Darul Uloom Deoband

The Darul Uloom Deoband (Urdu: دار العلوم دیوبند‎) is the Darul uloom Islamic school in India where the Deobandi Islamic movement began. It is located at Deoband, a town in Saharanpur district, Uttar Pradesh. The school was founded in 1866 by the ulema (Islamic scholars) Muhammad Qasim Nanotvi, Rasheed Ahmed Gangohi and 'Abid Husaiyn.

Program

The school teaches manqulat (revealed Islamic sciences) according to the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence. In this seminary, Nanautawi instituted modern methods of learning such as teaching in classrooms, a fixed and carefully selected curriculum, lectures by academics who were leaders in their fields, exam periods, merit prizes, and a publishing press. Students were taught in Urdu, and sometimes in Arabic for theological reasons or Persian, for cultural and literary reasons. The curriculum is based on a highly modified version of the 17th century Indo-Islamic syllabus known as Dars-e-Nizami. The students learn the Quran and its exegesis; Hadith and its commentary; and juristic rulings with textual and rational proofs. They also study the biography of Muhammad, Arabic grammar, language and literature, and Farsi (Persian).^[1]

The syllabus consists of many stages. The five-year Nazirah (primary course) teaches Urdu, Persian, Hindi and English. The next level is the Hifze Quran. This involves the memorization of the Quran over two to four years. A few students will then choose Tajwid e Hafs (melodious recitation). The student is taught the detailed recitation rules of the Quran as laid down by Qari Hafs. Still fewer will take up the next course, the Sab'ah and 'Asharah Qira'at (study of all the ten Quran recitations.

A post graduate studies equivalent is the Fazilat course taken over eight years. It commences with Arabi Awwal, in which the basics of the Arabic language is the main aim, and finishes with Daura e Hadith, in which the main books of the saying of the Holy Prophet are taught. A prerequisite for this course is completion of primary education. Memorization of the Quran is also recommended. Students who complete the Fazilat may use the title Alim or Maulvi. The Daurae Hadith (final year) class is taught in the basement of the large Masjid Rasheed (Rasheed Mosque) which was constructed in the style of the Taj Mahal. In the 2017 - 2018 academic year (1438-1439 AH), 1664 students attended the Daurae Hadith class.

Almost a quarter of the students who complete the Daurae Hadith continue their studies. These advanced courses include Takmil Ifta (Jurisprudence); Takmil Adab (Arabic literature); and Takhassus fil Hadith (Hadith).^[2] Students who complete the Takmil Ifta take the title Mufti.

Role in the Indian independence movement

The political ideals of Darul-Uloom Deoband were founded up to ten years prior to the opening of the seminary. In 1857 (AH 1274), Imdadullah Muhajir Makki (a spiritual leader) and his followers, Muhammad Yaqoob Nanautavi and Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi and others, gathered at Thana Bhawan in violent protest against British rule and continued their call for the independence of India.

In 1913 AD (1333 HD), Nanautavi's pupil, Mahmud al-Hasan was a leader in the independence movement. He incited revolution through a scheme which the Rowlatt committee called the Silken Letters. However, the scheme failed and al-Hasan and his followers were arrested and exiled. In 1920 AD (1338HD), al-Hasan was returned from exile in Malta. His group, Jami'atul-Ulama, which included Husain Ahmad Madani, Kifayatullah Dehlavi, Fakhrud-Deen Ahmad, and later on, Hifzur Rahman, Ateequr-Rahman Usmani, Minnatullah Rahmani, Habibur-Rahman Ludhyanvi, and Muhammad Miyan Deobandi joined with the Indian National Congress. In 1926 AD (1345 HD) and 1927 AD (1346 HD), graduates of the school called for Indian independence at Jami'atul-Ulama meetings in Calcutta and Peshawar. Madani opposed the suggestion of the All-India Muslim League for the partition of India along sectarian lines. He also advocated democratic government with religious freedoms and tolerance.^[3][4][5]

On 29 December 1929 AD, Majlis-e-Ahrar-ul-Islam (Majlis-e-Ah'rãr-e-Islam,Urdu: مجلس احرارلأسلام‎, or Ahrar), a conservative Sunni Muslim Deobandi political party was founded in Lahore, Punjab, . The founding members of the party were Chaudhry Afzal Haq, Syed Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari, Maulana Habib-ur-Rehman Ludhianvi, Maulana Mazhar Ali Azhar, Maulana Zafar Ali Khan and Dawood Ghaznavi.^[6] The founding members were disillusioned by the Khilafat Movement, which had aligned with the Indian National Congress.^[7] The party gathered support from the urban lower-middle class. It opposed Muhammad Ali Jinnah, leader of the All-India Muslim League and it objected to the persecution of the Ahmadiyya religious community.^[8]

In 1969 AD (1389 HD), Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, the Pashtun independence activist, addressed the students of the school and said, "I have had relation with Darul-Uloom since the time the Shaikhul-Hind Maulana Mahmood Hasan 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 English. This institution has made great efforts for the freedom of this country".

