The Chain of Narrators in Hadith:
1: Yunoos Osman (Refer to Autobiography)
2: I studied Hadith from Hazrat Shaikh ul Hadith Maulana Subhan Mehmud ibn Sultan Muhammad ( 1324-1418 H.)
He was an excellent teacher and had a remarkable memory, also a great orator, he is also well known for his work (Tazyeen) on the Bustan al Muhaddithin of Shah Abdul Aziz Muhaddith Dehlvi.
3: Maulana Khayr Mohammad (1319-1390). (Refer to Biography in this Blog)
4: Maulana Anwar Shah Kashmiri (d. 1392) (Also received Ijazah from Allama Yusuf Binnori d. 1977/ 1397 student of Allama) thus reduces chain by one.
(Refer to Publication on Life of Allamah by Myself)
5:Shaikh ul Hind Maulana Mehmud al Hasan (1268-1331)
Shaikhul Hind was the first ever pupil in Darul Uloom, Deoband, India. He was born in 1268/1851 at Bareilly.
As a child, Mahmud al-Hasan was with his father a great scholar under whom he acquired the basic education in Meerut who witnessed the Mutiny of 1857.
Maulana Mahmud al Hasan received a traditional Islamic education with a strong emphasis on the study of Islam, the Persian language and Urdu. His primary education was under Maulana Mongeri, Maulana Abdul Latif, and later, his uncle, Maulana Mahtab Ali. While Mahmud al-Hasan was studying the books Mukhtasar al-Quduri and Sharh-i-Tahdhib, the Darul Uloom Deoband was established in 1866. His father sent him to the newly established school, where he was the first student. He completed his basic studies in 1286 AH (1869/1870), after which he studied under the guidance of Maulana Muhammad Qasim Nanotvi, with whom he studied hadith. After that, he studied higher level books under his father. He graduated from Darul Uloom Deoband in 1873.
In 1874, Mahmud al-Hasan joined Darul Uloom Deoband as a teacher and later got promoted to the position of the college principal in 1890.His endeavours won him the admiration not only of Muslims but also of Indians across the religious and political spectrum. He became an icon of the Indian independence movement, and was given the title of "Shaykh al-Hind" by the Central Khilafat Committee.[4] Hasan issued a fatwa making it the duty of all Indian Muslims to support and participate with Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian National Congress, who had prescribed a policy of non-cooperation — mass civil disobedience through non-violence.
He also wrote a well known translation of the Quran, the commentary of which was written by one of his students, Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani. Mahmud al-Hasan supported modern education and also supported Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama established in 1893 in Lucknow.
He was imprisoned in Malta, for more than three years before his release in 1920, with his famous student Maulana Husayn Ahmad Madani
After returning to British India, Mahmud al-Hasan joined the Khilafat movement. He also issued his famous fatwa (legal opinion on Islamic law) of non-cooperation against the British rule in India.
Maulana Mahmud al-Hasan died on 30 November 1920. After being treated in Delhi by Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari and Hakim Ajmal Khan. His body was brought to Deaband and lies buried near the grave of Maulana Nanotvi.
6: Maulana Rashid Ahmad Ganghohi (1244-1323)
Maulana Hidayat Ahmad, Maulanas father, was an Islamic scholar connected to the Waliullahi tradition, and in tasawwuf (Sufism) an authorized khalifah (successor) of Shah Ghulam Ali Mujaddidi Dihlawi. He died in 1252 AH (1836) at the age of 35, when Maulana Rashid was seven. A few years later his younger brother Sa'id Ahmad also died, at the age of nine.
Rashīd Aḥmad ibn Hidāyat Aḥmad Ayyūbī Anṣārī Gangohī (1826 – 1905) was a leading figure of the Deobandi jurist and scholar of hadith.[2]
Along with Maulana Muhammad Qasim Nanautawi he was a pupil of Maulana Mamluk Ali. Both studied the books of hadith under Shah Abdul Ghani Mujaddidi and later became Sufi disciples of Haji Imdadullah. His lectures on Sahih al-Bukhari and Jami` at-Tirmidhi were recorded by his student Maulana Muhammad Yahya Kandhlawi, later edited, arranged, and commented on by Maulana Muhammad Zakariya Kandhlawi, and published as Lami` ad-Darari `ala Jami` al-Bukhari and al-Kawkab ad-Durri `ala Jami` at-Tirmidhi.
Maulana was born on Monday, 6 Dhu al-Qi'dah 1244 AH (1826 AD) in Gangoh, Saharanpur District, Uttar Pradesh, India. He was born in the mahallah of Sarai, close to the tomb of Abdul Quddus Gangohi.[4] Both his father Maulana Hidayat Ahmad and his mother Karimun Nisa belonged to Ansari Ayyubi families, claiming descent from Abu Ayyub al-Ansari.RA His ancestral village was Rampur, but his grandfather Qazi Pir Bakhsh had settled in Gangoh.
Maulana Hidayat Ahmad, Maulanas father, was an Islamic scholar connected to the Waliullahi tradition, and in tasawwuf (Sufism) an authorized khalifah (successor) of Shah Ghulam Ali Mujaddidi Dihlawi. He died in 1252 AH (1836) at the age of 35, when Maulana Rashid was seven. A few years later his younger brother Sa'id Ahmad also died, at the age of nine.
Maulana Nanautawi and Maulana Gangohi are often mentioned as co-founders of Darul Uloom Deoband,
In 1297 AH, after the death of Maulana Qasim, Maulana Rashid was made sarparast (patron) of Darul Uloom Deoband. From 1314 AH he was also sarparast of the Darul Uloom's sister madrasah, Mazahir Uloom Saharanpur. He died on a Friday, 8 Jumada II 1323 AH (1905 AD) after the adhan (call to prayer) of Jumuah prayer
7: Shah Abdul Ghani (1235-1296 hijri)
Hadhrat Shah Abdul Ghani Mujaddidi (1235/1819-1296/1878), 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.
8: Shah Muhammah Ishaq (1197-1262)
He was born on the 8th of Dhu l-Hijjah in the year 1196 H – and it was said 1197 H – in Delhi, and he grew up in the cradle of his aforementioned maternal grandfather. He read Sarf and Nahw up to al-Kafiyah by Ibn al-Hajib under Shaykh ‘Abd al-Hayy ibn Hibat Allah al-Burhanawi, and he studied fiqh from him. He studied hadith and then acquired a sanad from the aforementioned Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, and he was like a son to him. The aforementioned shaykh appointed him his successor and bequeathed to him all that he had of books and lands. Thus, he sat after him in his seat and instructed the people with the best of instruction. He travelled to the two noble Harams in the year 1240 H, and performed Hajj and Ziyarah. He acquired sanad in hadith from Shaykh ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-Karim ibn ‘Abd al-Rasul al-Makki (d. 1247 H). Then he returned to India and he taught in the city of Delhi for sixteen months, and then he migrated to the illuminated [city of] Makkah with his brother Ya‘qub and all his family in the year 1258 H. He chose residence at Makkah after performing Hajj and Ziyarah a second time. Sharif Muhammad ibn Nasir al-Hazimi benefitted from him in Makkah.
