Arwi

Arwi
أروي‎
Arwi; أروي‎
	Arwi written in Arabic Script
Script type	Abjad
Time period	Present
Status	Religious Uses
Direction	Right-to-left script
Region	India,Sri Lanka
Languages	Tamil
Related scripts
Parent systems	Egyptian hieroglyphs Proto-Sinaitic Phoenician Aramaic Syriac Nabataean Arabic Arwi; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Sister systems	Arabi Malayalam
ISO 15924
ISO 15924	Arab(160),Arabic
Unicode
Unicode alias	Arabic
	This article containsphonetic transcriptionsin theInternational Phonetic Alphabet(IPA).For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA.For the distinction between[ ],/ /and ⟨⟩, seeIPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

Arwi(أَرْوِيُّ‎ʾArwīyyu) orArabu-Tamil(Tamil:அரபுத்தமிழ்,اَڔَڣُتَّمِۻْ‎Araputtamiḻ)is anArabic-influenced dialect of theTamillanguage written with anextension of the Arabic Alpha bet,with extensivelexicaland phonetic influences from the Arabic language. Arwi has been used extensively by theMuslimsof theTamil Nadustate ofIndiaandSri Lanka.

History

Arwi script in a tombstone atKilakarai,Old Jumma Masjid

Arwi was an outcome of the cultural synthesis between seafaring Arabs andTamil-speaking MuslimsofTamil Nadu.This language was enriched, promoted and developed inKayalpattinam.It had a rich body of work in jurisprudence,Sufism,law, medicine andsexology,of which little has been preserved. It was used as a bridge language for Tamil Muslims to learn Arabic.^[1]The patrons of Arwi seem to have been theNawab of the Carnatic,they were Islamic and were part of the Mughal Empire. Manyhadith manuscriptshave been found. Most of thefiqhbooks, particularly those ofImaam Abu HanifaandImaam Shaafi,have been found in Arwi.

There was also a translation of theBibleinto Arwi in 1926.

Arwi still has a place among the moreArwi MuslimandSri Lankan Moorfamilies.

Script

Sample text written in Arwi.

The Arwi Alpha bet is the Arabic Alpha bet, with thirteen additional letters used to represent the Tamil vowelseandoand several Tamil consonants that could not be mapped to Arabic sounds.^[2]

Vowels

Arwi vowels arranged according to theTamil order(right to left)
அ	ஆ	இ	ஈ	உ	ஊ	எ	ஏ	ஐ	ஒ	ஓ	ஔ
اَ‎	اٰ‎	اِ / يِ‎	اِي‎	اُ‎	اُو‎	اࣣ / يࣣ‎	اࣣي‎	اَي‎	اٗ‎	اٗو‎	اَو‎
—	ா	ி	ீ	ு	ூ	ெ	ே	ை	ொ	ோ	ௌ	்
◌َ‎	◌ٰ / ا‎	◌ِ‎	◌َي‎	◌ُ‎	◌ُو‎	◌ࣣ‎	◌ࣣي‎	◌َي‎	◌ٗ‎	◌ٗو‎	◌َو‎	◌ْ‎
a	ā	i	ī	u	ū	e	ē	ai	o	ō	au	∅

Consonants

Arwi letters arranged according to theArabic Alpha betical order(right to left)
ஆ		த்த		ஜ	ச்ச		ஃக	த	ட	ட்ட		ற	ர	ஃஜ
ا‎	ب‎	ت‎	ث‎	ج‎	چ‎	ح‎	خ‎	د‎	ڊ‎	ڍ‎	ذ‎	ر‎	ڔ‎	ز‎
ā	b	t	s̱	j	c	h̤	k͟h	d	ḍ	ṭ	ẕ	r	r̠	z

ஸ	ஷ		ள		ழ				ங		ஃப	ப		க்க	க
س‎	ش‎	ص‎	صٜ‎	ض‎	ۻ‎	ط‎	ظ‎	ع‎	ࢳ‎	غ‎	ف‎	ڣ‎	ق‎	ك‎	ࢴ‎
s	ś	ṣ	ḷ	ḍ	ḻ	t̤	ẓ	‘	ng	ġ	f	p	q	k	g

ல	ம	ந,ன	ண	ஞ	ஹ	வ,ஃவ	ய
ل‎	م‎	ن‎	ڹ‎	ݧ‎	ه‎	و‎	ی‎
l	m	nṉ	ṇ	ñ	h	vw	y

References

^ 216 th year commemoration today: Remembering His Holiness Bukhary ThangalSunday Observer – January 5, 2003.Online versionaccessed on 2009-08-14
^Torsten Tschacher (2001).Islam in Tamilnadu: Varia.(Südasienwissenschaftliche Arbeitsblätter 2.) Halle: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg.ISBN 3-86010-627-9.(Online versions available on the websites of the university libraries at Heidelberg and Halle:http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/savifadok/volltexte/2009/1087/pdf/Tschacher.pdfandhttp:// suedasien.uni-halle.de/SAWA/Tschacher.pdf).

Dr.K.M.A. Ahamed Zubair, Arwi or Arabu-Tamil in the Digital Age. London: Noor Publishing,2024.

Dr.K.M.A. Ahamed Zubair, Arwi or Arabu-Tamil. Saarbrücken:‎LAP Lambert Academic Publishing,2014.

Dr.K.M.A. Ahamed Zubair, Arwi or Arabu-Tamil Handwriting Workbook. Latvia: Noor Publishing,2022.

Dr.K.M.A. Ahamed Zubair, Arwi or Arabu-Tamil Orthography. Moldova:‎LAP Lambert Academic Publishing,2020.

Dr.K.M.A. Ahamed Zubair, Arwi Made Easy. Mauritius:‎LAP Lambert Academic Publishing,2021.

Shu’ayb, Tayka.Arabic, Arwi and Persian in Sarandib and Tamil Nadu.Madras: Imāmul 'Arūs Trust, 1993.
Yunush Ahamed Mohamed SherifARABUTTAMIL/ARWI: THE IDENTITY OF THE TAMIL MUSLIMSTJPRC Publication.
Dr. K. M. A. Ahamed Zubair.The Rise and Decline of Arabu–Tamil Language for Tamil MuslimsIIUC STUDIES, 2014
DR. S.M.M Mazahir.அறபுத் தமிழும் அறபுத்தமிழ் ஆக்கங்களும்2018

External links

Arwi: Comments, Questions and Answers
Islamic Cultural Values of ArwiSoutheastern university of Sri Lanka. Research and publication (2014).
For a cultural synthesisBook review in The Hindu
Arwi or Arabu-TamilBook on Arwi
What is Arwi (Arabic Tamil)?
Arwi (அரபுத்தமிழ் / لسانالأروي)
'Arusi branch of the Qadiri path
Some Arwi Books in Internet Archive

[1] 216 th year commemoration today: Remembering His Holiness Bukhary ThangalSunday Observer – January 5, 2003.Online versionaccessed on 2009-08-14

[tors-2] Torsten Tschacher (2001).Islam in Tamilnadu: Varia.(Südasienwissenschaftliche Arbeitsblätter 2.) Halle: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg.ISBN 3-86010-627-9.(Online versions available on the websites of the university libraries at Heidelberg and Halle:http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/savifadok/volltexte/2009/1087/pdf/Tschacher.pdfandhttp:// suedasien.uni-halle.de/SAWA/Tschacher.pdf).

[1]

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