Cheraman Juma Masjid: Advancing a Millenia-old Legacy of Islam and Community

By Sahla Nechiyil

Cheraman Perumal Masjid in early 1950s , Image courtesy of the Cheraman Perumal Masjid Archives

Many moons ago, at the turn of the seventh century, the then king of the Malabar region of Kerala is said to have witnessed a spectacular astronomical event. One night, gazing at the stars twinkling over the Arabian Sea, he fleetingly saw the moon divide into two halves before it merged back! The awestruck king, known by his titular, Cheraman Perumal, was the sovereign of the Chera dynasty that reigned over areas in the present-day states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Thrown for a loop with this unprecedented celestial episode, Cheraman Perumal summoned his astronomers for an answer to what might have been the reason for such an odd phenomenon. However, none of them could provide an explanation. (1)

A few months later, a group of Arab Muslim pilgrims arrived at his court. They were on their way from Mecca to Adam’s Peak in present-day Sri Lanka, a common Muslim pilgrimage location. The king asked them about their pilgrimage, their faith, and their prophet. In explaining these matters, they narrated to him the miracle of ‘the splitting of the moon’, as recorded in one chapter - Qamar or ‘The Moon’ - of the Quran.

“The Hour has come near, and the moon has split [in two]. 

And if they see a miracle, they turn away and say, “Passing magic.”(2)

Struck by the similarity of these lines to his own experience of watching the moon split, the King requested the pilgrims return to his court on their homeward journey. After much thought, and on their return, he abdicated his throne, divided his realm among the local rulers, and joined the Muslim pilgrims on their voyage back to Mecca. There, Perumal is said to have converted to Islam in the presence of Prophet Muhammed himself, becoming one of the first, if not the first, subcontinental Muslim. 

After a few years in Arabia, the king, now renamed Thajuddin,(3) decided to return to his native land. Unfortunately, he fell ill and died on the Omani coast before he could make his trip back. (4)

Before his death, Perumal had instructed a group of Arab messengers to go to his kingdom in southern India and tell of his newly acquired faith in his native land. It was this group of Arab noblemen, led by the Persian scholar Malik Ibn Dinar,(5) who built the first mosque in India, the Cheraman Perumal Masjid, as per Perumal’s final wish. 

Once built, Cheraman Juma Masjid was a space not only for prayer but also for itinerant traders and wayfarers who needed food and safe shelter, a center for Islamic education, and a space for local intermingling between people of all faiths.(6)

LEGEND OR HISTORY

The first mention of Perumal was written by Duarte Barbosa, a Portuguese traveler, in the 16th century A.D. (7) While Barbosa’s account offers only a general outline of the story, Sheikh Ahmad Zainuddin Makhdoom II, a renowned Islamic jurisprudent from Malabar, gives us minutiae of the events in his pioneering work, Tuhfat al-Mujahidin. (8) This book is considered the cornerstone for the historical study of the Cheraman Perumal tradition. 

Over the years, non-Muslim communities told their own versions of the Cheraman Perumal story. However, Muslims have held and passed on the longest oral and written histories of these events.

“Unlike other versions which lack solid evidence, the saga of Perumal’s conversion to Islam is untenable because his meeting with prophet has been mentioned in the Hadith,” says Faizal E. B, the current administrative officer of Cheraman Juma Masjid. The Hadith he refers to is by Imam Bukhari and Abu Saeed Al-Khudri and it reads - “A king from India presented the Messenger of Allah with a bottle of pickle that had ginger in it. The Prophet distributed it among his companions. I also received a piece to eat.”(9)

Others are not so sure. Historians like Zainudheen Makhdoom II, propose that the events around Perumal occurred in the 9th century, not in the 7th century in which the Prophet lived. (10) One of the reasons for the confusion could be because ‘Cheraman Perumal’ was not the name of a specific king, but a generic title for the rulers of the Chera dynasty meaning ‘great lord of the Cheras. (11)

"There are also poems such as the one by Kodungallur Kunjikkuttan Thampuran where it supports the claim that the Masjid was originally a Buddhist temple that was gifted to the Muslims in the 6th century as Buddhism saw a decline in southern India​," said Faizal. ​

Architecture: The Medieval Kerala Style 

It is often noted that Malabar’s traditional mosques do not resemble mosques in other parts of the world. The original Cheraman Juma Masjid did not feature any of the iconic stylistic elements associated with Islamic architecture. There were no minarets, domes, muqarnas vaulting, or any of the other visual signifiers of classic Islamic design. Instead, it was built as a double-storied structure with a sloping tiled roof made from clay that was baked into a rich red colour. 