He had outstanding students from the inhabitants of India, like Shaykh Muhaddith ‘Abd al-Ghani ibn Abi Sa‘id al-‘Umari al-Dihlawi, the migrant to Madinah, Sayyid Nadhir Husayn ibn Jawad ‘Ali al-Husayni al-Dihlawi, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad al-Ansari al-Paniputi, Sayyid ‘Alim ‘Ali al-Muradabadi, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qayyum ibn ‘Abd al-Hayy al-Burhanawi, Shaykh Qutb al-Din ibn Muhyi al-Din al-Dihlawi, Shaykh Ahmad ‘Ali ibn Lutf Allah al-Saharanpuri, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Jalil al-Shahid al-Saku’ili, Mufti ‘Inayat Ahmad al-Kakurawi, Shaykh Ahmad Allah ibn Dalil Allah al-Anami, and a multitude besides them. Most of them excelled in hadith, and many people took from them, until no chain of hadith remained in India besides this chain, and that is the blessing of Allah He gives to whoever He pleases.
Shaykh Shams al-Haqq al-Diyanawi said in Tadhkirat al-Nubala’: “Shaykh ‘Abd Allah Siraj al-Makki would say after his death upon bathing him: ‘By Allah! Had he lived, and I read hadith unto him my entire life, I would not have acquired what he acquired.’” His teacher, Shaykh ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-Karim (Allah have mercy on him) would attest to his perfection in the science of hadith and its narrators, and he would say: “The blessing of his grandfather, Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al-Dihlawi, has descended into him.”
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 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.
He died in the noble [city of] Makkah in a pandemic, while fasting, on Monday, when three nights remained of Rajab, in the year 1262 H. He was buried in al-Mu‘allah next to the grave of our lady, Khadijah (Allah be pleased with her).
9:Shah Abdul Aziz (1159-1249)
Shah Abdul Aziz was born on 25 Ramadan, 1159 AH (11 October 1746 AD) in Delhi during the reign of Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah (1719-1748). Delhi was the capital of the Mughal Empire. Shah Abdul Aziz was the eldest son of Shah Waliullah, he was only 17 years old when Shah Waliullah died. He took over as the teacher of Hadith in place of his father. He belonged to hanafi school of thought. He was a Muhaddith, mufassir and Mujtahid.
Shah Abdul Aziz translated the Qur'an into Urdu, 50 years after the Persian translation by Shah Wali 'Allah, when the Urdu language had started to replace the Persian. He completed the exegesis of his father from Surat Al-Maida to the thirteenth verse of al-Hujurat. He wrote several books, even if some differ on the number (from fifty to nearly two hundred): He composed several legal opinions, mainly condemning folk religions, especially the veneration of saints in the Shi'ah. In an attempt of integration into the system of the British colonial power he suggested English language learning to the sunni Muslim community, with the long-term objective of entering the public service of the British Empire in India.
Shah Abdul Aziz died on the morning of 7th Shawwal, 1239 Hijri/ 5 June 1824 in Delhi in the reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar Shah II.
10: Shah Wali Ullah (1114-1176)
11: Shah Abu al Tahir Jamal ud Din (1080-1145)
Abdul al Samee' ibn Ebrahim ibn hasan al Kirdi was born in Medina and studied all different sciences from His Father and therafter travelled through Hijaz studying from most of the scholars. After the death of his father in 1101 he took his fathers position in teaching in Medina. He was a great scholar in Hadith and tafsir and several thousand should travel from far and wide to study from him in the Harm of Medina.
A gruop of students including Shah Wali Ullah and Maulana Ishaq travelled from India to study under him as well. He passed awy according to Shah Wali Ullah in 1145, though an opinion suggest he passed away in 1163. He is lies buried in Janat Al Baqi.
Shah Wali Ullah has praised him in his writtings and also Shah Abdul Aziz has referred to the chain of Abu al Tahir as the best and most authentic.
12: Shaykh Ebrahim ibn Hasan ibn Shihab ud Din (1025-1101)
He was born in Sharoz in Iraq. He studied under his father and from great scholars of Iraq. He also lived in Baghdad for two and benefited from the scholars of this city. He also traveled to Sham (Syria) and studied and benefited from the great sufis and scholars of this region including the great scholar Muhaddith Sultan Mazzahi. He thereafter traveled to Egypt and finally settled in Medina. Here he studied under Shaykh Ahmad al Kashashi.
In 1071 Al Kashashi passed away and he took his position until his death in 1101.Shah Wali Ullah has written extensively about him in his al Intibah.
13: Shaykh Ahmad ibn Muhammad al Kashashi (991-1071)
14: Shaykh Ahmad al Shanasi (975 - 1027)
Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Abdul Quddus was born in a small village Shinwi near Cairo. He memorized the Quran and studied all sciences of Islamic studied in Cairo. He studied hadith from the famous scholars such as Shaykh Rumali and Shaykh Qutbuddin Bakri. Thereafter travelled to Hijaz and benebitted from the scholars there. He spent his life in teaching Madina where he passed away and lies buried in Jannat al Baqi. Shah Wali Ullah has written about him in his al Hadith al masasil bi al Sufiya
15: Shaykh Shamsuddin al Rumali (919-994)
Muhammaed ibn Ahmad ibn Hamza according to an opinion was born in Rumla a village in Sham, but the most authentic view is he was born in Rumla a village in Egypt. His father was a great scholar and teacher in Madrassah al Naasriya, from whom he studied after completing the memorizing of the Quran.
He studied hadith under Shaykh Zakariya al Ansari who was a student of ibn Hajar Asqalani. He also started teaching and became famously know as Shifi Saghir for his knowledge in Fiqh. Shaykh Abdul Wahab Sh'arani says he knew him from his childhood as he was his fathered student.
Shaykh Rumaly was attached to most of the institutes in Cairo where taught for many years.
16: Shaykh ul Islam Zakarya al Ansari (823-926)
Zakaryaq ibn Muhammed ibn Ahmad was born in a village near Cairo.After completing the memorizing of the Quran took admission at the famous Al Azhar in Cairo. Studied from the famous scholars of Cairo such as ibn Hajar and ibn Hummam. During his tudent days could not afford food for many days and survived by eating dry leaves from the trees of the garden. But later in life he became the head judge in Cairo and earned a hefty wage but lived a very simple life and gave most of his earning to the needy.
