Darul-Uloom, Ulemas change stand on Vande Mataram

Posted On: 09-Nov-2009 21:05:26 By: Sandhya || Deccan Herald

Chennai: In a significant development, Darul-Uloom and the Ulemas of Deoband, have changed their 12-year-old stand on rendering Vande Mataram to bring the Hindu-Muslim communities closer.

This development took place yesterday after a one-hour long meeting between the Ulema and Spiritual Guru and humanitarian leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Founder,Art of Living . Present at the meeting with Sri Sri, were Maulana Margub Urrrehman of Darul-Uloom, Darul Iftah in charge Mufti Habibur Rehman, who issued the fatwa 12 years ago, Mufti Ehsaan Qasmi and Usman Mansoorpuri of the Jamiat Ulema e Hind, anArt of Living press release here said.

Ulema said they do not have any objection to the National song and have left it to the conscience of Muslims who should decide for themselves whether they want to sing the song or not.

However, Maulana Khalik Madrasi of Darul Uloom also said that the 12 year-old fatwa on Vande Matram cannot be recalled now. Speaking to the media after the meeting, Sri Sri said, “I told them that ‘Vande’ doesnt just mean ‘puja’ or prayer, but it is also thanksgiving. The first lines of Vande Mataram are not objectionable in any way. This issue should not be given undue importance. The country is above all and there should be no rift between Hindus and Muslims.”

Quoting a Supreme Court judgment, Sri Sri also said that no one should be pressurised to sing Vande Mataram. In continuation of His efforts to bring people together, Sri Sri also urged everyone not to rake up issues which could provoke sentiments of either community and said, “It is important to maintain communication links to avoid misunderstandings. Through peaceful talk and dialogue, we can solve any issue and transform any situation. We have to have a progressive outlook,” the release said.

‘Vande Mataram fatwa not mandatory’

PNS/PTI | New Delhi/Muzaffarnagar || Daily Pioneer

Days after a top Muslim body passed a resolution asking the community members not to recite Vande Mataram, a prominent Islamic organisation which had issued fatwa against the National Song in 2006, on Monday said the edict cannot be withdrawn.

The fatwa department of Darul Uloom had issued an edict in 2006, describing recitation of Vande Mataram as anti-Islamic. Darul Uloom’s Vice-Chancellor Maulana Abdul Khalik Madrasi, however, said: “Fatwa is not an order but a guiding principle. People may abide it or ignore it.”

“We issue fatwa only when someone approaches us to seek guidance,” he said, adding that the seminary cannot withdraw the edict which was issued three years ago. The cleric, however, made it clear that his organisation has no objection to non-Muslims singing the song.

On November 3, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind in its 30th general session in Deoband had passed a resolution asking Muslims not to recite Vande Mataram on the grounds that some verses of the National Song are against the tenets of Islam.

Meanwhile, in Betul town of Madhya Pradesh, a group of Muslims led by a clergyman joined people from other communities in singing the song in front of a mosque.

A large number of people from a cross section of the society collected in front of the Jama Masjid at Betul Bazar at the invitation of its Imam Hafiz Abdul Razique and recited the song on Sunday. The event was organised by Rukmani Balaji Mandir, its founder Sam Verma, an NRI, said.

“It is not against Islam to sing Vande Mataram,” Razique said and added that he himself requested those taking part in the rally to sing the national song in front of the mosque.

In another significant development, Darul Uloom and the Ulema of Deoband, have changed their 12-year-old stand on Vande Mataram to bring the Hindu-Muslim communities closer. This development took place on Sunday after a one-hour-long meeting between the Ulema and spiritual and humanitarian leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, according to a Press release issued by the Art of Living.

Present at the meeting with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar were Maulana Margub Urrrehman of Darul Uloom, Darul Iftah in charge Mufti Habibur Rehman, who issued the fatwa 12 years ago, Mufti Ehsaan Qasmi and Usman Mansoorpuri of the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind.

Ulema said that they do not have any objection to the national song and have left it to the conscience of Muslims who should decide for themselves whether they want to sing the song or not.

Quoting a Supreme Court judgement, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar also said that no one should be forced to sing Vande Mataram.

‘Ulemas won’t stop Muslims from singing Vande Mataram

^{Published: Mon, 09 Nov 2009 at 20:31 IST Source : IANS}

New Delhi: In a bid to tone down the row over its fatwa against the singing of ‘Vande Mataram’, clerics from the Deoband Islamic seminary have said they won’t stop Muslims from singing the national song but the fatwa would stay.

The climbdown comes after some clerics from Darul Uloom Deoband met Hindu spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

“The clerics have changed their stand on ‘Vande Mataram’ to bring the Hindu-Muslim communities closer,” said a press statement from Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

The clerics, according to the press release, said they “do not have any objection to the national song” and have left it to the “conscience” of Muslims who should decide for themselves whether they want to sing it or not.

The press statement quoted Maulana Khalik Madrasi of the Darul Uloom as saying the fatwa on ‘Vande Mataram’ cannot be recalled now, but the Darul Uloom will not stop anyone from singing it.

Present at the meeting with Sri Sri were “Maulana Margubur Rehman of the Darul Uloom, Darul Iftah (fatwa section) in-charge Mufti Habibur Rehman, who issued the (decree), Mufti Ehsaan Qasmi and Usman Mansoorpuri of the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Hind”, the statement said.

Sri Sri told them that ‘Vande Mantaram’ is not a prayer but a means of thanksgiving.

“The first lines of ‘Vande Mataram’ are not objectionable in any way. This issue should not be given more importance. The country is above all and there should be no rift between the Hindu and Muslims,” he said.

