[1][2] Until his death in the early 1973, Bafakhy Thangal remained the most prominent Muslim political leader in Kerala.

[3] Bafakhy Thangal belonged to a sayyid family of jurists (the "Ba Faqih") in north Kerala.

[4] After studies at Ponnani, he moved to the lucrative export business at Calicut, became a prominent businessman, and eventually established the Bafaqi & Co. at Yangon, Myanmar.

[4][2] Bafakhy Thangal entered active politics in 1936 as a campaigner against an All-India Muslim League candidate from Kozhikode-Kurumbranad Constituency.

[4] He also helped to persuade Panakkad Pukkoya Thangal, a sayyid community leader from South Malabar, to join the League.