Arwi (Arabic-Tamil) - An Introduction

 

by

Torsten Tschacher

 

"Possessed though I am of little knowledge, I desired to translate for them that which,
by favour of Allah, was easy for me to gather from literary works
and to explain it to them in plain language, so that they could benefit thereby."

(Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s in the introduction to his FatÇ ad-dayy¤n.
Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s 1963: xxxix)

 

1.     Introduction

 

Within Tamil literature(1), the literature of the Muslims belongs to the most unknown. Even more unknown is the literature in Arwi, that is, Tamil written in Arabic script, though works in Arwi have been noticed by Europeans quite early. Thurston in his Castes and Tribes of Southern India writes about the Labbai: "For the purpose of the education of Labbai and Marakk¤yar children, the Kor¤n and other books have been published in the Tamil language, but with Arabic characters." (1909: 205). Thurston goes on: "when a book thus written is read, it is hardly possible to say that it is Tamil - it sounds like Arabic, and the guttural sounds of certain words have softened down into Arabic sounds. Certain words, mostly of religious connection, have been introduced, and even words of familiar daily use. (...) Since the books are written in Arabic characters, they bear a religious aspect. The Labbai considers it a sacred and meritorious duty to publish them, and distribute them gratis among the school-going children. A book so written or printed is called a kit¤b, rather than its Tamil equivalent pustagam, and is considered sacred. It commands almost the same respect as the Kor¤n itself, in regard to which it has been commanded 'Touch not with unclean hands.' A book of a religious nature, written or printed in Tamil characters, may be left on the ground, but a kit¤b of even secular character will always be placed on a rihal or seat, and, when it falls to the ground, it is kissed and raised to the forehead. The origin of this literature may be traced to K¤yalpatnam, Mªlap¤layam, and other important Labbai towns in the Tinnevelly district" (ibid.) (2).

In spite of having been noticed so early, Tamil written in Arabic characters was rarely mentioned at all by writers other than Tamil-speaking Muslims. It is mentioned in one sentence by C. & H. Jesudasan: "The Muslims even went so far as to write Tamil in Arabic script, for the simple reason that Tamil does not accommodate all Arabic sounds, and Arabic technical terms and names read better in Arabic script" (Jesudasan 1961: 235).

Also the scholars engaged in the study of Islam and its literature failed to notice Arwi. Annemarie Schimmel mentions Tamil being written in a modified Arabic script: "...they adjusted Arabic script also to that language (Tamil, my note) to create a rich Islamic literature of mainly religious content" (1980: 63). But later she wrote that the Muslim literatures of Bengal and South India "...remained inaccessible to the Muslims of the north owing to the difficulties of different scripts, e.g. scripts that do not use the Arabic alphabet" (1993: 4). There is a short note on Arwi in the entry on Ceylon in the Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd edition), written by A. M. A. Azeez, one of the important personalities of the Muslims of Sri Lanka (1995: 28).

In fact, due to the high regard for Arabic throughout the Muslim world, being the language of the Qur'an, Prophet Muhammad and also the language spoken in Paradise, most languages spoken by Muslims have at one point or another been written in Arabic characters. Two reasons (apart from the general prestige of Arabic) may be of paramount importance also for the formation of Arwi.

First, Muslims are reluctant to translate words of religious importance, as by translating these words their meaning may be distorted. Many authors have stressed the impossibility of translating the Qur'an. Thus, writing their mother-tongue in Arabic script enabled Muslims to impart religious education without having to translate religious terms or distorting their pronunciation by having to write them in a script other than the Arabic one.

Second, many Muslims learn to read the Qur'an in Arabic. Thus, there is a number of Muslims able to read and often write Arabic while being unable to read the scripts normally used for their mother-tongues. For them, writing their mother-tongue in Arabic is often easier than learning another script. Both Shu'ayb and Ajmal Khan stress that Arwi promoted literacy, especially among women (Shu'ayb 1993: 87ff. & 115; Ajmal Khan 1999: 42).

The aim of this article is to give a glimpse of Arwi literature and its importance for the study of the Tamil-speaking Muslims, but also as a possible factor in cultural contact and exchange in the Indian Ocean area.

2.     The Name "Arwi"

 

Though most authors use the term aÉaputtamiÈ ("Arabic-Tamil"), I have followed Shu'ayb (and, according to him, the authors of Arwi books) to call it arwi, or, fully, lis¤n al-arwi ("the Arwi language") (3). Some authors have linked this name with a remark made by Caldwell that Tamil is called aravam by the Muslims of the Deccan, in Telugu and Kannada (Caldwell 1974: 14; cf. Uwise 1990: 239; Shu'ayb 1993: 100). The possible connection with Tamil aravam, "a confused noise" should be noted. But I would rather follow the suggestion given by Uwise that "Arwi" may be linked in some way to "Arabic" (Uwise 1990: 239; cf. Shu'ayb 1993: 101). Whatever the case may be, it is important to note that apparently the Urdu-speaking Muslims of Tamil Nadu call even Tamil in Tamil script Arwi (ibid.).

3.     Script

 

3.0. Preliminary Remarks

The following discussion of the Arwi script is based on my own work with Arwi texts. Many things are still not water-proof and need further study.

The basis of the characters used by Arwi is, naturally, the Arabic alphabet, consisting of 28 letters. But in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Sri Lanka, a 29th letter is inserted before the final letter y¤, called, according to Shu'ayb, l¤m alif hamza. In addition, the position of the letters h¤ and waw (26 & 27) has been swapped. These changes are apparently also in use among Muslims in more eastern countries like Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and southern China, and is also reported from the Gulf states (Shu'ayb 1993: 96f.).

The following list is made to show for each Tamil letter the Arabic character(s) usually employed in writing it. Of course, there are no rigorous rules of orthography, so different authors might write words differently, and sometimes the same author in the same poem will write the same word in two different ways. For this list I relied mainly on the Hady¤ m¤lai by Sayyid MuÇammad of Kilakkarai (1816-98), also known as Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s or M¤ppi¥¥ai Leppai ‘£lim (4), and the examples Shu'ayb gives in appendices 33 a-c (ibid.: 776ff.). I will start with the consonants, then the vowels, and finally a list of the special characters employed in Arwi, which I shall henceforth call Arwi letters (5).

3.1. Consonants:

·        -k- : Usually written k¤f (-k-), but between vowels, an Arwi letter is employed (see below 3.3.), though this is not always used. In the Hady¤ m¤lai, ªkam¤y is written simply with k¤f in the first stanza, but with the Arwi letter in the 16th (cf.: HM 1.1. & 16.3.).

·        -³- : This is written with an Arwi letter (see below).

·        -c- : This is one of the most difficult consonants, given the strong variations in pronunciation. There are four letters in use for it:

1.     An Arwi letter (see below), which is used primarily when the letter is doubled, but also at the beginning of words and after the class-nasal.

2.     The letter s¯n (-s-) is used rarely at the beginning of a word, e.g. in HM 2.2. & 17.2.

3.     Sh¯n (-sh-) is quite common at the beginning of words, as well as being the usual letter written between vowels.

4.     After the class-nasal, it may be written j¯m (-j-).

The same words may be written with different signs in the same poem, thus col in HM 1.3. with Arwi letter, in HM 2.2. with sh¯n (HM 1.3.).

·        -ñ- : This letter usually occurs in combination with -c-, and is then written simply n¶n (-n-). I couldn't find an instance where it is written at the beginning of a word.

·        -·- : This is written with an Arwi letter (see below 3.3.).

·        -º- : Also for this character an Arwi letter is used.

·        -t- : At the beginning of words, doubled and in combination with other consonants, it is written t¤ (-t-). Between vowels, th¤ (-th-) is usually used, but occasionally, dh¤l (-dh-) may occur (e.g. HM 20.1 & 2.).

·        -n- : This is simply written with the letter n¶n (-n-).

·        -p- : In most situations, an Arwi letter is employed for -p- (see below 3.3.). In some cases, though, it may apparently be written f¤ (-f-) between vowels, i.e. vallapam in HM 4.3., being written wallafam. This is the only case I was able to find, with another possible one in the first line after the heading of Shu'ayb's appendix 33(a) (1993: 776). Between vowels, -p- is very rare, and most of the words are of Sanskritic origin. The other examples of inter-vowel -p- in the Hady¤ m¤lai, upatªcam (HM 25.4. & 29.1.), upak¤ram (HM 12.1.), k­pam (HM 14.1.) and c­paÊam (HM 33.2.), are all written with the Arwi letter. One might speculate that whether the Sanskrit-sound on which the inter-vowel -p- is based is voiceless or voiced could have an influence on visible with -t- and a bit less so with -c-. It would also provide an explanation why the Arwi letter for -p- is based on f¤ rather than b¤, as it is in Persian.

·        -m- : M¯m (-m-) is used to write this letter.

·        -y- : This character is written y¤ (-y-)

·        -r- : For this Tamil letter, there is an Arwi one (see below 3.3.), though r¤ (-r-) can occur for it.

·        -l- : L¤m (-l-) is used for this letter.

·        -v- : This is written with the Arabic character w¤w (-w-).

·        -È- : There is an Arwi letter for this Tamil letter (see below).

·        -¥- : It is usually written with the same Arwi letter used for -È-, but Shu'ayb gives another special Arwi for this (cf. ibid.: LVI & 783), which I could find nowhere in the Hady¤ m¤lai.

·        -É- : This letter is generally written r¤ (-r-), but there are many instances when it is written with the Arwi letter for -r-. For example, the root aÉi- "to know, understand, comprehend, etc." is written with the Arwi letter in HM 2.2., and r¤ in 2.4. There is a number of other instances where the two signs are interchangeable. This is also true for the letter appearing in combination with -Ê- or when it is doubled. For example, uÊÉaÊ in HM 3.4. and oÊɤvatu  and muÊɤvat¤m (6) in HM 10.1. & 3., respectively, are written with the Arwi letter for rf, while eÊÉu is usually written with r¤. To make things more complicated, variants of eÊÉu, for example emphatic eÊɪ (HM 14.4.) or at the occurrence of sandhi, like eÊÉaÉintu (HM 23.2.), can have -º·- instead of -ÊÉ-. This seems to be generally true of the finite forms of eÊ-, like eÊɤr, usually being written eº·¤r in the Hady¤ m¤lai. — At least in the Hady¤ m¤lai, -ÉÉ- seems not to be written with r¤, perhaps because of its peculiar pronunciation. In some instances it appears with the doubled Arwi letter (akaÉÉiyª in HM 33.3.), but double-t¤ (-tt-) seems to be more common (e.g. caÉÉum in HM 8.3. being written cattum) (7).

·        -Ê- : This letter is usually represented by n¶n (-n-).

3.2. Vowels:

Those Arwi texts which I have come across were all conveniently written with vowels, and the same seems to be true of manuscripts. Probably, the authors of Arwi texts felt that they would turn completely unreadable if vowels would not be indicated.

For those vowels which also exist in Arabic, that is -a-, -i-, -u-, -¤-, -¯-, -¶-, and the diphthongs -ai- and -au-, the same signs are in use that are used in Arabic, i.e. fatÇa, qasr and ¹amma for the short vowels (8), long vowel being indicated by additional alif, y¤ and w¤w, respectively, and the diphthongs being written with fatÇa (-a-) plus y¤ or w¤w.

There are two new vowel signs for -e- and -o-, which will be described below. To write -ª- and –­-, y¤ or w¤w, are added, the same way -¯- and -¶- are written.

