| Darul Uloom Deoband | |
|---|---|
| دارالعلوم دیوبند दारुल उलूम देवबंद |
|
| Established | 1866 |
| Type | Islamic University |
| Chancellor | Majlis-e-Shoora |
| Vice-Chancellor | Abul Qasim Nomani |
| Acting Vice Chancellor | Abul Qasim Nomani |
| Location | Deoband, Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Website | darululoom-deoband.com |
The Darul Uloom Deoband (Hindi: दारुल उलूम देवबन्द, Urdu: دارالعلوم دیوبند) is an Islamic school in India where the Deobandi Islamic movement was started. It is located at Deoband, a town in Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It was founded in 1866 by several prominent Islamic scholars (Ulema), headed by Maulana Muhammad Qasim Nanotvi. The other prominent founding scholars were Maulana Rasheed Ahmed Gangohi and Haji Saiyyid 'abid Husaiyn. The institution is highly respected across the India, as well as in other parts of the Indian subcontinent.
A large group of scholars at the Darul Uloom Deoband had opposed the establishment of a state established along sectarian lines, particularly the demands of Muhammad Ali Jinnah's Muslim League for the Partition of British India into Muslim and non-Muslim sections.[1][2] It has been suggested that the real reason for their opposition to Partition was their desire to Islamize all of India.[3] Maulana Husain Ahmad Madani was one of the scholars who opposed the idea of Pakistan. He was also Shaiykhul-Hadees (Chief of Hadees department) of Darul Uloom Deoband and led the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, an organization of the 'Ulama, that saw nothing Islamic in the idea of Pakistan. He said: "All should endeavour jointly for such a democratic government in which Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and Parsis are included. Such a freedom is in accordance with Islam." The school advocates an orthodox version of Islam and has repeatedly distanced itself from religious extremism.
Contents |
| Key figures | |
|
Qasim Nanotvi · Rashid Gangohi |
|
| Notable Institutions | |
|
Darul Uloom Deoband, India |
|
| Movements | |
|
Tablighi Jamaat |
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 Gurakani. 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. (21 May 1866 A.D.) beneath a pomegranate tree. Nanautawi claimed he had been inspired to do so by a dream in which the Prophet Muhammad spoke to him.[4] The pedagogical philosophy of Deoband was focused on teaching revealed Islamic sciences, known as Manqulat, to the Indian Muslim population, according to the Hanafi 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 Urdu, the lingua franca of the urbanised section of the region, and supplemented it with study of Arabic (for theological reasons) and Persian (for cultural and literary reasons). 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 mandrasas across South Asia and further afield; the followers of this school of theology are often described as followers of the Deobandi school of thought.
Deoband's curriculum is based on the 17th-century Indo-Islamic syllabus known as Dars-e-Nizami. The core curriculum teaches Islamic law (sharee'ah), Islamic jurisprudence (Fiqh), traditional Islamic spirituality (Tasawwuf, which is the focus of Sufism), as well as several other fields of Islamic study.[5][6]
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 Hadees, Fiqh and so on.
Many Islamic schools throughout modern India, Bangladesh and Pakistan – and more recently in Afghanistan, the United Kingdom, the United States, South Africa – 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 Lucknow, Madrasah In'amiyyah [7] Camperdown, near Durban in South Africa, and three important seminaries in Pakistan, viz. Darul 'Uloom Karachi, Jami'ah Ashrafiyah Lahore,[8] and Jami'ah Ziyaul-Qur'an (Al-Ma'ruf Bagh-Wali Masjid), Faisalabad. 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.'
In the meeting of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind 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 Congress was to declare complete independence as its goal three years later, in its session at Lahore.
The famous freedom fighter Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, who visited Darul ‘Uloom during his visit to India in 1969, had said:[9] "I have had relation with Darul ‘Uloom since the time the Shaiykhul-Hind, Maulana Mehmud 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 British Raj. This institution has made great efforts for the freedom of this country".
The school has produced a large number of notable scholars. Among the most famous are:
The Darul ‘Uloom has expanded its activities and started new departments during the last decades. In view of great challenge from the Ahmadiyyah Movement, Darul ‘Uloom convened the All India Tahaffuz Khatm-e-Nubuwwat Conference and established a special department to refute Qaadiyaanism. It started the 'Shaiykhul 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 Daarul ‘Uloom has also introduced a two-year full-time Diploma in English language and literature for students wishing to pursue higher education in universities.
In February 2008, an "Anti-terrorism Conference", organized by the seminary Darul Uloom in Deoband, Uttar Pradesh, denounced all forms of terrorism, declaring that "Islam prohibits the killing of innocent people" and "Islaam sternly condemns all kinds of oppression, violence and terrorism". The conference also denounced widespread attempts to blame religious Muslims for terrorist incidents.[10]
The following journals and magazines are being published under the aegis of Darul ‘Uloom Deoband and its alumni.