“This is because they are built in the indigenous Medieval Kerala architectural design,” explains Faizal. In fact, in Kerala, it was an architectural style common to all places of worship including temples, mosques, and churches.

Another notable feature of Cheraman mosque is the use of a traditional brass oil lamp believed to be more than a thousand years old. Oil lamps, a common sight in temples, were not usually a part of mosques. However, in the Cheraman Masjid, this oil lamp is given immense importance. The oil used to be donated by the palace of the Kodungallur royal family which had remained an independent chiefdom under the king. The custom was to never douse the wick, and the lamp was left to burn and give light for

The traditional brass oil lamp kept burning for centuries in continuity/ Image courtesy of the Cheraman Perumal Masjid Archives

centuries in continuity. Today, devotees donate money, or oil to keep the lamp burning.  The pulpit from which the Imam gives Friday sermons is made of rosewood with ornate carvings. There is also a huge rectangular pond on one side of the mosque. 

The wooden mimber or pulpit with intricate design/Image courtesy of the Cheraman Perumal Masjid Archives

Next to the mosque are two tombs of Malik Bin Dinar’s nephew and his wife where clerics light incense sticks and people come for ziyarat or the act of visiting graves in order to express and show love and reverence. 

In keeping with the age-old tradition of Cheraman Juma Masjid, the space today continues to be a community space. “Mosques in Malabar were never limited to being a site for worship. Cheraman Masjid is committed to continuing this tradition of being a community center that promotes peace and provides service,“ said Faizal

However, it is notable that while many Muslim women come for Ziyarat, it is still taboo for them to enter inside the mosque. This is especially stark given that even, non-Muslim male visitors, can enter the mosque anytime. 

Restoring the Old Architectural Style

Over centuries, the Masjid has now gone through several renovations and reconstructions. There are stories of Portuguese destruction of the mosque (12) and even rebuilding after the great flood of 1341. (13) Today, Cheraman mosque’s present appearance, pale blue with a coral tile roof, two minarets, and a spacious courtyard, belies its age. A major expansion was done in 1974 by demolishing the corridor, ablution area, and the front portion of the mosque, replacing it with a new facade that incorporates all the visual elements that are associated with Islamic architecture, including four domed minarets which frame a central faux cupola. (14)

Masjid since 1974 until it was demolished in 2019/Image courtesy of the Cheraman Perumal Masjid Archives

Presently, the mosque is undergoing renovations again. “What we are currently doing is the restoration of the 13th-century mosque to the scale,” said Dr. Mohammed Sayeed, the president of Cheraman Juma Masjid, explaining that the ongoing construction that costs around INR 10 million, was meant to revive the ancient heritage structure. (15,16)

“The architecture of this mosque is proof of how Islam merged into the cultural landscape of Kerala, and we think it is important to pass on this history to posterity. That’s the purpose behind the restoration of the 13th-century mosque,” explained Faizal 

“A major concern raised was about the capacity of the mosque going down from 2500 to 450. In order to tackle this problem, a massive underground structure is being planned to accommodate more people, while keeping the facade of the mosque the same as the original mosque,” Sayeed said. 

What does Cheraman Perumal Masjid tell us today?

The crux of the Cheraman Perumal legend is this. The account, whether legendary or historical, points to the fallacy in the argument that Islam in India spread everywhere through forced conversions. The general notion is that Islam came to India “through the bloody invasions”. (17) An example often cited is when Muhammad bin Qasim defeated the Brahmin King Dahir Sen in 712 AD. (18) But the older history of Indian Ocean cultural exchange points to other realities. 

Muslim merchants had established trade networks with all the flourishing port cities of the Indian Ocean which, according to historians, could go as far back as fourth century B.C., well before any military expeditions. Such peaceful movement, interaction, and exchange mediated by everyday traders along the maritime trade routes remain a major reason for the spread of Islamic faith and practices into the subcontinent. 

