Labbay ( Tamil : லப்பய் ,

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

: ﻟﺐ ﺑﮯ also Labbai, Labba, Labbabeen, Lebbay, Lebbai), are a Tamil

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

trading community in

southern India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

found throughout the southern Indian states of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

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 ...

and

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

. The Labbay are a subgroup within the Tamil Muslim community.

Etymology

''Labbay'' is derived from the Arabic phrase ''Labbay'k'' (

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 ...

: لبیک ), from a prayer known in Arabic as Talbiyah. Labbay is a surname for Arwi-speaking Muslims in coastal regions, especially Kayalpattinam, Adirampattinam, Kilakarai and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

, in addition to many other coastal villages in Tamil Nadu. Labbays identify as descendants of Arab traders who intermarried with local women.

History

The earliest historical evidence of Muslim settlement on the Coromandel coast dates from the ninth century; with an edict in 875 A.D. by the king of Madurai granting asylum to a group of Arab immigrants. Even as the community gained momentum their connection with North India was thin. Like the Mappillas, the Coromandel Muslims became prosperous maritime traders. In later times they took on the appellations of ''maraikkayar'' to distinguish themselves from the hinterland

Hanafi The Hanafi school or Hanafism is the oldest and largest Madhhab, school of Islamic jurisprudence out of the four schools within Sunni Islam. It developed from the teachings of the Faqīh, jurist and theologian Abu Hanifa (), who systemised the ...

Labbay Muslims of the tamilnadu Before the arrival of the Dutch in the region, the Muslim hinterland traders and Muslim maritime traders and boat makers were part of the same community. They both claimed to descend from

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

and intermarried with

Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

. While in some regions the title "Labbay" carried a stigma due to it being held by converts, the Labbay traders were able to change its meaning into a title of social and religious superiority. Since the Labbay traders were the only literate Muslims in the region, they became priests, registrars, and commentators of the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

. Their role as priests gave them high-status in the Muslim community, and great wealth in their role as traders. They spoke Tamil, but wrote it in the

Arabic script The Arabic script is the writing system used for Arabic (Arabic alphabet) and several other languages of Asia and Africa. It is the second-most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world (after the Latin script), the second-most widel ...

also known as Arwi. They previously prohibited intermarriages and common funeral grounds between them and other Muslim communities.

Religion

The Labbay are Sunni Muslims. They follow the Hanafi school or the

Shafi'i school The Shafi'i school or Shafi'i Madhhab () or Shafi'i is one of the four major schools of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It was founded by the Muslim scholar, jurist, and traditionis ...

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

. The Labbay community mostly live in coastal settlements in Tamil Nadu.

Etymology

History

Religion

References

See also