- published: 25 Apr 2011
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- author: shahulpervodi
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Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi (Arabic: أبو ظبي Abu Dhabi, Father of Deer) is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western coast. The city proper had an estimated population of 896,800 in 2009.
Abu Dhabi houses important offices of the federal government, and is the seat for the United Arab Emirates Government and the home for the Abu Dhabi Emiri Family and the President of the UAE from this family. Abu Dhabi has grown to be a cosmopolitan metropolis. Its rapid development and urbanisation, coupled with the relatively high average income of its population, has transformed Abu Dhabi to a larger and advanced metropolis. Today the city is the country's center of political, industrial activities, and a major cultural, and commercial centre due to its position as the capital. Abu Dhabi alone generated 56.7% of the GDP of the United Arab Emirates in 2008.
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Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh /ˌɑːndrə prəˈdɛʃ/ is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the country's southeastern coast. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Hyderabad. Andhra Pradesh lies between 12°41' and 22°N latitude and 77° and 84°40'E longitude, and is bordered by Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Orissa in the north, the Bay of Bengal in the east, Tamil Nadu to the south and Karnataka to the west.
Andhra Pradesh has the second-longest coastline of 972 km (604 mi) among the states of India. Two major rivers, the Godavari and the Krishna, run across the state. The small enclave (30 square kilometres (12 sq mi)) of Yanam, a district of Pondicherry, lies in the Godavari delta in the northeast of the state. The state is separated into three regions: Telangana, Andhra, and Rayalaseema.
The primary official language of Andhra Pradesh is Telugu and the co-official language is Urdu. Other languages often spoken in the state include Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Kannada, and Oriya.
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Bangalore
Bangalore /ˈbæŋɡəlɔər/, also rendered Bengaluru,[needs IPA] is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City for its gardens and parks and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and fifth-most populous urban agglomeration. Bangalore is well known as a hub for India's information technology sector. It is among the top 10 preferred entrepreneurial locations in the world.
A succession of South Indian dynasties ruled the region of Bangalore until in 1537 AD Kempe Gowda—a feudatory ruler under the Vijayanagara Empire—established a mud fort considered to be the foundation of modern Bangalore. Following transitory occupation by Maratha and Mughal, the city remained under the Mysore kingdom. Bangalore continued to be a cantonment of the British and a major city of the Princely State of Mysore which existed as a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj. Following the independence of India in 1947, Bangalore became the capital of Mysore state, and later Karnataka.
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Bengal
Bengal (Bengali: বাংলা
Bangla (help·info), Bengali: বঙ্গ Bôngo, Bengali: বঙ্গদেশ Bôngodesh, or Bengali: বাংলাদেশ Bangladesh) is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh (previously East Bengal / East Pakistan) and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous kingdoms of Bengal (during local monarchical regimes and British rule) are now part of the neighboring Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Tripura and Orissa. The majority of Bengal is inhabited by Bengali people (বাঙালি Bangali) who speak the Bengali language (বাংলা Bangla).
The region of Bengal is one of the most densely populated regions on earth, with a population density exceeding 900/km². Most of the Bengal region lies in the low-lying Ganges–Brahmaputra River Delta or Ganges Delta, the world's largest delta. In the southern part of the delta lies the Sundarbans—the world's largest mangrove forest and home of the Bengal tiger. Though the population of the region is mostly rural and agrarian, two megacities, Kolkata (previously Calcutta) and Dhaka (previously Dacca), are located in Bengal. The Bengal region is renowned for its rich literary and cultural heritage as well as its immense contribution to the socio-cultural uplift of Indian society in the form of the Bengal Renaissance, and revolutionary activities during the Indian independence movement.
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Bihar
Bihar (/bɨˈhɑr/, pronounced [bɪˈɦaːr] (
listen)) is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at 38,202 sq mi (98,940 km2) and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India.
Bihar lies mid-way between West Bengal in the east and Uttar Pradesh in the west. It is bounded by the country of Nepal to the north and by Jharkhand to the south. The Bihar plain is divided into two parts by the river Ganges which flows through the middle from west to east. Bihar has notified forest area of 6,764.14 km2, which is 6.8% of its geographical area. Hindi and Urdu are the official languages of the state, while the majority of the people speak Angika, Bhojpuri, Magadhi, Maithili and Bajjika. In 2000, Bihar was divided into 2 parts, the Southern part known as Jharkhand.
Ancient Bihar (which consisted of Anga, Videha/Mithila, Magadha and Vajji/Vrijji) was a centre of power, learning and culture in ancient and classical India. Out of five "The Greats" from India, four greats belonged to this region of India, Magadh: Chandragupta Maurya, Ashoka, Samudragupta and Vikramaditya. From Magadha arose India's first and greatest empire, the Maurya empire as well as one of the world's most widely adhered-to religions, Buddhism. Magadha empires, notably under the Maurya and Gupta dynasties, unified large parts of South Asia under a central rule. Its capital Patna, earlier known as Pataliputra, was an important centre of Indian civilization.Nalanda and Vikramshila were centres of learning established in the 5th and 8th century respectively in Bihar, and are counted amongst the oldest and truly international universities, where people all over the world came to study. Bihar has distinction of giving the world its first democracy through Lichchivi (modern days Vaishali) during ancient era.
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China
China (
i/ˈtʃaɪnə/; Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó; see also Names of China), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is the world's most-populous country, with a population of over 1.3 billion. Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometres, the East Asian state is the world's second-largest country by land area, and the third- or fourth-largest in total area, depending on the definition of total area.
The People's Republic of China is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party of China. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau). Its capital city is Beijing. The PRC also claims Taiwan—which is controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), a separate political entity—as its 23rd province, a claim controversial due to the complex political status of Taiwan and the unresolved Chinese Civil War. The PRC government denies the legitimacy of the ROC.
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Coimbatore
Coimbatore (Tamil: கோயம்புத்தூர், pronounced [kɔəjmbaːʈɔrɪ]), also known as Kovai (Tamil: கோவை, pronounced [kɔʋaːəj] ( listen)), is the second largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the 15th largest urban agglomeration in India with a metropolitan population of over 2 million. It is a major commercial centre and has often been referred to as the "Manchester of South India".
The Coimbatore region has been ruled by the Cheras, the Cholas, the later Pandyas, the Vijayanagar Empire and the Madurai Nayaks and is believed to have been named after a chieftain called Koyan. In the 17th century, the city became a part of the Kingdom of Mysore and remained so until its conquest by the British East India Company in 1799. The history of modern Coimbatore, however, dates from the 1930s, when the city grew rapidly capitalizing on a textile boom. Since then, the city has witnessed steady growth fueled by its favourable soil, climate and political and economic conditions.
Coimbatore is administered by the Coimbatore Municipal Corporation which comprises 100 wards grouped into five zones. It is situated on the banks of the Noyyal River in western Tamil Nadu and is surrounded by the Western Ghats on all sides. It is well connected by road, rail and air with major towns and cities in India.
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Dakoha Sadaat
Dakoha is a village in the Jalandhar Cantonment of the state of Punjab, northwest India.
Prior to Partition in 1947, Dakoha had a large population of Saadat Shia Muslims who claimed descent from Ali ibn Abi Talib and Fatimah bint-e-Muhammad. The Sadaat community lived near the Rama Mandi and the phatak (railway crossing) of the Jalandhar Cantt Station. Muhammad Anwar, a member of the Dakoha Sadaat, owned a substantial piece of land in Dakoha. He was a well known landlord and is also credited with constructing five wells (Awean waala khoo, Chamaran waala khoo, Mengran waala khoo, Roorran waala Khoo, and School waala khoo) for the people that resided in and around Dakoha.
The Dakoha Saadats were believed to descend from Imam Ali Al-Naqi, the 10th successor of Muhammad ibn Abdullah, qualifying them as Naqvi Syeds. The Dakoha Muslim community also calimed relation to Hazrat Meeran Khas, a Muslim saint who was invited to Hindustan (from Termez, Uzbekistan) by the leader of the Loodhi tribe.
Following Partition the Dakoha Sadaat relocated to Pakistan, settling initially at Korian in the Punjab and moving on to Lahore in 1956. The Sadaat Colony of Samanabad was created by the members of the Dakoha Sadaat emigre community. However, the descendants of Muhammad Anwar (through his son Tasaddaq) reside in Gulberg II, Lahore Naqvi Sadat.
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Delhi
Delhi (/ˈdɛli/; locally pronounced Dillee or Dehli), officially the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT), is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest metropolis by population in India. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16.7 million inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census. The region has been given special status of National Capital Region under The Constitution (69th Amendment) Act, 1991. There are nearly 22.2 million residents in the greater National Capital Region urban area (which also includes the cities Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon,Sonepat and Faridabad along with other smaller nearby towns).
Delhi is known to have been continuously inhabited since at least the 6th century BCE, though human habitation is believed to have existed since the second millennium BCE. Delhi is also widely believed to have been the site of Indraprastha, the legendary capital of the Pandavas during the times of the Mahabharata. Delhi re-emerged as a major political, cultural and commercial city along the trade routes between northwest India and the Gangetic plain after the rise of the Delhi sultanates. It is the site of many ancient and medieval monuments, archaeological sites and remains.
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Gujarat
Gujarat /ˌɡʊdʒəˈrɑːt/ (Gujarati: ગુજરાત Gujǎrāt [ɡudʒ(ə)ɾat] ( listen)) is a state in western India. It has an area of 75,686 sq mi (196,030 km2) with a coastline of 1,600 km, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula, and a population in excess of 60 million. The state is bordered by Rajasthan to the north, Maharashtra to the south, Madhya Pradesh to the east and the Arabian Sea as well as the Pakistani province of Sindh on the west. Its capital is Gandhinagar, while its largest city is Ahmedabad. Gujarat is home to the Gujarati-speaking people of India.
The state encompasses major sites of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization, such as Lothal and Dholavira. Lothal is believed to be one of the world's first ports. Gujarat's coastal cities, chiefly Bharuch and Khambhat, served as ports and trading centers in the Maurya and Gupta empires. Mahatma Gandhi, India's "father of the nation", who led the Indian Independence Movement against the British colonial rule was a Gujarati.Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, independent India's first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister was also from Gujarat.
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India
India (i/ˈɪndiə/), officially the Republic of India (Bhārat Gaṇarājya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west;China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Burma and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.
Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four of the world's major religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, whereas Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and also helped shape the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by and brought under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi.
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Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula (or, more generally, by southern and western Asia); on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, by Antarctica). The ocean is named after the geographic location of India.
As one component of the interconnected global ocean, the Indian Ocean is delineated from the Atlantic Ocean by the 20° east meridian running south from Cape Agulhas, and from the Pacific by the meridian of 146°55' east. The northernmost extent of the Indian Ocean is approximately 30° north in the Persian Gulf. This ocean is nearly 10,000 kilometres (6,200 mi) wide at the southern tips of Africa and Australia; its area is 73,556,000 square kilometres (28,350,000 sq mi), including the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.
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Karachi
Karachi ( Karācī (help·info), Urdu: کراچی; Sindhi: ڪراچي) is the largest city, main seaport and financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 13 million. Results in April 2012 of Pakistan's latest census initial tabulations show that the district is home to over 21 million people, at a density of nearly 6,000 people per square kilometer (15,500 per square mile). Karachi is the most populous city in the country, one of the world's largest cities in terms of population and also the 10th largest urban agglomeration in the world. It is Pakistan's premier centre of banking, industry, economic activity and trade and is home to Pakistan's largest corporations, including those involved in textiles, shipping, automotive industry, entertainment, the arts, fashion, advertising, publishing, software development and medical research. The city is a major hub of higher education in South Asia and the wider Muslim world.
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Karnataka
Karnataka /kɑrˈnɑːtəkə/ is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava (Formation Day). Originally known as the State of Mysore /maɪˈsɔər/, it was renamed Karnataka in 1973. It is the land of the Kannadigas, Tuluvas, Konkanis and Kodavas. The capital and largest city is Bangalore.
Karnataka is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, Goa to the northwest, Maharashtra to the north, Andhra Pradesh to the east, Tamil Nadu to the southeast, and Kerala to the southwest. The state covers an area of 191,976 square kilometres (74,122 sq mi), or 5.83% of the total geographical area of India. It is the eighth largest Indian state by area. With over 61 million inhabitants (2011), Karnataka is the ninth largest state by population, comprising 30 districts. Kannada is the most widely spoken and official language of the state.
The two main river systems of the state are Krishna and its tributaries (Bhima, Ghataprabha, Vedavati, Malaprabha, and Tungabhadra) in the north, and the Cauvery and its tributaries (Hemavati, Shimsha, Arkavathi, Lakshmana Thirtha and Kabini) in the south. Both these rivers flow eastward and fall into the Bay of Bengal.
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Kerala
Kerala or Keralam /ˈkɛrələ/ is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was formed on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions.
The state has an area of 38,863 km2 (15,005 sq mi) and is bordered by Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the east and south, and the Arabian Sea on the west. Thiruvananthapuram is the state capital. Kochi and Kozhikode are other major cities. According to a survey by The Economic Times, five out of ten best cities to live in India are located in Kerala.
Kerala has the highest Human Development Index in India, higher than that of most developed countries The state has the highest literacy rate in India with 93.91 percent. It hopes to be the first e-literate state in India through the state run Akshaya project. The state recently became and is currently the only one to have banking facilities in every village. A survey conducted in 2005 by Transparency International ranked Kerala as the least corrupt state in the country. Kerala is also ranked as India's cleanest state. Kerala has witnessed significant migration of its people, especially to the Persian Gulf countries during the Kerala Gulf boom and is heavily dependent on remittances from its large Malayali expatriate community.
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Kerala state
Kerala or Keralam /ˈkɛrələ/ is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was formed on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions.
The state has an area of 38,863 km2 (15,005 sq mi) and is bordered by Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the east and south, and the Arabian Sea on the west. Thiruvananthapuram is the state capital. Kochi and Kozhikode are other major cities. According to a survey by The Economic Times, five out of ten best cities to live in India are located in Kerala.
Kerala has the highest Human Development Index in India, higher than that of most developed countries The state has the highest literacy rate in India with 93.91 percent. It hopes to be the first e-literate state in India through the state run Akshaya project. The state recently became and is currently the only one to have banking facilities in every village. A survey conducted in 2005 by Transparency International ranked Kerala as the least corrupt state in the country. Kerala is also ranked as India's cleanest state. Kerala has witnessed significant migration of its people, especially to the Persian Gulf countries during the Kerala Gulf boom and is heavily dependent on remittances from its large Malayali expatriate community.
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Kodagu district
Kodagu, also known by its anglicised former name of Coorg, is an administrative district in Karnataka, India. It occupies an area of 4,102 square kilometres (1,584 sq mi) in the Western Ghats of southwestern Karnataka. As of 2001, the population was 548,561, 13.74% of which resided in the district's urban centres, making it the least populous of the 30 districts in Karnataka. Kodagu is well known in the world for coffee and its "brave warriors", like Field Marshal K. M. Cariappa.
Madikeri (English: Mercara) is the headquarters of Kodagu. The district is bordered by Dakshina Kannada district to the northwest, Hassan district to the north, Mysore district to the east, Kannur district of Kerala to the southwest, and the Wayanad district of Kerala to the south.
Kodagu is home to the native speakers of Kodava language. As per 1991 census, the speakers of Kodava made up 0.25% of the total population of Karnataka.[citation needed] According to Karnataka Kodava Sahitya Academy, apart from Kodavas, 18 other ethnic groups speak Kodava Takk in and outside the district including Heggade, Iri, Koyava, Banna, Madivala, Hajama, Kembatti, and Meda. Though the language has no script, recently German linguist Gregg M. Cox developed a new writing system for the language known as the Coorgi-Cox alphabet, used by a number of individuals within Kodagu. Lately, some organizations including the Codava National Council and Kodava Rashtriya Samiti are demanding Kodava homeland status and autonomy to Kodagu district.
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Kozhikode
Kozhikode (Malayalam: കോഴിക്കോട് [koːɻikːoːɖ] ( listen), also known as Calicut, is a city in the state of Kerala in southern India on the Malabar Coast. Kozhikode is the third largest city in Kerala and is part of the second largest urban agglomeration in Kerala with a metropolitan population of 2,030,519 as per 2011 census.It is the headquarters of the Kozhikode district.
During classical antiquity and the middle ages, Kozhikode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. It was the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name ruled by the Samoothiris (Zamorins) in middle ages and later of the erstwhile Malabar district under British rule. Muslim Arab merchants traded with Kozhikode as early as 7th century, and Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama landed at Kozhikode on May 20, 1498. A Portuguese factory and fort was intact in Kozhikode for short period (1511–1525, until the Fall of Calicut), the English landed in 1615 (constructed a trading post in 1665), followed by the French (1698) and the Dutch (1752). In 1765, Mysore captured Kozhikode as part of his occupation.
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Maharashtra
Maharashtra /mɑːhəˈrɑːʃtrə/ (Marathi: महाराष्ट् mahārāṣṭra [məharaːʂʈrə] ( listen)) is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India. Maharashtra is the richest state in India, contributing 15% of the country's industrial output and 13.3% of its GDP (2006–2007 figures).
Maharashtra is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, Gujarat and the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli to the northwest, Madhya Pradesh to the northeast, Chhattisgarh to the east, Karnataka to the south, Andhra Pradesh to the southeast, and Goa to the southwest. The state covers an area of 307,731 km2 (118,816 sq mi) or 9.84% of the total geographical area of India. Mumbai, the capital city of the state, is India's largest city and the financial capital of the nation. Nagpur is the second capital of the state. Marathi is the official language.
Maharashtra is the world's second most populous first-level administrative country sub-division. Were it a nation in its own right, Maharashtra would be the world's tenth most populous country ahead of Mexico.
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Malaysia
Malaysia (i/məˈleɪʒə/ mə-LAY-zhə or i/məˈleɪsiə/ mə-LAY-see-ə) is a federal constitutional monarchy in Southeast Asia. It consists of thirteen states and three federal territories and has a total landmass of 329,847 square kilometres (127,350 sq mi) separated by the South China Sea into two similarly sized regions, Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo. Land borders are shared with Thailand, Indonesia, and Brunei, and maritime borders exist with Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines. The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government. In 2010 the population exceeded 27.5 million, with over 20 million living on the Peninsula.
Malaysia has its origins in the Malay Kingdoms present in the area which, from the 18th century, became subject to the British Empire. The first British territories were known as the Straits Settlements, whose establishment was followed by the Malay kingdoms becoming British protectorates. The territories on Peninsular Malaysia were first unified as the Malayan Union in 1946. Malaya was restructured as the Federation of Malaya in 1948, and achieved independence on 31 August 1957. Malaya united with Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore on 16 September 1963, with si being added to give the new country the name Malaysia. However, less than two years later in 1965, Singapore was expelled from the federation. Since independence, Malaysia has had one of the best economic records in Asia, with GDP growing an average 6.5% for almost 50 years. The economy has traditionally been fuelled by its natural resources, but is expanding in the sectors of science, tourism, commerce and medical tourism.
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Maldives
Maldives (
i/ˈmɒldaɪvz/ or /ˈmɒldiːvz/), (Dhivehi: ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, Dhivehi Raa'je), officially Republic of Maldives (Dhivehi: ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, Dhivehi Raa'jeyge Jumhooriyya), also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep Islands, between Minicoy Island and Chagos Archipelago. It stands in the Laccadive Sea, about 700 kilometres (430 mi) south-west of Sri Lanka and 400 kilometres (250 mi) south-west of India. During the colonial era, the Dutch referred to the country as "Maldivische Eilanden" in their documentation, while "Maldive Islands" is the anglicised version of the local name used by the British, which later came to be written "Maldives".
The archipelago is located on top of the Chagos-Maldives-Laccadive Ridge, a vast submarine mountain range in the Indian Ocean. Maldives also form a terrestrial ecoregion together with the Chagos and the Lakshadweep. The atolls of Maldives encompass a territory spread over roughly 90,000 square kilometres (35,000 sq mi), making it one of the world's most geographically dispersed countries. Its population of 328,536 (2012) inhabits 200 of its 1,192 islands. Maldives' capital and largest city Malé had a population of 103,693 in 2006. It is located at the southern edge of North Malé Atoll, in the Kaafu Atoll. It is also one of the Administrative divisions of the Maldives. Traditionally it was the King's Island where the ancient Maldive Royal dynasties were enthroned.
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Mangalore
Mangalorei/ˈmæŋɡəlɔr/ (also called Kuḍla in Tulu, Maṅgaḷūru in Kannada, Koḍiyāl in Konkani, or Maikāla in Beary bashe) is the chief port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located about 350 kilometres (220 mi) west of the state capital, Bangalore. Mangalore lies between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghat mountain ranges, and is the administrative headquarters of the Dakshina Kannada (formerly South Canara) district in south western Karnataka.
Mangalore derives its name from the local Hindu Goddess Mangaladevi. It developed as a port on the Arabian Sea—remaining, to this day, a major port of India. Lying on the backwaters of the Netravati and Gurupura rivers, Mangalore is often used as a staging point for sea traffic along the Malabar Coast. The city has a tropical climate and lies in the path of the Arabian Sea branch of the South-West monsoons. Mangalore's port handles 75 per cent of India's coffee exports and the bulk of the nation's cashew exports.
Mangalore was ruled by several major powers, including the Kadambas, Vijayanagar dynasty, Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Hoysalas, and the Portuguese. The city was a source of contention between the British and the Mysore rulers, Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan. Eventually annexed by the British in 1799, Mangalore remained part of the Madras Presidency until India's independence in 1947. The city was unified with the state of Mysore (now called Karnataka) in 1956.
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Pakistan
Pakistan (i/ˈpækɨstæn/ or i/pɑːkiˈstɑːn/; Urdu: پاکستان) (Urdu pronunciation: [paːkɪˈst̪aːn] (
listen)), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Urdu: اسلامی جمہوریۂ پاکستان), is a sovereign country in South Asia. It sits at the crossroads of the strategically important regions of South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. It has a 1,046-kilometre (650 mi) coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west and north, Iran to the southwest and China in the far northeast. It is separated from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor in the north, and it shares a marine border with Oman.
The territory of modern Pakistan was the site of several ancient cultures, including the Neolithic Mehrgarh and the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilisation, and has undergone invasions or settlements by Hindu, Persian, Indo-Greek, Islamic, Turco-Mongol, Afghan and Sikh cultures. Thus the area has been ruled by numerous empires and dynasties, including the Indian Mauryan Empire, the Persian Achaemenid Empire, the Arab Umayyad Caliphate, the Mongol Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Durrani Empire, the Sikh Empire and the British Empire. As a result of the Pakistan Movement led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and India's struggle for independence, Pakistan was created in 1947 as an independent nation for Muslims from the regions in the east and west of India where there was a Muslim majority. Initially a dominion, Pakistan adopted a new constitution in 1956, becoming an Islamic republic. A civil war in 1971 resulted in the secession of East Pakistan as the new country of Bangladesh.
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Persia
Coordinates: 32°N 53°E / 32°N 53°E / 32; 53
Iran (i/ɪˈrɑːn/ or /aɪˈræn/;Persian: ایران [ʔiˈɾɒn] ( listen)), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian: جمهوری اسلامی ایران Jomhuri-ye Eslāmi-ye Irān), is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran", which in Persian means "Land of the Aryans", has been in use natively since the Sassanian era. It came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia ( /ˈpɜrʒə/ or /ˈpɜrʃə/). Both "Persia" and "Iran" are used interchangeably in cultural contexts; however, "Iran" is the name used officially in political contexts.
The 18th-largest country in the world in terms of area at 1,648,195 km2 (636,372 sq mi), Iran has a population of around 79 million. It is a country of particular geopolitical significance owing to its location in the Middle East and central Eurasia. Iran is bordered on the north by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. As Iran is a littoral state of the Caspian Sea, which is an inland sea, Kazakhstan and Russia are also Iran's direct neighbors to the north. Iran is bordered on the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan, on the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by Iraq and on the northwest by Turkey. Tehran is the capital, the country's largest city and the political, cultural, commercial and industrial center of the nation. Iran is a regional power, and holds an important position in international energy security and world economy as a result of its large reserves of petroleum and natural gas. Iran has the second largest proven natural gas reserves in the world and the fourth largest proven petroleum reserves.
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Portugal
Portugali/ˈpɔrtʃʉɡəl/ (Portuguese: Portugal, IPA: [puɾtuˈɣaɫ]), officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa) is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula . Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are part of Portugal. The country is named after its second largest city, Porto, whose Latin name was Portus Cale.
The land within the borders of the current Portuguese Republic has been continuously settled since prehistoric times: occupied by Celts like the Gallaeci and the Lusitanians, integrated into the Roman Republic and later settled by Germanic peoples such as the Suebi, Swabians, Vandals and the Visigoths. In the 8th century most of the Iberian Peninsula was conquered by Moorish invaders professing Islam, which were later expelled by the Knights Templar under the Order of Christ. During the Christian Reconquista, Portugal established itself as an independent kingdom from León in 1139, claiming to be the oldest European nation state.
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Portuguese India
The Portuguese Viceroyalty of India (Portuguese: Vice-Reino da Índia Portuguesa), later the Portuguese State of India (Portuguese: Estado Português da Índia), was the aggregate of Portugal's colonial holdings in India.
The government started in 1505, six years after the discovery of a sea route to India by Vasco da Gama, with the nomination of the first Viceroy Francisco de Almeida, then settled at Cochin. Until 1752, the "State of India" included all Portuguese possessions in the Indian Ocean, from southern Africa to Southeast Asia, governed by either a Viceroy or a Governor from headquarters established in Goa since 1510. In 1752 Mozambique got its own government and in 1844 the Portuguese Government of India stopped administering the territory of Macau, Solor and Timor, being then confined to Malabar.
At the time of British India's independence in 1947, Portuguese India included a number of enclaves on India's western coast, including Goa proper, as well as the coastal enclaves of Daman (Port: Damão) and Diu, and the enclaves of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, which lie inland from Daman. The territories of Portuguese India were sometimes referred to collectively as Goa. Portugal lost the last two enclaves in 1954, and finally the remaining three in December 1961, when they were taken back by India after military action (although Portugal only recognized Indian control in 1975, after the Carnation Revolution and the fall of the Estado Novo regime).
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Punjab, India
Punjab (i/pʌnˈdʒɑːb/) (Punjabi: ਪੰਜਾਬ Hindi: पंजाब) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the west, it is also bounded to the north by Jammu and Kashmir. The state capital is Chandigarh, which is a Union Territory and also the capital of neighbouring state of Haryana. Major cities of Punjab includes Ludhiana, Amritsar, Patiala, Jalandhar, Bathinda and Mohali.
After the partition of India in 1947, the Punjab province of British India was divided between India and Pakistan. The Indian Punjab was divided in 1966 with the formation of the new states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh as well as the current state of Punjab. Punjab is the only state in India with a majority Sikh population.
The Greeks referred to Punjab as Pentapotamia, an inland delta of five converging rivers. In Avesta, the sacred text of Zoroastrians, the Punjab region is associated with the ancient hapta həndu or Sapta Sindhu, the Land of Seven Rivers. The British used to call Punjab "Our Prussia."[citation needed] Historically, the Punjab region has been the gateway to the Indian subcontinent for people from Greece, Central Asia, Iran and Afghanistan and Vice-versa.
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Rajasthan
Rājasthān /ˈrɑːdʒəstæn/ (Hindustani pronunciation: [raːdʒəsˈt̪ʰaːn] ( listen)) the land of Rajasthanis, ("the land of kings"), is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert (Thar Desert), which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with Pakistan. The state is bordered by Pakistan to the west, Gujarat to the southwest, Madhya Pradesh to the southeast, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to the northeast and Punjab to the north. Rajasthan covers 10.4% of India, an area of 342,269 square kilometres (132,151 sq mi).
Jaipur is the capital and the largest city of the state. Geographical features include the Thar Desert along north-western Rajasthan and the termination of the Ghaggar River near the archaeological ruins at Kalibanga of the Indus Valley Civilization, which are the oldest in the Indian subcontinent discovered so far.
One of the world's oldest mountain ranges, the Aravalli Range, cradles the only hill station of Rajasthan, Mount Abu, famous for Dilwara Temples, a sacred pilgrimage for Jains. Eastern Rajasthan has the world famous Keoladeo National Park near Bharatpur, a World Heritage Site known for its bird life. It also has two national tiger reserves, Ranthambore and Sariska Tiger Reserve, and a famous temple in Khatu, Sikar district, dedicated to Khatu Shyam Ji. Rajasthan was formed on 30 March 1949, when the region known until then as Rajputana, consisting of erstwhile princely states ruled mainly by Rajputs.
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Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia (i/ˌsaʊdi əˈreɪbi.ə/ or i/ˌsɔːdiː əˈreɪbi.ə/; Arabic: السعودية as-Su‘ūdīyah[citation needed] or incorrectly as-Sa‘ūdīyah, officially known as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Arabic: المملكة العربية السعودية al-Mamlakah al-‘Arabīyah as-Su‘ūdīyah Arabic pronunciation (help·info)), is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab world, after Algeria. It is bordered by Jordan, and Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south. The Red Sea lies to its west, and the Persian Gulf lies to the east. Saudi Arabia has an area of approximately 2,250,000 km2 (870,000 sq mi), and it has an estimated population of 27 million, of which 9 million are registered foreign expatriates and an estimated 2 million are illegal immigrants. Saudi nationals comprise an estimated 16 million people.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded by Abdul-Aziz bin Saud (known for most of his career as Ibn Saud) in 1932, although the conquests which eventually led to the creation of the Kingdom began in 1902 when he captured Riyadh, the ancestral home of his family, the House of Saud, referred to in Arabic as the Al Saud. The Saudi Arabian government, which has been an absolute monarchy since its inception, refers to its system of government as being Islamic, though this is contested by many due to its strong basis in Salafism, a minority school of thought in Islam. The kingdom is sometimes called "The Land of the Two Holy Mosques" in reference to Al-Masjid al-Haram (in Mecca), and Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (in Medina), the two holiest places in Islam.
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Singapore
Singapore (i/ˈsɪŋəpɔər/ SI-ngə-pohr), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, 137 kilometres (85 mi) north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the Singapore Strait to its south. Singapore is highly urbanised but almost half of the country is covered by greenery. More land is being created for development through land reclamation.
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Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (i/ʃriː ˈlɑːŋkə/, /sriːˈlɑːŋkə/, or /sriːˈlæŋkə/;Sinhala: ශ්රී ලංකාව, Tamil: இலங்கை), is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent in South Asia. Known until 1972 as Ceylon ( /sɨˈlɒn/, /seɪˈlɒn/, or /siːˈlɒn/), Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar, the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the Maldives.
As a result of its location in the path of major sea routes, Sri Lanka is a strategic naval link between West Asia and South East Asia. It was an important stop on the ancient Silk Road. Sri Lanka has also been a center of the Buddhist religion and culture from ancient times, being the nation where the Buddhist teachings were first written down as well as the oldest continually Buddhist country. Sri Lanka boasts a diverse range of cultures, languages and religions. The Sinhalese people form the majority of the population; Tamils, who are concentrated in the north and east of the island, form the largest ethnic minority. Other communities include Moors, Burghers, Kaffirs, Malays and the aboriginal Vedda people.
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Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu /ˈtæmɨl ˈnɑːduː/ (Tamiḻ Nāṭu [t̪amɨɭ naːɖɯ] ( listen)) is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital is Chennai, the largest city. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. It is bound by the Eastern Ghats in the north, the Nilgiri, the Anamalai Hills, and Palakkad on the west, by the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Gulf of Mannar, the Palk Strait in the south east, and by the Indian Ocean in the south.
Tamil Nadu is the eleventh largest state in India by area and the seventh most populous state. It is the fourth largest contributor (as of 2010) to India's GDP and ranks tenth in Human Development Index as of 2006. Tamil Nadu is also the most urbanised state in India. The state has the highest number (10.56%) of business enterprises and stands second in total employment (9.97%) in India, compared to the population share of about 6%.
The region has been the home of the Tamil people since at least 500 BCE. Its official language Tamil has been in use in inscriptions and literature for over 2000 years. Tamil Nadu is home to many natural resources, Hindu temples of Dravidian architecture, hill stations, beach resorts, multi-religious pilgrimage sites and eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
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Tirunelveli
Tirunelveli ( pronunciation (help·info)), also known as Nellai, and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of the Tirunelveli District in Tamil Nadu. It is situated 700 kilometres (435 mi) southwest of the state capital Chennai.
Tirunelveli is an ancient city and is home to many temples and shrines, including the largest Shiva temple in Tamil Nadu, the Nellaiappar Temple. It is located on the western side of the perennial Thamirabarani river, whereas its twin municipal city Palayamkottai, is located on the eastern side.
The history of Tirunelveli was researched by Robert Caldwell, one of the Christian missionaries who visited the area in the nineteenth century for the purpose of both promoting their religious beliefs and educating the people.
Tirunelveli had been under the prominence of the Pandya kings, serving as their secondary capital while Madurai remained its primary capital. It was an important city of the Chola kingdom (c.900–1200) and of the Vijayanagar empire. The city was the chief commercial town in the period of Arcot Nawabs and Nayaks. They were among the various ruling dynasties of Tamil Nadu. In fact, they called the city "Nellai Cheemai", with cheemai meaning a developed foreign town. It was the Nayaks who, in 1781, granted its revenues and local administration to the British. In 1801, it was annexed by the British, who governed it until India achieved independence in 1947.
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Tulunadu
Tulu Nadu (IAST: Tuḷu nāḍɯ) is a Tulu-speaking region spread over parts of present Karnataka and Kerala States of India. It consists of the Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts of Karnataka and the northern parts of the Kasaragod district of Kerala up to the Payaswini River.Mangalore (Kudla), Udupi (Odipu) and Kasaragod (Kasrodu) are its important cities.
According to Census of India 2001, the population of this region was 3,005,898.
The majority of the population in Tulu Nadu are Tuluvas. Other ethnic groups who settled here include Konkanass, and Bearys.
Tulu is spoken by the vast overwhelming majority of the populace. Konkani speakers constitute the second largest followed by speakers of Beary bashe.
Tulu Nadu lies along the Konkan Coast. Tulu Nadu is bounded on the west by the Arabian Sea and on the east by the Western Ghats. Tulu Nadu spans an area of 8,441 km2 (3,259 sq mi), roughly 4.4 per cent of the total geographical area of present-day Karnataka.
Tulu Nadu also experience heavy rainfalls during Monsoon season. The coastal area of Tulu Nadu is very rich with respect to rainforests and backwaters. The region has a tropical climate; summer and winter months experience similar temperate conditions, with average temperatures ranging from 24 °C to 33 °C.
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United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emiratesi/juːˌnaɪtɨd ˌærəb ˈɛmɪrɨts/ (Arabic: دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة, Al Imārāt al ‘Arabīyah al Muttaḥidah), sometimes simply called the Emirates or the UAE, is a country situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman to the east and Saudi Arabia to the south, as well as sharing sea borders with Qatar to the west and Iran to the north.
The UAE is a federation of seven emirates (equivalent to principalities), each governed by a hereditary emir, with a single national president. The constituent emirates are Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain. The capital is Abu Dhabi, which is also the state's center of political, industrial, and cultural activities.
Prior to independence in 1971, the UAE was known as the Trucial States or Trucial Oman, in reference to a 19th-century truce between the local sheikhs, hereditary rulers of the territories, and the United Kingdom. The term Pirate Coast was also used by some to refer to the emirates from the 18th to the early 20th century, owing to the preponderance of pirates operating from Emirati ports.
