According to some tradition of the Tarsilan as by decoded Dr. Sleeby and Dr. Majul, Sharif Ali Kabungsuwan was the son of Sharif Abu'Bkr-Zein Ul-Abidin, uncle of Sulu Sultan Sharif Ul-Hashim. Their ancestor, Sultan Betatar of Taif (present-day Saudi Arabia) was the ninth-generation descendant of Hassan ibn Ali, the son of Fatimah, daughter of the Prophet Muhammad. Sharif Kabungsuwan settled in Malabang Lanao, and met the brothers Tabunaway and Mamalu in Inawan. He converted the natives at Bpayguan but Mamalu and the native tribes he led opted not to convert and returned to their uphill homeland in Mindanao (Saleeby). Kabungsuwan's mother was of the Johore Royal Family at the southernmost tip of the Malay Peninsula. It may be speculated that he arrived on the shores of Mindanao around 1515. He was the second Makdum (Karim Ul-Makdum) who had come and reinforced Islam. He married the daughter of Tomoai Aliwya of the Maguindanao Family Dynasty. After his father in-law's death, the latter's political authority fell on Kabungsuwan who had established the Sultanate of Maguindanao as its first Sultan, reigning as Sultan Aliwya. Shariff Kabunsuan was given the authority and power to lead by Rajah Tabunaway and Apo Mamalu, the son of Shariff Maradja from Johor. Rajah Tabunaway was the one who accept Kabungsuwan at the Pulangi River.
