Bhopal, Kerala and the splitting of the moon
Random thoughts
By Dr A Q Khan
In my columns of July 22 and Oct 14, 2009, I had written in detail about Raja Bhojpal of Bhopal, his sighting of the splitting of the moon, sending his son, Mata Din, with a delegation to Madina, embracing Islam, etc. I had also written about the Raja of Kerala sending his son with a delegation to Madina, their meeting with the Holy Prophet (PBUH), embracing Islam (taking the Muslim name of Mohiuddin), the marriage of the prince to the daughter of a companion of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and the whole delegation embracing Islam. The most recent article by Mr Javedullah Raja (Jang, Feb 20) points out that the ruler himself had also gone to Madina where he embraced Islam and took the Muslim name of Tajuddin. Prince Mohiuddin, after becoming the ruler, built a mosque (Cheraman Jamia Mosque) in the name of his father. This mosque is considered to be the first mosque built on the subcontinent. In response to the above-mentioned columns, some interesting and informative articles appeared in Jang.
Here I would like to summarise the information that is now available. I had already thanked my dear Bhopali friend, Tameezul Haque, for the photocopy of an article that had appeared in the Kerala Magazine, which had been published in Tarikh-e-Uzbekistan and was written by Syed Kamaluddin Ahmed, which prompted me to write the second column. Another Bhopali friend and senior Jang columnist, Mr Muhammad Ahmad Sahzwari, gave me more valuable information on Raja Bhojpal, which I am reproducing here with his kind permission.
“There are various stories about Raja Bhojpal and it is said that many successive rulers used this title. The particular Raja who had witnessed the splitting of the moon had sent various people abroad to verify it. The delegation that visited Madina (which included his son), met the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and presented to him the gifts, which included betel leaves, sent from Bhopal. This delegation returned to Bhopal with Abdullah Sahabi. After talking to him, the Raja too embraced Islam. Shah Abdul Aziz Mohaddis Dehlvi has mentioned this fact in his book entitled: Shahadaten Maujezat. Maulana Abbas Rafat (a disciple of Ghalib) went to Peerandhar in 1265 AH (ca. 1844 AD), where he saw the grave of Raja Bhojpal at the foot of the grave of Abdullah Sahabi. Authentic information comes from Nawab Shah Jehan Begum, who mentioned the name of the companion of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) as Abdullah Changal (probably “Jandal” as there is no “che” or “gaaf” in Arabic. The only other possibility is that Abdullah (RA) was of Iranian origin). In her poetry, “Qasida”, it is mentioned that some Muslims had come to Bhopal and had called for prayer in the morning, which the non-Muslims there did not like. The Muslims were subsequently martyred and their bodies thrown into a well. Then came Abdullah (RA) and Raja Bhojpal converted to Islam after holding discussions with him. With the passing of time, their graves turned into ruins. It was Emperor Khalij Mahmood who later had them restored it, built a mausoleum, a beautiful guest mosque and a guest house. The date in which this took place has been mentioned as 859 AH (ca. 1438 AD)”.
Mr Sabzwari has referred to an important and invaluable article written by Dr Salahuddin A Khan (Jang, Dec 27), in which he deliberated on the splitting of the moon and specifically mentioned the first mosque of the subcontinent – the Cheraman Jamia Mosque – which the ruler of Kerala built in memory of his late father. He had specifically requested that, if anyone had any information about this mosque, they should publish it for the benefit of those interested. The same request was made by Mr Salahuddin A Khan. On Jan 12, Mr Zia-ur-Rahman Siddiqui wrote a column in Jang under the caption “The first mosque of the subcontinent” in which he gave details regarding the existence and condition of the mosque. He referred to a magazine, Saut-ul-Quran, dated November 2004, which he had received from Dr Haq Nawaz Awan, a teacher at Jamia Ashrafia, Sukkur. This magazine was published by Shah Wajihuddin Academy, Ahmadabad (Gujarat, India). It carried an article by the noted and respected scholar, Maulana Akhtar Imam Adil, in which he described in beautiful, breath-taking words the details of the Cheraman Jamia Mosque. He takes you on a verbal tour of the mosque. He writes: “The mosque is situated near a beach. I, together with my friends, personally went there (District Dangloria) and viewed it from all sides, inside and outside. We offered two rakat navafils. The entrance of the mosque has a plaque with the date 8 AH (629 AD) inscribed on it. The inner and outer structures are very similar to Masjid-e-Nabvi. This confirms the existence of the mosque, even today, and may be considered as evidence of the splitting of the moon. If time has taken its toll on the structure, that is understandable. However, the descriptions given by both Maulana Akhtar Imam Adil and Dr Salahuddin A Khan are very similar. My purpose here has been to satisfy Dr Salahuddin A Khan and, at the same time, to inform the readers, of the exact location of the mosque. Since his was a good deed and also shows his great love for the mosque (and religion), I pray to Almighty Allah to shower all His blessings on him.”
On Feb 20, Jang published an excellent article written by Mr Javedullah Raja entitled “The first mosque of the subcontinent.” In this article he also named the Cheraman Malik Mosque and has given important and authentic information about it. He has mentioned details of the interview between the heir of Valia Thampuram, the ruler of Kerala, and Mr A U Asif, a journalist. In this he confirmed that the ruler of Kerala had himself gone to Madina, had embraced Islam at the hands of our Holy Prophet (PBUH) and in the presence of Hazrat Abu Bakar (RA), after which he was given the Muslim name of Tajuddin (his son’s Muslim name being Mohiuddin). He died at Salalah (Oman) on his return journey. Before dying he gave a letter to his minister and sent him together with one Sahabi Malik bin Dinar (RA) to Kerala, advising his heir to build a mosque, which later became known as the Cheraman Malik Mosque. This mosque, with its original (renovated) structure, still stands at Kodungalur. Mr Javed has also mentioned an article by Mr Khalil Ahmad Irfani, Sajjada Nashin Dergal, Lalu Bhai Qaiser Chishti (Khwaja Banaglore) and Asfana Irfania Hyderabad, which confirms the information provided by Mr Asif. I earnestly request Mr Javed to publish all the available information and photographs about this mosque in Jang Magazine. May God bless him.
By writing these informative articles, the authors did a good service to readers by disseminating this information about our rich heritage to the people of the subcontinent. May Almighty Allah shower his blessings on Mr Muhammad Ahmad Sabzwari, Mr Tameez-ul-Haque, Dr Salahuddin A Khan, Mr Zia-ur-Rahman Siddiqui, Dr Haq Nawaz Awan, Maulana Akhtar Imam Adil and Mr Javedullah Raja – Ameen.
What I have done is merely to summarise the information available for the benefit of those interested in gaining more knowledge on the subject.
