Rama Kulasekhara

Cheraman Perumal was a famous king of Kerala who embraced Islam at the hands of Malik Bin Deenar.

Background

In 644 AD [1]Malik bin Deenar and 12 of his trade associates landed in Kerala, a state at the southern tip of India and continued the trade between India and Arabia. Their way of trading however was distinctly different from that of earlier Arab traders and the populace was wooed to Islam.

The King of the time, Cheraman Perumal, came to know of the surprising trade practices of these Arabs and had them brought to his palace. On enquiry, Malik Bin Deenar and his comrades related the reason for their honest trade practices to be their recent conversion to Islam.

Cheraman Perumal asked them what is this Islam which can so radically change the conduct of Arab thugs (who were so feared in Kerala that when an Arab ship downed anchor in port, people hid their women and buried their treasure) to so decent a nature that the populace was attracted to their trade and religion. The Arabs then described the tenets of Islam and talked about their Prophet. The king then wanted to know if there was any proof that this person is indeed a Prophet. The traders described the Mujizaat (supernatural deeds) of the Prophet, including the Shaqq Al Qamar or the splitting of the moon into two.

Cheraman Perumal then summoned his Hindu Astrologers who consulted their almanacs and reported a similar phenomenon recorded by them. The King forthwith abdicated his throne and left with Malik Bin Deenar for Arabia where it is chronicled that he met the Prophet Muhammad and performed the famous Last Hajj with him. On his journey back, he was drowned in a tempest which destroyed his ship and his body came ashore at Salalah, Oman where his grave is a famous landmark today.