Sheikh Ahmad Zainuddin Makhdoom bin Sheikh Muhammad Al Ghazzali (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: شيخ احمد زين الدين بن شيخ محمد غزالي المليباري; Ahmad Zayn al-Din ibn Muhammad al-Ghazāli al-Malibári), grandson of Sheikh Zainuddin Makhdoom I, was the writer, orator, historian, jurisprudent and spiritual leader and widely known as Zainuddin Makhdoom Second or Zaniudeen Makhdoom Al Sageer (زين الدين المخدوم الصغير) whose family originated from

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

. He inherited the legacy of his grandfather and was installed as the Chief

Qadi A qadi (; ) is the magistrate or judge of a Sharia court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and minors, and supervision and auditing of public works. History The term '' was in use from ...

(judge) in the locality of

Ponnani Ponnani () is a Nagar Palika (Municipality), municipality in Ponnani Taluk, Malappuram District, in the state of Kerala, India. It serves as the administrative center of the Taluk and Block Panchayat of the same name. It is situated at the est ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

, India, as well as appointed as the Chief

Müderris Müderris is a term that described the religious scholar, professor or faculty member in Seljuk Anatolia and the Ottoman Empire.Cambridge University Press, History of Turkey Vol. 3, The Later Ottoman Empire 1603-1839 (2006), s.216 In Arabic, the ...

(head teacher) in the historic Ponnani Dars at Ponnani Jum'ah Masjid, that built by Zainuddin Makhdoom I.

Early life

He was born to the ''

Makhdoom Makhdoom (, meaning ''one who is served'' and sometimes spelled Makhdum,) is an Arabic word meaning "Teacher of Sunnah." It is a title and group of Pirs, and landlords in South and Central Asia. People with the title Makhdoom * Makhdoom Yahya M ...

'' family in the early months of Hijra 938 (c. 1531 CE) at Chombala (Azhiyoor Panchayath, Calicut District, Kerala State, India) Near Mahe, and received religious instruction under the supervision of his grandfather. He completed his primary education under his father Muhammed Gazzali and his uncle Abdul Azeez Bin Sheikh Makhdoom Al Avval ( عبد العزيز بن شيخ مخدوم الآول) and left for

Makah The Makah (; Makah: ') are an Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast living in Washington, in the northwestern part of the continental United States. They are enrolled in the federally recognized Makah Indian Tribe of the Makah I ...

for further study. He performed the Haj and settled there for ten years imbibing Islamic knowledge from exponents of Islamic law and other branches of knowledge. He received the guidance of famous scholars such as Al Hafiz Shihabuddeen bin Al Hajr Al Haithemi (الحافظ شهاب الدين بن الحجر الهيتمي),

Grand Mufti A Grand Mufti (also called Chief Mufti, State Mufti and Supreme Mufti) is a title for the leading Faqīh, Islamic jurist of a country, typically Sunni, who may oversee other muftis. Not all countries with large Sunni Muslim populations have Gra ...

Haramain Haram () is one of several similar words originating from the triliteral Semitic root Ḥ-R-M. The word literally means "sanctuary", commonly used by Muslims to refer to Al-Masjid Al-Haram and Prophet Mohammad's Mosque. There are certain rules ...

(chief jurisprudent of Makah and

Madina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

) and commentator in Hadeeth and

Fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

, Izzuddeen bin Abdul Azeez al Zamzami (عز الدين بن عبد العزيز الزمزمي), Shiekh Abdul Rahman bin Ziyad (شيخ عبد الرحمن بن زياد) and Sayyid Abdul Rahman Al Safwi (سيد عبد الرحمن الصفوي). He gained the

Tassawwuf Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

(Sufi spiritual knowledge) from Kutub Zaban Zain Ul Arifeen Muhammed Bin Sheikh Ul Arif Abu Hasan Al Bakri (قطب الزمان زين العارفين محمد بن شيخ العارف ابو حسن البكري) and was honored with eleven Khirkath (خرقة), symbol of grade in

Tareeqath A ''tariqa'' () is a religious order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking , which translates as "ultimate truth". A tariqa has a (guide) who plays the r ...

. Within a short period he was hailed as the Sheikh of

Qadriya The Qadiriyya () or the Qadiri order () is a Sunni Sufi order (''Tariqa'') founded by Abdul Qadir Gilani (1077–1166, also transliterated ''Jilani''), who was a Hanbali scholar from Gilan, Iran. The order, with its many sub-orders, is widespre ...

Tareeqath.

In the field of service

After the decade-long stay in

Makkah Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above sea level. Its metropo ...

, he returned to

and took charge as chief Mufti in the grand Masjid of

, a position he occupied for thirty-six years. A historian recorded that his mentor Ibn Hajar Hithami had come to Ponnani and stayed there for a short period. It is said that the famous lamp made of stone, presented by Ibn Hajar Hithami, is still kept in Ponnani Dars.

As the freedom fighter

He did not limit himself to work as a cleric, but made many significant intervention in the political arena, keeping warm relations with the major political figures in that period. He lived during the regime of

Akbar Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...

of the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

and had a good relationship with Sultan

Ali Adil Shah I Ali Adil Shah I (; reigned 1558–1580) was the fifth Sultan of the Bijapur Sultanate. On the day of his coronation Ali abandoned the Sunni practices and reintroduced the Shia Khutbah and other practices. The Persian doctors of religion were ...

, Sultan of

Bijapur Bijapur (officially Vijayapura) is the district headquarters of Bijapur district of the Karnataka state of India. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluk. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural importa ...

, as well as the

Zamorin of Calicut The Samoothiri (Anglicised as Zamorin; Malayalam: , , Arabic: ''Sāmuri'', Portuguese: ''Samorim'', Dutch: ''Samorijn'', Chinese: ''Shamitihsi''Ma Huan's Ying-yai Sheng-lan: 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores' 433 Translated and Edi ...

. He was a strident advocate of freedom struggles against the imperialist power of Portugal, and motivated the youth to take part in the special army of Zamorin to defend against them. In his masterpiece ''Tufathul Mujahideen Fi Akhbar ul Burthugalin'', he narrated the brutality of the Portuguese on the Malabar soil with special reference to their anti-Muslim stance. He used to instil in Muslim youth the necessity of

holy war A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war (), is a war and conflict which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion and beliefs. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent t ...

and the inevitability of military action against the Portuguese. In the aforementioned text, he motivated them by exuding the endless promises of the Almighty for those who waged war against them, and boosted their morale by leading their mind to the sweet memories of the

golden age of Islam The Islamic Golden Age was a period of scientific, economic, and cultural flourishing in the history of Islam, traditionally dated from the 8th century to the 13th century. This period is traditionally understood to have begun during the reign o ...

Books by Makhdoom II

He was known for his unique command in writing in variety of subjects which includes jurisprudence, history, spirituality as well as other subjects which were distinct from other writers. The following table gives an overview of his works.

Demise

He died of natural causes in 1583 and was laid to rest in Kunjhippalli (Near Mahe, Azhiyoor Grama panchayath, Calicut District, Kerala, India). His Qabr (

maqbara The Arabic language, Arabic word ( "mausoleum"; ''plural'': ''maqâbir'') is derived from the word qabr, which means grave (burial), grave. Though refers to the graves of all Muslims, it refers especially to a Muslim cemetery. In some Islamic ...

) khabar lies under a tree in his native Chompala(Azhiyoor Panchayath).

Early life

In the field of service

As the freedom fighter

Books by Makhdoom II

Demise

References

Further reading