Quoting a Supreme Court judgment, Sri Sri also said that no one should be pressurised to sing ‘Vande Mataram’.

Some clerics soften stand on ‘Vande Mataram’

TNN 10 November 2009, 02:49am IST

MUZAFFARNAGAR: Six days after the Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind passed a resolution asking Muslims not to sing Vande Mataram on the grounds that it was ‘‘un-Islamic’’, the community’s clerics have reportedly softened their stand. The change of heart came after spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, visited Deoband on November 8, 2009, and met Jamiat leaders.

The issue was discussed at a one-hour-long meeting, at which Maulana Margub Ur-rehman of Darul-Uloom, Darul Iftah in charge Mufti Habibur Rehman, Mufti Ehsaan Qasmi and Usman Mansoorpuri of the Jamiat were present. At the end of it, the ulema said they did not have any objection to the national song and had left it to the conscience of Muslims who could decide for themselves whether they wanted to sing the song or not.

The fatwa department of Darul Uloom had issued an edict in 2006, describing the recitation of Vande Mataram as anti-Islamic. Darul Uloom’s vice-chancellor Maulana Abdul Khalik Madrasi, however, said that a fatwa was not an order but a guiding principle. ‘‘People may abide by it or ignore it,’’ he said, adding that the seminary issued fatwas only when someone approached them ‘‘to seek guidance’’.

Maulana Madrasi, however, made it clear that the seminary could not withdraw the edict which was issued three years ago.          ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

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The Dangerous trend of Socio-Political-Religious Hindu Leaders to compromise with Anti Hinduness.

~ by Upananda Brahmachari,

- Hindu Existence Moderator.

If there would be the inclusion of  Omkar or existence of Bande Mataram in The Quran or Zinnah softened a little bit to the Hindu Leadership of India, the present dilemma  around the bizarre ” Pranayam without Omkar”, “Patriotism denouncing Bande Matatram” or ” Establishing  Jinnah as an Ambassador of Indo-Pak Unity” never been occurred anyway.

Most of us feel filthy to discuss anything about the Advinnah’s effort to justify a man who floated Direct Action against the innocent Hindus (by which Lakhs of Hindus were butchered, Hindu women-Girls were molested & rapped and Crores of Hindus were uprooted from their motherland) to grab the power by the separation of his own Mother Land. Jinnah born in India. But as he  completely denounced Bande Mataram in actual stage, virtually he separated his Mother Land for a Pak Land, Pakistan. Who can deny this truth ?

That mentality is still persisted in the mind-set of Indian Muslims which has come up recently with their resentment with chanting Omkar at the time of performing Pranayam and uttering Bande Mataram as a inspiring slogan in connection with Bharat Swaviman Andolan launched by Swami Ramdev. This is the pretext of the current crux for which personalities like Yogi Ramdev or Spiritual Guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar were compelled to betray with the basic theme of  Indian Culture and Heritage.

As a Yog expert Ramdevji knows better than any one about the significance of Omkar in the line of practicing Yog and Pranayam. But he bowed down to the Muslims expelling Omkar from Yoga and Pranayam for his penetration into the Muslim clan. In this way a new ‘Yogasutra‘  may be written but a disproving mentality of the Islamist gets the renewed energy to dicard the main-stream per thier choice.

And it is more dangerous when a divine guru like Sri Sri Ravi Shankar simplifies that “Bande” means “thanksgiving”, so Bande Mataram means Thanks to the Mother Land. Shame to this Clarification. As per our little knowledge is concerned “Bande” means “to salute” or “to adore” in its material meaning with a highest feeling of inexpressible reverence, gratitude and offerings in prayer to the Mother.. one’s Mother land.

Sri Sri might have collected a varied customs and etiquette from different places of Europe and America to assimilate. But the style of giving thanks to Mother or showing formalities to mother is quite obsolete in India. Please don’t try to disgrace the god gifted Mother & Child relationship here in India. It seems to us that you try to preach in Muslims to consider India as their Step Mother so that they convey a formal Thanks to their Step Mother. Don’t forget Martyr Ashfakullah, Qazi Najrul Islam, Prof. Sahidulah, M. C. Chagla and many other Patriotic Muslims accepted Bande Mataram  without hesitation. Please take up this direct line without falsifying anything.

In the above pictures Sri Sri is present with various Muslims Leaders of the world including Dr. Zakir Naik also. What is the opinion of  Dr. Zakir about Bande Mataram ? What are the effects of Sri Sri’s visit in the various Muslim Countries and Muslim Communities in the event of spreading Art of Living further ?? Has the mentality of Muslim community been changed a little to the conflict or fight against the Kaffirs ?? Please spread Art of Living in Pakistan and Bangladesh to protect the persecuted Hindus there. They completely believe in Omkar and Bande Mataram. You have not to face any trouble to bargain anyway to the Hindus to make them follower of  Omkar or Bandemataram. But you ventured to mold the Azamgarhis and Deobandis to teach a lesson against Jihad and Pan Islamism. One of these two places are treated as the Capital of proposed Mugalistan  in India. You know it well Ravishankarji.

The Hindu People of the World along with thousand of non Hindu admirers of  Sri Sri Ravishankarji or Yogrishi Ramdevji consider them as the Champion Spiritual and  Religious Leaders of Hindu Dharma. But they cannot accept any dangerous steps of disgracing the Dharma in the name of adjustment or popularity by their adorned Mentors. Please. Please.

There has been much debate on the fatwa issued by the Sunnite seat of learning in Deoband, Uttar Pradesh the Darul Uloom. The ulemas there have issued a fatwa, a decree, urging the Muslims of the nation not to sing the national song of India, Vande Mataram. They say that it is un-Islamic to do ‘sajda’ (bowing down in reverence) to anyone except Allah (God). The Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind has endorsed the fatwa issued by the Darul Uloom.

