He was born into the prominent Poonthran family that had originally migrated from Madurai, Tamil Nadu, and whose members have played a significant role in the history of Travancore since 19th century.
[10] His father, a prominent merchant, engaged a number of scholars from distant places, including an itinerant Arab savant, to teach him every subject he wished to learn.
Moulavi made such rapid progress, that some of his teachers soon found that their stock of knowledge was exhausted and at least one of them admitted that had learnt from his student more than he could teach him.
Explaining his vision of Islamic Renaissance, Moulavi wrote in his treatise "Islam Mata Navikaranam" (Islamic Religious Renewal):"Preach sermons, publish articles in newspapers and journals, distribute pamphlets, publish books, and as far as religious education at madrasas is concerned, depend only on the Qur’an and hadith, for its comprehension use only those books and interpretations written by free-thinking great souls (mahatmas), who are not biased towards any particular madhhab....Propagate among the people the teachings of the Qur’an, the words and actions of the Rasul, the practices of the predecessors (Salaf), and true principles related to Tawhid.
[17] Influenced by the writings of Muhammad Abduh of Egypt and his reform movement, Moulavi started journals in Arabi-Malayalam and in Malayalam modelled on Al Manar.
It opposed Nerchas and Uroos festivals amongst the Muslim community, thereby attracting opposition from the orthodox ulema to the extent that they issued a fatwa declaring the reading of it as sacrilege.
[15][20][21] Vakkom Moulavi believed that the Muslim Ummah had declined after the period of the Salaf al-Salih due to ignorance of Islamic teachings, the prevalence of Bid'ah (innovations) and practices of shirk (polytheism).
He initiated a reform movement that aimed at purging Muslim culture from all the subsequent innovations, ritual accretions of shirk and revive Islam back to its pristine form.
The reforms were based on Qur'an and Hadith, and Moulavi insisted that true Islamic beliefs and practices were in harmony with reason and science.
Thus, Islamic religion was stripped of its vigor and vitality which weakened the Muslim mind, intelligence, and consciousness; hindering them from achieving worldly success.
[23] There were many other dubious practices in the Muslim community of the time, such as the dowry system, extravagant expenditure on weddings, celebration of annual "urs" and Moharrum with bizarre unIslamic features bordering on idolatrous rituals.
'Abd al-Qadir Moulavi died on 31 October 1932 CE /1351 A.H. His funeral rites were conducted by his disciples strictly according to the Sunnah; without local superstitions and innovations.
He did not say to blindfollow any school which was not the Madh'hab of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah, calling for the abandonment of all customs and actions of Shirk (polytheism), superstitions and religious innovations (bid'ah) by adhering to the Book and the Sunnah, and the biography of the Salaf us-Salih (may God be pleased with them).
Although he was independent in research and thinking, in principles of Renewal (Tajdid) and Reform (Islah) he was in accordance with the guidance of Al-Manar magazine, loving it and its owner, Al-Sayyid Muhammad Rashid Rida... he also loved the wise men of Islam and the East, ... such as Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and his disciples, Shaykh al-Islam, the Murshid of the people of Najd, Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab and defended them in his work Dau-us-Sabah (Morning Light) conveying in the language of Malabari peoples.