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Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh /ˌʌtər prəˈdɛʃ/, abbreviation U.P. ("Northern Province"; formerly: United Provinces), is a state located in the north western part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity. Were it a nation in its own right, Uttar Pradesh would be the world's fifth most populous country, ahead of Brazil (a country thirty-five times larger in territorial area than Uttar Pradesh). On 9 November 2000, the Himalayan portion of the state, comprising the Garhwal and Kumaon divisions and Haridwar district, was formed into a new state 'Uttaranchal', now called Uttarakhand, meaning the 'Northern Segment' state.
Uttar Pradesh is the second largest state-economy in India, with a GDP of $103.5 billion in 2009. The annual per capita GDP of the state was $1586 in 2009, on purchasing power parity basis. It contributed 8.34% to India's total GDP in the financial year 2010. Agriculture is a significant part of UP's economy. The state was India's sixth largest producer of fruits, and became the largest producer of vegetables in 2010. With an area of 93,933 sq mi (243,290 km2), Uttar Pradesh covers a large part of the highly fertile and densely populated upper Gangetic plain. It shares an international border with Nepal to the north. Other states along Uttar Pradesh's border include Uttarakhand, Haryana and Delhi to the north and northwest; Rajasthan on the west; Madhya Pradesh on the south; Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand on the south east; and Bihar on the east.
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West Bengal
West Bengal /bɛŋˈɡɔːl/ (proposed new English name: Paschim Banga) is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. Covering a total area of 34,267 sq mi (88,750 km2), it is bordered by the countries of Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh, and the Indian states of Orissa, Jharkhand, Bihar, Sikkim, and Assam. The state capital is Kolkata (formerly Calcutta). West Bengal encompasses two broad natural regions: the Gangetic Plain in the south and the sub-Himalayan and Himalayan area in the north.
In the 3rd century BC, the broader region of Bengal was conquered by the emperor Ashoka. In the 4th century AD, it was absorbed into the Gupta Empire. From the 13th century onward, the region was ruled by several sultans, powerful Hindu states and Baro-Bhuyan landlords, until the beginning of British rule in the 18th century. The British East India Company cemented their hold on the region following the Battle of Plassey in 1757, and the city of Calcutta (now known as Kolkata) served for many years as the capital of British India. The early and prolonged exposure to British administration resulted in expansion of Western education, culminating in development in science, institutional education, and social reforms of the region, including what became known as the Bengal Renaissance. A hotbed of the Indian independence movement through the early 20th century, Bengal was divided in 1947 along religious lines into two separate entities: West Bengal – a state of India – and East Bengal, which initially joined the new nation of Pakistan, before becoming part of modern-day Bangladesh in 1971.
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Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs (Arabic: عرب, ʿarab), are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing an important part of Arab identity.
The word "Arab" has had several different, but overlapping, meanings over the centuries (and sometimes even today). In addition to including all Arabized people of the world (with language tending to be the acid test), it has also at times been used exclusively for bedouin (Arab nomads [although a related word, "`a-RAB," with the Arabic letter "alif" in the second syllable, once was sometimes used when this specific meaning was intended] and their now almost entirely settled descendants). It is sometimes used that way colloquially even today in some places. Townspeople once were sometimes called "sons of the Arabs." As in the case of other ethnicities or nations, people identify themselves (or are identified by others) as "Arabs" to varying degrees. This may not be one's primary identity (it tends to compete with country, religion, sect, etc.), and whether it is emphasized may depend upon one's audience.
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Arabs
Arab people, also known as Arabs (Arabic: عرب, ʿarab), are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing an important part of Arab identity.
The word "Arab" has had several different, but overlapping, meanings over the centuries (and sometimes even today). In addition to including all Arabized people of the world (with language tending to be the acid test), it has also at times been used exclusively for bedouin (Arab nomads [although a related word, "`a-RAB," with the Arabic letter "alif" in the second syllable, once was sometimes used when this specific meaning was intended] and their now almost entirely settled descendants). It is sometimes used that way colloquially even today in some places. Townspeople once were sometimes called "sons of the Arabs." As in the case of other ethnicities or nations, people identify themselves (or are identified by others) as "Arabs" to varying degrees. This may not be one's primary identity (it tends to compete with country, religion, sect, etc.), and whether it is emphasized may depend upon one's audience.
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Arghons
The Arghons are a small community of descendants of immigrants from Yarkand and Kashmir that have intermingled with the local Ladakhi community, residing mainly in Leh and Kargil towns of Ladakh in the state of Jammu & Kashmir in India. They are Sunni Muslims.
They first arrived as traders and merchants from Central Asia and Kashmir in the 17th century and were among the first Muslims to settle in the Buddhist Kingdom. Most were traders but some included religious people. Most central Asian merchants returned home at the end of the caravan season. Those who remained and settled in Ladakh married ladakhis and are now known as Arghons.
Today they are merchants although some, a very few, have taken to agriculture. Most of them today speak the Ladakhi language but are also conversant in Turkic and Tibetan.
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Balti people
The Balti are an ethnic group of Tibetan descent with some Dardic admixture, who live in the Gilgit–Baltistan region of Pakistan. In addition, smaller populations also exist in Ladakh, a region of Jammu & Kashmir, India; others are scattered in Pakistan's major urban centres of Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad/Rawalpindi. The Balti language belongs to the Tibetan language family and is a sub-dialect of Ladakhi. Balti, Ladakhi and Burig are mutually intelligible.
Modern day Balti people are not all from Tibetan stock. With the passage of time, many other tribes namely, Shins, Yashkuns (Dardic people), Kashmiris (known as Khache in local language), Arabs (mostly Sayeds), Persian (Sufis) and Turks (especially Uygurs from central Asia) made their enroads to Baltistan and gradually merged with the local population. After second or third generation they became Baltis. Today, in Skardu (land of Sakas), the capital of Baltistan region of Pakistan, the most hardened Baltis are outsiders namely Kashmiris or Dard tribes.
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Bengali people
The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal (now divided between Bangladesh and India) in South Asia. They speak Bengali (বাংলা Bangla), which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী (pronounced Bangali). They primarily belong to Indo-Aryan and Mongolo-Dravidian stock,and are closely related to Austro-Asiatic, Dravidian, Assamese, Sinhalese, Munda, and Tibeto-Burman linguistic/ethnic stocks. As such, Bengalis are a homogeneous but considerably diverse ethnic group with heterogeneous origins. They are the second largest single ethnic group in the world[citation needed].
They are mostly concentrated in Bangladesh and the states of West Bengal and Tripura in India. There are also a number of Bengali communities scattered across North-East India, New Delhi, and the Indian states of Assam, Jharkhand, Bihar, Maharastra, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Orissa. In addition, there are significant Bengali communities beyond South Asia; some of the most well established Bengali communities are in the United Kingdom and United States. Large numbers of Bengalis (mainly from Sylhet) have settled in Britain, mainly living in the East boroughs of London, numbering from around 300,000; in the USA there are about 150,000 living across the country, mainly in New York. There are also millions living across the Gulf States, majority of whom are living as foreign workers. There are also many Bengalis in Pakistan, Malaysia, South Korea, Canada, Japan, Australia and many other countries (see Bangladeshi diaspora).
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China
China (i/ˈtʃaɪnə/; Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó; see also Names of China), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is the world's most-populous country, with a population of over 1.3 billion. Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometres, the East Asian state is the world's second-largest country by land area, and the third- or fourth-largest in total area, depending on the definition of total area.
The People's Republic of China is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party of China. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau). Its capital city is Beijing. The PRC also claims Taiwan—which is controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), a separate political entity—as its 23rd province, a claim controversial due to the complex political status of Taiwan and the unresolved Chinese Civil War. The PRC government denies the legitimacy of the ROC.
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Dakoha Sadaat
Dakoha is a village in the Jalandhar Cantonment of the state of Punjab, northwest India.
Prior to Partition in 1947, Dakoha had a large population of Saadat Shia Muslims who claimed descent from Ali ibn Abi Talib and Fatimah bint-e-Muhammad. The Sadaat community lived near the Rama Mandi and the phatak (railway crossing) of the Jalandhar Cantt Station. Muhammad Anwar, a member of the Dakoha Sadaat, owned a substantial piece of land in Dakoha. He was a well known landlord and is also credited with constructing five wells (Awean waala khoo, Chamaran waala khoo, Mengran waala khoo, Roorran waala Khoo, and School waala khoo) for the people that resided in and around Dakoha.
The Dakoha Saadats were believed to descend from Imam Ali Al-Naqi, the 10th successor of Muhammad ibn Abdullah, qualifying them as Naqvi Syeds. The Dakoha Muslim community also calimed relation to Hazrat Meeran Khas, a Muslim saint who was invited to Hindustan (from Termez, Uzbekistan) by the leader of the Loodhi tribe.
Following Partition the Dakoha Sadaat relocated to Pakistan, settling initially at Korian in the Punjab and moving on to Lahore in 1956. The Sadaat Colony of Samanabad was created by the members of the Dakoha Sadaat emigre community. However, the descendants of Muhammad Anwar (through his son Tasaddaq) reside in Gulberg II, Lahore Naqvi Sadat.
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Dard people
The Dards (Devanagari: दारद, Perso-Arabic: دارد) are a group of people defined by linguistic similarities, and not a common ethnic origin, predominantly found in Eastern Afghanistan, in the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir and in the Gilgit-Baltistan region and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The term Dard is due to Herodotus who described a land of the Dardikae in the areas forming Hindu Kush and Karakoram.
Parpola (1999) identifies "Proto-Dardic" with "Proto-Rigvedic", suggesting that the Dards are the linguistic descendants of the bearers of proto Rigvedic culture ca. 1700 BC, pointing to features in certain Dardic dialects that continue peculiarities of Rigvedic Sanskrit, such as the gerund in -tvī (p. 189).
Moreover, the Dard people are mentioned in the Vishnu Purana.and in the Mahabharat. also They now occupy the area called Dardu, supposed by Herodotus to be the Dadicæ. As such, during Swati rule, the Dard people were dominantly Hindu and frequent small scale jihad against Dard might have been a routine. Dards of Dras, Gilgit, Skardu, etc., embraced Islam after the Muslim invasion of India during the 14th century A.D. whereas the Dards of Da, Hanu, Bema, Darchik and Garkon did not accept this and gradually later accepted Buddhism.
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Dharhi
The Dharhi are a Muslim community found in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India.
Their name is a corruption of the Sanskrit word dhrista, which means impudent. The community are traditionally associated with singing. Like other Muslim groups involved with in singing, there occupation has led to the community evolving a distinct identity from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh Muslims. They are found in Gopamau and Sandhila in Hardoi District, Kakori in Lucknow District and Lakhimpur in Lakhimpur Kheri District. A small number are also found in Raibareli and Faizabad districts. The Dharhi speak the Awadhi dialect.
The Dharhi are strictly endogamous, and practice consanguineous marriages. They prefer marriages within the lineage, which are known as biradaris. Members of a biradari are supposedly descended from a common male ancestor. There are said to be forty biradaris, the main ones being the Balrampuria, Chaurasiya, Jaunpuriya and Desi. The biradaris get their name from their place of origin.
The Dharhi are still involved with singing and playing the table for their patron communities. A majority of the community are now daily wage labourers. They live in multi-caste villages, and each settlement has an informal caste council. These caste councils act as an instrument of social control. The Dharhi are Sunni Muslims, although incorporate a number of folk beliefs.
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E. Ahamed
E. Ahamed (born 29 April 1937) is the Minister of State (Deputy Minister) for the Ministry of External Affairs and minister of state for Human Resource Development of the Republic of India. He represents the Malappuram Lok Sabha constituency of Kerala and is a member of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). He is also the President of the All India committee.
Born on April 29, 1937 in Kannur (Kerala) Mr. E. Ahamed had his education in Government Brennen College, Tellichery and Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram from where he completed his B.A. and B.L. degrees. He started his career as a Lawyer.
Mr. Ahamed was a Member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly consecutively for 5 terms from 1967 to 1991. From 1982 to 1987 he was Cabinet Minister in Kerala in charge of the Department of Industry. He was elected to the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) for the first time in 1991. He was elected to the Lok Sabha in all subsequent elections. Mr. Ahamed is representing Ponnani constituency in the 14th Lok Sabha (fifth term). He was a member of several high-level governmental delegations and Parliamentary Committees during this period. He was a member of the Indian delegation to the UN General Assembly consecutively for six years from 1992 to 1997. From 2004 to 2009, he was the union minister of states for the Ministry of External Affairs.In the 2nd UPA govt Ahamed was the Minister of state for railway affairs,after a one year office Prime minister decided to reshuffle his cabinet later ahamed was given the Minister of state for external affairs.Mr. Ahamed is associated with several educational, cultural and social institutions. He is the author of three books.
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Elamaram Kareem
Elamaram Kareem (born 1 July 1953) is an Indian politician, trade unionist, and a member of Communist Party of India (Marxist). He was the Minister for Industries & Commerce in the Left Democratic Front government under V. S. Achuthanandan from 2006-2011. He represents the Beypore constituency in Kozhikode district in the Kerala Legislative Assembly.
Born on 1 July 1953 at Elamaram in Kozhikode district, Kareem began his career as an employee at Gwalior Rayons, Mavoor in Calicut. He became a trade union member and later the leader of Gwalior Rayons trade union. He took part in the efforts to re-open the Mavoor factory when it was shut down in 1985. He was instrumental in organizing the tile industry as well as its revival activities across Kerala.
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Francis Day
Francis Day CIE (1829–1889) was Inspector-General of Fisheries in India (from circa 1871) and Burma and an ichthyologist.
He was born on 2 March 1829 Maresfield, Sussex, UK third son of William and Ann Day. He became the medical officer in the Madras Presidency, East India Company services in 1852.
Francis Day was created a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire in 1885. He was decorated with the Order of the Crown of Italy. He retired in 1877.
Day wrote a monograph on fishes between 1875–1878 "The Fishes of India" with a supplement in 1888 and two volumes on "Fishes" in The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma series in which he described over 1400 species. He also wrote British and Irish Salmonadae, which he illustrated with 9 plates, the colouring of which was done by Miss Florence Woolward. Francis Day was granted an honorary LLD by the University of Edinburgh.
Day also published Fishes of Malabar in 1865.
Although considered an expert on the fishes of India, Albert Günther found many of Day's observations questionable.
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George Sarton
George Sarton (1884–1956) was a Belgian chemist and historian who is considered the founder of the discipline of history of science. He left Belgium because of the First World War and settled in the United States where he spent the rest of his life researching and writing about the history of science. His daughter is the American writer May Sarton.
George Alfred Leon Sarton was born in Ghent, Belgium on August 31, 1884. He graduated from the University of Ghent in 1906 and two years later won a gold medal for one of his papers on chemistry. He received his PhD in mathematics at the University of Ghent in 1911. He married Mabel Eleanor Elwes, an English artist, in 1911 and their daughter Eleanore Marie (known as: May) was born the following year. Although he emigrated to England after World War I broke out, he came to the United States in 1915, where he would live for the rest of his life. He worked for the Carnegie Foundation for International Peace and lectured at Harvard University, 1916-18, where he became a lecturer in 1920 and then professor of the history of science from 1940 until his retirement in 1951. He was also a research associate of the Carnegie Institution of Washington from 1919 until 1948.
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Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes (Greek: Ἕλληνες, [ˈelines]), are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and other regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world.
Greek colonies and communities have been historically established in most corners of the Mediterranean, but Greeks have always been centered around the Aegean Sea, where the Greek language has been spoken since antiquity. Until the early 20th century, Greeks were uniformly distributed between the Greek peninsula, the western coast of Asia Minor, Pontus, Egypt, Cyprus and Constantinople; many of these regions coincided to a large extent with the borders of the Byzantine Empire of the late 11th century and the Eastern Mediterranean areas of the ancient Greek colonization.
In the aftermath of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922), a large-scale population exchange between Greece and Turkey transferred and confined Christians from Turkey, except Constantinople (effectively ethnic Greeks) into the borders of the modern Greek state and Cyprus. Other ethnic Greek populations can be found from southern Italy to the Caucasus and in diaspora communities in a number of other countries. Today, most Greeks are officially registered as members of the Greek Orthodox Church.
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Ibn Battuta
Abū ‘Abd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ‘Abd Allāh al-Lawātī al-Ţanjī ibn Baṭūṭah (Arabic: أبو عبد الله محمد بن عبد الله اللواتي الطنجي بن بطوطة), or simply Ibn Battuta (ابن بطوطة), also known as Shams ad-Din (February 25, 1304–1368 or 1369), was a Berber Muslim Moroccan explorer, known for his extensive travels, accounts of which were published in the Rihla (lit. "Journey"). Over a period of thirty years, he visited most of the known Islamic world as well as many non-Muslim lands; his journeys including trips to North Africa, the Horn of Africa, West Africa, Southern Europe and Eastern Europe in the West, and to the Middle East, South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and China in the East, a distance surpassing threefold his near-contemporary Marco Polo. Ibn Battuta is considered one of the greatest travellers of all time. He journeyed more than 75,000 miles (121,000 km), a figure unsurpassed by any individual explorer until the coming of the Steam Age some 450 years later.
All that is known about Ibn Battuta's life comes from the autobiographical information included in the account of his travels. Ibn Battuta was born into a Berber family of Islamic legal scholars in Tangier, Morocco, on 25 February 1304, during the reign of the Marinid dynasty. As a young man he would have studied at a Sunni Maliki madh'hab, (Islamic jurisprudence school), the dominant form of education in North Africa at that time. In June 1325, at the age of twenty-one, Ibn Battuta set off from his hometown on a hajj, or pilgrimage, to Mecca, a journey that would take sixteen months. He would not see Morocco again for twenty-four years.
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Imam Shafi'i
Abū ʿAbdullāh Muhammad ibn Idrīs al-Shāfi‘ī (Arabic: ابو عبدالله محمد بن إدريس الشافعيّ) was a Muslim jurist, who lived from 767 CE to 820 CE. He was active in juridical matters and his teaching eventually led to the Shafi'i school of fiqh (or Madh'hab) named after him. Hence he is often called Imam al-Shafi'i. He is considered the founder of Islamic jurisprudence.
The biography of al-Shāfi‘ī is difficult to trace. The oldest surviving biography goes back to Ibn Abi Hatim al-Razi (died 327H/939) and is no more than a collection of anecdotes, some of them fantastic. The first real biography is by Ahmad Bayhaqi (died 458H/1066) and is filled with pious legends. The following is what seems to be a sensible reading.
al-Shāfi‘ī belonged to the Qurayshi clan Banu Muttalib which was the sister clan of the Banu Hashim to which Muhammad and the Abbasid caliphs belonged. Hence he had connections in the highest social circles, but he grew up in poverty.
He was born in Gaza in the town of Asqalan and moved to Mecca when he was about two years old. He is reported to have studied under Muslim Ibn Khalid az-Zanji, the Mufti of Mecca at his time and is considered the first teacher of Imam ash-Shafi'i.
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Ionians
The Ionians (Greek: Ἴωνες, Íōnes, singular Ἴων, Íōn) were one of the four major Greek tribes into which the Classical Greeks considered the population of Hellenes to have been divided (along with the Dorians, Aeolians and Achaeans). The Ionian dialect was one of the three major linguistic divisions of the Hellenic world, together with the Dorian and Aeolian.
"Ionian" with reference to populations had several senses in Classical Greece. In the narrowest sense, it was used of the region of Ionia in Asia Minor. In a more broad sense, it could be used to describe all speakers of the Ionic dialect, which also included the populations of Euboea, the Cyclades and many colonies founded by Ionian colonists. Finally, in the broadest sense, it could be used to describe all those who spoke languages of the East Greek group, which included Attic.
The foundation myth which was current in the Classical period suggested that the Ionians were named after Ion, son of Xuthus, and lived in the north Peloponnesian region of Aegilaus. When the Dorians invaded the Peloponnese and expelled the Achaeans from the Argolid and Lacedaemonia, the Achaeans moved into Aegilaus (henceforth known as Achaea), and the Ionians were in turn expelled. The Ionians went to Attica and mingled with the population there, before many people finally emigrated to the coast of Asia Minor, founding the historical region of Ionia.
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Iraqi biradri
The word Birâdrî (Persian: برادري) means Brotherhood originating from the word Birâdar meaning "Brother" in Persian. In Pakistan, India and Bangladesh it is used to denote a number of social strata among Muslims.
The taxonomy “Iraqi Biradri” (Hindi: इराक़ी बिरादरी, Urdu: عراقی برادری) does not refer to a group presently living in Iraq, but is a reference to an ethnic group in Pakistan and India.
Most of the Iraqi Biradri speak Urdu though the more highly educated also speak Persian and some more religious oriented families also speak Arabic.
The Iraqi Biradri are Sunni Muslims.
The name "Iraqi" is an ethnonym. In Persian, and Urdu, the terminal 'i' is what is called in Arabic morphology "yâ' an-nisba" (ياء النسبة) meaning "the letter yâ of association". Though most Iraqis of the Subcontinent speak Urdu, gravestones from as far back as the 1800's found as far east as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are branded with both Persian and liturgical Arabic. Though they are very few, some genetic tests have substantiated their Iraqi ancestry by yielding Haplogroups found primarily in Iran and Iraq. File:Iraqui.jpg File:Iraqui.jpg
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Jew
The Jews (Hebrew: יְהוּדִים ISO 259-3 Yhudim Israeli pronunciation [jehuˈdim]), also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and an ethnoreligious group, originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation.Converts to Judaism, whose status as Jews within the Jewish ethnos is equal to those born into it, have been absorbed into the Jewish people throughout the millennia.
In Jewish tradition, Jewish ancestry is traced to the Biblical patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the second millennium BCE. The modern State of Israel defines itself as a Jewish state in its Basic Laws, and Israel's Law of Return states: "Every Jew has the right to come to this country as an oleh." Israel is the only country where Jews are a majority of the population. Jews achieved political autonomy twice before in ancient history. The first of these periods lasted from 1350 to 586 BCE, and encompassed the periods of the Judges, the United Monarchy, and the Divided Monarchy of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, ending with the destruction of the First Temple. The second was the period of the Hasmonean Kingdom spanning from 140 to 37 BCE. Since the destruction of the First Temple, most Jews have lived in diaspora. A minority in every country in which they live (except Israel), they have frequently experienced persecution throughout history, resulting in a population that has fluctuated both in numbers and distribution over the centuries.
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Kan (tribe)
The Kan are a Muslim community found in north east India and Bangladesh. They are also known as Khalifa.
The Kan are a small Muslim community who were traditional involved in the repairing of umbrellas. According to traditions, the Kan were originally members of the Dom community who converted to Islam. In addition to repairing umbrellas, the community are also involved in the manufacture of fishhooks. The community is found mainly in the districts of Murshidabad, 24 Parganas and Nadia in West Bengal and Faridpur District in Bangladesh.
The Kan are still involved in the traditional occupation of umbrella repairing, and during the chaitra or rainy season, the community entirely devotes itself to the construction and repairing umbrellas. This season last for almost six months, while for the remaining six months the community is involved in daily wage labour. A significant numbers of the community are now cultivators. They grow mainly paddy and wheat.
The Kan occupies distinct quarters in villages known as a paras. Each of these settlements contains an informal caste council known as a panchayat, which acts as an instrument of social control. The community are strictly endogamous, and marry close kin.
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Kashmiri people
The Kashmiri people (Kashmiri: کٲشُر) are a Dardic linguistic group living in or originating from the former Indian state of Kashmir. That former state is presently disputed territory, comprising the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir, the Pakistani-administered territories of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan, and the People's Republic of China-administered regions of Aksai Chin and Trans-Karakoram Tract.
According to language research conducted by the International Institute of UCLA, the Kashmiri language is "a Northwestern Dardic language of the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-Iranian subfamily of the Indo-European language family." There is, however, no universally agreed genetic basis for the language. UCLA estimates the number of speakers as being around 4.4 million, with a preponderance in the Kashmir Valley, whereas the 2001 census of India recorded 5,362,349 throughout India, and thus excluding speakers in the non-Indian Kashmiri areas.
Horace Hayman Wilson, who died in 1860, noted that the recorded history of Kashmir commences with the Kurukshetra War, which is believed to date variously from 6000BCE to 500BCE.
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Kela (tribe)
The Kela are a Muslim community found in the state of West Bengal in India. They are also known as Kharia Muslim.
The Kela are a hunting and gathering community found in the district of Midnapore. They were traditionally involved in the catching of snakes, toads and birds, a profession considered derogatory by neighbouring communities. The word Kela has been derived from the word kala, which means unclean in Bengali. They are also known as Kharia Muslims, as they are said to be converts from the Kharia caste, and prefer to be known as Kharia.
The Kela have now entirely given up their traditional occupation, and the majority are now marginal farmers or sharecroppers. A significant minority are also involved in repairing locks, and now suitcases. The community is strictly endogamous, and marry close kin. They live in multi-caste villages, but occupy their distinct quarters, known as paras. The community are Sunni Muslims and speak Bengali language.
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Koya (Malabar)
Koyas are a subdivision of Malabar Muslims (Mappila). They are mostly concentrated in and around the Thekkepuram sector of the city of Kozhikode. They claim their descent from upper caste Hindus of Kerala such as Nairs as well as from the Arabs.[citation needed] During the Zamorin's rule, the Koya of Calicut held a position that was equivalent to that held by the Nair of Calicut. Koyas are also found on the islands of Lakshadweep as well as in other parts of South Malabar. Koyas make up more than half of the population in the Lakshadweep islands. [clarification needed]
Koyas formed most of the aristocratic Moplah population in South Malabar, while in North Malabar, a related ethnic group, the Keyis functioned as the major land owning and ruling class.[clarification needed] The Koya of Calicut was one of the most important military commanders within Zamorin's army and took part in the conquest of Valluvanadu.[clarification needed].
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Lodha Muslims
The Lodha Muslim are a tribal or Adivasi community found in the state of West Bengal in India. They are Muslim converts from the Hindu Lodha tribe.
The exact circumstances of the conversion of the Lodha Muslims to Islam remains shrouded in mystery, but the conversion process was gradual, and the community still preserve many of their pre-Islamic customs. They are found mainly in the Midnapore District, in particular in the villages of Madhya Hingli, Uttar Rani Chak, Gamatub, Maniktala, Laldighi, Chapbasan, Sodhpur and Piyada. .
The traditional occupation of the Lodha was hunting and gathering, in particular catching of snakes and toads, and then selling their skins. They are no longer hunters and gatherers, and community has now taken up the occupation as locksmiths. A small number are also marginal farmers, but their holdings are incredibly small. The bulk of the community are now wage labourers, with a steady immigration to the city of Kolkata.
The Lodha are strictly endogamous community, and prefer to marry close kin. They are residentially segregated, live in their own quarters within the villages they reside. Each settlement contains a jati panchayat or caste council, which maintains social control, and resolves any intra community dispute. The community are Sunni Muslims and have customs similar to other Bengali Muslims.
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Malayali
Malayali (also spelled Malayalee; Malayalam: മലയാളി, Malayāḷi ?) is the term used to refer to the native speakers of Malayalam, originating from the Indian state of Kerala. The Malayali identity is primarily linguistic, although in recent times the definition has been broadened to include emigrants of Malayali descent who partly maintain Malayali cultural traditions, even if they do not regularly speak the language. While the origins of the Malayali people are in the state of Kerala, significant populations also exist in other parts of India, the Middle East, Europe and North America. According to the Indian census of 2001, there were 30,803,747 speakers of Malayalam in Kerala, making up 96.7% of the total population of that state. Hence the word Keralite is often used in the same context, though a proper definition is ambiguous.
Malayalam, the Malayalis' native language, has its origin from the words mala meaning mountain and alam meaning land (Tamil/Malayalam) or locality (which lies alongside the mountain). Hence 'Malayali' means people from the mountains who lived beyond the Western Ghats, and Malayalam the language that was spoken there.
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Malik Bin Deenar
Mālik bin Dīnār (Arabic: مالك بن دينار) (died 748 CE) was from the generation of the sahaaba. He is mentioned as a reliable traditionist, transmitting from such authorities as Malik ibn Anas and Ibn Sirin. He was the son of a Persian slave from Kabul who became a disciple of Hasan al-Basri. He died at the age of ninety in Basra.
The first Indian mosque is thought to have been built in 629 A.D, purportedly at the behest of Rama Varma Kulashekhara is a Chera dynasty ruler, who is considered the first Indian Muslim, during the lifetime of Muhammad in Kodungallur, in district of Thrissur, Kerala by Malik Bin Deenar. His grave is situated in Malik Deenar Mosque, Kasaragod, Kerala. It is a famous pilgrim point among Sunni Muslims in India
As the tradition goes, a Chera king, Cheramanperumal of Kodungallur, left for Makkah, embraced Islam, and accepted the name Thajudeen. He married the sister of then King of Jeddah. On his return trip, accompanied by many Islamic religious leaders, led by Malik-ibn-Dinar (RA), he fell sick and died. But he had given introductory letters for the team to proceed to ‘Musiris’ (Kodungallur, the Chera capital. The visitors came to Musiris and handed over the latter to the reigning king, who treated the guests with all respect and extended facilities to establish their faith in the land. The king also organised help for the artisans to build the first Mosque at Kodungallur, by converting Arathali temple into a Juma-Masjid. It was build in 629 A.C., and the area around it had been ear-marked for the team’s settlement.
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Mappila
Mappila (Malayalam: മാപ്പിള Māppiḷa, alternatively Mopla, Moplah) refers to the largest Muslim community in Kerala state, India primarily distributed in the northern region called Malabar, which arose as a result of the pre and post Islamic Arab contacts.
Muslims of Kerala, of which Mappilas constitute a majority, also make up the largest community in Kerala state, 24.70% of the population. As a religious group they are the second largest after Hindus (56%). They share the common language called Malayalam with the other inhabitants of Kerala. Islam reached Malabar Coast as early as 7th century AD and was assimilated with the culture and traditions of the local people. Over the centuries, the strong relations of the Mappilas with the traders from Arabia have created a profound impact on their life and culture. This has resulted in the formation of a unique tradition in literature, art, music, and history of the Mappilas. They form an integral part of the unique blend of the culture of the Malayalam language speaking population. Most of the Mappilas follow Shafi`i School, while a large minority follow movements arose within Sunni Islam.
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Marathi people
The Marathi people or Maharashtrians (Marathi: मराठी माणसं or महाराष्ट्रीय) are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, that inhabit the Maharashtra region and state of western India. Their language Marathi is part of the southern group of Indo-Aryan languages. Although their history goes back more than a millennium, the community came to prominence when Maratha warriors under Shivaji established the Maratha Empire in 1674. If regarded as a single ethnic group, the Marathi constitute the 17th largest ethnic group.
The term 'Marathi people' is derived from the language commonly spoken by this ethnicity, i.e. Marathi.
The term Maratha or its plural Marathe was used between the 17th and 19th centuries, coinciding with the existence of the Maratha Empire. However, at the beginning of 20th century, due to the efforts of Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur, the peasant Indo-Aryan Kshatriya Marathi class called Kunbi started using the word Maratha to describe themselves. The current usage of the term Maratha applies mainly to the former Indo-Aryan Kshatriya Kunbi caste as well as the 96 clan upper caste Maratha group and not to the wider Marathi community.
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Marthanda Varma
Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (Malayalam: അനിഴം തിരുനാൾ മാര്ത്താണ്ഡ വര്മ്മ; 1706–1758) was a king of Travancore (Trippappur Swaroopam) from 1729 till his death in 1758. He annexed several neighboring states and contributed substantially to the expansion of Travancore. Under his rule Travancore rose to prominence as a powerful military state in South India. He was succeeded by his nephew Kartika Tirunal Rama Varma ("Dharma Raja").
King Marthanda Varma is usually credited as the "founder of modern Kingdom of Travancore". The rulers of Venad trace their relations back to the Ay kingdom and the Later Chera kingdom. Marthanda Varma crowned in his twenties, successfully suppressed the feudal lords, defeated the local kingdoms of Attingal, Kollam (Desinganad), Kayamkulam, Kottarakara (Ilayidathu Swaroopam), Pandalam, Ambalapuzha, Kottayam, Changanassery, Meenachil, Karappuram, and Alangad and fought numerous battles against the Dutch and the kingdom of Cochin with the help of the British East India Company. In the famous Battle of Colachel (1741), Marthanda Varma's army defeated the Dutch East India Company, resulting in the complete eclipse of Dutch power in Malabar. In this battle, Marthanda Varma captured the Flemish admiral of the VOC Eustachius De Lannoy who would later modernize the Travancore army by introducing better firearms and artillery. This battle in the Travancore-Dutch War (1739–1753) is considered the earliest example of an organized Asian power overcoming European military technology and tactics; and it signaled the decline of Dutch power in India. He was also successful in defeating the Zamorin of Calicut in a battle at Purakkad. Ramayyan Dalawa, the Prime Minister (1737–1756) of Marthanda Varma, also played an important role in this consolidation and expansion.
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Memon people
Memons (Gujarati: મેમણ; Sindhi: ميمڻ; Urdu: میمن; Hindi: मेमन) are a caste who trace their roots largely to Sindh, Kutch and Kathiawar in South Asia, and are sometimes seen as transitional between the three regions. Memons predominantly adhere to Sunni Islam . Historically Memons are a mercantile community (and are generally referred to as a business community in Pakistan and India).
Traditionally, the name Memon is an adaptation of Momin (Arabic: مومن) meaning faithful. This was used when this community converted to Islam. They are now predominantly Hanafi Sunni Muslims. They follow Sun-nah and hadeeth of Muhammad, considered by them to be the last prophet of God "Allah" (Offers five time prayers and recites Qur'an, . And adherent of Islam.
More than one hypothesis has been forwarded about the origins of the Memon community. One of the main schools of thought is that they are of the lohana caste. These hypotheses, although similar, differ in their details. This could be because Memons have had to rely on oral history in order to determine their origins.
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Mirasi
The Mirasi (Hindi: मीरासी, Urdu: میراثی) are a Muslim or Sikh caste, found in Northern India and Pakistan. They are also known as Pakhwaji, Kalawart and Qawwal. The Mirasi community are the genealogists of a number of communities in Northern India and Pakistan. Most Mirasis are Muslim, but Rababi and Dhadi sub-groups are entirely Sikh. Their preferred self-designation in Pakistan is now Qureshi.
Included within the name Mirasi are a number of sub-groups, each with their own history and origin myths. Some Mirasi groups are Muslim converts from the Hindu Dom caste, while others claim to have originally belonged to the Hindu Charan community. They are said to have converted to Islam at the hands of Amir Khusro, the 11th Century Sufi poet. The word mirasi is derived from the Arabic word miras, which means inheritance or sometimes heritage. They are the heredity genealogists of many communities in North India, and as such the keepers of the heritage or Mirasi. The North Indian Mirasi are divided into five main sub-groups, the Abbal, Posla, Bet, Kattu and Kalet. In customs, they are similar to the Muslim Raibhat, another community of genealogists. Also related to the Mirasi are the Kingharia, another community that once employed as musicians and entertainers.
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Mughal (tribe)
The Mughals (Persian: مغول, Urdu: مغل are a number of culturally related clans of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh. In theory, the Mughals of South Asia are descended from the various Central Asian Turkic armies and immigrants that settled in the region from the early Middle Ages onwards.
In theory, all those who claim Mughal ancestry are descendents of various Central Asian Turco-Mongol armies that invaded Iran and South Asia from Genghis Khan, to Timur to Babur and beyond. But the term has always had a wider meaning. According to Bernier, a French traveler who visited India during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb: + In medieval period, descendants of various armies that conquered South Asia under Babar were called Mughals. The term was also used for later immigrants from Iran, the Qizilbash community.
The court itself consisted of a medley of most Uyghur and some Turkman/Uzbeks, Persians, Afghanss and Central Asian Turks, or descendants of all these classes; known, as said before by the general appellation Mughal by the Muslims of native origin.