There was a conference held at Deoband by Darul Uloom in which a resolution was passed condemning terrorism and it was exhorted by the clergy there that the Muslims must fight this scourge that has inflicted not only India but the world. The Home Minister, Mr. P. Chidambaram graced the occasion as did some other dignitaries including Swami Agnivesh and Baba Ramdev.

Darul Uloom, Deoband is a seminary of the Sunni Muslims and has affiliations across the world.  It was founded in 1866 by several prominent Islamic scholars, headed by Maulana Muhammad Qasim Nanautawi. I may add here that Taliban and other ultra-orthodox outfits find their ideological moorings in the edicts of the Darul Uloom, Deoband.  There was much noise in the media as to how the Darul Ulooom had contributed to the freedom struggle and how they have always been faithful to India. The fact is that within the Darul Uloom, Deoband there were two factions, one that supported an undivided India and the other wanted an Islamic state of Pakistan. While Shabbir Ahmed Usmani and Ubaidullah Sindhi and others advocated a separate state of Pakistan for the Muslims of the subcontinent, others like Husain Ahmed Madani called for a united India. They hedged their bets both ways and knew they would never be the losers.

Vande Mataram is a song taken from Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel Anand Math which is a mixture of Bengali and Sanskrit. It is a beautiful song that became the beacon of Indian struggle for Independence. The said novel contains information about the violent revolt of Sanyasis against injustice inflicted by Muslims and the British in Bengal in the year 1772. The song has inspired a whole generation of people against oppression and was to become the national anthem after India’s independence. The only reason it was not approved was that Muslims objected to it. In the year 1937, during the meeting of the Congress Working Committee in Kolkata, it was decided to cut short this National Song, with the sole motive of appeasing Muslims. Thus began the era of misfortune of this song! The Muslims were not satisfied even then. They wanted to eliminate this song completely. On 17th March, 1938, the Chairman of the Muslim League, Barrister Mohammad Ali Jinnah raised objection to reciting the first stanza of ‘Vande Mataram’ also. Many believe that the opposition to Vande Mataram was the beginning of the formation of the Islamic state of Pakistan. Similar objections are being raised again, even though the edited version of the song is sung everywhere. This smacks of times past when Jinnah and the Muslims of the sub-continent were very keen to show a separate identity for themselves.

It is not as if all Muslims endorse what Deoband has proclaimed. Prof. Mushirul Hassan has said that there was no need for the Home Minister to go to Deoband. He added that any presence of the state in such functions gives legitimacy to orthodoxy. Farooq Abdullah said that he had no problem in singing the whole of the song as this is our national song. But then people like Farooq Abdullah are rare in politics. I may add here that the fatwas issued by Deoband include the following:

1. No coeducation for girls above the age of 10.
2. Opposition to women’s reservation bill in the Parliament, adding that this will further erode Muslim representation.
3. The Jamiat strongly opposed the Delhi High Court ruling legitimizing gay sex which it said would lead to “sexual anarchy and recognition of debauchery.”

Within Darul Uloom Deoband there are two factions now. The one led by Mahmood  Madani had organized this conference while the other abstained and called it a farce. It is evident that there are schisms within the Muslim society and there are sects and sub sects and while the Home Minister may have gone there to get an endorsement against terrorism and may have felt he had achieved a lot by roping in Deobandi school of Islam, the fact is that this is mere tokenism and such genuflection in front of the ultra-orthodox only weakens the ordinary Muslim who wants to move forward away from such extreme religious gatherings. Is it not true that most of us do not go to the temple, church or the mosque regularly? Religion has its place and it should not become the center of our existence.

Below are the lyrics of the beautiful song that has given us Indians (including Muslims) a sense of pride and joy:

Lyrics of Vande Mataram

Vande maataraM
sujalaaM suphalaaM malayaja shiitalaaM
SasyashyaamalaaM maataram ||

Shubhrajyotsnaa pulakitayaaminiiM
pullakusumita drumadala shobhiniiM
suhaasiniiM sumadhura bhaashhiNiiM
sukhadaaM varadaaM maataraM ||

Koti koti kantha kalakalaninaada karaale
koti koti bhujai.rdhR^itakharakaravaale
abalaa keno maa eto bale
bahubaladhaariNiiM namaami taariNiiM
ripudalavaariNiiM maataraM ||

Tumi vidyaa tumi dharma
tumi hR^idi tumi marma
tvaM hi praaNaaH shariire

Baahute tumi maa shakti
hR^idaye tumi maa bhakti
tomaara i pratimaa gaDi
mandire mandire ||

TvaM hi durgaa dashapraharaNadhaariNii
kamalaa kamaladala vihaariNii
vaaNii vidyaadaayinii namaami tvaaM

Namaami kamalaaM amalaaM atulaaM
SujalaaM suphalaaM maataraM ||

ShyaamalaaM saralaaM susmitaaM bhuushhitaaM
DharaNiiM bharaNiiM maataraM |”

