Hinduism, islam, and christianity are among the many religions practiced in India. The beginnings and development of islam in the nation are described in a variety of ways.
According to one view, islam spread gradually over northern india after entering through Punjab. The Mughal kings spread islam along this path. On the other hand, another viewpoint maintains that the southern state of kerala is where islam first appeared in India. Both assertions are accurate.
As early as the 7th century, islam entered india through kerala, according to a News18 hindi story. Through both the northern and southern channels, it expanded, acquiring distinct shapes, traits, and natures in each location.
Around the seventh century, Arab traders brought islam to india via Kerala. About 500 years later, Turkish and Persian monarchs brought a particular kind of islam to northern India. islam was spread over the northern areas by these conquerors. Consequently, Muslims in kerala were more impacted by Arab culture, whereas Muslims in northern india were more impacted by Turkish and Persian culture.
Keralan Muslims continue to have close cultural links to Arab nations.
When Arab traders came to kerala during the time of the Prophet Muhammad in the seventh century, islam made its way there. The Chera dynasty's monarch is reported to have converted to islam as a result of the traders' influence. Following his conversion, he married Nejad Sultan, an Arab lady, and traveled to Arabia to visit Prophet Muhammad. He died in Salalah, Oman, but resided in Arabia. Prior to his death, he gave the order to convert his palace into the first mosque on the indian subcontinent.
Arun Mohan, a Quora member, wrote a thorough post about this. His tweet claims that Muslims in kerala were historically referred to as "Mappila," which translates to "son-in-law." This phrase originated from the fact that the majority of Kerala's Muslim population was the product of marriages between Arabs and the state's Nair community. The ruler of the Chera dynasty initiated the practice.
Arabs were regarded as their sons-in-law in the Nair community. Nonetheless, these couplings' offspring were accepted as Muslims. All of the Nair community's legal and social rights and benefits were likewise extended to them. The Mappila Muslims were seen as belonging to the Nair society and were given a high caste position.
Because of this, Muslims in kerala frequently go by names that are regional variations of Arabic. For example, Razia becomes Rathu, ahmed becomes Amad, Fatima is abbreviated to Pathu, Abdullah becomes Abdu, and Muhammad becomes Mammad.
Prefixes from Nair traditions, such as Kutty (child), Kunji (little), Umma (mother), Ikka (brother), and Kunni (sister), were frequently used in Muslim names in Kerala. If two people in a family were named Muhammad, for example, the elder would be known as Muhammad Ikka and the younger as Muhammad Kutty. The prefix Umma was often held by girls.
In addition, it was typical for Keralans to take on their mother's family name and sub-caste in addition to their given name, which was in keeping with the Nair tradition of recognizing their maternal ancestry as a component of who they were.