Sri Lanka Moor Family Genealogy
Munna Hassan Naina Lebbe - Family # 140
The Ancestors of Abdul Cader Sheikh Muhammad Ajward of Matara
The
ancient
and historical town of Matara, on
the banks of the Nilwala Ganga
(river) was a very famous location significant to the Ceylon
Moors of Sri Lanka. The Moors,
have been living here for many centuries. During the
Portuguese Colonial era the Matara
Disvani (District) extended from Badulla to Aligoa
(Alutgama). The Disave (Chief) during the Portuguese
period was a Moor (vide Paul Peiris
translation of Portuguese Era). At the same time there were
persecutions of the Moors by the Portuguese. AC Sheikh
Muhammad Ajward, remembers as a child, when he went
for picnics with his parents that they used to halt their cart
on the way to Meddawatte near the
east end of the twon. They
recited the opening verse from the Quran and invoked Allahs
Blessings on those Muslim Martyrs who were executed by the
Portuguese on the banks of the river Nilwala
Ganga. There used to a small wall that signified the location
of this massacre but it is no more to be found. It is said
that the Portuguese gathered all the males and killed them.
The women and children were sent to Colombo. They could
possibly form a part of the nucleus of the Colombo Chettys.
However,
the
Moors thrived in other parts of the town. During the Dutch
period, in order to build the ramparts, the Moors who were
residing near the Fort Gate were asked to vacate their abodes
and subsequently they made Kadayaweediya
and other similar locations their places of residence. One
always finds in the history of the Matara
Moors that they generally inter-married with Moors from Alutgama, Weligama,
Galle, and Beruwela.
So
it
happened, a very handsome young man from Beruwela
called Ahmed Lebbe, who was
Sheikh Ajwards paternal
grandfather, paid a visit to Matara
to meet his uncle Usoof Lebbe, who was already married and
settled in Matara. They belonged
to the famous Hasana Lebbe clan of Aluthgama.
While in Matara, Ajwards grandfather, Ahmed Lebbe visited a young relative of his
named Aliyar Marikar Lebbe,
son of Aliyar Marikar. While chatting with him, at
his home, he was served with sweets and coffee. Ultimately, he
was so taken up with the taste of the coffee that was served tro him that
he requested for the hand of the maiden, who had made the
coffee, in marriage. This lady was Aliyar
Marikar Lebbes
sister who lived in the same house with him. The proposal was
accepted and the couple were
happily married to one another.
Sheikh
Ajwards grandfather, Ahmed Lebbe, periodically visited India. He
was a cloth and rice merchant. Some years later, when he was
on a business visit in India, Sheikh Ajwards
grandmother, who was pregnant then and in Ceylon, had been
told that this time, after having borne 3 or 4 daughters, she
could seek Allahs Blessings, by His Will, for a son. When
Ahmed Lebbe returned home after
completing his business he was most overjoyed to hear that he
was blessed with a son. When the infant son was presented to
him, he was taken aback by the dark color of the babys skin
complexion and immediately retorted, This
can never be my offspring
. The fact was that the infant that
was presented to him was not his own son but another baby from
a neighboring house. It was simply a practical joke played on
theman. When his own son was
presented to him he was so pleased and happy. This infant son
went on to become Sheikh Ajwards
father, Muhammad Abdul Cader.
Sheikh
Ajwards grandfather had left a
prayer book in which he had written a part of his genealogy
identifying all his ascendants all the way up to the first
Caliph of Islam AbuBakr Sideeq (raliAllahu
anhu). The family tree states that
a descendant of the Caliph AbuBakr
(rali) had visited Ceylon and
married a lady from Aluthgama.His
name was Munna Hassen Naina
Lebbe.
His
paternal
grandfather had five sons. The youngest, was a personal friend
of Lord Elphinstone, and who
worked as Manager at the sugar factory established at Paraduwa by him. Lord Elphinstone bade farewell to Ceylon on
the death of his dear friend who was managing his factory.
Another son was the father of Mohideen
Bawa of Galle, who was the first
Muslim Municipal Councillor at
Galle and a supplier of provisions to the P&O Shipping
Lines boats that berthed at Galle harbor. Mohideen Bawa
was considered to be a replica of Sultan Abdul Hamid Khan, the
then ruling monarch of Turkey, because of his mighty and
generous deeds for his community. Mohideen
bawa had two daughters. The older,
Khadeeja, had two sons, Segu
Mohideen and Muhammad Haniffa, and a daughter Ayesha who was
married to MAC Ismail. The youngest daughter, Mariam Umma, hada
son named Zubair Cassim.