वन्दे मातरम्
सुजलां सुफलां मलयजशीतलाम्
शस्यशामलां मातरम् ।
शुभ्रज्योत्स्नापुलकितयामिनीं
फुल्लकुसुमितद्रुमदलशोभिनीं
सुहासिनीं सुमधुर भाषिणीं
सुखदां वरदां मातरम् ।। १ ।। वन्दे मातरम् ।
कोटि-कोटि-कण्ठ-कल-कल-निनाद-कराले
कोटि-कोटि-भुजैर्धृत-खरकरवाले,
अबला केन मा एत बले ।
बहुबलधारिणीं नमामि तारिणीं
रिपुदलवारिणीं मातरम् ।। २ ।। वन्दे मातरम् ।
तुमि विद्या, तुमि धर्म
तुमि हृदि, तुमि मर्म
त्वं हि प्राणा: शरीरे
बाहुते तुमि मा शक्ति,
हृदये तुमि मा भक्ति,
तोमारई प्रतिमा गडि
मन्दिरे-मन्दिरे मातरम् ।। ३ ।। वन्दे मातरम् ।
त्वं हि दुर्गा दशप्रहरणधारिणी
कमला कमलदलविहारिणी
वाणी विद्यादायिनी, नमामि त्वाम्
नमामि कमलां अमलां अतुलां
सुजलां सुफलां मातरम् ।। ४ ।। वन्दे मातरम् ।
श्यामलां सरलां सुस्मितां भूषितां
धरणीं भरणीं मातरम् ।। ५ ।। वन्दे मातरम् ।।

Translation by Shree Aurobindo

Mother, I bow to thee!
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
bright with orchard gleams,
Cool with thy winds of delight,
Dark fields waving Mother of might,
Mother free.

Glory of moonlight dreams,
Over thy branches and lordly streams,
Clad in thy blossoming trees,
Mother, giver of ease
Laughing low and sweet!
Mother I kiss thy feet,
Speaker sweet and low!
Mother, to thee I bow.

Who hath said thou art weak in thy lands
When the sword flesh out in the seventy million hands
And seventy million voices roar
Thy dreadful name from shore to shore?
With many strengths who art mighty and stored,
To thee I call Mother and Lord!
Though who savest, arise and save!
To her I cry who ever her foeman drove
Back from plain and Sea
And shook herself free.

Thou art wisdom, thou art law,
Thou art heart, our soul, our breath
Though art love divine, the awe
In our hearts that conquers death.
Thine the strength that nervs the arm,
Thine the beauty, thine the charm.
Every image made divine
In our temples is but thine.

Thou art Durga, Lady and Queen,
With her hands that strike and her
swords of sheen,
Thou art Lakshmi lotus-throned,
And the Muse a hundred-toned,
Pure and perfect without peer,
Mother lend thine ear,
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
Bright with thy orchard gleems,
Dark of hue O candid-fair

In thy soul, with jewelled hair
And thy glorious smile divine,
Lovilest of all earthly lands,
Showering wealth from well-stored hands!
Mother, mother mine!
Mother sweet, I bow to thee,
Mother great and free!

The best part about this is that while it is not compulsory of all Indians to sing the song most Indians want to sing this. It is the so-called secularists who have reservations against the song. The most pathetic situation is that of the Bengali secular intellectuals. They are between a rock and a hard place on this one. While they would hate to endorse anything that is seen as ‘communal’, as is this song, the fact that this is a Bengali song interspersed with Sanskrit makes them cringe because they love their language so. They cannot reject this song nor can they advocate it, for obvious reasons. Majority of Muslims would not mind singing the national song, they would rather love it. It is so Indian and just so beautiful.

Darul Uloom, Deoband would also have not raised this issue again. They had their political compulsions. They did not want to be seen bowing down to the Indian state when they passed a fatwa against terrorism. They wanted to be seen to be the leaders of the Muslim community who had a mind of their own. Therefore while condemning terrorism they added a caveat that they exhort Muslims from singing the National song. It was a political assertion, more than anything else. Most Muslims do not take these ulema’s too seriously. But they do have a nuisance value and can turn the masses one way or the other. It was political brinkmanship when the ministers descended on Deoband. This helps no one, not the state, not any political party and definitely not the cause of the fight against terrorism.

Shah Waliullah And The Emergance Of Islamic Institutions.

The failure of the Great War of independence in 1857 was a turning point in the history of India. Its immediate consequences were twofold. Firstly, it demoralized the indigenous population of India to such an extent that they surrendered unconditionally to the supremacy of the British in almost all spheres of life. Secondly, it prompted the intelligentsia of the country to rethink the situation facing them and to identify ways to meet the challenges posed by British hegemony.

Religious scholars, who had taken up arms in the cause of Jihad in 1857, now turned their attention to the religious and intellectual revival of the masses. Foremost amongst these scholars were the scholars who belonged to the “Waliullah” tradition.

The closure of Madressa Rahimiyyah (which was run by the successors of the Waliullah tradition) and its affiliated institutions in 1857-1858 necessitated prompt action to safeguard the religious, social and cultural milieu of South Asian Muslims. With this in mind, within a decade of the failure of the First War of Independence, a foremost institute of Islamic religious education was established at Deoband – a small town 22 miles south of Saharanpur and 90 miles northeast of Delhi – that was declared the successor of Madressa Rahimiyyah.

On Thursday 15 Muharram 1283AH (30 May 1866), a group of concerned individuals gathered at Deoband and decided to establish the madressa. Necessary funds were collected and the madressa was inaugurated under the shade of a pomegranate tree on the uncarpeted floor of the old Chattah Wali Masjid of Deoband.

Haji Abid Husain (a pious and saintly man of Deoband who received khilafah from Haji Imdadullah Muhajir Makki) was the first to appeal for funds and was also the first to make a financial contribution. The first teacher of the institute was Mulla Mahmud, the first pupil was also named Mahmud, who later rose to international fame and became known as Shaikhul Hind (1851-1920). On 19 Muharram 1283AH, the establishment of the madressa, which came to be known as Darul Uloom, was formally announced. It was also announced that 401 rupees and eight annas had been collected, which would finance the boarding and lodging of 16 students and that more students would be accommodated as more funds became available. Within a year, the number of students rose to 78 and the services of four more teachers were acquired.