One interesting feature is that -i-, -¯-, -e- and -ª- at the beginning of a word usually have y¤ as basis instead of alif, thus indicating the omission of the glottal stop in words which start with these vowels. Not all, but the majority of words starting with -i- or -¯- in the HM exhibit this feature. Those starting with -e- or -ª- have y¤ as basis without exception (in appendix 33(a) (Shu'ayb 1993: 776), in the word ematu, "our", -e- has alif as basis). That Arwi authors were aware of this peculiarity of pronunciation is made clear by a remark made by Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s in his FatÇ ad-dayy¤n on the pronunciation of the first sentence of the kalim¤:

"The 'i' of il¤ha has to be sounded from the throat, almost like a guttural. If we give the sound of yi we will be saying yil¤ha or yilla, and what we declare will not then become the Kalim¤" (Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s 1963: 36).

3.3. Arwi letters:

In addition to the basic Arabic letters, several characters have been introduced to write Tamil sounds not found in Arabic. As can be seen from what has been said in 3.1., some Tamil letters can be written with more than one Arabic or Arwi letter, or one of these Arwi letters can stand for more than one Tamil letter. These Arwi letters are (9):

1.     To the letter j¯m (-j-) two dots are added above the dot already present to write Tamil -c- (not below the dot, as is done in Persian).

2.      A point below the letter d¤l (-d-) denotes Tamil -·-.

3.     Tamil -r- is written like the Arabic letter r¤ (-r-) with a dot below it.

4.     By placing a dot beneath the right half of ¹¤d (-¹-), the Tamil letters -È- and -¥- are written.

5.     To write Tamil -³-, three dots (two up, one down) are inserted in the lower bow of the letter ‘ain (-‘-).

6.     To the letter f¤ (-f-) a dot is added below, creating Tamil -p-. This is quite different from Persian, in which -p- is written with a letter based on Arabic b¤ (-b-).

7.     The  Tamil letter -k- is produced by putting a dot below the Arabic k¤f (-k-). This letter is only employed in inter-vowel position (see above 3.1.).

8.     To write retroflex -º-, a dot is added below n¶n (-n-).

 

Shu'ayb mentions three more letters (cf. 1993: 783f.), which I couldn't find in any of the texts I surveyed. These are:

1.     Tamil -··- being written by putting two dots below d¤l (10).

2.     By placing a dot below the right part of the letter ¿¤d (-¿-), Tamil -¥- is supposed to be written, but, as mentioned earlier, the same Arwi letter which is used for -È- is usually used for this letter (11).

3.     Finally, according to Shu'ayb, by adding two dots below n¶n (-n-), the Tamil letter -ñ- is written. In those instances where I found words containing -ñ-, it was always written n¶n, but, as mentioned above, none of these had -ñ- in initial position. Perhaps this letter is employed then.

 

To write Tamil vowels -e- and -o-, two new vowel signs were introduced, whose form is like -‘- (the form of the apostrophe, not the letter ‘ain!) below and above the consonant, respectively. Their names are given by Shu'ayb as ko zer and ko pesh. Shu'ayb links the syllable "ko" in these words with the prefix "ku-", which according to Winslow is "a prefix to words of Sanscrit origin implying bad, evil, ill, unfair, &c..." (1989: 311). As mentioned in 3.2., the long vowels -ª- and -­­- are written by adding y¤ or w¤w, respectively, after the consonant which carries the vowel signs.

3.4. General orthography & colloquial language:

From what has been said above, it can be seen that Arwi, though being written in Arabic script, follows Tamil orthography to a certain degree. This holds especially true for the stops. After nasals, for example, when stops in Tamil are usually voiced, no effort was made to use existing letters for voiced stops to write these. In Arwi, inta ("this") is written exactly the same way as in Tamil, that is with voiceless t¤ (-t-) instead of voiced d¤l (-d-), though it would have been no problem to write inda. With regard to the stops, there is some variation, of course, with retroflex -·- following Tamil orthography most closely (one should say identically). On the other hand, the greatest variation is exhibited with regard to -c-.

 

Apart from the stops, the tendency to write words as they were spoken, or rather, heard, by the authors, cannot be overlooked. Obvious examples are -n- and -Ê- both being written n¶n, the variance and exchangeability of  -r- and  -É-, -ÉÉ- being usually written -tt- and the tendency to turn stops into sibilants between vowels.

At least the Hady¤ m¤lai exhibits also a certain number of colloquial forms. For example, the sentence hady¤ n¤lut¤Ê vªºum eº·¤r  appears two times (HM 13.1. & 18.1.) instead of the "classical" hady¤ n¤Êkut¤Ê vªº·um eÊɤr (12). If other Arwi poems would also contain colloquial forms, then Arwi could be a source for colloquial Tamil during the last three centuries.

4.     Arwi Literature

 

4.0. Preliminary Remarks

I have given some of the most important works in Arwi below. They are sorted into different categories, which are a bit arbitrary, as many works would fit into more than one, especially in the case of poetic anthologies. But I didn't want to overburden the reader by mentioning too many works together whose topics are of course linked, but still separable.

Sometimes it was difficult to determine whether a work is Arwi, Tamil or Arabic. For example, Shu'ayb lists the Magh¤n¯ by Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s as an Arabic work in his bibliography (cf. 1993: 813). Though the Magh¤n¯ of course does contain quotations and other passages in Arabic, its main text is in Arwi. Also the fact that Shu'ayb calls all the Muslims of Sri Lanka and the South Indian coast from Quilon in Kerala to Nellore in Andhra Pradesh "Arwi Muslims" (ibid.: LII) sometimes makes it difficult to determine the real language of a work (13). In some instances, doubts may remain.

4.1. Tafs¯r and Çad¯th:

A tafs¯r is a commentary, especially on the Qur'an (I will discuss only commentaries on the Qur'an here. Commentaries on other works can be found in 4.5.). As already mentioned, the Qur'an is considered to be untranslatable. That does not mean that the Qur'an has not been translated, but that the translation was considered to be clearly inferior to the original Arabic text, which alone was the basis of all commentaries. The Arwi tafs¯rs always give the Arabic text, followed by a translation of the verse in question and a commentary and explanatory notes. The reluctance to provide translations of the Qur'an and to comment on it in Arwi can be seen from the fact that no tafs¯r was written in Arwi before the late 19th century, and that most works are called a "translation of the tafs¯r of the Qur'an " instead of a "translation of the Qur'an" (Shu'ayb 1993: 274ff.).

The first Arwi tafs¯r  is FatÇ ar-raÇm¤n f¯ tarjamati tafs¯ri'l-qur’¤n by Shaykh Mu¿·af¤ (1836-87) of Beruwala in Sri Lanka. Only the last 5 juz’ (parts), no. 26-30, of this tafs¯r  have been printed in Bombay in 1874, covering 46 Suras of the Qur'an (ibid.: 110f. & 275f.; Jal¤lt¯Ê 1999: 111ff.; Uwise 1990: 233). Apparently, 11 more juz’ (the first and second juz’ as well as no. 17-25) are available in manuscript form (Jal¤lt¯Ê 1999: 111 & 119f.).

Other tafs¯rs in Arwi are: Fut¶Ç¤t ar-raÇm¤niyya f¯ tarjamati tafs¯ri kal¤mi'r- rabb¤niyya by P¤layam Hab¯b MuÇammad ‘£lim published in 1878, which gives the "esoteric" (b¤·in) interpretation in the marginal notes in addition to the external meaning, פhir.

FatÇ al-kar¯m by N¶Ç Labbai ‘£lim ibn ‘Abd al-Q¤dir (1830-1905 (14)) who is also known as N¶Ç the Junior was published in 1881. It contains discussions of creed and jurisprudence also.

Another tafs¯r, FatÇ ar-raǯm, published in 1886, deals mainly with mystical points. While Shu'ayb says that it was also written by N¶Ç the Junior (1993: 277f.), Uwise gives P¤layam Hab¯b MuÇammad ‘£lim as its author (1990: 234). Both Shu'ayb and Uwise mention some more works (Shu'ayb 1993: 277f.; Uwise 1990: 234).

 

A Çad¯th (pl. aÇad¯th) contains information on the conduct and traditions of Prophet MuÇammad. Many of the most important Arwi authors have translated these or composed works giving the essential meaning of a certain Çad¯th. The first works available are Periya Çad¯th m¤ºikka m¤lai and CiÊÊa Çad¯th m¤ºikka m¤lai by S¤m Shih¤b ad-D¯n (1634 o. 1635-1709), a younger brother of the famous Shaykh ¾adaqatull¤h (1632-1703). They contain translations of 1119 and 608 traditions, respectively (Shu'ayb 1993: 282).

Shu‘ab al-®m¤n by Kam¤l (ibid.; Uwise 1990: 221 has Jam¤l) ad-D¯n ‘£lim Pulavar, which according to Uwise was written in 1823 (ibid.: 235), is based on an Arabic work by Ab¶ Bakr AÇmad ibn al-Husayn al-Bayhaq¯ (d. 1066). It is supposed to contain a lot of material on faith in general, also (Shu'ayb 1993: 282; Uwise 1990: 221ff.)

N¶Ç the Junior has translated 1077 aÇad¯th in FatÇ al-maj¯d f¯ Çad¯thi'n-nabiyyi'l-Çam¯d. Several other translations of traditions have been prepared (Shu'ayb 1993: 282).

The anthology Shu‘ab ad-d¯n by K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib, which will be discussed in more detail in 4.2., contains a Had¯th m¤lai (K¯Èakkarai Taikka ¾¤Çib 1990: 105-108).

Two poems by Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s are based on aÇad¯th. AÇsan al-maw¤‘i× wa azyan al-mal¤fi× contains 380 verses in Arwi and Arabic, each of which contains "...the gist of a Çad¯th" (ibid.; MuÇammad Nil¤m writes 320 verses, 1963: xxiii). This holds also true for Maw‘i×at muzayyana wa mulaffa×at muÇassana, containing 53 verses (ibid.: 282 & 613).

4.2. Jurisprudence, Creed and Religious Manuals:

Especially during the 19th century, a number of religious handbooks, a kind of introduction to Islam, were written in Arwi. These manuals provide information on creed, law, ethics, rituals and mysticism, as far as was deemed necessary for the intended audience of the book. These topics are largely inseparable. Many of explanations on points of creed contain mystical ideas, and all human actions, from extraordinary situations like warfare, over legal procedures, faith and rituals, down to the basics of everyday life, like greeting, eating, washing and marital relations, are governed by the same "legal" categories (15). There are also a number of works dealing with a specific subject. I will first give an overview over the manuals and then proceed to these more specialised texts. For works on mysticism (ta¿awwuf), see 4.3.

 

As I already stated, most of the religious manuals in Arwi were produced in the 19th century, mainly during the second half. But the roots for these manuals lie in Tamil and Arwi literature of the 16th-19th centuries. In Arwi, poems were written on specific religious topics and sometimes brought together in anthologies. These poems are dealt with later. In Tamil, we have the catechism-like question-and-answer-poems of the macal¤-genre (sometimes written mas al¤, from Arabic mas’ala), one of which, the £yiramacal¤ by Vaººapparima¥appulavar in 1572, has the distinction of being the oldest complete Muslim work extant in Tamil (cf. Uwise 1990: 15-19 & 122f.; Ajmal Khan 1999: 44). During the 17th century, P¯r MuÇammad (late 16th to first half of the 17th century) wrote several works concerning mysticism, theology and ethics (cf. Uwise 1990: 220f.).