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Muhammad
Muhammad (c. 26 April 570 – 8 June 632; also transliterated as Mohammad, Mohammed, or Muhammed; Arabic: محمد), full name: Muhammad Ibn `Abd Allāh Ibn `Abd al-Muttalib (Arabic: محمد بن عبدالله بن عبد المطلب ) was a leader from Mecca who unified the tribes of Arabia into a single religious polity under Islam. He is believed by Muslims and Bahá'ís to be a messenger and prophet of God. Muslims believe that Islam was not his own invention but was revealed by God, and most consider him to be the last prophet of God Muslims thus consider him the restorer of an uncorrupted original monotheistic faith (islām) of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and other prophets.
Born in 570 CE in the Arabian city of Mecca, he was orphaned at an early age and brought up under the care of his uncle Abu Talib. He later worked mostly as a merchant, as well as a shepherd, and was first married by age 25. Being in the habit of periodically retreating to a cave in the surrounding mountains for several nights of meditation and prayer, he later reported that it was there, at age 40, that he received his first revelation from God. Three years after this event Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming that "God is One", that complete "surrender" to Him (lit. islām) is the only way (dīn) acceptable to God, and that he himself was a prophet and messenger of God, in the same vein as other Islamic prophets.
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Muslim Raj Gond
The Muslim Raj Gond are a small Muslim community found mainly in the city of Nagpur in Maharashtra in India. A small number are also found in the state of Madhya Pradesh. They are also known as the Dao Muslim Jamat. The community are Muslim converts from the Gond community.
The Dao Jamat are drawn from the largest tribal grouping in India, the Gond. They are descended from the family and close kinsmen of Gond chief who converted to Islam about three hundred years ago. The community descend from Raja Bhagtu Shah, the ruler of the state of Deogarh, who converted to Islam. He took the Muslim name Shaikh Bakht Buland Goindi. The principality was taken over by the Bhonsle Marathas in the 18th Century.
The Muslim Raj Gond are found mainly in the city of Nagpur, living mainly in the Dao Mandi area. In addition, they are also found in the village Matkajheri in Nagpur District. They are also found in the districts of Hoshangabad, Betul, Balaghat, Seoni, and Raisen. The community is endogamous, although there are cases of marriage with the Mughal, Shaikh and Momin Ansari communities. They are now called Mughal Goindis or Shaikh Goindis. They have also given up the historic practice of clan exogamy. Like other Muslim communities in Maharashtra, they have come under the influence of the Tableeghi Jamat. There has also been a movement towards adoption of Urdu, and the use of the Gondi language has almost disappeared.
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Muslims of Kerala
There had been considerable trade relations between Arabia and Kerala even before the time of Mohammed the Prophet. Islam might have been introduced in Kerala by the Arab traders in the 7th or 8th century AD itself. Like the Jews and Christians, the Arabs also settled down in Cranganore and established a separate colony of their part of the town.
Muslims of Kerala state, India may belong to any of the following different communities (based on religious believes and origins), viz., Mappilas, Keyis, Dakhni Muslims, Labbays, Rowthers, Thangals, Thulukkars, Marakkars, Koyas, Ossans, Pusalans etc.
And they may belong to any of the following intra-religious sects (the position of Chekannur Maulavi's Khur’an Sunnat Society is not shown), viz.,
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Namboodiri
The Nambudiri Brahmins, also transliterated Namboothiri, are Hindu Brahmins from the Indian state of Kerala.
Nambudri nambũdiri is derived from nambuka "to trust" and tiri (from Sanskrit śrī) "blessed". Popular etymology derives the name from Malayalam nambu "the Veda", ōthu "to teach" and tiri "holy".
Nambudiri mythology associates their immigration to Kerala from the banks of Narmada, Krishna and Kaveri rivers with the legendary creation of Kerala by Parasurama, an avatar of Vishnu. In the Travancore State Manual, Nagam Ayya also says that they came from the region between Krishna and Godavari.
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Nasrani
The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians or Nasrani, are an ancient body of Christians from the Indian state of Kerala who trace their origins to the evangelical activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. The community was historically united in leadership and liturgy, but since the 17th century have been split into several different church groups and traditions.
Historically the Saint Thomas Christian community was part of the Church of the East, centred in Persia. They were organised as the Ecclesiastical Province of India in the 8th century, served by bishops and a hereditary Archdeacon. In the 16th century the overtures of the Portuguese padroado to bring the Saint Thomas Christians into the Catholic Church led to the first of several rifts in the community and the establishment of Syrian Catholic and Malankara Church factions. Since that time further splits have occurred, and the Saint Thomas Christians are now divided into several different Eastern Catholic, Oriental Orthodox, and independent bodies, each with their own liturgies and traditions.
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Pashtun diaspora
Pashtuns (Pashto: پښتانه Pax̌tānə, also spelled as Pushtuns, Pakhtuns or Pukhtuns), also known as ethnic Afghans (Pashto: افغان) or Pathans (Urdu: پٹھان, Hindi: पठान Paṭhān), are an ethnic group with populations in Afghanistan and Pakistan. There are also significant numbers in India, the Middle East, the Europian Union, North America, Australia, and other parts of the world.
The ethnic group was known historically as "Afghan", believed to be the indigenous people of the vast Pashtunistan (Pakhtunistan) tribal region, between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan. According to Ethnologue, they currently number around 50 million but some sources give slightly lower or higher figures.
Since the 3rd century AD and onward, the Pashtuns have been referred to by the ethnonym Afghan, a term now used to describe a citizen of Afghanistan. Pashtuns make up the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan, comprising 42-60% of the total Afghan population. Approximately 1.7 million Afghan refugees continue to live in neighboring Pakistan, majority of which are Pashtuns and born inside that country. An unknown number of them are also found among the 1 million Afghans in Iran.
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Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians. The synonymous usage of Iranian and Persian has persisted over the centuries although some modern Western sources use Iranic/Iranian as a wider term that includes the term Persian as well as related Iranian languages and ethnic groups. However, these terms have been used both synonymously as well as in a complementary fashion since ancient times; as the Ancient Iranian peoples such as the Old Persians, Medes, Bactrians, Parthians and Avesta peoples considered themselves to be part of the greater Iranian ethnic stock.
The term Persian translates to "from or of Persis" which is a region north of the Persian Gulf located in Pars, Iran. It was from this region that Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Achaemenid empire, united all other Iranian empires (such as the Medes and the Elamites), and expanded the Persian cultural and social influences by incorporating the Babylonian empire, and the Lydian empire. Although not the first Iranian empire, the Achaemenid empire is the first Persian empire well recognized by Greek and Persian historians for its massive cultural, military and social influences going as far as Athens, Egypt, and Libya.
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Prophet Muhammad
Muhammad (c. 26 April 570 – 8 June 632; also transliterated as Mohammad, Mohammed, or Muhammed; Arabic: محمد), full name: Muhammad Ibn `Abd Allāh Ibn `Abd al-Muttalib (Arabic: محمد بن عبدالله بن عبد المطلب ) was a leader from Mecca who unified the tribes of Arabia into a single religious polity under Islam. He is believed by Muslims and Bahá'ís to be a messenger and prophet of God. Muslims believe that Islam was not his own invention but was revealed by God, and most consider him to be the last prophet of God Muslims thus consider him the restorer of an uncorrupted original monotheistic faith (islām) of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and other prophets.
Born in 570 CE in the Arabian city of Mecca, he was orphaned at an early age and brought up under the care of his uncle Abu Talib. He later worked mostly as a merchant, as well as a shepherd, and was first married by age 25. Being in the habit of periodically retreating to a cave in the surrounding mountains for several nights of meditation and prayer, he later reported that it was there, at age 40, that he received his first revelation from God. Three years after this event Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming that "God is One", that complete "surrender" to Him (lit. islām) is the only way (dīn) acceptable to God, and that he himself was a prophet and messenger of God, in the same vein as other Islamic prophets.
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Rashidun
The Rightly Guided Caliphs or The Righteous Caliphs (الخلفاء الراشدون al-Khulafā’u r-Rāshidūn) is a term used in Sunni Islam to refer to the first four Caliphs who established the Rashidun Caliphate. The concept of "Rightly Guided Caliphs" originated with the Abbasid Dynasty. It is a reference to the Sunni tradition, "Hold firmly to my example (sunnah) and that of the Rightly Guided Caliphs" (Ibn Majah, Abu Dawood).
The first four Caliphs who ruled after the death of Muhammad are often quoted as the Khulafah Rashidun.
The Rashidun were either elected by a council (see The election of Uthman and Islamic democracy) or chosen based on the wishes of their predecessor. In the order of succession, the rashidun were:
Hasan ibn Ali was appointed as Caliph in 661 following the death of Ali and is also regarded as a righteous ruler by Sunni Muslims, although he was recognized by only half of the Islamic state and his rule was challenged and eventually ended by the Governor of Syria, Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan.
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Rashidun Caliphate
The Rashidun Caliphate (Arabic: الخلافة الراشدية al-khilāfat ar-Rāshidīyah), (c. 632-661) comprising the first four caliphs in Islam's history, was founded after Muhammad's death in 632 (Year 10 A.H. in the Islamic calendar). At its height, the Caliphate extended from the Arabian Peninsula, to the Levant, Caucasus and North Africa in the west, to the Iranian highlands and Central Asia in the east. At its greatest extent it was one of the largest empires in history. It is also known as the Patriarchal Caliphate.
After Muhammad's death in 632, the Medinan Ansar debated which of them should succeed him in running the affairs of the Muslims while Muhammad's household was busy with his burial. Umar (a Quraish) and Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah pledged their loyalty to Abu Bakr, with the Ansar and the Quraish soon following suit. Abu Bakr thus became the first Khalifa Rasul Allah (Successor of the Messenger of God), and embarked on campaigns to propagate Islam. First, though, he would have to subdue the Arabian tribes which had gone back on their oaths of allegiance to Islam and the Islamic community. As a Khalifa or Caliph he was not a monarch and never claimed such a title nor did his three successors do so.
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Sadaat Amroha
The Sadaat Amroha or Amrohi Syed are a community of Sayyids, historically settled in the town of Amroha, in Uttar Pradesh, India. Many members of Sadaat Amroha community have migrated to Pakistan after independence have settled in Karachi, Sindh.
The town of Amroha has been home to one of the oldest Naqvi Sadat settlements in India. Naqvis in Amroha arrived from Wasit, Iraq and have been resident in the town of Amroha since the 1190s A.D.
The Sadaat Amroha belong mainly to the Naqvi sub-group, mainly due to the fact, that they are all decedents of the famous Sufi saint Hazrat Syed Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat (a true 9th direct decedent of Imam Ali Al-Naqi), who was highly respected religious figure in Wasit, Iraq and later in India during the early ages of Islam in the Indian subcontinent and the khalifa of Hazrat Imam Suhrawardi R. The majority of Amrohvie Sadaat are Naqvi, predominately of Shia and Sunni sects. According to the 1901 Census of India, the main sub-division of the Sayyid was the Husseini and Naqvi.
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Samma (tribe)
Samma (Sindhi: سمو , Urdu: سما ) is a Baloch tribe settled in the provinces of Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab of Pakistan and also in Rajistan, India.
They are part of the larger Jamot tribe (Jamot means Rajput in Sindhi language) and speak the Sindhi, Balochi, and Seraiki. A large number of the Samma tribe live in Sindh and Balochistan other provinces of Pakistan. The former Chief Minister of Balochistan Jam Mohammad Yousaf is from the same tribe, he is Sardar and head of his tribe.
There are various theories about the origins of Samma tribe. Some believe they were descendants of Sam (Shem), the eldest of the three surviving sons of the prophet Nuh (Noah). According to others they were the descendants of Sam, the son of Umar, son of Hashim, Some argue that as the Samma rulers used the title of Jam, then Sammas are the descendants of Jamshid, the legendary king of Persia who could see in his wine cup (Jām-e Jam).
It also stated by the history that the Jaam are the Descendents of Hazrat Mir Masoom who is of the 22 sons of Hazrat Syed Hassan Jallaudin Bukhari and trace their origin to Uch Sharif. Hazrat Mir Masoom is also the source of information about the Samma dynasty.
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Sapuria
The Sapuria (sometimes pronounced Sanpuria) are a Muslim community found in the state of West Bengal in India, as well as in Bangladesh. They are also known as Bedia Mal and Sanpui.
The Sapuria are a community whose traditional occupation was snake charming. According to some traditions, they are converts from the Hindu Bedia caste. The Sapuria are said to have gotten their name from the Bengali word for snake which is sanp, and Sapuria literally means snake charmer. They speak a dialect of their own, but most also speak Bengali and are found mainly in the districts of Midnapore, Birbhum, Murshidabad, Howrah, Nadia and 24 Parganas. The Sapuria are also found in Bangladesh.
There are now two distinct sub-groups among the Sapuria, those who still practice their traditional occupation of snake charming, and a small minority who are now cultivators. Both these groups intermarry, but the community as a whole is endogamous.. Many Sapuria are still nomadic, and are often employed by local peasants as snake catchers. There encampments are usually found at the end of villages. The community has a fairly strong caste panchayat, that enforces communal rules and resolves intra-community disputes.
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Sayyid of Gujarat
The Sayyid (Arabic: سيد) (plural sādah Arabic: سادة) of Gujarat are members of the wider Sayyid community of South Asia. They are also known as Mir and Pirzada.
Sayyid' (Arabic: سيد) (plural sādah Arabic: سادة) literally means Mister. In the Arab world itself, the word is the equivalent of the English "Mister", as in Sayyid John Smith. The same concept is expressed by the word sidi (from the contracted form sayyidī 'my lord') in the Moroccan dialect of Arabic.
As an honorific title, the term Sayyid is given to males accepted as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husain ibn Ali, who were the sons of the prophet's daughter Fatima Zahra and son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib. Daughters of male sayyids are given the titles Sayyida, Alawiyah, Syarifah, or Sharifah. Children of a Sayyida mother but a non-Sayyid father cannot be attributed the title of Sayyid, however they may claim maternal descent and are called Mirza
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Siddi
The Siddi, Siddhi, or Sheedi (Urdu: شیدی ; Hindi, Marathi, Konkani: सिद्दी or शीदि; Gujarati: સિદ્દી; Kannada: ಸಿದ್ಧಿಗಳು), also known as Habshi, are an Indian and Pakistani ethnic group of Black African and/or Afro-Arab descent. The Siddi population is currently estimated to be 20,000–55,000, with Gujarat and Hyderabad in India and Makran and Karachi in Pakistan as the main population centres. Siddis are mainly Sufi Muslims, although some are Hindus and some Roman Catholic Christians. Villages in the forests of northern Karnataka, for instance, have residents who likely are descended from Mozambican/Angolan slaves who escaped from Portuguese traders and ships.
There are conflicting hypotheses on the origin of the name Siddi. One theory is that the word was a term of respect in North Africa, similar to the word sahib in modern India and Pakistan. A second theory is that the term Siddi is derived from the title borne by the captains of the Arab vessels that first brought Siddi settlers to India. These captains were known as Sayyid.
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Siddiqui
Siddiqui, (also rendered as Siddiqi, Siddique, Siddiquee, Siddighi, Sadighi, Seddighi, Sidiki or Siddiquie) (Arabic: صدیقی) is a Muslim family name, found in the South Asia and the Middle East. Shaikh is an additional title used occasionally by Siddiqui/Siddique to signify their Arab heritage. People having surname "Siddiqui" are offspring of Abu Bakr Siddiq (Arabic: ابو بكر الصديق), the first Caliph and an early companion and a close friend of the Prophet Muhammad.
The name "Siddiqui" derives from the word Siddiq, which means "truthful" in Arabic. "Al-Siddiq" was the title accorded to Abu Bakr (Arabic: ابو بكر الصديق), the first Caliph and friend of the Prophet Muhammad. The surname "Siddiqui/Siddiqi" signifies ancestry from Abu Bakr Siddiq.
Abu Bakr belonged to the Banu Taym clan of the Quraish. The genealogy of Abu Bakr joined that of the Prophet Muhammad in the eighth degree in their common ancestor Murrah ibn Ka'b. Four generations of the family of Abu Bakr Siddiq had the distinction of being the companions (Sahaba) of the Prophet Muhammad namely Abu Bakr, his father Uthman Abu Quhafa, his eldest son Abdu'l-Rahman and his grandson Abu Atiq Muhammad. No other family had this honour. Many Siddiqui families descend from this particular lineage. On the other hand, the Siddiqui families who are the progeny of Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, the youngest son of Abu Bakr descend from three generations of Sahaba. The lineage of Abu Bakr did not continue through his middle son Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr who was wounded during the Siege of Taif and later died of these wounds.
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Tadvi Bhil
The Tadvi Bhil (Urdu: تدوی بهیل ) are a Muslim community found in the states of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh in India and Sindh in Pakistan. They are Muslim converts from the larger Bhil ethnic group. Tadvi Bhils are descendents of Muslim men and local Bhil women (Forcefully Islam Conversion). They are also known as Tadvi Pathan, and use the surname Khan.
The Tadvi Bhil inhabit an area which roughly covers the border areas of the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. This territory forms the core of the Faruqi kingdom, a medieval state in central India. A close association between the Bhil of this region, and the Faruqi state led to the conversion of many of them to Islam.
The Tadvi Bhil in Maharashtra consist of three sub-groups, the Tadvi proper, the Nirade, and Nahay. Each of these groups intermarry, although the Tadvi proper perceive themselves to be superior.
The Tadvi speak a dialect of their own, also known as Tadvi, but many are switching to Hindi and Marathi. Their language is Dhanka, which belongs to the Bhil subgroup of the Indo-Aryan linguistic family. They inhabit villages which are largely Tadvi, although interact with neighbouring Muslim communities such as the Bohra and Pinjara. The community consist mainly of small cultivators. Like the wider Bhil community, they maintain the custom of gotra exogamy, and are strictly endogamous. In Maharashtra, their main clans are the Sirsat, Mankar, Dhopi, Tadvi, Khate, Solanki and Wade. They are found mainly in Dhule and Jalgaon, and in this state are mainly small and medium sized farmers. They are also raise sheep and other livestock.
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BJP RSS HINDU MUSLIM IN KERALA MALAYALAM
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- Duration: 13:52
- Updated: 27 Nov 2012
mujahid balushery speach in temple about true religion ,malayalam speach thiruvananthapuram , kochin , kasaragod
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Story of RSS activist murdered by Muslims in Kerala-1
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- Duration: 4:21
- Updated: 26 Nov 2012
Ashwini Kumar,Kannur Jilla Bauddhik Pramukh of RSS was murdered by Muslim terrorists in Kerala,India
http://wn.com/Story_of_RSS_activist_murdered_by_Muslims_in_Kerala-1
Muslims in Kerala and Caste question?
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- Duration: 3:09
- Updated: 18 Oct 2012
Sadiqque PK State Secretary of Students Islamic Organization speaks about Caste among Kerala Muslims. Also Joining his research at EFLU.
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Sense of insecurity among Kerala Muslims _ BIG Story Part 1
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Sense of insecurity among Kerala Muslims _ BIG Story Part 1
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HISTORY OF KERALA MUSLIMS MAPPILA SUNNI MUJAHID KABAR ISLAM NERCHA,MALAYALAM TELE FILM NEW PART-2
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- Duration: 8:01
- Updated: 01 Nov 2012
This video telling about the brief history of Islam in Kerala.... When they come ? What are the factors governing the growth of Muslims... How some of our Muslim brothers went wrong..?
http://wn.com/HISTORY_OF_KERALA_MUSLIMS_MAPPILA_SUNNI_MUJAHID_KABAR_ISLAM_NERCHA,MALAYALAM_TELE_FILM_NEW_PART-2
Kanthapuram, The Power of Kerala Muslims
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- Duration: 4:15
- Updated: 26 Oct 2012
Kanthapurathinte Kerala Yathra Sweekarana Sammelanam Manavikathaye unarthunnu. Kanthapuratthinte second Kerala Yathra Kasargod to Thiruvananthapuram April 12 to 28. Kerala yathra Samapana Sammelanam April 28 Thiruvananthapuram. Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar. Kerala yathra 2012. the Great Kerala Yathra of Shaikhuna Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyaar shanthi sumangalumaai kanthapuram varavaai kerala yathra song Kerala yathra welcome song kerala yathra sneha sangam song SSF Sneha Sangamam aathmeeya chooshanathinethire Vimochana yathra SKSSF Mangalapuram - Thiruvananthapuram Jatha Captain Abdul Hameed faizy Ambalakkadav Youth Congress Rally MalappuramVimochana yathra Vomojana Yathra Chelari Samastha Nayikkunna Vimochanayathra Athmeeya chooshanatthinnethiril jihad SK SSF mudakka yathra
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Oppana colourful wedding dance Muslim Women Kerala India
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- Duration: 1:18
- Updated: 31 Oct 2012
For more information on this video click - www.indiavideo.org Video by www.invismultimedia.com
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Oppana, Dance Form, Mappila Community, Muslims, Malabar, Kerala
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- Duration: 17:37
- Updated: 16 Jun 2012
Shown in this video is Oppana, a dance form practiced in Mappila community of Malabar during marriage occasions, in Kerala.
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AULIYAKKAL muslim islam kerala mujahid sunni salafi saqafi islahi ism ssf ap ek samastha 2011
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- Duration: 9:48
- Updated: 25 Feb 2012
SUNNI-KAKUDE AULIYAKKALUM ALLAHUVINTE WALIYUM. By Shafi Sabahi
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MUJAHID Balussery 2010 PRAMANANGALILEK 05 muslim islam kerala salafi ism sunni jih speech new anas
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- Duration: 14:45
- Updated: 17 Oct 2012
PRAMANA-NGALILEKKU MADANGUKA SPEECH BY mujahid balussery 5/6
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Kerala CM Achutanandan-Kerala would be Muslim dominated in 20yrs
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- Updated: 16 Nov 2012
CM sees 'Muslim conspiracy', Kerala outraged New Delhi: Islamic organisations and Opposition parties in Kerala have criticised Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan for alleging there is a conspiracy to make the state "a Muslim-dominated world". "In 20 years India and Kerala will become a Muslim-dominated world. Youngsters are being given money and are being lured to convert to Islam -- marry Muslim women and then give birth to Muslim children so that they can multiply," said Achuthanandan last week in Delhi. He was speaking about the radical Islamic outfit Popular Front of India (PFI), activists of which are accused of chopping off the hand of a college lecturer. Achuthanandan, a veteran CPI-M leader, alleged the PFI aims to convert Kerala into a Muslim majority state in the next 20 years. "For achieving that goal, the outfit is pumping money to attract youth and give them weapons. They also try to convert youth from other communities and persuade them to marry Muslim girls," Achuthanandan told reporters. The Indian Union Muslim League on Monday said Achuthanandan's statement was "dangerous" and "insulting to the entire (Muslim) community". The United Democratic Front (UDF), the alliance of Opposition parties, said Achuthanandan's comments were "deplorable, dangerous" and part of his strategy to play the "Hindu card" before civic and Assembly polls in the state. "Through his statement, Chief Minister is testing waters if the LDF (Left Democratic Front) could garner votes of ...
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Muslims-KovalamBeach, Kerala Celebrate "Nabi" - Birth of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
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- Duration: 7:18
- Updated: 26 Nov 2012
The "Nabi" celebration (birth of the PROPHET MUHAMMAD - PBUM) as captured in the streets of Kovalam Beach, Kerala - India on February 27, 2010. Some raw video clip footage is included with commentary and "bonus" video by Yusuf Allah (formerly Cat Stevens) with his song "A" is for ALLAH. The Ikologiks Center for Global Studies is a non-sectarian educational organization founded in 1989 that celebrates the diversity and multiversity of our global community towards redefining globalizaiton beyond economic relationships to Human Transformational goals.
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Beemapalli Uroos, Festival, Muslims, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
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- Duration: 13:43
- Updated: 20 Aug 2012
This video shows the huge crowd at Beemapalli in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala dusring annual Uroos festival.
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Story of RSS activist murdered by Muslims in Kerala-7
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- Duration: 3:36
- Updated: 24 Nov 2012
Aswini kumar,RSS Jilla Baudhik Pramukh of Kannur,Kerala was murdered by Muslims in Kerala
http://wn.com/Story_of_RSS_activist_murdered_by_Muslims_in_Kerala-7
Story of RSS activist murdered by Muslims in Kerala-8
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- Duration: 2:16
- Updated: 06 Jun 2012
Aswini kumar,RSS Jilla Baudhik Pramukh of Kannur,Kerala was murdered by Muslims in Kerala
http://wn.com/Story_of_RSS_activist_murdered_by_Muslims_in_Kerala-8
Story of RSS activist murdered by Muslims in Kerala-2
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- Duration: 4:43
- Updated: 31 Oct 2012
Aswini kumar,RSS Jilla Baudhik Pramukh of Kannur,Kerala was murdered by Muslims in Kerala.
http://wn.com/Story_of_RSS_activist_murdered_by_Muslims_in_Kerala-2
Story of RSS activist murdered by Muslims in Kerala-6
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- Duration: 3:55
- Updated: 24 Oct 2012
Aswini kumar,RSS Jilla Baudhik Pramukh of Kannur,Kerala was murdered by Muslims in Kerala
http://wn.com/Story_of_RSS_activist_murdered_by_Muslims_in_Kerala-6
Story of RSS activist murdered by Muslims in Kerala-5
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- Duration: 4:22
- Updated: 23 Jul 2012
Aswini kumar,RSS Jilla Baudhik Pramukh of Kannur,Kerala was murdered by Muslims in Kerala
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Story of RSS activist murdered by Muslims in Kerala-9
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- Duration: 3:31
- Updated: 15 Nov 2012
Aswini kumar,RSS Jilla Baudhik Pramukh of Kannur,Kerala was murdered by Muslims in Kerala
http://wn.com/Story_of_RSS_activist_murdered_by_Muslims_in_Kerala-9
Oppana, ritual, folk dance, women, mappila song, marriage, Muslim, Islam, Kerala, India
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- Duration: 1:18
- Updated: 04 Jun 2012
Please click on www.indiavideo.org for more information Video by www.invismultimedia.com
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Story of RSS activist murdered by Muslims in Kerala-3
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- Duration: 3:17
- Updated: 21 Jun 2012
Aswini kumar,RSS Jilla Baudhik Pramukh of Kannur,Kerala was murdered by Muslims in Kerala
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Story of RSS activist murdered by Muslims in Kerala-4
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- Duration: 3:17
- Updated: 08 Jul 2012
Aswini kumar,RSS Jilla Baudhik Pramukh of Kannur,Kerala was murdered by Muslims in Kerala
http://wn.com/Story_of_RSS_activist_murdered_by_Muslims_in_Kerala-4
Counselling Kerala society
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- Duration: 5:30
- Updated: 26 Nov 2012
talking to SV Muhammad Ali about psychological problems in Muslims of Kerala.
http://wn.com/Counselling_Kerala_society
photo: AP / Henry Griffin
26 Nov 2012
Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling "In our opinion and from our experience," declared John Kerry in 1971, "there is nothing in South Vietnam which could happen that realistically threatens the United States of America. And to attempt to justify the loss of one American life in Vietnam, Cambodia or Laos by linking such loss to the preservation of freedom..is to us the height of criminal hypocrisy..."...(size: 6.4Kb)
photo: AP / Jerome Delay
27 Nov 2012
M23 rebels controlling the eastern city of Goma in the DR Congo have said they are not about to withdraw as demanded by regional leaders. The rebels said on Tuesday there were still in charge of Goma, just hours after General Aronda Nyakairima, the head of the Ugandan military, was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying that their leader, Sultani Makenga, had told him he would pull out of Goma and Sake....(size: 17.7Kb)
photo: AP / Jerome Delay
25 Nov 2012
Joseph Kabila, president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has held direct talks with the leader of the M23 rebels in Uganda, hours after a regional summit called on them to end their offensive in the east of the country. Jean-Marie Runiga Lugerero, the political leader of the eastern DR Congo rebel group, said on Sunday he had an initial meeting with Kabila after the summit in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, ended on Saturday....(size: 20.0Kb)
photo: AP
26 Nov 2012
This town of 19,000 nestled in an idyllic mountain pass of impossibly green pastures and golden autumn trees is on the front lines of Turkey's rapidly escalating guerrilla war. ... But in recent months, the group has reemerged as a stronger, better equipped and increasingly organized force that is now in the midst of one of its bloodiest campaigns since the worst days of the conflict in the 1990s....(size: 8.8Kb)
photo: AP / George Osodi
25 Nov 2012
Twin suicide car bombs exploded Sunday at a church inside one of Nigeria's top military bases, killing at least 11 people and wounding another 30 in an embarrassing attack showing the continued insecurity that haunts Africa's most populous nation. ... The area sits just north of the city of Kaduna, a major city in Nigeria's north that sits on the uneasy dividing line between the country's predominantly Christian south and Muslim north....(size: 4.1Kb)
The Hindu
27 Nov 2012
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy promised a visiting Ethiopian delegation here on Tuesday that the State would send an official team to Ethiopia in view of the interest expressed by the delegation in ......(size: 1.0Kb)
IBN Live
27 Nov 2012
The Hindu
27 Nov 2012
While the Catholic Church across the world opposes abortion and birth control, in Kerala, which has the largest Catholic community in India, birth control is a way of life, with couples widely adopting abortion as a means of birth control. ... The huge majority of educated or employed women in Kerala, with not much divergence between religions, these days want to put an end to their fertility after the second child is born....(size: 5.5Kb)
IBN Live
27 Nov 2012
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27 Nov 2012
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This article is about Mappila Muslims. For an outline of Muslim community in Kerala, see Muslims of Kerala. For other uses, see Mappila (disambiguation).
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Mappila (Malayalam: മാപ്പിള Māppiḷa, alternatively Mopla, Moplah) refers to the largest Muslim community in Kerala state, India primarily distributed in the northern region called Malabar, which arose as a result of the pre[1] and post Islamic Arab contacts.[2][3]
Muslims of Kerala, of which Mappilas constitute a majority, also make up the largest community in Kerala state, 24.70% of the population. As a religious group they are the second largest after Hindus (56%).[4] They share the common language called Malayalam with the other inhabitants of Kerala. Islam reached Malabar Coast as early as 7th century AD and was assimilated with the culture and traditions of the local people. Over the centuries, the strong relations of the Mappilas with the traders from Arabia have created a profound impact on their life and culture. This has resulted in the formation of a unique tradition in literature, art, music, and history of the Mappilas. They form an integral part of the unique blend of the culture of the Malayalam language speaking population.[5][6] Most of the Mappilas follow Shafi`i School, while a large minority follow movements arose within Sunni Islam.
Significant number of Mappilas are also present in the southern districts of Karnataka and western parts of Tamil Nadu. A small portion of the community is scattered throughout the major cities of India, the Arab states of the Persian Gulf and Malaysia as diaspora groups. Mappilas of Malabar are also known as "Malabaris" or "Malwaris" in the Middle East, Pakistan, Malaysia and Singapore.
Contents |
Etymology[link]
- There's a difference of opinion on the exact origin of the word "Mappila" ("Moplah" in Colonial sources), but by and large it is considered to be derived from a combination of ancient Tamil or Malayalam language words "Maha" ("great") or "Ma" ("mother")[7] and "Pillai" ("son").[8][9]
- Mappila is used originally for visitors and immigrants. It was referred to visitors and immigrants to Malabar, including the Muslims, Christians and the Jews, who became the trading communities of ancient Kerala. Since Saint Thomas Christians were the major immigrant community in Travancore region and Muslims the same in Malabar region, these two communities later being called as Mappilas in these respective regions. The Saint Thomas Christian community of southern Kerala are also called "Nasrani Mappilas".[10] The Muslims of ancient Kerala were referred to as Jōnaka or Cōnaka Mappila (Yavanaka Mappilas), in order to distinguish them from the Nasrani Mappila (Saint Thomas Christians) and the Juda Mappila (Cochin Jews).[11]
History[link]
The long-standing Arab, Greek, Persian and later Portuguese contact with the coastal areas of India has left its permanent mark in the form of several communities. These communities came into existence through the large scale immigration of Arab sailors and their families[12] and traders and conversion of early Jews to Christianity (Nasrani Christians). Malabar and Kochi were the most important states on the western coast of India where the Arabs and Persians found a fertile soil for their trade activities. The community, which arose in Malabar as a result of the contact, is called the Mappilas.
But the effect of Arabic immigration in Kerala should not be overestimated as compared to the local population; the immigrants were considerably small in numbers and have mixed with local natives. Mappilas are very much a racially uniform group. Indeed genetic studies have found identifiable genes from the Arab peninsula at about 0.1%.
- Early history
Contrary to popular belief, Islam came to South Asia prior to Muslim invasions of Indian subcontinent. Islamic influence first came to be felt in the early 7th century with the advent of Arab traders. Trade relations between Arabia and the subcontinent are very ancient. Arab traders used to visit the Malabar region, which was a link between them and ports of South East Asia, to trade even before Islam had been established in Arabia. According to Historians Elliot and Dowson in their book The History of India as told by its own Historians, the first ship bearing Muslim travellers was seen on the Indian coast as early as 630 CE. H.G. Rawlinson, in his book: Ancient and Medieval History of India[13] claims the first Arab Muslims settled on the Indian coast in the last part of the 7th century CE. Shaykh Zainuddin Makhdum’s “Tuhfat al-Mujahidin” also is a reliable work.[14] This fact is corroborated, by J. Sturrock in his South Kanara and Madras Districts Manuals,[15] and also by Haridas Bhattacharya in Cultural Heritage of India Vol. IV.[16] It was with the advent of Islam that the Arabs became a prominent cultural force in the world. The Arab merchants and traders became the carriers of the new religion and they propagated it wherever they went. The native Nair rulers (naduvazhis) especially the Samuthiri of Calicut extended all facilities and protection to the Arab traders because their presence was needed for the economic prosperity of the naduvazhis.[3]
The first Indian mosque is thought to have been built in 629 CE, purportedly at the behest of an unknown Chera dynasty ruler, who is considered the first Indian Muslim, during the lifetime of Muhammad (c. 571–632) in Kodungallur, in district of Thrissur, Kerala by Malik Bin Deenar.[17][18][19]
The 12th century Muslim traveller Ibn Battuta was surprised to when he discovered that the Mappila communities near Calicut were the followers of Imam Shafi'i while the rest of the Indian Muslims were not, he was also impressed by their strong local cultural institutions and their voyages and influence in the Indian Ocean especially in the Maldives and coastal Sri Lanka.
In Malabar, the Mappilas may have been the first community to convert to Islam because they were more closely connected with the Arabs than others. Intensive missionary activities were carried out along the coast and a number of natives also embraced Islam. These new converts were now added to the Mappila community. Thus among the Mapilas, we find, both the descendants of the Arabs through local women and the converts from among the local people.[20]
In the Gazetteer of Bombay Presidency, Khan Bahadur Fazlullah Faridi, mentions the settlement of pre-Islamic Arabs in Chaul, Kalyan Supara and Malabar Coast and Arab merchants passing along the Coromandel Coast on their way to China.
One Uppukutan Mappila appears in the legend of Parayi Petta Pandiru Kulam, (The Twelve Tribes Born to a Paryai) and he is said to have lived during the reign of Vikramaditya in north India, in the Gupta period. Ouwayi, who through extreme devotion made the goddess of Kozhikode appear before him, was a Jonaka Mappila. It was with the advent of Islam that the Arabs became a prominent cultural race in the world. The Arab merchants and traders now became the carriers of the new religion and they propagated it wherever they went. When Islam spread among the Arabs, the Arab traders brought it to Malabar during the time of the Prophet Muhammad. Francis Day’s assumption that the first settlement of the Muslims on the western coast took place sometime in the seventh century strengthens this view. George Sarton says in his Introduction to the History of Science that the most outstanding event of the seventh century was, of course, the explosion of Islam throughout Arabia and parts of Africa and that it might have reached the Malabar Coast during those early days. But all of this is only speculation.
Malabar Mappilas[link]
Arab merchants propagated their faith along the Malabar Coast.
