marakayars lived in the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu like Keelakarai,
Kayalpatnam, Nagore and the like and traded in pearls, rubies and chanks . The Urdu
speaking Muslims of Tamil Nadu are grouped under several headings namely , the Syeds,
4
Shaikhs, Pathans, Mughals and Navayats. The Sayeds and Shaikhs are of Arab origin and they
came to India as warriors. 18

Susan Bayly explains, “All the Muslim maritime towns were dominated by groups of
elite Sunni Muslim trading families who came to be known as Maraikkayar (from Tarn.
Marakkalam, ship) .This was and still is an endogamous body Of Tamil-speaking merchants
and ship-owners who maintained close ties to the great Arab centers of trade and pilgrimage
,and were also in Close touch with the major Muslim localities of southeast Asia and the West
coast of India from Malabar to northern Gujarat”.19

One of the most powerful of these coastal trading families was the Kayalpatanam Line
who controlled much of the Palk Strait's pearling and chank diving Industries, and who
organized the great boat-loads of divers who travelled To Ceylon for the region's periodic pearl
fishing sessions.

The maraikkayar all belong to the Shafi'I madhab (school of Quranic law), Shafi'I
affiliation tends to reflect connections with Arabia, The maraikkayar take this Shafi'I affiliation
as proof of their separate superior status and identity .They maintain these divisions by
marrying with their fellow Shafi'Is from the Malabar coast and south east Asia in preference to
Tamil speaking Hanafi's.

Settlements of Maraikkayar

The cultivated Muslim life style, which became the hallmark of these Coastal centres
derived from the success of the Maraikkayars' commercial Operations and also from their links
to south India's pre-colonial Courts 'Hindu' courts as they would now be termed. With the
profits of their wide-ranging trade ventures these Maraikkayar were able to turn their towns
into miniature showcases of Islamic piety. By the beginning of The eighteenth century towns
such as Nagore ,Kayalpatanam ,Kilakkarai And Adirampatanam had become celebrated
throughout the Indian Ocean Trading region for the wealth and profusion of their religious
institutions.

Susan Bayly writes, “Many of the maraikkayar towns' remarkable mosques ,madrasas,
Dargahs and Sufi Khanaqahs date back to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries or Even earlier,
The town of Karaikkal, for example, is one of several maraikkayar centres whose dargahs are
said to contain the remains of Sahabi ,companions of the Prophet. Kayalpatanam contains a
series of fine Early masjids including the periyapalli ('great mosque'), which was built in
AD1331,and Kilakkarai has come to be equally well known for its great array of imposing
mosques and Dargahs.”20

5
 A good example of the maraikkayar families links to the Hindu kingdoms can be seen
through the career of the celebrated Kilakkarai trading magnate and literary patron 'Sitakkati'
(Shaikh Abdul Qadir :1650-1715). This maraikkayar notable came from along line of
Kilakkarai ship owners and commercial men. A family history dating from the early eighteenth
century claims that the Sitakkati's ancestors were the main suppliers of horses to the fourteenth
century Pandya kings of Tamilnad, and that one of their number actually married a Pandya
princess.21The Sitakkati is remembered today as a patron of scholars and poets: it was he who
commissioned south India's best known Muslim devotional work, the Sirapuranam, a 5,000 –
stanza epic on the life of the Prophet.He is also said to have laid the foundations of the great
jama masjid (Friday mosque) at Kilakkarai.

Sufi Tradition in Coromandel Coast

Virtually all the coastal Muslim centers have produced celebrated lines of Sufi scholar -
mystics, most of them based around the region's many Qadiri and Shattari teaching foundations.
Among the best known of these is the lineage of the seventeenth – century Qadiri Sufi, Shaikh
Sadaqatullah of Kayalpatanam (1632-1703). This scholar - mystic and his successors were
attached to famous Khanaqah (teaching hospice) which was founded in the early seventeenth
century and which still attracts pupils and Sufi literary men From all over south India ,and from
SriLanka, Malaysia and Indonesia as well.