An important religious compendium compiled in Tamil is the Vªta pur¤ºam by N¶Ç the Senior (N¶Ç Wal¯yull¤h al-Q¤hiri, d. 1743). It is composed of 26 chapters dealing with various topics seemingly arranged at random. Among the topics included are the kalim¤, prayer (toÈukai), fasting (n­Êpu) and tawǯd (the unity and uniqueness of god) (cf. list of contents of Periya N¶ku 1999: without page (between 16 and 17)). Its language is rather difficult, and it was apparently not composed for the layman (personal communication with M. Syed Mohamed "Hasan" on 14th of March 2000 in Chennai) (16).

Though several books on Islam in general have been written in the past 150 years both in Tamil and Arwi, none of them have attained the fame of the religious manuals written by Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s. His later works are originally based on a work on fiqh (jurisprudence) called FatÇ al-mat¯n, which was superseded by FatÇ as-sal¤m, which added information on creed. But it was the revised and enlarged edition of FatÇ as-sal¤m called FatÇ ad-dayy¤n f¯ fiqhi khayri'l-ady¤n, printed for the first time in 1873-74, which became popular (Aniff-Doray 1963: ix; Shu'ayb 1993: 159, 611 & 636).

 

The FatÇ ad-dayy¤n is a religious compendium based on the sh¤fi‘¯ school of law, though contrasting its practices from time to time with the Çanafi school (17). It deals in several chapters with d¯n (religion) and its pillars, namely ¯m¤n (faith), isl¤m (submission to god), tawǯd (unity and uniqueness of god) and ma‘rifa ("knowledge, cognition" (of god)), continuing to discuss prayer, the poor rate (zak¤t), fasting and pilgrimage (four of the five pillars of isl¤m; the confession is treated in the chapter on isl¤m). Following these are chapters on food, inheritance, marriage and miscellaneous topics, ending with a discourse on tawba (repentance). Naturally, the stress is different in each chapter, with the one on ma‘rifa, for example, containing more mystical points while the chapter on inheritance is concerned more with juridical matters. Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s used a number of Arabic, Persian and Arwi sources for compiling this manual. Apart from the Qur'an, the Çad¯th -collections by al-Bukh¤r¯ and Muslim and the writings of the founders of the four law-schools, he has drawn on material of scholars and Sufis like Ibn ‘Arab¯, al-Ghazz¤l¯, ‘Abd al-Q¤dir J¯l¤n¯ and the North Indian Sufi MuÇammad Ghawth of Gwalior (cf. Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s 1963: 515-518). Contrary to the Vªta pur¤ºam, the FatÇ ad-dayy¤n was written as a handbook for ordinary Muslims, as Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s states in his introduction (cf. the quotation given at the beginning of the article).

As the FatÇ ad-dayy¤n superseded FatÇ as-sal¤m, it was in turn superseded by the commentary which Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s himself wrote on it. The Magh¤n¯ mulaÇit tiby¤n f¯ sharaÇi ma‘¤ni fatÇi'd-dayy¤n, or short Magh¤n¯, is often considered to be the magnum opus of Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s. The second edition of the FatÇ ad-dayy¤n contains cross-references to the Magh¤n¯, which was printed in the same year, 1886 (Aniff-Doray 1963: ix; Shu'ayb 1993: 160 & 636). Being intended as a commentary, the Magh¤n¯ naturally follows the FatÇ ad-dayy¤n in content, but giving more details and adding information on trading, finance and juridical procedures (18).

Other handbooks were written by authors of renown, such as Shaykh Mu¿·af¤, who in fact translated or adapted an Arabic work, (Jal¤lt¯Ê 1999: 112; Uwise 1990: 237). Another handbook was written by his son Shaykh MuÇammad, and there are a number of similar books by other authors (cf. ibid.: 217f. & 237).

 

As already mentioned, Arwi authors wrote poems on different topics relating to creed, jurisprudence or other religious matters. Already S¤m Shih¤b ad-D¯n, one of the earliest (if not the earliest) Arwi authors wrote poems of this type. Among them we find works like ‘Ulam¤ m¤lai (‘ulam¤, sg. ‘¤lim "religious scholar"), Khu·ba m¤lai (khu·ba "sermon") and a poem against smoking (see 5.1.; Sayabu Maraicar 1996: 82-86). Among his works on jurisprudence is Ikhtil¤f m¤lai, based on the Arabic work M¯z¤n al-kubr¤ by ‘Abd al-Wahh¤b ash-Sha‘r¤ni (d. 1565). It is a poem dealing with 550 points on which the sh¤fi‘¯ and Çanafi schools of jurisprudence differ (Shu'ayb 1993: 140f.). S¤m Shih¤b ad-D¯n also wrote poems on the position of women with which I will deal later.

An important prose work on creed is Iפm al-faw¤’i¹ f¯ niפmi'l-‘aq¤’id by MaÇm¶d T¯b¯ of Porto Novo (Parangipettai) (d. ca. 1727), which Shu'ayb mentions as Arwi book (1993: 425; cf. also ibid.: 453, 489 & 804f.). Beside describing creed and dogma, it also contains points on mysticism.

Shaykh ‘Abd al-Q¤dir of Kilakkarai (1778-1850), who is usually known as K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib, wrote a collection of 40 poems (19) usually called Shu‘ab ad-d¯n. They deal with various topics, mostly with ta¿awwuf ("mysticism"), but also with other religious matters. Among the poems which are of interest here are ToÈukai m¤lai, N­Êpu m¤lai, Zak¤t m¤lai, ¾adaqa m¤lai (on charity), Taqw¤ m¤lai (on piety) and Bid‘¤ m¤lai (on "innovations" in religion), to mention just a few (20). The poems usually consist of 10-40 stanzas. If put together, they actually form something like a religious handbook having some resemblance with texts like the Vªta pur¤ºam, which is also in verse (K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib 1990: 5f.; Shu'ayb 1993: 165 & 524; some of the other poems from the Shu‘ab ad-d¯n are mentioned in 4.1., 4.3. & 4.5.). Shu‘ab al-®m¤n by Kam¤l ad-D¯n ‘£lim Pulavar, which has been mentioned in 4.1., also contains points on creed (Uwise 1990: 221ff.).

 

The Hady¤ m¤lai by Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s, a poem of 33 stanzas, was written around 1869, thus before the bulk of his religious manuals. To a certain degree it is comparable with the poems of his teacher and father-in-law K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib, but it doesn't deal with single aspects of religion. Rather, 40 ways of behaviour are listed, ranging from reducing sleep and food, attending prayers regularly, or obeying one's parents, to loving the Prophet and his family and engaging in dhikr ("...the glorifying of All¤h with certain fixed phrases, repeated in a ritual order, either aloud or in the mind,..." Macdonald 1995: 75).  Four each of these modes of conduct should be offered as gift (hady¤) to a person or thing connected with the afterlife. These are 1. the Angel of Death, 2. the grave, 3. the angels Munkar and Nak¯r, 4. M¤lik, the overseer of hell, 5. his counterpart Ri¹w¤n, the chief angel of paradise, 6. the bridge leading to paradise, 7. the scale on which one's good and bad deeds are weighed, 8. Prophet MuÇammad, 9. the soul (r¶Ç) and 10. god himself. Apart from these gifts, the qualities and characteristics of death are discussed in the poem. It is said that Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s wrote this poem for his wife, who had asked for a necklace made of 40 gold-coins (k¤cum¤lai). Instead, her husband wrote this poem to "...serve as an ornament for her soul" (Shu'ayb 1993: 614; cf. also ibid.: 153ff.; Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s 1996: xx).

 

Uwise mentions an Arwi poem written by Kash¤watta MuÇammad Labbai ‘£lim, a contemporary of Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s (Shu'ayb 1993: 112), called D¯n m¤lai, which is supposed to deal with various aspects of Islam (Uwise 1990: 234f.)

A book that deals with all schools of jurisprudence and the points on which they differ is Fay¹ ar-raÇm¤n f¯ ikhtil¤fi'l-a’immati'l-a‘y¤n by Hab¯b MuÇammad ibn ¾adaq MuÇammad Ibr¤h¯m printed in 1878 (ibid.: 141 & 185; Uwise 1990: 236f.) (21).

 

Among the texts concerned with jurisprudence we also have to mention the works listed by Shu'ayb under the heading "Sexology" (1993: 184ff.) (22). The authors "...strictly confined themselves to the domain of legitimate marital acts. In fact, there is a warning in all these works that the instructions given in them are to be used wholly and solely for achieving the perfect Çal¤l (permissible, my note) act of attaining marital bliss and not for indulging in any Çar¤m (forbidden, my note) acts" (ibid.: 184). Among these works is Mift¤Ç a¿-¿alaÇ f¯ ¯¹¤Çi'n-nikaÇ by Y¶suf Labbai ‘£lim of Ammapattinam (d. 1887), which contains juridical information on marriage and divorce beside "...subtle points on sexology wholly based on religion..." (ibid.) and which was proscribed by the British in the 1930's, and ‘Ilm an-nis¤ by Sayyid AÇmad Kabir of Kilakkarai printed in 1949. Some of the books mentioned before, like FatÇ ad-dayy¤n (cf. Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s 1963: 449-456) or Fay¹ ar-raÇm¤n, as well as the Kit¤b al-wis¤da (see 4.3.), deal at certain points with similar questions.

 

Mention should be made of the books written especially for women, which deal with the essentials of Islam and information of special interest for women, sometimes condemning things like giving dowry and advising parents to impart education to their daughters. Shu'ayb attributes three works to S¤m Shih¤b ad-D¯n, namely Peº putti m¤lai, Kaly¤ºa bid‘at m¤lai and T­kai m¤lai (1993: 162). Sayabu Maraicar lists T­kai m¤lai as work of S¤m Shih¤b ad-D¯n, but while referring to a Kaly¤ºa bid‘at m¤lai and two works with the title Peº putti m¤lai, he gives different authors for these poems. But it is of course possible that S¤m Shih¤b ad-D¯n wrote poems with similar titles (cf. Sayabu Maraicar 1996: 82, 85 & 86f.) (23). Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s has also written works especially for women. Two of them, Talai f¤tiÇa and Ma‘rifatiÊ ¤r¤··u, are dealt with below. T­Èi peº patikam is another work by him on the subject. A number of other books for women have been published. There are also books imparting basic religious knowledge for children, like Simt a¿-¿iby¤n by Y¶suf Labbai ‘£lim of Ammapattinam which describes the Çanafi school of jurisprudence. Two other important books for children are TuÇfat al-a·f¤l and MinÇat al-a·f¤l, both by Sayyid MuÇammad known as Colombo ‘£lim ¾¤Çib, which deal with the Çanafi and sh¤fi‘¯ schools, respectively (Shu'ayb 1993: 162f. & 510).

