SAYYID HASAN JIFRI

(1720 AD- 1764 AD )

Mohammed Abdul Sathar. K.K “History of ba-alawis in Kerala ” Thesis.

Department of History , University of Calicut, 1999
 CHAPTER - I11

SAYYID HASAN JIFRI (1720 AD - 1764 AD)

Sayyid Hasan ~ i f r iwas the cousin of Shaikh

~ifri.' He was born in 1720 A.D. (1133 A.H.) at Tarim
in Hadramawt. His father was Hasan Ibn Shaikh Ibn
Hasan Ibn Alawi. He Came to Malabar in 1755/'56 AD
(1168 AH) on the invitation of Shaikh Jifri. About his
arrival in Malabar W. Logan observes: "In the early
part of the 18th Century a Tangal named Sayyid Hussain
Ibn Alabi Jifri Tangal, who is supposed to have settled
at the place called ~ a m p u r a m " . ~He was the disciple of
Sayyid Mnhammad Ibn Hamid of Quilandi. At first Sayyid
Nasan Jifri settled at Quilandi and then moved to
Pcnnani for higher studies along with Sayyid Abdu
Rahman ~ y d r o s e . ~During this period Ponnani was the
major centre of Islamic learning. He was very much
worried about the ideological differences among Muslim
theologians and masses. Hasan jifri was an arch critic
of adopting customs and traditions which marred the

1. C.K. Kareem, Kerala ~ u s l i m History, Statistic,

Directory (~alayalam),Vol.111, Kochi, 1991, p.239.
2. W. Logan, Malabar, Vol.11, Madras, 1889, p.ccclix.
3. C.N. Ahmed Moulavi, K.K. Muhamed Abdul Kareem,
Mahataya Mappila Sahitiaya Paramparyam (Malayalam),
Calicut, 1978, p.174.
teachings of Quran and Hadith. H e had succeeded to
4
p r e s e n t h i s a r g u m e n t s i n a l o g i c a l a n d c o h e r e n t way.

S e t t l e m e n t a t Mamburam

Jamaludheen Maqdum, t h e Q a z i of Tirurangadi

i n v i t e d him t o s e t t l e t h e r e . Hence S a y y i d H a s a n Jifri

moved t o T i r u r a n g a d i and s e t t l e d there. Tirurangadi

was a c e n t r e o f r e l i g i o u s learning a s w e l l as t h e hot

bed of anti-British anti-colonial activities. Before

h i s a r r i v a l i n T i r u r a n g a d i , a s a i n t p o p u l a r l y known as

'Arabi Tangal' (Whose r e a l name a n d n a t i v e p l a c e i s n o t

known) settled in Tirurangadi and persuaded the

Mappilas to fight the British. As a result of his

anti-colonial activities, the British committed all

s o r t s of a t r o c i t i e s i n Tirurangadi. Thus, t h e Mappilas

were looking f o r a new l e a d e r s h i p which would guide

5
them p r o p e r l y .

Sayyid Hasan J i f r i g a v e successful guidance

and leadership to t h e people of the locality. He

convinced them t h a t dynamic and s t r o n g leadership as

well as s u f f i c i e n t preparations were essential for

4. C.K. Kareem, o p . c i t . , pp.239-40.

5. C.'N. Ahmed M o u l a v i a n d K . K . Muhamed Abdul Kareem,

op.cit., pp.174-75.
meaningful agitation against colonial rule. British

a u t h o r i t i e s t r i e d t h e i r maximum t o a p p e a s e him. But

he had followed t h e g l o r i o u s tradition of ~ s ~ ~ l a w i

Sayyids o f Hadramawt i n t h i s r e s p e c t a s n o t e d by R.B.

Serjeant .7
Sayyid Hasan J i f ' r i g o t a r o u s i n g welcome in

Tirurangadi. A c c o r d i n g t o W.Logan Tirurangadi means

the s a c r e d b a z a r or t h e p l a c e o f b a z a r i n the sacred

country o f Cheranad. T i r u r a n g a d i i s i n Trikulam Amsom

and the seat of t h e Deputy Tahsildar of the Sub

R e g i s t r a r of Assurances and o f t h e P o l i c e Inspector of

t h e D i v i s i o n , a n d c o n t a i n s a P o s t o f f i c e , a b a z a r and a
8
well a t t e n d e d weekly market. I t shows T i r u r a n g a d i was

not only a c e n t r e of r e l i g i o u s learning but also a

commercial c e n t r e , where p e o p l e f r o m r e m o t e a r e a s met

weekly t o e x c h a n g e t h e i r p r o 6 u c t s . T h e r e f o r e , news of

the settlement of a person having noble descent

S p r e a d l i k e w i l d f i r e among t h e r u r a l masges.

A f t e r a f e w d a y s s t a y a t t h e J a m a ' t mosque of
Tirurangadi, Sayyid Hasan Jifri shifted to the

6. Ibid.

7. S e e , R.B. S e r j e a n t , Sayyids of Hadramawt f o r

-
Ba-
lawis is' v i e w o n S u l t a n s a n d E n g l i s h .
8. W. Logan, o p . c i t . , p.ccci.
' ~ a l i y a k a t h o d i ' h o u s e which was g i v e n by Kamrnu Molla,

the Mutawalli of Tirurangadi Jama Masjid. The

' ~ a l i y a k a t h o d i ' h o u s e was l o c a t e d i n t h e s o u t h o f the

mosque. H e m a r r i e d Kamrnu M o l l a ' S daughter.' After his

marriage Hasan J i f r i set up his family's permanent

residence. a t Mamburam on t h e n o r t h e r n bank of the

Kadalundi r i v e r . H e l i v e d i n a house c a l l e d Tarammal.