Aliyar Marikars
and Mohideen Bawas grandfather, the father of the
five sons mentioned earlier, was the first to construct a two
storeyed house in the District of
Matara. It is said that villagers
of the area brought pingos full
of gifts and paid homage to this good man. This house, with a
few alterations, is still existent at No 188, Main Street, Matara (1969). This had, originally,
been a house of reputed families. Ultimately it came to the
possession of his ancestors and it is the same abode where
Sheikh Ajward was born 63 years
ago.
Sheikh
Ajwards maternal grandfather, Aliyar Marikar
whom he was not fortunate enough to see, whose sister was
married to his paternal grandfather, Ahmed Lebbe, was a well-known personality in
Matara. He was the agent of his
cousin Mohideen Bawa and was residing in Calcutta. It
is reported that Aliyar Marikar used to travel in a coach
drawn by four horses.
Aliyar Marikar
carried on a lucrative trade by sending rice and provisions to
Galle. He usually booked more space than what was required on
the ships that used to sail to Galle. Hence when Borah and Chetty merchants required cargo space
to export their goods they were informed by the shiping agents that Aliyar Marikar
had already booked all the available cargo space on board the
vessels. Thus, these merchants were forced to approach Aliyar Marikar
who then resold the space to them at a premium making a profit
in the process.
Whilst
in
Calcutta, Aliyar Marikar had constructed a Mosque named
Sholiya Masjid with the
assistance of three other merchants from Kayalpatnam,
Keelakarai, and Madras. He also
functioned as the first Trustee of this Mosque. Ceylon Moors
were thus given a pride of place to perform their prayers at
this Mosque with a special room assigned especially for them
whenever the Mosque was filled to capacity. A Muslim burial
ground attached to this Mosque also afforded facilities for
the burial of Muslims from Ceylon.
Back
in
Ceylon, Aliyar Marikar functioned as a Trustee of all
the Mosques in Matara. An
interesting incident occurred, once, when the Katheeb of the Mosque was delivering
his Friday sermon from the pulpit. Aliyar
Marikar, unconcerned for the
dignity and respect of the Mosque, demanded the Katheeb to surrender his turban and
the book from which he was narrating his sermon and climb down
from the pulpit and conclude his talk. This conduct of Aliyar Marikar
was supposed to have been due to the fact that this Khatheeb had solemnized the marriage
of his own daughter to a man without due consideration to his
family and status in society. Things took a turn for the worse
and the congregation was divided into two groups. However, Aliyar Marikar
succeeded in replacing the officiating Katheeb
and putting an end to the confusion.
Aliyar Marikar
married a very beautiful lady, the granddaughter of Bawa Sarap
(Shroff). Incidentally,many of the Shroffs (Cashiers) in Government Kachcheris (Departments), at that
time, were Muslims, and it is said that one was deported to
Malacca for alleged malpractices. Aliyar
Marikars wife, Sheikh Ajwards grandmother, survived her
parents and lived to the ripe old age of 90. She was generally
referred to as Nona, meaning Lady.
Though
arrogant
at times, Aliyar Marikar was also a man of great
dignity and principles. It is said that when his oldest
daughter, Sheikh Ajwards mother,
attained puberty he had resolved to offer a grand feast on one
of the ensuing nights. During this time while Aliyar Marikar
was involved in a chat with some of his friends he had noticed
a respectable lady carrying a frying pan and walking out into
the night. On inquiry by his friends, from her, as to where
she was going she had responded that she was taking the frying
pan to be sold in order to buy a gift for Aliyar Marikars
daughter, without having known that Aliyar
Marikar was also present within
the group of men. On hearing this, Aliyar
Marikar was very much perturbed
and promptly ordered an announcement through his family
members that no gifts will be accepted for his daughter on the
occasion. When this daughter was subsequently proposed
to his nephew, Sheikh Ajwards
father, Aliyar Marikar objected and refused to have
anything to do with him as he belonged to the newly formed
order of the Shadhuliya Sect
which he did not accept as a valid Islamic group. However,
Allahs Will prevailed and this and Muhammad Abdul Cader, who happened to be the Naquib (Captain or Leader) of the Shaduliya Order and also a very
successful textile merchant, married the young lady and they
went to become the proud parents of fourteen children of whom
Sheikh Ajward was the thirteenth.
One
of
Aliyar Marikars
nephews, ILM Ibrahim, was reputed to be the Citronella King of
Matara. He was the father of
Surveyor Marikar.
