The Darul Uloom Deoband is an Islamic seminary (

darul uloom Darul uloom (), also spelled ''dar-ul-ulum'', is an Arabic term that 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 � ...

) in India at which the Sunni Deobandi Islamic movement began. It is located in Deoband, a town in Saharanpur district, Uttar Pradesh. The seminary was established by

Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi (1832 – 15 April 1880) () was an Indian Sunni Hanafi Maturidi Islamic Scholar, theologian and a Sufi who was one of the main founders of the Deobandi Movement, starting from the Darul Uloom Deoband. Name and li ...

, Fazlur Rahman Usmani, Sayyid Muhammad Abid and others in 1866. Mahmud Deobandi was the first teacher and

Mahmud Hasan Deobandi Mahmud Hasan Deobandi (also known as Shaykh al-Hind; 1851–1920) was an Indian Muslim scholar and an activist of the Indian independence movement, who co-founded the Jamia Millia Islamia university and launched the Silk Letter Movement for t ...

was the first student. On 14 October 2020, the executive council of the seminary appointed

Arshad Madani Arshad Madani (born in 1941) is an Indian Muslim scholar and the current Principal of Darul Uloom Deoband. He succeeded Asad Madni as the eighth president of the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind.Abul Qasim Nomani Abul Qasim Nomani (Arabic: مفتي أبوالقاسم نعماني) is an Indian Sunni Muslim scholar and the current Vice Chancellor of Darul Uloom Deoband. He is ranked among The 500 Most Influential Muslims. Biography Abul Qasim Nomani ...

as the senior hadith professor (''shaykh al-hadith'').

History

Darul Uloom Deoband was established on 30 May 1866 by Fazlur Rahman Usmani, Sayyid Muhammad Abid, Muhammad Qasim Nanotawi,

Mehtab Ali Mehtab may refer to: * Mehtab (actress), Indian actress * Mehtab Kadınefendi, wife Sultan Abdülmecid I * Mehtab Bagh Mehtab Bagh () is a charbagh complex in Agra, North India. It lies north of the Taj Mahal complex and the Agra Fort on the o ...

, Nehal Ahmad and Zulfiqar Ali Deobandi. Mahmud Deobandi was appointed as the first teacher, and

was the first student who enrolled in the seminary. In 1982, during the Vice Chancellorship of

Muhammad Tayyib Qasmi Muhammad Tayyib Qasmi (known as Qari Muhammad Tayyib) was an Indian Sunni Islamic scholar who served as Vice Chancellor of Darul Uloom Deoband for more than half a century. He was grandson of Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi, the founder of the Darul ...

, administrative disputes occurred in the seminary which led to the formation of Darul Uloom Waqf. The spread of the Deobandi movement in the United Kingdom has produced some criticism concerning their views on interfaith dialogue and values including democracy, secularism, and the rule of law. In September 2007 Andrew Norfolk of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' published an article titled "Hardline takeover of British mosques" about the influence of the Deobandis whom the author called a "hardline islamic sect". Masjid Rasheed

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

Program

The school teaches ''manqulat'' (revealed Islamic sciences) according to the

Hanafi The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named a ...

school of Islamic jurisprudence. In this seminar, Nanawtawi 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 Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

for theological reasons or

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

, for cultural and literary reasons. The curriculum is based on a highly modified version of the 18th century Indo-Islamic syllabus known as

Dars-e-Nizami Dars-i Nizami is a study curriculum or system used in many Islamic institutions ( madrassas) and Dar Ul Ulooms, which originated in the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century and can now also be found in parts of South Africa, Canada, the United ...

. The students learn the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...

and its exegesis;

Hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...

and its commentary; and juristic rulings with textual and rational proofs. They also study the biography of

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...

Arabic grammar Arabic grammar or Arabic language sciences ( ar, النحو العربي ' or ar, عُلُوم اللغَة العَرَبِيَّة ') is the grammar of the Arabic language. Arabic is a Semitic language and its grammar has many similarities with ...

Arabic language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

, and

Persian language Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken a ...

