TUAN ARIFIN JAYAH MY KAKEY & HIS GENEALOGY

TUAN ARIFIN JAYAH & HIS GENEALOGY
Not much is heard of Tuan Arifin Jayah although most people know that he was the only sibling of the renowned Dr T B Jayah .His father Cassim Jayah was the seventh child of PERMA (Pitche Barisdeen) JAYAH and GNOGNA Ummah BANGSAJAYAH (daughter of Kemmas Arthari ). Cassim ‘s other siblings being Hassim, Osman , Abdue, Sarpa Nona, Raisee Nona & Jain. Arifin Jayah was born to Cassim Jayah & Sithy Maimoona Sourjah (Jayanona). Arifin Jayah married Nona Suliaya Packeer the elder daughter of Osman Packeer & Ayesha Joonus. Osman Packeer happened to be a brother of NEM Packeer a wealthy philanthropist of the time. Arifin Jayah was the shadow behind the success of his brother the famous only Malay National Hero Marhoom L Haj Dr T.B. Jayah easily the greatest Malay Ceylon has ever produced.

Arifin Jayah was a dutiful husband and a doting father. He had seven children 3 boys & 4 girls. They were Zahira (married Hajirin Ahamat), Rasheed (married Maleeha Junoos), Rahila (married Johore Bongso) , Fareena (married Hamim Meedin), Hisham (married Juweetha Morseth), Murad (married Vaseela Salay) & Chintaree (married Thajudeen Azoor). He was employed at Mackinon Mackenzie Co Ltd ,a shipping company as a Manager. He was said to have been a religious person & had been known for haunting all available Muslim libraries of his time. A voracious reader he was therefore well informed. T.A Jayah’s life account is not much documented or even any information preserved for posterity by his seven children who have all passed away to this date. However his son late Murad Jayah had compiled a Family Tree in 1965 which is a valuable document available today which many other families have improved on. His grand children too are trying to trace information about him although little is mentioned about him in the book written by M S Jaldeen about ‘T B Jayah a National hero’

All 7 children were born in the first three decades of 1900. As such they had lived during both the World Wars. The Jayah family had lived in Vauxhall Lane, Saunders Court, Punchi Borella & Maradana and after Arifin’s demise the family moved at 18 Fountain House Lane, Deans Road. Almost every member of the Jayah family had lived at 18 Fountain House Lane which became the family mahagedera where Mrs T A Jayah (nee Sulaiha Packeer) lived till her demise.

Arifin Jayah passed away on King’s Birthday 2nd June 1943.An account of the news of his death is given in T.B Jayah’s diairy as follows
“The shock of brother T.A. passing suddenly was received from Murad Jayah …. We all rushed in Dr Kaleel’s car. I felt it most. My early educational success was entirely due to him. He used to get up in the early hours of the morning and get me to work. It was all the more sad because there was some estrangement between the two families. Arrangements were promptly made according to Muslim requirements & news published through the radio, evening paper, messages & telegrams. It was a largely attended funeral & he found his last resting place at Jawatte” .The entry ends with a sad note “Poor Murad’s examination” because he was then reading for his B.Sc. exam which was to be held about that time.

When closely analyzing the Arifin Jayah family one may observe that down the line they have produced noble folks who firmly upheld the true values to which Arifin stood for. TA Jayah had been an individual who valued, prayed and tireless strived for success in the lives of both worlds( Duniya & Ahkirah) a frequent prayer Muslims are advised to make after every good action. Among Arifin’s progeny there are dozens of learned men & women who have excelled in their selected fields with outstanding academic achievements. Up to six members of the Arifin clan have taken the Oath of Hippocrates while many have pursued engineering, management, teaching, law, accountancy etc. On the consecrated side many are those who are constant in their duty to Allah having shown such signs from their prime a lifestyle otherwise adopted only after retirement, A good number indulge in virtuous acts that please their Lord to a higher degree by spending time in His path, learning His Religion, memorizing His Glorious Book, relegating all activities that seek the Lord’s displeasure & fast tracking on a culture that mimics His beloved prophet. We never saw the Arifin generation indulging in excesses, promiscuity & immoderation

