An editor has expressed concern that this article may have a number of irrelevant and questionable citations .(June 2019) |
Cheraman | |
---|---|
Religion | |
Affiliation | Sunni Islam |
District | Thrissur |
Location | |
Location | Methala, Kodungalloor |
State | Kerala |
Territory | India |
Geographic coordinates | 10°13′12″N76°11′38″E / 10.22°N 76.194°E |
Architecture | |
Completed | 1568 |
Specifications | |
Length | 61 m (200 ft) |
Width | 24 m (79 ft) |
The article's lead section may need to be rewritten. The reason given is: Contentious claims, possible misrepresentation of sources, weak sources and strongly contradictory content.(April 2024) |
The Cheraman Juma Mosque is a popular prayer centre in Kodungallur in Thrissur district. According to hagiographical legends, it is claimed that the mosque was built in 629 CE by Malik Bin Dinar. [1]
It is claimed to be the first mosque to be built in India. [2] [3] It is claimed to be the oldest mosque in the Indian subcontinent which is still in use. [4] [5] [6]
The mosque was constructed in Kerala style with hanging lamps, making the historicity of its date claims more convincing. [7] [ better source needed ] [8] [ better source needed ] [9] [ better source needed ] [10] [ better source needed ] [11] [ better source needed ] [12] [ better source needed ] [13] [ better source needed ] Other scholars are more skeptical and dated the structure to the 14th-15th century based on the architectural style. [14]
The mosque was destroyed by the Portuguese in 1504 when Lopo Soares de Albergaria attacked the port of Kodungallur. The old building was built some time after the 1504 de Algabaria attack (i.e., from mid-16th to the early 17th century). Modern corridors and halls were built in 1984. The 1984 extensions, which surround the old building, conceal almost all of the exterior features of the old building. [15]
One legend says it was built in 629 CE, [2] [3] another legend says it was built in 643 CE.[ citation needed ]
According to some legends, the Chera king Cheraman Perumal witnessed the splitting of the Moon,[ citation needed ] a supernatural event mentioned in the Quran [16] as a miracle performed by Muhammad when asked for one by Meccan unbelievers. The bewildered King confirmed[ citation needed ] with his astrologers that the incident had taken place, but didn't know what to make of it. Arab merchants who had arrived at a Malabar port, a bustling global marketplace, sought audience with the King to have his permission to visit Ceylon. In conversation with them, the King learnt about Muhammad,[ citation needed ] made his son the regent of his kingdom and travelled back with the Arab merchants to meet the man himself.[ citation needed ]
The story goes that Cheraman Perumal arrived in Arabia with a gift of ginger pickles for Muhammad and his companions [17] and converted to Islam "at the feet of Prophet Muhammad". [18]
According to historian M.G.S. Narayanan, "there is no reason to reject the tradition that the last Chera king embraced Islam and went to Mecca, since it finds its place not only in Muslim chronicles, but also in Hindu brahmanical chronicles like the Keralolpatti , which need not be expected to concoct such a tale which in no way enhances the prestige of the Brahmins or Hindu population." [19] [20] Scholar Mehrdad Shokoohy however traced such legends to a much later accounts with different dating than the supposed earlier date. [21] Historical research has found this story to be fictitious. [22]
Andre Wink mentions that, this is a traditional story in the Mappilla community of Kerala. This community was formed by the Arab traders in medieval times. They became part of Kerala society with muta (temporary marriage) custom with the local fisherwomen. [23] Their children were raised in the teachings of Sunni Islam. This ethnogenesis of Mapilla took place in 13th-14th centuries. This is when we encounter the presence of a community called Mapilla for the first time in history. [24]
S. N. Sadasivan contends in A Social History of India that Kalimanja, the king of the Maldives, was the one who converted to Islam. The story of Tajuddeen in the Cochin Gazetteer may have originated because Mali, as it was known to sailors at the time, was mistaken for Malabar (Kerala). [25]
Several early Muslim or Arab travelers have visited Kerala in medieval times. Among them was Arab traveler Sulaiman, Persian traveller Nakhuda Buzurg, Ibn E Batuta, Abd-Al-Razzaq etc. None of them mentioned about Cheraman Juma Mosque in their writings. [26] [27] [28]
The early or medieval travelers who visited Kerala includes Sulaiman, Al Biruni, Benjamin of Tuleda, Al Kazwini, Marco Polo, Friar Odoric, Friar Jordanus, Ibn Battuta, Abdur Razzak, Nicolo-Conti etc. None of them wrote about the legend of Cheraman Perumal’s conversion. [29]
The time period of early and medieval travelers who travelled Kerala are as follows:
Year (CE) | Name | Short Description | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
851 | Sulaiman | Arab traveler | [26] |
951 | Nakhuda Buzurg | Persian traveller | [28] |
1342 | Ibn E Batuta | [29] | |
1442 | Abd-Al-Razzaq | [29] |
Masjid is located in the Paravur–Kodungalloor Road, NH-66 at Kodungalloor taluk, Thrissur District in Kerala.