It is a common practice among the Sunni Mappilas to visit the Muslim saints and their shrines to invoke blessings inorder to solve their problems. The shrine at Mambram is one such centre where even now a number of low castes among with Mappilas come with their grievances.[21]
Most present day Mappilla Muslims are Shafi'i Muslims and the Muslims in coastal Karnataka (Beary)s also share a similar history and culture. However, a large number of traders and immigrants had also come from Basra, Damascus, Tunis and Egypt. They are remembered for their support in the fight against Portuguese inquisition and conversion to Christianity of native people of Malabar coast in the 16th and 17th centuries. Portuguese atrocities at this time were ruthless, resulting in entire coastal villages and populations being wiped out and almost all Muslim properties being destroyed.[22] The Portuguese did not show any mercy as they were just coming from Portugal, where they had successfully driven the Moors out and harboured lingering, intense hatred and jealousy for them. Ships containing trading goods were drowned, along with thousands of merchants and their families and anyone who was an Arab was killed. All this resulted in the (Mappila) losing control of the spice trade they had dominated for more than thousand years as well as losing more than half of their population at the hands of the enemy. The Portuguese were religiously intolerant, and Mappilas were forced to convert to Christianity or die. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Mappilas were known for active attacks against the British,[23] including the 1921 Moplah rebellion where many Mappilas lost their lives, and many were taken as prisoners, mostly to Port Blair. In the same Moplah rebellion, Mappilas murdered and forcibly converted thousands of Hindus.[24] Mohommed Haji was proclaimed the Caliph of the Moplah Khilafat (Caliphate) and flags of "Islamic Caliphate" were flown. Ernad and Valluvanad were declared Khalifat kingdoms. Like the Bearys of Tulunadu, most Mappila Muslims follow the Shafi'i school of Muslim jurisprudence (in contrast to the Hanafi school followed by most South Asian Muslims). The great majority of Mappilas of Malabar supported the Pakistan Movement,[25] though few Mappilas migrated to Pakistan following partition. Today, the vast majority of Malabari Mappilas in Pakistan are Muhajirs from Karachi; many are descendants of the Malabari community who left India after the Mappila revolt in 1921 to settle in Pakistan.[26] There is also a Muslim Malabari colony in Karachi. Their numbers are predicted to be anywhere around 6,000; however, the vast majority have lost their cultural identity and assimilated with locals as constituents of the Muhajir community.[citation needed] The Malabaris in Karachi are famous as hoteliers, fast food and paan shop owners. Malabari cuisine is known for its masala dosa, banana-sag, coconut-kari, hot spices, small-fish fry, daal chawal and a delicious variety of vegetable dishes, which have added to Karachi’s culinary scene.
Modern theological Mappila sects of Kerala[link]
The modern theological orientations amongst the Muslims of Kerala are primarily divided into three, though all these belong to the Sunni branch of Islam.
- Sunnis (E. K. Sunni, A. P. Sunni etc.)
- Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen (AP faction, Madavur faction)
- Jamaat-e-Islami Hind
The Sunnis referred here are identified by their conventional beliefs and practices and adherence to the Shafi'i madh'hab, while the other two theological orientations, the Mujahids and the Jama'ats, are seen as movements within the Sunni Islam.
Both political as well as philosophical grounds were raised as a reason for the splits which is still a matter of disagreement among the factions. The differences between the sects manifest in minor practical differences, as most Sunnis consider them all fundamentally the same. Sunnis generally do not identify themselves with a particular sect.
Of this, each major faction has its own mosques and madrassas. Women are strictly prohibited from entering traditional Sunni (both AP and EK) mosques. According to Sunni view, women are better to perform prayers at their own homes. Mujahids and Jama‘ats have no such discrimination but their women are prohibited from entering through main door. Separate entry gate is built for them in all Mujahid and Jama‘at mosques in Kerala. There will be a wall to separate men and women inside the mosque. A Sunni (AP and EK) imam (khatib) will deliver his Jumu'ah sermon in Classical Arabic with a model of an scimitar in his hand while swordless Mujahid and Jama‘at khatibs will chose Malayalam. The birth anniversary of Muhammad is only celebrated by various Sunni faction mahal committees and madrasas in Kerala. A mass ziyarat to the graves of martyrs and Syeds will be held. Even when majority Sunnis are celebrating Milad, Salafi groups have been critical of the celebrations. According to Salafi scholars, celebrating Muhammad's birth is un-Islamic and against the tenets of the Quran and Hadith.[27]
This factionalism has caused hurdles in social life of Kerala Muslims in many rural areas. Clashes are not uncommon among the rival factions[28] mostly for the control of mosques and madrasahs.[29] In such an incident early in the year 2011, at least 10 persons were injured. The clash involving activists of the Samastha Kerala Sunni Students Federation (SKSSF) and the Samastha Sunni Federation (SSF) was over madrasa curricula at Chinnamugar, near Bandiyode, close to Kumbla town. The SSF activists alleged that on Tuesday night, a group of persons armed with deadly weapons barged into a madrasa classroom at Chinnamugar and tried to attack the teacher, leading to the clash.[29]
Differences between the factions make effect in social institutions like marriage and funerals. Sunnis oppose intra-factional marriages while Mujahids stick to their practice of so-called ‘wedding sermon’ (Khutbah) which is totally unknown to Sunni texts. Often Mujahid or Jama‘at followers were denied of burial at Sunni cemeteries. Sometimes, families of the deceased will have to call local police and revenue officials to complete the funeral. There were incidences in which local parish (mahallah) authorities out casting those violating its rules.
Muslims in Kerala enjoy greater social and financial security when compared to the Muslims living in other parts of India.[citation needed] The Koya subgroup among the Mappilas are descended from converts from the Nair and Namboodiri castes. The Malmi are descended from Mukkuvan converts to Islam, and the Melacheri from the Thiyya.[30]
Mappilas of Tirunelveli[link]
Indian Muslims who followed Shafi'i from the coastal state of Kerala – which borders Tamil Nadu – were forced by Portuguese brutal attacks on their villages in the 16th century to flee into the rural interior. They began migrating to the villages near Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu. Many of the present-day Tirulnelveli Muslims claim to be descended from the Kerala Mappilas and follow Malabari religious teachers and social culture.
Demographics[link]
According to the 2001 census, about one-quarter of Kerala's population (or 7,863,842 people) were Muslims. Some have settled in other states within India. There are substantial numbers of Mappilas in nearby districts of Kodagu, Mangalore, Bangalore, Coimbatore) etc. Furthermore, a substantial proportion of Mappilas numbering between 3 and 4 million people have left Kerala to seek employment in the Middle East, especially in Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. Many of the prominent businessmen in these countries like the founder of Oman based Galfar, P Mohammed Ali, M.A. Yusuf Ali founder of the Abu Dhabi based Lulu Group of companies are Mappilas. Also Minister of State for Railways E. Ahamed,State industry MinisterP.K. Kunhalikutty and Former State Industry Minister Elamaram Kareem. Remittances from these expatriate communities makes Kerala one of the main contributors of foreign exchange to Indian economy.[31]
Kodava Mappilas[link]
They are a very small population found in Kodagu. They are descendants of Kodavas who were converted to Islam under the Mysore Sultans. The Yemmemad mosque in Coorg is their main place of worship. They devoutly observe requirements of Islam, including observance of Ramadan, offering salat five times daily, visiting the mosque every Friday (for men), refraining from alcohol and eating only halal foods. They maintained their original Kodava clan names and dress habits and spoke Kodava thakk although, now they do follow some Mappila-Beary customs also. Many original Malabar Mappilas have settled in Kodagu and now outnumber the Kodava Mappilas in Kodagu.
Culture[link]
Oppana[link]
Main article: Oppana
It is a popular form of social entertainment among the Mappila community of Kerala, south India, prevalent all over Kerala. It is generally presented by females, numbering about fifteen including musicians, a day before a wedding. The bride, dressed in all finery, covered with gold ornaments, is the chief spectator; she sits on a peetam, around which the singing and dancing take place. While they sing, they clap their hands rhythmically and move around the bride using simple steps. Two or three girls begin the songs and the rest join the chorus.
Mappila Paattukal[link]
Main article: Mappila songs
Mappila Paattu or Mappila Song is a folklore Muslim devotional song genre rendered to lyrics in Arabic-laced Malayalam, by Muslims or Mappilas of the Malabar belt of Kerala in south India.[32] Mappila songs have a distinct cultural identity, as they sound a mix of the ethos and culture of Kerala as well as West Asia. They deal with themes such as religion, love, satire and heroism. Most of the mapillapatu are mixed with Malayalam, Hindi, Urdu, Persian, Arabic, Tamil etc. it keeps many 'ishals' (tunes), prasams (rhyming parts) and things like that. Moyinkutty Vaidyar is one of the oldest poets in mapilapattu.
Duff Muttu[link]
Main article: Duff Muttu
Duff Muttu [33] (also called Dubh Muttu) is an art form prevalent among Mappilas, using the traditional duff, or daf, also called Thappitta. Participants dance to the rhythm as they beat the duff.
Miscellaneous[link]
- The call to prayer adhan is known as Baank in Kerala.
See also[link]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mappila |
- Cheraman Juma Masjid
- Mappila Malayalam
- Mappila Rebellion
- Islahi Movement in Kerala
- List of Mappilas
- Kuthu Ratheeb
- Kodagu Mappila
- E. K. Sunni
References[link]
- ^ Panikkar, K. N., Against Lord and State: Religion and Peasant Uprisings in Malabar 1836–1921
- ^ -Genesis and Growth of the Mappila Community, It is clear that the Arab contact with Malabar existed long before and became predominant in the post Roman period. Therefore the history of the Mappilas goes back to the Pre-Islamic period.
- ^ a b -Genesis and Growth of the Mappila Community[dead link]
- ^ Census of India 2001
- ^ Pg 458–466, Roland Miller, The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol VI, Brill 1988. Books.google.com. http://books.google.com/books?id=ChEVAAAAIAAJ. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
- ^ "OH! CALICUT! Outlook Traveller, December 2009". Traveller.outlookindia.com. http://traveller.outlookindia.com/issuecontent.aspx?pagenum=0&id=1077. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
- ^ Pg 302, Journal of Indian history, Volumes 26–27,University of Allahabad,1949
- ^ Miller Roland – Encyclopaedia of Islam Volume 6 1988, Page 458
- ^ [1] Muslims, Dalits, and the fabrications of history. Shail Mayaram, M. S. S. Pandian, Ajay Skaria
- ^ Encyclopaedia of Islam Volume 6 1988, Page 458
- ^ The Mappila fisherfolk of Kerala: a study in inter-relationship between habitat, technology, economy, society, and culture (1977), P. R. G. Mathur, Anthropological Survey of India, Kerala Historical Society, p. 1
- ^ "MILITARY OCCUPY RIOT AREA IN INDIA; Malabar District Put Under Martial Law After Lootings and Burnings by Mobs. QUIET REPORTED RESTORED Government Plans to Take Action Against Prominent Agitators Held Responsible for Troubles". The New York Times. 28 August 1921. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9C03E2DD143EEE3ABC4051DFBE66838A639EDE.
- ^ ISBN 81-86050-79-5 Ancient and Medieval History of India
- ^ ISBN 983-9154-80-X
- ^ Sturrock, J.,South Canara and Madras District Manual (2 vols., Madras, 1894–1895)
- ^ ISBN 81-85843-05-8 Cultural Heritage of India Vol. IV
- ^ "Cheraman Juma Masjid A Secular Heritage". Islamicvoice.com. http://www.islamicvoice.com/june.2004/miscellany.htm#cjm. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
- ^ Bahrain tribune World’s second oldest mosque is in India
- ^ "A mosque from a Hindu king". Indiatraveltimes.com. http://www.indiatraveltimes.com/travelogue/mosque.html. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
- ^ Genesis and Growth of the Mappila Community
- ^ -Genesis and Growth of the Mappila Community “It was a common practice among the lower castes to visit the Muslim saints and their shrines to invoke blessings inorder to solve their problems. The shrine at Mambram is one such centre where even now a number of low castes come with their grievances.”
- ^ The Edinburgh review: or critical journal - Sydney Smith, Lord Francis Jeffrey Jeffrey, Macvey Napier, Sir George Cornewall Lewis, William Empson, Harold Cox, Henry Reeve, Arthur Ralph Douglas Elliot (Hon.). Books.google.com. http://books.google.com/books?id=RfbNcIXQwSAC&pg=PA181&lpg=PA181&dq=moplahs&source=bl&ots=ZPlMM1Szs1&sig=fAm0wz2KF0CMBzpV7hMMNK-H45U&hl=en&ei=rcgaS-KzBtPTnAeb0c3YAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CAsQ6AEwATgK#v=onepage&q=moplahs&f=false. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
- ^ "MOPLAHS A MENACE FOR SEVERAL YEARS; Malabar Fanatics Said to Have Been Emboldened by Shifting of British Troops". The New York Times. 4 September 1921. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=990DE5DE1431EF33A25757C0A96F9C946095D6CF.
- ^ pg 103 Hindu culture during and after Muslim rule: survival and subsequent challenges, M.D. Publications, 1994
- ^ (Page 100)Freedom movement in French India: the Mahe revolt of 1948 By J. B. Prashant More, M. Manickam
- ^ "Malayalees in Pakistan: Maddy's Musings". Maddy06.blogspot.com. 27 March 2009. http://maddy06.blogspot.com/2009/03/malayalees-in-pakistan.html. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
- ^ "All set for Milad-e-Sharif celebrations today". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 15 February 2011. http://www.hindu.com/2011/02/15/stories/2011021559270300.htm.
- ^ "Sunni group charges police with ‘bias'". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 13 November 2007. http://www.hindu.com/2007/11/13/stories/2007111365080300.htm.
- ^ a b "10 Injured In Clash". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 10 February 2011. http://www.hindu.com/2011/02/10/stories/2011021051730500.htm.
- ^ People of India: Lakshadweep (1993), Kumar Suresh Singh, Anthropological Survey of India, p. xv
- ^ Remittances and its impact on the Kerala Economy and Society – International migration, multi-local livelihoods and human security: Perspectives from Europe, Asia and AfricaInstitute of Social Studies, The Netherlands, 30–31 August 2007
- ^ "Preserve identity of Mappila songs". Chennai, India: The Hindu. 7 May 2006. http://www.hindu.com/2006/05/07/stories/2006050719690300.htm. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
- ^ "MADIKERI, COORG,"GADDIGE MOHIYADEEN RATIB" islamic relegious "dikr" is held once in a year..". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WcJ7kNsdrA&feature=channel. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
Sources[link]
- The Cochin State Manual by Mr. C. Achutha Menon, Government of Kerala, 1995
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http://wn.com/Mappila
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mappila
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
| Kerala Keralam |
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|---|---|---|---|
| — State — | |||
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| Coordinates (Thiruvananthapuram): 8°30′27″N 76°58′19″E / 8.5074°N 76.972°E / 8.5074; 76.972Coordinates: 8°30′27″N 76°58′19″E / 8.5074°N 76.972°E / 8.5074; 76.972 | |||
| Country |  India |
||
| Region | South India | ||
| Established | 1 November 1956 | ||
| Capital | Thiruvananthapuram | ||
| Largest city Largest Urban agglomeration |
Thiruvananthapuram Kochi UA |
||
| Districts | 14 total | ||
| Government | |||
| • Body | Government of India, Government of Kerala | ||
| • Governor | Hansraj Bhardwaj | ||
| • Chief Minister | Oommen Chandy (INC) | ||
| • Legislature | Unicameral (141* seats) | ||
| • Parliamentary constituency | 20 | ||
| • High Court | Kerala High Court | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 38,863 km2 (15,005 sq mi) | ||
| Area rank | 21st | ||
| Population (2011)[1] | |||
| • Total | 33,387,677 | ||
| • Rank | 12th | ||
| • Density | 860/km2 (2,200/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | IST (UTC+05:30) | ||
| ISO 3166 code | IN-KL | ||
| HDI |  0.920 (very high) |
||
| HDI rank | 1st (2011) | ||
| Literacy | 93.91%(1st)[2] | ||
| Official languages | Malayalam, English[3] | ||
| Website | kerala.gov.in | ||
| ^* 140 elected, 1 nominated | |||
Kerala or Keralam /ˈkɛrələ/ is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was formed on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions.
The state has an area of 38,863 km2 (15,005 sq mi) and is bordered by Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the east and south, and the Arabian Sea[note] on the west. Thiruvananthapuram is the state capital. Kochi and Kozhikode are other major cities. According to a survey by The Economic Times, five out of ten best cities to live in India are located in Kerala.[4]
Kerala has the highest Human Development Index[5][6] in India, higher than that of most developed countries[7] The state has the highest literacy rate in India with 93.91 percent.[8] It hopes to be the first e-literate state in India through the state run Akshaya project. The state recently became and is currently the only one to have banking facilities in every village.[9] A survey conducted in 2005 by Transparency International ranked Kerala as the least corrupt state in the country.[10] Kerala is also ranked as India's cleanest state.[11] Kerala has witnessed significant migration of its people, especially to the Persian Gulf countries during the Kerala Gulf boom and is heavily dependent on remittances from its large Malayali expatriate community.[12][13][14][15]
Kerala is a top tourist destination in India;[16] backwaters, beaches, Ayurvedic tourism and tropical greenery are the major attractions. National Geographic's Traveller magazine names Kerala as one of the "ten paradises of the world"[17] and "50 must see destinations of a lifetime".[18] Travel and Leisure names Kerala as "One of the 100 great trips for the 21st century".[17] The Kerala Government Tourism Department, a government department in charge of promoting tourism has adopted the slogan God's Own Country for its campaigns.
Contents
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Etymology[link]
The name Kerala is pronounced [ˈkeːraɭa] in the local language, Malayalam.[19] Two thousand years ago, one of three states in the region was called ‘’Cheralam’’ in Classical Tamil. The leading native Malayali linguist and historian of the language, K. M. George, concurred with previously published beliefs that ‘Chera’ and ‘Kera’ are variants of the same word.[20][21] On the other hand, what the ancient meaning of chera was is nowadays a matter of dispute. A 3rd-century BCE rock inscription by north Indian emperor Asoka the Great references Kerala as Keralaputra.[22] The Graeco-Roman trade map Periplus Maris Erythraei references Kerala's Chera territory as Cerobothra.
History[link]
Main article: History of Kerala
Prehistory[link]
Main article: Pre-history of Kerala
Evidence of Kerala's early human occupation includes Dolmens of the Neolithic era, in the Marayur area. They are locally known as "muniyara", derived from muni (hermit or sage), and ara (dolmen).[23]
Rock-engravings in the Edakkal Caves (in Wayanad) are thought to date from the early to Late Neolithic eras around 5000 B.C.[24][25][26] The use of a specific Indus script pictogram in these caves suggests some relationship with the Indus Valley Civilization during the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age.[27]
Kerala was a major spice exporter as early as 3,000 BCE, according to Sumerian Records.[28][29]
Ancient period[link]
The word "Kerala" is first mentioned (as "Keralaputra") in a third century BCE rock inscription (Rock Edict 2) left by the Maurya emperor Asoka.[30] Kerala and Tamil Nadu once shared a common language and culture, within an area known as Tamiḻakam.[31] In the 1st century BCE, Tamil-speaking Dravidians established the Chera Dynasty that ruled northern Kerala and western Tamil Nadu[32] from a capital at Vanchi. Southern Kerala was ruled by the Pandyan Kingdom, with a trading port variously identified by ancient Western sources as "Nelcynda" ("Neacyndi")[33] The Pandyas, Cheras and Cholas alternatively controlled the region in later times.
In the last centuries BCE, the coast became famous among the Greeks and Romans for its spices; especially black pepper. The Cheras had trading links with China, West Asia, Egypt, ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. The value of Rome's annual trade with India as a whole was estimated at no less than 50,000,000 sesterces;[34] contemporary Sangam literature describes Roman ships coming to Muziris in Kerala, laden with gold to exchange for pepper.[35] One of the earliest western traders to use the monsoon winds to reach Kerala may have been Eudoxus of Cyzicus, around 118 or 166 BCE, under the patronage of Ptolemy VIII, king of the Hellenistic Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. Kerala is identified on the Tabula Peutingeriana, the only known surviving map of the Roman cursus publicus.[36]
Kerala was identified by the name Malabar in early days. Muziris, Berkarai, Nelcynda etc. were the principle ports of that time.[37] Merchants from West Asia and Southern Europe established coastal posts and settlements in Kerala.[38] Jewish connection with Kerala started as early as 573 BC.[39][40] Arabs also had trade links with Kerala, possibly started before 4th century B.C, as Herodotus (B.C. 484-413) noted that the goods brought by Arabs from Kerala were sold to the Jews at Eden.[37] They intermarried with local people and with this admixture the large Muslim Mappila community of Kerala developed.[41] In the 4th century, some Christians also migrated from Persia and joined the early Malabar Christian community here.[42] Mappila was an honorific title that had been assigned to respected visitors from abroad and Jewish, Christian, and Muslim immigration could be ascribed to the denotation of respective communities as Juda Mappilas, Nasrani Mappilas, and Muslim Mappilas.[43][44] According to the legends of these communities, the earliest mosque,[45] synagogue(1568 C.E.),[46] and Christian churches[47] in India were built in Kerala. The proportion of Muslims, Christians and Jews were relatively small at this early stage; they co-existed harmoniously with a mutual acceptance between each other and the local Hindu society, aided with the commercial benefit begotten from this relation.[41]
Early medieval period[link]
Much of history of the region from the 6th to the 8th century is obscure,[30] a Later Chera Kingdom was established c. 800–1102, primarily with the help of Arab spice merchants. This is also called the Kulasekhara dynasty of Mahodayapuram, as it was founded by Kulasekhara Varman, a Hindu Vaishnavaite alwar saint. Ay kings ruled southern Kerala, but by the 10th century the Ay kingdom declined and became a part of the Later Chera Kingdom.[48] A Keralite identity, distinct from the Tamils, became linguistically separate during this period.[49]
The Kulasekhara dynasty came to an end by twelfth century, weakened by the invasions and military subjugations of Rashtrakutas, Later Pandyas, and Later Cholas.[35] However, King Ravi Varma Kulashekhara of the southern Venad kingdom was able to establish a short-lived supremacy over southern India. But, after his death, in the absence of a strong central power, the state fractured into small warring principalities governed by Nair-Brahmin chieftains.[citation needed] From these, the kingdoms of Venad (Quilon), Kolathiri (Cannanore), Kozhikode (Calicut) Samuthiri and Kochi (Cochin) emerged.[citation needed]
Colonial era[link]
The western spice-trade, especially in pepper, became increasingly lucrative. Around the 15th century, the Portuguese began to dominate the eastern shipping trade in general, and the spice-trade in particular, culminating in Vasco Da Gama's arrival in Kappad Kozhikode in 1498.[50][51][52] On 25 March 1505, Francisco de Almeida was appointed Viceroy of Portuguese India, with headquarters at Kochi. The Portuguese had taken advantage of conflicts between Kozhikode and Kochi to gain control of the trade, and established forts at Kannur, Cochin and Kollam but the Saamoothiri of Kozikode and his admiral Kunjali Marakkar resisted, and in 1571 the Portuguese were defeated at Chaliyam fort.
The weakened Portuguese were ousted by the Dutch East India Company, who took advantage of continuing conflicts between Kozhikode and Kochi to gain control of the trade. The Dutch in turn were weakened by constant battles with Marthanda Varma of the Travancore Royal Family, and were defeated at the Battle of Colachel in 1741. An agreement was signed by the Dutch and Travancore in 1753, in which the Dutch promised not to attack Travancore. This agreement was signed at Mavelikkara, so it is known as the Mavelikkara treaty. The Dutch were allied to French forces in the transcontinental Napoleonic Wars; forces of the British East India Company marched against them from Calicut and took their surrender and possessions on 20 October 1795. In 1766, Hyder Ali, the ruler of Mysore invaded northern Kerala; his son and successor, Tipu Sultan, launched campaigns against the expanding British East India Company, resulting in two of the four Anglo-Mysore Wars. Tipu ultimately ceded Malabar District and South Kanara to the Company in the 1790s; the Company forged tributary alliances with Kochi in 1791 and Travancore in 1795. Malabar and South Kanara became part of the Madras Presidency.[53]
There were major revolts in Kerala against British rule in the 20th century, until Independence was achieved. They include the 1921 Malabar Rebellion and the 1946 Punnapra-Vayalar uprising in Travancore.[54] Other actions by Kerala's political and spiritual leaders protested against social traditions such as untouchability, leading to the 1936 Temple Entry Proclamation that opened Hindu temples in Travancore to all castes; Malabar soon did likewise, and Cochin followed with a similar proclamation in 1948, after Independence. In the 1921 Moplah Rebellion, Mappila Muslims rioted against Hindu zamindars and the British Raj.[55]
Post Colonial period[link]
After British India was partitioned in 1947 into India and Pakistan, Travancore and Cochin joined the Union of India and on 1 July 1949 were merged to form Travancore-Cochin. On 1 January 1950 (Republic Day), Travancore-Cochin was recognised as a state. The Madras Presidency was organised to form Madras State in 1947.
On 1 November 1956, the state of Kerala was formed by the States Reorganisation Act merging the Malabar district, Travancore-Cochin (excluding four southern taluks, which were merged with Tamil Nadu), and the taluk of Kasargod, South Kanara.[56] In 1957, elections for the new Kerala Legislative Assembly were held, and a reformist, Communist-led government came to power, under E. M. S. Namboodiripad.[56] It was the first time a Communist government was democratically elected to power anywhere in the world. It initiated pioneering land reforms, leading to lowest levels of rural poverty in India.[57]
Geography[link]
Main article: Geography of Kerala
See also: Climate of India
Kerala is wedged between the Lakshadweep sea and the Western Ghats. Lying between north latitudes 8°18' and 12°48' and east longitudes 74°52' and 77°22',[58][59] Kerala experiences the humid equatorial tropic climate. The state has a coast of length 590 km (370 mi)[60] and the width of the state varies between 11 and 121 km (22–75 miles). Geographically, Kerala can be divided into three climatically distinct regions: the eastern highlands (rugged and cool mountainous terrain), the central midlands (rolling hills), and the western lowlands (coastal plains). Located at the extreme southern tip of the Indian subcontinent, Kerala lies near the centre of the Indian tectonic plate; hence, most of the state is subject to comparatively little seismic and volcanic activity.[61] Pre-Cambrian and Pleistocene geological formations compose the bulk of Kerala’s terrain.
The eastern region of Kerala consists of high mountains, gorges and deep-cut valleys immediately west of the Western Ghats' rain shadow. Forty-one of Kerala’s west-flowing rivers, and three of its east-flowing ones originate in this region. The Western Ghats form a wall of mountains interrupted only near Palakkad (hence also known Palghat), where the Palakkad Gap breaks through to provide access to the rest of India. The Western Ghats rises on average to 1,500 m (4920 ft) above sea level, while the highest peaks reach above 2,500 m (8200 ft). Anamudi, the highest peak in South India, is at an elevation of 2,695 metres (8,842 ft). Just west of the mountains lie the midland plains comprising central Kerala, dominated by rolling hills and valleys.[58] Generally ranging between elevations of 250–1,000 m (820–3300 ft), the eastern portions of the Nilgiri and Palni Hills include such formations as Agastya Mala and Anamala.
Kerala’s western coastal belt is relatively flat, and is criss-crossed by a network of interconnected brackish canals, lakes, estuaries, and rivers known as the Kerala Backwaters. Lake Vembanad, Kerala’s largest body of water, dominates the Backwaters; it lies between Alappuzha and Kochi and is more than 200 km2 (77 sq mi) in area. Around 8% of India's waterways (measured by length) are found in Kerala.[62] The most important of Kerala’s forty-four rivers include the Periyar (244 km), the Bharathapuzha (209 km), the Pamba (176 km), the Chaliyar (169 km), the Kadalundipuzha River (130 km), the Valapattanam (129 km) and the Achankovil (128 km). The average length of the rivers of Kerala is 64 km. Many of the rivers are small and entirely fed by monsoon rains.[58] These conditions result in the nearly year-round water logging of such western regions as Kuttanad, 500 km2 of which lies below sea level. As Kerala's rivers are small and lack deltas, they are more prone to environmental factors. The rivers also face problems such as sand mining and pollution.[63] The state experiences several natural hazards such as landslides, floods, lightning and droughts. The state was also affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.
A catastrophic flood in Kerala in 1341 CE drastically modified its terrain and consequently affected its history. The course of the river Periyar was changed, and the Arabian Sea receded several miles. The Kuttanad region became cultivable, and the Muziris (Kodungalloor) harbour became defunct. A new harbour was developed at Kochi.[64][65]
Climate[link]
With 120–140 rainy days per year[66]:80, Kerala has a wet and maritime tropical climate influenced by the seasonal heavy rains of the southwest summer monsoon and northeast winter monsoon.[67] About 65 percent of the rainfall occurs during the first season (June to August) corresponding to the southwest monsoon and the rest during the second season (September to December) corresponding to northeast monsoon.[67] Southwest monsoon: The moisture-laden winds on reaching the southernmost point of the Indian Peninsula, due to its topography, become divided into two parts: the Arabian Sea Branch and the Bay of Bengal Branch. The Arabian Sea Branch of the Southwest Monsoon first hits the Western Ghats in Kerala, thus making the area the first state in India to receive rain from the Southwest Monsoon. Northeast monsoon: The distribution of pressure patterns are reversed during this season and the cold winds from North-India pick up moisture from the Bay of Bengal and precipitate it in the east coast of peninsular India. In Kerala, The influence of this monsoon is seen towards southern districts only.[68] Kerala's rainfall averages 3,107 mm (122 in.) annually. Some of Kerala's drier lowland regions average only 1,250 mm (49 in.); the mountains of eastern Idukki district receive more than 5,000 mm (197 in.) of orographic precipitation, the highest in the state. In eastern Kerala, a drier tropical wet and dry climate prevails.
During summer, Kerala is prone to gale force winds, storm surges, cyclone-related torrential downpours, occasional droughts, and rises in sea level.[69]:26, 46, 52 The mean daily temperatures range from 19.8 °C to 36.7 °C.[58] Mean annual temperatures range from 25.0–27.5 °C in the coastal lowlands to 20.0–22.5 °C in the eastern highlands.[69]:65
| Climate data for Kerala | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 28.0 (82.4) |
30 (86) |
31 (88) |
32 (90) |
34 (93) |
34 (93) |
30 (86) |
29 (84) |
29 (84) |
30 (86) |
30 (86) |
31 (88) |
34 (93) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 22 (72) |
23 (73) |
24 (75) |
25 (77) |
25 (77) |
24 (75) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
22 (72) |
22 (72) |
| Source: [70] | |||||||||||||
Adjacent states[link]
 |
Arabian Sea | Karnataka | Karnataka | |
| Arabian Sea |  |
Tamil Nadu | ||
 Kerala East |
||||
 |
||||
| Arabian Sea | Tamil Nadu | Tamil Nadu |
Flora and fauna[link]
Main article: Flora and fauna of Kerala
| State animal | Indian elephant |  |
| State bird | Great Hornbill |  |
| State tree | Coconut tree |  |
| State flower | Cassia fistula |  |
Much of Kerala's notable biodiversity is concentrated and protected in the Western Ghats. Almost one fourth of India's 10,000 plant species are found in the state. Among the almost 4,000 flowering plant species (1,272 of which are endemic to Kerala and 159 threatened) are 900 species of medicinal plants.[72][73]:11
Its 9,400 km2 of forests include tropical wet evergreen and semi-evergreen forests (lower and middle elevations—3,470 km2), tropical moist and dry deciduous forests (mid-elevations—4,100 km2 and 100 km2, respectively), and montane subtropical and temperate (shola) forests (highest elevations—100 km2). Altogether, 24% of Kerala is forested.[73]:12 Two of the world’s Ramsar Convention listed wetlands—Lake Sasthamkotta and the Vembanad-Kol wetlands—are in Kerala, as well as 1455.4 km2 of the vast Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Subjected to extensive clearing for cultivation in the 20th century,[74]:6–7 much of the remaining forest cover is now protected from clearfelling. Kerala's fauna are notable for their diversity and high rates of endemism: 102 species of mammals (56 of which are endemic), 453 species of birds, 202 species of freshwater fishes, 169 species of reptiles (139 of them endemic), and 89 species of amphibians (86 endemic).[72] These are threatened by extensive habitat destruction, including soil erosion, landslides, salinization, and resource extraction.[75]
Eastern Kerala’s windward mountains shelter tropical moist forests and tropical dry forests, which are common in the Western Ghats. Here, sonokeling (Dalbergia latifolia), anjili, mullumurikku (Erythrina), and Cassia number among the more than 1,000 species of trees in Kerala. Other plants include bamboo, wild black pepper, wild cardamom, the calamus rattan palm (a type of climbing palm), and aromatic vetiver grass (Vetiveria zizanioides).[73]:12 Living among them are such fauna as Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus), Bengal Tiger, Indian Leopard (Panthera pardus fusca), Nilgiri Tahr, Common Palm Civet, and Grizzled Giant Squirrel.[73]:12, 174–175 Reptiles include the King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah), viper, python, and Mugger Crocodile (Crocodylus palustris) . Kerala's birds are legion—Malabar Trogon, the Great Hornbill, Kerala Laughingthrush, Darter, and Southern Hill Myna are several emblematic species. In lakes, wetlands, and waterways, fish such as kadu (stinging catfish) and Choottachi (Orange chromide—Etroplus maculatus) are found.[73]:163–165
Subdivisions[link]
Main articles: Districts of Kerala and Corporations, municipalities and taluks of Kerala
Kerala's fourteen districts are distributed among Kerala's six historical regions: North Malabar (Far-north Kerala), South Malabar (northern Kerala), Kochi (central Kerala), Northern Travancore, Central Travancore (southern Kerala) and Southern Travancore (Far-south Kerala).
| Code[76] | District | Region | Population(2011)[77] | Area (as at 2001)[77] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KS | Kasaragod | Malabar | 1,302,600 | 1,992 km2 (769 sq mi) |
| KN | Kannur | Malabar | 2,525,637 | 2,966 km2 (1,145 sq mi) |
| WA | Wayanad | Malabar | 816,558 | 2,131 km2 (823 sq mi) |
| KZ | Kozhikode | Malabar | 3,089,543 | 2,345 km2 (905 sq mi) |
| MA | Malappuram | Malabar | 4,110,956 | 3,550 km2 (1,370 sq mi) |
| PL | Palakkad | Malabar | 2,810,892 | 4,480 km2 (1,730 sq mi) |
| TS | Thrissur | Kochi | 3,110,327 | 3,032 km2 (1,171 sq mi) |
| ER | Ernakulam | Kochi | 3,279,860 | 2,951 km2 (1,139 sq mi) |
| ID | Idukki | Travancore | 1,107,453 | 4,479 km2 (1,729 sq mi) |
| KT | Kottayam | Travancore | 1,979,384 | 2,203 km2 (851 sq mi) |
| AL | Alappuzha | Travancore | 2,121,943 | 1,414 km2 (546 sq mi) |
| PT | Pathanamthitta | Travancore | 1,195,537 | 2,462 km2 (951 sq mi) |
| KL | Kollam | Travancore | 2,629,703 | 2,498 km2 (964 sq mi) |
| TV | Thiruvananthapuram | Travancore | 3,307,284 | 2,192 km2 (846 sq mi) |
Kerala's 14 districts, which serve as the administrative regions for taxation purposes, are further subdivided into 63 taluks; these have fiscal and administrative powers over settlements within their borders, including maintenance of local land records.Taluks of kerala are further divided into 1453 revenue villages.[78] Consequent to the 74th Amendment to the Constitution of India, the Local self-government Institutions are to function as the third tier of Government and it constitutes 14 District Panchayats, 152 Block Panchayats, 978 Grama Panchayats, 60 Municipalities, 5 Corporations and 1 Township.[79] Mahé, a part of the Indian union territory of Pondicherry (Puducherry), is a coastal exclave surrounded by Kerala on all of its landward approaches.
| List of Major cities in Kerala | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | City | District | Population |
 Kozhikode  Kollam |
|||||
| 1 | Thiruvananthapuram | Thiruvananthapuram | 752,490 | ||||||
| 2 | Kochi | Ernakulam | 601,574 | ||||||
| 3 | Kozhikode | Kozhikode | 432,097 | ||||||
| 4 | Kollam | Kollam | 349,033 | ||||||
| 5 | Thrissur | Thrissur | 315,596 | ||||||
| 6 | Alappuzha | Alappuzha | 174,164 | ||||||
| 7 | Palakkad | Palakkad | 131,019 | ||||||
| Source: 2011 Census of India [80] | |||||||||
| List of cities in Kerala based on the population.(not based on urban agglomeration population) | |||||||||
Government[link]
Main article: Government of Kerala
Following the Constitution of India, the State of Kerala has a parliamentary system of representative democracy for its governance; universal suffrage is granted to state residents. The government structure is organized into the traditional three branches: Legislature, Executive and Judiciary.