The influence of his brother TB & his personal level of piety & appreciation for knowledge have had a strong impact on his progeny. Unlike his brother who commanded a huge PR being a renowned, outspoken society- man, educationist, politician, statesman & diplomat who advocated his point of view on human rights & liberties at the very highest forum, Arifin in all fairness to this unsung character, a safe conjecture on the traits of this man, it would be harmless to assume TA Jayah to have been an introvert of sorts, an unassuming, down to earth personality, a saintly figure, philosophically confined to libraries dabbling through Islamic literature & learning. Although not armed with doctorates or diplomas he had however excelled in producing off springs that have created a generation filled with god fearing, educated, pious, dutiful, loyal & honest Malay men & women.

Among the first signs of Tuan Arifin Jayah’s leaning to faith was apparent in the naming of his children. Arifin chose to title his children’s names with Mohamed instead of Tuan. His choice of Religion over race is hard to fathom in his first step towards fatherhood. Did he prefer to be more Islamic than display his pure royal Javanese Malayness? He did not even follow the footsteps of his father or his learned brother to name his own children with Mohammed. With his grand children named similarly we continue to see this praiseworthy practice of Arifin running in the family, a clear evidence of hereditary spreading in geometric progression. As to his daughters, Arifin selected to coin the title Gnei to begin their names. Although this Malay title is used besides Nona, Sitty or Beebi there is confusion today whether the initials for Gnei with G silent should begin with ‘G’ or ‘N’ when filling forms in Sinhala.

Arifin’s started his family life in his wife Sulaiya’s hometown Slave Island. This busy town of homes & offices proud of its Malay heritage was the ideal setting for bringing up children Islamically & preserving the Malay identity. No one could call him selves a True Malay unless his life had an attachment or connection to Slave Island. Arifin being a devout Muslim, instead of secular education, had first introduced his male children to the Madarasas in Slave Island (or Kartel in Malay) under the stewardship of Arabic scholars of his time namely Guru Noan Joonus Alim etc He did this in spite of knowing full well the values of secular education from none other than an educationist par excellence, his brother TB. True to ancient Islamic customs & traditions, except for Chintaree who was born last belonged to the post world war era of education & did not see much of Arifin, the girls were confined to basic education at the Bilingual Missionary School in the locality. The sons Rasheed, Hisham & Murad were all admitted to Zahira College, Maradana which was the one & only school to have strict Islamic surroundings, teaching in the English medium & having their uncle TB as Principal. Murad skillfully adapted to an Islamic setup practicing its precepts, excelling brilliantly in studies, helping in the dissemination of Islam through the College Majlis & delving deep into religious history & philosophy, thanks to his early madarasa exposure.

The lives of the children of Afifin after their marriages were simple, honest & united to the core. The seven were a closely knit family inextricably interwoven with humane values & profound sense of responsibility. Each sibling would be there during their ups & downs at the beck & call of the other for better or worse, There would be constant shuttling of siblings from Maradana, Slave Island, Kolannawa & Hunupitiya for their slightest need. This closeness & camaraderie,is dwindling in the third generation downwards. Each sibling together with their in-laws will not leave out the rest in their important functions & a spirit of brotherly attachment always persisted, Religion once again played a leading part in the Jayah houses by them holding annually Mowloods and Asurahs (Nasi kuning) where the seven siblings together with their spouses, twenty six of their children & with Grand dame Sulaiya present gather for a recital usually followed by partaking of a sumptuous Malay spread of nasi kebuli , daging masak & goreng, kaliya, kola curry , sukung goreng, achar and finish with firni with pisang emas ,

Among the Arifin Jayah clan first names we also see those of the 99 Beautiful names of Allah (Asma ul Husna) like Rasheed, Razack, Malik , Shafee, Khaliq; names from the Prophet’s household, his companions & Prophetic personalities like Amina,Fathima, Ayesha, Zainab, Sumaiya, Hamza, Hussain, Omar, Ousman, Taariq, Hisham, Yousuf , Yakoob, Haroon,Sulaiman, Luqman. Imran respectively. This is an obvious influence of the “Arifin the holy” factor running in the Jayah vein.

