The
Darul Uloom Deoband is an
Islamic schoolDarul uloom , also transliterated dar al-`ulum, darul ulum etc., is an Arabic term which literally means "house of knowledge". The term generally means an Islamic seminary or educational institution—similar to or often the same as a madrassa or Islamic school—although a Darul Uloom often indicates...
propagating Wahabism in the Indian Subcontinent.
http://www.darululoom-deoband.com/, and is where the Deobandi Islamic movement was started. It is located at
DeobandDeoband is a city and a municipal board in Saharanpur district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located in the upper Doab region of Uttar Pradesh. Deoband used to be surrounded by dense forests, and was believed to be the abode of the Goddess Durga, according to one tradition this is...
, a town in
Uttar PradeshUttar Pradesh , [often referred to as U.P.] is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 190 million people,...
,
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
. It was founded in 1866 by several prominent Islamic scholars (
ulemaUlema refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of shari‘a law...
), headed by Maulana Muhammad Qasim Nanautawi. The other prominent founding scholars were Maulana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi and Haji Syed Abid Hussain. The institution is highly respected in
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
and other parts of the
WorldWorld is a highly common name for the planet Earth, but it was originally used to mean the sum of human civilization living on it, specifically human experience, history, or the 'human condition' in general....
.
Some of the scholars at the Darul Uloom Deoband had opposed the establishment of a religious government (such as in Pakistan) and the demands of the
Muslim LeagueThe All-India Muslim League , founded at Dhaka, Bengal, in 1906, was a political party in British India that played a role in the Indian independence movement and developed into the driving force behind the creation of Pakistan as a Muslim state on the Indian subcontinent...
led by Jinnah. But, many other scholars trained in this seminary had also supported the creation of Pakistan, and formed 'Jamiat-Ulema-e-Islam' under the leadership of
Shabbir Ahmad UsmaniHazrat Shaikhul Islam Muhaqqiqul 'Asr Moulana Shabbir Ahmad 'Uthmani was an eminent Islamic scholar who endeavoured to provide Pakistan with an Islamic system of governance after its creation in 1947. He was a prominent theologian, writer, orator, politician, and expert in tafsir and hadith...
. Some prominent Deobandi ulema who supported the creation of Pakistan were: Maulana
Shabbir Ahmad UsmaniHazrat Shaikhul Islam Muhaqqiqul 'Asr Moulana Shabbir Ahmad 'Uthmani was an eminent Islamic scholar who endeavoured to provide Pakistan with an Islamic system of governance after its creation in 1947. He was a prominent theologian, writer, orator, politician, and expert in tafsir and hadith...
, Maulana Zafar Ahmad Uthmani, Maulana
Ubaidullah SindhiMaulana Ubaidullah Sindhi was a noted pan-Islamic leader a political activist of the Indian independence movement...
and many others. Maulana Husain Ahmad Madani was one of the scholars who opposed the idea of Pakistan. He was also Sheikh-ul-Hadeeth (Chief of Hadeeth department) of Darul Uloom Deoband and led the
Jamiat Ulema-e-HindJamiat Ulema-e-Hind or is one of the leading Islamic organizations in India. It was founded in 1919 by Abdul Mohasim Sajjad, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Ahmed Saeed Dehlvi and Abdul Bari Firangi Mehli...
, an organization of the ulema, that saw nothing Islamic in the idea of Pakistan. He said: "All should endeavor jointly for such a democratic government in which Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and Parsis are included. Such a freedom is in accordance with Islam."
Background
In 1857, the British East India Company put down with a heavy hand the independence movement begun by disparate north Indian forces, conducted in the name of the otherwise powerless
Bahadur Shah Zafar GurakaniAbu Zafar Sirajuddin Muhammad Bahadur Shah Zafar , also known as Bahadur Shah or Bahadur Shah II was the last of the Mughal emperors in India, as well as the last ruler of the Timurid Dynasty. He was the son of Akbar Shah II and Lalbai, who was a Hindu Rajput. He became the Mughal Emperor upon...