Genealogy of the main line of Kayalpatanam Qadiri Sufis:

Saikh Sulaiman (1591-1668)

Shaikh Sadaqatullah (1632-1703)22

Shaikh Muhammad (1667-1722)

Shaikh Abdal – Qadir (1695-1756)

Shaikh Umar (1748-1801)23

Shaikh Abdal – Qadir (1777-1855)

Shaikh Sadaqatullah's father was Shaikh Sulaiman (1591-1668) founder of this

Kayalpatanam teaching foundation; its adjacent shrine complex contains the tombs of the
family's leading members. Another important Khanaqah was founded by the Qadiriyya master
Shaikh Umar of Kayalpatanam (1749 -1801). Like many other maraikkayar Sufis, his son
Shaikh Abdul Qadir (1777-1855) had strong ties to the Malabar Qadiriyyas who emigrated
from the Hadhramaut in the eighteenth - century. ( Shaikh Abdul Qadir's Preceptor was the

6
best known of these Malabar Hadhramautis, Shaikh Saiyyid Muhammad Jifri of Calicut
(d.1807).24

Mohulla system

By the end of the eighteenth - century, Maraikkayar from Kayalpatanam and several
other leading commercial towns were beginning to turn their wealth towards the building of
the opulent Arab-style houses, which are now one of the most striking features of these
localities. The houses are grouped together in elaborate Mohullas (family – based neighbour
hoods) and this mohulla system distinguishes the richest Maraikkayar towns from all other
Muslim centers in south India.

The Labbais

The Labbais of Arab origin. The Arab merchants who settled in the ports of Tamil
country had brought along with them some Arabs as helpers. Who used to respond to
the calls of their masters with the word Labbaik which means “Here I Am”. Hence these
Muslims and their offspring came to be known as Labbais. The Arab refugees who came
along with the Arab traders and their children through their Indian wives were also known
as Labbais. The word Labbai was also applicable to the Hindu converts to Islam. The
Labbais were mainly traders. Some of them were also engaged in agriculture and mat
making. In the erstwhile North Arcot and present Vellore District, the Labbais mostly
own the tanning industry , there by breaking the monopoly of the Chakilies. A section of
the Labbais speaks Tamil and Urdu is the mother tongue of the others.

In the view of Susan Bayly All other Tamil-speaking Muslims in the south came to be
referred to As Labbais. He asserts all Labbais is Sunnis, included coastal fishermen And pearl-
divers as well as large numbers of hinterland cultivators, Weavers and other artisans, and petty
traders including people engaged in Trades such as fish-selling and leather-making

The Census Report of 1881, says that "the Labbais are known as Coromandel Moplas,
with a slight admixture of Arab blood and native converts, they are thrifty, industrious and
enterprising, plucky mariners and expert traders and they are distinct from Marakkayars"25

"Labbai" is considered to be a class name for the purpose of educational and job
concessions in Tamil Nadu at present.26

Rowthers

The majorities of Labbais of Tamil Nadu whose mother tongue is Tamil are
known as Rowthers and are mainly connected with the horse trade. As the Muslims of
7
Tamil Nadu were either engaged in horse-trading or employed as horse trainers or cavalrymen,
they were called Rowthers. They were also known as “Guthirai Chettigal” meaning horse
traders. The Rowthers were frugal traders who were engaged in both wholesale and retail trade.
They were also engaged in agriculture and mat making.

In addition to the low ranking Tamil Labbais and the Maraikkayar with their claims of
Arab descent, the region also became the home of a group of Muslims who see themselves as
quite distinct from all these Tamil-speaking groups. These people are only a small minority in
the Muslim society of Tamil Nadu. Their importance derives partly from their claims to be
superior to other Muslims in the region: in recent years, this has injected an element of tension
into questions of linguistic and corporate identity form any Muslims in Tamil Nadu.27In
addition, though, these were the soldiers and service people who founded the Tamil country's
first sizeable Muslim political elite, and this meant that they had a disproportionate effect on
religion and political life in the region.28

Most of these non-Tamils claim Dakhni as their mother tongue. This is the southern
variant of Urdu, which emerged as the court language of the mediaeval sultanates of the
Deccan. As might be expected, many of the Muslims of Tamilnad who describe themselves as
Dakhnis claim to be descended from soldiers, officials and literary men in service to the Muslim
ruling houses of the Deccan. When Bijapur and the other Deccani kingdoms were over run by
the Mughals at the end of the seventeenth century, large numbers of these Muslims migrated
to other parts of India, including the south. Some of the Shia trading families of Madras city
are Deccanis who first established themselves in the Tamil country after the fall of the Bijapur
sultans.29

Navayats

The Navaiyats were elite Shafi'I Muslims who are thought to have migrated from west
Asia, possibly from the Basra region, and to have settled along the Konkan coast during the
thirteenth century AD. Many Navaiyats rose to prominence as merchants and state officials
under the Adil Shahi sultans of Bijapur.

