KOZHIKODE: Sunni scholar Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musaliyar’s efforts to mediate the release of Nimisha Priya —who is on death row in Yemen — by payment of diya, or blood money, have become the talking point across the state. And, in the process, it has highlighted the centuries-old ties between Kerala and the West Asian nation.
“Though geographically removed, Yemen is close to the hearts of the Sunnis in Kerala. They recite the Rathib al-Haddad and Al Wird Al-Latif, compiled by Yemeni Sufi scholars every night. The Ba Alawi order, which originated in Yemen, has been a major source of spirituality here,” says Nuaiman K A, a researcher who has extensively studied the Yemeni tradition in Kerala.
The ancestors of Panakkad Syed Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal, Samastha Kerala Jem-Iyyathul president Syed Muhammad Jifri Thangal and Kozhikode Qazi Syed Muhammad Koya Jamalullaili all hail from Yemen.
“The syeds, who are the descendants of Prophet Muhammad, migrated from Medina to Yemen around 10th century AD. Syed Ahamdul Muhajir left for Hadramout in Yemen in AD 931 and settled there. According to available evidence, Syed Sheikh bin Abdillah al-Aydarusi was among the first Hadrami Syeds who arrived in India in 1513,” says Moyin Malayamma, who authored a book on Panakkad Thangals.
There are around 30 kabeelas (families) of syeds from Yemen in Kerala. According to Malayamma, Syed Muhammad bin Hamid alias Valiya Seethikoya Thangal was the first Hadrami Syed to arrive in Koyilandi in 1701. “Syed Abdurrahman al-Aydarusi was the first from the Aydarusi kabeela to reach Kerala. Syed Sheikh Jifri arrived in Kozhikode in 1746,” he says.
‘Hadrami Sufism opened new vistas of spirituality for people of Kerala’
After 1750, there was a steady flow of Hadrami Syeds to Kerala. Syed Ali Shihabuddin Hadrami, the founder of Shihabuddin kabeela to which the Panakkad family belongs, travelled from Tarim in Yemen, to Valapattanam in Kannur in 1768.
Syed Alavi Thangal landed in Kozhikode in 1770 and settled in Tirurangadi, Malappuram. He was the founder of the Mouladhaveela kabeela in Kerala, the family of the renowned Mamburam Thangal.
The founder of Bafaqi kabeela Syed Ahamed Bafaqi reached Koyilandi from Tarim in 1770 and Syed Muhamamd Jamalullail, the founder of Jamalullaili kabeela, arrived in 1771 in Kadalundi, Kozhikode. “The Hadrami Syeds were given a warm welcome by the then rulers of Kerala. Zamorin gifted a sprawling house and land to Sheikh Jifri and was exempted from all taxes,” says Malayamma. Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan had visited Sheikh Jifri when they reached Malabar. “The bench, which is believed to be the one on which Tipu sat during the visit, is still kept at the maqam of Sheikh Jifri,” he says.
The information that members of the Prophet’s family were well received in Malabar prompted more people from Yemen to migrate to Kerala. The Hadrami Syeds played an important role in fostering communal amity in Kerala society. “They had an inclusive approach and commanded respect from all sections of society. Moreover, Hadrami Sufism opened new vistas of spirituality for the people of Kerala,” says Malayamma.