Although Haji Abid Husain was the originator of the idea, Mawlana Muhammad Qasim Nanotwi was the real man behind the madressa. He was the institute’s first rector and formulated an eight-point modus operandi for the institute based on shura and democratic norms. He also laid down a principle that governmental participation in the Darul Uloom’s running would be harmful to its purpose.

A Majlis-e-Shura (Consultation Board) for the Darul Uloom was established. The board comprised seven individuals including Mawlana Muhammad Qasim Nanotwi, Haji Abid Husain , Shaikh Nihal Ahmad, Mawlana Dhul Fiqar Ali (father of Shaykhul Hind Maulana Mahmud Hasan and a master of Arabic language and literature) and Mawlana Fazlur-Rahman (a high-ranking poet and Father of ‘Allamah Shabbir Ahmad ‘Uthmani, Maulana Habib ar-Rahman ‘Uthmani and Mufti Aziz-ur-Rahman, who later became Chief Mufti of Darul ‘Uloom Deoband) – all scions of the Waliullah tradition.

Shaikh Nihal Ahmad, a follower of Sayyid Ahmad Shahid, was among the most influential personalities of Deoband. The first head lecturer (Sadr Mudarris) was Mawlana Muhammad Yaqub Nanotwi, the son of Mawlana Mamluk Ali, who was a well-known disciple of Mawlana Rashiduddin (a renowned scholar who was among the foremost students of Shah Abdul Aziz Muhaddith Dehlawi), as was Mawlana Qasim Nanotwi.

Mawlana Qasim Nanotwi was well versed in the writings and thought of Shah Waliullah. His intellectual perspective was much the same as that of Waliullah and his family to the extent that Mawlana Abdul Hayy saw in him another Mawlana Muhammad Ismail Shahid. His method of delivering lectures and sermons also resembled that of Mawlana Ismail.

Mawlana Muhammad Munir Nanotwi – at one time the muhtamim (rector) of Darul Uloom and an erstwhile student of luminaries such as Mufti Sadruddin Azurdah, Mawlana Mamluk Ali and Shah Abdul Ghani – was a prominent participant in the jihad of 1857. He was appointed military secretary to Mawlana Qasim Nanotwi by Haji Imdadullah. A comprehensive scholastic genealogical table of the Ulama of the Deoband School showing the affinity with the tradition of Shah Waliullah has been given by Anwarulhasan Sherkoti. Their association with the Waliullah tradition has always been a matter of pride for all the scholars of Deoband, who consider the Darul Uloom an extension of Madressa Rahimiyyah. The well known exponent of Shah Waliullah’s thought, Mawlana Nasim Ahmad Faridi Amrohawi, has written a poem entitled ‘Shah Waliullah aur Darul Uloom Deoband’ in which he says that the Darul Uloom is the only memorial to Waliulllah’s association in India.”

Until 1291AH, the Darul Uloom was housed at various mosques and buildings, which soon proved to be insufficient to accommodate the growing number of students, teachers and other staff. At the graduation ceremony of 1291AH/1874, funds were raised to construct new buildings and a general appeal for donations was made. On Thursday 2 Dhul Hijjah 1292AH, the foundation stone of the present permanent building was laid, among others by Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi and Mawlana Muhammad Qasim Nanotwi. The ceremony was attended by delegates from across India.

Soon, a number of madressas were established on the pattern of Deoband. Some of these were formally affiliated to it, while others preferred to work independently. The Darul Uloom’s 1293AH annual report contains reports about affiliated madressas, which include Mazahirul Uloom Saharanpur; Qasimul Uloom Muradabad; a madressa at Gallauthi and Ambethah and two madressas in Thana Bhawan and Muzaffarnagar respectively.

Amongst these, Mazahirul Uloom and Qasimul Uloom flourished achieving great acclaim. The former was founded in late 1283AH/1867, and was named after Mawlana Muhammad Mazhar Nanotwi, its first principle. He was among prominent scholars produced by the Waliullah tradition and among the students of Shah Muhammad Ishaq, Mawlana Rashiduddin Khan, Mufti Sadruddin and Mawlana Mamluk Ali. Mawlana Mazhar was seriously wounded at Thana Bhawan during the War of Independence of 1857.

The Deobandi leaders had conceived the setting up of a network of such madressas, at least in north India between 1865 and 1899. At least thirty madressas were established in the United Provinces and Bihar; these continued well into the 1970s. There were also one hundred and eighty-seven madressas in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar between 1900 and 1946 that continued functioning till at least 1969. This inter alia indicates that the Deobandi Ulama aimed to create among Muslims a religio-intellectual consciousness through a well-knit system of instructional institutions.

Although the curriculum adopted by the Darul Uloom and its affiliated madressas is generally called the Dars-e-Nizami, it differs considerably from the original syllabus, which included only one collection of hadith, the Mishkat al-Masabih. The modified curriculum of Darul Uloom Deoband included eleven collections of hadith. Modifications were also made to other subjects; for instance, the syllabus of the Dars-e-Nizami originally consisted of 35 books, while the curriculum at Darul Uloom comprises some 81 books.

Shah Waliullah had also reduced the study of logic and philosophy to the minimum – his main emphasis being the Qur’an and fiqh. Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, being a member of the Majlis-e-Shura also advocated the exclusion of logic and Greek philosophy from Darul Uloom’s curriculum. In the early days of the madressa, members of the shura excluded these subjects altogether; later, they were included in the curriculum. The works of Shah Waliullah – Hujjat Allah al-Balighah, for instance – were also included in the curriculum some years later.

