# Umerali Shihab Thangal

Syed Umerali Shihab Thangal Al-Husayni Bā Alawi was an Islamic-Political community leader, Islamic scholar and politician from Kerala, India. In Kodappanakkal Family of Panakkad. Brother of Syed Muhammedali Shihab Thangal. And the second eldest son of Pookoya Thangal. Born in the Yemeni-origin sayyid or habib(thangal) Pukkoya family of Panakkad, a Qabila from Ba Alawi house of descendants of Hussayn bin Ali. Umarali Thangal also functioned as the president of the Kerala state committee of the Indian Union Muslim League and vice-president of Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama.

## Life

Sayyid Umar Ali Shihab was born into the noble Kodappanakkal family, whose dignity and grandeur were enjoyed in the lands of Malabar, a family of gentlemen who were famous in the country for their good morals and tender hearts, who were accepted and loved and affectionated by all, near and far, to the father Sayyid Maliyekkal Ahmed (PMSA) Pookoya, the leader of the Muslim Ummah in Kerala and its spiritual father, and the mother Sayyida Ayesha Cherukunji Biwi, daughter of Sayyid Hamid Kunji Sidi Koya, on the morning of Friday, November 28, 1941 corresponding to the 8th of Dhul-Qa'dah, 1360 AH. He joined a local school for primary education, Dewadar Primary Lower School, and before 1959 he completed his secondary education at MM Higher School, Calicut. He sought religious lessons for five years in some mosques in the areas of Kanangiri, Achipuram and Urawamburam, and ended up at the Arab Nooriya University in Pattikadu, and in 1968 he graduated from it with the title of "Maulvi Fazil Faizy", receiving his degree from the hands of his honorable father, Sayyid B.M.S.A. Pookoya, the President of the Indian Federation of Muslim League in Kerala and the President of the All Kerala Jamiat Ulema Association at that time. Among his teachers were Shamsul Ulama E.K. Abubakar Musliyar, Abubakar Musliyar Kotumala, K.C. Jamaluddin Musliyar and Kunj Alwi Musliyar Tazikode. He followed their footsteps and followed their steps throughout his life. He was keen on the gatherings of dhikr, thought and prayers, and found himself more pleased with them than anyone else.

## His leadership

In the midst of the political crises and intellectual conflicts that the Malabar lands suffered from, as the Islamic nation was going through critical situations, he was a leader of wisdom and shrewdness, and every step he took was a precursor to making the impossible possible and he stormed the straits with all boldness and self-reliance, as witnessed by the statement of the leader CH Muhammad Koya after the death of the father Sayyid PMSA. Pookoya Tangle that we should not be depressed and despair from the departure of the leader of the nation to the mercy of God because God has blessed us and given us five stars after him that shine in the dark nights in which we remain in the dark, and whenever he appeared, the sparkle of sincerity that he observed in every title that his people gave him crystallized in his eyes, as he was the judge of the different neighborhoods and various regions and the head of organizations and groups, as it is said about him his strictness and exaggerated care that whenever the blessed months such as Ramadan came and during important events, he would try to communicate with the officials of his judiciary and inform them of the matter from him despite their knowledge of them in response For the responsibility that his people entrusted him with. He was the Vice President of the Association of Scholars, the President of the Sunni Youth Group, the District Judge of Wayanad, the Chairperson of the Association of Judges and District Magistrates, and he was also the President of the Darul Huda Islamic Complex, which was later transformed into the Darul Huda Islamic University. He was a pious, ascetic, and ascetic in positions and high positions that shine with stardom and call for attention and attention due to his humility. Rather, he distanced himself from such positions as much as possible and walked away from the limelight. It is also said that he refused to assume positions and chairs, saying: “What I am capable of and cannot bear,” such as the Calicut judgeship, which was offered to him and he refused. He did not like to appear on platforms and stages, and he did not make himself a hero in front of the eyes. He lowered his voice in the pulpits, speaking with his silence more than his strong, loud words, like the sons of Kodavanakkal, the gentlemen at all times, ruling heads and hearts with smiles and consolation, not laws, soldiers and police. Although he kept away from politics and its reins, he was the President of the Muslim League branch in Vanakadu until his last breath and since 2006 he assumed the position of the President of the Muslim League Parliamentary Council. He acted with sincerity and faith, to the extent that he used to warn his brothers that it is not appropriate for the people of kodappanakkal to get involved in politics and we should not compete as representatives one day.

## Death

His noble soul ascended to God’s care on the night of Thursday, July 3, 2008, at 10:10, leaving behind an entire nation in need of him, a shining star in the sky of Malabar.