None of the seven children or the 26 grand children could beat their father/grandfather’s record of producing 7 or more off springs, yet another tenet of Islamic practice where forced family planning is impermissible. The best they could achieve is six. Sadly the third & fourth generation being blessed with many children is despicably more wanting. Otherwise we may see the Jayah genealogy abruptly ending sans male children to perpetuate the Jayah cause.

Arifin Jayah’s Genealogy Table is given below

RADEN THURTHO PERMA JAYAH (Aide-de-camp to the King of Java and one of the 24 Noblemen deported by the Dutch Government to Ceylon in 1747)/

Raden Kirthi Wangsa Jayah

Thurtho Nahar Jayah

Thurtho Sraheen Jayah

Grandfather PERMA JAYAH m GNOGNA BANGSAJAYAH

Father CASSIM JAYAH m SITHY MAIMOONA SOURJAH(JAYANONA)

1 TUAN ARIFIN JAYAH m NONA SULAIYA PACKEER(d/O Ousman Packeer & Ayesha Joonus)

2 s MOHAMMED RASHID JAYAH m SITTY MALEEHA JOONUS(both deceased)

3 s OMAR KHAYYHAM JAYAH m FAZILET MOONDU

4 d QAANITHA JAYAH

3 s MOHAMMED OUSMAN JAYAH m ANVARIN JUMAR

4 s KHALEEQ JAYAH m SHAFINA JAYAH

4 d AATIQAH JAYAH m MOHAMED BILAL

3 d/1 YASMIN JAYAH m GEORGE NIZAM PACKEER

4 s HAMADA PACKEER m AFRA RAHIM

4 d SHAIRA PACKEER m FAROUQ AZHAR

5

2 s MOHAMMED HISHAM JAYAH m NONA JUWEETHA MORSETH(Both deceased)

3 s MOHAMED ARIFIN JAYAH m RAZEENA ZURAIRA DOLL

4 d FATHIMA NOORANI JAYAH m TUAN MALIQUE DAIYAN PACKEER

5 d FATHIMA THAHAANI PACKEER
5 s AMAN PACKEER

3 s HAJIRIN JAYAH m SHERINA RAJAP

4 s MOHAMMED HAMZA JAYAH m ZEENA AMITH

4 s MOHAMED MUBARAK JAYAH

4 d SHAFEENA JAYAH m KHALIQ JAYAH

3 s MOHAMMED SALAHUDIN JAYAH (deceased) m YUHAN SAMAT

4 s MOHAMED MALIK JAYAH m RUSIRICA AHAMAT

4 s MOHAMMED RAZZARK JAYAH

4 d AZMARA JAYAH m MOHAMED NAZIK JALEEL

5

3 s SDJRAFFUDIN JAYAH (deceased) m/d Aziz

4 s MOHAMMED IMAADH JAYAH
4 s MELAATI JAYAH

3 d JAYANONA DARSHINI JAYAH m PERCY AHAMAT

4 s SHIRAZ AHAMAT m

4 s MURAD AHAMAT m MEHANAAZ KITCHILAN

4 s RAZAQ AHAMAT m

4 d FATHIMA SORAYAH AHAMAT m GAZALI ZAIN

5 S HILAAL ZAIN
5 d NUHA AMEERA ZAIN

3 d NOORANI JAYAH ( deceased)

3 d/1 CHINCO( FARIDA) JAYAH m SAM MOWJOOD (Both deceased)