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THE CHAIN OF CREDENTIALS OF

THE GREAT SAVANTS OF DARUL ULOOM

In connection with the great ones of Darul Uloom the personality who tops the list is the same Shah Waliullah Dehelwi. Almost all the systems of the religious sciences in general and of the science of Hadith in particular that are current and extant in the sub-continent have origi­nated from him. Whatever zest for theological sciences that exists from Peshawar to Ras Kumari is due to the grace of this hose hold. It is the statement of a non-Indian religious divine that during his tour of India he did not meet any scholar of the science of Hadith who was not a disciple of Hadhrat Shah Waliullah through the medium of Hadhrat Shah Abdul Aziz.

Shah Sahib’s family, by virtue of its knowledge and learning, abstinence and piety, was considered very distinguished in Delhi. His father, Shah Abdur Raheem was one of the compilers of the Fatawa Alamgiri. As already stated in the foregone, he acquired knowledge from his father. At the age of 15 he had completed the course of the current sciences. Shah Sahib’s chain of authority, through his august father, reaches back to Allamah Jalaluddin Muhaqqiq Dawwani (d. 928/1521). In those days the element of rationalistic sciences was dominant in the syllabi in India. Hence to complete the study of the science of Hadith and to obtain the Sanad of authority Shah Sahib undertook a journey to the holy cities (Mecca and Madina), and there he acquired the Sanad for the correct re­citation of the Sihah and narration of Hadith from Shaikh Abu Tahir Madani and other illustrious Shaikhs. As regards Shah Sahib’s inherent geist and capability, his teacher of Hadith, Shaikh Abu Tahir Madani’s statement has been quoted supra that “Waliullah obtains the Sanad for the wordings of narration from me while I correct (my understanding of) the meanings of Hadiths through him”.

It was that period when the science of Hadith was passing through the last stage of enervation and deterioration. To propagate and to make current the science, of Hadith in such a predicament is indeed a stupendous achievement of Shah Sahib which, a glorious divine of Egypt. Syed Rasheed Reza, had to acknowledge in the following words: ­

“If the attention of our Indian divines had not been lavished on the science of Hadith in that period, then this science would have faded out of existence from the eastern countries, because from the 10th to the beginning of the 14th century Hijri, this science had reached the lost stage of decoy in Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Hejaz.”

Then, describing the condition of Egypt, he has stated:

“When I migrated to Egypt in 1315/1897, 1 saw the khatibs of Jamai Azhar and other mosques that they recite in their khutbas (sermons) such Hadiths, which are nowhere to be found in the tomes of Hadith. Among those Hadiths (which they recite) there are ‘weak’, ‘disavowed’ (Munkar), fabricated and counterfeit Hadiths also. The same was the condition of the preachers, muftis and teachers”.

Shah Sahib’s educational services are not continued to teaching only; he rather wrote such glorious books in different sciences the examples whereof are rarely found after the 8th century Hijri. Besides this, of Shah Sahib’s academic life there are many more momentous achieve­ments; to mention them here even briefly is not easy, for it is a separate topic.

Shah Sahib had four sons each one of whom was a bright star in the firmament of knowledge. The eldest amongst them was Shah Abdul ­Aziz.

HADHRAT SHAH ABDUL AZIZ

Hadhrat Shah Abdul Aziz (1159/1746–1239/1823) was the most erudite and glorious divine of his time. The dissemination of the sciences of the Quran and the Hadith that took place in his time of course, thro­ugh him has had no precedent in the annals of Islamic India. There is no nook and corner in India where Shah Abdul Aziz disciples may not be found. The statement of a non-Indian scholar has already been quoted above that during his travels in India he did not meet any scholar of Hadith who was not a disciple of Shah Sahib. Maulana Ubaydullah Sindhi is of the view that if ten persons benefited from the great quali­ties of Shah Waliullah, from Shah Abdul Aziz’s qualities must have benefited at least ten thousand persons.

In short Hadhrat Shah Abdul Aziz brought the foundation Hadhrat Shah Waliullah had laid for the re­naissance of the religious sciences to consummation. He established such a standard of knowledge whereby the religious sciences came to attain a special honor and dignity. Shah AbduI Aziz, after the death at his august father, served the cause of the religious sciences in Delhi for a long period of sixty years. Besides teaching, he wrote several books amongst which his Tafsir-e Fathul Aziz, a commentary on the Quran, Bustanul Muhaddithin, on the history of the classes of traditionists and their compilations, and the Tuhfa Ithna Ashriya on the reality of Shiaism; are really very famous. The last-named book is such an opus magnum of Shah Sahib that there exists no example thereof on this topic in the entire Islamic literature.

HADHRAT SHAH MUHAMMAD ISHAQ

Hadhrat Shah Muhammad Ishaq was Hadhrat Shah Abdul Aziz’s grandson (daughter’s son) and a distinguished pupil. In the presence of Shah Abdul Aziz he taught Hadith to the students for twenty years. In 1239-1823, Shah Abdul Aziz, entrusting Madrasah Rahimia before his death to Shah Muhammad Ishaq, appointed him as his succe­ssor. Till 1257/1841 he rendered the service of disseminating and propaga­ting the science of Hadith. Almost the whole of India benefited from his educational graces. He translated the Mishkatul Masabeeh into Urdu, which, at his instance, was transformed into a commentary by his well-guided pupil, Maulana Qutubuddin Khan, and is known as Maza­hir-e Haq, Mi’at Masa’iI and Rasa’il-e Arba’een are also his noteworthy works. Emigrating from India in 1257/1841 to Mecca, he settled down there and died after a few years.

