The Chronicle of Waqf and Inception of Mosques in Malabar: A Study Based on Qissat Manuscript

Abstract

The first mosque of South and South East Asia was established in
Malabar and it was built with generous Waqf property. This paper will discuss
the history of early Waqf lands and nature of the Mosques, relying on the
manuscript preserved in the British library titled Qissat Shakarwati Farmad
,which provides a detailed note on the first ten mosques, established in various
port towns of Malabar and the exact measurement of land assigned and
contributed (waqf) to these mosques. The rulers had provided all the facilities
to the religious group that came from Arabia to propagate Islam as requested
by King Cheraman Perumal, who embraced Islam in Makkah. The exact days
and dates along with the specialty of the land selected for building mosques
in various towns were documented in the Qissat manuscript. The ten mosques
described in Qissat were, Kodungallure, Kollam, Ezhimala, Shri Khandapuram,
Dharmadam, Panthalayani, Chaliyam, Badkkal, Mangalapuram, Kasargode.
These historic sites were personally visited for research purpose and the position
of the land and structure of the existing mosques were rechecked. During this
research, two different copies of Qissat Shakarwati Farmad were identified and
critically analyzed; one from the personal library of Ahmed Koya Shaliyathi
and the other from the library of Pangil Ahmed Kutty Musliyar, two renowned
Islamic scholars who lived in the last century and contributed much to
the intellectual realm of Malabar Muslims. The history of early waqf and the
first mosques are the history of advent of Islam in the region and its strategic
social involvement, including building bri