He also taght for most of his life in the Madrassah of Imam Shafi.
During his friday sermons he would criticize the Sultan hoping to be be removed from his post as Judge but the Sultan always respected his views and practiced on his teachings. Whenever the Sultan met him showed him great respect. He passed away at an age of over 100 years. He became blind in the last few years of his life.
He was considered as a leader of teachers and sufis alike. He never missed a single salah and was known to have been in the first row and first takbir. He also read all his salah including nafl standing in spite of his age.
Shaykh Sha'rani writes that he spent 20 years with Shaykh ul Islam in his service.
17: Hafiz ibn Hajar Asqalani (772-825)
18: Shaykh Zayn ud Din Iraqi (709-800)
Ebrahim ibn Abdul Wahid al Tanukhi, was born in Tanukh a small town in Iraq, studied elementary causes and as a child sttled in Damascus. Where he studied from great scholars of the area and it is well recorded that he acquired knowledge from over 400 scholars. His student ibn Hajar has written much about his famous teacher in his al Durar. Shaykh Iraqi studied for several years under the famous scholar Shaykh Abu al Abbas al Hijari.
19: Shaykh Abu al Abbas al Hijari (614-730)
Ahmad ibn Abi Talib ibn Na'mat, he acquired basic education in his village and later 630 he camed to Damascus an studied under great scholars in this area.After completing his studies he started teaching in Damascus. It is also recorded that he traveled to different parts of the Muslim world where he taught the Bukhari to different students seventy times over. He had lived for over 100 years and continued teaching until his death. Allamah Shamsuddin al Thahabi and Allamah ibn Kathir are among his students. Both these scholars have written about their famous teacher.
20: Shaykh Siraj ud Din al Zubaydi al Baghdadi (545-631)
Husayn ibn al Mubarak was born in Baghdad and studied here from the famous scholars. After receiving permission he started teaching Hadith to severla students in Baghdad, Damascus and Aleppo for several years. A great talented scholar, well known for his remarkable memory and piety.
21: Shaykh Abu al Waqt Abdul al Awwal ibn Isa (458-553)
Abdul al Awwal ibn Isa ibn Shoayb, he was born in Herat where he studied under his father, a highly acclaimed scholar. Later he studied under several famous scholars and spent over 20 years with Shaykh al Islam Abdullah al Ansari and then traveled to Basra in Iraq and to Hijaz to benefit from the scholars of Hadith in these areas. Ibn Lawzi and Allamah Thahabi have written about his piety and great ability to teach, thus thousands off students should attend his lectures daily from different regions.He died at the age of 95 years.
22: Shaykh Abdur Rehman Dawudi (374-467)
Abdur Rahman ibn Muhammed ibn Muzaffar was born in the area of Khurasan in Persia. He studied from the famous scholars of his time who were masters in different sciences and branches of Islamic education, Several scholars during his time live and taught in Khurasan. These scholars were from different parts of the Muslim world. He also became a very famous scholar and student would flock to his lessons from every where. Wazir Nizam al Mulk the ruler of the region should also consult with him on political and governance.
23: Shaykh Abu Muhammad Sarakhsi (293-383)
Abu Muhammad Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Abi Sahl Abu Bakr al-Sarakhsi was a Persian jurist, or Islamic scholar of the Hanafi school. He was traditionally known as Shams al-A'imma. He studied under great scholars of Iran and Khurassan until he finally started studying the the famous student of Imam Bhukhari Allama Farbari, under whom he studied and heard the Sahih several times.. He is the well known scholar of farbari whose narration of Bhukhri has been preserved. Allama Thahabi has also written extensively about the peity and memory of this great scholar. Students should travel from far and wide to benefit from him. He continued teaching the Bukhari until his death.
24:Shaykh Abu Abdullah Farbari (231-320) (Firbarri)
Mohammed ibn Yusuf ibn Matar was born in Farbar a village close
the Bukhara in Uzbekistan. He studied from great scholars of his village, also
benefited from the famous teacher of Imam Bukhari Ali ibn Khashram. He later
became a student of Imam Bukhari from whom he heard the Sahih Bukhari in 248, thereafter
in 252 and also in 255 and remained with Imam Bukhari until his death in 256.
Though ninety thousand students studied at different times from Imam Bukhari
the most famous published manuscript of his Sahih is the one reported by
Farbari. He was a very devoted and pious scholar. Died at the age of 90.
Imam Bukhari finished his work around 846/232 AH, and
spent the last twenty-four years of his life visiting other cities and
scholars, teaching the hadith he had collected. In every city that Bukhari
visited, thousands of people would gather in the main mosque to listen to him
recite traditions. In reply to Western academic doubts as to the actual date
and authorship of the book that bears his name, scholars point out that notable
hadith scholars of that time, such as Ahmad ibn Hanbal (855
CE/241 AH), Yahya ibn Ma'in (847
CE/233 AH), and Ali ibn al-Madini (848
CE/234 AH), accepted the authenticity of his book[8] and that the
collection's immediate fame makes it unlikely that it could have been revised
after the author's death without historical record.
During the period of twenty-four years, al-Bukhari
made minor revisions to his book, notably the chapter headings. Each version is
named by its narrator. According to Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani in his book Nukat, the number of
hadiths in all versions is the same. The most famous one today is the version
narrated by al-Farbari (d. 932 CE/330 AH), a trusted student of
Bukhari. Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi in his book History of Baghdad quoted
Farbari as saying: "About seventy thousand people heard Sahih
Bukhari with me".
If
you want to ask about how old the manuscripts that are extant today are, the
Orientalist Manjana said in Cambridge in 1936 CE that the oldest manuscript he
had come across up to that point was written in 370 AH, according to the
narration of al-Mirwazi from al-Farbari.
25: Imam Abu Abdallah Al Bukhari (194-256)
The famous author of the Sahih Al-Bukhari, his biodata well documented but a short Biography is re published:
Imam Bukhari is a famous Hadith expert together with Imam Ahmad, Imam Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, An-Nasai, and Ibn Majah. It has been unanimously agreed that Imam Bukhari’s work is the most authentic of all the other works in Hadith literature put together. As agreed by all the scholars, Sahih Al-Bukhari is the most authentic book after the Holy Quran.