It is stated in Tarjuma Tazkira Ulema-e Hind: “It is particularly notable that during the freedom fight of 1857 most of the pupils of Shah Muhammad Ishaq Dehelwi took part as Ulema in this movement, the most noteworthy amongst them being Mufti Inayat Ahmed Kakorwi (Sadar Amin, Bareilly), Maulana Abdul Jalil Ko’ili (Aligarhi), Mufti Sadaruddin Azurda, Shah Abu Saeed Mujaddidi (father of Shah Abdul Ghani Mujaddidi) and the pupils of their pupils, i.e.” the Ulema of Deoband, e.g., Maulana Muhammad Qasim Nanautawi, Maulana Rasheed Ahmed Gangohi, Maulana Muhammad Mazhar Nanautawi, Maulana Muhammad Munir Nanautawi etc.

HADHRAT SHAH ABDUL GHANI

After Hadhrat Shah Muhammad Ishaq’s emigration the honor of his successor ship fell to the lot of Hadhrat Shah Abdul Ghani Mujaddidi (1235/1819-1296/1878), Shah Abdul Ghani studied some books of Hadith under his father, Shah Abu Sa’eed, who was a pupil of Shah Abdul Aziz, and obtained the Sanad of some books from Shah Muha­mmad Ishaq. He during his time, despite his young age, was an incom­parable scholar of Hadith. Scholars and students used to come to him from every corner of the country and used to take pride in gleaning from “this harvest of accomplishment”. His school was the greatest centre of the science of Hadith in India. He wrote a scholium on Ibn Maja, which is known as Injahul Haja. Through his educational grace were produced peerless Ulema like Hadhrat Maulana Muhammad Qasim Nanautawi, Hadhrat Maulana Rasheed Ahmed Gangohi and Hadhrat Maulana Muhammad Yoqub Nanautawi, who infused a new life into the world of knowledge.

In the upheaval of 1857 this greatest institution of the science of Hadith was ravaged by the accidents of time and came to an end for good. Shah AbduI Ghani emigrated to Madina and there he passed away in the month of Muharram, A. H. 1296.

Regarding Hadhrat Shah Abdul Ghani, Maulana Hakim Abdul Hayy lakhnawi writes in his Nuzhatul Khwatir as under: ­

“Knowledge and practice, asceticism, forbearance, truthfulness, trust­-worthiness, chastity, self-preservation, bona fides, sincerity, resorting to Allah, fear of Allah, conformance to the prophetic Sunnah, excellent morals, spiritual communion (Muraqiba), benevolence to the people and disinclination to worldly assets; of such qualities he was exclusively the last paragon. Many Ulema and Shaikhs benefited from the blessings of his Majlis and his teachings. All the people of India and Arabia are un­animous as regards his greatness and saintliness. On Wednesday, the 6th of Muharram, A.H. 1296, he died at Madina and was laid to rest there”.

Another line of the Ulema of Deoband, through their pupilage to Hadhrat Maulana Mamluk Ali Nanautawi and Maulana Rasheeduddin Khan Dehelwi, reaches back to Shah Abdul Aziz. The details thereof are as under: ­

HADHRAT MAULANA MAMLUK ALI

The teacher of teachers, Hadhrat Maulana Mamluk Ali Nanautawi was one of the famed Ulema of his time, commanding a distinctive position among his contemporary divines. On textbooks, particularly those of Fiqh, he had such mastery that he remembered most of the books by heart. The condition of his memory was such that the late Sir Syed (Ahmed Khan) writes: “He has had complete proficiency in the rational and this tradition1 sciences and he can recall the text-books so thoroughly that, suppose, if the treasury of knowledge is emptied of all these books, it is possible to reproduce them from the tablet of his memory. Over and above this perfection and merit, his politeness and forbearance are beyond words”.

He was one of the well-guided pupils of Maulana Rasheeduddin Khan. The circle of his educational beneficence (i.e., the circle of stu­dents and disciples) was very extensive. His inspiring art of teaching produced innumerable scholars. Maulana Ashiq Ilahi Meeruthi has stated:

“Maulana Mamluk Ali, who had studied most of the text-books under the instruction of “the Moon of India” Hadhrat Maulana Rasheeduddin Khan, a disciple of Hadhrat Shah Abdul Aziz, was himself the teacher of such holy and famous personages and “the Suns of the Sky of Know­ledge” as Hadhrat Maulana Rasheed Ahmed Gangohi, Hadhrat Maulana Muhammad Qasim Nanautawi, Maulana Muhammad Mazhar, Dean of Mazahirul Uloom, and Hadhrat Maulana Muhammad Yaqub Nanautawi, Dean of Darul Uloom. All these gentlemen had quenched the thirst for religious sciences and the literary arts from this surging ocean, and driven from pillar to post they had at last found cure and satis­faction at this very threshold”.

Maulawi Karimuddin Panipati writes:­

“The new Arabic Madrasah is stable due to him. He has had perfect mastery over all the three languages: Persian, Urdu and Arabic; and is fully proficient in all the arts and sciences found in these languages. When a book of any subject is translated from English into Urdu, his keen mind grasps its fundamental principle so quickly as if he was conversant with this subject from the very beginning. In the work he has been appointed for, he has, as far as possible, never shown any default. So much benefit has been caused in the Madrasah by his beneficent being that perhaps it might not have accrued from any teacher in any time”.

This teacher of the teachers was the resort of students who, flocking to him from all over used to derive academic benefit. Besides the college hours, there used to be a throng of students at his residence during his, leisure-time. Maulawi Karimuddin writes: ­

“His house is the resort of students, his college the assemblage of Ulema and scholars; hundreds of students, deriving benefit from his blessed being went as scholars to different parts of India. Besides teaching the college-students, he teaches books of every subject to other people at his residence. All his precious time till the dead of night, is divided over the teaching of students. Hundreds of students flock to him from far and near for being educated in different sciences and it is far from his affability that he might disappoint any student”.

