Milestone Deoband

Darul Uloom (place of knowledge) is an institution of Islamic learning situated in Deoband near Saharanpur in west UP. A small ‘Arabi maktab’ (Arabic school) started soon after 1857 in the Jama Masjid of Deoband by Hafiz Syed Abid Husain and his associates was converted into an institution of higher learning on May 30, 1866.

• Who were its main founders?

The main founder was Maulana Muhammed Qasim Nanautavi, who was actively involved in the famous battle of Shamli in west UP. He had the cooperation of another learned Islamic scholar Maulana Rasheed Ahmed Gangohi. These religious scholars (ulema) were disgusted with British rule and wanted to liberate India from foreign dominance. Darul Uloom thus became a religio-political campaign.

The founders were adherents of the Hanafi tradition of Islamic jurisprudence and the spirit of rebellion against foreign rule. They believed they were followers of Shah Waliullah, probably the most important Muslim intellectual of 18th century India. Despite being Hanafis, they tried to keep channels open with the Ottoman sultans as they expected them to help India in the fight against the British.

• How does it manage its affairs?

Maulana Nanautvi formulated eight principles for the running of the institution. Those administering it believed that it would remain in existence if there was honest faith in God’s mercy. In the words of one of the founders, “in matters of income and constructions, there should always remain a certain lack of certainty of means.” Donations from anonymous small donors was welcome as “participation of government and rich persons” was considered “harmful.”

• What is the curriculum like?

The curriculum is named after Maulana Nizamuddin — Dars-e-Nizamiyah. It covered all aspects of Hanafi Islamic teaching and a desire to inculcate in students an insight into Islamic tenets.

The founders were firm believers in ‘jihad’ (literally meaning striving: “an effort in the way of God”). Notably, the jihad has to be within oneself, that is, inwardly “waging war against the carnal soul or self cleansing”. This is called Jihad-e-Akbar (the great effort). Jihad has to be waged against an aggressor, and in the view of many Islamic scholars, can only be used by a state, and not by any group at will.

The founders emphasised sciences as well as logic and philosophy as part of the curriculum. Computers have been a part of the curriculum for many years. The study of English has been ignored, as a mark of defiance of British rule in India.

• What was the madrassa’s position in the freedom movement?

Maulana Rasheed Ahmed Gangohi, who was the chief of Darul Uloom in 1880, was a traditionalist but according to historians showed progressive tendencies in the political field. He issued a fatwa stating that “in worldly matters, cooperation with the Hindus was permissible provided it did not violate any basic principle of Islam.” Many believe this fatwa was issued as a consequence of the founding of the Indian National Congress in 1885.

At this point there was conflict between the Aligarh school, led by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, and the traditionalists at Deoband. The Aligarh thinking pursued pro-British policies to further the cause of Muslims. But Deobandis were in no mood to accept a pro-British stance. As the leadership passed on to ulema such as Maulana Mehmood ul Hasan and Maulana Husain Ahmed Madani, the battle for India’s freedom was joined fully by the Deobandis and they fought in collaboration with Mahatma Gandhi and other leaders. The top leadership of the Darul Uloom and the Jamiat suffered rigorous imprisonment. Many were sent to prison in Malta.

• What position did it take on Partition?

The Deoband-Jamiat leadership opposed Jinnah and the poet Iqbal tooth and nail on this. Zia ul Hasan Faruqi in his authoritative book, The Deoband School and the demand for Pakistan asserts that the Deoband-Jamiat combine “never acceded to the doctrine of two nations as propounded by the Muslim League… since its inception, they stood for United Indian Nationalism — Muttahida Qaumiyat.”

Maulana Madani said, “we, the inhabitants of India have one thing in common, and that is our Indianness… inspite of our religious and cultural differences”.

• What is the system of issuing fatwas at Darul Uloom?

An important department of Darul Uloom is its Darul Ifta (Centre for Religious Verdicts). Initially inquiries regarding complex problems of a religious nature were answered by the teaching staff. Once the queries mounted, a separate department was established for this.

Only written inquiries are qualified to receive fatwas.

• What, if any, is the relationship between Darul Uloom and Taliban?

According to those at Deoband, there was no contact between those who came up as Taliban and the Darul Uloom. An insider is of the view that the Taliban were inspired by the freedom struggle of the founders and the products of Darul Uloom and they may have taken a leaf out of the Deobandis’ fight for freedom, for their own fight, in their own way. (In 1982, there was a split in Darul Uloom, because of which another institution called Darul Uloom Waqf has come into being in Deoband itself.)

The writer is editor of ‘Alpjan Quarterly’