4.3. Ta¿awwuf (Mysticism):

Often, Arwi texts on mysticism form part of an anthology or a religious handbook which is also concerned with creed and jurisprudence, and these fields are often inseparably intertwined. In coastal Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka, and particularly with respect to the Arwi authors, we find few traces at all of a distinction or even enmity between "juridical" and "mystical" Islam. Rather, most Arwi authors were both, ‘¤lim ("religious scholar") and ¿¶f¯ ("mystic"), and combine the ideas of both in their writings. The ·ar¯qas (¿¶f¯ -orders) common in the area where Arwi is in use are usually quite "orthodox" and stress the importance of the shar¯‘a. By far the most common ·ar¯qa in the Arwi area is the Q¤diriyya, founded by ‘Abd al-Q¤dir J¯l¤n¯ (1077 o. 1078-1166). Many important authors, like S¤m Shih¤b ad-D¯n, K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib, and Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s, were its members. Another ·ar¯qa of importance among Arwi writers is the Sh¤dhiliyya, founded by Abu'l-Hasan ash-Sh¤dhil¯ (1196-1258) (cf. Shu'ayb 1993: 61ff.; Eaton 1996: 54)(24).

 

The first mystic poet in Tamil Muslim literature is P¯r MuÇammad, who is buried in Takkalai in Kanniyakumari district. In Arwi, there are some poems by S¤m Shih¤b ad-D¯n which seem to deal with ta¿awwuf. Among them are a Ma‘rifa m¤lai and a NeñcaÉivu m¤lai (Sayabu Maraicar 1996: 153). The Niפmi'l-‘aq¤’id by MaÇm¶d T¯b¯ (see 4.2.), as has already been mentioned, seems to contain information on mysticism.

K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib's anthology Shu‘ab ad-d¯n contains a number of poems on ta¿awwuf, like Tar¯qa m¤lai, Haq¯qa m¤lai, Ma‘rifa m¤lai, Dhikr m¤lai, Wuj¶d m¤lai (uj¶tu m¤lai in Tamil) and Shuh¶d m¤lai (cf. Shu'ayb 1993: 165; table of contents of K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib 1990: 120). This is in line with the importance of K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib as one of the leading teachers of the Q¤diriyya in South India, among whose disciples were important ¿¶f¯ -authors in both Tamil and Arwi, like Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s (Arwi) or Kuºa³ku·i Mast¤Ê ¾¤Çib (Tamil). It was K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib who started the Kit¤b al-wis¤da (see below).

Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s continued the mystical traditions of his shaykh and father-in-law. In many of his earlier works we find references to mystical ideas, thus to the prophetic tradition "Die before you die" (cf. Schimmel 1985: 197f.) in HM 2.1 (25), and the religious handbooks deal with similar topics in many instances (for example in the chapter about ma‘rifa in the FatÇ ad-dayy¤n (cf. Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s 1963: 53-76)).

A further Arwi work on ta¿awwuf by Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s is Ma‘rifatiÊ ¤r¤··u, a lullaby on mystical points written especially for women. Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s seems to have written several lullabies on mystical topics (Shu'ayb 1993.: 162, 455 & 624).

 

But his most important contribution to ta¿awwuf in Arwi is Ghan¯mat as-s¤lik¯n ("Booty of the Traveller on the Mystical Path"). It was printed first in 1894. It deals with "...all the essential aspects of mysticism" (ibid.: 160) as well as with jurisprudence (ibid.: 611, cf. also ibid.: 455 & K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib 1990: 6). According to MuÇammad N¯l¤m it also contains biographical information on Hasan and Husayn, the grandsons of the Prophet (cf. MuÇammad Nil¤m 1963: xxiii). In the introduction, Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s mentions that he collected information from the writings of earlier saints and compiled them in this book, as the laymen of his period didn't seem to have much leisure to devote themselves to the study of Sufic ideas. "As a single book, it embodies the substance of all that is found in my earlier works Fat-Çul Mat¯n, Fat-Çud Dayy¤n, Magh¤ni and Fat-Çussal¤m" (translation by Shu'ayb; 1993: 161, his italics). Thus, the Ghan¯mat as-s¤lik¯n forms the last of the religious manuals written by Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s. Especially with the last three volumes FatÇ ad-dayy¤n, Magh¤n¯ and Ghan¯mat as-s¤lik¯n, there seems to be a slight difference with regard to the intended audience: FatÇ ad-dayy¤n for the layman, Magh¤n¯ for the ‘¤lim and Ghan¯mat as-s¤lik¯n for the ¿¶f¯. But still all of the works were intended for a general audience, without sufficient knowledge of Arabic. Both ‘¤lim and ¿¶f¯ were of course expected to collect information from the original sources.

Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s also wrote books on ta¿awwuf in Arabic. In fact, he, like other Arwi authors, seems to have been careful not to reveal too many mystical points to the general reader without any mystical experiences, to avoid misinterpretations (cf. ibid.: 631). This becomes especially clear in his discussion of the famous sentence an¤'l-Çaqq ("I am the absolute truth; I am god"), uttered by Man¿¶r al-Hall¤j (d. 922). He writes: "Living saints, at moments of ecstasy, have lost control of themselves and given vent to expressions like "I am Allah" and "I am the Truth". Their utterances are similar to the utterances made under duress, and ordinary people can never reach their stage of attainment to make such utterances. The expressions made by them were made at moments when they were forgetful of themselves, and in saner moments, when they were reminded of what they had uttered in their forgetfulness, they always repented and prayed for forgiveness...It is for this reason that the reading of books written by learned men of great wisdom, ..., have been ruled to be Çar¤m for ordinary people who are incompetent to read and understand them. Many of the ordinary people who read such books slip and fall of the right path, through lack of understanding" (Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s 1963: 403f.).

 

Arwi authors who passed these kind of information were subject to criticism, as the example of Sidi Levvai shows. Siddi Levvai (1838-98) started a controversy through his book Asr¤r al-‘¤lam, because of "...revealing intricate mystical points to the common masses" (Shu'ayb 1993: 500f.). Shu'ayb gives this book in the bibliography as a Tamil work, though it is a reprint made in 1974 (nowadays, many Arwi works are published in Tamil script, see below 6; ibid. & 819).

This attitude gave ammunition for groups who criticised Arwi and the use of the Arabic script as well as ta¿awwuf in general. It may also have contributed to the image of the "Muslim Brahmins", which was brought up by the Self-respect Movement (cf. More 1993: 90f.).

 

A very famous book by Shaykh Mu¿·af¤ of Beruwala is M¯z¤n m¤lai, first published in 1868, which deals with ta¿awwuf (ibid.: 159; Jal¤lt¯Ê 1999: 112). Uwise says that it deals with all aspects of Islam and its "...path of purity" (Uwise 1990: 234; cf. also ibid.: 221).

Another mystical work in Arwi is Maw¤hib al-makkiya by MuÇammad Ghawth of Melapalayam published in 1887, which seems to deal mainly with the theory of the n¶r muÇammad¯, the "Light of MuÇammad", "...the technical term for the pre-existence of the soul of the Prophet MuÇammad..." (Massignon 1995:452), from which the other souls emanated. MuÇammad Ghawth used works by ar-R¤zi (d. 1209) and as-Suy¶·i (1445-1505) , among others, as sources (Shu'ayb 1993: 286f. & 418f.).

 

A work by Y¶suf Labbai ‘£lim of Ammapattinam is mentioned called Jaw¤hir naf¯sa. Shu'ayb doesn't mention which language it is written in, though all other works of this author mentioned by Shu'ayb are in Arwi. Jaw¤hir naf¯sa deals especially with the Q¤diriyya "Sufi order" (Shu'ayb 1993: 455; cf. ibid.: 820).

At the beginning of the 20th century we have the works of Sayyida Asiya Umma (1868-1949), who wrote mainly mystical poems. Some of her poems like M¤lik¤ ratnam or Sul·¤n al-‘¤rif¯n m¤lai have been published, but many remain in manuscript form. Another poetess, F¤·ima Jawhariyya (b. 1900), wrote "poems of spiritual nature", that have been partly published in 1985 by her son (Shu'ayb 1993: 504).

Finally, mention must be made of the Kit¤b al-wis¤da, also called Talaiyaºai kit¤b or "pillow book", maybe named thus on account of its size. It is a manuscript kept in the library of the Madrasat al-‘Ar¶siyya in Kilakkarai. According to Shu'ayb it "...contains material written by more than a hundred Saints and which deals with various aspects of religious and worldly life" (1993: 95 note 28). It was started by K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib to preserve the writings of important saints and scholars for future generations (Ajmal Khan 1985: 62; cf. also Uwise 1990: 217; K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib 1990: 5f. even states that more than 350 saints wrote in it). Beside mysticism, the wide range of topics covers not only creed and jurisprudence, but also science, like medicine (see 4.5.) or zoology (personal communication with M. Syed Mohamed "Hasan" on 13th of June 2000 in Chennai).

4.4. Biographies and Panegyrics:

Biographies and Panegyrics occupy an important place in Islamic culture. Praising the Prophet, his companions (¿aǤba) and the saints was and is considered to be a meritorious act by many Muslims, and though a number of reformist and revivalist groups condemn this praising as un-Islamic, the recital of panegyrics still forms part of celebrations in the Islamic world (26). Similarly, the biographies of holy people are important for Islam, as the lives of the ¿aǤba, saints and above all the Prophet himself set the precedents for a life led according to the rules of Islam, which is also the basis for the Çad¯th -literature. Of course, the biographies will not only give the dry facts of the life of this or that person, but also extol and praise their qualities.

The first biographical poems in Arwi were written by S¤m Shih¤b ad-D¯n. Most important among them is the Ras¶l m¤lai, a biographical poem on the life of the prophet (Shu'ayb 1993: 286; cf. also Uwise 1990: 152 (27); Sayabu Maraicar 1996: 89; Manavai Mustafa 1986: 200) (28).

According to Shu'ayb, S¤m Shih¤b ad-D¯n also wrote a biography on ‘Abd al-Q¤dir J¯l¤n¯, the founder of the Q¤diriyya ·ar¯qa, called MuÇyi'd-d¯n m¤lai (1993: 288f.). But no other author mentions this work, though there are other works with the same name by other authors (cf. Uwise 1990: 153; Sayabu Maraicar 1996: 88) (29). Sayabu Maraicar lists two further works which seem to be biographical poems by S¤m Shih¤b ad-D¯n - N¤lu y¤rka¥ m¤lai and M¯r¤n m¤lai. The first poem appears to be on the life of the four first caliphs, the second one on the life of the saint of Nagore (ibid.: 85 & 88).

 

While I couldn't find any panegyrical or biographical poems by K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib (that is, none where these topics dominate), there are a number of them by Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s, both in Arwi and Arabic. Among the most important of the Arabic poems is Maw¤hib az-zayn f¯ man¤qibi'l-Çasanayn on the life of Hasan and Husayn, the grandsons of the Prophet, which has been translated by the author himself into Arwi (Shu'ayb 1993: 288 & 616).

Among the Arwi panegyrics by Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s, Talai f¤tiÇa is the most important. Its content are prayers for the intercession and help of the prophets, their wives and especially of F¤·ima, the daughter of MuÇammad. "It contains an Arabic qa¿¯dah of 78 lines with its Arwi translation in between. It also contains 115 lines of Arwi and Arabic poems" (Shu'ayb 1993: 613). This work is especially recited by women mainly during the months of Rama¹¤n and MuÇarram, as well as on special occasions like pregnancy. Though certain "revivalist" groups have attacked and condemned the work and its recital as un-Islamic, it seems to be still held in high esteem by many Muslims, especially in Sri Lanka (ibid.: 74f.).

Apparently, the Ghan¯mat as-s¤lik¯n also contains biographical information on Hasan and Husayn (cf. MuÇammad Nil¤m 1963: xxiii).