The ancestors of the distinguished Madras – based poet and scholar, Maulana Baqir
Agah (AD 1745 - 1805) were Navaiyat pearl traders from Bijapur; another eminent Navaiyat
was Mullah Ahmad Naiti who was diwan of Bijapur under Sultan Ali Adil Shah II (1656 - 72)
and whose son became a Mughal mansabdar after Aurangzeb's penetration of the Deccan.Some
scholars asserts The Navayats are people who claim to descend from the rulers of Senji.30

8
 Weaver Communities of Tamil Nadu

Earliest epigraphical evidence of 16th century, clearly showing the active role of
Muslims in weaving industry of South India. Pañchu Kotti and Achchu katti is the most
important two Muslim weaver communities of Tamil Nadu. Pañchu kotti and Achchu katti,
both Tamil names by which at present these people are known.

Pañchu Kotti

The word Pañchu means is ‘Cotton’, and Kotti is ‘to beat’; so Pañchu Kotti is Cotton
cleaner. Beating cotton by using a rod or machine.31 The Pañcu kotties are densely populated
in modern Trichirappalli and Thanavur districts. In Perambalur Taluk, Trichirappalli Dt,they
are inhabited in villages like Visuvakudi and Muhamadu Pattanam.

The Panju-V ettis are a group of Muslims who claim to descend from Andra
Pradesh. They are engaged in the profession of cleaning cotton and weaving coarse
fabrics.32 they speak Telugu as their mother tongue. The elderly ladies of this community wear
saris in a typical way of how the native ladies of Andhra Pradesh wear, by passing the sari in
between the legs.They believe that they were inhabited by the Nawabs of Arcot in 18th Century
from Andhra Pradesh.

The Nawabs endowed for the construction of Mosques to these people in seven villages
and these mosques were small and built with lime and sand mortar which resembled alike in
their architectural style. The mosques were constructed at Visvakudi, Kolakkudi, Thataiyangar
pettai, Iechchampettai, Muttañchetti, Eragudi and Thaccan kuricci.

Achhcu Katti:

The term Accu has more than one meaning like mould, mark, print, stamp, weavers’
reed, instrument for pressing down the threads of the wool; comb, like frame in a loom through
which they are pressed or battened together, Katti or Kattu is to tie or join. Accu katti– Indian
Country surgeon or one who passes the thread through the loom are the meanings suggested
by the Tamil Lexicon.

This community is densely populated in and around Salem, Namakkal Trichy and
Thanjavur districts, the textile areas of Tamil Nadu. Rasipuram of Namakkal district is the most
densely populated town of this community. This is a single area which goes by their name as
Accu katti where nearly eight hundred of them line together and actively engaged in textile
industry. This community speak a different language which not have script form, but only
sound.

9
 This community also does not find a place in any government records. The main reason
is the inferiority complex due their low economic status. They record ‘Labbai’ as their
community and Tamil as their mother tongue.

Deccanis and Pathans

The Deccanis or Dakhnis or Pattanis are the Urudu speaking people in the hinterland of
the Tamil country. The Pathans are known as Banu Afghan or the descendants of Afghans, who
migrated to Tamil Nadu along with the Muslim rulers of North India as soldiers. The Mughals
are of Mongol origin. They penetrated into Tamil country along with the Mughal army
.33

In Tamil country, Mughal armies began to collect tribute in the region in the 1690s. With
this military presence came a growing population of Urdu-and Dakhni-speaking Muslim
settlers and also many Pathan military men. These Pathan fighters came from north India, from
the Pathan-ruled nawabis of Cuddapah and Kurnool, and from Nellore, another important south
Indian military centre. They were accompanied by Pathan artisans and traders, many of whom
settled in the East India Company's southern trading base at Madras; by 1715 Pathan merchants
were importing 'great quantities of rich goods from Bengal 'to Madras. These new comers also
tended to settle in fortress centres such as Arni,Chanji and Jinji and in Arcot, which became
the headquarters of the new sub-province. Trichy, Madurai and many of the lesser fort-mart
towns founded by the region's early warrior rulers also contain sizeable Muslim populations
who maintain a tradition of military service dating from this period.34

Arabic-Tamil and Linguistic Interactions

Arabic-Tamil, which happened to be the vehicle of various religious materials and

creative expressions was the other special cultural achievement of Coromandel’s extensive
trade. The Arabs traded and settled more or less freely over here. It is in the context of this
great traffic of people and ideas that we find the origin of Arabic- Tamil. The Arab Muslim
Traders and the native Tamil converts to Islam in Tamilnadu state of India and Sri Lanka
came into closer contact as a result of their commercial activities. They were bound by
a common religion, but separated by two different languages They felt the necessity for a
link-language. They started to write Tamil in an adapted Arabic script called Arabu-Tamil.

The Arabu-Tamil or Arwi script represents the Tamil language using an Arabic style of
scripts. From eighth century to nineteenth century, this language enjoyed its popularity
among Tamil speaking Muslims of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka.