His Lineage:
The full name of Imam Bukhari is Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ismail ibn Ibrahim Ibn Al-Mughirah ibn Bardizyah Al-Jufri Al-Bukhari. His great grandfather, Al-Mughirah, settled in Bukhara after accepting Islam. He was born on Friday, 13 Shawwal 194 AH (July 21, 810 CE) in the city of Bukhara (a city in present day Uzbekistan). His father was an Alim (Islamic Scholar) and learned from number of famous scholars including Imam Malik ibn Anas. His father died when he was infant and his mother took on the entire responsibility of bringing him up.
His Pursuit of Knowledge:
Imam Bukhari began studying Hadiths while he was still young. He completed his initial studies, especially of Hadith, in Bukhara (his birth place). At the age of 16, he had memorized many books of famous scholars including Abdullah Ibn Al-Mubarak’s book ‘Al-Waki’. Besides memorizing the Hadith and the book of early scholars, he also started studying biography of all the narrators (Ravi) who take part in a transmission of Hadith, the date of their birth and death, their place of birth and etc.
At the age of eighteen, Imam Bukhari visited Makkah accompanied by his mother and brother. After performing the Hajj (pilgrimage), his brother and mother returned to Bukhara but Imam Bukhari stayed there for further education. He spent two years in Makkah and learned Hadith and other religious studies from Islamic Scholars of Makkah. After that, he went to Madinah and get further education in the field of Hadith, Fiqh and Islamic jurisprudence for four years. After spending six years in Makkah and Madinah, he left for Basra, Kufa and Bahdad and visited Egypt and Sham (Syria). He himself said:
"To seek knowledge, I traveled to Egypt and Syria twice, Basra four times, spent six years at the Hijaz (Makkah & Madinah) and left for Kufa and Baghdad on so many occasions accompanied by Muhaddithin (Hadith collectors or Hadith Experts).”
Many stories have been told about Imam Bukhari’s struggle in collecting Hadiths. He travelled to many different places just to gather the precious gems that fell from the lips of Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.).
His Memory and Intellect:
Imam Bukhari had an extremely strong memory from an early and his memory was considered to be inhuman. In his early period of acquiring knowledge, he memorized seventy thousand Hadiths and later in his life, this figure reached three hundred thousand. His brother Rashid bin Ismail stated that in his childhood:
"Imam Bukhari used to go with us to the scholars of Basra to listen to Hadiths. All of us used to write Hadiths down except Imam Bukhari. After some days, we condemned Imam Bukhari saying that, you had wasted so many days work by not writing down Hadiths. Imam Bukhari asked us to bring our notes to him. So we all brought our notes, upon which Imam Bukhari began to read Hadiths one by one from the top of his head until he narrated to us more than fifteen thousand Hadiths. Hearing these Hadiths, it seemed that Imam Bukhari was re-teaching us all of the Hadiths we had noted."
He did not depend on pen and paper as much as he relied on his sharp memory which was a result of Allah's gift of intelligence and superb memory to him.
Mohammad ibn Azhar Sajistani said:
"I used to go to Sulaiman Ibn Harab accompanied by Imam Bukhari for listening to Hadiths. I used to write the Hadiths but Imam Bukhari wouldn't. Someone said to me, 'Why doesn't Imam Bukhari note the Hadiths down?' I told him, 'if you missed any Hadith in writing, you could obtain it from the memory of Imam Bukhari."
There is one remarkable incident took place in Baghdad when Imam Bukhari visited the place. The people having heard of his many accomplishments, and the attributes which were issued to him, decided to test him so as to make him prove himself to them. In order to do that they chose one hundred different Hadiths and changing the testimonials and the text of the Hadiths. The Hadiths were recited by ten people to Imam Bukhari. When the Hadiths were recited, Imam Bukhari replied to all in one manner, "Not to my knowledge." However, after the completion of all the Hadiths, he repeated each text and testimonial which had been changed followed by the correct text and testimonial. Such was the amazing memory of this great Hadith Scholar.
His Attributes and Qualities:
1. Amazing Memory: As mentioned in above point, Imam Bukhari had an amazing memory.
2. Abstinence / Generous: Imam was left with a considerable amount of wealth by his father. However, due to his generosity, he spent it all in the path of Allah. At the end, he had been left with no money forcing him to spend his day on one or two almonds.
3. Simple and Humble: He was a simple person. He used to look after his own needs. Despite being an honorable man, he always kept a little number of servants for himself.
4. Fear of Allah: He was blessed with the highest rank of piety and righteousness. He feared Allah in everything he did as he was blessed with highest rank of piety and righteousness. He kept himself away from backbiting and suspicion and always respected people’s rights. He was very polite, tolerant and gentle and never got angry when mistreated by others. He always prayed forgiveness for those who attributed evil to him. If he needed to correct any person, he would never embarrass him in public.
His Teachers:
In his various country trips, Imam Bukhari met with reputable teachers who can be trusted. He himself said that he had written Hadiths from 1,080 teachers and all of them were experts in Hadith. Among his teacher were:
1. Ali ibn Al-Madini
3. Yahya ibn Maeen
4. Mohammad ibn Yusuf Al-Firyabi
5. Mohammad bin Yusuf Al-Baykandi
6. Ishaq Ibn Rahwayh
And many others.
His Students:
Number of people who had narrated the Hadith from Imam Bukhari is unknown. However as per some sources, around 90,000 people had heard Hadiths directly from Imam Bukhari. Among the students of Imam al-Bukhari are:
1. Muslim bin Hajjaj (famously known as Imam Muslim)
2. Abu Isa Mohammad Al-Tirmidhi (famously known as Imam Al-Tirmidhi)
3. Abu Abd-ur-Raḥman Aḥmad ibn Shuaib Al-Nasai (famously known as Imam Al-Nasai)
4. Abdullah bin Abd-ur-Rahman Al-Darimi
5. Muhammad bin Nashr Al-Marwazi
6. Abu Hatim Ar-Razi
7. Abu Bakar bin Ishaq bin Khuzaimah
And many others.
His Writings/Books:
Imam Bukhari has written many books during his life. His work is not only in the discipline of the Hadith, but also other sciences such as Tafsir, Fiqh, and Tarikh (History).
1. Al-Tarikh Al-Kabir
2. Al-Tarikh Al-Ṣaghir
3. Al-Tarikh Al-Awsaţ
4. Khalqu Afalad ibad
5. Adh-Dhuafa Ash-Shaghir
6. Al-Adab Al-Mufradlullah Al-Jailani
And many more.
We will discuss in detail about the most famous book of Imam Bukhari which is the collection of Sahih Hadith entitled 'Al-Jami As-Shahih', popularly known as Sahih Al-Bukhari.