 

Two biographies have been prepared on the founder of the Sh¤dhiliyya order, ‘Abu'l Hasan ash-Sh¤dhil¯. One was written by N¶Ç the Junior. This work is called NafaǤt al-‘anbar f¯ man¤qibi qu·bi'l-akbar. The other biography called Hid¤yat as-s¤lik¯n was written by a certain MuÇammad Ism¤‘¯l of Nagapattinam.

N¶Ç the Junior has apparently also translated a famous collection of biographies of saints, Far¯d ad-D¯n ‘A··¤r's Tadhkirat al-awliy¤, into Arwi. These were published as Ad-durar f¯ hik¤yati'l-ghurar al-mulaqqabi bi qa¿a¿i'l-awliy¤ in 1881.

A number of other biographies, for example on the Nagore saint Sh¤h al-Ham¯d or Maryam (Mary), seem to exist (Shu'ayb 1993: 286-290).

 

Shaykh Mu¿·af¤ of Beruwala eulogised ‘Umar of Kayalpattinam in the poem Meyññ¤Êattuti. He discusses the mystical significance of the three Arabic letters which constitute the name ‘Umar, ‘ain, m¯m and r¤. While Shu'ayb says it is in Arwi, Jal¤lt¯Ê explicitly states that it is written in Tamil language and script ("...tamiÈ moÈiyil, tamiÈ lipiyil iyaÉÉiya kavitai n¶l, meyññ¤Êat tuti eÊpat¤kum" Jal¤lt¯Ê 1999: 113; Shu'ayb 1993: 110f.; Uwise 1990: 202).

 

Kash¤watta MuÇammad Labbai ‘£lim is reported to have written panegyrics on his spiritual master, K¤yalpa··iÊam Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib, in Arabic and Arwi (Shu'ayb 1993: 112).

4.5. Miscellaneous:

Apart from the above mentioned works, there are a number of works on different topics which I couldn't sort into one of the sections.

First, there are some commentaries on works listed above. Shaykh Mu¿·af¤'s son, Shaykh MuÇammad H¤jiyar, has written a commentary on the M¯z¤n m¤lai (see 4.3.) named I×h¤r al-Çaqqi‘ani'l-b¤·il f¯ bay¤ni mur¤di m¯z¤ni'l-‘¤dil (Shu'ayb 1993: 496; Uwise 1990: 237f.).

At least two commentaries have been prepared by Mufti MuÇammad Tam¯m of Madras (1865-1944), one on MaÇm¶d T¯b¯'s work on creed, Niפmi'l-‘aq¤’id (see 4.2.), the other on Jaw¤hir naf¯sa by Y¶suf Labbai ‘£lim of Ammapattinam (see 4.3.), though, as I have already mentioned, I do not know whether that work is in Arwi or Arabic (Shu'ayb 1993: 425 & 455).

A special place in the Arabic literature of South India is occupied by Shaykh ¾adaqatull¤h's Qa¿¯dat al-witriyya f¯ madÇi khayri'l-bariyya, also known as Takhm¯s wa tadhy¯l ‘al¤ qa¿¯dati'l-witriyya. Takhm¯s means that to each couplet in an original text, three hemistiches are added before the couplet, thus producing a stanza of 5 lines. The original Qa¿¯dat al-witriyya was composed by Kha·¯b al-Baghd¤d¯. The takhm¯s by Shaykh ¾adaqatull¤h contains 4210 hemistiches, of which 1218 form the original of this panegyric poem. Shaykh ¾adaqatull¤h's work was translated into Arwi by N¶Ç the Junior, called NafǤt al-‘itriyya f¯ sharaÇi'l-witriyya, printed in 1896. Apparently, it also contains a commentary (ibid.: 129-133 & 292f.; Uwise 1990: 238).

 

Of the works translated from Arabic into Arwi and Tamil, I want to mention a translation of Bid¤yat al-hid¤ya by al-Ghazz¤l¯ (1058-1111), which was prepared by Sayyid MuÇammad ‘£lim Pulavar (1880-1959), first into Arwi, then printed in Tamil script, called NªrvaÈiyiÊ ¤rampam (Shu'ayb 1993: 201 & 283f.; Ceyyit HasaÊ Maul¤Ê¤ 1999: 296). Apparently, also al-Ghazz¤l¯'s Mi‘r¤j al-‘¤rif¯n and ‘Abd al-Kar¯m J¯l¯'s (d. between 1408 and 1417) Ins¤n al-k¤mil have been translated into Arwi (ibid.).

 

There are a number of translations of khu·bas, sermons, into Arwi, especially those of ‘Abd ar-RaÇm¤n ibn Nab¤ta (d. 984), which have been translated by Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s and his students. N¶Ç the Junior and Shaykh Mu¿·af¤ are also reported to have translated khu·bas by ibn Nab¤ta. Apart from that, there are a number of other translations of sermons (Shu'ayb 1993: 173ff.; Jal¤lt¯Ê 1999: 113) (30).

 

A certain ‘Abd ar-RaÇm¤n of Nellikuppam (d. 1927), who according to Shu'ayb was a converted Brahmin, translated the Fat¤w¤-i ‘¤lamg¯ri into Arwi (Shu'ayb 1993: 285). This collection of rulings was prepared by a panel of leading ‘ulam¤ of the Çanafi school of jurisprudence. The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb aimed at a compilation of "authoritative and reliable rulings" which soon gained popularity in the empire (cf. Richards 1993: 173f.). Shu'ayb states that Shaykh ¾adaqatull¤h was the chief advisor of the panel and his son one of the members (cf. 1993: 284f.). It should be noted that according to Shulman & Subrahmanyam, an oral legend recorded at the beginning of the 20th century states that Aurangzeb repeatedly offered juridical positions to Shaykh ¾adaqatull¤h, which the latter refused, sending other people like his son instead (1993: 525). Unfortunately, Shu'ayb does not give his source, thus I am unable to comment on the reliability of the tradition that Shaykh ¾adaqatull¤h and his son were involved in the compilation of the Fat¤w¤-i ‘¤lamg¯ri.

 

Finally, the Bible has apparently been translated into Arwi (ibid.: 103f.)

A lot of books to help students in a number of things have been published. Mention has been made in 4.2. of the books which provide children with basic information on the schools of jurisprudence. There are translations of Arabic grammars and works that help to pronounce the Qur'an correctly. Textbooks and primers in Arabic have also been published, most important among them being a book series called Hid¤yat al-q¤simiyya to teach Arabic to children, published by Siddi Levvai (Shu'ayb 1993: 111, 164f., 293 & 500f.).

 

A number of dictionaries also exist. Between 1903-05, the first Arabic-Arwi dictionary was published in the form of a periodical by Hak¯m MuÇammad ‘Abdull¤h ¾¤Çib. Though running to 504 pages, it only covers the first three letters of the Arabic alphabet plus some items of the fourth letter. The first complete dictionary was compiled by a student of Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s, MuÇammad Ibr¤h¯m, who was the principal of the Indian Arwi School in Singapore. The first edition was released, apparently in Singapore, in 1917 (Uwise gives 1913, 1990: 238). The title is At-tuÇfat a¿-¿amadiyya f¯ tarjumati alf¤×i'l-‘arabiyya.

 

An Arwi encyclopaedia was also prepared by MuÇammad Ibr¤h¯m called Naj¤t al-an¤m f¯ nayli'l-mar¤m. A further dictionary consisting of two parts was compiled and published in 1937 by Sayyid Y¤s¯n Mawl¤n¤ al-Balq¤mi(1889-1966). Uwise gives its title as Kaamoosul arabi va arvi (ibid.: 239). ¾¶f¯ Kona Shaykh ‘Abd al-Q¤dir (b. 1938) known as ¾¶f¯ Ha¹rat compiled a dictionary of legal terms with explanations. Sadly, Shu'ayb doesn't give any further information. Finally, there seems to be an Arwi-Arabic dictionary by MuÇammad MuÇyi'd-d¯n of Kilakkarai (Shu'ayb 1993: 290ff.).

 

There are poems on medicine, for example by K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib, and translations of medical works, sometimes contained as part of other books like the Kit¤b al-wis¤da (ibid.: 165f.). An interesting work has been reported to be in the Indonesian Manuscript Library in Jakarta. It is a book on medicine edited in 1807 and written in four different languages, namely Javanese, Persian, Arwi and Arabic (Shu'ayb 1993: 105f.).

 

Shu'ayb mentions that the first journal in Arwi was ‘Al¤mat lank¤puri, published by a Malay, Tuan Baba Yunus, at Colombo in 1869. Several periodicals, most of them weeklies, were also published, like ‘Aj¤’ib al-akhb¤r at Madras in the 1870's and Kashfurr¤n ‘¤n qalbi'l-j¤n at Colombo from 1889 onwards. Other magazines appeared during the first half of the 20th century (Shu'ayb 1993: 103).

 

Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s has written a novel called Mad¯nat an-nuǤs (Tamil authors usually translate it as "Copper Town", but this story from the Arabian Nights is more famous in the West as "City of Brass"; nuǤs can mean both, copper and brass). At one point, Shu'ayb states that it probably belongs to the writer's earlier period, while at other points he specifies the year 1858-59. Both he and Ajmal Khan state that the novel was written before HasaÊpª carittiram by Siddi Levvai, and Kamal¤mp¤¥ carittiram by P.R. Rajam Iyer. If this would be true, Mad¯nat an-nuǤs could be the first novel written in Tamil language. It was printed in Arabic script in 1900 at Colombo, and in Tamil script in 1978-79 in Madras (Shu'ayb 1993: 104, 619f., 632 & 785f; Ajmal Khan 1985: 79) (31).

5. Important Arwi authors

 

5.1. S¤m Shih¤b ad-D¯n:

The fourth of the "five gems", the sons of Shaykh Sulaym¤n (1591-1668) (cf. Shu'ayb 1993: 498f.), was according to Shu'ayb born in 1634-35 in Kayalpattinam (ibid.: 140 & 281; Sayabu Maraicar 1996: 153). Contrary to his brothers Shams ad-D¯n, AÇmad, ¾adaqatull¤h and ¾al¤Ç ad-D¯n, he concentrated on the writing and propagation of Arwi literature. Though he also wrote some Arabic works, most of his writings are in Arwi. Being one of the first (if not the first) known authors in Arwi, he produced a great number of works on different topics (cf. Shu'ayb 1993: 140ff. & 483; Ajmal Khan 1985: 52).

Like his brothers, S¤m Shih¤b ad-D¯n was engaged in the revival of Islam and Muslim educational institutions in South India and Sri Lanka after Portuguese colonialism. His translations of aÇad¯th as well as his poems on different aspects of Islam in Arwi (ibid.; see 4.1. & 4.2.) were part of this "mass education"-campaign, as was the habit of reciting takhm¯s (see 4.5.) at private houses on Thursdays (ibid.: 53).

He travelled with his brothers Shaykh ¾adaqatull¤h and ¾al¤Ç ad-D¯n to the holy places of Islam and during this time campaigned with them against the use of tobacco and tobacco-products. They even appealed to the Ottoman emperor to ban the use of tobacco. (ibid.: 52f.; Shu'ayb 1993: 480f.) (32). S¤m Shih¤b ad-D¯n is said to have written a work in Arwi against tobacco called Tamp¤kkum¤lai (Ajmal Khan 1985: 52; Sayabu Maraicar 1996: 86 calls it Pukaiyilai vilakku m¤lai). Similarly, he campaigned against a number of social evils, including the habit of taking dowry (ibid.: 153; Shu'ayb 1993: 163).

