ABSTRACT

This chapter brings out a brief introductory sketch on the wide contributions of community towards Sufi scholarly fields. The ethnic Arab communities in Malabar originate mainly from the Hadhrmawt in Yemen and Arabian Peninsula. Hadrami Sayyids are considered to be one of the major diaspora communities emerged from Southern Arabia and settled in diverse regions of world especially in South Asia. Thus, the later development of Sufi scholarly traditions of Malabar can't be traced without the contributions of this diaspora community. One of the main obstacles to discover the narratives has been the fact that they were written in different parts of the ocean, such as Zanzibar, Mecca, Hadramawt, Surat and Malabar in India, and the Malay Archipelago. Hadrami Sayyids of South East Asia, especially from Singapore, Malay, Java and other places, were engaged in these networks through Sufi travels towards tombs of Malabar.