Mazahir Uloom ( ur, ) is an Islamic seminary located in

Saharanpur Saharanpur is a city and a municipal corporation in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is also the administrative headquarters of Saharanpur district. Saharanpur city's name was given after the Saint Shah Haroon Chishti. Saharanpur is declared as on ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

. Started in November 1866 by Sa'ādat Ali Faqīh, and developed further by

Mazhar Nanautawi Muḥammad Mazhar Nanautawi (1821–1885) was an Indian Muslim scholar and a freedom struggle activist who played a crucial role in the development Mazahir Uloom. He participated in the Battle of Shamli. Biography Muḥammad Mazhar was born in ...

and

Ahmad Ali Saharanpuri Aḥmad Alī Sahāranpūrī (1810 – 17 April 1880) was an Indian hadith scholar who played a key role in publishing hadīth literature in India. He was among the early teachers of Mazahir Uloom, and is often credited as a founder for his contr ...

; it is regarded as the second most influential and major

Deobandi Deobandi is a revivalist movement within Sunni Islam, adhering to the Hanafi school of law, formed in the late 19th century around the Darul Uloom Madrassa in Deoband, India, from which the name derives, by Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi, R ...

seminary in India. The earliest graduates of the seminary include famous Hadīth scholar

Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri Abū Ibrāhīm K͟halīl Aḥmad ibn Majīd ‘Alī Anbahṭawī Sahāranpūrī Muhājir Madanī ( ur, ; December 185213 October 1927) was a Deobandi Hanafi Islamic scholar from India who authored ''Badhl al-Majhud'', an 18-volume commentary ...

. The seminary split in 1983 into Mazahir Uloom Jadeed and Mazahir Uloom Waqf Qadeem. The incumbent rectors are Muhammad Aaqil Saharanpuri and Muḥammad Saeedi respectively.

History

Mazāhir Uloom was established as "Mazhar Uloom"; on 9 November 1866, six months after the foundation of the Deoband seminary. Its founding figures included

, Qādhi Fazlur Rahmān and Sa’adat Ali Faqih. Mazahir Uloom is thought to be the second major

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

after

Darul Uloom Deoband The Darul Uloom Deoband is an Islamic seminary (darul uloom) 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 ...

. The first generation teachers, apart from the founders; include, Aḥmad Hasan Kanpuri, Sa'adat Hussain Bihari, Sakhāwat Ali Ambethwi and Muḥammad Siddīq. The first generation students include

, Mushtāq Aḥmad Anbethwi and Qamruddīn Sahāranpuri. In

Muharram Muḥarram ( ar, ٱلْمُحَرَّم) (fully known as Muharram ul Haram) is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is forbidden. It is held to be the second holiest month after R ...

1338 AH; the seminary established its Darul Ifta (the fatwa institute). The seminary's jurists include Ashfāqur Rahmān Kāndhlawi, Mahmood Hasan Gangohi, Abdul Qayyūm Raipuri and Muḥammad Shuaib Bastawi.

Recent developments

Following the split of Darul Uloom Deoband in 1982; Mazahir Uloom split into Jamia Mazahir Uloom Jadeed and Mazahir Uloom Waqf Qadeem in 1983. Mazāhir Uloom Jadeed adopted the position of "Ameen-e-Aam" (General Secretary) in 1988 appointing Muhammad Talha Kandhlawi as the first General Secretary who served the position until 1993.

Program

The seminary teaches the

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 S ...

curriculum. The former rector of the seminary Abdul Latīf wrote a detailed defense of the dars-e-nizami curriculum; when some scholars asked the syllabus to be updated. The seminary has changed few books in the curriculum timely, but they did not modify it completely and they do not agree with the changes, or systems otherwise.

Administration

Mazāhir Uloom follows the dogma of

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagre ...

and the jurisprudence of

Abu Hanifa Nuʿmān ibn Thābit ibn Zūṭā ibn Marzubān ( ar, نعمان بن ثابت بن زوطا بن مرزبان; –767), commonly known by his '' kunya'' Abū Ḥanīfa ( ar, أبو حنيفة), or reverently as Imam Abū Ḥanīfa by Sunni Mus ...

. It adheres to the

Chishti order The Chishtī Order ( fa, ''chishtī'') is a tariqa, an order or school within the mystic Sufi tradition of Sunni Islam. The Chishti Order is known for its emphasis on love, tolerance, and openness. It began with Abu Ishaq Shami in Chisht, a ...

of Sufism, following Rashid Ahmad Gangohi and Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri. The seminary focuses on educational purposes only. It has stayed away from discussing politics. The management of the seminary was controlled by its local members. Owing to their differences,

Rashid Ahmad Gangohi Rashīd Aḥmad ibn Hidāyat Aḥmad Ayyūbī Anṣārī Gangohī (182611 August 1905) ( ur, ) was an Indian Deobandi Islamic scholar, a leading figure of the Deobandi jurist and scholar of hadith. His lineage reaches back to Abu Ayyub al- ...

was appointed the senior patron of the seminary in 1896. Gangohi resigned from the position in 1319 AH; and an executive council called "Majlis Shūra Sarparastān" was formed to look after the seminary affairs on 3 January 1903. The first such council included Abdur Rahīm Raipuri,

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 Islam, Sunni scholar, jurist, thinker, Mujaddid, reformist and the revival of classic ...

and

Zulfiqar Ali Deobandi Zulfiqar ( ar, ذُو ٱلْفَقَار, Ḏū-l-Faqār, ), also spelled ''Zu al-Faqar'', ''Zulfikar'', ''Dhu al-Faqar'', ''Dhulfaqar'' or ''Dhulfiqar'', is the sword of Ali ibn Abi Talib. Middle Eastern weapons are commonly inscribed w ...