- Legislature: The unicameral legislature, the Kerala Legislative Assembly, comprises elected members and special office bearers (the Speaker and Deputy Speaker) elected by the members from among themselves. Assembly meetings are presided over by the Speaker and in the Speaker's absence, by the Deputy Speaker. Kerala has 140 Assembly constituencies.[81] The state sends 20 members to the Lok Sabha and 9 to the Rajya Sabha.[82]
- Executive: The Governor of Kerala is the constitutional head of state, and is appointed by the President of India.[83][84] The executive authority is headed by the Chief Minister of Kerala, who is the de facto head of state and is vested with extensive executive powers; the Legislative Assembly's majority party leader is appointed to this position by the Governor. The Council of Ministers, which answers to the Legislative Assembly, has its members appointed by the Governor on advice of the Chief Minister. Auxiliary authorities known as panchayats, for which local body elections are regularly held, govern local affairs.
- Judiciary: The judiciary consists of the Kerala High Court and a system of lower courts. The High Court, located at Ernakulam, has a Chief Justice along with 26 permanent and two additional (pro tempore) justices. Kerala High Court also hears cases from the Union Territory of Lakshadweep.
Local Governance: Though the local self-government bodies namely, Panchayat, Municipalities and Corporations existed in Kerala since 1959, the major initiative to decentralize the governance in Kerala was started only in 1993, conforming to the constitutional amendments of central government in this direction. With the enactment of Kerala Panchayati Raj Act and Kerala Municipality Act in the year 1994, the state entered a new era of local self-governance. Kerala Panchayati Raj Act envisages a 3-tier system of local-government with Gram panchayat, Block panchayat and District Panchayat forming the hierarchy. The acts ensure clear cut demarcation of power among these institutions. However, Kerala Municipality Act envisages a single tier system for urban areas, with the institution of Municipality designed at par with Gram panchayat of the former system. Substantial administrative, legal and financial powers are delegated these bodies to ensure efficient decentralization. As per the present norms, the state government devolves about 40 per cent of the state plan outlay to the local government. The state has pioneered in many of these steps to empower local self-governance and it acted as a turning point in the nation's history of decentralization.[85]
Kerala hosts two major political alliances: the United Democratic Front (India) (UDF—led by the Indian National Congress) and the Left Democratic Front (Kerala) (LDF—led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)). At present, the UDF is the ruling coalition in government; Oommen Chandy of the INC is the Chief Minister of Kerala and V.S. Achuthanandan of the LDF is the Chief Opposition leader. Strikes, protests and marches are ubiquitous in Kerala due to the comparatively strong presence of labour unions.[86][87]
Economy[link]
Main article: Economy of Kerala
See also: Category:Industries based in Kerala
| Year | Gross State Domestic Product |
|---|---|
| 1980 | 42,860 |
| 1985 | 75,200 |
| 1990 | 140,980 |
| 1995 | 387,620 |
| 2000 | 697,920 |
| 2005 | 1,025,080[88] |
Since independence, Kerala was managed as a democratic socialist welfare economy. Since the 1990s, liberalisation of the mixed economy allowed onerous Licence Raj restrictions against capitalism and foreign direct investment to be lightened, leading to economic expansion and job creation. In fiscal year 2007–2008, nominal gross state domestic product (GSDP) was 
162,414.79 crore (US$32.4 billion). Recent GSDP growth (9.2% in 2004–2005 and 7.4% in 2003–2004) has been robust compared to historical averages (2.3% annually in the 1980s and between 5.1%[89]:8 and 5.99%[90] in the 1990s).[89]:8 The state clocked 8.93% growth in enterprises from 1998 to 2005 compared with 4.80% nationally.[91] Relatively few such enterprises are major corporations or manufacturers.[69] Kerala's Human Development Index rating is the highest in India.[92] This apparently paradoxical "Kerala phenomenon" or "Kerala model of development" of very high human development and not much high economic development results from the strong service sector.[69]:48[93]:1
Kerala's economy depends on emigrants working in foreign countries (mainly in the Persian Gulf countries such as United Arab Emirates or Saudi Arabia) and remittances annually contribute more than a fifth of GSDP.[12][13][14] As of 2008, the Gulf countries altogether have a Keralite population of more than 2.5 million, who send home annually a sum of USD 6.81 billion,[94] which is more than 15.13% of Remittance to India in 2008, the highest among Indian States.
The service sector (including tourism, public administration, banking and finance, transportation, and communications—63.8% of GSDP in 2002–2003) and the agricultural and fishing industries (together 17.2% of GSDP) dominate the economy.[90][95] Nearly half of Kerala's people are dependent on agriculture alone for income.[96] Some 600 varieties[73]:5 of rice (Kerala's most important staple food and cereal crop)[97]:5 are harvested from 3105.21 km2 (a decline from 5883.4 km2 in 1990)[97]:5 of paddy fields; 688,859 tonnes are produced per annum.[96] Other key crops include coconut (899,198 ha), tea, coffee (23% of Indian production,[98]:13 or 57,000 tonnes[98]:6–7), rubber, cashews, and spices—including pepper, cardamom, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Around 1.050 million fishermen haul an annual catch of 668,000 tonnes (1999–2000 estimate); 222 fishing villages are strung along the 590 km coast. Another 113 fishing villages dot the hinterland.
Kerala's coastal belt of Karunagappally is known for high background radiation from thorium-containing monazite sand. In coastal panchayats, median outdoor radiation levels are more than 4 mGy/yr and, in certain locations on the coast, it is as high as 70 mGy/yr.[99]
Traditional industries manufacturing such items as coir, handlooms, and handicrafts employ around one million people. Around 180,000 small-scale industries employ around 909,859 Keralites; 511 medium and large scale manufacturing firms are located in Kerala. A small mining sector (0.3% of GSDP)[95] involves extraction of ilmenite, kaolin, bauxite, silica, quartz, rutile, zircon, and sillimanite.[96] Home gardens and animal husbandry also provide work for hundreds of thousands of people. Other major sectors are tourism, manufacturing, and business process outsourcing. As of March 2002, Kerala's banking sector comprised 3341 local branches; each branch served 10,000 persons, lower than the national average of 16,000; the state has the third-highest bank penetration among Indian states.[100] On 1 October 2011, Kerala became the first state in the country to have banking facility in every village.[101] Unemployment in 2007 was estimated at 9.4%;[102] underemployment, low employability of youths, and a 13.5% female participation rate are chronic issues,[103]:5, 13 [104] as is the practice of Nokku kooli, 'wages for looking on'.[105] By 1999–2000, the rural and urban poverty rates dropped to 10.0% and 9.6% respectively.[106]
The state's 2005–2006 budget was 219 billion.[107] The state government's tax revenues (excluding the shares from Union tax pool) amounted to 111,248 million in 2005, up from 63,599 million in 2000. Its non-tax revenues (excluding the shares from Union tax pool) of the Government of Kerala as assessed by the Indian Finance Commissions reached 10,809 million in 2005, nearly double the 6,847 million revenues of 2000.[108] However, Kerala's high ratio of taxation to gross state domestic product (GSDP) has not alleviated chronic budget deficits and unsustainable levels of government debt, impacting social services.[109]
The state treasury has suffered loss of thousands of millions of rupees thanks to the state staging over 100 hartals annually in recent times. A record total of 223 hartals were observed in 2006, resulting in a revenue loss of over 2000 crore.[110]
Agriculture[link]
Kerala produces 97% of national output of pepper and accounts for 85% out of the area under natural rubber in the country. Coconut, tea, coffee, cashew, and spices — including cardamom, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg — comprise a critical agricultural sector. A key agricultural staple is rice, with some six hundred varieties grown in Kerala's extensive paddy fields. Nevertheless, home gardens comprise a significant portion of the agricultural sector. Related animal husbandry is also important, and is touted by proponents as a means of alleviating rural poverty and unemployment among women, the marginalized, and the landless. Feeding, milking, breeding, management, health care, and concomitant micro-enterprises all provide work for around 32 lakh (3.2 million) of Kerala's 55 lakh (5.5 million) households. The state government seeks to promote such activity via educational campaigns and the development of new cattle breeds such as the "Sunandini".
Fisheries[link]
Fisheries contribute about 3% of the total economy of the state. The natural landforms of the state endow Kerala with a huge output of marine and freshwater fish haul each year. About 10.85 lakh people earn their livelihood from fishing and allied activities such as drying, processing, packaging, exporting and transporting fisheries.The state alone yields 6.75 lakh tonnes of fish every year
Transport[link]
Roads[link]
Main article: Roads in Kerala
Kerala has 145,704 kilometres (90,536 mi) of roads (4.2% of India's total). This translates to about 4.62 kilometres (2.87 mi) of road per thousand population, compared to an all India average of 2.59 kilometres (1.61 mi). Virtually all of Kerala's villages are connected by road.
Roads in Kerala includes 1,524 km of National highway (2.6% of nation's total), 4341.6 km of state highway and 18900 km of district roads.[111] Most of Kerala's west coast is accessible through two national highways, NH 47, and NH 17 and eastern side is accessible through various State Highways. There is also a Hill Highway (Kerala) proposed, to make easy access to eastern hills.
NH 17 connects Edapally (Kochi) to Panvel (Maharashtra) and is the longest stretch of national highway through the state. The other major national highway passing through the state is National Highway 47 which connects Salem to Kanyakumari and passes through the major towns and cities like Palakkad, Thrissur, Kochi, Alappuzha, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram. The Salem-Kochi stretch of this highway is a part of North-South Corridor of the Indian highway system. The length of the National Highway 47 (India) through Kerala is 416.8 km.[112] NH 49 (Kochi – Dhanushkodi), NH 208 (Kollam – Thirumangalam), NH 212 (Kozhikode – Mysore), NH 213 (Kozhikode – Palakkad), NH 220 (Kollam – theni) are the other national highways serving the state of Kerala.
The Department of Public Works is responsible for maintaining and expanding the state highways system and major district roads.The Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP), which includes the GIS-based Road Information and Management Project (RIMS), is responsible for maintaining and expanding the state highways in Kerala; it also oversees few major district roads.[113][114]
Traffic in Kerala has been growing at a rate of 10–11% every year, resulting in high traffic and pressure on the roads. Kerala's road density is nearly four times the national average, reflecting the state's high population density. Kerala's annual total of road accidents is among the nation's highest. The accidents are mainly result of the narrow roads and irresponsible driving. [115]
Railways[link]
Today the Indian Railways' Southern Railway line runs through the state, connecting most major towns and cities except those in the highland districts of Idukki and Wayanad.
Dates of beginning of railway transport in various sections of the state are given below:-
- Beypore-Tirur (12 March 1861); Shoranur-Ernakulam (1902);m Shenkottai-Punalur (26 November 1904); Punalur-Thiruvananthapuram (4 November 1931); Ernakulam-Kottayam (1956); Kottayam-Kollam (1958); Thiruvananthapuram-Kanyakumari (1979); Thrissur-Guruvayur (1994).[116]
The railway network in the state is controlled by three divisions of Southern Railway, namely Trivandrum Railway Division, Palakkad Railway Division and Madurai Railway Division. Eranakulam Junction is the busiest railway station in the state and second busiest in the Southern Railway Zone after Chennai Central. Kerala's major railway stations are Kannur, Kozhikode, Shornur Junction, Palakkad Junction, Thrissur, Angamaly For Kalady, Ernakulam Town, Ernakulam Junction, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Tiruvalla, Chengannur, Kayamkulam Junction, Kollam Junction and Thiruvananthapuram Central.
Airports[link]
Kerala has three major international airports, at Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode. A fourth international airport is proposed at Kannur.[117] Thiruvananthapuram's Trivandrum International Airport is the first International airport in an Indian non-metro city. The Cochin International Airport is the busiest and largest in the state, and was the first Indian airport to be incorporated as a public limited company; funded by nearly 10,000 Non Resident Indians from 30 countries.[118]
Inland water transport in Kerala[link]
Kerala, with numerous backwaters, is one of the States in India where waterways are successfully used for commercial Inland Water Transport. The transportation is mainly done with country craft and passenger vessels. There are 67 navigable rivers in Kerala. The total length of the Inland Waterways in the State is 1687 km. The main constraints to the expansion of Inland Water transport in the State are lack of depth in the waterway caused by silting, lack of maintenance of navigation system and bank protection, accelerated growth of the water hyacinth, lack of modern inland craft terminals and cargo handling system. A 205 km canal, National Waterway 3, runs between Kottapuram and Kollam.[119]
Demographics[link]
Main article: Demographics of Kerala
Ethnicity[link]
See also: Ethnic groups in Kerala and Racial history of Malabar
The 31.8 million[121] Keralites are predominantly of Malayali descent, while the rest is mostly made up of Jewish and Arab elements in both culture and ancestry. Kerala's 321,000 indigenous tribal Adivasis, 1.10% of the population, are concentrated in the east.[122]:10–12
Languages[link]
Malayalam is Kerala's official language; Konkani, Tamil, Tulu, Kannada, Hindi, Mahl and various Adivasi (Tribal) languages are also spoken by ethnic minorities especially in the south-western region.
| Population trend[123][124] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1951 | 13,549,000 |
|
|
| 1961 | 16,904,000 | 24.8% | |
| 1971 | 21,347,000 | 26.3% | |
| 1981 | 25,454,000 | 19.2% | |
| 1991 | 29,099,000 | 14.3% | |
| 2001 | 31,841,000 | 9.4% | |
| 2011 | 33,388,000 | 4.9% | |
| Source: 2001 Census of India[123] | |||
Kerala is home to 3.44% of India's population; at 819 persons per km2, its land is nearly three times as densely settled as the rest of India, which is at a population density of 325 persons per km2.[125] Kerala's rate of population growth is India's lowest,[126] and Kerala's decadal growth (9.42% in 2001) is less than half the all-India average of 21.34%.[127] Whereas Kerala's population more than doubled between 1951 and 1991 by adding 15.6 million people to reach 29.1 million residents in 1991, the population stood at less than 32 million by 2001. Kerala's coastal regions are the most densely settled, leaving the eastern hills and mountains comparatively sparsely populated.[58]
Females comprise 51.42% of the population; males form the remaining 48.58% of the population.[128]:26
Religions[link]
Kerala's principal religions are Hinduism (56.2%), Islam (24.7%), and Christianity (19.0%).[129] In comparison with the rest of India, Kerala experiences relatively little sectarianism.[130]
According to 2001 Census of India figures, 56% of Kerala's residents are Hindus, 24% are Muslims, 19% are Christians, and the remaining 1% follows other religions.[129] The major Hindu castes are Ezhavas, Nairs, Nambudiri and Dalits. Rest of the Hindu castes including those in the list of Other Backward Class (OBC) are minority communities. Notably, steps taken by many progressive and tolerant Hindu kings[131] over the years and movements like that of Vaikunda Swami [132] and Narayana Guru for social reform and tolerance helped to establish Kerala as one of the most socially progressive states in India. The Abrahamic religions attest to Kerala's prominence as a major trade centre. Islam and Judaism arrived in Kerala through Arab traders.[133] Muslims of Kerala, generally referred to as Moplahs, mostly follow the Shafi'i Madh'hab under Sunni Islam. The major Moplah denominations are Sunni, Mujahid and Jama'at-e-Islami. A significant Jewish community existed in Kerala until the 20th century when most of them migrated to Israel leaving only a handful of families.[134] The Paradesi Synagogue at Kochi is the oldest synagogue in the Commonwealth. Christianity is believed to have reached the shores of Kerala in 52 CE with the arrival of St Thomas, one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ[135][136][137][138][139] The major Christian denominations are Catholic, Oriental Orthodox and Protestant.
| Religion in Kerala[129] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Religion | Percent | |||
| Hinduism |
|
56.2% | ||
| Islam |
|
24.7% | ||
| Christianity |
|
19.0% | ||
| Others |
|
1.1% | ||
Jainism has a considerable following in the Wayanad district. Buddhism was dominant at the time of Ashoka the Great but vanished by the 8th century CE.[140]
Kerala has witnessed significant migration of its people, especially to the Persian Gulf countries, starting with the Kerala Gulf boom, and is uniquely dependent on remittances from its large Malayali expatriate community.[12][13][14]
Kerala government states gender relations are among the most equitable in India[Need quotation to verify],[141] despite discrepancies among low caste men and women.[142]:1 Certain Hindu communities such as the Nairs, some Ezhavas and the Muslims around North Malabar used to follow a traditional matrilineal system known as marumakkathayam, although this practice ended in the years after Indian independence. Other Muslims, Christians, and some Hindu castes such as the Namboothiris and the Ezhavas follow makkathayam, a patrilineal system.[143] Owing to the former matrilineal system, women in Kerala enjoy a high social status.[144]
Human Development Index[link]
Kerala's human development indices— primary level education, health care and elimination of poverty—are among the best in India. According to a 2005–2006 national survey, Kerala has one of the highest literacy rates (94.59%) among Indian states[8] and life expectancy (74 years) was among the highest in India in 2011.[145] Kerala's rural poverty rate fell from 69% (1970–1971) to 19% (1993–1994); the overall (urban and rural) rate fell 36% between the 1970s and 1980s.[146] By 1999–2000, the rural and urban poverty rates dropped to 10.0% and 9.6% respectively.[106] These changes stem largely from efforts begun in the late 19th century by the kingdoms of Cochin and Travancore to boost social welfare.[147][148] This focus was maintained by Kerala's post-independence government.[69][92]:48
Kerala has the highest life expectancy in the country which is nearly 75 years and 78 years respectively for males and females. The life expectancy of Kerala is similar to developed nations in the world that shows the facilities for treatment and health. Kerala's healthcare system has garnered international acclaim. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organisation designated Kerala the world's first "baby-friendly state" because of its effective promotion of breast-feeding over formulas[149] For example, more than 95% of Keralite births are hospital-delivered.[150]:6 Aside from ayurveda (both elite and popular forms),[151]:13 siddha, and many endangered and endemic modes of traditional medicine, including kalari, marmachikitsa and vishavaidyam, are practiced. Some occupational communities such as Kaniyar were known as native medicine men in relation with practice of such streams of medical systems, apart from their traditional vocation.[152] These propagate via gurukula discipleship,[151]:5–6 and comprise a fusion of both medicinal and supernatural treatments,[151]:15 and are partly responsible for drawing increasing numbers of medical tourists.
A steadily aging population (11.2% of Keralites are over age 60[92]) and low birthrate (18 per 1,000)[153] make Kerala one of the few regions in the developing world to have undergone the "demographic transition" characteristic of such developed nations as Canada, Japan, and Norway.[93]:1 In 1991, Kerala's total fertility rate (children born per women) was the lowest in India. Hindus had a TFR of 1.66, Christians 1.78, and Muslims 2.97.[154] Kerala's female-to-male ratio (1.058) is significantly higher than that of the rest of India.[93][155]:2 sub-replacement fertility level and infant mortality rate is lower compared to other states (estimated at 12[69][153]:49 to 14[156]:5 deaths per 1,000 live births).
However, Kerala's morbidity rate is higher than that of any other Indian state—118 (rural Keralites) and 88 (urban) per 1,000 people. The corresponding all India figures are 55 and 54 per 1,000, respectively.[156]:5Yet this is likely explained by the fact that, as mentioned above, Kerala has a higher ratio of senior citizens than India. Kerala's 13.3% prevalence of low birth weight is substantially higher than that of First World nations.[153] Outbreaks of water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis, and typhoid among the more than 50% of Keralites who rely on 3 million water wells is a problem worsened by the widespread lack of sewers.[157]:5–7
Education[link]
Main article: Education in Kerala
Following the instructions of the Wood's despatch of 1854, both the princely states, Travancore and Cochin, launched mass education drives with the support from different agencies mainly based on castes and communities and introduced a system of grant-in-aid to attract more private initiatives. However, none of the government schools gave admission to the children belonging to the low-castes till 1914 and early the initiative of the private schools especially those run by Christian managements to admit the Dalits, opened the door for social mobility in Kerala. Social leaders like Narayana Guru and Ayyankali also initiated educational missions among the lower castes in Kerala. In order to ensure the social reformation of own Communities, organization like Nair Service Society of Nairs, SNDP of Ezhavas, Muslim Mahajana Sabha of Malabar Muslims, Yoga Kshema Sabha of Nambudiris and different congregations of Christian churches competed to open maximum number of schools in the pre-independence period and this inter-community competition led to considerable improvement in the enrollment of students, mass educational levels, employment opportunities and position of power. Compared to Travancore and Cochin regions, Malabar lagged in the educational achievements during this period.[158]
Kerala successfully overcame the first generation issues in education and it was the 1st state in India to be recognized as a totally literate state in 1991, though the effective literacy rate was 90 per cent at that time. The net enrollment in elementary education is almost 100 per cent and now it is almost balanced among different sexes, social groups and regions, unlike other states of India.[159] It has the highest literacy rate among the states of India. State topped the Education Development Index (EDI) among 21 major states in India in year 2006–2007.[160] According to the first Economic Census conducted in 1977, 99.7 per cent of the villages in Kerala had a primary school within 2 km, 98.6 had a middle school within 2 km and 96.7 per cent had a high school or higher secondary school within 5 km, far ahead of national averages.[161]
Kerala's educational system has been developed by institutions owned or aided by the government. The educational system prevailed in the state schooling is for 10 years which is streamlined into lower primary, upper primary and secondary school stages with a 4+3+3 pattern.[159] After 10 years of secondary schooling, students typically enroll in Higher Secondary Schooling in one of the three major streams—liberal arts, commerce or science.[citation needed] Upon completing the required coursework, students can enroll in general or professional under-graduate(UG) programmes.
Schools and colleges are run by the government, private trusts, or individuals. Many of the schools owned by private sector are aided by government. Majority of the public schools are affiliated to Kerala State Education Board. Other familiar educational boards are Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), the Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE), or the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS). English is the language of instruction in most self financing schools, while government and government aided schools offer English or Malayalam[citation needed].
No fees (or a nominal fees) are required in schools run by or aided by government. Fees concerning the higher and technical education are very low; the ratio of recovery of government's revenue expenditure was 2.6% in 2006–2007.[162] However, the lacking of fees or low fees does not imply low educational cost, as the students incur other costs of several types (examination fees, special fees, material costs, clothing travelling, private tuition). In fact, according to the 61st round of National Sample Survey (2004–2005), per capita spending on education by the rural households resulted to be more than twice the national average ( 41 for Kerala, 18 for India).Urban India spending, on the contrary, resulted to be greater than Kerala's ( 74 for India, 66 for Kerala). However, the survey reveals that the rural-urban difference in expenditure on education by households was much less in Kerala than in the rest of India.[163]
A few universities in Kerala are Kannur University, Mahatma Gandhi University, University of Calicut, University of Kerala, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kerala Agricultural University, Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit.[164] Premiere educational institutions in Kerala are Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode, one of the thirteen Indian Institutes of Management, National Institute of Technology Calicut (NITC), Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST). Kerala also has a National law school which is known as the National University of Advanced Legal Studies.Center for Development Studies offers M Phil and PhD level courses of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.
The Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics flourished between the 14th and 16th centuries. In attempting to solve astronomical problems, the Kerala school independently created a number of important mathematics concepts including results—series expansion for trigonometric functions.
Culture[link]
A mohiniattam performance
Main articles: Arts of Kerala and Culture of Kerala
Culture of Kerala is composite and cosmopolitan in nature and it's an integral part of Indian culture.[165] It has been elaborated upon through centuries of contact with neighboring and overseas cultures.[166] However, the geographical insularity of Kerala from the rest of the country has caused to develop some distinctive outlook in every spheres of culture like lifestyle, art, architecture, language, literature and different social institutions.[165]
Origin of dance and music in Kerala could be traced to the tribal art forms and folk songs which were performed in those early days to propitiate the local deities.[167] With the arrival of Aryan Brahmins in Kerala (8th century CE[168]), who were instrumental in the development of many semi-classical art forms of Kerala, Hindu temples and associated institutions took over the role of development of many ritualistic art forms; emergence of new temple arts like Koodiyattom, Koothu and Kathakali have to be seen in this context.[167] Koodiyattom, which emerged as a popular temple art by 9th century,[169] is a Sanskrit theatre tradition,[170] and is officially recognised by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.[171] Kerala natanam, an offshoot of Kathakali, Kaliyattam, Mohiniaattam (dance of the enchantress), Theyyam, Thullal and Padayani are other popular performing arts of Kerala. Of these, Kathakali and Mohiniattam are the most recognized Indian Classical Dance traditions from Kerala.
Some non-Hindu religious dances are also popular in Kerala like Margamkali, Parisamuttu and chavittu nadakom of Christians and Oppana of Muslims. Oppana has its roots in the Arab dances and it combines dance, rhythmic hand clapping, and ishal vocalizations.[172] Margam Kali is a traditional group dance form traceable back to 17th century, originally performed during Syrian Christian festivals.[173] Nowadays, many of these art forms are largely performed during marriage ceremonies or at youth festivals only. Contemporary art and performance styles including those employing mimicry and parody are also popular now.[citation needed]
Development of classical music in Kerala is attributed to the contributions it received from the traditional performance arts associated with temple culture of Kerala.[174] Development of indigenous classical music form, Sopana Sangeetham, illustrates the rich contribution that temple culture has made to the arts of Kerala.[174] Carnatic music dominates Keralite traditional music. This was the result of Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma's popularization of the genre in the 19th century.[175][176] Raga-based renditions known as sopanam accompany kathakali performances. Melam (including the paandi and panchari variants) is a more percussive style of music; it is performed at Kshetram centered festivals using the chenda. Melam ensembles comprise up to 150 musicians, and performances may last up to four hours. Panchavadyam is a different form of percussion ensemble, in which up to 100 artists use five types of percussion instrument.[citation needed] Kerala's visual arts range from traditional murals to the works of Raja Ravi Varma, the state's most renowned painter.[174] Most of the castes and communities in Kerala have rich collection of folk songs and ballads associated with a variety of themes; Vadakkan Pattukal(Northern Ballads), Thekkan pattukal(Southern Ballads), Vanchi pattukal(Boat Songs), Mappila Pattukal(Muslim songs) and Pallipattukal(Church songs) are a few of them.[177]
Malayalam calendar (Also known as Kollavarsham), a solar calendar started from 825 C.E. in Kerala serves as the official calendar of Kerala and finds common usage in planning agricultural and religious activities. Kerala's most popular dish is Rice and curry.[citation needed] The sadhya (feast) is traditionally served on green banana leaves. Such dishes as idli, payasam, pulisherry, puttukadala, or PuttuPayarPappadam, puzhukku, rasam, and sambar are typical. Keralites—both men and women alike—traditionally don flowing and unstitched garments. These include the mundu, a loose piece of cloth wrapped around men's waists. Women typically wear the sari, a long and elaborately wrapped banner of cloth, wearable in various styles. Presently, North Indian dresses such as Salwar kameez are also popular among women in Kerala.[citation needed]
Elephants have been an integral part of culture of Kerala. Kerala is the home to largest domesticated elephant population in India; about 700 Indian elephants, owned by temples as well as individuals, are mainly employed for the processions associated with about 10,000 festivals annually.[178] In literature, they are also referred to as the 'sons of the sahya. Elephant is the state animal of Kerala[78] and is featured on the emblem of the Government of Kerala.
Malayalam literature is medieval in origin and includes such figures as the 14th century Niranam poets (Madhava Panikkar, Sankara Panikkar and Rama Panikkar), and the 17th century poet Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan whose works mark the dawn of both modern Malayalam language and indigenous Keralite poetry. Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar and Kerala Varma Valiakoi Thampuran are noted for their contribution to Malayalam prose. The "triumvirate of poets" (Kavithrayam), Kumaran Asan, Vallathol Narayana Menon, and Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer, are recognised for moving Keralite poetry away from archaic sophistry and metaphysics, and towards a more lyrical mode.[citation needed]
In the second half of the 20th century, Jnanpith awardees like G. Sankara Kurup, S. K. Pottekkatt, Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai, M. T. Vasudevan Nair and O. N. V. Kurup have made valuable contributions to the Malayalam literature. Later, such Keralite writers as O. V. Vijayan, Kamaladas, M. Mukundan, and Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy, whose 1996 semi-autobiographical bestseller[179] The God of Small Things is set in the Kottayam town of Ayemenem, have gained international recognition.[180]
Kerala in early Sanskrit literature[link]
The oldest of the surviving Hindu Puranas, the Tushar Purana, sets the story of the first of the incarnations of Lord Vishnu, the Matsya Avatar, and King Manu (King Satyavrata, mankind's ancestor), among Kerala's Malaya Mountains.[181][182][183]
The earliest Sanskrit text to mention Kerala by name is the Aitareya Aranyaka of Rigveda.[8] Hindu epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata also make a few references to Kerala.[165]
The legendary king Mahabali is said to have ruled from Kerala in a reign of universal happiness and prosperity. On his passing away he was appointed ruler of the netherworld (Patalam) by Vamana, the fifth avatar of Lord Vishnu. There is a belief that, Once a year, during the Onam festival, he returns to Kerala.
In the religious texts known as the Puranas, Kerala is Parasurama Kshetram ("The Land of Parasurama"). Parasurama was a warrior sage and an Avatar of Mahavishnu. When he threw his battle axe from Gokarna into the sea at Kanyakumari, the land of Kerala arose from the waters.[184] Tradition says that Parasurama minted gold coins called Rasi, sowed some of them in Travancore and buried the surplus in cairns.[185] Similar legends link Parasurama to the Pandyan dynasty.[186]
The Kollam Era of the Malayalam calendar is also known as "Parasurama-Sacam".[187] The Travancore Rajas claim descent from Chera King Bhanu Bikram, who, according to legend, was raised to the throne by Parasurama.[188] In the Keralolpathi, Parasurama chose the goddess Durga (Kali) as guardian of Kerala's sea-shore.[189]
Media[link]
Main article: Media in Kerala
The National Family Health Survey – 3, conducted in 2007 ranked Kerala as a state with the highest media exposure in India. Dozens of newspapers are published in Kerala, in nine major languages,[190] but principally Malayalam and English. The most widely circulating Malayalam-language newspapers are Malayala Manorama, Mathrubhumi, Madhyamam,Siraj Daily,Mangalam, Chandrika,thejas,Deepika, Kerala Kaumudi and Deshabhimani. Major Malayalam periodicals include Mathrubhumi, India Today Malayalam, Madhyamam weekly, Grihalakshmi, Vanitha, Dhanam, Chithrabhumi, and Bhashaposhini.
Doordarshan is the state-owned television broadcaster. Multi system operators provide a mix of Malayalam, English and international channels via cable television. Some of the popular Malayalam television channels are Asianet, Surya TV, Mazhavil Manorama, Indiavision, Kairali TV, Manorama News, Amrita TV, Reporter, Jaihind and Jeevan TV. All India Radio, the national radio service, reaches much of Kerala via its Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Thrissur, Alappuzha, Kozhikode and Kannur Malayalam-language broadcasts. Television serials, reality shows and the Internet have become a major source of entertainment and information for the people of Kerala. A Malayalam version of Google News was launched in September 2008.[191] Regardless, Keralites maintain high rates[quantify] of newspaper and magazine subscriptions. A sizeable "people's science" movement has taken root in the state, and such activities as writers' cooperatives are becoming increasingly common.[93][192]:2
BSNL, Reliance Infocomm, Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, Tata Docomo and Aircel are the major cell phone service providers in the state.[193] Broadband internet services are widely available throughout the state; some of the major ISPs are BSNL, Asianet Satellite communications, Reliance Communications, Airtel and VSNL. According to the Telecom Regulatory Commission of India(TRAI) report, as of January 2012 total number of wireless phone subscribers in kerala is about 34.3 million and the wireline subscriber base is at 3.2 million. According this report, the telephone density of the state is 107.77 as on 31st January 2012.[193] Unlike in many other States, urban-rural divide is not visible in Kerala with respect to mobile phone penetration.[194]
Malayalam films carved a niche for itself in the Indian film industry with the presentation of social themes.[195] Malayalam cinema takes a wide variety of themes in its making and it is far ahead of Hindi or Tamil cinema in terms of its artistic value, due to the reflection of social consciousness attributed to the literary connection it had from 1960s.[196] It has been producing both parallel and mainstream cinema for years and won national recognition by winning the Presidents Awards for the cinemas Chemmeen, Nirmalyam and Swayamvaram. Directors from Kerala like Adoor Gopalakrishnan, John Abraham, G. Aravindan have made considerable contribution to the Indian parallel cinema. Kerala has also given birth to numerous talented actors such as Bharath Gopi, Prem Nazir, Mammotty, Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi, Murali, Oduvil Unnikrishnan, Cochin Haneefa, Thilakan and Nedumudi Venu. Movies produced in Hindi, Tamil and English (Made in Hollywood) are popular among Keralites. Late Malayalam actor Prem Nazir holds the world record for having acted as the protagonist of over 720 movies.[197] Since 1980s, actors Mammootty and Mohanlal have dominated the movie industry; Mammootty has won 3 national awards while Mohanlal has 2 in his credit.[198]
Sports[link]
Main article: Sports in Kerala
Several ancient ritualised arts are Keralite in origin. These include kalaripayattu—kalari ("place", "threshing floor", or "battlefield") and payattu ("exercise" or "practice"). Among the world's oldest martial arts, oral tradition attributes kalaripayattu's emergence to Parasurama.[199] Other ritual arts include theyyam and poorakkali.