According to Chellikkattil Sundaran, president of the temple trust, the aven (priest) of Shobhaparamba Sreekurumba Bhagavati temple in Tanur, Malappuram, is traditionally appointed from the local Thiyya family by a member of the Brahmin family of Pazhayakhath Ilom. The family disintegrated over the years and its remaining members converted to Islam but both the temple authorities and the family upheld the tradition. The temple's Hindu priest is appointed in a special ritual once every 12 years, presided over by a Muslim member of the Pazhayakath family, who makes the formal announcement. Locals ascribe this camaraderie to Cheraman Perumal. [18] [30]
The legend of the "Makkattupoya Perumal" or "the King who went to Makkah (Mecca)" has lived on in Kerala memory and apparently, the Maharajahs of the Princedom of Travancore in pre-Independence India would say at their swearing in, "I will keep this sword until the uncle who has gone to Makkah returns". [31]
Malabar Muslims or Muslim Mappilas, is a member of the Muslim community found predominantly in Kerala and Lakshadweep islands in Southern India. The term Mappila is generally used to denote people of Abrahamic religions in Kerala, used to describe Malabar Muslims in Northern Kerala, and Mar Thoma Nazarenes in Southern Kerala. Muslims of Kerala make up 26.56% of the population of the state (2011), and as a religious group they are the second largest group after Hindus (54.73%). Muslims share the common language of Malayalam with the other religious communities of Kerala.
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The term Kerala was first epigraphically recorded as Cheras (Keralaputra) in a 3rd-century BCE rock inscription by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka of Magadha. It was mentioned as one of four independent kingdoms in southern India during Ashoka's time, the others being the Cholas, Pandyas and Satyaputras. The Cheras transformed Kerala into an international trade centre by establishing trade relations across the Arabian Sea with all major Mediterranean and Red Sea ports as well those of Eastern Africa and the Far East. The dominion of Cheras was located in one of the key routes of the ancient Indian Ocean trade. The early Cheras collapsed after repeated attacks from the neighboring Cholas and Rashtrakutas.
Thrissur, anglicised as Trichur, is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. It is situated in the central region of the state. Spanning an area of about 3,032 km2 (1,171 sq mi), the district is home to over 9% of Kerala's population.
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Thrissur is the administrative capital of Thrissur District, in the central part of Kerala state, India. Thrissur district was formed on 1 July 1949. It is an important cultural centre, and is known as the Cultural Capital of Kerala. It is famous for the Thrissur Pooram festival, one of the most colourful and spectacular temple festival of Kerala. From ancient times, Thrissur has been politically, economically and culturally significant to the Indian subcontinent. It has opened the gates for Arabs, Romans, Portuguese, Dutch and English. According to tradition, Thrissur is where Christianity, Islam and Judaism entered the Indian subcontinent. Local Christian tradition holds that Thomas the Apostle arrived in 52 CE, and Muslim tradition states that Methala is the location of country's first mosque.
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Qissat Shakarwati Farmad is an Arabic manuscript of anonymous authorship. It is argued that the qissat is the oldest, most detailed, and comprehensive recorded version of the Cheraman Perumal legend.
Thajuddin, formerly known as the Tamil King Cheraman Perumal, played a significant role in history as the first Indian monarch to embrace Islam. After his conversion, the Siddhars gave him the title Makkahvukkupona Perumal. His conversion tale is steeped in intriguing events, with a pivotal moment revolving around the legendary splitting of the moon.