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Kodungallur was a center of festivals established by the great Emperor Cheraman Perumal The major part of all the minor kingdoms were under his rule As such, one day he saw the moon split into two on a clear cloudless night As a result the love for Holy Prophet grew in his heart and he became the earliest Muslim of this nation. A Poem by Umar Kahdi RA
“A
king from India presented the Messenger of Allah with a bottle of pickle that
had ginger in it. The Holy Prophet distributed it among his companions. I also
received a piece to eat.” --Hakim reports in ‘Al Musthadrak’
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Most historian have come to accept that the first known person from Kerala ( Malabar as it was known then) to accept the faith of Islam was the king Cheraman Perumal. The Perumals were the titular leaders who ruled the powerful Chera dynasty. Kerala long ago was ruled by Brahmin who ere at feud with one another. They finally came to an agreement to accept a outsider to rule over all these factions for twelve year intervals. Thus the Perumals were invited from Tamil Nadu for this purpose.Originally they ruled for twelve year periods but later they extended this period.
Cheraman Perumal was a king of Kerala and the last of the Perumal dynasty. He was was succeeded by a series of independent rulers. This is said to have happened in the 7th or between 9th and 12th century, by different traditions. Cheraman Perumal, during his rule -according to Balakrishna Pilla an internationally reputed historian- received a letter in the year 628 AD from the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) along with many other rulers of the then known world inviting him to the way of Islam. Another traditions holds that Cheraman Perumal, during his rule is said to have witnessed the miracle of splitting of the moon which has occurred during the life time of prophet Muhammad s.a.w. When the news of the prophet and this miracle reached Cheraman Perumal via some pilgrims who landed in Kerala en-route to Ceylon, he readily accepted the faith of Islam and asked the to stop in Kerala on the way back. There are suggestion this might have occurred as late as 825 AD and the king was known as Abdullah/ Abdul Rahman Sameri . This may be a reference to another event because as far as it is known ,the Perumals were never known by the name Samuthiri).
Whichever the case, Cheraman Perumal -according to Sheikh Zainuddin Al Malbari-divided his land to 12 rulers before he left for Mecca. This event is said to give rise to various new kingdoms being formed within Kerala. The Zamorins(Samuthiri) who were absent during this event of partition later met Cheraman Perumal.. Cheraman Perumal gave his sword to the Zamorin and gave him permission to conquer and keep all the land he could. Cheraman Perumal's nephew through his sister Sri Devi converted to Islam named Muhammad Ali and was said to be the first king of the Arakkal Muslim Dynasty.
It has been established that this last Perumal travelled to Mecca and embraced Islam and that had his 'Kalimatul Shahadat' at the hands of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) himself. He thus became the first royal Malabari convert to Islam and his Muslim name was Tajuddin. Tajuddin passed away in Shahar Mukhalla, in the Aeab Peninsular, reportedly in Hijrah 10. At time time of his death , Cheraman Perumal entrusted his co-travelers with a letter , as he told them, would be honoured if presented at Kodungallur, Panthalayani or Dhardamadam. This letter later was instrumental in the spread of Islam in Malabar.