3 d/1 SHAHEEDA JAYAH m ANTHONY PAUL (deceased)

4 d SHARMILA ANTHONY

2 s MOHAMMED MURAD JAYAH (deceased)m NONA VASEELA SALAY

3 s HUSSAIN JAYAH m SABRINA SINGHA LAXANA

4 s MURAD JAYAH m RUQAIYA

3 d CAMARUL HAFEELA JAYAH m THASSIM AKBAR

4 s AMIN AKBAR
4 d AYESHA AKBAR m


3 d AFID QURAISHA JAYAH


2 d GNEI ZAHIRA JAYAH m MOHAMMED HAJIRIN AHAMAT(both deceased)

3 s MOHAMMED SHAFIREEN AHAMAT(deceased) m ZARINA SARIMAN

4 d NEMONI AHAMAT m NICK
4 d MIRIAM AHAMAT m JARROD
4 d NONA AHAMAT

3 s MOHAMMED RAZAQUE AHAMAT m FAREENA SARIMAN

4 s HAJI AHAMAT
4 d MELATI AHAMAT
4 d BINTAN AHAMAT
4 d BOOLANG AHAMAT

3 s MOHAMMED FIROZE AHAMAT(deceased) m RAZINA MANNAN(deceased)

3 d FATHIMA(RENE) AHAMAT m TUAN JUNIOR(JEFF) ISMAIL(deceased)

3 s MOHAMMED HUSSAIN AHAMAT (MIKEY)(deceased) m RUVINA JUNAIDEEN

4 d YUHANI AHAMAT m SADAM AMEER
5 d AQUILAH AMEER
5 s LUQMAN AMEER

4 d RUSHIRICA AHAMAT m MALIQ JAYAH

3 s CAMARUL ZAMAN AHAMAT m NILUFAR BURAH


2 d GNEI RAHEELA JAYAH m TUAN JOHORE BONGSO(both deceased)

3 d AYESHA NURJEHAN BONGSO m BRYCE FERNANDO

4 s SHEHAN FERNANDO m ROSHNI ……
5 d KIEARA FERNANDO
5 S MICHAEL FERNANDO

4 ROSHINI FERNANDO m IMRAN NAWAZ

3 d FALUL HAARAM BONGSO m KAMAL DEEN

4 s IMRAN DEAN m ZAYNAB KAAMIS
5 s YUSUF DEEN

5 S MIKAEL DEAN

4 d IMARA DEAN m KHEMAL DOLE
5 d TAHANI DOLE
5 S TARIK DOLE


2 d GNEI FAREENA JAYAH m HAMIM ABDUL HAMID MEEDIN(both deceased)

3 d GNEI SHAFINA MEEDIN m MOHAMMED NIZAR AMEER

4 s MOHAMED IQLAS SADAM AMEER m YUHANI AHAMAT
5 d AQUILAH AMEER
5 S LUQMAN AMEER

3 s GEOFFREY (MUHSIN) MEEDIN m SHAFIYA HAMZOON

4 s MOHAMMED YAKOOB MEEDIN m SAFNA SHERIFF

5 s  MOHAMED YUSOOF MEEDIN

5 d SUMAIYA MEEDIN

4 s MOHAMMED HAROON MEEDIN m FAREENA LAFIR

4 d FATIMA ZAINAB MEEDIN


2 d GNEI CHINTAREE JAYAH m TAJUDEEN B A AZOOR ( both deceased)

3 d CIANKA SORAYA AZOOR m TUAN JALIL (JERRY) MEEDIN

4 d ANEEQA MEEDIN m KONSTANTINE KISIL
4 s LUQMAN MEEDIN


3 RUKMAN AZOOR m SHAHAANI BURAH
4 s SULAIMAN AZOOR
4 d AAMINAH AZOOR
4 d AISHAA AZOOR



Abbreviations used
Numbers- Generation
m -married
s-son
d -daughter
d/1- daughter from first marriage