Surti Muslims - Origin

Origin

The etymological root of the Bohras is in the Gujarati term ‘vohoru’, meaning ‘to trade’. Bohras have been given the name 'Bohra' due to the occupations that they are associated with, particularly in the case of the Dawoodi Bohra who are Shia. Sunni Vohra tend to be associated with agricultural occupations but may have been called vohra due to cultural and ancestral links with the Dawoodi Bohras. It's possible that the Vaishya caste provided the bulk of the converts due to associations with trade and agriculture.

The creation of the Sunni Bohra/Vohra according to some sources dates back to the 15th century when there was schism in the Bohra community of Patan in Gujarat. It's claimed that apparently large numbers of Gujaratis converted from Mustaali Ismaili to Hanafi Sunni fiqh. The leader of this conversion movement to Sunni was Jafar. Thus this new group is known as Jafari Bohras and Patani Bohras. In 1538, Syed Jafar Ahmad Shirazi convinced Patani Bohras to cease social relations with Ismaili Bohras. The cumulative results of these pressures resulted in over one million Bohras converting from Ismaili Shia Fiqh to Sunni Hanafi Fiqh.

Arab origins of Vohras are suggested because 'Mas'udi, a well known Arab topographer visited Bharuch and Khambhat in 303/915, and when he reached Chaimur, a port close to Bharuch, he witnessed a colony of about 10,000 Arab Muslims who had just arrived from Baghdad, Kufa Najaf and Basra, both cities in Iraq. They were known as Baysarah and had settled down in this strategic point.

Sulaiman Basri and Abu Zaid Sirani who visited India in the middle of the 3rd century have recorded in their Safar (travel logs and ledgers) that a large number of Arab traders were present in India in Kambhayath (Cambay, present day Khambhat), Bharuch (Broach), Chaimur, Ghander, Thana, Sopara and other areas. When Al-Mas'udi came to India in the beginning of the 4th century, he spoke of a presence of what he estimated to be 10,000 Arab Muslims in one area of Gujarat alone.

Following Arab conquests, the Arab traders poured into Gujarat through the sea route as well as by land. It is possible that well-known Nur Al-Din came to Gujarat via Multan and Sindh, alongside an influx of the other Arab traders and soldiers. From a number of internal evidences, we can infer that the Arabs came to Gujarat in the 1st century of Islam.

Following the Conquest of Gujarat in 1024 by Mahmud of Ghazni, with Afghan troops reaching, conquering and settling as far south as Surat District, it is commonly claimed by many Surti Muslims that they are descended from Muslim Turkomen (Turk-Iman) invaders.

The Surti Muslims families that claim Middle Eastern ancestry in India are as follows:

Kanoriwala Family

There was a great scholar called Muhammed Saddiq Wa'iz (d. 1041/1641) who’s is the author of a tafsir (commentary) of the Qur'an and another book called Tanbih Al-Juhhal (Warning to Ignorants). Both works are well known. His Brother Muhammed Salih was also a great scholar wrote the well known work of Sadqullah (The Truth of Allah), the hand written copy which is deposited in the Pir Muhammed Shah Library in Ahmadabad. Shaikh Muhammed Salif wrote in the introduction his book that one Shaikh Ahmad Quraishi came from Madina, Arabia to Kambhayath (Cambay) and settled down there. History recorded that he had a son called Yaqub, who was still residing there in 1041/1631 when the book was written. In margin of this book, the entire family genealogy is reproduced which goes back to Abu Bakr Siddiq who was descendant from Adnan from the Adnani Arabs who was descendants from Prophet Ismael the son of Prophet Ibrahim from Babylon southern Iraq.

The Narmawala Family

The Narmawala Family living in Ahmadabad and Surat and they are originally from Taif in Arabia and their complete genealogy is available detailing their origin from Shaikh Muhammed Salih. This family came initially for business purpose only, and later settled down in Surat, a district of the province of Gujarat in India. Haji Abdul Rahim Narmawala, one of the leading scions of the Narmawala family living India and interviewed by Nadawi, said that up to thirty years ago, members of his family still resides in Taif, Arabia (Nadawi 1936, 65).

The Waliullah Family

Well known Arab origin family of Ahmadabad and Surat originally from Jeddah and Madinah. Their forefathers were great Ulama of their time. Mawlana Nur Al-Din, Mawlana Imad Al-Din and Mawlana Waliullah were well known both in Hijaz and India for their knowledge, scholarship and piety. Along with their trade, they continued teaching and imparting religious knowledge and their schools and madaris (religious schools) which they had established there.

Randerian Surtis (Families from Rander)

Another group of Arab Muslim traders came from Kufa near Najaf in Iraq to Rander in Surat. This is during the Caliphate of Saffah Abbasi the Caliph of the Abbasid Empire in Iraq, Baghdad (d. 132/749) and they have settled to Rander. The residents of Rander claim that during the reign of Saffah Abbasi around (132/749), The Mumin tribe of Kufa came to the port of Rander on business. They eventually settled down in Rander. This is the reason that people of Rander consider themselves as "descendants of Arabs" (Kafletwi n.d., 54). The ancient Arab historians, Abu Raihan Al-Biruni writes "The historians used to refer to Rander as the 'bride' of all the cities in India.

There are people who are the descendants of the Prophet Muhammed through his cousin and brother-in-law Imam Ali and the Prophet's daughter Fatima Az zahra through their sons Hassan and Hussain. They call them Sayyids, and all of them are from the lineage of Hussain. These Sayyids are Shia's in Surat. They mostly live North of Surat.

Surti Muslims are subdivided into clans or Ataks (originating from Turkic root word Ata- literally translates to fatherhood or patri-lineage). These indicate the lineage of Surti Muslims.

Muslim rulers of Gujrat: Ghazanvi, Lodhi or Mughal all have been known to elicit the Surti Muslim warrior-folk in their campaigns. Historical evidence exists most obviously in feudal titles, names of settlements, mosques and monuments to victory. One such monument is the Turk-Sur (Turkishwar/Tadkeshwar) stones, which clearly carve Muslim Turkmen victory over King Bhim.