There is a unique story about compilation of this book. It is said that one night, Imam Bukhari saw Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.) in his dream. He was standing in from of Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W.), having a fan in his hand and driving away the flies from the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.). Imam Bukhari then asked the meaning of the dream from interpreters of dream. They interpreted the dream that he (Imam Bukhari) will destroy and erode the lies that are included in a number of Hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.). This dream encouraged him to write the book ‘Al-Jami As-Sahih’ (Sahih Al-Bukhari). Imam Bukhari was very careful in compiling the Hadith. According to Al-Firbari, one of his students, he heard Imam Bukhari said:
"I compile the book Al-Jami As-Sahih in the Grand Mosque (Majid Al-Haram), Makkah and I did not include a Hadith except after Istikharah Prayer (guidance prayer) of two rakahs, ask Allah for help, and after believing that the Hadith is truly authentic.”
Imam Bukhari studied, in details, the lives of narrators, to make sure they were trustworthy and would not fabricate or change the wording of a Hadith. If he discovered that someone in a chain openly sinned or was not considered trustworthy, that Hadith was immediately discarded and not included in his book unless a stronger chain for it existed.
The process of compiling this book was carried out by Imam Bukhari in the two holy cities i-e Makkah and Madinah and it took him 16 years to compile this book. Although he had memorized a large number of Hadiths, he only chooses 7,275 Hadiths for this book and there is no doubt about the authenticity of these Hadiths.
His Banishment from Bukhara:
After many years, Imam Bukhari returned to his hometown Bukhara. People of the city were extremely happy and greeted him with great zest and zeal. Imam Bukhari established a Madrassah (school) in the city where he spent a great deal of time teaching with satisfaction.
Owing to his honesty, kindness and fact that he was trustworthy, Imam Bukhari used to keep away from the rulers of that time due to the reason that he may incline to say things to please them.
Once the governor of Bukhara, Khalid bin Ahmed, called Imam Bukhari to his house and asked Imam to teach his son. Imam Bukhari, in response to the offer, replied:
"I give greater respect to knowledge rather than to people, for it is they who are in need of the knowledge and it is they who should seek it."
The governor said:
” If my son was to attend your Madrassah (school), he should not sit with ordinary people’s children. You (Imam Bukari) would have to teach him separately."
Imam Bukhari answered:
"I cannot stop any person from hearing Hadiths."
Upon hearing this, the governor got angry at him and ordered Imam Bukhari out of Bukhara. However, he then settled in Khartang Village (today known as Hartang) which is about 30 KM from Samarkand, Uzbekistan. After this incident and due to some other reasons, caliph of Baghdad dismissed the governor of Bukhara, Khalid bin Ahmad. He was expelled from his palace in extreme disgrace and dishonor and then was thrown into prison, where he died after few days.
His Death:
Expulsion of Imam Bukhari from his homeland caused painful aches inside him. He spent rest of his days in Khartang, Samarkand. On 1 Shawwal 256 AH (870 CE), Imam Al Bukhari passed away at the age of 62 years in a Khartang, Samarkand. The grave of Imam Bukhari is in in Khartang, Samarkand.
Scholars Praising Imam Bukhari:
Al-Hafiz ibn Rajah Al-Hanbali said about Imam Bukhari:
“He (Imam Bukhari) is one of Allah’s signs walking on the Earth.”
Abu Abdullah bin Hammad Al-Marwazi said:
“Muhammad ibn Ismail is the Faqih (Islamic jurist expert in Islamic jurisprudence and Islamic Law) of this Ummah.”
Abu Bakr Mohammad ibn Ishaq ibn Khuzaymah said:
“I have never seen underneath the sky one who is more knowledgeable and memorizer of the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.) than Mohammad ibn Ismail.”
26: Tabi'i as per Sahih Bukhari
27: Sahabi as per Sahih Bukhari
28: Rasullah SAW
NEXT TOPIC
A summary of a paper presented by Maulana (Dr.) Yunoos Osman in January 2020 at a gathering of invited scholars Ulama in Durban. South Africa. 30 Ulama and religious scholars attended.
Topic: Islamic Education in India and the Founding of the Darul Ulum at Deoband.
Definition of Ilm (Knowledge)
The use of education and knowledge in Islam is more
than securing a stable income; it is about the pursuit of truth for its own
sake and benefit to mankind.
Ar-Razi
defines Ilm and knowledge to cover any discipline which leads one to
knowing Allah or knowing of Allah through the study of his creation be it
angels, the planets, plants, animals and the use of natural elements or
minerals.
Al-Ghazali
(d. 1111), one of the most imminent Muslim scholars of the Islamic tradition
bases knowledge on the recognition of Allah. He does not dismiss any branch of
education, merely placing them in levels of priority in terms of reaching the
objective of the recognizing Allah.
To understand the function
of education one must know of the Islamic conceptions of education. These form
three core aspects; Taleem, Tarbiyah and Ta’dib.
When the worldly knowledge is used for the benefit
of all, then justice is established on earth. The Quran highlights the examples
of the Prophets who used worldly knowledge to produce beneficial results like
the carpentry of Noah, the husbandry (management and conservation of resources) of Dawood, the construction industry of Sulaiman.[1]
Despite the madrasas serving the community in
various ways, in this age of the global ‘War on Terror’, any talk of madrasas
is often laced with suspicion. Media coverage since 9/11 has placed the
traditional system at odds with the western narrative of democracy. From the
Taliban in Afghanistan to the Saudi and Western funded madrasas in
Pakistan to the Bali bombers, the media and politicians have found fodder to
depict the entire traditional institution as ‘dens of terror’ or ‘jihadi
factories’.
Some
scholars have concluded that there was no distinction between the secular and
religious sciences. Their research shows the early curriculums of Caliphs
Umar’s (634-644) and Caliph Ali’s (656-661) eras include poems, swimming,
horsemanship and the study of proverbs alongside the teaching of Quran.
Elementary
educational system was developed in the Umayyad period (661-750) while higher
Islamic studies took shape in the golden ages of Islamic civilisation under the
Abbasid rule (750-1258). The history of how Islamic education developed in the
Indian subcontinent, starting with the Turkish Sultans, reaching a high point
in the Mughal period (1526-1857) with the development of the Dars Nizami, is
fully recorded.
During
this period the madrasa education system in India, the Ottoman Empire
and Middle East was the centre of all intellectual pursuits. The madrasa
trained graduates to be teachers, astronomers, judges, government employers and
administrators. The last period of change came from the late 1700s up to recent
times under the impact of colonialism and post-colonial nation states.
The Historical Timeline of Islamic education
Organized Islamic education has experienced a long
journey which
started 1400 years ago at the advent of Prophethood in 620 AD and continues
with an unbroken chain today. Although, the primary sources remained the Quran
and Sunnah throughout, the processes, structures and auxiliary sciences have
adapted to various stages it found itself in.
