Blog Content – Sayyid Muslims
Sayyid is an honorific title given to those population who are acknowledged as descendants of Muhammad and his cousin and son in law Ali (Ali Ibn Abi Talib) through Hasan Ibn Ali and Husayn Ibn Ali, sons of Muhammad’s daughter Fatimah and Ali. Sayyida, syeda, alawiyah, or sharifa are titles conferred to female sayyids. The term amr or mr, which means “commander” or “general” is granted to Muhammad’s descendants in some parts of the Islamic worlds like India. Even though consistent statistics are unavailable, conservative assessments set the number of Sayyids in the tens of millions. In the Arab world, sayyid is akin of the English word “liege lord” or “master” when referring to a descendant of Muhammad, as in Sayyid Ali Sultan. Sayyid Muslims are well-defined as a branch of Banu Hashim whose genealogy can be traced back to Adnan, and so collaterally from his paternal half-brother Isaac (Ishaaq), Abraham’s sons (Ibrahim). During the Mongol invasion, Ghaznavid dynasty, Delhi Sultanate, and Mughal Empire, Sayyids shifted or relocated from various parts of the Middle East and Central Asia (Turkestan) several centuries ago. If we probe into the Sayyid population in South Asia, the total Sayyid population in India is 7,017,000.
In our country Sayyids of Hadramawt who originated mainly from the Arabian Peninsula and the Persian Gulf gained extensive prominence. There is a big community of Sayyids settled in and around the Nanganallur region in Chennai that trace their ancestry directly to the Sayyids of Iraq. Traditionally, this endogamy sect followed a customary practice for Sayyid Muslims that declined among the most urbanized families with an increase in exogamy with other groups like the Shaikh and Mughals. On seeing the Sayyid Muslim matrimony practice, family of Sayyid Muslim brides and grooms rarely marry outside their community and emphasise marrying into Najeeb Altarfain (of Sayyid descent from both the mother's and father's side) families. In line with historiographers, Islam has been integral part of India established its roots here and our homeland Kerala has a 2,000-year-old alliance with Arabia. A social group of Muslims in Kerala, Thangals are often regarded as roughly equivalent to the more general Sayyids/Sharifs.
In Malayalam, Thangal is an honorific Muslim title that is almost alike to Sayyid and is given to males who are the descendants of Muhammad. The present-day Thangals are believed to be descended from Sayyid families who migrated from the historic city of Tarim, in the Hadhramaut Province, Yemen, all through the 17th century to spread Islam on the Malabar Coast. Sayyids selected coastal areas to settle and has a very high literacy rate when compared with other sects. Thangal families have many gradations of status on a social and economic scale. The royal family of Arakkal in Kerala had Thangal origins. Like Sayyid Muslims in other parts of India, Thangals Muslims in Kerala believe and claim themselves to be the direct descendants of Muhammad. The “Thangal” tag of this Muslim community in Kerala carries much “reverences and attention” in Kerala Muslim community. They are considered as an elite Muslim in Kerala. When considering the Muslim matrimonial needs of the Thangal sect, most members, or families of the Thangal Muslims practices endogamy and do not promote marriage outside of their community so that they can sustain the lineage. There are numerous prominent Thangal families in Kerala and a few of them are regarded as saints. Thangal group is an established social group of Muslims in Kerala gaining more popularity at present, empowering the roots through commerce, politics, business and are highly influential.