Fatwas and controversy

In January 2012, scholars from a Deobandi school issued a fatwa (religious edict) calling for the author Salman Rushdie to be barred from entering India to attend a literature festival because he had offended Muslim sentiments.^[9][10]

In May 2010, clerics from a Deobandi school issued a fatwa stating that men and women cannot work together in public offices unless the women are properly clothed.^[11][12][13]

In September 2013, scholars from a Deobandi school issued a fatwa banning photography as un-Islamic.^[14]

The spread of the Deobandi movement in the United Kingdom has produced some criticism concerning their views on interfaith dialogue and values like democracy or the rule of (secular) law. In September 2007 Andrew Norfolk of The Times published an article titled "the hardline takeover of British mosques" about the influence of the Deobandis whom the author called a "hardline islamic sect".^[15]

In February 2008, an anti-terrorism conference, organized by the seminary, denounced all forms of terrorism.^[16]

Alumni

The school has links to national and international Islamic educational and theological organizations. Graduates of the school have established seminaries such as Darul Uloom Sabeelus Salam in Hyderabad;^[17] Camperdown, near Durban in South Africa; Darul 'Uloom Karachi, Jami'ah Ashrafiyah Lahore,;^[18] Jami'ah Ziyaul-Qur'an (Al-Ma'ruf Bagh-Wali Masjid), Faisalabad; and Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Moinul Islam, Chittagong, Bangladesh.

Notable alumni of the school include:

• Mahmood Hasan Deobandi, Shaikh-al-Hind, first student of Darul Uloom, Deoband and leader of the anti-colonial Silk Letter Conspiracy.
• Ashraf Ali Thanwi, a sufi sheikh, known for his Quran exegesis, Bayanul Quran, and Bahishti Zewar (about jurisprudence for women)
• Anwar Shah Kashmiri, Allamah and Hadith scholar known for his photographic memory. Former Shaikhul Hadith of Darul Uloom Deoband
• Husain Ahmed Madani, former shaikhul hadith of Darul Uloom, was an Islamic scholar from the Indian subcontinent. His followers called him Shaykh al-Islām, Shaykh Ul Arab Wal Ajam to acknowledge his expertise in hadith and fiqh. and leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind
• Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi, was a political activist of the Indian independence movement and one of its vigorous leaders. Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi struggled for the independence of British India and for an exploitation-free society in India.
• Muhammad Ilyas Kandhalawi, founder of Tabligh Jamaat
• Mufti Muhammad Shafi Uthmani was a South Asian Sunni Islamic scholar of the Deobandi school of Islamic thought. A Hanafi jurist and mufti, he was also an authority on shari'ah, hadith, tafsir (Qur'anic exegesis), and tasawwuf (Sufism). After the independence he moved to Pakistan, where he established Darul Uloom Karachi in 1951. Of his written works, his best-known is Ma'ariful Qur'an, a tafsir of the Qur'an.
• Maulānā Sayyid Taj Mahmūd Amrōtī, was a scholar, fighter against British control of India, and educationalist, He led the movement of "Reshmi Roomal" & "Hijrat Movement" to Afghanistan.
• Ghulam Murshid, former honorary khateeb at Badshahi Mosque, Lahore
• Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, Shaikhul Islam and former Member, Constituent Assembly of Pakistan
• Maulana Abdul Haq Akorwi, was a Pakistani Islamic scholar and the founder, chancellor, and Shaykh al-Hadith of the Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Haqqania. He was involved in politics as a member of the political party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam. He served three times in the National Assembly of Pakistan and was an active proponent of the Khatm-i Nabuwwat movement.
• Habib-ur-Rehman Ludhianvi, leader of Ahrari
• Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, Bangladeshi politician;
• Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, former chief minister of Kelantan State, Malaysia
• Syed Abuzar Bukhari
• Syed Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari, former president of All-India Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam.
• Ubaidul Haq, former chief cleric of Bangladesh.
• Shah Ahmad Shafi, Sheikh ul-Islam Allama Shah Ahmad Shafi is the present chief of Hefajat-e-Islam Bangladesh, present rector of Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Moinul Islam Hathazari and also the chairman of Bangladesh Qawmi Madrasah Education Board

Publications

The following journals and magazines are published under the aegis of Darul ‘Uloom Deoband and its alumni.

• Al-Da'ee/Ad-Da'ee, Arabic monthly periodical.^[19]
• Maah Namah Darul ‘Uloom, Urdu monthly periodical.^[20]
• Aaeenah Darul ‘Uloom, Urdu fortnightly periodical.^[21]

See also

• Tablighi Jamat
• Nowshera District
• Markazul Maarif
• Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam
• Darul Uloom Zakariyya
• List of Mohtamims of Darul Uloom Deoband
• List of Deobandi universities

References

External links

• Tabassum F. Deoband Ulema's Movement for the Freedom of India. Jamiat Ulama i-Hind, New Delhi, pdf at Attahawi blog, July 2007.
• Darul ‘Uloom Deoband, India, official website.
• Deoband movement website.
• Darul ‘Uloom Deoband Indian mosques blog.
• Khabrein Indian Muslim news and opinion website.
• Deobandi Islam Global security organisation website.
• Metcalf B. "Traditionalist" Islamic Activism: Deoband, Tablighis, and Talibs. Social Science Research Council, non-profit organisation, Brooklyn, New York.
• ‘Ulama's progressive stand on Yoga, terrorism, other issues needs to be praised. Indscribe's Blog, February 2009.

Coordinates: 29°41′32″N 77°40′39″E / 29.69222°N 77.67750°E / 29.69222; 77.67750