Aliyar Marikars
youngest brother, who was married in Galle, was the father of
MA Rahim, founder of Messers
Ismail A Raheem,
the famous diamond merchants in Singapore. After his demise in
1928 the business which had survived for over seventy years
was closed down.
One
of
Sheikh Ajwards paternal aunts, a
niece of Aliyar Marikar, married in Beruwela.This person from Beruwela, after his marriage, paid
numerous visits to Matara and
acquainted himself with Western habits. Thus the elderly folks
of Beruwela relate that this man
who came to wear modern style shoes created an interest and
wonder and was referred to as the Matara
Mapilla (Matara
Bridegroom). It is said that children flocked to see him when
he walked, wearing his shoes.
In
his
retirement, Aliyar Marikar became a vaccinator and was
generally referred to as Ali Doctor, a position then held in
high esteem.
1 Munna Hassan Naina
Lebbe
....2 Munna Hussain
Naina Lebbe
..........3 Khwaja Muhammad
................4 Khwaja Ahmed Lebbe
......................5
Ahmed Lebbe
............................6
Meera Hassan Naina Lebbe
..................................7
Hassana Lebbe
........................................8 Muhammad Lebbe
..............................................9 Ahamed
Lebbe + Name
Not Known (sister of Aliya
Marikar) (142)
....................................................10 Muhammad Abdul Cader, leader of the Shaduliya Tareeqah
+ Name
Not Known (d/o Aliyar
Marikar) (142)
..........................................................11 Raihanath
Umma Abdul Cader
+ Ismail
Lebbe Marikar
Idroos Lebbe
Hajiar (1st Qazi,
Matara "Merchant Prince of Matara") (52, 69)
................................................................12 Jiffriya
I L M + M.H.A.Aziz (69) (Advocate, Poothan Haji Family, Galle, founder Ahadiya School Movement)
.................
...........13 Shibly
Aziz (Presidents Counsel, ex Attorney General of Sri Lanka)
+ Fathima Waffarn
(d/o Dr. ARM Waffarn & Sithy) (80)
..........................
............14 Afdhel
Aziz
..........................
....
...........................14
Aadhil Aziz
13 Minna
Aziz + Iliyas (s/o Proctor Ahamed M. Ismail of Fort, Galle)
14
Imran Iliyas + Ilham d/o Sabry (Auditor General)
14
Shihara Iliyas + Mizver
14
Sahmeem Iliyas
..............
.
.............13
Imthiaz Aziz + Yasmin Mahamoor
d/o M.C.M. Mahamoor, g/d of Deen Hajiar
of Nawalapitiya, ex Chairman Nawalapitiya
UC (226)
.....
...
................14
Aaliya Aziz
.......
.
................14 Imaad
Aziz
......
..
................14
Yusra Aziz
...............
.............13 Ifthikar
Aziz + Fathima Ameena
Rezani Markar
d/o Zain Markar
(Esso) of Galle (97,98,114)
14
Kamran Aziz + Shamina
(div)
14 Aftab
Aziz + Renee
14 Maalik
Aziz + Amaya Weerasinghe
.................
...........13 Ryhan
Aziz + Mazhar Ghouse
(10,30,60,70,71,93)
.....
...
..................14
Sharmil Ghouse
.......
.
...................14 Navid
Ghouse
......
..
...................14
Aslam Ghouse
.......
.