. Emperor Zafar became the last Mughal Emperor, for he was deposed the following year and exiled to Burma, with many of his sons put to death. This marked a seminal moment for Indo-Islamic consciousness, specifically for the established Muslim elites of north India, who tended to view the defeat of 1857 as the end of their political pre-eminence and the beginning of what could be a dark period of Muslim history in India.
In this situation, a group of learned theologians, led by Maulana Muhammad Qasim Nanautawi, established the Darul Uloom Seminary in the town of Deoband, in order to preserve Indo-Islamic culture and train the youth in Islamic knowledge. The foundation of Darul Uloom Deoband was laid down in 1283 A.H. (21st of May 1866 A.D.) beneath a pomegranate tree, under the advice of the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu-alaihi-wasallam) given through a dream to Hadhrat Maulana Qasim Nanautawi (Rahmatullahi-alaihi). The pedagogical philosophy of Deoband was focused on teaching revealed Islamic sciences, known as manqūlāt, to the Indian Muslim population, according to the
HanafiThe Hanafi school is one of the four schools of law or jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit , and his legal views were preserved primarily by his two most...
tradition. In this seminary, Nanautawi instituted modern methods of learning: Teaching in classrooms, a fixed and carefully selected curriculum, lectures by different faculties recognised as leaders in their fields, exam periods, merit prizes, a publishing press and so on. The faculty instructed its students primarily in
UrduUrdu is a Central Indo-Aryan language of the Indo-Iranian branch, belonging to the Indo-European family of languages. It is one of the two official languages of Pakistan. It is also one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of five Indian states...
, which was the
lingua francaA lingua franca is a language systematically used to communicate between persons not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both persons' mother tongues.Lingua franca is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic history or...
of the urbanised section of the region, and supplemented it with study of Arabic (the repository of Muslim theology) and
PersianPersian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is widely spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and to some extent in Iraq and Bahrain, and has a status of official language in the first three countries under different names...
(the fountainhead of Indian Muslim culture); in due course, it also unwittingly cemented the growing association of the Urdu language with the north Indian Muslim community. The founders consciously decided to divorce the seminary from political or governmental participation. Instead, it was to run as an autonomous institution, supported by voluntary financial contributions from the Muslims at large.
Its over 15,000 graduates have gone on to found many similar madrassas (schools) across
South AsiaSouth Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries on the west and the east...
and further afield; the followers of this school of theology are often described as followers of the
DeobandiA Deobandi is an individual, usually an Islamic scholar, who follows the methodology of the Deoband Islamic movement that began at Darul Uloom Deoband in Deoband, India when its foundation was laid in 1867 by its founders...
school of thought.
Pattern of education
Deoband's curriculum is based on the 17th-century Indo-Islamic syllabus known as Dars-e-Nizami. The core curriculum teaches Islamic law (Shariah), Islamic jurispridence (
FiqhFiqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the Sharia Islamic law—based directly on the Quran and Sunnah—that complements Shariah with evolving rulings/interpretations of Islamic jurists....
), traditional Islamic spirituality (known as
Tasawwuf, which is the focus of
SufismSufism or ' , also spelled as tasavvuf and tasavvof, is generally understood to be the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a ' , though some adherents of the tradition reserve this term only for those practitioners who have attained the goals...
), as well as several other fields of Islamic study.
The current syllabus consists of four stages. The first three stages can be completed in a total of eight years. The final stage is a post-graduate stage where students specialize in a number of advanced topics, such as the sciences of Hadeeth,
FiqhFiqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the Sharia Islamic law—based directly on the Quran and Sunnah—that complements Shariah with evolving rulings/interpretations of Islamic jurists....
and so on.
Impact of the Deoband School
Many Islamic schools throughout modern
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
and
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
- and more recently in
AfghanistanThe Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in south central Asia. It is variously described as being located within Central Asia, South Asia, or the Middle East...
, the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
,
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
- as well as in hundreds of other places throughout the world are affiliated, or theologically linked, to Darul Uloom Deoband. Famous seminaries have been established by its graduates, e.g. Nadwatul Ulama in
LucknowLucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state of India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division...