Hadhrat Gangohi’s statement has been reported in Tazkiratur Rasheed as follows: ­

“In the beginning we used to study under other teachers but we did not feel satisfied. Sometimes the lesson used to be short and sometimes we would not receive a reply to the searching of our hearts. But when we reached the presence of Maulana Mamluk AIi, we got satisfied and finished the books within a short time, as if he had poured them into our throats in the form of a mixture. There were several good teachers in Delhi in those days but such teachers who might have complete grasp of the meaning and instill it into the student’s mind by lecturing on it in different ways, were’ only two: one was our teacher Maulana Mamluk Ali and the other, also our teacher, Mufti Sadaruddin Azurda. (Allah’s mercy be on them!)

As regards Hadhrat Maulana Mamluk Ali’s academic insight and perception, Maulana Muhammad Yaqub Nanautawi has written that: “before him it was difficult to make progress without grasping the meaning (of a lesson) because he used to make out from the diction whether this fellow (student) has grasped the meaning or not”.

To compute the number of the pupils of Hadhrat Ustazul Asatiza (the teacher of teachers) is very difficult. Amongst his pupils the names of great Ulema like Maulana Muhammad Qasim Nanautawi, Maulana Rasheed Ahmed Gangohi, Maulana Muhammad Yaqub Nanautawi, Mau­lana Muhammad Mazhar Nanautawi, Maulana Ahmed Ali Saharanpuri, Maulana Shaikh Muhammad Thanwi, Maulana Zulfiqar Ali Deobandi, Maulana Fazlur Rahman Deobandi, Maulana Muhammad Munir Nanautawi, Maulawi Jamaluddin Madarul Muhim of Bhopal (chief-minister of the erstwhile Bhopal state), Maulawi Karimuddin Panipati, compiler of the Tazkira-e Tabaqatus Shu’ara, Shamsul Ulema Dr. Ziauddin L.L.D, Maulana Alim Ali Moradabadi, Maulawi Samiullah Dehelwi, Maulana Abdur Rahman Panipati, etc. are especially noteworthy.

It is stated in Sawaneh Maulana Muhammad Ahsan Nanautawi that Hadhrat Maulana Mamluk Ali had translated the first four and the eleventh and twelfth discourses of Euclid from Arabic. Besides this, he is also reported to have translated the Tirmizi and Trikh-e Yamini.

He was professor of Arabic sciences in the Delhi College. He died on 11th Zil Hijja 1267/1851, and lies buried in Shah Waliullah’s grave yard, ‘Mihndiyun’, in front of the mosque. His grave is now untraceable.

HADHRAT MAULANA RASHEEDUDDIN KHAN

He was Hadhrat Shah Rafiuddin’s disciple. In the rational and the traditional sciences, particularly in scholastic theology, he was a match­less scholar of his time. Shah Sahib had taught and trained him as his own son, always, thinking of and trying to reform and improve him. After Shah Rafiuddin, Shah Abdul Aziz and Shah Abdul Qadir taught and trained him.

Though Maulana Rasheeduddin Khan had had perfect proficiency in all sorts of subjects, he had acquired special experience in mathematics, and in those days hardly any man would dare to compete with him in these subjects. He had a prodigious knack in eristic and was an unrivalled litterateur in the Arabic language.

Besides his knowledge and learning, Maulana Rasheeduddin’s asce­ticism (zuhd) and piety (taqwa) were also acknowledged. He used to live a contented life. Once the post of a judge was offered to him but he declined to accept it. In 1825 when the famous Madrasah Ghaziuddin of Delhi was changed into a college, he was appointed as the head teacher of Arabic in it. He used to get a salary of Rs. 100/- p.m. but being magnanimous by nature, he would help, as for as he could, any needy man who approached him. He died in 1249/1833 at nearly seventy years of age.

HADHRAT SHAH RAFIUDDIN

He was Shah Abdul Aziz’s younger brother and an illustrious divine of the Waliullahian family. He was born in 1163/1749. When Shah Abdul Aziz was no more able to teach due to several ailments and loss of sight, he appointed Shah Rafiuddin in his place. Scholars and students used to flock to Delhi from far off places to derive benefit from Shah Sahib. He was a versatile genius, having mastery over every subject and this peculiarity of his was famous that to the teaching of whichever subject he turned his attention; it seemed as if that very subject was his specialty. As regards his command ever mathematics, Shah Abdul Aziz used to remark that:

“Maulawi Rafiuddin has advanced so much in mathematics that per­haps its inventor too must not have advanced so much”.

At another place he says: ­

“There must be no match to Maulawi Rafiuddin in India and abroad in the subject of mathematics”.

Amongst his works the Urdu translation of the holy Quran, Muqa­ddamatul Ilm, Takmilul Azhan, Asrarul Muhabbat, and Qiyamat Nama are very famous. He died in 1233/1817 and lies in eternal rest in his family graveyard.

The late Sir Syed Ahmed Khan writes: ­

“All the reputed scholars of India are the beneficiaries of his (Shah Rafiuddin’s) grace-gifting person. He had such aptitude with each subject that he used to teach diverse subjects and different sciences at one and the same time. When he diverted his attention from the teaching of one to that of another the audience would feel as if the dress of uni­queness in the same subject had been cut for the body of his talent. These accomplishments notwithstanding, his imparting of the esoteric grace was such that had Junayd of Baghdad and Hasan of Basra lived in his time they would have indubitably considered themselves the lowest beneficiaries”.