. Scholars such as Abdur Rahīm Raipuri, Ashraf Ali Thanwi,

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 ...

, Fazlur Rahmān Sahāranpuri,

Abdul Qadir Raipuri Shah Abdul Qadir Raipuri شاہ عبد القادر رائے پوری (born 1878 / 1295AH) was a spiritual reformer and well known guide of Islam. Life His father Hafiz Ahmed was born in Toha Moharram Khan of Photohar of Chakwa District in Indi ...

, Aashiq Elāhi Meerthi,

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 ...

Muhammad Zakariya Kandhlawi Muḥammad Zakarīyā ibn Muḥammad Yaḥyá Ṣiddīqī Kāndhlawī Sahāranpūrī Muhājir Madanī (''Muḥammad Zakarīyā ibn Muḥammad Yaḥyá aṣ-Ṣiddīqī al-Kāndahlawī as-Sahāranfūrī al-Madanī''; 2 February 189824 May 1982) ...

Muhammad Yusuf Kandhlawi Muhammad Yusuf Kandhlawi (1917-1965) was an Indian Islamic scholar who became the second ameer of the Tablighi Jamaat.

Inamul Hasan Kandhlawi Muḥammad In‘āmul-Ḥasan Kāndhlawī (20 February 191810 June 1995) was an Indian Islamic scholar who served as the Chief leader or Amir of the Tablighi Jamaat from 1965 to 1995. Early life and career Inamul Hasan was born on 20 February ...

Iftikhar-ul-Hasan Kandhlawi Iftikhar-ul-Ḥasan ibn Rauf-ul-Ḥasan Kāndhlawī (10 January 1922 – 2 June 2019) was an Indian Islamic scholar and preacher. He laid the foundation of Idgah of Kandhla in the year 1946. He wrote more than forty books. Literary works Kand ...

Mahmood Hasan Gangohi Mahmood Hasan Gangohi (1907–1996) was an Indian Mufti and Islamic scholar and former Grand Mufti of Darul Uloom Deoband and Mazahir Uloom, Saharanpur. He was the most senior disciple of Muhammad Zakariyya al-Kandhlawi. Among his notable dis ...

and

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. ...

have been the members of the executive council.

Publications

Jamia Mazahir Uloom Jadeed publishes ''Mazāhir-e-Uloom'', a monthly journal, since 1993. Mazahir Uloom Waqf Qadeem publishes ''Ā'īna-e-Mazāhir-e-Uloom'' monthly. The religious edicts issued by the seminary's Dārul Ifta are kept in record. The edicts issued by Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri were compiled by Muhammad Zakariyyah Kāndhlawi, and published as ''Fatāwa Khalīliya''.

Rectors

Sa'ādat Ali Saharanpuri was appointed as the first rector of the seminary. Following the division of the seminary; Muzaffar Hussain who was the last rector of the unified seminary; occupied on the position at the Mazahir Uloom Waqf Qadeem till his death in 2003. He was succeeded by Muḥammad Saeedi. In the early years of the seminary, the administrative tasks of the seminary were also performed by a vice-rector; Abd al-Wāhid Khān served on the position from 1881 to 1896, and thus there appears to be confusion in dates, until a permanent position of rector was adopted which follows in sequence after Munshi Maqbool Aḥmad. The new offshoot, Mazahir Uloom Jadeed appointed Abdul Azīz as the rector who served the position from 1986 to 1991.

Salman Mazahiri Salman Mazahiri (10 October 1946 – 20 July 2020) was an Indian Muslim scholar who served as chancellor of Mazahir Uloom Jadeed. Early life and education Mazahiri was born on 10 October 1946. Aged 15, he entered Mazahir Uloom, Saharanpur in ...

served on the administration from 1996 to 20 July 2020. The following is a list of unified seminary's rectors.

Notable alumni

Alumni include: *

Abdur Rahman ibn Yusuf Mangera Abdur Rahman ibn Yusuf Mangera (born 1974) is a Sunni Islamic scholar, author, and founder of Whitethread Institute and Zamzam Academy. He authored ''Fiqh al-Imam'' and ''Healthy Muslim Marriage''. He featured in the 2020 edition of The 500 Mos ...

Saeed Ahmad Palanpuri Saeed Ahmad Palanpuri (also written as Saʻīd Aḥmad Pālanpūrī) (1940 – 19 May 2020), was an Indian Sunni Muslim scholar and author who served as Shaykh al-Hadith and Principal of Darul Uloom Deoband. A number of his books are required ...

Zafar Ahmad Usmani ) , office1 = Ameer of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam , term_start1 = 1949 , term_end1 = Unknown , predecessor1 = Shabbir Ahmad Usmani , successor1 = Abdullah Darkhawasti , title = , religion = Islam , bi ...

References

Bibliography

* * * {{cite book , author1=Muḥammad Zakariyyah Kāndhlawi , author1-link=Muhammad Zakariyya Kandhlawi , title=Tārīk̲h̲-i Maẓāhir , publisher=Kutub K̲h̲ānah Ishāʻat al-ʻUlūm , location=Saharanpur , edition=1972 Educational institutions established in 1866 Deobandi Islamic universities and colleges Madrasas in India Saharanpur 1866 establishments in India