...................14 Nishard
Ghouse
...............................................................12 Bahiya
I L M + Ibrahim Adham Cader (Proctor SC, MP for Beruwela, Deputy Speaker 1970)
13
Liqa Cader
13
Hanum Cader + Sabir
Ismail (99)
14
Hussein Ismail + Ayesha
Sheriff (d/o Azmi Sheriff
& Amira Moinadeen)
(40)
15
Jibreel Mehmet Sabir Ismail, b:2015 (Toronto, Canada)
15
Eliyana Iyna Sabir
Ismail b:2019 (Toronto,
Canada)
14
Ahmed Ismail + Fadia Shaideen
(d/o Fazli Shaideen & Himaya Mohideen)
(244)
15
Aria Ismail, b:2015 (Toronto, Canada)
13
Risla Cader
13
Salim Cader (deceased)
13
Hosney Cader (Vancouver, Canada)
13
Ayesha Cader + Faizal Hathy
(41)
13
Mohamed Cader
13
Khairy Cader
13
Ahamed Cader
................................................................12 Mackiya
+ S.C. Shums (Galle), Managing
Director Shums & Company
................................................................12
Zahara
+ NS Vilcassim (s/o Segu Abdul Cader Vilcassim)
................................................................12 Raheema
+ M.I.H.M. Nazeer (Stylex, Colombo) (s/o Ismail Hadjiar of Galle affectionately
nicknamed KICHADI)
................................................................12 Fawziya
I H M + Khaja Cader (ex Deputy
Chairman, Sinwa Holdings, brother
of Naizer Cader)
13 Siraj Cader
13 Nusrath Cader + Rizan
Nazeer
13 Shamla Cader + Bazeer
Uvais
................................................................12 I.H.M. Aroos
+ Haseena
Noorul Ayne
Buhari (Noori,
aka Gangy), passed away at Suhoor time on Sunday Aug 21 2011. burial at Dehiwela
Muslim burial grounds. She hails from Matara
and was an active old girl of CMS Ladies College, Colombo
.................................................................12
Zakiya
I H M, d:Aug 22 2012 in London,
UK + Navaz Shariff (s/o ARM Shariff & Sithy
Fathima of Kandy)
13 Zeeniaya Shariff + Mathew
13 Fahmy Shariff+ Siham
..........................................................11 daughter + Ibrahim
Waffa Muhammad (Merchant at
Matara) (104)
..........................................................11
Faleela + Zain
VilCassim
12 Shibly VilCassim
+ Shehana Ibrahim (d/o Sirtaz Ibrahim)
..........................................................11 Sheikh Muhammad Ajward
..........................................................11 Name Not Known
obituary
AROOS -
HASEENA NOORUL IYNE (GANGY)
- Wife of late I.H.M. Aroos
of Matara, loving mother of Muaiyyed Idroos,
mother-in-law of Muneefa,
grandmother of Marihah,
daughter of late Proctor A.M. Buhari
and late Kadhija Buhari of Matara,
sister of late Col, Ameen Buhari daughter-in-law of late
I.L.M. Idroos Hadjiar and late Raihanath Umma
of Matara, sister-in-law of
late Fowzia Buhari, late Jifriya
Aziz, Bahiya Cader, Mackiya
Shums, late Raheema Nazeer,
late Zahara Vilcassim, Fowzia
Cader and Zackiya Sheriff (UK). Janaza took place on Sunday
21.08.2011 from 51/1A,
Ward Place, Colombo 7.
250481 SO Aug 28 2011
CADER -
HAJIYANI FAWZIA -
Wife of late Al Haj Khaja Cader (former Deputy Chairman Sinwa Holdings), loving mother of Siraj, Nusrath
and Shamla, mother-in-law of Rizan Nazeer,
daughter of late Al Haj I.L.M. Idroos
and late Raihanath Umma of Matara,
daughter in law of late O.M.A. Cader
and late Hajiyani Ayesha Cader of Galle, much loved
grandmother of Ishthiyaq, Imthisal, Alisha and Abdullah,
sister of late I.H.M. Aroos,
late Jiffriya Aziz, Bahiya Cader,
Mackiya Shums,
late Zahara Villcassim, late Raheema Nazeer
and Zackiya Sheriff (UK). Janaza took place on Saturday the
10th of September from 793,
Sapumal Pedesa,
Pelawatte, Battaramulla. The
family
wishes to thank the Doctors, and staff of MICU - Lanka
Hospitals, relatives and friends who attended the Janaza, helped us in numerous ways
and sent condolence messages. We sincerely appreciate their
thoughtfulness at the time of our
bereavement.
271621 DN Wed Sep 14 2011
ZACKIYA - SHARIFF - Beloved wife of Navaz
Shariff, daughter of the
late I.L.M. Idroos Hadjiar and late Ryhan of Matara. Beloved mother of Zeeniya
and Fahmy, mother-in-law of
Mathew and Siham, beloved
grandmother of Jennah, Zachary,
Tasir and Mikhail,
daughter-in-law of the late A.R.M. Shariff
and the late Sithy Fathima (Kandy), sister of the late
Aroosldroos, late Jiffriya Aziz, Bahiya
Cader, MackiyaShums,
late Zahara Vilcassim, the late Raheema Nazeer
and the late Fowzia Cader, sister-in-law of the late Noori Aroos,
Suleiman Shariff (Kandy), Kadija Aboosally,
Rafiya Cassim
and Rifai, Shariff. Janaza
took place at Botley
Cemetery, Oxford, UK on
Thursday
23rd August 2012. Contact :
navazshariff@hotmail.com. The family
wish to thank everyone for their condolences
and prayers. 219816 DN Friday Aug 24 2012