. 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 Arabic Hafs. Still fewer will take up the next course, the ''Sab'ah and 'Asharah

Qira'at In Islam, ''Qirāah'', (pl. ''Qirāāt''; ar, قراءات , lit= recitations or readings) are different linguistic, lexical, phonetic, morphological and syntactical forms permitted with reciting the holy book of Islam, the Quran. Differ ...

'' (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 sayings of Muhammad 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 "an under construction seven storied building". 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 Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...

); ''Takmil Adab'' (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

literature); and ''Takhassus fil Hadith'' (

). Students who complete the ''Takmil Ifta'' take the title ''

Mufti A Mufti (; ar, مفتي) is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion (''fatwa'') on a point of Islamic law (''sharia''). The act of issuing fatwas is called ''iftāʾ''. Muftis and their ''fatwas'' played an important role ...

''.

Role in the Indian independence movement

The political ideals of Darul Uloom Deoband were founded up to ten years prior to its opening. In 1857 (1274 AH),

Imdadullah Muhajir Makki Imdadullah Muhajir Makki (1817 – 1899) was an Indian Muslim Sufi scholar of the Chishti Sufi order. His disciples include Muhammad Qasim Nanautawi, Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, and Ashraf Ali Thanwi. In the Indian Rebellion of 1857, he led the Musl ...

(a spiritual leader) and his followers,

Muhammad Qasim Nanautawi Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi (1832 – 15 April 1880) () was an Indian Sunni Hanafi Maturidi Islamic Scholar, theologian and a Sufi who was one of the main founders of the Deobandi Movement, starting from the Darul Uloom Deoband. Name and ...

, Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi, Muhammad Yaqub Nanautawi and others gathered at

Thana Bhawan Thana Bhawan is a small town in Shamli district (formerly part of Muzaffarnagar district) in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. District Shamli is a newly constructed district. Before becoming a new district, it came under district Muzaffarnag ...

to protest against British rule and continue their call for the independence of India. The fought what is called the

Battle of Shamli Battle of Shamli or Battle of Thana Bhawan was fought on 10 May 1857 between the forces of Imdadullah Muhajir Makki and the East India Company, in the series of Rebellion of 1857. On 10 May 1857, local Muslims under the leadership of Imdadullah ...

. In 1913 (1333 AH), Nanautawi's pupil,

was a leader in the independence movement. He incited revolution through a scheme which the

Rowlatt committee The Rowlatt Committee was a Sedition Committee appointed in 1917 by the British Indian Government with Sidney Rowlatt, an Anglo-Egyptian judge, as its president. Background The purpose of the Rowlatt Committee was to evaluate political terrorism ...

called the ''Silken Letters''. However, the scheme failed and Hasan and his followers were arrested and exiled. Hasan was returned from exile in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, and he reached Bombay in June 1920. His group,

Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind or Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind () is one of the leading organizations of Islamic scholars belonging to the Deobandi school of thought in India. It was founded in November 1919 by a group of Muslim scholars including Abdul Bari Fi ...

, which included

Husain Ahmad Madani Hussain Ahmad Madani (6 October 1879 – 5 December 1957) was an Indian Islamic scholar, serving as the principal of Darul Uloom Deoband. He was among the first recipients of the civilian honour of Padma Bhushan in 1954.

, Kifayatullah Dehlawi, Syed Fakhruddin Ahmad, and later on, Hifzur Rahman Seoharwi,

Atiqur Rahman Usmani Atīqur Rahmān Usmānī (1901 – 12 May 1984) was an Indian Muslim scholar and an activist of Indian independence movement who co-founded Nadwatul Musannifeen and the All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat. Usmānī was an alumnus of the Darul ...

Minnatullah Rahmani Minnatullah Rahmani (7 April 1913 – 20 March 1991) was an Indian Sunni Muslim scholar who served as the first General Secretary of All India Muslim Personal Law Board. He was an alumnus of Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama and Darul Uloom Deoband, and ...

Habib-ur-Rehman Ludhianvi Habib-ur-Rehman Ludhianvi (3 July 1892 – 2 September 1956) was one of the founders of Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam. He belonged to an Arain (tribe) and was a direct lineal descendant of Shah Abdul Qadir Ludhianvi, the freedom fighter against Br ...