Cricket and Soccer are the most popular sports in the state.[200] Kochi Tuskers Kerala cricket team played for the city in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2011. The team was disbanded after one season due to conflict of interests among its promoters. Two Kerala Ranji Trophy players gained test selection in recent years. Sreesanth has represented India since 2005.[201] Among other Keralite cricketers is Tinu Yohannan, son of Olympic long jumper T. C. Yohannan.[202][203][204] Notable Kerala footballers include I. M. Vijayan, C. V. Pappachan, V. P. Sathyan, and Jo Paul Ancheri.[205][206]
Other popular sports include badminton, volleyball and kabaddi. Among the prominent athletes hailing from the state are P. T. Usha, T. C. Yohannan, Suresh Babu, Shiny Wilson, K. M. Beenamol, M. D. Valsamma, Anju Bobby George and Preeja Sreedharan. Volleyball is another popular sport[207] and is often played on makeshift courts on sandy beaches along the coast. Jimmy George was a notable Indian volleyball player, rated in his prime as among the world's ten best players.[208]
Tourism[link]
Main article: Tourism in Kerala
Kerala is situated on the lush and tropical Malabar Coast. Kerala is one of the popular tourist destinations in India. Its culture and traditions, coupled with its varied demographics, has made Kerala one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. National Geographic's Traveller magazine names Kerala as one of the "ten paradises of the world"[17] and "50 must see destinations of a lifetime".[18] Travel and Leisure names Kerala as "One of the 100 great trips for the 21st century".[17][209][210] Kerala's beaches, backwaters, mountain ranges and wildlife sanctuaries are the major attractions for both domestic and international tourists. The city of Kochi ranks first in the total number of international and domestic tourists in Kerala.[211][212]
Until the early 1980s, Kerala was a relatively unknown destination.[213] But 1986 the government of Kerala declared tourism as an industry and it was the first state in India to do so.[214] Aggressive marketing campaigns launched by the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation, the government agency that oversees tourism prospects of the state, laid the foundation for the growth of the tourism industry.[215] In the decades that followed, Kerala's tourism industry was able to transform the state into one of the niche holiday destinations in India. Many innovative marketing strategies were used and the advertisements branded Kerala with a catchy tagline Kerala- God's Own Country.[215] Today, Kerala tourism is a global brand and regarded as one of the destinations with highest recall.[215] In 2006, Kerala attracted 8.5 million tourist arrivals, an increase of 23.68% over the previous year, making the state one of the fastest-growing destinations in the world.[216] In 2011, tourist inflow to Kerala crossed the 10-million mark.[217]
Kerala has also pioneered health and medical tourism in India and has attained international attention in this segment. Though the idea of health tourism in Kerala is heavily concentrated on Ayurveda, it is also a good destination for other forms of treatment including Allopathy and Homeopathy.[218] Ayurvedic tourism became very popular since 1990s and private agencies like Kottakkal Arya Vydyasala played a notable role in tandem with the initiatives of Tourism Department.[213] Kerala is known for its ecotourism initiatives and in this segment it promotes mountaineering, trekking and bird-watching programmes in the Western Ghats as the major products.[219]
The state's tourism industry is a major contributor to the state's economy which is currently growing at a rate of 13.31%.[220] The revenue from tourism increased 5 fold between 2001–2011 and crossed 190 billion mark in 2011. Moreover, the industry provides employment opportunity to 1.2 million people.[217]
The most popular tourist attractions in the state are beaches, backwaters and hill stations. Major beaches are at Kovalam, Varkala, Kappad, Muzhappilangad and Bekal. Popular hill stations are at Munnar, Wayanad, Wagamon, Peermade, Nelliampathi and Ponmudi.[221] Kerala's ecotourism destinations include 12 wildlife sanctuaries and two national parks; Periyar Tiger Reserve, Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary, Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Thattekad Bird Sanctuary, Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary, and Eravikulam National Park are the most popular among them.[222] The "backwaters" is an extensive network of interlocking rivers (41 west-flowing rivers), lakes, and canals that center around Alleppey, Kumarakom, Kollam and Punnamada (where the annual Nehru Trophy Boat Race is held in August). Cities such as Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode are popular centres for their shopping and traditional theatrical performances.
Kerala is also a center of Heritage and religious tourism sites. Padmanabhapuram Palace and the Mattancherry Palace are two notable heritage sites. The state is also famous for the large number of festivals (about 10,000 per year) it celebrates; of these, Onam and Thrissur Pooram attracts a large inflow of foreign tourists. According to a survey conducted among foreign tourists, Elephants, fireworks display and huge crowd are the major attractions of Thrissur Pooram.[223] The main pilgrim tourist spots of Kerala are Sabarimala Temple, Aranmula Temple, Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Guruvayoor Temple, Chettikulangara Temple, Vadakumnathan Temple, Sarkara Devi Temple, Padanilam Parabrahma Temple, Beemapally mosque, Malayattoor Saint Thomas Church, Parumala Church (Pathanamthitta) and St. Francis Church, Kochi[224] Saint Alphonsa Church, Bharananganam is also a destination of pilgrimage tourism.
Gallery[link]
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Temple at Aranmula (Pathanamthitta)
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Thiruvathira Kali During Onam.jpg
Thiruvathira kali: a dance performed by women in Kerala during Onam and Thiruvaathira festivals.
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Onappottan, a cultural image of Kerala, related to Onam.
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Maramon Convention: Asia's biggest Christian gathering
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Paddy fields of Kerala in Sultan Bathery
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A typical houseboat in the Kerala backwaters near Alleppey.jpg
A house boat on the backwaters near Alleppey in Kerala
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Resorts dot the length and breadth of Kerala.
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Sunset at Varkala Beach
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Kalaripayattu.JPG
Kalaripayattu a martial art of Kerala
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forest river in wayanad
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Thrissur Pooram festival
See also[link]
.svg){kind=small}
Notes[link]
^ The International Hydrographic Organisation defines the border between Lakshadweep Sea and Arabian sea by a line running from Sadashivgad Lt. on West Coast of India (14°48′N 74°07′E / 14.8°N 74.117°E / 14.8; 74.117) to Corah Divh (13°42′N 72°10′E / 13.7°N 72.167°E / 13.7; 72.167) and thence down the West side of the Lakshadweep and Maldive Archipelagos to the most Southerly point of Addu Atoll in the Maldives.[225] However, the official website of Government of Kerala and Government of India states that Kerala is boardered on the west by Arabian Sea.
- ^ α: Around the 9th century, the Cheras fell from power. Several small kingdoms (swaroopams) formed under the leadership of chieftains, filling the resulting political vacuum.[52]
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- ^ United Nations Human Development Report: Kerala, India; 2005
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- ^ * Bindu Malieckal (2005) Muslims, Matriliny, and A Midsummer Night's Dream: European Encounters with the Mappilas of Malabar, India; The Muslim World Volume 95 Issue 2
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- ^ Jonathan Goldstein (1999). The Jews of China. M.E. Sharpe. p. 123. ISBN 9780765601049. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=8Z6DlzyT2vwC.
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- ^ Susan Bayly (2004). Saints, Goddesses and Kings. Cambridge University Press. p. 40. ISBN 9780521891035. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=Fxqtx8SflEsC.
- ^ In quest of Kerala By K. Balachandran Nayar (Page 86)
- ^ Chaitanya 1972, p. 15
- ^ Ravindran PN (2000). Black Pepper: Piper Nigrum. CRC Press. p. 3. ISBN 978-90-5702-453-5. http://books.google.com/?id=VaGCgSLrdr4C. Retrieved 11 November 2007.
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- ^ a b c Dasgupta Devashish (2011). Tourism Marketing. Pearson Education India. p. 203. ISBN 9788131731826. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=oXWAEjcG-FsC.
- ^ "Tourist Statistics — 2006" (PDF). Department of Tourism. Government of Kerala. 2006. Archived from the original on 26 June 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080626195845/http://www.keralatourism.org/php/media/data/tourismstatistics/TS2006.pdf. Retrieved 11 November 2007.
- ^ a b "Tourist inflow to Kerala crosses 10 million mark". Business-Standard. http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/tourist-inflow-to-kerala-crosses-10-million-mark/474524/.
- ^ G. Lakshmi (2008). New Governance Paradigm. Gyan Publishing House. pp. 219–220. ISBN 9788178357157. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=xoRFL5lqbq8C.
- ^ Planning Commission, India (2007). Kerala Development Report. Academic Foundation. p. 47. ISBN 9788171885947. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=Ul-OkF5gUJQC.
- ^ "Tourist Statistics — 2005 (Provisional)" (PDF). Department of Tourism. Government of Kerala. 2005. Archived from the original on 26 June 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080626195846/http://www.keralatourism.org/php/media/data/tourismstatistics/TOURISTSTATISTICS2005.pdf. Retrieved 11 November 2007.
- ^ Tapan K Panda (2007). Tourism Marketing. ICFAI Books. pp. 173–177. ISBN 9788131404690. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=4A0j6ZlJQfkC.
- ^ M.R. Biju (2006). Sustainable Dimensions Of Tourism Management. Mittal Publications. pp. 151–165. ISBN 9788183241298. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=AkAdvTbg0dEC.
- ^ "The stars of Pooram show are jumbos". Chennai, India: The Hindu. 26 May 2006. http://www.hindu.com/2006/05/26/stories/2006052610410500.htm. Retrieved 11 November 2007.
- ^ Manohar Sajnani (2003). Encyclopaedia of Tourism Resources in India. Gyan Publishing House. pp. 196–205. ISBN 9788178350189. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=nxtnsT8CdZ4C.
- ^ "Limits of Oceans and Seas, 3rd edition". International Hydrographic Organisation. 1953. http://www.iho-ohi.net/iho_pubs/standard/S-23/S23_1953.pdf. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
References[link]
- Asher, R. E.; Kumari, T. C. (1997). Malayalam. Routledge.
- Bhagyalekshmy, S (2004). "Contribution of Travancore to Karnatic Music". Information & Public Relations Department—Thiruvananthapuram (Government of Kerala). http://www.kerala.gov.in/music/music1.pdf. Retrieved 3 October 2011 .
- Bhagyalekshmy, S (2004d). "Contribution of Travancore to Karnatic Music". Information & Public Relations Department—Thiruvananthapuram (Government of Kerala): 29–37. http://www.kerala.gov.in/music/music4.pdf. Retrieved 3 October 2011 .
- Government of Kerala (2001). "Ranking of districts by Sex Ratio and Population density". Statistics for Planning 2001 (Government of Kerala). http://www.kerala.gov.in/statistical/vitalstatistics/1.03.pdf. Retrieved 3 October 2011 .
- Government of Kerala (2002b). "Marumakkathayam". Department of Public Relations (Government of Kerala). Archived from the original on 21 May 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20060521080409/http://www.prd.kerala.gov.in/prd2/keralam/kathayam.htm. Retrieved 29 January 2006 .
- Government of Kerala (2005). "History & Culture: Early History". Government of Kerala. http://www.kerala.gov.in/. Retrieved 12 January 2006 .
- Government of Kerala (2005b). "General Features". Government of Kerala. http://www.kerala.gov.in/knowkerala/generalfeatures.htm. Retrieved 3 October 2011 .
- Government of Kerala (2005c). "Kerala at a Glance". Government of Kerala. http://www.kerala.gov.in/. Retrieved 22 January 2006 .
- Government of Kerala (2006). "Towards an entitlement-based approach to poverty reduction: Development and application of entitlement index". Government of Kerala. http://www.kerala.gov.in/archive/111.pdf. Retrieved 3 October 2011 .
- Inland Waterways Authority of India (2005). "Introduction to Inland Water Transport". IWAI (Ministry of Shipping). Archived from the original on 4 February 2005. http://web.archive.org/web/20050204175110/http://iwai.nic.in/Introduction.html. Retrieved 19 January 2006 .
- Kanakasabhai, V. (1997). The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years Ago. Asian Educational Services. ISBN 978-81-206-0150-5. http://books.google.com/?id=VuvshP5_hg8C&printsec=frontcover. Retrieved 16 June 2009.
- Office of the Registrar General (2001). "Chapter 5: Density of Population". Census of India (2001). http://www.censusindia.gov.in/. Retrieved 12 January 2006 .
- Office of the Registrar General (2001b). "Census of India 2001: Provisional Population Totals". Census of India (2001). http://www.censusindia.gov.in/. Retrieved 12 January 2006 .
- Office of the Registrar General (2001c). "Number of Literates & Literacy Rates". Census of India (2001). http://www.censusindia.gov.in/. Retrieved 12 January 2006 .
- Office of the Registrar General (2004). "Data on Religion". Census of India 2001. http://www.censusindia.gov.in/. Retrieved 18 January 2006 .
- Omcherry, L (1999). "Music of Kerala". Essays on the Cultural Formation of Kerala. Archived from the original on 4 August 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070804084112/http://keralahistory.ac.in/publication_n.htm. Retrieved 12 January 2006 .
- Plunkett, R; Cannon, T, Davis, P, Greenway, P; Harding, P (2001). Lonely Planet South India. Lonely Planet. ISBN .
- Rajeevan, B (1999). "Cultural Formation of Kerala". Essays on the Cultural Formation of Kerala. Archived from the original on 23 October 2005. http://web.archive.org/web/20051023115906/http://keralahistory.ac.in/publication_n.htm. Retrieved 12 January 2006 .
- Ramakrishnan, V (10 December 2001). "Communal tension high in Kerala". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1702270.stm. Retrieved 28 January 2006 .
- Sadasivan, S. N. (2000). A social history of India (illustrated ed.). APH Publishing. ISBN 978-81-7648-170-0. http://books.google.com/?id=Be3PCvzf-BYC&printsec=frontcover. Retrieved 16 June 2009.
- Sunny, C (2004). "Domestic Violence Against Women in Ernakulam District". Centre for Development Studies. http://krpcds.org/publication/downloads/55.pdf. Retrieved 3 March 2006 .
External links[link]
| Find more about Kerala on Wikipedia's sister projects: | |
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| This article is part of a series on: |
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There had been considerable trade relations between Arabia and Kerala even before the time of Mohammed the Prophet. Islam might have been introduced in Kerala by the Arab traders in the 7th or 8th century AD itself. Like the Jews and Christians, the Arabs also settled down in Cranganore and established a separate colony of their part of the town.
Muslims of Kerala state, India may belong to any of the following different communities (based on religious believes and origins), viz., Mappilas, Keyis, Dakhni Muslims, Labbays, Rowthers, Thangals, Thulukkars, Marakkars, Koyas, Ossans, Pusalans etc.
And they may belong to any of the following intra-religious sects (the position of Chekannur Maulavi's Khur’an Sunnat Society is not shown), viz.,
Contents |
[edit] 1) Sunni Islam
- Hanafi School
- Shafi`i School
- E. K. faction Sunni
- A. P. faction Sunni (Kanthapuram)
- Samsthana Sunni
- Movements
- Mujahid (Salafi)
- A. P. Faction (in co-operation with Ahl al-Hadith)
- Madavoor Faction
- Mujahid Mankada
- Jama'at-e-Islami
- Mujahid (Salafi)
[edit] 2) Shia Islam
[edit] 3) Ahmadiyya Islam
References[link]
- Dr. S. Sharafuddin, , Islam Matam, Malayala Manorama Yearbook 2006, Kottayam, 2006 ISSN 0970-9096
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is about the Islamic prophet. For other persons named Muhammad, see Muhammad (name). For other uses, see Muhammad (disambiguation).
| Prophet Muhammad Prophet, Messenger, Apostle, Witness, Bearer of Good Tidings, Warner, Reminder, Caller, Announcer. |
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 Common calligraphic representation of Muhammad's name |
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| Born | Muḥammad ibn `Abd Allāh c. (570-04-26)26 April 570 Mecca (Makkah), Arabia (now Saudi Arabia) |
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| Died | 8 June 632(632-06-08) (aged 62) Yathrib, Arabia (present-day Medina, Hejaz, Saudi Arabia) |
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| Cause of death | Illness (high fever) | ||||
| Resting place | Tomb under the Green Dome of Al-Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina, Hejaz, Saudi Arabia | ||||
| Other names | See Names of Muhammad | ||||
| Ethnicity | Arab | ||||
| Religion | Islam | ||||
| Spouse | Wives: Khadijah bint Khuwaylid (595-619) Sawda bint Zamʿa (619-632) Aisha bint Abi Bakr (619-632) Hafsa bint Umar (624-632) Zaynab bint Khuzayma (625-627) Hind bint Abi Umayya (629-632) Zaynab bint Jahsh (627-632) Juwayriya bint al-Harith (628-632) Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan (628-632) Rayhana bint Zayd (629-631) Safiyya bint Huyayy (629-632) Maymuna bint al-Harith (630-632) Maria al-Qibtiyya (630-632) |
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| Children | Sons: al-Qasim, `Abd-Allah, Ibrahim Daughters: Zainab, Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthoom, Fatimah Zahra |
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| Parents | Father: `Abd Allah ibn `Abd al-Muttalib Mother: Aminah bint Wahb |
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| Relatives | Ahl al-Bayt | ||||
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Muhammad (c. 26 April 570 – 8 June 632;[1] also transliterated as Mohammad, Mohammed, or Muhammed; Arabic: محمد), full name: Muhammad Ibn `Abd Allāh Ibn `Abd al-Muttalib (Arabic: محمد بن عبدالله بن عبد المطلب ) was a leader from Mecca who unified the tribes of Arabia into a single religious polity under Islam. He is believed by Muslims and Bahá'ís to be a messenger and prophet of God. Muslims believe that Islam was not his own invention but was revealed by God,[2][3] and most consider him to be the last prophet of God[4][n 1] Muslims thus consider him the restorer of an uncorrupted original monotheistic faith (islām) of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and other prophets.[5][6][7]
Born in 570 CE in the Arabian city of Mecca,[8][9] he was orphaned at an early age and brought up under the care of his uncle Abu Talib. He later worked mostly as a merchant, as well as a shepherd, and was first married by age 25.[10] Being in the habit of periodically retreating to a cave in the surrounding mountains for several nights of meditation and prayer, he later reported that it was there, at age 40,[8][11] that he received his first revelation from God. Three years after this event Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming that "God is One", that complete "surrender" to Him (lit. islām) is the only way (dīn)[n 2] acceptable to God, and that he himself was a prophet and messenger of God, in the same vein as other Islamic prophets.[7][12][13]
Muhammad gained few followers early on,[14] and was met with hostility from some Meccan tribes; he and his followers were treated harshly. To escape persecution, Muhammad sent some of his followers to Abyssinia[15] before he and his remaining followers in Mecca migrated to Medina (then known as Yathrib) in the year 622.[16] This event, the Hijra, marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar, which is also known as the Hijri Calendar. In Medina, Muhammad united the tribes under the Constitution of Medina,.[16] After eight years of fighting with the Meccan tribes, his followers, who by then had grown to 10,000, conquered Mecca. Muhammad destroyed the symbols of paganism in Mecca[17] and then sent his followers out to destroy all of the remaining pagan temples throughout Eastern Arabia.[18][19]
In 632, a few months after returning to Medina from The Farewell Pilgrimage, Muhammad fell ill and died. By the time of his death, most of the Arabian Peninsula had converted to Islam, and he had united the tribes of Arabia into a single Muslim religious polity.[20][21]
The revelations (or Ayah, lit. "Signs [of God]")—which Muhammad reported receiving until his death—form the verses of the Quran, regarded by Muslims as the “Word of God” and around which the religion is based. Besides the Quran, Muhammad’s life (sira) and traditions (sunnah) are also upheld by Muslims. They discuss Muhammad and other prophets of Islam with reverence, adding the phrase peace be upon him whenever their names are mentioned.[22] While conceptions of Muhammad in medieval Christendom and premodern times were largely negative, appraisals in modern history have been far less so.[13][23]
Contents
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Names and appellations in the Quran[link]
The name Muhammad means "Praiseworthy" and occurs four times in the Quran.[24] The Quran addresses Muhammad in the second person not by his name but by the appellations prophet, messenger, servant of God ('abd), announcer (bashir)[Quran 2:119], witness (shahid),[Quran 33:45] bearer of good tidings (mubashshir), warner (nathir),[Quran 11:2] reminder (mudhakkir),[Quran 88:21] one who calls [unto God] (dā‘ī),[Quran 12:108] light personified (noor)[Quran 05:15], and the light-giving lamp (siraj munir)[Quran 73:1]. Muhammad is sometimes addressed by designations deriving from his state at the time of the address: thus he is referred to as the enwrapped (al-muzzammil) in Quran 73:1 and the shrouded (al-muddaththir) in Quran 74:1.[25] In the Quran, believers are not to distinguish between the messengers of God and are to believe in all of them (Sura Al-Baqara 2:285). God has caused some messengers to excel above others 2:253 and in Sura Al-Ahzab 33:40 He singles out Muhammad as the "Seal of the Prophets".[26] The Quran also refers to Muhammad as Aḥmad "more praiseworthy" (Arabic: أحمد, Sura As-Saff 61:6).
Sources for Muhammad's life[link]
Main articles: Historiography of early Islam and Historicity of Muhammad
Quran[link]
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The Quran is the central religious text of Islam and Muslims believe that it represents the words of God revealed to Muhammad through the archangel Gabriel.[27][28][29] Although it mentions Muhammad directly only four times,[30] there are verses which can be interpreted as allusions to Muhammad's life.[13][n 3] The Quran however provides little assistance for a chronological biography of Muhammad, and many of the utterances recorded in it lack historical context.[31][32]
Early biographies[link]
Main article: Prophetic biography
Next in importance are historical works by writers of the 3rd and 4th centuries of the Muslim era.[33] These include the traditional Muslim biographies of Muhammad (the sira literature), which provide further information on Muhammad's life.[34]
The earliest surviving written sira (biographies of Muhammad and quotes attributed to him) is Ibn Ishaq's Life of God's Messenger written ca. 767 (150 AH). The work is lost, but was used verbatim at great length by Ibn Hisham and Al-Tabari.[35][36] Another early source is the history of Muhammad's campaigns by al-Waqidi (death 207 of Muslim era), and the work of his secretary Ibn Sa'd al-Baghdadi (death 230 of Muslim era).[33]
Many scholars accept the accuracy of the earliest biographies, though their accuracy is unascertainable.[35] Recent studies have led scholars to distinguish between the traditions touching legal matters and the purely historical ones. In the former sphere, traditions could have been subject to invention while in the latter sphere, aside from exceptional cases, the material may have been only subject to "tendential shaping".[37]
Hadith[link]
Main article: Hadith
In addition, the hadith collections are accounts of the verbal and physical traditions of Muhammad that date from several generations after his death.[38]
Western academics view the hadith collections with caution as accurate historical sources.[38] Scholars such as Madelung do not reject the narrations which have been compiled in later periods, but judge them in the context of history and on the basis of their compatibility with the events and figures.[39]
Non-Arabic sources[link]
The earliest documented Christian knowledge of Muhammad stems from Byzantine sources. They indicate that both Jews and Christians saw Muhammad as a "false prophet". In the Doctrina Jacobi nuper baptizati of 634, Muhammad is portrayed as being "deceiving[,] for do prophets come with sword and chariot?, [...] you will discover nothing true from the said prophet except human bloodshed."[40] Another Greek source for Muhammad is the 9th-century writer Theophanes. The earliest Syriac source is the 7th-century writer John bar Penkaye.[41]
Pre-Islamic Arabia[link]
The Arabian Peninsula was largely arid and volcanic, making agriculture difficult except near oases or springs. The landscape was thus dotted with towns and cities, two prominent ones being Mecca and Medina. Medina was a large flourishing agricultural settlement, while Mecca was an important financial center for many surrounding tribes.[42] Communal life was essential for survival in the desert conditions, as people needed support against the harsh environment and lifestyle. Tribal grouping was encouraged by the need to act as a unit, this unity being based on the bond of kinship by blood.[43] Indigenous Arabs were either nomadic or sedentary, the former constantly travelling from one place to another seeking water and pasture for their flocks, while the latter settled and focused on trade and agriculture. Nomadic survival was also dependent on raiding caravans or oases, the nomads not viewing this as a crime.[44][45]
In pre-Islamic Arabia, gods or goddesses were viewed as protectors of individual tribes, their spirits being associated with sacred trees, stones, springs and wells. As well as being the site of an annual pilgrimage, the Kaaba shrine in Mecca housed 360 idol statues of tribal patron deities. Aside from these gods, the Arabs shared a common belief in a supreme deity called Allah[citation needed] (literally "the god"), who was remote from their everyday concerns and thus not the object of cult or ritual.[citation needed] Three goddesses were associated with Allah as his daughters: Allāt, Manāt and al-‘Uzzá. Monotheistic communities existed in Arabia, including Christians and Jews.[46] Hanifs – native pre-Islamic Arab monotheists – are also sometimes listed alongside Jews and Christians in pre-Islamic Arabia, although their historicity is disputed amongst scholars.[47][48] According to Muslim tradition, Muhammad himself was a Hanif and one of the descendants of Ishmael, son of Abraham.[49]
Life[link]
Life in Mecca[link]
| Timeline of Muhammad in Mecca | |
|---|---|
| Important dates and locations in the life of Muhammad in Mecca | |
| c. 569 | Death of his father, Abdullah |
| c. 570 | Possible date of birth, April 26th: Mecca |
| 576 | Death of his mother, Aminah |
| 578 | Death of his grandfather |
| c. 583 | Takes trading journeys to Syria |
| c. 595 | Meets and marries Khadijah |
| 610 | First reports of Qur'anic revelation |
| c. 613 | Begins spreading message of Islam publicly to all Meccans |
| c. 614 | Begins to gather followers in Mecca |
| c. 615 | Emigration of Muslims to Ethiopia |
| 616 | Banu Hashim clan boycott begins |
| c. 618 | Medinan War |
| 619 | Banu Hashim clan boycott ends |
| 619 | The year of sorrows: khadija (his wife) and Abu Talib (his uncle) die |
| c. 620 | Isra and Mi'raj (the ascention to heaven to meet God) |
| 622 | Emigrates to Medina (was called Yathrib) (Hijra) |
Main article: Muhammad in Mecca
Muhammad was born and lived in Mecca for the first 52 years of his life (570–622). This period is generally divided into two phases, before and after declaring the prophecy.
Childhood and early life[link]
See also: Mawlid and Family tree of Muhammad
Muhammad was born in the month of Rabi' al-awwal in 570. He belonged to the Banu Hashim clan, one of the prominent families of Mecca, although it seems not to have been prosperous during Muhammad's early lifetime.[13][50] The Banu Hashim clan was part of the Quraysh tribe. Tradition places the year of Muhammad's birth as corresponding with the Year of the Elephant, which is named after the failed destruction of Mecca that year by the Aksumite king Abraha who had in his army a number of elephants. 20th-century scholarship has suggested alternative dates for this event, such as 568 or 569.[51]
His father, Abdullah, died almost six months before Muhammad was born.[53] According to Islamic tradition, soon after Muhammad's birth he was sent to live with a Bedouin family in the desert, as the desert life was considered healthier for infants. Muhammad stayed with his foster-mother, Halimah bint Abi Dhuayb, and her husband until he was two years old.[10] Some western scholars of Islam have rejected the historicity of this tradition.[54][not in citation given] At the age of six, Muhammad lost his biological mother Amina to illness and he became fully orphaned.[10][55] For the next two years, he was under the guardianship of his paternal grandfather Abd al-Muttalib, of the Banu Hashim clan, but when Muhammad was eight, his grandfather also died. He then came under the care of his uncle Abu Talib, the new leader of Banu Hashim.[10][51] According to William Montgomery Watt, because of the general disregard of the guardians in taking care of weak members of the tribes in Mecca in the 6th century, "Muhammad's guardians saw that he did not starve to death, but it was hard for them to do more for him, especially as the fortunes of the clan of Hashim seem to have been declining at that time."[56]
While still in his teens, Muhammad accompanied his uncle on trading journeys to Syria gaining experience in commercial trade, the only career open to Muhammad as an orphan.[10][56] Islamic tradition states that when Muhammad was either nine or twelve while accompanying the Meccans' caravan to Syria, he met a Christian monk or hermit named Bahira who is said to have foreseen Muhammed's career as a prophet of God.[57]
Little is known of Muhammad during his later youth, and from the fragmentary information that is available, it is difficult to separate history from legend.[10][56] It is known that he became a merchant and "was involved in trade between the Indian ocean and the Mediterranean Sea."[58] Due to his upright character he acquired the nickname "al-Amin" (Arabic: الامين), meaning "faithful, trustworthy" and "al-Sadiq" meaning "truthful"[59] and was sought out as an impartial arbitrator.[9][13][60] His reputation attracted a proposal in 595 from Khadijah, a 40-year-old widow who was 15 years older than he. Muhammad consented to the marriage, which by all accounts was a happy one.[10][58]
Several years later, according to a narration collected by Ibn Ishaq, Muhammad was involved with a well-known story about setting the Black Stone in place in the wall of the Kaaba in 605 C.E. The Black Stone, a sacred object, had been removed to facilitate renovations to the Kaaba. The leaders of Mecca could not agree on which clan should have the honour of setting the Black Stone back in its place. They agreed to wait for the next man to come through the gate and ask him to choose. That man was the 35-year-old Muhammad, five years before his first revelation. He asked for a cloth and put the Black Stone in its centre. The clan leaders held the corners of the cloth and together carried the Black Stone to the right spot, then Muhammad set the stone in place, satisfying the honour of all.[61]
Beginnings of the Quran[link]
Muhammad adopted the practice of meditating alone for several weeks every year in a cave on Mount Hira near Mecca.[62][63] Islamic tradition holds that during one of his visits to Mount Hira, the angel Gabriel appeared to him in the year 610 and commanded Muhammad to recite the following verses:[64]
Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created-
Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood:
Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,-
He Who taught (the use of) the pen,-
Taught man that which he knew not.
After returning home, Muhammad was consoled and reassured by Khadijah and her Christian cousin, Waraqah ibn Nawfal. Upon receiving his first revelations, he was deeply distressed and resolved to commit suicide.[45] He also feared that others would dismiss his claims as being possessed.[45] Shi'a tradition maintains that Muhammad was neither surprised nor frightened at the appearance of Gabriel but rather welcomed him as if he had been expecting him.[66] The initial revelation was followed by a pause of three years during which Muhammad further gave himself to prayers and spiritual practices. When the revelations resumed he was reassured and commanded to begin preaching: "Thy Guardian-Lord hath not forsaken thee, nor is He displeased."[67][68][69]
Sahih Bukhari narrates Muhammad describing the revelations as, "Sometimes it is (revealed) like the ringing of a bell" and Aisha reported, "I saw the Prophet being inspired Divinely on a very cold day and noticed the sweat dropping from his forehead (as the Inspiration was over)".[70] According to Welch these revelations were accompanied by mysterious seizures, and the reports are unlikely to have been forged by later Muslims.[13] Muhammad was confident that he could distinguish his own thoughts from these messages.[71] According to the Quran, one of the main roles of Muhammad is to warn the unbelievers of their eschatological punishment (Quran 38:70, Quran 6:19). Sometimes the Quran does not explicitly refer to the Judgment day but provides examples from the history of some extinct communities and warns Muhammad's contemporaries of similar calamities (Quran 41:13–16).[25] Muhammad is not only a warner to those who reject God's revelation, but also a bearer of good news for those who abandon evil, listen to the divine word and serve God.[72] Muhammad's mission also involves preaching monotheism: The Quran commands Muhammad to proclaim and praise the name of his Lord and instructs him not to worship idols or associate other deities with God.[15][25]
The key themes of the early Quranic verses included the responsibility of man towards his creator; the resurrection of dead, God's final judgment followed by vivid descriptions of the tortures in hell and pleasures in Paradise; and the signs of God in all aspects of life. Religious duties required of the believers at this time were few: belief in God, asking for forgiveness of sins, offering frequent prayers, assisting others particularly those in need, rejecting cheating and the love of wealth (considered to be significant in the commercial life of Mecca), being chaste and not to kill newborn girls.[13]
Opposition[link]
See also: Persecution of Muslims by the Meccans and Migration to Abyssinia
According to Muslim tradition, Muhammad's wife Khadija was the first to believe he was a prophet.[73] She was soon followed by Muhammad's ten-year-old cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib, close friend Abu Bakr, and adopted son Zaid.[11][73] Around 613, Muhammad began his public preaching (Quran 26:214).[74] Most Meccans ignored him and mocked him,[15] while a few others became his followers. There were three main groups of early converts to Islam: younger brothers and sons of great merchants; people who had fallen out of the first rank in their tribe or failed to attain it; and the weak, mostly unprotected foreigners.[75]
According to Ibn Sad, the opposition in Mecca started when Muhammad delivered verses that condemned idol worship and the Meccan forefathers who engaged in polytheism.[15][76] However, the Quranic exegesis maintains that it began as soon as Muhammad started public preaching.[77] As the number of followers increased, he became a threat to the local tribes and the rulers of the city, whose wealth rested upon the Kaaba, the focal point of Meccan religious life, which Muhammad threatened to overthrow. Muhammad’s denunciation of the Meccan traditional religion was especially offensive to his own tribe, the Quraysh, as they were the guardians of the Ka'aba.[75] The powerful merchants tried to convince Muhammad to abandon his preaching by offering him admission into the inner circle of merchants, and establishing his position therein by an advantageous marriage. However, he refused.[75]
Tradition records at great length the persecution and ill-treatment of Muhammad and his followers.[13][15] Sumayyah bint Khabbab, a slave of a prominent Meccan leader Abu Jahl, is famous as the first martyr of Islam, having been killed with a spear by her master when she refused to give up her faith. Bilal, another Muslim slave, was tortured by Umayyah ibn Khalaf who placed a heavy rock on his chest to force his conversion.[78][79] Apart from insults, Muhammad was protected from physical harm as he belonged to the Banu Hashim clan.[15][80][81]
In 615, some of Muhammad's followers emigrated to the Ethiopian Aksumite Empire and founded a small colony there under the protection of the Christian Ethiopian emperor Aṣḥama ibn Abjar.[13][15]
Muhammad desperately hoping for an accommodation with his tribe, either from fear or in the hope of succeeding more readily in this way, pronounced a verse acknowledging the existence of three Meccan goddesses considered to be the daughters of Allah, and appealing for their intercession. Muhammad later retracted the verses at the behest of Gabriel, claiming that the verses were whispered by the devil himself.[15][82][n 4] This episode known as "The Story of the Cranes" (translation: قصة الغرانيق, transliteration: Qissat al Gharaneeq) is also known as "Satanic Verses". Some scholars argued against its historicity on various grounds.[83] While this incident got widespread acceptance by early Muslims, strong objections to it were raised starting from the tenth century, on theological grounds. The objections continued to be raised to the point where the rejection of the historicity of the incident eventually became the only acceptable orthodox Muslim position.[84]
In 617, the leaders of Makhzum and Banu Abd-Shams, two important Quraysh clans, declared a public boycott against Banu Hashim, their commercial rival, to pressure it into withdrawing its protection of Muhammad. The boycott lasted three years but eventually collapsed as it failed in its objective.[85][86] During this, Muhammad was only able to preach during the holy pilgrimage months in which all hostilities between Arabs were suspended.[87]
Isra and Mi'raj[link]
Main article: Isra and Mi'raj
Islamic tradition relates that in 620, Muhammad experienced the Isra and Mi'raj, a miraculous journey said to have occurred with the angel Gabriel in one night. In the first part of the journey, the Isra, he is said to have travelled from Mecca on a winged steed (Buraq) to "the farthest mosque" (in Arabic: masjid al-aqsa), which Muslims usually identify with the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. In the second part, the Mi'raj, Muhammad is said to have toured heaven and hell, and spoken with earlier prophets, such as Abraham, Moses, and Jesus.[87][89] Ibn Ishaq, author of the first biography of Muhammad, presents this event as a spiritual experience whereas later historians like Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir present it as a physical journey.[89]
Some western scholars of Islam hold that the oldest Muslim tradition identified the journey as one traveled through the heavens from the sacred enclosure at Mecca to the celestial al-Baytu l-Maʿmur (heavenly prototype of the Kaaba); but later tradition identified Muhammad's journey as having been from Mecca to Jerusalem.[91]
Last years in Mecca before Hijra[link]
Muhammad's wife Khadijah and his uncle Abu Talib both died in 619, the year thus being known as the "year of sorrow". With the death of Abu Talib, the leadership of the Banu Hashim clan was passed to Abu Lahab, an inveterate enemy of Muhammad. Soon afterwards, Abu Lahab withdrew the clan's protection from Muhammad. This placed Muhammad in danger of death since the withdrawal of clan protection implied that the blood revenge for his killing would not be exacted. Muhammad then visited Ta'if, another important city in Arabia, and tried to find a protector for himself there, but his effort failed and further brought him into physical danger.[13][86][87] Muhammad was forced to return to Mecca. A Meccan man named Mut'im b. Adi (and the protection of the tribe of Banu Nawfal) made it possible for him safely to re-enter his native city.[13][86][87]
Many people were visiting Mecca on business or as pilgrims to the Kaaba. Muhammad took this opportunity to look for a new home for himself and his followers. After several unsuccessful negotiations, he found hope with some men from Yathrib (later called Medina).[13] The Arab population of Yathrib were familiar with monotheism and prepared for the appearance of a prophet because a Jewish community existed there.[13][16] They also hoped by the means of Muhammad and the new faith to gain supremacy over Mecca, as they were jealous of its importance as the place of pilgrimage.[16] Converts to Islam came from nearly all Arab tribes in Medina, such that by June of the subsequent year there were seventy-five Muslims coming to Mecca for pilgrimage and to meet Muhammad. Meeting him secretly by night, the group made what was known as the "Second Pledge of al-`Aqaba", or the "Pledge of War"[16][92] Following the pledges at Aqabah, Muhammad encouraged his followers to emigrate to Yathrib. As with the migration to Abyssinia, the Quraysh attempted to stop the emigration. However, almost all Muslims managed to leave.[93]
Hijra[link]
| Timeline of Muhammad in Medina | |
|---|---|
| c. 622 | Emigrates to Medina (Hijra) |
| 623 | Caravan Raids begin |
| 623 | Al Kudr Invasion |
| 624 | Battle of Badr: Muslims defeat Meccans |
| 624 | Battle of Sawiq, Abu Sufyan escapes capture |
| 624 | Expulsion of Banu Qaynuqa |
| 624 | Invasion of Thi Amr, Muhammed raids Ghatafan tribes |
| 624 | Assassination of Khaled b. Sufyan & Abu Rafi |
| 625 | Battle of Uhud: Meccans defeat Muslims |
| 625 | Tragedy of Bir Maona and Al Raji |
| 625 | Invasion of Hamra al-Asad, successfully terrifies enemy to cause retreat |
| 625 | Banu Nadir expelled after Invasion |
| 625 | Invasion of Nejd, Badr and Dumatul Jandal |
| 627 | Battle of the Trench |
| 627 | Invasion of Banu Qurayza, successful siege |
| 628 | Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, gains access to Kaaba |
| 628 | Conquest of the Khaybar oasis |
| 629 | First hajj pilgrimage |
| 629 | Attack on Byzantine Empire fails: Battle of Mu'tah |
| 630 | Bloodless conquest of Mecca |
| 630 | Battle of Hunayn |
| 630 | Siege of Ta'if |
| 631 | Rules most of the Arabian peninsula |
| 632 | Attacks the Ghassanids: Tabuk |
| 632 | Farewell hajj pilgrimage |
| 632 | Wasal (June 8): Medina |
Main article: Hijra (Islam)
The Hijra is the migration of Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE. In September 622, warned of a plot to assassinate him, Muhammad secretly slipped out of Mecca, moving with his followers to Medina,[16] 320 kilometres (200 mi) north of Mecca. The Hijra is celebrated annually on the first day of the Muslim year.