We must remember that Perumal, possibly the first Muslim convert in India is said to have embraced Islam, not by force, but on his own terms, motivated by his own experiences, his own convictions, and the love he discovered for Islam.

Sahla Nechiyil is a law student at the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi. Her principal research interest is non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and their work with the Muslim community in India. Her wider legislative research interests include citizenship, immigration, sedition, and anti-terrorism.

Notes and References

1. Prange, Sebastian R. Monsoon Islam. Cambridge University Press, 2018, p. 1.

2. Qur’ān 54:1-2

3. meaning “crown of faith”

4. A tomb of Perumal is now said to be in the city of  Salalah, in Oman. This tomb is still now a popular place of pilgrimage in Salalah and is visited by a large number of people with reverence. People visiting find a simple structure in a landscape strikingly similar to something one might see in southern India.  There, surrounded by coconut trees, the tomb is simple in structure although the grave is quite large, covered with richly decorated chadars or sheets. There is a small mosque beside the tomb. Among its visitors, in 2011, was a high-level delegation of members of Kerala's Tourism Department. They visited this tomb in 2011, The same year, India’s Ambassador to Oman, Anil Wadhwa, also paid a visit.

5. Malik Ibn Dinar is credited to be one of the first known Muslims to have come to India to preach Islam in the subcontinent.

6. Prange, Sebastian R. Monsoon Islam. Cambridge Oceanic Histories, 2018.

7. Dr.HaseenaV.A. 2015. “Historical Aspects of the Legend of Cheraman Perumal of Kodungallur in Kerala.” Historical Research Letter, no. 6: 99–100. https://doi.org/10.15373/22778179/june2014/36.

8. Makhdum, Shaykh Zainuddin. 2006. Tuḥfat-al-Mujāhidīn. Other Books, Calicut: Islamic Book Trust, Kuala Lumpur.

9. This Hadith has been reported in the book Al-Mustadrak 'ala al-Sahihayn by Hakim al-Nishapuri 

10. Makhdum, Shaykh Zainuddin. 2006. Tuḥfat-al-Mujāhidīn. Other Books, Calicut: Islamic Book Trust, Kuala Lumpur.

11. Narayanan, M. G. S. Perumals of Kerala, 1996.

12. Prange, Sebastian R. “The Mosque.” Chapter. In Monsoon Islam: Trade and Faith on the Medieval Malabar Coast, 92–157. Cambridge Oceanic Histories. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018. doi:10.1017/9781108334860.003.

13. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/tinkering-with-the-past/article7442583.ece

14. Prange, Sebastian R. “Conclusion: Monsoon Muslims.” Chapter. In Monsoon Islam: Trade and Faith on the Medieval Malabar Coast, 279–300. Cambridge Oceanic Histories. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018. doi:10.1017/9781108334860.006.

15. Currently, Cheraman Juma Masjid is included as a key monument under the Muziris Heritage Project. This is a project initiated by the Government of Kerala, aiming to restore the historical and cultural significance of the port of Muziris, an important ancient trade center that has been referred to in the Tamil anthology, the Purananuru as a bustling port city under Chera rulers. “Everything that was constructed after 1974 has been demolished in order to rebuild the historical mosque,” said Sayeed. This rebuilding began three years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifted Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz a gold-plated replica of the original Cheraman Juma Masjid. The miniature that he presented to the Saudi king is the mosque in its historic form - the one that is being reconstructed. 

16. There was quibbling over the project when the local workers of a right-wing party, approached the court seeking a stay to the construction. “They were under the impression that the mosque had been taken over by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI), hence the construction is illegal. ASI had done some excavations in 1962 and found that the period of the monument could be traced to the 10th century, but they never took over the mosque, it is still a waqf property. So, the court didn’t interfere and the construction is underway. The project is expected to be finished by September 2021,” Sayeed said. 

17. Pattanaik, Devdutt. “Did Arrival of Muslim Invaders a Thousand Years Ago Destroy Hindu Culture?” Google, 2017. https://bit.ly/3jsCo5J.

18. Balouch, Akhtar. “Muhammad Bin Qasim: Predator or Preacher? - Dawn.com.” Dawn.com. https://www.dawn.com, April 8, 2014. https://bit.ly/3xpKdym.