10
 M.M.M. Mahroof define the ‘Arabic –Tamil’ “Tamil written in the Arabic script is the
standard definition of Arabic Tamil”35. He also explain again, this term is also used, somewhat
imprecisely, for Tamil written in its own script but containing a large number of loan-words
from Arabic, Urdu, Persian and Turkish.

The Arabu-Tamil or Arwi script represents the Tamil language using an Arabic style of
scripts. From eighth century to nineteenth century, this language enjoyed its popularity
among Tamil speaking Muslims of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka.

Arabu-Tamil was used by Arabs who came and settled in Tamil Nadu. The settled
Arabs in Tamil Nadu learnt Tamil through Arabic Script and wrote Tamil in Arabic
script. It is believed that the origin of Arabu-Tamil is as old as contact of Arabs with
Tamil Nadu.36The Muslim communities of Sarandib (Sri Lanka ) and Tamil Nadu were able
to use this language as an effective shield for the preservation of their cultural identity.

The fact that Arabu-Tamil was prevalent in Colombo, Kayalpattinam, Kilakarai

indicates that it was in use, as early as the eighth century of the Christian era.37The Arabs
and the Tamil Muslim might have played their role equally in the formation of Arabu-
Tamil. It is the logical result of joint efforts of the Arabs and the Tamil Muslims. It originated
in South-West Coast of Ceylon as well as in the SouthEast Coast of India, more particularly
in Kayalpattinam. This language was enriched, promoted and developed in Kayalpattinam. It
rendered a most useful service for the advancement and progress of Arab culture and Tamil
culture.

This language was developed during the early medieval ages. Its literature is mostly
of religious character. In the words of Edgard Thurston, Arabu-Tamil is a literature which
was developed for the purpose of the education of Labbai and Maraikayar children. The
Koran and other books were published in this language.

Four hundred years ago, a particular procedure and a new literary style was adopted in
Arabu-Tamil writing. This new literary style was adopted by Hafiz Amir Wali Appa, a
saint of Kayalpattinam. He is considered to be the first person who re-introduced Arabu-
Tamil after the Portuguese devastation in around 1600.38His tomb is available in the weaver’s
street, in Kayalpattinam.

Conclusion

The trading Arab diaspora has obviously contributed to the transformation of various
Tamil Muslim communities. The major Muslim communities such as Marakkayar, Labbai and
Rawthar are the decendants of the Arabs, where as the Deccanis are of Thrkish or Mangoloid
11
descent. All of them are orthodox Sunnites and profess Hanafi faith, and part of the present
day minority Muslim community. They are also declared as educationally backward in Tamil
Nadu. Tamil Muslims started to write Tamil in an adapted Arabic script called Arabu-Tamil.
The Arabu-Tamil or Arwi script represents the Tamil language using an Arabic style of scripts.
The decline of Arabu-Tamil language is a great loss to the Tamil Muslim community
as this was their religious language.