, and

Muhammad Miyan Deobandi Muhammad Miyan Deobandi (4 October 1903 - 24 October 1975) was an Indian Sunni Islamic scholar, academic, historian, freedom struggle activist, who served as the fifth general secretary of the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind. He wrote books such as ''Ase ...

joined with the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

. In 1926 and 1927 (1345 abs 1346 AH), graduates of the school called for Indian independence at Jamiat Ulama meetings in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

and

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

. Madani opposed the suggestion of the

All-India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party established in Dhaka in 1906 when a group of prominent Muslim politicians met the Viceroy of British India, Lord Minto, with the goal of securing Muslim interests on the Indian subcont ...

for the partition of India along sectarian lines. He also advocated democratic government with religious freedoms and tolerance. On 29 December 1929, ''

Majlis-e-Ahrar-ul-Islam Majlis-e Ahrar-e Islam ( ur, مجلس احرارلأسلام), also known in short as Ahrar, is a religious Muslim political party in the Indian subcontinent that was formed during the British Raj (prior to the Partition of India) on 29 Dece ...

'' (''Majlis-e-Ah'rar-e-Islam'', ur, مجلس احرارلأسلام, or ''Ahrar''), a conservative Sunni Muslim Deobandi

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

was founded in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

. The founding members of the party were

Chaudhry Afzal Haq Chaudhry Afzal Haq (1891–8 January 1942) was born in a Muslim family, a writer, humanitarian, leader and co-founder of Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam, and a senior political figure in the history of Indian subcontinent. He worked to help the poor an ...

, Syed Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari,

Mazhar Ali Azhar Mazhar Ali Azhar (13 March 1895 – 4 November 1974) was a politician in British India and later Pakistan, and one of the founders of Majlis-e-Ahrar-ul-Islam. He was elected three times to the Punjab Assembly, took part in the Madhe Sahaba Agi ...

Zafar Ali Khan Zafar Ali Khan (1874– 27 November 1956) ( pnb, – ), also known as Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, was a Pakistani writer, poet, translator and a journalist who played an important role in the Pakistan Movement against the British Raj. He is genera ...

and Dawood Ghaznavi. The founding members were disillusioned by the Khilafat Movement, which had aligned with the

.Jaffrelot C
''A history of Pakistan and its origins.''
Anthem Press, 2004. , . The party gathered support from the urban lower-middle class. It opposed Muhammad Ali Jinnah, leader of the

and in the early years of Pakistan wanted Ahmadiyas to be declared non-Muslims.

Fatwas

A fatwa is “an issue arising about law and religion, explained in answer to questions received about it” by

mufti A Mufti (; ar, مفتي) is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion (''fatwa'') on a point of Islamic law (''sharia''). The act of issuing fatwas is called ''iftāʾ''. Muftis and their ''fatwas'' played an important role ...

s (Islamic jurists). Muftis at Darul Ifta (fatwa department), Darul Uloom Deoband are responsible for giving fatwas. On 31 May 2008, the seminary issued a significant public “Fatwa against terrorism” after a public rally in Delhi with around 100,000 representatives from nearly 6,000 madrasas across India, including those from different sects. The fatwa was a first of its kind in

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...

and stated that "in Islam, creating social discord or disorder, breach of peace, rioting, bloodshed, pillage or plunder and killing of innocent persons anywhere in the world are all considered most inhuman crimes.” The edict was signed by Habibur Rahman Khairabadi.

Controversial Fatwas

In January 2012, scholars from a Deobandi school issued a religious decision calling for the author

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and We ...

to be barred from entering India to attend a literature festival because, in their opinion, he had offended Muslim sentiments. 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. In September 2013, scholars from a Deobandi school issued a fatwa banning photography as un-Islamic.

Administration

The seminary's co-founder Sayyid Muhammad Abid was the first vice-chancellor.

