| Country | Malabar Coast |
|---|---|
| Language | Arabic |
| Genre | Legend |
Qissat Shakarwati Farmad (alternatively Qissat Shakruti Firmad, literally "Tale of the Great Chera Ruler") is an Arabic manuscript of anonymous authorship.[1][2] It is argued that the qissat is the oldest, most detailed, and comprehensive recorded version of the Cheraman Perumal legend (of south India).[3]
The Cheraman Perumal legend traces the introduction of Islam on the Malabar Coast. All muslim sources from 1500 CE tell the story of a traditional Hindu spice trader from Kerala, called the Cheraman Perumal[4] divided his spice trade among his family and business partners[2] and sailed for Jeddah for the annual pilgrimage to the Syrian city of Petra & to the Kaaba in Mecca, the shrine of the Quraysh, in a pre-islamic predecessor to the Islamic hajj.[2] He may have died on his return trade journey from Syria to Malabar Coast.[2]
Shakarwati Farmad is an Arabic version of the medieval Indian royal title "Chakravarti Cheraman Perumal". The Chera (Spice Merchant) king is also referred in the text as "al-Sultan Shakrawati".[3] The qissat is currently preserved in British Library (India Office Records, MS. Islamic 2807d, fols. 81a-104a).[1][2]
- ^ a b O. Loth, Arabic Manuscripts in the Library of the India Office (London: Secretary of State of India, 1877), no. 1044.
- ^ a b c d e Y. Friedmann, "Qissat Shakarwati Farmad: A Tradition Concerning the Introduction of Islam to Malabar", Israel Oriental Studies 5 (1975), 239-241.
- ^ a b Prange, Sebastian R. Monsoon Islam: Trade and Faith on the Medieval Malabar Coast. Cambridge University Press, 2018. 95-98.
- ^ Y. Friedmann, "Qissat Shakarwati Farmad: A Tradition Concerning the Introduction of Islam to Malabar", Israel Oriental Studies 5 (1975), 239-241.
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