He survived all his brothers and died in 1709 (ibid.: 53).

5.2. K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib: Shaykh ‘Abd al-Q¤dir of Kilakkarai is popularly known as K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib to differentiate him from his contemporary and brother-in-law, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Q¤dir of Kayalpattinam, called K¤yalpa··iÊam Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib (1777-1855) (Shu'ayb 1993: 487f.). In fact, K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib was also born in Kayalpattinam in 1778, being a descendant of one of Shaykh ¾adaqatull¤h's daughters. He studied in Kilakkarai and married a granddaughter of Aww¤kk¤r Maraik¤yar (1693-1766), who had supported Muslim scholars and the construction of mosques and madrasas (Islamic educational institutions). With her, he had five daughters, but no son (Ajmal Khan 1985: 62; cf. also Shu'ayb 1993: 510; Itr¯s Maraikk¤yar 1986: 62f.).

K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib later (1805) was given charge of one of the most important madrasas in Tamil Nadu at Kilakkarai, which had been founded in 1671 by Shaykh ¾adaqatull¤h and renamed Madrasat al-‘Ar¶siyya after its reorganisation in 1851 by Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s (see 5.3.; Shu'ayb 1993: 803f.) (33). He introduced a scheme of free boarding and lodging there (ibid.: 524). Many of his pupils became famous on their own, like Kuºa³ku·i Mast¤Ê ¾¤Çib, probably the most well known Sufi-poet of South India (see 4.3.), the poet Shaykh ‘Abd al-Q¤dir Nayn¤ Labbai ‘£lim called Pulavar N¤yakam, to whose credit go four epics in Tamil, Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s, K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib's son-in-law and deputy (khal¯fa) (see 5.3.), Y¶suf Labbai ‘£lim of Ammapattinam (cf. ibid.: 500) and the merchant Hab¯b MuÇammad "Aracar" (1777-1816), who was a descendant of Aww¤kk¤r Maraik¤yar like K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib's wife. Apart from supporting many institutions founded by Aww¤kk¤r Maraik¤yar, Hab¯b MuÇammad "Aracar" is credited with the establishment of a mosque and reportedly also an Arwi school on the Island Phulo or Pulau Brani three miles from Singapore on which a naval base is situated nowadays (ibid.: 511f.; Ajmal Khan 1985: 61).

Among K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib's many literary contributions (see 4., especially 4.3.) is also one of the most important Arabic qa¿¯das of South India, called Qa¿¯dat ash-shaf‘iyya f¯ madÇi sh¤fi‘i'l-jam‘iyya or short Shaf‘iyya (Shu'ayb 1993: 136-139 & 358-361).

K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib died in 1850 and was buried in Kilakkarai (cf. ibid.: 488, 524 & 602f.).

5.3. Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s Sayyid MuÇammad ‘£lim:

Sayyid MuÇammad (34), known as Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s, was born in 1816 in Kayalpattinam. His father Shaykh AÇmad (1784-1845), also known as Ve¥¥ai AÇmad, and his mother Amina (1790-1880) stemmed from the family of Shaykh ¾adaqatull¤h. Most of the information on his family and childhood comes from an Arabic elegy on his parents. He had eight brothers and four sisters, but four of his brothers and one of his sisters died at a young age. His father got his income from scribing. At the age of two, Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s and his family migrated to Kilakkarai. He was trained in religious subjects from a very early age, and memorised the whole Qur'an before reaching the age of ten.

In Kilakkarai, he got the opportunity to study under K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib. His teacher was so pleased with him that he married his fourth daughter, S¤ra Umm¤ (d. 1859) to him in 1837. He was also accepted by K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib as his disciple (mur¯d) in the Q¤diriyya order, and later was even appointed his deputy (khal¯fa).

He earned his livelihood through a hardware business in Madurai. Later, a branch was opened in Kilakkarai, where goods were sold which had been brought in from other places in British India. He also used to transport scrap iron from Sri Lanka to Kilakkarai and import rice from Burma (Shu'ayb 1993: 588).

Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s was in charge of the Madrasat al-‘Ar¶siyya, an office he had inherited from his teacher K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib. The scheme of free boarding and lodging at the madrasa which had been introduced by the latter was expanded by Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s. This earned him the attention of the Nawab of Arcot, Ghul¤m Ghawth Kh¤n Bahadur W¤l¤jah V. As Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s refused, in accordance with the tradition of his forefathers, to meet the Nawab at his palace, the meeting took place in the W¤l¤j¤hi-mosque in Madras. Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s composed two Arabic poems on the Nawab, who himself introduced the free boarding-and-lodging system at the Madrasa-i Azam in Madras (ibid.: 514f.; Ajmal Khan 1985: 66).

Funds for the Madrasat al-‘Ar¶siyya came from different sources. Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s used some of his own earnings for the madrasa. Another income was the sale of the books of Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s, not only among his many pupils, but also to a wider public. This was in part facilitated by the establishment of lithographic printing presses in Bombay and Kilakkarai (in 1883). Donations were a third (though limited) way of funding. Finally, the madrasa received one rupee from each boat touching the port of Galle in Sri Lanka, where the Muslim community enjoyed an influential position. This money was remitted to Kilakkarai through the khal¯fa of Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s, MuÇammad ‘Al¯ (cf. Shu'ayb 1993: 589ff).

Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s travelled widely in India, Sri Lanka and several Arab countries, of course including the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. He is credited with participating in the establishment of more than 350 mosques in Sri Lanka as well as some in India (ibid.: 640; Ajmal Khan 1985: 81).

Apart from building up a library for the madrasa, he contributed 82 major works in Arabic and Arwi, as well as an unknown number of smaller poems, composed on mosques, donors of books etc., in the same languages as well as Malayalam written in Arabic script (35). He is said to have known Malayalam, Persian, Urdu and Sanskrit, besides Arabic and Arwi/Tamil.

A number of honorific titles were bestowed on him. The title "Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s" and the Tamil equivalent "M¤ppi¥¥ai Leppai" are the best known. According to Shu'ayb, he was called thus as he combined religious knowledge with external cleanliness, being always dressed well like a bridegroom (Tamil m¤pi¥¥ai, Arabic ‘ar¶s; Shu'ayb: 586). On the other hand, MuÇammad Nil¤m and some other authors links this name with the fact that he was the son-in-law (also m¤pi¥¥ai) of K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib, who himself called him this way (1963: xx-xxi; cf. also Itr¯s Maraikk¤yar 1986: 70; Ajmal Khan 1985: 65) There are a number of other titles (cf. Shu'ayb 1993: 586f.).

Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s had three daughters and two sons with his first wife. Both of the sons, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Q¤dir known as ¾¤Çib al-Khalwa (1848-1913) and Sh¤h al-Ham¯d known as ¾¤Çib al-Jalwa (1854-1920), as well as at least one of the daughters, Sayyid F¤·ima (1845-1907), were scholars of renown (36). In 1844 he married another woman, F¤·ima B¯wi, with whom he had a daughter, but the girl died young. After the death of his first wife S¤ra Umm¤ he married her sister but had no children with her.

Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s died in 1898 in Kilakkarai and was buried beside his teacher and father-in-law, K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib.

5.4. Shaykh Mu¿·af¤ of Beruwala:

Shaykh Mu¿·af¤ was born in Beruwala, Sri Lanka, as the son of Adam B¤w¤ in 1836. He studied in Kayalpattinam in South India under a number of scholars, but his most important teacher seems to have been K¤yalpa··iÊam Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib, since he mentions Shaykh ‘Umar, the father and Shaykh of K¤yalpa··iÊam Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib, as his Shaykh several times and has also written a panegyric poem about him (see 4.4.). But Shaykh ‘Umar died in 1801, about 35 years before the birth of Shaykh Mu¿·af¤, so "...it is most probable that Kayalpattinam Tayka ¾¤Çib, son of ‘Umar Wali, might have been the spiritual master and a teacher to Shaykh Mu¿·af¤ Wali" (Shu'ayb 1993: 276 note 1, his italics; cf. also ibid.: 110f., 501 & 525). That another important scholar of Sri Lanka, Kash¤watta MuÇammad Labbai ‘£lim, was also a disciple of K¤yalpa··iÊam Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib, makes this even more probable (ibid.: 112 & 525) (37).

Apart from K¤yalpa··iÊam Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib, Shaykh Mu¿·af¤ also had other teachers (K¤yalpa··iÊam Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib died in 1855 when Shaykh Mu¿·af¤ was just 19 years old), among them P¤layam Hab¯b MuÇammad ‘£lim, who wrote the second tafs¯r in Arwi, Fut¶Ç¤t ar-raÇm¤niyya, while Shaykh Mu¿·af¤ wrote the first (see 4.1.), and AÇmad ibn Mub¤rak Mawl¤n¤, a scholar from Yemen, whom Shaykh Mu¿·af¤ eulogised in an Arabic poem (ibid.: 276; Jal¤lt¯Ê 1999: 112).

Shaykh Mu¿·af¤ apparently returned to Sri Lanka after his studies and is among the most important Muslim scholars of the country. He contributed several works in Arwi, among them the M¯z¤n m¤lai (see 4.3.) and the first Arwi tafs¯r FatÇ ar-raÇm¤n (see 4.1.). He also wrote in Arabic and translated works from Arabic to Arwi, like the above mentioned khu·bas of ibn Nab¤ta (see 4.5.). Jal¤lt¯Ê also mentions the translation of a part of a work just called Ihy¤ (IÇy¤’ ‘ul¶m ad-d¯n by al-Ghazz¤l¯?). He calls the translated part Pav¤yitul ak¤yit (Faw¤’id al-‘aq¤’id?) and states that it has been included in the M¯z¤n m¤lai (1999: 113). Shaykh Mu¿·af¤ died in 1887 (cf. ibid.: 111; Shu'ayb 1993: 159 & 275; but on p. 496, he gives the year 1888).

 

5.     Conclusion

 

Several conclusions regarding the nature and character of Arwi literature and its authors can be drawn from what has been said above. Arwi started to develop from the end of the 17th century onwards, thus a bit later than Muslim literature in Tamil script. Apparently, the Muslim community had recovered by that time from Portuguese persecution. It should also be kept in mind that the northern tracts of Tamil Nadu were incorporated into the Mughal empire during the first years of the 18th century. Shaykh ¾adaqatull¤h is claimed to have been in close contact with the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, who is credited to have ordered the erection of the tomb of the Shaykh in Kilakkarai (Shu'ayb 479f.; Shulman & Subrahmanyam 1993: 525).

The Arabic script continued to be used by the Tamil-speaking Muslims beside the Tamil script. Arwi's "golden age" seems to have been the end of the 19th century, which saw a number of important authors, like Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s, Shaykh Mu¿·af¤, N¶Ç the Junior and Y¶suf Labbai ‘£lim. Lithographic printing in Bombay and the establishment of a lithographic printing-press by Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s in Kilakkarai may have furthered the publishing of Arwi books. The colonial situation and the notion that the Tamil-speaking Muslims were not Muslims proper, which was current among the British and a number of Urdu-speaking Muslims, may have been additional reasons for an increase in the production of literature written in Arabic script, emphasising the close connections to the heartlands of Islam (38).

