[4] Born in the Yemeni-origin sayyid or habib(thangal) Pukkoya family of Panakkad, a Qabila from Ba Alawi house of descendants of Hussayn bin Ali.

[6][2] According to historian Roland Miller, "wisely and sensitively, he led Muslims through the landmines of state politics for over three decades.

Shihab Thangal was born as the eldest son of P. M. S. A. Ali Husseini Ba Alawi, of the Pathiya Maliyekkal family of Panakkad, on 4 May 1936.

[3][9] In 1958, Shihab Thangal left for Egypt for further studies and obtained his master's degree in Arabic Literature from Al-Azhar University in 1961.

[4] Shihab Thangal is distinctly remembered for his role in preserving communal harmony in Kerala (at the most tense times like demolition of Babur's Mosque in 1992).