This
period is the longest stage of classical Islamic education lasting about a millennium
from the 620 AD to the 1700’s. The early informal educational circles were
started in the Makkah period and places like the house of Abu Bakr, Arqam Bin Abi
Al-Arqam, the house of the daughter of Hazrat Umar bin Khattab and the valley
of Abu Talib were used to educate and instruct the early Muslims in secret. The
nature of these classes formalized when the Muslims found themselves in the
safety of Madina (622) and the Prophets Mosque was used as a space for
learning, study and boarding.
There would be between 60 to 70 companions
permanently dedicated to study at any given time while at times these numbers
would reach 400. The arrangements for the needs of these companions were taken
care of by the Prophet and other companions. These students became famously
known as the companions of As- Suffah (the raised platform) and this
institution was used for teacher training from where teachers were sent out to
other parts of the land to teach the various Arab tribes and peoples.[2]
The
curriculum of this period was study of the Quran reading, Quran Memorization
and knowing the laws of Islam or jurisprudence. Although the companions at
As-Suffah were full-time students, there were others who came from out of
Madina and the prophet himself instructed them through short courses after
which they would return home to teach their kith and kin.[3]
The structure of these classes started off as the Halaqah which operates like a
research methodology.
The
period of the four caliphs which followed between 632 and 661, saw the
standardization of Quran as a core subject for the primary level while
extracurricular subjects like swimming,archery, horse-riding and poetry were
also introduced. During the Umayyad era between 661 and 750, elementary
education seems to have been established where children from the age of 6 would
attend primary schools known as kuttabs.[4]The
initial educational structure and the most important and widespread were the Kuttabs.
These were the institutions designed to educate at a primary level in
subjects such as the correct recitation and memorization of the Quran, reading,
writing, spelling and arithmetic. These types of classes were operated from
masjids and the method of qualification was through the recognition of the
teacher himself of the capability of the student in any given subject area.
As
for Higher education, some were operated by private scholars who received
donations from the local people while there were bigger institutions which were
patronized by nobles and rulers.[5]
The
development of Islamic education reached its zenith in the Abbasid period
between 750 and 1258. Caliph Al-Ma’mun, founded Baytul Hikmah(House of
Wisdom) in 830. The Abbasid era witnessed considerable development in Islamic
education, which now included the study of Greek philosophy, logic, rhetoric,
astronomy, mathematics and medicine.[6]Baytul Hikmah was
the place where the ancient Greek works were brought and translated and
expanded upon. The most famous of the early institutions for higher Islamic
education was Nizamiya (established 1065) in Baghdad and included Quranic
sciences alongside astronomy, animal biology and botany. There were many subjects
to choose from the acquired sciences but the majors in religious instruction
were compulsory. This institute produced scholars like the famous Abu Hamid
Ghazali (d. 1111) and Abdul Qadir Jailani
(d. 1166).[7]
The madrasas established in Islamic world became the blueprint for
European universities.[8]
These madrasas could be found throughout Muslim lands and geographically
spread out in the world. There were great centres of knowledge in the Middle
East like Kufa, Baghdad and Damascus. In Central Aisa, centres of like
Nisahpur, Samarqand and Bukhara were founded. In Asia Minor it was Istanbul and
in South Asia it was places like Delhi. In North Africa places like Timbuktu,
Morocco and Cairo were famous while in Southern Europe the centres of knowledge
and education were Cordoba and Granada.[9]
It is worth noting, there was never a
separation between religious and worldly sciences in the premodern definition
of education. Traditionally, all sciences were regarded by Muslims as religious
in that they are from God, to aid in recognising Him and serving His creation. The
knowledge of the acquired sciences were adopted from various regions of the
world and adapted into the education of the Islamic curriculum. Logic and philosophy
was taken from the ancient Greeks, astronomy and mathematics from the Indian
region and literature and arts was adopted from Persia.[10]This was the case for
approximately 900 years from 775 until the enlightened period around the 17th
century when the idea of the separation of church and state was introduced in
the Western world.[11]This understanding and
practice paved the way for ulama to make major contributions to areas
which lie even beyond the purely religious realm. The golden age when
contemporary education was learnt in the shade of the revealed sciences,
produced giants upon which the western tradition built upon. Jabir ibn Haiyan
was the founding source of modern chemistry. Abu Al Qasim Al-Zahrawi was a
leading figure in modern surgery and Ibn Al-Haitham was the father of modern
optics, physics and mathematics. The famous Ibn Sina is a pioneer in medicine
while Ibn Khaldun is a major figure in sociology and political science.[12] Due to the expanding of empires and changes in
the social environments, early Muslims modified their educational programs to
new areas of study; foreign policy, differing customs, traditions and faiths,
medicine, algebra, astronomy and philosophy within Islamic education.
NEW TOPIC
India
The initial entry of Islam
into South Asia came in the first century after the death of the Prophet
Muhammad. The Umayyad caliph in Damascus sent an expedition to Baluchistan and
Sindh in 711 led by Muhammad bin Qasim. He captured Sindh and Multan. Three hundred
years after his death Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni established a base in Punjab. In
1024, the Sultan set out on his last famous expedition to the southern coast of
Kathiawar along the Arabian Sea.
Muhammad Ghori invaded India in 1175 A.D. After the conquest of Multan and Punjab, he advanced towards Delhi.
The period between 1206 A.D.
and 1526 A.D. in India's history is known as the Delhi Sultanate period. During
this period of over three hundred years, five dynasties ruled in Delhi. (These
were: the Slave dynasty (1206-90), Khilji dynasty (1290-1320), Tughlaq dynasty
(1320-1413), Sayyid dynasty (1414-51), and Lodhi dynasty (1451-1526)).
Very little is actually
known about the medieval madaris of Sind, Multan and Ajmer but our
attention is drawn to 1258 and the Mongol destruction of the Abbasid
Caliphate. The incident of 1258 saw vast numbers of refugees seeking refuge
in Hind and among them were ‘ulama and sūfis , the former who
brought with them major Hanafi texts, and the trend of
producing commentaries of the texts and then commentaries of commentaries
further ensured insistence on taqlīd of the earlier
hanafī ‘ulama’.
The Mongol invasion of Islamic lands was in a way responsible for
the influx of numerous Muslim scholars into India. These scholars brought with
them their own system of education and subsequently educational institutions
based on that pattern came into existence throughout India. Some of them
started their own private classes. Others took employment in State-run schools
and colleges or other institutions that were established and run through
private donations. Many such institutions continued to flourish, for example
the Mu`izz Madrasahs in Delhi and Budaum, the Firuz Shah at Haus Khas in Delhi
are among the many such institutions where eminent Muslim scholars taught
including The Bidar Madrasah in Delhi.