Regarding its relation to Muslim literature written in Tamil proper, there are differences as well as similarities. With regard to the content, Arwi poems are rather "didactic" than "narrative". While many of the Tamil poems dealing with the teachings of Islam still retain a narrative frame (like the £yiramacal¤), most of the poems in Arwi have no narrative part (except, of course, for the biographies). The content-matter of an Arwi poem is often indicated in the title, thus producing a number of poems which share the same title but were written by different authors. The loosely defined genre of m¤lai probably served this kind of didactic poem best. Only rarely do we find poems written in another genre which are so common in Tamil Muslim literature. Thus, the anthology Shu‘ab ad-d¯n by K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib contains a Kummipp¤··u (cf. 1990: 101-104). The religious manuals written in the second half of the 19th century are to a certain degree the result of these developments, and form a very distinct part of Arwi literature by that time, especially as they were written in prose.

But on the other hand, there is no real dividing line between Islamic literature in Tamil or Arwi when it comes to ideas and authors. Certainly, Arwi poems, whose authors were often member of the ‘ulam¤ and wrote works in Arabic as well may have had a stronger tendency towards orthodoxy, and some Tamil poems might hardly be considered Islamic by many Muslims, but by and large they have a common outlook. Anything else would in fact be quite surprising, as the authors often had very close connections. As mentioned, the Arwi author K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib was teacher of the Tamil poets Kuºa³ku·i Mast¤Ê ¾¤Çib and Shaykh ‘Abd al-Q¤dir Nayn¤ Labbai ‘£lim as well as of Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s, the most important personality in Arwi literature.

A characteristic trait of many Arwi authors is the combination of religio-juridical scholar (‘¤lim) and orthodox mystic (¿¶f¯), similar to the type of "reformist Sufis" described by Eaton in his study on Bijapur (which were also mainly members of the Q¤diriyya order). But there is also a major difference. Contrary to the Muslims of northern India, the South Indian Muslims were used to living in states governed by non-Muslims. There was no use in urging the rulers to create an Islamic society or to criticise there "un-Islamic" habits. The best the Muslims could hope for was some kind of autonomy in juridical matters, as Duarte Barbosa reports from Kayalpattinam at the beginning of the 16th century (cf. Duarte Barbosa 1989: 124). The Arwi poems reveal their concern to pass religious informations to the general population which was not able to read the Arabic originals, and to attack customs which the ‘ulam¤ considered to be un-Islamic. On the other hand, as there was no ruler to check the spread of "heretical" teachings, the fear of these very same scholars to reveal "too much" and to cause misinterpretations becomes understandable. Thus, while the reformist Sufis of Bijapur tended to use Arabic and to address themselves to the court instead of the common population (cf. Eaton 1996: 133f.), their South Indian counterparts wrote for the general Muslim population as well. The use of the Arabic script didn't hinder their efforts to reach the laymen, as many of the inhabitants (including women) of the Muslim towns in coastal Tamil Nadu as well as in Sri Lanka were able to read Arabic. In the town of Koothanallur in Tiruvarur district, for example, most people were able to read and write only Arabic, but not Tamil, during the first half of the 20th century (personal communication with Capt. Nam Ameen on 18th of June 2000 in Koothanallur).

 

There are a number of reasons for the decline of Arwi. First, the Sufic background of the authors and their defence of the ·ar¯qas, of beliefs and practices associated with the veneration of the Prophet (like belief in his intercession on judgement-day or mawlid-recitals) and other practices have been attacked and denounced by "purist" groups since the 19th century. The necessity to learn the Tamil script and the easy availability of modern printing presses for this script may also have had their share in the decline (cf. Shu'ayb 1993: 120ff.). Finally, the propagation of Urdu and ignorance of the special Arwi signs among Tamil-speaking Muslims had their impact on Arwi. I often heard people saying things like "araputtamiÈ rompa ka¿·am", "Arabic-Tamil is very difficult", while in fact for somebody who knows both the Tamil and the Arabic script (as many of the people I spoke to did), learning the few special letters would be a matter of hardly one or two hours. That Arwi texts are usually written with vowels makes it much more easy to read them than for example Urdu texts. But it is exactly the ignorance about these special letters which causes the difficulties. Not so much their shape, but the fact that they are not recognised as special letters is to be blamed for this. A discussion I had with two small boys in Parangipettai on the 18th of March 2000 may illustrate this: One of the two boys, who both learned Arabic, had a small booklet containing s¶ras from the Qur'an and prayers. In-between each text were some introductory lines, also written in Arabic script. One of the boys pointed to these and said "Tamil". I spotted some of the special Arwi letters in the sentence and tried to decipher them. The boys apparently had no knowledge of these signs, and insisted on reading them like the Arabic letters on which they were based. This of course produced words which were in no way understandable to the boys, and had they not been told that the language of these sentences was Tamil, they would have probably believed it to be Arabic, too. I indicated to them that the word they read as Çullafadukirathu was Tamil collapa·ukiÉatu, "it is said", and they only started to believe me when I showed them that the word they had pronounced as aff¤ was simply app¤, "father". What startled me most was their unwillingness to accept the Arwi letters as special letters, even though they acknowledged that there were some dots too many in the texts. What had confused them so much was the knowledge of the Persian-based Urdu alphabet, which has a number of sounds in common with Tamil for which special letters had to be devised, like -p- and -c-, but which are often written in a completely different way. Of course, the two boys had expected the use of the very same signs to write Tamil.

 

To make the texts of Arwi authors again available to a greater public, there is a tendency to publish Arwi works in Tamil script nowadays. Poems by K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib as well as the Çad¯th-translations of S¤m Shih¤b ad-D¯n are available in Tamil script (cf. ibid.: 282), and I had no problems obtaining an edition of the Magh¤n¯ by Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s in Tamil script in a bookshop in Chennai, while I couldn't get any in Arabic script. Given the tendency of some editors to make changes to the text ("correcting" colloquial language, translating Arabic words), the original editions in Arabic script are to be preferred to those in Tamil script.

The research of Arwi can offer insights in a number of subjects. The texts are not only interesting for linguists and scholars involved in the study of Islam, but for example also for historians, as many of the poems refer to customs practised in certain periods (the case of paying dowry is one example) or the texts discuss the introduction of new ideas (39). Arwi might also be important for research in the networks across the Indian Ocean, especially with regard to Islamic scholarship and mysticism. Many scholars of the Arwi regions were known for their works in Arabic in Arabia proper, they travelled to the holy places and engaged in discussions on religious topics. In chapter 11 of his book, Shu'ayb lists some examples where the scholars of South India held opinions differing from those traditionally accepted among Arabic scholars. An instance would be the controversy between Shaykh ¾adaqatull¤h and ¾al¤Ç ad-D¯n with the scholar MuÇammad Ja’far al-Barzanji who lived in Mecca on the correct pronunciation of "All¤h" mentioned by Shu'ayb (1993: 382f.).

On the other hand, Arabs and Arabic scholars seem to have visited the important religious places of South India and Sri Lanka fairly often. According to Ajmal Khan, scholars from Arabia came with Shaykh ¾adaqatull¤h to teach in the madrasa founded by him (1985: 55f.). The presence of the Yemenite scholar AÇmad ibn Mub¤rak Mawl¤n¤, one of the teachers of Shaykh Mu¿·af¤, in Kayalpattinam, is another point in case.

Examples for the possible importance of Arwi for cultural contacts with Southeast Asia are the medical book written partly in Javanese and partly in Arwi, among other languages, mentioned in 4.5., and the first Arwi journal being published by a Malay (see also 4.5.). These few examples should be sufficient to indicate Arwi's role in the reception and transmission of Islamic teachings across the Indian Ocean area.

Arwi has passed almost unnoticed among Western scholarship for a long time. But it should not be overlooked that it forms an important part of Muslim culture in Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu.

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Notes

 

(1) Transcription in this article proved to be slightly difficult, as both languages, Tamil as well as Arabic, have established conventions of transcription, which are not always compatible. Tamil words are transcribed according to the system of the Tamil Lexicon of the Madras University, Arabic ones according to the system used in the Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd edition), with the change that q¤f  has been transcribed as -q-, and j¯m as -j- instead of -dj-, and I have indicated the change in pronunciation of the Article "al", thus ad-d¯n instead of al-d¯n. In case of doubt I kept to the way the authors transcribed the word. I wanted to transcribe the Arabic emphatic sounds with two dots instead of the usual one (e.g. -Í-) to distinguish them from the Indian retroflex sounds, but as the IITS font was only prepared to transcribe Indian alphabets, the emphatic -d- is not available, as it is transcribed differently in Persian and Urdu. I hope the using of one-dot-letters for both retroflex and emphatic sounds does not create too much confusion. — The IITS font did not allow to write capital -Ç- or -·- which I would have needed for names like Husayn (Çusayn). The titles proved also to be difficult, as they often contain Arabic and Tamil words. Usually, I kept to the systems of transcription in use for the two languages rather than devising a new one. I didn't indicate the doubling of consonants between Tamil words in Arwi titles. Also, except for the first word of a title, I didn't use capitals to be able to give all diacritical signs. — I would not have been able to write this article without the support of several people in India and Germany. In India, I have to thank Dr. Tayka Shu'ayb, M. Syed Mohamed "Hasan" (Chennai), S. Abdul Hameed (Parangipettai), M. Sayabu Maraicar (Karaikal) and Capt. Nam Ameen (Koothanallur) for informations and supply of books, as well as for their hospitality. In Germany, I want to mention my brother Jochen and Sascha Ebeling of IITS for supplying information that was not available to me while being in India. I also have to thank the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) for granting me a scholarship to study at Pondicherry University. This made it possible for me to participate in the 6th International Islamic Tamil Literary Conference in Chennai from the 30th of November to the 2nd of December 1999, where I first developed the idea of writing an article about Arwi, as well as collecting the information needed for the article. — Muslims may forgive me that I don't indicate ¿alaw¤t after the name of Prophet MuÇammad.  —(back)

(2) Ajmal Khan also mentions the reverence for books written in Arabic characters (1999: 42).  —(back)

(3) According to Uwise, the Term arwi is used to denote the "Tamil language" in Arabic and Arabic-Tamil, and is only rarely used in the meaning "Arabic-Tamil" (1990: 239). But I followed Shu'ayb who wrote that "... the Muslim savants called this language Lis¤nul Arwi and not Arabic Tamil or Arabu-Tamil as it came to be popularly known later" (Shu'ayb 1993: 99f., his italics).  —(back)

(4) I will call him Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s throughout the article, as he is usually referred to by that title. For the Hady¤ m¤lai, I will henceforth use the shortcut HM, and then indicate stanza and line, e.g. 12.2. for stanza 12 line 2. The edition I used can be found in the bibliography under Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s 1996.  —(back)

(5) I have given the Arabic letters by their names, as I couldn't write them, and added the signs used in transcribing them according to the transcription-systems used in this article; Tamil letters are given in transcription.  —(back)

(6) This special case has the further variation of writing -Ê- with the special sign for retroflex -º-.  —(back)

(7) That Arabic r¤ is considered to be equivalent not to the letter -r-, but to -É-, might produce problems in devising a system for transcribing Arwi, as Arabic r¤ and Tamil are both transcribed as -r-. The strong variance in writing the two Tamil -r- letters is even more problematic.  —(back)

(8) According to Shu'ayb, the Persian names of these signs, zabar, zer and pesh, are used among South Indian Muslims instead of the Arabic ones (1993: 98).  —(back)

