Sheikh Dr Thaika Shuaib of Tamil Nadu is a polyglot Islamic scholar, spiritual guide, and author. He is the head of the Arusiyya branch of the Qadiri Sufi order. His 880-page research work, “Arabic, Arwi and Persian in Sarandib and Tamil Nadu”, sheds light on the cultural, political, social, spiritual, and educational activities and achievements of the Arwi Muslims of Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu in their respective countries and abroad. In May 1994, he became the first Tamil Muslim to receive the National Award for Outstanding Arabic Scholar from the then-President of India, Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma. In April 2016, the seventh President of Sri Lanka, His Excellency Maithripala Sirisena, felicitated him for his services rendered to Islam and for his promotion of religious harmony.