This pattern of educational institution has more or less continued throughout India to this present day. The course of study may have undergone some modifications, but by and large, the nature of the curriculum remained unchanged. Arabic was not only taught as a language, but most of the text books as well were in Arabic.
The history of the arrival of Muslims in India and their positive
contributions in the field of knowledge and culture, in the socio-economic
sphere, and political structure are all well documented. Thus this political
trend led to the establishment of Islamic institutions of learning in India.
The Moghul Empire was founded in 1526 by Babar. He was one of the most important Muslim emperors in the East. Babar laid down the foundation of a great empire which continued to flourish for hundreds of years. Tremendous progress and prosperity were achieved during the Moghul era. As far as Awrangzeb (d. 1708) is concerned, he was the last of the powerful Moghul emperors and he will always be remembered in the annals of history of Muslim India for his pristine character, religious fervour and wide conquests.
Muslim emperors and conquerors on the whole never aspired to
destroy the religions or cultures of other communities, nor did they force
Islam upon their vanquished subjects. The Shaykhs (Islamic mystic leaders) and
the `Ulama' (Muslim religious scholars) who were instrumental in the
propagation of the Deen (religion) were well acquainted with the fact that
forced conversion was strictly prohibited by the Qur'aan. Had there been a
policy of forced conversions during the period of Muslim rule, which lasted for
about nine hundred years, the Muslims in India would not have been included
amongst the minority groups in India.
Islam spread in India long before the conquest had started. Many people had accepted Islam prior to the arrival of the Moghuls. Islamic values of equity, justice, truthfulness and honesty attracted many people in view of the fact that they were suffering as a result of the cast system that prevailed in India and were denied basic human rights as a result of being regarded to belong to an inferior caste. Furthermore, the 'Ulama' preached tolerance towards peoples of other faiths. Throughout the centuries of Muslim rule, necessary mechanisms were set in place in order to foster inter-communal relationship between Muslims and Hindus.
Akbar the great Moghul emperor (1556-1605) proclaimed himself as the Mahd (the awaited reformer). He was influenced by the thoughts of AhmadJawnpur. He invented Deen-e-ilah (Faith of Unity) which was in effect a heretical move on his part in that he diluted the pristine teachings of Islam with that of Hinduism and traditions of the various communities. Although his aim in doing that was motivated by the need to forge mutual understanding among the different communities, Muslim scholars like Shaykh Ahmad Sirhind who was popularly known as Mujaddid Alf al-Thaan (d. 1624) and others challenged Akbar for bringing about this innovation. Their timely reaction succeeded in neutralising the effects of imperial heresy on the vast majority of Muslims.
During the middle of the seventeenth century Shah `Abd al-Haq
Muhaddith of Delhi and Shaykh Ahmad Sirhind influenced the last powerful Moghul
ruler Awrangzeb who remained committed to their theological emphasis and thus
eased the tension of difference between the eclecticism of Akbar and the
`Ulama'.
Initially, even in India, the Masjid was not only a place of worship but its extensive open space also served as a school where the young and old learnt how to recite the Qur'aan, listened to discourses on the Hadith and studied Islamic calligraphy, and learnt basic Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) etc. Then gradually Maktabs (religious schools), separate from the studies conducted in the Masjid were established where formal education in the Islamic sciences were taught. Thereafter, various Dar al-'Ulums (literally House of Higher Islamic Learning) came into existence.
Dar al-'Ulum Farang Mahal
At the turn of the 16th century a notable Muslim family settled in Lucknow. Its members were respected for religious learning. It was headed by Mulla Qutb al-Din (d. 1691) that had always retained close links with the Moghul court in Delhi. In fact he and his sons participated in the compilation of al-Fatawa al-`Alamghiriyyah. Since they occupied a French designed house this family came to be known as FarangMahal.
Dar al-`Ulum Farang Mahal came into existence in 1693. It was founded by Mulla Nizam al-Din Sihal (d. 1748) and was a direct descendent of the Farang Mahal family in Lucknow. He was responsible for evolving the syllabus of this institution which is named after him i.e. Dars-e-Nizam. This syllabus is implemented in all the Muslim religious institutions in India and in other parts of the World, like in South Africa.
Dar al-`Ulum Farang Mahal was noted for training Qaadhis (judges), Muftis and other legal officials that were, from time to time, required by Muslim courts. Thus Dar al-`Ulum Farang Mahal succeeded in filling the void in Islamic scholarship which existed after the displacement of religious centres in Delhi.
Madrasa aL-Rahimiyah
Like the 'Ulama' of the Farang Mahal, Shah Wali Allah aspired for the restoration of stable Muslim rule in which the 'Ulama' would play an important role. He succeeded his father Shaykh 'Abd al-Rahim (1644-1718) as director of Madrasat al-Rahimiyah in Delhi and devoted his life to study and teaching. He effected some reforms in the curriculum. Shah Wali-Allah and the Farang Mahal 'Ulama paved the way for further reforms to be effected in the teaching of Islamic religious science.
After the demise of Shah Wali-Allah in 1762, his eldest son, Shah 'Abd al-'Aziz (d. 1824) continued to bring about changes in the curriculum. He and his brothers taught the religious sciences in Delhi, particularly studies in Hadith, to large number of students. Muslim public gained access to instruction in the Shari`ah through his famous fatawa (legal decrees).
Shah Wali-Allah who was born
in 1703, five years before the death of Awrangzeb, was considered to be the one
who succeeded in building a bridge between the medieval and modern Muslim
India. Since he was well aware of the religio-political and socio-economic
disintegration of Muslims in India, he launched his two-fold reform movement.
His educational and religious reforms led to the emergence of many great
centres of Muslim learning, one of which was the Dar al-`Ulum in Deoband,
Dar
al-`Ulum of Deoband.
The tragedy of Balakot and the failure of the 1857 uprising gave the British an opportunity to unleash their savage atrocities against the Muslims. They banished the Moghul King Bahdur Shah to Burma and the Muslims were expelled from Delhi, some of them were tortured while others were mercilessly murdered. Their properties were appropriated and many Mosques and centres of learning were either destroyed or closed for worship. The educational policy imposed by the British after the seizure of Delhi in 1803 and its eventual capitulation in 1857 was detrimental for the Muslims. They established colleges and schools with the aim of promoting Western culture and values.
