Muchundi Mosque

Muchundi Mosque
Muchundi Mosque
Location in Kerala, India
Basic information
Location Kuttichira, Kozhikode
Geographic coordinates 11°14′31″N 75°46′36″E / 11.24194°N 75.77667°E / 11.24194; 75.77667Coordinates: 11°14′31″N 75°46′36″E / 11.24194°N 75.77667°E / 11.24194; 75.77667
Affiliation Islam (Sunni-Shafi'i)
District Kozhikode
State Kerala
Year consecrated 13th century AD
Architectural description
Architectural type Mosque
Architectural style Kerala Temple Architecture
Completed 13th century AD (oldest portions)
Specifications
Dome(s) Nil
Minaret(s) Nil
Spire(s) Nil

Muchundi Mosque (Malayalam: മുച്ചുന്തിപളളി Muccunti - Palli, formerly Muchandi Palli[1] or Muchiyan Palli) is a mosque located at Kuttichira, within in the city of Kozhikode (Calicut) in the Indian state of Kerala. Kuttichira is the medieval Muslim quarter in the city of Calicut.[2][3][4] It is situated south of Mishkal Mosque, Kuttichira Tank and the Kuttichira Jum'ah Masjid. The mosque does not conduct the jum'ah prayers – the special noon service on Friday that all adult, male, free Muslims are obliged to attend.

The mosque was established by certain Shihab ud-Din Raihan - a freed slave of a person called Masu'd - in the 13th century AD. Historians tentatively assume that "Muchiyan" was the old Malayalam name given to Shihab-ud-Din Raihan by the Hindus. He purchased the piece of land from its owner out of his own money, and constructed thereon the mosque. The Samutiris of Kozhikode (the Zamorins of Calicut), a line Hindu kings, were the protectors of the mosque in medieval times. The salary of the qadi of the mosque was paid by the Samutiri of Kozhikode. [5]

The present mosque structure is built in Kerala architectural style, without minarets, domes or arches. The original foundation must have supported one of the oldest mosque in Kozhikode. Muchundi Mosque holds a granite inscription dating back to the 13th century AD [based on paleography, the inscription is undated]. It is engraved in an older form of Malayalam language and Arabic.[6] The inscription is the only surviving historical document recording royal endowment by a Hindu ruler [the Samutiri of Kozhikode as Punturakon], in the form of a grant, to the Muslim community in Kerala.[3] Roof of the mosque contains elaborate calligraphy of the Qur'anic verses, decorated with carved flowers on the side.[5]

A medieval aristocratic Muslim house called "Muchintakam" is situated close to the mosque. A traditional jaram – a mausoleum/tomb – called "Muchiyante Jaram" is also found there. Historians assume that the mosque must have been established by a person called "Muchiyan", perhaps a wealthy Arab merchant settled at Kozhikode, and hence the name "Mosque of Muchiyan".[3][7]

The mosque is sometimes associated with Shaikh Zain-ud-Din Makhdum II, the 16th century polymath, the famous author of Tuhafat al-Mujahidin. It may be in this mosque the Makhdum II used to teach students and probably this is where he wrote his famous books.[8]

Muchundi Mosque Inscription

W. Logan (1841–1914) was the first person to understand the significance of the Muchundi Mosque Inscription

William Logan, former Collector and Magistrate of Malabar District, makes a reference to the Muchundi Inscription in his famous manual Malabar (1887). The mosque is called "Machchinde Mosque" by W. Logan. The inscription, discarded by generations of Kerala historians and scholars, was finally deciphered by M. G. S. Narayanan, M. R. Raghava Warrier and Kunhu Muhammed.[3]

Muchundi Inscription is a donative inscription of the medieval rulers of port Kozhikode (Calicut). This highly damaged, worn and fragmentary epigraph is engraved on a granite stone slab. The slab is seen as fixed on the wall at Mosque Muchundi. The inscription is undated, but can be positioned on paleographic grounds to the 13th century AD. The content is divided on functional grounds between old Malayalam and Arabic. The concluding portion is in Arabic, while the functional portion recording the specific details of the donation is in old Malayalam. The script of the old Malayalam portion is Vateluttu, a type of medieval script closely related to modern Malayalam and Tamil. The letters are not carved into the stone surface – like the usual Kodungallur Chera style – but are raised on the stone in imitation of the standard practice in Islamic inscriptions.[3]