The t e r m - T a r a m m a l d e r i v e d from Tarim. After settling

down t h e r e t h e ~ s - i l a w i S a y y i d s were v e r y popular as

Mamburam Tangals o r Tararnmal T a n g a l s . After Sayyid

Hasan J i f r i , t h e Two T a n g a l s - .Sayyid ' A l a w i and h i s son

Sayyid F ~ z l - chose t h e same place to settle-and

Tirurangadi became the centre of attraction of the

whole . c o u n t r y a s a r e s u l t o f t h e Mappila u p r i s i n g s of

nineteenth century. He had a d a u g h t e r named F a t h i m a i n

his f i r s t m a r r i a g e . l 0 B e s i d e s Kammu Molla 'S daughter,

S a y y i d Hasan J i f r i m a r i e d a s i s t e r o f s a y y i d Mahmud, a

person who came from A r a b i a . l1 ~ u t -t h e r e is no

r e f e r e n c e about h i s children i n t h i s marriage.

- - --

9. K . K . Muhamed Abdul Kareem, S a-y-y i d Alawi Tangal,

R e p r i n t , V e n i y u r , 1982, p.20.
3

10. Ibid. , p.21.

Yissionary Acti.vities

Foll6wing the traditions of B;-'Alawi Sayyids,

Sayyid Hasan Jifri travelled in Ernad, Walluwanad and
Ponnani taluks preaching the message of Islam. He
advised the Muslims to observe the sharia, warned them
against forbidden practices and asked them to keep away
from bidat or heresy. Actually this type of preaching
had been the professi.on of ~ ~ - ' ~ l a wsaints
i for
generations. He had sent out his disciples to various
parts of soath Malabar for missionary activities. His
father-in-law Kammu Molla was sent to Pang for the same
purpose.

A lzrge number of' people belonging to

different caste and creed used t o visit him and sought
his spiritual blessings. He advised his disciple to be
the living examples of the tolerance taught by Islam. 12
Therefore, his abode at Mamburam was a seat of communal
harmony, friendship and religious unity. Perhaps the
institution of blessing-which later created constant
head-ache to the British.authoritles - was instituted
by Hasan Jifri.

12. C.K. Kareem, op.cit., p.240.

 Sayyid Hasan Jifri led the life of a sufi. He
never amassed wealth. He got valuable presents and
donations from his visitors and disciples. But he gave
it as charity to the needy and poor. He vehemently
opposed superstitious practices and beliefs as well as
raised his voice against injustice.l3 Before his
death he had made arrangements to marry his daughter
Fathima to his sister& son Sayyid i ~ l a w i ,who had also
14
come from Arabia.

There was not even a single work authored by

hirn.15 He devoted his time to meditation, learning and
preaching and was ready to bless the people who
approached him for solving their personal problems. He
had prepared the geneology of ~ ~ J ~ l aclan.
w i Sayyid
Hasan Jifri died at Mamburam in 1764 A.D. (1178 A.H.).
His tomb is located in the West part of the Mamburam
shrine.17 This shrine was built over the grave of his

13. Ibid.
14. K.K. Muhamed Abdul Kareem, op.cit., p.21.
15. None of the published works mentioned it.
16. Dale & Menon in their article 'Sayyids in Malabar'
quote it from the Plate of Geneology and Jifri,
p.36.'

17. K.K. Muhamed Abdul Kareem, op.cit., p.22.

uncle by S a y y i d 'Alawi i n t h e t h i r d year after his

arrival at Mamburam or in the 8th year after his

u n c l e ' s d e a t h . l8 T h i s s h r i n e l a t e r became a c e n t r e of

piligrimage. Both Mappilas and Hindus visited the

shrine f o r s e e k i n g r e c o v e r y from prolonged sickness,

f o r good c r o p s e t c .
19

Hasan Jifri never indulged i n political or

socio-economic grievances of t h e people, though he

r a i s e d h i s p r o t e s t a g a i n s t i n j u s t i c e , he n e v e r aimed a t

organising t h e oppressed i n l a r g e s c a l e t o fight the

oppressors. His aim s e e m t o b e purify the Mappila

community f r o m s u p e r s t i t i o u s b e l i e f s and customs a n d t o

maintain c o r d i a l r e l a i t o n with f e l l o w beings. In this

r e ~ p e c t h i s m i s s i o n had g o t o n l y p a r t i a l s u c c e s s . Of

course, his nephew a n d s o n - i n - l a w Sayyid ' ~ l a w i h a d

begun his m i s s i o n f r o m where S a y y i d Hasan Jifri had

ended o r S a y y i d Hasan J i f r i had p r e p a r e d t h e ground f o r

the anti-colonial activities that culminated under

Sayyid 'Alawi a n d h i s s o n S a y y i d F a z l .

1 9 . Govt. of Madras, j u d i c i a l , G.O. 2nd May 18851

No.1169.