Migration to Medina[link]
Main article: Muhammad in Medina
A delegation consisting of the representatives of the twelve important clans of Medina, invited Muhammad as a neutral outsider to Medina to serve as chief arbitrator for the entire community.[94][95] There was fighting in Yathrib mainly involving its Arab and Jewish inhabitants for around a hundred years before 620.[94] The recurring slaughters and disagreements over the resulting claims, especially after the Battle of Bu'ath in which all clans were involved, made it obvious to them that the tribal conceptions of blood-feud and an eye for an eye were no longer workable unless there was one man with authority to adjudicate in disputed cases.[94] The delegation from Medina pledged themselves and their fellow-citizens to accept Muhammad into their community and physically protect him as one of themselves.[13]
Muhammad instructed his followers to emigrate to Medina until virtually all his followers left Mecca. Being alarmed at the departure of Muslims, according to the tradition, the Meccans plotted to assassinate Muhammad. With the help of Ali, Muhammad fooled the Meccans who were watching him, and secretly slipped away from the town with Abu Bakr.[16][96] By 622, Muhammad emigrated to Medina, a large agricultural oasis. Those who migrated from Mecca along with Muhammad became known as muhajirun (emigrants).[13]
Establishment of a new polity[link]
 |
Wikisource has original text related to this article: |
Main article: Constitution of Medina
<poem>
God! There is no god but He, the Living, the Everlasting. Slumber seizes Him not, neither sleep; to Him belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth. Who is there that shall intercede with Him save by His leave? He knows what lies before them and what is after them, and they comprehend not anything of His knowledge save such as He wills. His Throne comprises the heavens and earth; the preserving of them oppresses Him not; He is the All-high, the All-glorious.
</poem>Among the first things Muhammad did to settle down the longstanding grievances among the tribes of Medina was drafting a document known as the Constitution of Medina, "establishing a kind of alliance or federation" among the eight Medinan tribes and Muslim emigrants from Mecca, which specified the rights and duties of all citizens and the relationship of the different communities in Medina (including that of the Muslim community to other communities, specifically the Jews and other "Peoples of the Book").[94][95] The community defined in the Constitution of Medina, Ummah, had a religious outlook but was also shaped by practical considerations and substantially preserved the legal forms of the old Arab tribes.[13] It effectively established the first Islamic state.
Several ordinances were proclaimed to win over the numerous and wealthy Jewish population. But these were soon rescinded as the Jews insisted on preserving the entire Mosaic law, and did not recognize him as a prophet because he was not of the race of David.[16]
The first group of pagan converts to Islam in Medina were the clans who had not produced great leaders for themselves but had suffered from warlike leaders from other clans. This was followed by the general acceptance of Islam by the pagan population of Medina, apart from some exceptions. According to Ibn Ishaq, this was influenced by the conversion of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh (a prominent Medinan leader) to Islam.[98] Those Medinans who converted to Islam and helped the Muslim emigrants find shelter became known as the ansar (supporters).[13] Then Muhammad instituted brotherhood between the emigrants and the supporters and he chose Ali as his own brother.[99]
Beginning of armed conflict[link]
Following the emigration, the Meccans seized the properties of the Muslim emigrants in Mecca.[100] Economically uprooted and with no available profession, the Muslim migrants turned to raiding Meccan caravans, initiating armed conflict with Mecca.[101][102][103] Muhammad delivered Quranic verses permitting the Muslims to fight the Meccans (see sura Al-Hajj, Quran 22:39–40).[104] These attacks allowed the migrants to acquire wealth, power and prestige while working towards their ultimate goal of conquering Mecca.[105][106]
On 11 February 624 according to the traditional account, while praying in the Masjid al-Qiblatain in Medina, Muhammad received a revelation from God that he should be facing Mecca rather than Jerusalem during prayer. As he adjusted himself, so did his companions praying with him, beginning the tradition of facing Mecca during prayer.[107] According to Watt, the change may have been less sudden and definite than the story suggests – the related Quranic verses (2:136–2:147) appear to have been revealed at different times – and correlates with changes in Muhammad's political support base, symbolizing his turning away from Jews and adopting a more Arabian outlook.[107]
In March 624, Muhammad led some three hundred warriors in a raid on a Meccan merchant caravan. The Muslims set an ambush for them at Badr.[108] Aware of the plan, the Meccan caravan eluded the Muslims.[103] Meanwhile, a force from Mecca was sent to protect the caravan, continuing forward to confront the Muslims upon hearing that the caravan was safe. The Battle of Badr began in March 624.[109] Though outnumbered more than three to one, the Muslims won the battle, killing at least forty-five Meccans with only fourteen Muslims dead. They also succeeded in killing many Meccan leaders, including Abu Jahl.[110] Seventy prisoners had been acquired, many of whom were soon ransomed in return for wealth or freed.[101][103][111][112] Muhammad and his followers saw in the victory a confirmation of their faith[13] as Muhammad ascribed the victory to the assistance of an invisible host of angels.[113] The Quranic verses of this period, unlike the Meccan ones, dealt with practical problems of government and issues like the distribution of spoils.[114][115]
The victory strengthened Muhammad's position in Medina and dispelled earlier doubts among his followers.[116] As a result the opposition to him became less vocal. Pagans who had not yet converted were very bitter about the advance of Islam. Two pagans, Asma bint Marwan and Abu 'Afak, had composed verses taunting and insulting the Muslims. They were killed by people belonging to their own or related clans, and no blood-feud followed.[117]
Muhammad expelled from Medina the Banu Qaynuqa, one of three main Jewish tribes.[13] Although Muhammad wanted them executed, Abd-Allah ibn Ubaiy chief of the Khazraj tribe did not agree and they were expelled to Syria but without their property.[115] Following the Battle of Badr, Muhammad also made mutual-aid alliances with a number of Bedouin tribes to protect his community from attacks from the northern part of Hijaz.[13]
Conflict with Mecca[link]
Main article: Battle of Uhud
The Meccans were now anxious to avenge their defeat. To maintain their economic prosperity, the Meccans needed to restore their prestige, which had been lost at Badr.[119] In the ensuing months, the Meccans sent ambush parties on Medina while Muhammad led expeditions on tribes allied with Mecca and sent out a raid on a Meccan caravan.[120] Abu Sufyan subsequently gathered an army of three thousand men and set out for an attack on Medina.[115][121]
A scout alerted Muhammad of the Meccan army's presence and numbers a day later. The next morning, at the Muslim conference of war, there was dispute over how best to repel the Meccans. Muhammad and many senior figures suggested that it would be safer to fight within Medina and take advantage of its heavily fortified strongholds. Younger Muslims argued that the Meccans were destroying their crops, and that huddling in the strongholds would destroy Muslim prestige. Muhammad eventually conceded to the wishes of the latter, and readied the Muslim force for battle.[115] Thus, Muhammad led his force outside to the mountain of Uhud (where the Meccans had camped) and fought the Battle of Uhud on March 23.[122][123] Although the Muslim army had the best of the early encounters, indiscipline on the part of strategically placed archers led to a Muslim defeat, with 75 Muslims killed including Hamza, Muhammad's uncle and one of the best known martyrs in the Muslim tradition. The Meccans did not pursue the Muslims further, but marched back to Mecca declaring victory. This is probably because Muhammad was wounded and thought to be dead. When they knew this on their way back, they did not return back because of false information about new forces coming to his aid.[115] They were not entirely successful, however, as they had failed to achieve their aim of completely destroying the Muslims.[124][125] The Muslims buried the dead, and returned to Medina that evening. Questions accumulated as to the reasons for the loss, and Muhammad subsequently delivered Quranic verses 3:152 which indicated that their defeat was partly a punishment for disobedience and partly a test for steadfastness.[126]
Abu Sufyan now directed his efforts towards another attack on Medina. He attracted the support of nomadic tribes to the north and east of Medina, using propaganda about Muhammad's weakness, promises of booty, memories of the prestige of the Quraysh and use of bribes.[127] Muhammad's policy was now to prevent alliances against him as much as he could. Whenever alliances of tribesmen against Medina were formed, he sent out an expedition to break them up.[127] When Muhammad heard of men massing with hostile intentions against Medina, he reacted with severity.[128] One example is the assassination of Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf, a chieftain of the Jewish tribe of Banu Nadir who had gone to Mecca and written poems that helped rouse the Meccans' grief, anger and desire for revenge after the Battle of Badr.[129][130] Around a year later, Muhammad expelled the Banu Nadir from Medina[131] to Syria allowing them to take some of their possessions because he was unable to subdue them in their strongholds. The rest of their property was claimed by Muhammad in the name of God because it was not gained with bloodshed. Muhammad surprised various Arab tribes, one by one, with overwhelming force which caused his enemies to unite to annihilate him.[132] Muhammad's attempts to prevent formation of a confederation against him were unsuccessful, though he was able to increase his own forces and stop many potential tribes from joining his enemies.[133]
Siege of Medina[link]
Main article: Battle of the Trench
<poem>
Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The Parable of His Light is as if there were a Niche and within it a Lamp: the Lamp enclosed in Glass: the glass as it were a brilliant star: Lit from a blessed Tree, an Olive, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire scarce touched it: Light upon Light! Allah doth guide whom He will to His Light: Allah doth set forth Parables for men:
and Allah doth know all things. </poem>With the help of the exiled Banu Nadir, the Quraysh military leader Abu Sufyan had mustered a force of 10,000 men. Muhammad prepared a force of about 3,000 men and adopted a new form of defense unknown in Arabia at that time: the Muslims dug a trench[132] wherever Medina lay open to cavalry attack. The idea is credited to a Persian convert to Islam, Salman the Persian. The siege of Medina began on March 31 627[132] and lasted for two weeks.[134] Abu Sufyan's troops were unprepared for the fortifications they were confronted with, and after an ineffectual siege lasting several weeks, the coalition decided to go home.[132][135] The Quran discusses this battle in sura Al-Ahzab, ayat (verses) 9-27, 33:9–27.[77] During the battle, the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza, located at the south of Medina, had entered into negotiations with Meccan forces to revolt against Muhammad. Although they were swayed by suggestions that Muhammad was sure to be overwhelmed, they desired reassurance in case the confederacy was unable to destroy him. No agreement was reached after the prolonged negotiations, in part due to sabotage attempts by Muhammad's scouts.[136] After the coalition's retreat, the Muslims accused the Banu Qurayza of treachery and besieged them in their forts for 25 days. The Banu Qurayza eventually surrendered; according to Ibn Ishaq, all the men apart from a few who converted to Islam were beheaded, while the women and children were enslaved.[132][137][138] Walid N. Arafat and Barakat Ahmad have disputed the accuracy of Ibn Ishaq"s narrative, however.[139] Arafat believes that Ibn Ishaq's Jewish sources, speaking over 100 years after the event, conflated their account with memories of earlier massacres in Jewish history; he notes that Ibn Ishaq was considered an unreliable historian by his contemporary Malik ibn Anas, and a transmitter of "odd tales" by the later Ibn Hajar.[140] Ahmad argues that only some of the tribe were killed, while some of the fighters were merely enslaved.[141][142] Watt finds Arafat's arguments "not entirely convincing", while Meir J. Kister has contradicted[clarification needed] the arguments of Arafat and Ahmad.[143]
In the siege of Medina, the Meccans exerted their utmost strength towards the destruction of the Muslim community. Their failure resulted in a significant loss of prestige; their trade with Syria was gone.[144] Following the Battle of the Trench, he made two expeditions to the north which ended without any fighting.[13][132] While returning from one of these (or some years earlier according to other early accounts), an accusation of adultery was made against Aisha, Muhammad's wife. Aisha was exonerated from the accusations when Muhammad announced that he had received a revelation confirming Aisha's innocence and directing that charges of adultery be supported by four eyewitnesses (sura 24, An-Nur).[145]
Truce of Hudaybiyyah[link]
Main article: Treaty of Hudaybiyyah
Although Muhammad had already delivered Quranic verses commanding the Hajj,[146] the Muslims had not performed it due to the enmity of the Quraysh. In the month of Shawwal 628,[132] Muhammad ordered his followers to obtain sacrificial animals and to make preparations for a pilgrimage (umrah) to Mecca, saying that God had promised him the fulfillment of this goal in a vision where he was shaving his head after the completion of the Hajj.[147] Upon hearing of the approaching 1,400 Muslims, the Quraysh sent out a force of 200 cavalry to halt them. Muhammad evaded them by taking a more difficult route, thereby reaching al-Hudaybiyya, just outside of Mecca.[148] According to Watt, although Muhammad's decision to make the pilgrimage was based on his dream, he was at the same time demonstrating to the pagan Meccans that Islam does not threaten the prestige of their sanctuary, and that Islam was an Arabian religion.[148]
File:نقش مهر.jpg
Imprint of Muhammad's seal, used in letters sent to other heads of state.
Negotiations commenced with emissaries going to and from Mecca. While these continued, rumors spread that one of the Muslim negotiators, Uthman bin al-Affan, had been killed by the Quraysh. Muhammad responded by calling upon the pilgrims to make a pledge not to flee (or to stick with Muhammad, whatever decision he made) if the situation descended into war with Mecca. This pledge became known as the "Pledge of Acceptance" (Arabic: بيعة الرضوان , bay'at al-ridhwān) or the "Pledge under the Tree". News of Uthman's safety, however, allowed for negotiations to continue, and a treaty scheduled to last ten years was eventually signed between the Muslims and Quraysh.[148][149] The main points of the treaty included the cessation of hostilities; the deferral of Muhammad's pilgrimage to the following year;[150] and an agreement to send back any Meccan who had gone to Medina without the permission of their protector.[148]
Many Muslims were not satisfied with the terms of the treaty. However, the Quranic sura "Al-Fath" (The Victory) (Quran 48:1–29) assured the Muslims that the expedition from which they were now returning must be considered a victorious one.[151] It was only later that Muhammad's followers would realise the benefit behind this treaty. These benefits included the inducing of the Meccans to recognise Muhammad as an equal;[150] a cessation of military activity posing well for the future; and gaining the admiration of Meccans who were impressed by the incorporation of the pilgrimage rituals.[13]
After signing the truce, Muhammad made an expedition against the Jewish oasis of Khaybar,[150] known as the Battle of Khaybar. This was possibly due to it housing the Banu Nadir, who were inciting hostilities against Muhammad, or to regain some prestige to deflect from what appeared to some Muslims as the inconclusive result of the truce of Hudaybiyya.[121][152] According to Muslim tradition, Muhammad also sent letters to many rulers of the world, asking them to convert to Islam (the exact date is given variously in the sources).[13][153][154][155] Hence he sent messengers (with letters) to Heraclius of the Byzantine Empire (the eastern Roman Empire), Khosrau of Persia, the chief of Yemen and to some others.[153][154][155] In the years following the truce of Hudaybiyya, Muhammad sent his forces against the Arabs on Transjordanian Byzantine soil in the Battle of Mu'tah, in which the Muslims were defeated.[155][156]
Final years[link]
Conquest of Mecca[link]
Main articles: Conquest of Mecca and Muhammad after the conquest of Mecca
The truce of Hudaybiyyah had been enforced for two years.[157][158] The tribe of Banu Khuza'a had good relations with Muhammad, whereas their enemies, the Banu Bakr, had an alliance with the Meccans.[157][158] A clan of the Bakr made a night raid against the Khuza'a, killing a few of them.[157][158] The Meccans helped the Banu Bakr with weapons and, according to some sources, a few Meccans also took part in the fighting.[155][157] After this event, Muhammad sent a message to Mecca with three conditions, asking them to accept one of them. These were that either the Meccans paid blood money for those slain among the Khuza'ah tribe; or, that they should disavow themselves of the Banu Bakr; or, that they should declare the truce of Hudaybiyyah null.[159]
The Meccans replied that they would accept only the last condition.[159] However, soon they realized their mistake and sent Abu Sufyan to renew the Hudaybiyyah treaty, but now his request was declined by Muhammad.[155]
Muhammad began to prepare for a campaign.[160] In 630, Muhammad marched on Mecca with an enormous force, said to number more than ten thousand men. With minimal casualties, Muhammad took control of Mecca.[161][162] He declared an amnesty for past offences, except for ten men and women who were "guilty of murder or other offences or had sparked off the war and disrupted the peace".[163] Some of these were later pardoned.[162][164] Most Meccans converted to Islam and Muhammad subsequently had destroyed all the statues of Arabian gods in and around the Kaaba.[162][165][166] According to reports collected by Ibn Ishaq and al-Azraqi, Muhammad personally spared paintings or frescos of Mary and Jesus, but other traditions suggest that all pictures were erased.[167] The Quran discusses the conquest of Mecca.[77][168]
Conquest of Arabia[link]
Main articles: Battle of Hunayn and Battle of Tabouk
Soon after the conquest of Mecca, Muhammad was alarmed by a military threat from the confederate tribes of Hawazin who were collecting an army twice the size of Muhammad's. The Banu Hawazin were old enemies of the Meccans. They were joined by the Banu Thaqif (inhabiting the city of Ta'if) who adopted an anti-Meccan policy due to the decline of the prestige of Meccans.[169] Muhammad defeated the Hawazin and Thaqif tribes in the Battle of Hunayn.[13][170]
In the same year, Muhammad made the expedition of Tabuk against northern Arabia because of their previous defeat at the Battle of Mu'tah as well as reports of the hostile attitude adopted against Muslims. With the greatest difficulty he collected thirty thousand men, half of whom, however, on the second day after their departure from Mecca, returned with Abd-Allah ibn Ubayy, untroubled by the damning verses which Muhammad hurled at them.[171] Although Muhammad did not make contact with hostile forces at Tabuk, he received the submission of some local chiefs of the region.[13][172]
He also ordered the destruction of remaining pagan idols in Eastern Arabia. The last city to hold out against the Muslims in Eastern Arabia was Taif. Muhammad refused to accept the surrender of the city until they agreed to convert to Islam and let his men destroy their statue of their goddess Allat.[173][174][175]
A year after the Battle of Tabuk, the Banu Thaqif sent emissaries to Medina to surrender to Muhammad and adopt Islam. Many bedouins submitted to Muhammad to be safe against his attacks and to benefit from the booties of the wars.[13][171] However, the bedouins were alien to the system of Islam and wanted to maintain their independence, their established code of virtue and their ancestral traditions. Muhammad thus required of them a military and political agreement according to which they "acknowledge the suzerainty of Medina, to refrain from attack on the Muslims and their allies, and to pay the Zakat, the Muslim religious levy."[171][176]
Farewell pilgrimage[link]
Main article: The Farewell Pilgrimage
In 632, at the end of the tenth year after the migration to Medina, Muhammad carried through his first truly Islamic pilgrimage, thereby teaching his followers the rites of the annual Great Pilgrimage (Hajj).[13] After completing the pilgrimage, Muhammad delivered a famous speech known as The Farewell Sermon, at Mount Arafat east of Mecca. In this sermon, Muhammad advised his followers not to follow certain pre-Islamic customs. He declared that an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action.[177] He abolished all old blood feuds and disputes based on the former tribal system and asked for all old pledges to be returned as implications of the creation of the new Islamic community. Commenting on the vulnerability of women in his society, Muhammed asked his male followers to “Be good to women; for they are powerless captives (awan) in your households. You took them in God’s trust, and legitimated your sexual relations with the Word of God, so come to your senses people, and hear my words ...” He told them that they were entitled to discipline their wives but should do so with kindness. He addressed the issue of inheritance by forbidding false claims of paternity or of a client relationship to the deceased, and forbade his followers to leave their wealth to a testamentary heir. He also upheld the sacredness of four lunar months in each year.[178][179][180] According to Sunni tafsir, the following Quranic verse was delivered during this event: “Today I have perfected your religion, and completed my favours for you and chosen Islam as a religion for you.”(Quran 5:3)[13][181] According to Shia tafsir, it refers to the appointment of Ali ibn Abi Talib at the pond of Khumm as Muhammad's successor, this occurring a few days later when Muslims were returning from Mecca to Medina.[182]
Death and tomb[link]
A few months after the farewell pilgrimage, Muhammad fell ill and suffered for several days with a fever, head pain, and weakness.[181] He died on Monday, June 8, 632, in Medina, at the age of 63, in the house of his wife Aisha.[183] With his head resting on Aisha's lap, he asked her to dispose of his last worldly goods (seven coins), then murmured his final words:
Rather, God on High and paradise.[183]—Muhammad
He was buried where he died, in Aisha's house.[13][184][185][186] During the reign of the Umayyad caliph al-Walid I, the Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (the Mosque of the Prophet) was expanded to include the site of Muhammad's tomb.[187] The Green Dome above the tomb was built by the Mamluk sultan Al Mansur Qalawun in the 13th century, although the green color was added in the 16th century, under the reign of Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.[188] Among tombs adjacent to Muhammad's are those of his companions (Sahabah)—the first two Muslim Caliphs Abu Bakr and Umar—, and an empty one that Muslims believe awaits Jesus.[185][189][190]
When bin Saud took Medina in 1805, Muhammad's tomb was stripped of its gold and jewel ornaments.[191] Adherents to Wahhabism, bin Sauds' followers destroyed nearly every tomb dome in Medina in order to prevent their veneration,[191] and the one of Muhammad is said to have narrowly escaped.[192] Similar events took place in 1925 when the Saudi militias retook—and this time managed to keep—the city.[193][194][195] In the Wahhabi interpretation of Islam, burial is to take place in unmarked graves.[192] Although frowned upon by the Saudis, many pilgrims continue to practice a ziyarat—a ritual visit—to the tomb.[196][197]
Aftermath[link]
Muhammad united the tribes of Arabia into a single Arab Muslim religious polity in the last years of his life. With Muhammad's death, disagreement broke out over who would succeed him as leader of the Muslim community.[21] Umar ibn al-Khattab, a prominent companion of Muhammad, nominated Abu Bakr, Muhammad's friend and collaborator. Others added their support and Abu Bakr was made the first caliph.[186] This choice was disputed by some of Muhammad's companions, who held that Ali ibn Abi Talib, his cousin and son-in-law, had been designated the successor by Muhammad at Ghadir Khumm. Abu Bakr's immediate task was to make an expedition against the Byzantine (or Eastern Roman Empire) forces because of the previous defeat, although he first had to put down a rebellion by Arab tribes in an episode referred to by later Muslim historians as the Ridda wars, or "Wars of Apostasy".[198]
The pre-Islamic Middle East was dominated by the Byzantine and Sassanian empires. The Roman-Persian Wars between the two had devastated the region, making the empires unpopular amongst local tribes. Furthermore, in the lands that would be conquered by Muslims many Christians (Nestorians, Monophysites, Jacobites and Copts) were disaffected from the Christian Orthodoxy which deemed them heretics. Within only a decade, Muslims conquered Mesopotamia and Persia, Byzantine Syria and Byzantine Egypt.[199] and established the Rashidun empire.
Early reforms under Islam[link]
Main article: Early reforms under Islam
According to William Montgomery Watt, for Muhammad, religion was not a private and individual matter but rather “the total response of his personality to the total situation in which he found himself. He was responding [not only]… to the religious and intellectual aspects of the situation but also to the economic, social, and political pressures to which contemporary Mecca was subject."[200] Bernard Lewis says that there are two important political traditions in Islam – one that views Muhammad as a statesman in Medina, and another that views him as a rebel in Mecca. He sees Islam itself as a type of revolution that greatly changed the societies into which the new religion was brought.[201]
Historians generally agree that Islamic social reforms in areas such as social security, family structure, slavery and the rights of women and children improved on the status quo of Arab society.[201][202] For example, according to Lewis, Islam "from the first denounced aristocratic privilege, rejected hierarchy, and adopted a formula of the career open to the talents".[201] Muhammad's message transformed the society and moral order of life in the Arabian Peninsula through reorientation of society as regards to identity, world view, and the hierarchy of values.[203] Economic reforms addressed the plight of the poor, which was becoming an issue in pre-Islamic Mecca.[204] The Quran requires payment of an alms tax (zakat) for the benefit of the poor, and as Muhammad's position grew in power he demanded that those tribes who wanted to ally with him implement the zakat in particular.[205][206]
Appearance[link]
Ali gave the following description of Muhammad's physical appearance:[207]
Muhammad was middle-sized, did not have lank or crisp hair, was not fat, had a white circular face, wide black eyes, and long eye-lashes. When he walked, he walked as though he went down a declivity. He had the "seal of prophecy" between his shoulder blades ... He was bulky. His face shone like the moon. He was taller than middling stature but shorter than conspicuous tallness. He had thick, curly hair. The plaits of his hair were parted. His hair reached beyond the lobe of his ear. His complexion was azhar [bright, luminous]. Muhammad had a wide forehead, and fine, long, arched eyebrows which did not meet. Between his eyebrows there was a vein which distended when he was angry. The upper part of his nose was hooked; he was thick bearded, had smooth cheeks, a strong mouth, and his teeth were set apart. He had thin hair on his chest. His neck was like the neck of an ivory statue, with the purity of silver. Muhammad was proportionate, stout, firm-gripped, even of belly and chest, broad-chested and broad-shouldered.
The "seal of prophecy" between the Prophet's shoulders is generally described as having been a type of raised mole the size of a pigeon's egg.[208] Another description of Muhammad was provided by Umm Ma'bad, a woman he met on his journey to Medina:[209]
I saw a man, pure and clean, with a handsome face and a fine figure. He was not marred by a skinny body, nor was he overly small in the head and neck. He was graceful and elegant, with intensely black eyes and thick eyelashes. There was a huskiness in his voice, and his neck was long. His beard was thick, and his eyebrows were finely arched and joined together.
When silent, he was grave and dignified, and when he spoke, glory rose up and overcame him. He was from afar the most beautiful of men and the most glorious, and close up he was the sweetest and the loveliest. He was sweet of speech and articulate, but not petty or trifling. His speech was a string of cascading pearls, measured so that none despaired of its length, and no eye challenged him because of brevity.
Descriptions like these were often reproduced in calligraphic panels (hilya or, in Turkish, hilye), which in the 17th century developed into an art form of their own in the Ottoman Empire.[209]
Household[link]
Main articles: Muhammad's wives and Ahl al-Bayt
Muhammad's life is traditionally defined into two periods: pre-hijra (emigration) in Mecca (from 570 to 622), and post-hijra in Medina (from 622 until 632). Muhammad is said to have had thirteen wives or concubines. (There are differing accounts on the status of some of them as wife or concubine.[210])[211] All but two of his marriages were contracted after the migration to Medina.
At the age of 25, Muhammad married the wealthy Khadijah bint Khuwaylid who was 40 years old at that time.[212] The marriage lasted for 25 years and was a happy one.[213] Muhammad relied upon Khadija in many ways and did not enter into marriage with another woman during this marriage.[214][215] After the death of Khadija, it was suggested to Muhammad by Khawla bint Hakim that he should marry Sawda bint Zama, a Muslim widow, or Aisha, daughter of Um Ruman and Abu Bakr of Mecca. Muhammad is said to have asked her to arrange for him to marry both.[145]
Traditional sources dictate that Aisha was six or seven years old when betrothed to Muhammad,[145][216][217] with the marriage being consummated when she was nine or ten years old.[145][216][218][219][220] While the majority of traditional sources indicate Aisha was 9 (and therefore a virgin) at the time of marriage, a small number of more recent writers have variously estimated her age at 15 to 24.[221][222][223][224][225]
After migration to Medina, Muhammad (who was now in his fifties) married several women. These marriages were contracted mostly for political or humanitarian reasons. The women were either widows of Muslims who had been killed in battle and had been left without a protector, or belonging to important families or clans whom it was necessary to honor and strengthen alliances with.[226]
Muhammad did his own household chores and helped with housework, such as preparing food, sewing clothes and repairing shoes. He is also said to have had accustomed his wives to dialogue; he listened to their advice, and the wives debated and even argued with him.[227][228][229]
Khadijah is said to have had four daughters with Muhammad—(Ruqayyah bint Muhammad, Umm Kulthum bint Muhammad, Zainab bint Muhammad, Fatimah Zahra)—and two sons—(Abd-Allah ibn Muhammad and Qasim ibn Muhammad)—who both died in childhood. All except two of his daughters, Fatimah and Zainab, died before him.[230] Some Shi'a scholars contend that Fatimah was Muhammad's only daughter.[231] Maria al-Qibtiyya bore him a son named Ibrahim ibn Muhammad, but the child died when he was two years old.[230]
Nine of Muhammad's wives survived him.[211] Aisha, who became known as Muhammad's favourite wife in Sunni tradition, survived him by many decades and was instrumental in helping bring together the scattered sayings of Muhammad that would form the Hadith literature for the Sunni branch of Islam.[145]
Muhammad's descendants through Fatimah are known as sharifs, syeds or sayyids. These are honorific titles in Arabic, sharif meaning 'noble' and sayed or sayyid meaning 'lord' or 'sir'. As Muhammad's only descendants, they are respected by both Sunni and Shi'a, though the Shi'a place much more emphasis and value on their distinction.[232]
Zayd ibn Harith was a slave that Muhammad bought, freed, and then adopted as his son. He also had a wetnurse.[233] Muhammad owned other slaves as well, whom he bought usually to free.[234]
Legacy[link]
Muslim views[link]
Main article: Islamic views of Muhammad
Following the attestation to the oneness of God, the belief in Muhammad's prophethood is the main aspect of the Islamic faith. Every Muslim proclaims in the Shahadah that "I testify that there is none worthy of worship except God, and I testify that Muhammad is a Messenger of God". The Shahadah is the basic creed or tenet of Islam. Ideally, it is the first words a newborn will hear, and children are taught as soon as they are able to understand it and it will be recited when they die. Muslims must repeat the shahadah in the call to prayer (adhan) and the prayer itself. Non-Muslims wishing to convert to Islam are required to recite the creed.[235]
According to the Quran, Muhammad is only the last of a series of Prophets sent by God for the benefit of mankind, and commands Muslims to make no distinction between them. Quran 10:37 states that "...it (the Quran) is a confirmation of (revelations) that went before it, and a fuller explanation of the Book - wherein there is no doubt - from The Lord of the Worlds.". Similarly Quran 46:12 states "...And before this was the book of Moses, as a guide and a mercy. And this Book confirms (it)...", while 2:136 commands the believers of Islam to "Say: we believe in God and that which is revealed unto us, and that which was revealed unto Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes, and that which Moses and Jesus received, and which the prophets received from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and unto Him we have surrendered."
Historian Denis Gril believes that the Quran does not overtly describe Muhammad performing miracles, and the supreme miracle of Muhammad is finally identified with the Quran itself.[236] However, Muslim tradition credits Muhammad with several miracles or supernatural events.[237] For example, many Muslim commentators and some Western scholars have interpreted the Surah 54:1–2 as referring to Muhammad splitting the Moon in view of the Quraysh when they began persecuting his followers.[236][238]
The Sunnah represents the actions and sayings of Muhammad (preserved in reports known as Hadith), and covers a broad array of activities and beliefs ranging from religious rituals, personal hygiene, burial of the dead to the mystical questions involving the love between humans and God. The Sunnah is considered a model of emulation for pious Muslims and has to a great degree influenced the Muslim culture. The greeting that Muhammad taught Muslims to offer each other, “may peace be upon you” (Arabic: as-salamu `alaykum) is used by Muslims throughout the world. Many details of major Islamic rituals such as daily prayers, the fasting and the annual pilgrimage are only found in the Sunnah and not the Quran.[239]
The Sunnah also played a major role in the development of the Islamic sciences. It contributed much to the development of Islamic law, particularly from the end of the first Islamic century.[240] Muslim mystics, known as sufis, who were seeking for the inner meaning of the Quran and the inner nature of Muhammad, viewed the prophet of Islam not only as a prophet but also as a perfect saint. Sufi orders trace their chain of spiritual descent back to Muhammad.[241]
Muslims have traditionally expressed love and veneration for Muhammad. Stories of Muhammad's life, his intercession and of his miracles (particularly "Splitting of the moon") have permeated popular Muslim thought and poetry. Among Arabic odes to Muhammad, the Qaṣīda al-Burda ("Poem of the Mantle") by the Egyptian Sufi al-Busiri (1211–1294) is particularly well known, and widely held to possess a healing, spiritual power.[243] The Quran refers to Muhammad as "a mercy (rahmat) to the worlds" (Quran 21:107).[13] The association of rain with mercy in Oriental countries has led to imagining Muhammad as a rain cloud dispensing blessings and stretching over lands, reviving the dead hearts, just as rain revives the seemingly dead earth (see, for example, the Sindhi poem of Shah ʿAbd al-Latif).[13] Muhammad's birthday is celebrated as a major feast throughout the Islamic world, excluding Wahhabi-dominated Saudi Arabia where these public celebrations are discouraged.[244] When Muslims say or write the name of Muhammad or any other prophet in Islam, they usually follow it with Peace be upon him (Arabic: sallAllahu `alayhi wa sallam).[22] In casual writing, this is sometimes abbreviated as PBUH or SAW; in printed matter, a small calligraphic rendition is commonly used instead of printing the entire phrase.
