With a history that is culturally rich and ethnically diverse, Ponnani carves itself a niche in the history of Malabar and the country as a whole. This tiny sea side town was the naval base of Kunjali Marakkar , the army chief of the Samoothiri, whose reign is known as the 'Golden era' of Malabar.

Behind the name

According to some historical records, Ponnani’s history dates back to 2000 years. There are differences of opinion regarding the evolution of the name  'Ponnani'.

Legend has it that the Ponnana (meaning a type of elephant in Malayalam) was auctioned in the Brahmin temples here and thus came to be known as Ponnani. Yet another legend says that a king called ‘Ponnan’ ruled the land and was thereafter called Ponnani.

Historical records rather point to another truth. The use of Gold coins ('Ponn - nanayam'  in Malayalam) . This represents the wealth that was brought in by the trade relations with the Arabs and Europeans.

Political History

Ponnani was the second capital town of Malabar during the reign of Samoothiri. When Vasco De Gama landed at Kappad in Kozhikode in 1498,Sammothiri was residing in Ponnani. The rule of Samoothiris came to an end when Hyder Ali, the then ruler of Mysore, captured the place. Ponnani then became a part of Mysore kingdom and later under the rule of his son Tipu Sultan. The road from Palakkad to Ponnani, Tipu Sultan Road was named after him.

The fall of Tipu Sultan led Ponnani to be a part of Bombay Province under the British rule. Later this place became a part of Malabar under Madras state.

After independence,when the state of Kerala was formed in 1956, Ponnani was included in Palakkad district. In 1969,the Malappuram district came into being and Ponnani became part of that.

References in Malabar Manual
 

William Logon, the historian, records in his Malabar manual about the Ponnani Juma’ Masjid built in 925 Hijrah is 90 ft long and 60 ft wide. Zainudhin Ibn Ali Ibn Ahmed Ma’bari was the one who built it. He was the Makhdum, meaning the one who was worthy of service.

He held the reigns of spiritual leadership of Muslims in and around Ponnani. He authored many books of which some of are textbooks in Egyptian and other Arab countries’ universities.

William Logon says that in 1887 there were 400 students in the Juma’ Masjid Madrasa. Kunhai Musliyar, Umar Qazi, Sheikh Syed Hasan Jifri and Ali Musliyar were some of the products of Ponnani Madrasa of Juma’ Masjid. This is where the Bharat river and Arabian Sea  meets. Ponnani, often referred as the cultural capital of Kerala Muslims, has some of the most rare collection of Arabic books of the past.  The 'Mounathul Islam Sabha'  of  Ponnani is a century old institution and is famous for Islamic studies in south India. The Thottungal Masjid built by Sheikh Faridudhin, is the oldest mosque in Ponnani.

Malik Ibnu Dinar, the first Islamic missionary who came to Kerala, was believed to have visited Ponnani. The Juma-ath mosque, the biggest mosque in the town, was built by Sheikh Zainuddin Makhdoom in the 16th century. Zainuddin Makhdom was the great historian, who wrote the first book on early history of Kerala.

Ponnani was considered the Al Azhar university of Kerala, for its great religious schools and teachers. Ponnani was called the small Makkah in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Malaya, Indonesia, Lakshadeep etc. It was the scholars of the Makhdum family that gave Ponnani this historic importance. They had migrated from Yemen centuries ago.