The text is divided into two distinct halves. First half has 32 very short lines in old Malayalam. Although the rulers of Calicut were devout Hindus, there is no typical invocations ("Svasta Sri!" or "Sri!") to Indian gods. However the concluding Arabic portions, the second half, does include the opening prayer from Qur'an.[3]

Text

Muchundi Inscription. The left portion contains Vateluttu characters (old Malayalam) and the right portion contains Arabic characters

The inscription – starting as "an order of the Punturakkon" – describes the grant of certain land [entitled to all rights and revenues accruing from the granted lands in perpetuity] by "the Kon of Puntura" to "the Muchiyan Palli" for the daily affairs and maintenance [of the mosque]. Punturakkon ordered that the daily expenses of one nazhi of rice should be granted to Muchiyan Palli. It seems that, the lands were assigned to the mosque for that purpose. The inscription mentions two local place names "Kunnamangalam" and "Pulikkizhu" [the granted land] and the assignment of revenue from the two places for the expenditure of the mosque.[3]

The concluding Arabic portion, the second half, denotes an act of private donation. It starts with the opening prayer from Qur'an. The donor Shihab-ud-Din Raihan [a freed slave of one late Mas'ud] purchased the piece of land out of his own money and constructed thereon the Muchundi mosque, a well and made provision for its imam and mua'dhdhin by constructing a big edifice.[3]

As per M. G. S. Narayanan, the old Malayalam (Vatteluttu) portion can be read as, [9]

"This is an order of Punturakkon, this is to...by the Officer - in - Attendance (Kettu Viliyan). He ordered that daily expenses of one nazhi [of rice should be] granted to the Muchiyan's Mosque...He ordered that from Kunnamangalam...Pulikkizhu...to the Mosque...future also...Twelve para..."

As per Z. A. Desai, the Arabic portion can be read as, [10]

"Shihab-ud-Din Raihan was a freed slave (atiq) of the late Mas'ud, purchased (?) Out of his own money, land from its owner and constructed thereon this mosque and well and made (provision) for its imam and mua'dhdhin by constructing a big edifice"

Historians tentatively assume that "Muchiyan" was the old Malayalam name given to Shihab-ud-Din Raihan by the Hindus. Traveller Ibn Batutah (14th century AD) indicated that certain Shihab-ud-Din Khasaruni was a Port Officer (Shah Bandar) of the Samutiri of Kozhikode.[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Madras High Court (Muthala Kandi Katturi Koya Molla vs Palli Veetil Abu Baker on 16 July, 1912) Equivalent citations: 17 Ind Cas 386 Author: S Aiyar Bench: S Aiyar, S Aiyar
  2. ↑ Narayanan, M. G. S, 'The Zamorin's Gift to the Muccunti Mosque' in Cultural Symbiosis in Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Historical Society, 1972.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 M. G. S. Narayanan. "Kozhikkodinte Katha". Malayalam/Essays. Mathrubhumi Books. Second Edition (2017) ISBN 978-81-8267-114-0
  4. ↑ Kerala Tourism Kuttichira (Calicut)
  5. 1 2 3 Sakkeer Hussian. E. M. (2016) "ADVENT OF ISLAM IN KERALA AND SOCIAL HARMONY AS REFLECTED IN MANUSCRIPTS" Centre for Manuscriptology Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit (Kerala)
  6. ↑ Proceedings - Indian History Congress, 59th Session Patiala. Indian History Congress (1999) pp. 396 - 402
  7. ↑ Narayanan, M. G. S, 'The Zamorin's Gift to the Muccunti Mosque' in Cultural Symbiosis in Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Historical Society, 1972.
  8. ↑ TwoCircles.net. "Historical mosques of Malabar | TwoCircles.net". twocircles.net. Retrieved 2017-02-08.
  9. ↑ Narayanan, M. G. S, 'The Zamorin's Gift to the Muccunti Mosque' in Cultural Symbiosis in Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Historical Society, 1972.
  10. ↑ Desai, Z. A, A Topographical List of Arabic, Persian and Urdu Inscriptions of South India. New Delhi: Indian Council of Historical Research, 1989.
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