(9) Shu'ayb gives lists and descriptions of the Arwi letters at several points in his book (1993: LV-LVI, 95-99 & 782ff.). Azeez gives only signs 1, 2, 5 & 6 of the following list plus the vowel-signs (1995: 28).  —(back)

(10) Shu'ayb gives another letter for -··-, but I couldn't find it in any of the texts I surveyed except in a line from the Ras¶l m¤lai quoted by Shu'ayb (1993: 693). The edition of the Hady¤ m¤lai which I consulted doesn't use it, instead writing dfdf with the normal Arwi letter for df and shadd, the Arabic sign used to indicate the doubling of a consonant, the same way all the other double consonants are written. This is also used in the invitation to a wedding given by Shu'ayb in appendix 33(b) (ibid.: 777), to write the name of the town C¯Êa³k­··ai (Sh¯na³k­··ai).  —(back)

(11) It is used once in the invitation given by Shu'ayb in appendix 33(a) (1993: 776, the last letter in the third line from the bottom), but this seems to be a spelling mistake, as -¥- here is part of the plural-marker ka¥ (in this instance ceyv¤rka¥), which is written with the same Arwi letter which is used for -È- throughout the rest of the document (cf. the words just above and below the word mentioned).  —(back)

(12) The author of the commentary felt compelled to "correct" some of these forms, writing n¤Êku for n¤lu and eÊɤr for eº·¤r in his transcription.  —(back)

(13) For example, Shu'ayb gives an English translation of a poem by the "Arwi mystic-poetess" Ras¶l B¯wi (IÉac¶lp¯vi) on p. 413. The translation is, as Shu'ayb states, based on a translation by Sahabdeen (1986:114). The original text and the sources given by Sahabdeen are both in Tamil (cf. ibid.: 297f.). Further, Shu'ayb doesn't mention Ras¶l B¯wi under the heading "Poetesses" (1993: 504). By calling her an "Arwi poetess", he is probably referring not to the fact that she wrote in Arwi, which doesn't seem to have been the case, but that she was an "Arwi Muslim".  —(back)

(14) On p. 493, Shu'ayb (1993) gives the year of death for N¶Ç the Junior as 1856, but this creates problems, as not only most of his works were published after that year, but it would also contradict the established opinion that the first tafs¯r in Arwi was the one by Shaykh Mu¿·af¤, published in 1874, as N¶Ç the Junior himself wrote two tafs¯rs. By the way, if this would be the correct year of death, N¶Ç the Junior would have died at the age of 26, which is a bit too young, as he is credited with a number of works in Arabic and Arwi. Thus, I suppose that the correct dates are those given on p. 277.  —(back)

(15) These are obligatory (w¤jib), supererogatory (sunna), permissible (Çal¤l), undesirable (makr¶h) and forbidden (Çar¤m).  —(back)

(16) According to Shu'ayb, the book was written in Arwi, but neither in the secondary literature nor in the introduction to the latest edition I could find any hint of this (cf. Uwise 1990: 112f. & 219f.; Periya N¶ku 1999: 3-17; cf. also Ajmal Khan 1985: 56), and M. Syed Mohamed "Hasan" also confirmed that it was written in Tamil script (personal communication on 14th of March 2000 in Chennai).  —(back)

(17) These are the two schools Sunnites in South Asia usually belong to. The Çanafi school is followed by more Muslims in South Asia, the sh¤fi‘¯ school being present mainly among the coastal Muslims of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, as well as those in Sri Lanka and the Maldives.  —(back)

(18) It should be noted that according to Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s' own statement, the Magh¤n¯ is not the last work in this chain of religious manuals. This credit goes to the Ghan¯mat as-s¤lik¯n, which will be mentioned in 4.3. (cf. Shu'ayb 1993: 160f.).  —(back)

(19) Ajmal Khan writes that K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib wrote some 40 books in Arabic, Arabic-Tamil and Tamil (1985: 62). He further mentions a work by him called PaÊÊiraº·um¤lai containing Tamil poems (ibid.). It seems to me that he mistook the Shu‘ab ad-d¯n with the total work of K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib, and that the PaÊÊiraº·um¤lai refers to an edition of 12 poems from the Shu‘ab ad-d¯n published in Tamil script (cf. K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib 1990: 6).  —(back)

(20) Shu'ayb mentions a Shar¯‘a m¤lai by K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib, which also seems to be part of this collection (1993: 433 & 454). In fact, Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s quotes several times from an Arwi poem called Shar¯‘a m¤lai in his FatÇ ad-dayy¤n (cf. for example 1963: 22 & 32). As author, he gives just the name ‘Abd al-Q¤dir, which could mean both K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib and K¤yalpa··iÊam Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib. The index doesn't help, as it just adds al-Q¤hir¯ to the name, which in case of South Indian Muslims denotes that he was born in Kayalpattinam (not in Cairo, the usual meaning of al-Q¤hir¯, cf. Shu'ayb 1993: LIII), which is true for both Taikk¤ ¾¤Çibs. But it is quite clear that K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib is meant, as Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s calls him in one instance "...our leader and teacher..." (1963: 501; K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib was the teacher and spiritual guide as well as the father-in-law of Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s). Sadly, the Shar¯‘a m¤lai is not contained in the collection of 20 poems from the Shu‘ab ad-d¯n printed in Tamil script which is available to me (cf. K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib 1990).  —(back)

(21) I am not able to say whether this Hab¯b MuÇammad is identical with the author of Fut¶Ç¤t ar-raÇm¤niyya mentioned in 4.1.

The work "Fath hul Mueen", which Uwise mentions as a work on jurisprudence by Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s (1990: 236), cannot be found in the list of works by him supplied by Shu'ayb (1993: 610-626). But it is mentioned by Shu'ayb that a book named FatÇ al-mu‘¯n by one Makhd¶m Zayn ad-D¯n al-Ma‘bari has been translated into Arwi (1993: 284).  —(back)

(22) Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s states in the FatÇ ad-dayy¤n: "Several books, that are not works on jurisprudence, describe many acts relating to sex in the lessons on ‘Ilmun-Nis¤ (knowledge of women). I have not included them in this work because authorities are not given there" (1963: 453, his italics). I was not able to find any information regarding these works. All the texts containing information on ‘ilm an-nis¤ which I could find or which are mentioned in the books available to me (including the Vªta pur¤ºam, cf. Periya N¶ku 1999: 53-56) seem to deal also with juridical questions (and to give authorities).  —(back)

(23) Sayabu Maraicar mentions a Putti m¤lai as a poem by S¤m Shih¤b ad-D¯n (1996: 153).  —(back)

(24) The Cishtiyya, the most important order of South Asia, is of little importance among Tamil-speaking Muslims.  —(back)

(25) cf. Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s 1996: 38.  —(back)

(26) I have been able to visit several recitations of mawlids, panegyrics, on the Prophet during the last months at the dargah of Ha¹rat ‘Ukk¤sha (Ukk¤¿ in Tamil, cf. Shu'ayb 1993: 14) in Porto Novo, who is said to have been a companion of the prophet and a participant of the battle of Badr.  —(back)

(27) Uwise writes that the Ras¶l m¤lai was written by S¤m Shih¤b ad-D¯n's son, but all other authors contribute it to S¤m Shih¤b ad-D¯n himself.  —(back)

(28) As the Ras¶l m¤lai was written almost at the same time as the C¯É¤ppur¤ºam, the most important Tamil Muslim epic, it might be interesting to compare the two works, especially as there is a legend that S¤m Shih¤b ad-D¯n's brother Shaykh ¾adaqatull¤h supplied the necessary informations to UmaÉuppulavar, author of the C¯É¤ppur¤ºam (cf. Shulman & Subrahmanyam 1993: 524).  —(back)

(29) Both Shu'ayb and Uwise mention a number of other biographies (often said to be translations) on ‘Abd al-Q¤dir J¯l¤n¯ (Shu'ayb 1993: 289; Uwise 1990: 235f.).  —(back)

(30) An interesting detail is that the khu·ba-collection of the Lucknow scholar Mawl¤n¤ ‘Abd al-Hayy (1847-85), who thought that the translation of sermons is "undesirable" (makr¶h), was translated into Arwi and published in 1942 (Shu'ayb 1993: 173ff.).  —(back)

(31) Shu'ayb convincingly argued that the writing of a novel by Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s was facilitated by the importance of prose works in Arabic in comparison to classical Tamil literature. Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s himself wrote a number of prose works in Arabic & Arwi (personal communication with Dr. Shu'ayb on the 28th of November 1999 in Chennai). The title of the edition of the novel in Tamil script has been translated into T¤mirappa··aºam  (Ajmal Khan 1985: 79).  —(back)

(32) Shu'ayb calls the emperor appealed to "Mur¤d" (1993: 480), though this is hardly possible, as the reign of Sultan Murad IV ended in 1640, when most of the brothers were but children (and ¾al¤Ç ad-D¯n wasn't even born yet), and the next Murad to ascend the throne was Murad V from June to August 1876. Thus, if we don't want to dismiss the legend as pious fiction, the Sultan cannot have been called Murad. The most probable ruler would be Sultan Mehmed IV "the Hunter" (reigned 1648-1687).  —(back)

(33) The introduction to Shu‘ab ad-d¯n states that he started the madrasa himself (K¯Èakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib 1990: 7).  —(back)

(34) The life sketch of Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s is based on MuÇammad Nil¤m (1963: xix-xxii & xxvii-xxix), supplemented by information from other books.  —(back)

(35) Shu'ayb gives a couplet in Arabic-Malayalam at the bottom of p. 377 (1993).  —(back)

(36) The son and khal¯fa of ¾¤Çib al-Jalwa, Shaykh AÇmad ‘Abd al-Q¤dir (1891-1976), known as Shaykh N¤yakam, was the president of the South Indian jam¤‘at al-‘ulam¤ (association of Muslim religious scholars). He tried to further the use of Arwi by supporting teaching institutions and encouraging the ‘ulam¤ to use Arwi. Dr. Shu'ayb in turn is his son. (Shu'ayb 1993: 523, 794 & 804).  —(back)

(37) That Shu'ayb mentions him and Kash¤watta MuÇammad Labbai ‘£lim as disciples of KiÈakkarai Taikk¤ ¾¤Çib in one instance (1993: 454) is probably a mistake.  —(back)

(38) The British district gazetteers give a good example to show whom the British considered to be the "real" Muslims. In the district gazetteer of South Arcot district written in 1906, Francis states that "the Musalmans of pure descent (that is, Urdu-speaking Muslims with ties to northern India; my note) hold themselves to be socially superior to the Marakkáyars and the Marakkáyars consider themselves better than the Labbais" (1906: 87; my italics). These Muslims of "pure descent" where considered to be much more worthy of interest than the Tamil-speaking Muslims. The statistical appendix for Madurai from 1905 collectively calls Tamil Muslims "Labbai", while the Urdu-speaking Muslims are parted in different sub-groups like "Sheik" or "Pathán", even though the number of the Urdu-speaking Muslims doesn't exceed 30000, which is only a small group compared with the 137119 "Labbais" mentioned (Statistical Appendix 1905: 7).  —(back)

(39) The introduction of the ideas of the puristic Wahh¤biyya, for example, can be traced in Arwi texts. Im¤m al-‘Ar¶s refutes the ideas of ‘Abd al-Wahh¤b, the founder of the Wahh¤biyya, and two of his disciples, in his FatÇ ad-dayy¤n (cf. 1963: 296f.). —(back)