Abul Qasim Nomani Abul Qasim Nomani (Arabic: مفتي أبوالقاسم نعماني) is an Indian Sunni Muslim scholar and the current Vice Chancellor of Darul Uloom Deoband. He is ranked among The 500 Most Influential Muslims. Biography Abul Qasim Nomani ...

succeeded

Ghulam Mohammad Vastanvi Ghulam Mohammad Vastanvi is an Indian Muslim scholar and former Vice-Chancellor of Darul Uloom Deoband. He was instrumental in reforming ''madrasa'' education by introducing subjects like medicine and engineering to Darul Uloom institutions. ...

as the thirteenth VC of the seminary on 24 July 2011.

Alumni

Alumni include: *

, leader of Silk Letter Movement *

Anwar Shah Kashmiri Anwar Shah Kashmiri (known with honorifics as ''Sayyid Muḥammad Anwar Shāh ibn Mu‘aẓẓam Shāh al-Kashmīrī''; 16 November 1875 – 28 May 1933) was a Kashmiri Muslim scholar and jurist who served as the first principal of Madrasa Ami ...

, hadith scholar *

Ashraf Ali Thanwi Ashraf Ali Thanwi (often referred as Hakim al-Ummat and Mujaddid e Millet; 19 September 1863 – 20 July 1943) was a late-nineteenth and twentieth-century Sunni scholar, jurist, thinker, reformist and the revival of classical sufi thought from ...

, Sufi Shaykh and author of '' Bahishti Zewar'' and '' Bayan Ul Quran''. *

, First General Secretary of the

All India Muslim Personal Law Board The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) is a non-government organisation constituted in 1973 by that time Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi to adopt suitable strategies for the protection and continued applicability of Muslim Personal ...

. *

Muhammad Shafi Deobandi Muḥammad Shafī‘ ibn Muḥammad Yāsīn ‘Us̱mānī Deobandī ( ur, ; ar, محمد شفيع بن محمد ياسين العثماني الديوبندي, ''Muḥammad Shafī‘ ibn Muḥammad Yāsīn al-‘Uthmānī ad-Diyūbandī''; ...

, first Grand Mufti of Pakistan *

Muhammad Ilyas Kandhlawi Muḥammad Ilyās ibn Muḥammad Ismā‘īl Kāndhlawī Dihlawī (1885 – 13 July 1944) was an Indian Islamic scholar who founded the Tablighi Jamaat Islamic revivalist movement, in 1925, in Mewat province. Early life and education Muhammad ...

, founder of

Tablighi Jamat Tablighi Jamaat (, also translated as "propagation party" or "preaching party") is a transnational Deobandi Islamic missionary movement that focuses on exhorting Muslims to be more religiously observant and encouraging fellow members to ...

Hussain Ahmed Madani Hussain Ahmad Madani (6 October 1879 – 5 December 1957) was an Indian Islamic scholar, serving as the principal of Darul Uloom Deoband. He was among the first recipients of the civilian honour of Padma Bhushan in 1954.

, author of '' Composite Nationalism and Islam'' *

Taha Karaan Taha Karaan (2 June 1969 – 11 June 2021) was a South African Muslim scholar and jurist. He was the head-mufti of the Muslim Judicial Council, South Africa. He was the founder of Mahajjah Research Institute and the Dar al-Uloom al-Arabiyyah al-I ...

, former head-

Muslim Judicial Council The Muslim Judicial Council SA (MJC), a non-profit umbrella body of Sunni Islamic clerics in South Africa, is headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa. It was established in 1945 by the Muslim Progressive Society. As of 2009, approximately 150 ...

Publications

Darul ‘Uloom Deoband and its alumni publish: * '' Al-Da'i'', Arabic monthly periodical. * ''Maah Namah Darul ‘Uloom'', Urdu monthly periodical. * ''Aaeenah Darul ‘Uloom'', Urdu fortnightly periodical.'Alwi K. (ed.) ''Aaeenah'' * Darulifta-Deoband.com

References

External links

{{Use dmy dates, date=February 2019 Darul Uloom Deoband Deobandi Islamic universities and colleges Islamic education in India Madrasas in India Educational institutions established in 1866 Islamic universities and colleges in India 1866 establishments in India Islamic schools