1
Dr . J. Raja Mohamad , Maritime History of the Coromandel Muslims , P. 11
2
Kayalpatnam is a town in the Tuticorin (formerly of Tirunelveli) district of Tamil Nadu, India. Kayalpatnam is
an ancient historical city. It lies in the southeast part of Indian peninsula, on the shore off the Bay of Bengal. It is
a Muslim dominant town. It is situated about 400 miles from Madras(Chennai) and about 100 miles
from Trivandrum and Madurai. Kayalpatnam was an important trade emporium even before the advent of
Islam.
3
Bayly,Susan, Saints, Goddesses and kings , Muslims and Christians in South Indian society, 1700 – 1900,
Cambridge University Press. pp. 73-74
4
Nikāḥ al-mutʿah (Arabic: ‫نكاح المتعة‬, literally "temporary marriage"), is a type of marriage permitted in Twelver
Shia Islam, Nikah mut'ah was also practiced by the pre-Islamic Arabs.
5
J.B.P. More, Muslim identity print culture and Dravidian factor in 'R:unil nadu, (orient and long man New Delhi
2004) pp.4 to 8
6
Rashtrakuta was a royal dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian Subcontinent between the sixth and 10th
centuries.
7
The Kakatiya dynasty was a South Indian dynasty whose capital was Orugallu, now known as Warangal. It was
eventually conquered by the Delhi Sultanate.
8
The Hoysala Empire was a prominent Southern Indian Kannadiga empire that ruled most of the modern-day
state of Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries.
9
The Pandyan dynasty was an ancient Tamil dynasty, The dynasty ruled parts of South India from around 600
BCE (Early Pandyan Kingdom) to first half of 17th century CE. They initially ruled their country Pandya Nadu from
Korkai, a seaport on the southernmost tip of the Indian Peninsula, and in later times moved to Madurai.
10
Zamorin of Calicut is the hereditary royal title used by the Hindu Eradi rulers of the medieval Kingdom of
Kozhikode on the Malabar Coast (present day Kerala). The Samoodiris ruled for almost six centuries, between
12th and 18th century AD based at the city of Kozhikode, one of the more important trading centres in southern
India.
11
KV. Krishna Iyer, A short history of Kerala, (Ernakulam, 1966) p.64
12
Susan Bayly p. 87
13
A.B.M. Habibullah, The Foundations of Muslim rule in India (Allahabad, 1967) p.1
14
Dr . J. Raja Mohamad , Maritime History of the Coromandel Muslims, PP. 68 - 69
15
ibid. pp. 70 – 71
16
ibid. p. 71
17
Dr . J. Raja Mohamad , Maritime History of the Coromandel Muslims, P. 72
18
ibid. pp. 78 - 80
19
Bayly,Susan, Saints, Goddesses and kings , Muslims and Christians in South Indian society, 1700 – 1900,
Cambridge University Press. P. 79
20
Bayly,Susan, Saints, Goddesses and kings , Muslims and Christians in South Indian society, 1700 – 1900,
Cambridge University Press. P.81
21
N.A.AmirAli, Vallal Sitakkdtiyal Vazhvum Kdlamum (The Life and Times of Sitakkati
The Great Patron) (Madras, 1983 ) pp.69,87-95.
22
Shaikh Sadaqatullah al-Qahiri (1632-1703) is a Sufi master of the Qadiri order who lived at Kayalpatnam, his
name very popular among the Mapila community of the Malabar region, Qutubiyyat is a devotional song
composed by Sadaqatullah al Qahiri, it is the litanies and devotional songs belonging to the Qadiri order became
common among the Mappilas.
23
Shaikh ‘Umar bin‘Abdu-l Qadir al-Qahiri, popularly known as ‘Umar Waliyullah, he was a reputed scholar and
a devout Sufi. His grandmother was a daughter of the renowned Arwi Saint,Shaikh Sadaqatu-Llah bin Sulaiman
al-Qahiri, known more commonly as Sadaqatullah Appa. He composed spiritual odes [qasa'id] of utmost
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elegance on mystical themes. The most acclaimed of his works is Qasidatu-l Allafa-l Alif. The amazing lines of
this poem speak of the importance of loving the holy Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), necessity of
the spiritual path, perils of earthly life, amongst others.
24
Dale, Islamic Society, pp.113-1
25
Madras Cencus Report 1881; Thurston op.cit. IV p.199
26
Dr . J. Raja Mohamad , Maritime History of the Coromandel Muslims,, P. 77
27
Mattison Mines, 'Islamisation and Muslim ethnicity in south India', in Imtiaz Ahmed, ed., Ritual and Religion
Among Muslims in India (NewDelhi,1981),pp.65-89
28
Mir Hussein Ali Khan Kirmani, History of the Reign of Tipu Sultan; Neshani Hyduri. Trans.W.Miles (London,
1844), p.87.
29
Bayly,Susan, Saints, Goddesses and kings , Muslims and Christians in South Indian society, 1700 – 1900,
Cambridge University Press. P. 96 – 97
30
ibid. pp. 97
31
Dr. S. Chandni Bi, Pañchu Kotti and Achhcu Katti two Weaver Communities of Tamil Nadu
32
P . Nallathambi, History Of The Muslims’ Settlement In Tamil Nadu , International Multidisciplinary
Research Journal, Vol 4 Issue 5 Nov 2014, p.3
33
P . Nallathambi, History Of The Muslims’ Settlement In Tamil Nadu , International Multidisciplinary
Research Journal, Vol 4 Issue 5 Nov 2014, p.3
34
Bayly,Susan, Saints, Goddesses and kings , Muslims and Christians in South Indian society, 1700 – 1900,
Cambridge University Press. P. 97- 98
35
Af. M. M. Mahroof, Arabic – Tamil in south India and Sri Lanka: language as mimicry , Islamic Studies, Vol. 32,
No. 2 (Summer 1993), pp. 169-189
36
ABDUR RAHMAN, H. (April 1985), Origin and Development of ArabuTamil in Tamil Nadu,Chennai,pp.23
37
JOHN SAMUEL, DR. G. (2010), Tamil as a classical Language,Chennai, pp:275.
38
RIZWANUR RAHMAN (Chief Editor), Thaqafatul Hind, Vol.57:, No.;2,pp:189.

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