, Madrassah In'aamiyyah Camperdown, near
DurbanDurban is the third most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. It is the largest city in KwaZulu-Natal and is famous as the busiest port in Africa. It is also a major centre of tourism due to the city's warm subtropical climate and...
in
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
, and three important seminaries in Pakistan, viz. Darul Uloom Karachi, Jamia Ashrafia
LahoreLahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in Pakistan after Karachi. Historically the main city of the undivided Punjab, it is often called the Garden of Mughals because of its rich Mughal heritage...
, and Jamia Zia-ul-Quran (Al-maroof bagh wali masjid)
Faisalabadis a city located in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. It was formerly known as Lyallpur. Faisalabad is the third largest city in Pakistan after Karachi and Lahore. Before the foundation of the city in 1880, the area was very thinly populated. The population has risen from 9,171 in 1901 to 179,000...
. As the official website of the Darul Uloom proclaims in flowery language, 'the whole of Asia is redolent with the aroma of this Prophetic garden.'
India's Independence Movement
In the meeting of the
Jamiat Ulema-e-HindJamiat Ulema-e-Hind or is one of the leading Islamic organizations in India. It was founded in 1919 by Abdul Mohasim Sajjad, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Ahmed Saeed Dehlvi and Abdul Bari Firangi Mehli...
at Calcutta, in 1926, the participants included graduates of Darul Uloom, Deoband and they supported the group which called for complete independence of India from the British rule.
Indian National CongressThe Indian National Congress is a major political party in India. Founded in 1885 by Allan Octavian Hume, Dadabhai Naoroji, Dinshaw Wacha, Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee, Surendranath Banerjee, Monomohun Ghose, and William Wedderburn, the Indian National Congress became the leader of the Indian...
was to declare complete independence as its goal three years later, in its session at
LahoreLahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in Pakistan after Karachi. Historically the main city of the undivided Punjab, it is often called the Garden of Mughals because of its rich Mughal heritage...
.
The famous freedom fighter Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, who visited Darul Uloom during his visit to India in 1969, had said: "I have had relation with Darul Uloom since the time the Shaikh-ul-Hind,
Maulana Mehmud HasanShaykh-ul-Hind Maulana Mehmud Al-Hasan was an eminent Islamic Scholar who made tireless efforts in the freedom struggle during the British Rule in India. He was conferred upon by the title 'Shaykh-ul-Hind' which means the leading scholar of India.-Early life:Mehmud Hasan was born in the town of...
, was alive. Sitting here, we used to make plans for the independence movement, as to how we might drive away the English from this country and how we could make India free from the yoke of slavery of the
British RajThe British Raj was the British colonial rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; it can also refer to the period of dominion, and even the region under the rule...
. This institution has made great efforts for the freedom of this country".
Alumni scholars
The Deoband school of Islamic Sciences has produced a large number of notable scholars:
- Mehmood-ul-Hasan
Shaykh-ul-Hind Maulana Mehmud Al-Hasan was an eminent Islamic Scholar who made tireless efforts in the freedom struggle during the British Rule in India. He was conferred upon by the title 'Shaykh-ul-Hind' which means the leading scholar of India.-Early life:Mehmud Hasan was born in the town of...
- Anwar Shah Kashmiri
Hazrat Shaikhul Islam Imamul 'Asr Moulana Muhammad Anwar Shah Al Kashmiri rahmatullahi alaiyh was an eminent Sunni scholar...
- Shabbir Ahmad Usmani
Hazrat Shaikhul Islam Muhaqqiqul 'Asr Moulana Shabbir Ahmad 'Uthmani was an eminent Islamic scholar who endeavoured to provide Pakistan with an Islamic system of governance after its creation in 1947. He was a prominent theologian, writer, orator, politician, and expert in tafsir and hadith...
- Husain Ahmed Madani
Syed Husain Ahmad Madani was an Islamic scholar from the Indian subcontinent. He was conferred upon the title of Shaikhul Islam as to acknowledge his eminence in hadith and fiqh.- Education and spiritual training :...
- Ashraf Ali Thanwi
- Muhammad Shafi Uthmani (Mufti-e-Azam Pakistan)
- Muhammad Ilyas
Muhammad Ilyas al-Kandhlawi was the founder of the Islamic revivalist movement Tablighi Jamaat. Born in 1885 to a family of religious scholars, his early education was completed at home. He was then sent to study at the famous centre of Islamic learning, Darul Uloom Deoband, where he studied under...