Islamic depictions of Muhammad[link]
Main article: Depictions of Muhammad
In line with the hadith prohibition against creating images of sentient living beings, which is particularly strictly observed with respect to God and the Prophet, Islamic religious art is focused on the word.[245][246] Muslims generally avoid depictions of Muhammad, and mosques are decorated with calligraphy and Quranic inscriptions or geometrical designs, not images or sculptures.[245][247] Today, the interdiction against images of Muhammad – designed to prevent worship of Muhammad, rather than God – is much more strictly observed in Sunni Islam (85%–90% of Muslims) than among Shias (10%–15%).[248] While both Sunnis and Shiites have created images of Muhammad in the past,[249] Islamic depictions of Muhammad are rare.[245] They have, until recently[when?], mostly been limited to the private and elite medium of the miniature, and since about 1500 most depictions show Muhammad with his face veiled, or symbolically represent him as a flame.[247][250]
No depictions of the Prophet dating from his lifetime survive. The earliest depictions come from 13th-century Anatolian Seljuk and Ilkhanid Persian miniatures, typically in literary genres describing the life and deeds of Muhammad.[250][251] During the Ilkhanid period, when Persia's Mongol rulers converted to Islam, competing Sunni and Shi'a groups used visual imagery, including images of Muhammad, to promote their particular interpretation of Islam's key events.[252] Influenced by the Buddhist tradition of representational religious art predating the Mongol elite's conversion, this innovation was unprecedented in the Islamic world, and accompanied by a "broader shift in Islamic artistic culture away from abstraction toward representation" in "mosques, on tapestries, silks, ceramics, and in glass and metalwork" besides books.[253] In the Persian lands, this tradition of realistic depictions lasted through the Timurid dynasty until the Safavids took power in the early sixteenth century.[252] The Safavaids, who made Shi'i Islam the state religion, initiated a departure from the traditional Ilkhanid and Timurid artistic style by covering Muhammad's face with a veil to obscure his features and at the same time represent his luminous essence.[254] Concomitantly, some of the unveiled images from earlier periods were defaced.[252][255][256] Later images were produced in Ottoman Turkey and elsewhere, but mosques were never decorated with images of Muhammad.[249] Illustrated accounts of the night journey (mi'raj) were particularly popular from the Ilkhanid period through the Safavid era.[257] During the 19th century, Iran saw a boom of printed and illustrated mi'raj books, with Muhammad's face veiled, aimed in particular at illiterates and children in the manner of graphic novels; reproduced through lithography these were essentially "printed manuscripts".[257] Today, millions of historical reproductions and modern images are available in some Muslim countries, especially Turkey and Iran, on posters, postcards, and even in coffee-table books, but are unknown in most other parts of the Islamic world, and when encountered by Muslims from other countries they can cause considerable consternation and offense.[249][250]
Other views[link]
Non-Muslim views regarding Muhammad have ranged across a large spectrum of responses and beliefs, many of which have changed over time.[258][259]
Non-Western views[link]
Mahatma Gandhi stated:[260]
I wanted to know the best of the life of one who holds today an undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind.... I became more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the Prophet, the scrupulous regard for pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every obstacle. When I closed the second volume (of the Prophet's biography), I was sorry there was not more for me to read of that great life.
European and Western views[link]
See also: Medieval Christian views on Muhammad
According to Hossein Nasr, earliest European literature often refers to Muhammad unfavorably. He has been maligned in various European sources for over a millennium.[261] A few learned circles of Middle Ages Europe—primarily Latin-literate scholars—had access to fairly extensive biographical material about Muhammad. They interpreted that information through a Christian religious filter that viewed Muhammad as a charlatan driven by ambition and eagerness for power, and who seduced the Saracens into his submission under a religious guise.[13] Popular European literature of the time portrayed Muhammad as though he were worshipped by Muslims in the manner of an idol or a heathen god.[13] Some medieval Christians believed he died in 666, alluding to the number of the beast, instead of his actual death date in 632;[262] others changed his name from Muhammad to Mahound, the "devil incarnate".[263] Bernard Lewis writes "The development of the concept of Mahound started with considering Muhammad as a kind of demon or false god worshipped with Apollyon and Termagant in an unholy trinity."[264] A later medieval work, Livre dou Tresor represents Muhammad as a former monk and cardinal.[13] Dante's Divine Comedy (Canto XXVIII), puts Muhammad, together with Ali, in Hell "among the sowers of discord and the schismatics, being lacerated by devils again and again."[13] Cultural critic and author Edward Said wrote in Orientalism regarding Dante's depiction of Muhammad:
Empirical data about the Orient...count for very little; ... What ... Dante tried to do in the Inferno, is ... to characterize the Orient as alien and to incorporate it schematically on a theatrical stage whose audience, manager, and actors are ... only for Europe. Hence the vacillation between the familiar and the alien; Mohammed is always the imposter (familiar, because he pretends to be like the Jesus we know) and always the Oriental (alien, because although he is in some ways "like" Jesus, he is after all not like him).[265]
After the reformation, Muhammad was often portrayed as a cunning and ambitious impostor.[13][264] Guillaume Postel was among the first to present a more positive view of Muhammad.[13] Boulainvilliers described Muhammad as a gifted political leader and a just lawmaker.[13] Gottfried Leibniz praised Muhammad because "he did not deviate from the natural religion".[13] Thomas Carlyle in his book Heroes and Hero Worship and the Heroic in History (1840) defines Muhammed as "A silent great soul, one of that who cannot but be earnest".[266] Edward Gibbon in his book The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire observes that "the good sense of Mohammad despised the pomp of royalty." Friedrich Martin von Bodenstedt (1851) described Muhammad as "an ominous destroyer and a prophet of murder."[13]
Simon Ockley wrote in his book The History of the Saracen Empires (1718);
The greatest success of Mohammad’s life was effected by sheer moral force...It is not the propagation but the permanency of his religion that deserves our wonder, the same pure and perfect impression which he engraved at Mecca and Medina is preserved, after the revolutions of twelve centuries by the Indian, the African and the Turkish proselytes of the Koran. . . The Mahometans have uniformly withstood the temptation of reducing the object of their faith and devotion to a level with the senses and imagination of man. 'I believe in One God and Mahomet the Apostle of God' is the simple and invariable profession of Islam. The intellectual image of the Deity has never been degraded by any visible idol; the honours of the prophet have never transgressed the measure of human virtue, and his living precepts have restrained the gratitude of his disciples within the bounds of reason and religion.[267]
Reverend Benjamin Bosworth Smith in his book Muhammad and Muhammadanism (1874) commented that;
...if ever any man had the right to say that he ruled by the right divine, it was Mohammed, for he had all the power without its instruments and without its supports. He cared not for the dressings of power. The simplicity of his private life was in keeping with his public life...In Mohammadanism every thing is different here. Instead of the shadowy and the mysterious, we have history....We know of the external history of Muhammad....while for his internal history after his mission had been proclaimed, we have a book absolutely unique in its origin, in its preservation....on the Substantial authority of which no one has ever been able to cast a serious doubt.[268]
Alphonse de Lamartine quoted in Histoire de la Turquie (1854) on Muhammad;
If greatness of purpose, smallness of means and outstanding results are the three criteria of human genius, who could dare compare any great man in modern history with Muhammad.[269]
Never has a man proposed for himself, voluntarily or involuntarily, a goal more sublime, since this goal was beyond measure: undermine the superstitions placed between the creature and the Creator, give back God to man and man to God, reinstate the rational and saintly idea of divinity in the midst of this prevailing chaos of material and disfigured gods of idolatry.... The most famous have only moved weapons, laws, empires; they founded, when they founded anything, only material powers, often crumbling before them. This one not only moved armies, legislations, empires, peoples, dynasties, millions of men over a third of the inhabited globe; but he also moved ideas, beliefs, souls. He founded upon a book, of which each letter has become a law, a spiritual nationality embracing people of all languages and races; and made an indelible imprint upon this Muslim world, for the hatred of false gods and the passion for the God, One and Immaterial....Philosopher, orator, apostle, legislator, warrior, conqueror of ideas, restorer of a rational dogma for a cult without imagery, founder of twenty earthly empires and of a spiritual empire, this is Muhammad.[270]
Annie Besant in The Life and Teachings of Muhammad (1932) wrote
It is impossible for anyone who studies the life and character of the great Prophet of Arabia, who knows how he taught and how he lived, to feel anything but reverence for that mighty Prophet, one of the great messengers of the Supreme...[271]
According to William Montgomery Watt and Richard Bell, recent writers have generally dismissed the idea that Muhammad deliberately deceived his followers, arguing that Muhammad "was absolutely sincere and acted in complete good faith"[272] and that Muhammad’s readiness to endure hardship for his cause when there seemed to be no rational basis for hope shows his sincerity.[273] Watt says that sincerity does not directly imply correctness: In contemporary terms, Muhammad might have mistaken his own subconscious for divine revelation.[274] Watt and Bernard Lewis argue that viewing Muhammad as a self-seeking impostor makes it impossible to understand the development of Islam.[275][276] Alford T. Welch holds that Muhammad was able to be so influential and successful because of his firm belief in his vocation.[13] Michael H. Hart in his first book The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History (1978), a ranking of the 100 people who most influenced human history,[277] chose Muhammad as the first person on his list,[278] attributing this to the fact that Muhammad was "supremely successful" in both the religious and secular realms. He also credits the authorship of the Quran to Muhammad, making his role in the development of Islam an unparalleled combination of secular and religious influence which entitles Muhammad to be considered the most influential single figure in human history.
Other religious traditions[link]
See also: Judaism's views on Muhammad
- Bahá'ís venerate Muhammad as one of a number of prophets or "Manifestations of God", but consider his teachings to have been superseded by those of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahai faith.[279]
- Muhammad is regarded as one of the Saints of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica.
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints neither regards Muhammad as a prophet nor accepts the Quran as a book of scripture. However, it does respect Muhammad as one who taught moral truths which can enlighten nations and bring a higher level of understanding to individuals.[280]
Criticism[link]
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This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability. |
Main article: Criticism of Muhammad
Criticism of Muhammad has existed since the 7th century, when he was attacked by his non-Muslim Arab contemporaries for preaching monotheism, his marriages, and military expeditions. During the Middle Ages he was frequently demonized in European and other non-Muslim polemics. In modern times, his sincerity in claiming to be a prophet has been questioned, and the laws he established, such as those concerning slavery have been criticised.
See also[link]
- Achtiname of Muhammad
- Arabian tribes that interacted with Muhammad
- Depictions of Muhammad
- Diplomatic career of Muhammad
- Glossary of Islam
- List of founders of religious traditions
- List of films about Muhammad
- Military career of Muhammad
- Mohammad, Messenger of God (aka The Message)
- Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet (documentary)
- Muhammad in Islam
- Paraclete in Islam
- Relics of Muhammad
- Early social changes under Islam
- Prophets in Islam
- Islamic philosophy
- Sharia
- Islamic economics in the world
Notes[link]
- ^ Not all Muslims believe Muhammad was the last prophet. For example, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community considers Mirza Ghulam Ahmad to be a prophet as well. ("Finality of Prophethood | Hadhrat Muhammad (PUBH) the Last Prophet". Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. http://www.alislam.org/books/truth/finality.html. )
- ^ 'Islam' is always referred to in the Quran as a dīn, a word that means "way" or "path" in Arabic, but is usually translated in English as "religion" for the sake of convenience
- ^ S. A. Nigosian(2004), p. 6 The Encyclopaedia of Islam says that the Quran responds "constantly and often candidly to Muhammad's changing historical circumstances and contains a wealth of hidden data."
- ^ The aforementioned Islamic histories recount that as Muhammad was reciting Sūra Al-Najm (Q.53), as revealed to him by the Archangel Gabriel, Satan tempted him to utter the following lines after verses 19 and 20: "Have you thought of Allāt and al-'Uzzā and Manāt the third, the other; These are the exalted Gharaniq, whose intercession is hoped for." (Allāt, al-'Uzzā and Manāt were three goddesses worshiped by the Meccans). cf Ibn Ishaq, A. Guillaume p. 166.
References[link]
- ^ Elizabeth Goldman (1995), p. 63
- ^ Peters, F.E. (2003). Islam: A Guide for Jews and Christians. Princeton University Press. pp. 9. ISBN 0-691-11553-2.
- ^ Esposito, John (1998). Islam: The Straight Path (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 12. ISBN 978-0-19-511234-4.
- ^ Quran 33:40
- ^ Esposito (1998), p. 12.
- ^ Esposito (2002b), pp. 4–5.
- ^ a b F. E. Peters (2003), p. 9.
- ^ a b Conrad, Lawrence I. (1987). "Abraha and Muhammad: some observations apropos of chronology and literary topoi in the early Arabic historical tradition1". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 50 (2): 225–240. DOI:10.1017/S0041977X00049016. http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=3863868&fulltextType=RA&fileId=S0041977X00049016.
- ^ a b Encyclopedia of World History (1998), p. 452
- ^ a b c d e f g An Introduction to the Quran (1895), p. 182
- ^ a b An Introduction to the Quran (1895), p. 184
- ^ Esposito (1998), p. 12; (1999) p. 25; (2002) pp. 4–5
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao Alford Welch, Muhammad, Encyclopedia of Islam
- ^ An Introduction to the Quran (1895), p.184–185
- ^ a b c d e f g h An Introduction to the Quran (1895), p. 185
- ^ a b c d e f g h An Introduction to the Quran (1895), p. 187
- ^ Sahih-Bukhari, Book 43, #658
- ^ Sahih Bukhari Book 59, #641
- ^ Hisham Ibn Al-Kalbi - The Book of Idols. Translated by Nabih Amin Faris. Princeton University Press, pg. 21-22
- ^ "Muhammad," Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim world
- ^ a b See:
- Holt (1977a), p.57
- Lapidus (2002), pp 0.31 and 32
- ^ a b Ann Goldman, Richard Hain, Stephen Liben (2006), p. 212
- ^ Watt (1974) p. 231
- ^ Jean-Louis Déclais, Names of the Prophet, Encyclopedia of the Quran
- ^ a b c Uri Rubin, Muhammad, Encyclopedia of the Qur'an
- ^ Ernst (2004), p. 80
- ^ Nasr, Seyyed Hossein (2007). "Qurʾān". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-68890/Quran. Retrieved 2007-11-04.
- ^ Living Religions: An Encyclopaedia of the World's Faiths, Mary Pat Fisher, 1997, page 338, I.B. Tauris Publishers.
- ^ Quran 17:106
- ^ Rippin, Andrew (2005). Muslims: their religious beliefs and practices. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-415-34888-1. http://books.google.com/?id=4TQ5yvnpwBAC&pg=PA324&dq=quran+muhammad+biography#v=onepage&q=four%20times&f=false. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
- ^ Clinton Bennett (1998). In search of Muhammad. Continuum International Publishing Group. pp. 18–19. ISBN 978-0-304-70401-9. http://books.google.com/books?id=-VTIkkcUFHQC&pg=PA18.
- ^ Francis E. Peters (1994). Muhammad and the origins of Islam. SUNY Press. p. 261. ISBN 978-0-7914-1876-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=Jrq6boXdJOAC&pg=PA261.
- ^ a b Watt (1953), p.xi
- ^ Reeves (2003), pp. 6–7
- ^ a b S. A. Nigosian(2004), p. 6
- ^ Donner (1998), p. 132
- ^ Watt (1953), p.xv
- ^ a b Lewis (1993), pp. 33–34
- ^ Madelung (1997), pp.xi, 19 and 20
- ^ Walter Emil Kaegi, Jr., "Initial Byzantine Reactions to the Arab Conquest", Church History, Vol. 38, No. 2 (Jun., 1969), p. 139-149, p. 139-142, quoting from Doctrina Jacobi nuper baptizati 86-87
- ^ Philip K. Hitti, History of the Arabs, 10th edition (1970), p.112.
- ^ Watt (1953), pp.1–2
- ^ Watt (1953), pp. 16–18
- ^ Loyal Rue, Religion Is Not about God: How Spiritual Traditions Nurture Our Biological,2005, p.224
- ^ a b c John Esposito, Islam, Expanded edition, Oxford University Press, p.4–5
- ^ See:
- Esposito, Islam, Extended Edition, Oxford University Press, pp.5–7
- Quran 3:95
- ^ Kochler (1982), p.29
- ^ cf. Uri Rubin, Hanif, Encyclopedia of the Qur'an
- ^ See:
- Louis Jacobs(1995), p.272
- Turner (2005), p.16
- ^ See also Quran 43:31 cited in EoI; Muhammad
- ^ a b Watt (1974), p. 7.
- ^ Ali, Wijdan (1999),p. 3
- ^ Josef W. Meri (2005), p. 525
- ^ Watt, Halimah bint Abi Dhuayb, Encyclopaedia of Islam
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- ^ a b Berkshire Encyclopedia of World History (2005), v.3, p. 1025
- ^ Khan, Majid Ali (1998). Muhammad the final messenger (1998 ed.). India: Islamic Book Service. p. 332. ISBN 81-85738-25-4.
- ^ Esposito (1998), p. 6
- ^ Dairesi, Hırka-i Saadet; Aydın, Hilmi (2004). The sacred trusts: Pavilion of the Sacred Relics, Topkapı Palace Museum, Istanbul. Tughra Books. ISBN 978-1-932099-72-0.
- ^ Emory C. Bogle (1998), p.6
- ^ John Henry Haaren, Addison B. Poland (1904), p.83
- ^ Brown (2003), pp. 72–73
- ^ Quran 96:1–5
- ^ See:
- Emory C. Bogle (1998), p.7
- Razwy (1996), ch. 9
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- ^ Quran 93:3
- ^ Brown (2003), pp. 73–74
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- ^ "Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement". Cmje.org. http://www.cmje.org/religious-texts/hadith/bukhari/001-sbt.php. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
- ^ Watt, The Cambridge History of Islam (1977), p. 31.
- ^ Daniel C. Peterson, Good News, Encyclopedia of the Quran
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- ^ The Cambridge companion to Muhammad (2010), p.35
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- ^ a b c d An Introduction to the Quran (1895), p.186
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- ^ a b Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World (2003), p. 482
- ^ Jonathan M. Bloom; Sheila Blair (2009). The Grove encyclopedia of Islamic art and architecture. Oxford University Press. p. 76. ISBN 978-0-19-530991-1. http://books.google.com/books?id=un4WcfEASZwC&pg=PA76. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
- ^ Sells, Michael. Ascension, Encyclopedia of the Quran.
- ^ Watt (1974) p. 83
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- ^ a b c d Watt, The Cambridge History of Islam, p. 39
- ^ a b Esposito (1998), p. 17.
- ^ Moojan Momen (1985), p. 5
- ^ Arthur John Arberry (1998). The Koran: interpreted. Oxford University Press. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-19-283501-7. http://books.google.com/books?id=6beh0aCEznkC. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
- ^ Watt (1956), p. 175, p. 177.
- ^ "Ali ibn Abitalib". Encyclopedia Iranica. http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v1f8/v1f8a043.html. Retrieved 2007-10-25.
- ^ Fazlur Rahman (1979), p. 21
- ^ a b Lewis (2002), p. 41.
- ^ Watt (1961), p. 105.
- ^ a b c An Introduction to the Quran (1895), p.188
- ^ John Kelsay (1993), p. 21
- ^ Watt(1961) p. 105, p. 107
- ^ Lewis (1993), p. 41.
- ^ a b William Montgomery Watt (7 February 1974). Muhammad: prophet and statesman. Oxford University Press. pp. 112–114. ISBN 978-0-19-881078-0. http://books.google.com/books?id=zLN2hNidLw4C&pg=PA113. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
- ^ Rodinson (2002), p. 164.
- ^ Watt, The Cambridge History of Islam, p. 45
- ^ Glubb (2002), pp. 179–186.
- ^ Watt (1961), p. 123.
- ^ Rodinson (2002), pp. 168–9.
- ^ An Introduction to the Quran (1895), p.188 - 189
- ^ Lewis(2002), p. 44
- ^ a b c d e An Introduction to the Quran (1895), p.189
- ^ Russ Rodgers, The Generalship of Muhammad: Battles and Campaigns of the Prophet of Allah (University Press of Florida; 2012) ch 1
- ^ Watt (1956), p. 179.
- ^ F. E. Peters (25 July 2005). The Monotheists: Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Conflict and Competition, Volume I: The Peoples of God. Princeton University Press. p. 88. ISBN 978-0-691-12372-1. http://books.google.com/books?id=RsafPfUjC6EC&pg=PA88. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
- ^ Watt (1961), p. 132.
- ^ Watt (1961), p. 134
- ^ a b Lewis (1960), p. 45.
- ^ C.F. Robinson, Uhud, Encyclopedia of Islam
- ^ Watt (1964) p. 137
- ^ Watt (1974) p. 137
- ^ David Cook(2007), p.24
- ^ See:
- Watt (1981) p. 432;
- Watt (1964) p. 144.
- ^ a b Watt (1956), p. 30.
- ^ Watt (1956), p. 34
- ^ Watt (1956), p. 18
- ^ Rubin, Uri (1990). "The Assassination of Kaʿb b. al-Ashraf". Oriens 32 (1): 65–71. DOI:10.2307/1580625. JSTOR 1580625.
- ^ Watt (1956), pp. 220–221
- ^ a b c d e f g An Introduction to the Quran (1895), p.190
- ^ Watt (1956), p. 35
- ^ Watt (1956), p. 36, 37
- ^ See:
- Rodinson (2002), pp. 209–211;
- Watt (1964) p. 169
- ^ Watt (1964) pp. 170–172
- ^ Peterson(2007), p. 126
- ^ Ramadan (2007), p. 141
- ^ Meri, Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia, p. 754.
- ^ Arafat, "New Light on the Story of Banu Qurayza and the Jews of Medina", Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1976, p. 100–107.
- ^ Ahmad, p. 85-94.
- ^ Nemoy, "Barakat Ahmad's "Muhammad and the Jews"", p. 325. Nemoy is sourcing Ahmad's Muhammad and the Jews.
- ^ Kister, "The Massacre of the Banu Quraiza".
- ^ Watt (1956), p. 39
- ^ a b c d e Watt, Aisha, Encyclopedia of Islam
- ^ Quran 2:196–210
- ^ Lings (1987), p. 249
- ^ a b c d Watt, al- Hudaybiya or al-Hudaybiyya Encyclopedia of Islam
- ^ Lewis (2002), p. 42.
- ^ a b c An Introduction to the Quran (1895), p.191
- ^ Lings (1987), p. 255
- ^ Vaglieri, Khaybar, Encyclopedia of Islam
- ^ a b Lings (1987), p. 260
- ^ a b Khan (1998), pp. 250–251
- ^ a b c d e An Introduction to the Quran II (1895), p.273
- ^ F. Buhl, Muta, Encyclopedia of Islam
- ^ a b c d Khan (1998), p. 274
- ^ a b c Lings (1987), p. 291
- ^ a b Khan (1998), pp. 274–5.
- ^ Lings (1987), p. 292
- ^ Watt (1956), p. 66.
- ^ a b c An Introduction to the Quran II (1895), p.274
- ^ The Message by Ayatullah Ja'far Subhani, chapter 48 referencing Sirah by Ibn Hisham, vol. II, page 409.
- ^ Rodinson (2002), p. 261.
- ^ Harold Wayne Ballard, Donald N. Penny, W. Glenn Jonas (2002), p.163
- ^ F. E. Peters (2003), p.240
- ^ Guillaume, Alfred (1955). The Life of Muhammad. A translation of Ishaq's "Sirat Rasul Allah".. Oxford University Press. p. 552. ISBN 978-0-19-636033-1. http://www.archive.org/details/IbnIshaq-SiratRasulAllah-translatorA.Guillaume. Retrieved 2011-12-08. "Quraysh had put pictures in the Ka'ba including two of Jesus son of Mary and Mary (on both of whom be peace!). ... The apostle ordered that the pictures should be erased except those of Jesus and Mary."
- ^ Quran 110:1
- ^ Watt (1974), p.207
- ^ An Introduction to the Quran II (1895), p.275
- ^ a b c An Introduction to the Quran II (1895), p.276
- ^ M.A. al-Bakhit, Tabuk, Encyclopedia of Islam
- ^ Ibn Ishaq (translated by Guillaume, A. 1955) The Life of Muhammad. Oxford University Press, Oxford. pg. pg. 916-918
- ^ Haykal, M.H. (1933) The Life of Muhammad, translated by Isma'il Razi A. al-Faruqi. The Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, Cairo, Egypt & the University of Chicago.
- ^ Husayn, M.J. - Biography Of Imam `Ali Ibn Abi-Talib, Translation of Sirat Amir Al-Mu'minin, Translated By: Sayyid Tahir Bilgrami, Ansariyan Publications, Qum, Islamic Republic of Iran
- ^ Lewis (1993), pp.43–44
- ^ Sultan, Sohaib (March 2011). The Koran For Dummies. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-7645-5581-2.
- ^ Devin J. Stewart, Farewell Pilgrimage, Encyclopedia of the Qur'an
- ^ Al-Hibri (2003), p.17
- ^ An Introduction to the Quran II (1895), p.278
- ^ a b An Introduction to the Quran II (1895), p.279
- ^ See:
- ^ a b The Last Prophet, page 3. By Lewis Lord of U.S. News & World Report. April 7, 2008.
- ^ Leila Ahmed (1986), 665–91 (686)
- ^ a b F. E. Peters(2003), p. 90
- ^ a b An Introduction to the Quran II (1895), p. 281
- ^ Ariffin, Syed Ahmad Iskandar Syed (2005). Architectural Conservation in Islam : Case Study of the Prophet's Mosque. Penerbit UTM. p. 88. ISBN 978-983-52-0373-2.
- ^ "Prophet's Mosque". Archnet.org. 2005-05-02. http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=10061. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
- ^ "Isa", Encyclopedia of Islam
- ^ Shaykh Adil Al-Haqqani; Shaykh Hisham Kabbani (2002). The Path to Spiritual Excellence. ISCA. pp. 65–66. ISBN 978-1-930409-18-7. http://books.google.com/books?id=mzpV0QnOVxsC&pg=PA65.
- ^ a b Mark Weston (2008). Prophets and princes: Saudi Arabia from Muhammad to the present. John Wiley and Sons. pp. 102–103. ISBN 978-0-470-18257-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=EEEFsVYLko4C&pg=PA102.
- ^ a b Doris Behrens-Abouseif; Stephen Vernoit (2006). Islamic art in the 19th century: tradition, innovation, and eclecticism. BRILL. p. 22. ISBN 978-90-04-14442-2. http://books.google.com/books?id=A4q58Af5zAoC&pg=PA22.
- ^ Mark Weston (2008). Prophets and princes: Saudi Arabia from Muhammad to the present. John Wiley and Sons. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-470-18257-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=EEEFsVYLko4C&pg=PA136.
- ^ Vincent J. Cornell (2007). Voices of Islam: Voices of the spirit. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 84. ISBN 978-0-275-98734-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=8dNKFLJVvNkC&pg=PA84.
- ^ Carl W. Ernst (2004). Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World. Univ of North Carolina Press. pp. 173–174. ISBN 978-0-8078-5577-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=DOWn22EkJsQC&pg=PA1173.
- ^ Clinton Bennett (1998). In search of Muhammad. Continuum International Publishing Group. pp. 182–183. ISBN 978-0-304-70401-9. http://books.google.com/books?id=-VTIkkcUFHQC&pg=PA182.
- ^ Malcolm Clark (2011). Islam For Dummies. John Wiley & Sons. p. 165. ISBN 978-1-118-05396-6. http://books.google.com/books?id=zPXu561ZpvgC&pg=PT165.
- ^ See:
- Holt (1977a), p.57
- Hourani (2003), p.22
- Lapidus (2002), p.32
- Esposito(1998), p.36
- Madelung (1996), p.43
- ^ Esposito (1998), p.35–36
- ^ Cambridge History of Islam (1970), p. 30.
- ^ a b c Lewis (1998)
- ^
- Watt (1974), p. 234
- Robinson (2004) p. 21
- Esposito (1998), p. 98
- R. Walzer, Ak̲h̲lāḳ, Encyclopaedia of Islam Online
- ^ Islamic ethics, Encyclopedia of Ethics
- ^ Watt, The Cambridge History of Islam, p. 34
- ^ Esposito (1998), p. 30
- ^ Watt, The Cambridge History of Islam, p. 52
- ^ Ali Sultaan Asani; Kamal Abdel-Malek; Annemarie Schimmel (October 1995). Celebrating Muḥammad: images of the prophet in popular Muslim poetry. University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 978-1-57003-050-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=_10OAAAAYAAJ. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
- ^ Annemarie Schimmel (1985). And Muhammad is his messenger: the veneration of the Prophet in Islamic piety. University of North Carolina Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-8078-1639-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=jlYOAAAAYAAJ. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
- ^ a b Omid Safi (17 November 2009). Memories of Muhammad: why the Prophet matters. HarperCollins. pp. 273–274. ISBN 978-0-06-123134-6. http://books.google.com/books?id=Gs2oDbagvfIC&pg=PA273. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
- ^ See for example Marco Schöller, Banu Qurayza, Encyclopedia of the Quran mentioning the differing accounts of the status of Rayhana
- ^ a b Barbara Freyer Stowasser, Wives of the Prophet, Encyclopedia of the Quran
- ^ Subhani, Jafar. "Chapter 9". The Message. Ansariyan Publications, Qom. http://www.al-islam.org/message.
- ^ Esposito (1998), p. 18
- ^ Bullough (1998), p. 119
- ^ Reeves (2003), p. 46
- ^ a b D. A. Spellberg, Politics, Gender, and the Islamic Past: the Legacy of A'isha bint Abi Bakr, Columbia University Press, 1994, p. 40
- ^ Karen Armstrong, Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet, Harper San Francisco, 1992, p. 145.
- ^ Barlas (2002), p.125-126
- ^ Sahih al-Bukhari, 5:58:234, Sahih al-Bukhari, 5:58:236, Sahih al-Bukhari, 7:62:64, Sahih al-Bukhari, 7:62:65, Sahih al-Bukhari, 7:62:88, Sahih Muslim, 8:3309, 8:3310, 8:3311, 41:4915, Sunnan Abu Dawud, 41:4917
- ^ Tabari, Volume 9, Page 131; Tabari, Volume 7, Page 7
- ^ T.O. Shanavas. "Was Ayesha A Six-Year-Old Bride? The Ancient Myth Exposed". http://www.studying-islam.org/articletext.aspx?id=935.
- ^ Allama Sheikh Yasser Al-Habib. "A'isha was not a child when the Prophet married her". http://alqatrah.net/en/edara/index.php?id=91.
- ^ "The Concept of Polygamy and the Prophet’s Marriages (Chapter: The Other Wives)". http://www.al-islam.org/polygamy-marriages-prophet.
- ^ Ayatollah Qazvini. "Ayesha married the Prophet when she was young? (In Persian and Arabic)". http://www.valiasr-aj.com/fa/page.php?bank=question&id=699.
- ^ Was Ayesha A Six-Year-Old Bride?, http://www.ilaam.net/Articles/Ayesha.html
- ^ Momen (1985), p.9
- ^ Tariq Ramadan (2007), p. 168–9
- ^ Asma Barlas (2002), p. 125
- ^ Armstrong (1992), p. 157
- ^ a b Nicholas Awde (2000), p.10
- ^ Ordoni (1990) pp. 32, 42–44.
- ^ "Ali". Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
- ^ Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya recorded the list of some names of Muhammad's female-slaves in Zad al-Ma'ad, Part I, p. 116
- ^ 'Human Rights in Islam'. Published by The Islamic Foundation (1976) - Leicester, U.K
- ^ Farah (1994), p.135
- ^ a b Denis Gril, Miracles, Encyclopedia of the Qur'an
- ^ A.J. Wensinck, Muʿd̲j̲iza, Encyclopedia of Islam
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- ^ Muhammad, Encyclopædia Britannica, p.9
- ^ J. Schacht, Fiḳh, Encyclopedia of Islam
- ^ Muhammad, Encyclopædia Britannica, p.11–12
- ^ "Arabic Presentation Forms-A" (PDF). The Unicode Standard, Version 5.2. Mountain View, Ca.: Unicode, Inc.. 2009-10-01. http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/Unicode-3.1/U31-FB50.pdf. Retrieved 2010-05-09.
- ^ Suzanne Pinckney Stetkevych (24 May 2010). The mantle odes: Arabic praise poems to the Prophet Muḥammad. Indiana University Press. p. xii. ISBN 978-0-253-22206-0. http://books.google.com/books?id=F-nY3_DXo-gC&pg=PR12. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
- ^ Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Encyclopædia Britannica, Muhammad, p.13
- ^ a b c Kees Wagtendonk (1987). "Images in Islam". In Dirk van der Plas. Effigies dei: essays on the history of religions. BRILL. pp. 119–124. ISBN 978-90-04-08655-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=ops3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA120. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
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- ^ a b F. E. Peters (10 November 2010). Jesus and Muhammad: Parallel Tracks, Parallel Lives. Oxford University Press. pp. 159–161. ISBN 978-0-19-974746-7. http://books.google.com/books?id=olEi-1LZYYQC&pg=PA159. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
- ^ Safi2010 (2 November 2010). 2 November 2010. HarperCollins. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-06-123135-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=s63i21E9dr8C. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
- ^ a b c Safi, Omid (2011-05-05). "Why Islam does (not) ban images of the Prophet". Washington Post. http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2010/05/why_islam_does_not_ban_images_of_the_prophet.html. Retrieved 2011-12-27.
- ^ a b c Freek L. Bakker (15 September 2009). The challenge of the silver screen: an analysis of the cinematic portraits of Jesus, Rama, Buddha and Muhammad. BRILL. pp. 207–209. ISBN 978-90-04-16861-9. http://books.google.com/books?id=4KNSp-uEO18C&pg=PA207. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
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Encyclopedias[link]
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Further reading[link]
- Andrae, Tor (2000). Mohammed: The Man and His Faith. Dover. ISBN 0-486-41136-2.
- Berg, Herbert (ed) (2003). Method and Theory in the Study of Islamic Origins. E. J. Brill. ISBN 90-04-12602-3.
- Cook, Michael (1983). Muhammad. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-287605-8 (reissue 1996).
- Hamidullah, Muhammad (1998). The Life and Work of the Prophet of Islam. (s.n.)(Islamabad: Islamic Research Institute). ISBN 969-8413-00-6.
- Motzki, Harald, ed. (2000). The Biography of Muhammad: The Issue of the Sources (Islamic History and Civilization: Studies and Texts, Vol. 32). Brill. ISBN 90-04-11513-7.
- Musa, A. Y. Hadith as Scripture: Discussions on The Authority Of Prophetic Traditions in Islam, New York: Palgrave, 2008
- Rubin, Uri (1995). The Eye of the Beholder: The Life of Muhammad as Viewed by the Early Muslims (A Textual Analysis). Darwin Press. ISBN 0-87850-110-X.
- Schimmel, Annemarie (1985). And Muhammad is His Messenger: The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety. The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-4128-5.
- Stillman, Norman (1975). The Jews of Arab Lands: a History and Source Book. Jewish Publication Society of America. ISBN 0-8276-0198-0.
- Spencer, Robert (2006). The Truth About Muhammad. Regnery Publishing, USA. ISBN 978-1-59698-028-0.
External links[link]
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- Works by or about Muhammad in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
- What Non-Muslims Say About Prophet Muhammad (Mohammed)
Non-Muslim biographies[link]
- Muhammad, article on Encyclopædia Britannica Online
- Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet — PBS Site
- Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet — UPF (Producer's Site)
Muslim biographies[link]
- Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum
- The Life of Muhammad by Muhammad Husayn Haykal
- About the Prophet Muhammad (MSA West)
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Muhammad |
| Alternative names | محمد (Arabic) |
| Short description | Prophet of Islam |
| Date of birth | ca. 570 |
| Place of birth | Mecca |
| Date of death | June 8, 632 |
| Place of death | Madina |
http://wn.com/Muhammad
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