Erwadi is a village in

Ramanathapuram District Ramanathapuram District, also known as Ramnad District, is one of the 38 districts an administrative districts of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The old Ramanathapuram District consists of Present day Virudhunagar and Sivagangai district ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

, a state in

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union terr ...

. It belongs to Kilakarai

Taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

and

town panchayat A nagar panchayat (town panchayat; ) or Notified Area Council (NAC) in India is a settlement in transition from rural to urban and therefore a form of an urban political unit comparable to a municipality. An urban centre with more than 12,000 ...

. The village is the location of the grave and shrine of Qutbus Sultan Syed Ibrahim

Shaheed ''Shaheed'' ( , , ; pa, ਸ਼ਹੀਦ) denotes a martyr in Islam. The word is used frequently in the Quran in the generic sense of "witness" but only once in the sense of "martyr" (i.e. one who dies for his faith); ...

Badusha, the previous ruler of

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...

. Erwadi also belongs to

Kadaladi Kadaladi () in Tamil Nadu is 108 km from Madurai. Kadaladi is situated between Mudukulathur and Sayalgudi. It is a taluk headquarters and a revenue region of Ramanathapuram district. History Trade between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka took place ...

assembly constituency, which is a part of

Ramanathapuram (Lok Sabha constituency) Ramanathapuram Lok Sabha constituency ( ta, இராமநாதபுரம் மக்களவைத் தொகுதி) is one of the 39 Lok Sabha (parliamentary) constituencies in Tamil Nadu, a state in southern India. Assembly segmen ...

. However, after the delimitations in 2009, Erwadi has been joined to the Ramanathapuram assembly constituency. Although a small town, Erwadi is the second largest contributor for the revenue of Ramanthapuram District.

History

Importance in Islam

Sultan Syed Ibrahim

sent Sikandar Badusha to offer

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

ic teachings to the Pandiya ruler, Thiru Pandiyan, in

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration i ...

but he refused to accept them and waged war. Shaheed's troops won and Sultan Sikandar Badusha was throned as king in

. Shaheed's troops marched towards Bouthramanickapattinam (Kilakarai). Shaheed Badusha offered Islam to King Vikrama Pandiyan, who vehemently refused and asked Shaheed to leave the kingdom. Shaheed refused to leave without converting them to Islam. Vikrama Pandiyan declared war. A very violent war consisting of about 10 battles, each lasting around 3–4 days, was waged. All of the family members of Shaheed Badusha were killed, including his only son Syed Abu Tahir, his brother Syed Ismail, his brother-in-law Zainul Abideen and many of Shaheed Badusha's martyrs and ministers, including Amir Abbas of

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow v ...

, Abdul Qadir Mujahid, Muhaiyaddeen, Abu Bakr Abdul Hakim, Abdullah, Shamsuddin of

, Qamaruddin, Nooruddeen, Muhammad Yusuf, Jafar Sadiq, Rumi Syed Ahmed, Zulfikar Ali, Chanthana Peer of

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, Abdul Kadir Gilani, Abdul Qadir Samadaani, Pathan Sahib, Hamza Basheer, Muhammad Mustafa Ahmed, and Uvaisul Hasan Ridwanullahi Ta'ala Alaihim Ajmaeen. Finally, King Vikrama Pandiyan and his sons Indra Pandiyan and Chandra Pandiyan were killed and Shaheed won the war, claiming the throne of Bouthiramanickapattinam. He ruled the province for twelve years and spread

all over south

. Coins struck during the rule of Sultan Syed Ibrahim Shaheed have been found by archeologists.

Religious importance

Al Qutbul Hamid wal Gausul Majid Badhusha Sultan Syed Ibrahim Shaheed, king of

and 18th generation descendant of the Islamic prophet

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mon ...

, is said to have traveled to Erwadi, erstwhile Bouthiramanickapattinam, during his journey to India in the early 12th century to spread Islam according to Muhammad's wish. Dayview

Ervadi Santhanakoodu Festival

The annual Santhanakoodu festival is held at Ervadi dargha,

Ramanathapuram district Ramanathapuram District, also known as Ramnad District, is one of the 38 districts an administrative districts of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The old Ramanathapuram District consists of Present day Virudhunagar and Sivagangai district ...

during the Islamic month of

Dhu al-Qi'dah Dhu al-Qa'dah ( ar, ذُو ٱلْقَعْدَة, ', ), also spelled Dhu al-Qi'dah or Zu al-Qa'dah, is the eleventh month in the Islamic calendar. It could possibly mean "possessor or owner of the sitting and seating place" - the space occupied w ...

commemorating the shahadat anniversary of Qutb Sulthan Syed Ibrahim Shahid badhusha and is celebrated together by Hindus and Muslims. The Deventhirakula velalar, Yadavas, Parayars, Dalits, Adi Dravidas and the Fishermen community bear the duty of Carrying the Chariot, holding light lamps, putting crackers while the Levvais (Dargah Huqdar Mujavirs) take care of religious duties such as reciting Moulid sheriff, Dua smearing sandal on the roula and praying for the welfare of pilgrims.

Transport

The nearest major town to Erwadi is Kilakarai, at a distance of 27 km, which itself falls on NH 49 from

Rameswaram Rameswaram (; also transliterated as Ramesvaram, Rameshwaram) is a municipality in the Ramanathapuram district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is on Pamban Island separated from mainland India by the Pamban channel and is about 40 ...

. Ramanathapuram is the nearest railway station, connecting the village to all major cities in Tamil Nadu. Erwadi is well connected with the border ports of

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line bet ...

as a junction point of fishing steamers.

Education

Following is a list of schools in Erwadi: * Panchayat Union Middle School * S.A.B.M.H Government Higher Secondary School * Elite Matriculation school * Kadaladi Union Middle School Chinna Ervadi

References

External links

*
360^o travel view of Erwadi's main dargah
published by Tamil national daily Dinamalar {{Ramanathapuram district Sufi shrines in India Villages in Ramanathapuram district Ziyarat Erwadi-related dargahs Dargahs in Tamil Nadu