Kandhelvi
- Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi
- Nik Aziz Nik Mat
Dato' Haji Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat is a Malaysian politician, an Islamic ulama and currently the Chief Minister of the state of Kelantan. He holds the position of Mursyidul Am or the spiritual leader within Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party. He was born 1931 in Pulau Melaka, Kota Bharu, Kelantan.His...
(Chief Minister of KelantanKelantan is a state of Malaysia. The capital and royal seat is Kota Bharu. The Arabic honorific of the state is Darul Naim, ....
State, MalaysiaMalaysia is a country in Southeast Asia that consists of thirteen states and three Federal Territories, with a total landmass of . The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government. The population stands at over 28 million inhabitants...
)
Recent developments
The Darul Uloom has expanded its activities and started new departments during the last decades. In view of great challenge from the
Ahmadiyya MovementAhmadiyya is a religious movement founded towards the end of the 19th century and originating with the life and teachings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad...
(Qadiyanism), Darul Uloom convened the All India Tahaffuz Khatm-e-Nubuwwat Conference and established a special department to refute Qadiyanism. It started the 'Shaikhul Hind Academy' for publishing books, and training students in Urdu journalism. In 1996, the Computer Department was opened, which was later extended and an Internet Department also added. The Darul Uloom has also introduced a two-year full-time Diploma in English language and literature for students wishing to pursue higher education in universities.
Condemnation of terrorism
In February 2008, an "Anti-terrorism Conference", organized by the seminary
Darul UloomDarul uloom , also transliterated dar al-`ulum, darul ulum etc., is an Arabic term which literally means "house of knowledge". The term generally means an Islamic seminary or educational institution—similar to or often the same as a madrassa or Islamic school—although a Darul Uloom often indicates...
in
DeobandDeoband is a city and a municipal board in Saharanpur district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located in the upper Doab region of Uttar Pradesh. Deoband used to be surrounded by dense forests, and was believed to be the abode of the Goddess Durga, according to one tradition this is...
,
Uttar PradeshUttar Pradesh , [often referred to as U.P.] is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 190 million people,...
, denounced all forms of terrorism, declaring that "Islam prohibits the killing of innocent people" and "Islam sternly condemns all kinds of oppression, violence and terrorism". The conference also denounced widespread attempts to blame religious Muslims for terrorist incidents.
Publications
The following
Journals and
Magazines are being published under the aegis of Darul Uloom Deoband and its alumni.
- Al-Daie (Arabic Monthly); Eds: Maulana Marghoobur Rahman and Maulana Noor Alam Khalil Amini
- Mahnama Darul Uloom (Urdu Monthly); Eds: Maulana Marghoobur Rahman and Maulana Habibur Rahman Qasmi
- Aaiena Darul Uloom (Urdu Fortnighly); Ed: Mufti Zafiruddin Miftahi
- Eastern Crescent (English Magazine).
See also
- Deobandi
A Deobandi is an individual, usually an Islamic scholar, who follows the methodology of the Deoband Islamic movement that began at Darul Uloom Deoband in Deoband, India when its foundation was laid in 1867 by its founders...
- Tablighi Jamaat
Tablighi Jamaat is an apolitical religious movement for whose principal aim is reformation of Muslims. In 1926, Muhammad Ilyas founded TJ as a voluntary, pacifist and independent movement...
- Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind
Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind or is one of the leading Islamic organizations in India. It was founded in 1919 by Abdul Mohasim Sajjad, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Ahmed Saeed Dehlvi and Abdul Bari Firangi Mehli...
- Markazul Maarif
Markazul Ma'arif, a voluntary social-welfare Non-Government Organisation with the sole motto of striving for the upliftment of economically and educationally backward segment of society. Since its inception Markaz has been uninterruptedly materializing various schemes and plans in different fields...
www.markazulmaarif.org
- Deoband Ulema's Movement for the freedom Of Indiahttp://attahawi.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/deoband-ulamas-movement.pdf
External links