Shah Waliyullah’s madrasa in
Delhi too became avictim of their tyranny. It is said that for miles no
‘Alim could be found to evenlead the funeral prayers. The state of
the Muslims of India and theirreligious institutes was then being compared to
the Mongol invasion of 1258, where it was believed the sea first turned black
with the ink of books and then red with the blood of the ‘ulama’.
We should note that several
Madaris existed before the Deoband Madrasah many are still functioning in
Delhi alone.
The lack of ‘ulama’ and
another significant reason for the establishment of Daral-‘Ulūm Deoband in1866
was to counter the British Education Policy that aimed at spreading
Christianity through various British Colleges and other institutions, and the
suppression and exclusion of Muslims from high vacancies. Hence, there
grew this opposition to British culture and later western-influenced Muslims.
It is recorded that Deoband was founded on the 30th of May 1866 C.E. on a Thursday
in the courtyard of Masjid Chattah under a pomegranate tree with asingle
teacher and his student, both Mahmūds.
The town of Deoband lies ninety miles north-east of Delhi. The
town was typical of other large villages scattered across northern India.
Muslim scholars in Deoband belonged to two prominent families, namely the
Uthman and Siddiq families. Their influence had persisted since Moghul times.
The famous Dar al-'Ulum of Deoband was finally established in this town in
1867, ten years after the mutiny, by Mawlana Qasim Nanawti, Mawlana Rashid Ahmad
Ganghohi, Muhammad 'bid Husayn, MawlanaDhu al-Fiqr (the father of Mawlana Mamood
Hasan), Mawlana'Abd al-Raman 'Uthman (the father of Mawlana Shabbir Amad
'Uthman) and other Ulama
The `Ulama' of the Dar al-'Ulum of Deoband founded other institutions of higher Islamic learning in other parts of India. For example, Mazahir al-'Ulum was founded in Saharanpur, and Madrasat-e-Shah in Muradabad. Its graduates served in these newly established institutions.
The 'Ulama', post 1857 period, were convinced more than ever
before that they had to rise to the situation and thus they evolved an
alternative educational system in order to counteract the influence of the
British model on the Muslim masses. There was growing fear that if nothing was
timeously done, future Muslim generations would be totally ignorant of their
rich legacy.
They would neither be versed in Islamic Shari'ah (Islamic Law),
nor in the moral system of Islam and its civilization. The strategy of the
'Ulama' in the domain of Islamic education was to concentrate their efforts in
the establishment of Madaaris that imparts education in the various Islamic
disciplines), with the hope that from these institutions, a new army of Muslim
preachers and crusaders would emerge. Foremost among these Muslim educational
revivalists were Mawlana Qasim Nanotwi (d. 1879) and Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Ganghohi
(1908). Both of them were dedicated educational reformists and received
spiritual guidance from al-Hajj 'Imdad Allah (d. 1899). Referring to the
positive contributions made by Mawlana Nanotwi in the field of Islamic
education in the Indian subcontinent of new fronts of resistance and struggle.
The educational design of the Dar al-'Ulum was the most important of it
all."
When Britain
colonized India, the `Ulama' finally decided to leave beloved but desolate
Delhi behind and opted to move to the villages in which many of them had their
roots. Some of these places which they chose to settle in and establish their
educational institutions were Deoband, Saharanpur, Kandhlah, Gangoh and
Bareilly. British presence in them was nominal and hence they were considered
the most appropriate venues for the preservation and promotion of Muslim
culture and Islamic religious knowledge.
The Deobandi academic
journal ‘Mahnamah Dar al‘Ulūm Deoband’ elaborates how the history of ‘the
system of Muslim education in India’ is divided into four stages by Mawlana
‘Abd alhayy Lukhnawi. In his article ‘Hindustan kaqadīm niyab-e- dars awr uske taghayyurat –India’s
medieval system of education andits modification’, Lukhnawi begins
with:
dawr-e-awwal the
first period– 12th Century to 14th Century This
period saw the founding of the following subjects :nahw (Arabic
grammar), Sarf (etymology), adab wa balaghat (rhetoricand
literature), fiqh, usūl efiqh mantiq (logic), kalam (cosmology), tasawwuf (Sufism), tasfīr
and hadīth.
In this period fiqh was
considered to be the most significant subject, and it was deemed sufficient to merely
study Mashariq al-Anwar or Masabih For
Hadī th .
This heavy influence
of fiqh is believed to be the influence the conquerors of Hind had
on the land, as they were from Ghazni and Ghawr – both lands that prided
themselves with the study of fiqh.
Dawr-e-Dawm ,
the second period, begins with Shaykh ‘Abd Allah and Shaykh‘Aziz Allah travelling
from Multan to Delhi to the throne of Sultan Sikandar Lodhi(d.1517C.E)in order
to reform the previous curriculum by requesting the inclusion of some other books such as
Sakaki’s Miftah al-‘ulūm.
This period further
saw the extension of the syllabus by Sayyid Mir Shah’s students
by producing commentaries of the mentioned books: such Sa’d al-Din Taftazani’s
and Sharh ‘Aqa’id al-Nasafiyyah, the latter two which still remain part of the dars-e- nizamī in
many institutes.
In this period Sharh
Jami’ and Sharh Wiqayah too were added to the study of ‘ulama’. Again the
latter text is still studied to this day in the madaris.
Dawr-e-sawm , the third stage saw the
polymath, Emperor Akbar’s vizier Mir Fath-Allah Shirazi (d. 1582), introduce ‘ma’qūlat’ the
logical and philosophical sciences to India. The courts of the
Mughal emperors were significantlyinfluenced by Iran especially the courts
of Humayūń (r. 1530 / 1555)and Akbar (r. 1556).
Dawr-e- chaharum, the fourth period is the most significant
in fully understanding contemporary madaris as it is the stage when Mullań
Niẓam al-Din Sahalwi (d. 1748 C.E.) laid the foundations to the dars-e- nizamī.
The set of texts chosen by Mullh Niẓam al-Din were selected for the madaris of Firangi Mahal.
The dars-e- nizamī ,
which was named after him was in fact heavily influenced by ma’qūlat (rational
sciences) as opposed the manqūlat (traditional sciences).
This syllabus reserved
‘fifteen books on logic, and several books on Greek philosophy, mathematics,
history, medicine, and engineering, and also texts on Persian literature and Arabic
grammar, rhetoric and literature’.
Alongside fiqh ,and
Usūl al -Fiqh , for tafsīr ‘al- Baydawiyy’ and
‘J alalayn’ were taught, and for Hadith it was
thought sufficient to study ‘Mishkat al-M asabīh.
It is interesting to note that part of the dars-e- nizamī Engineering and Astronomy were also taught as part of the curriculum. Students were also taught the skills of official letterwriting and calligraphy, which they would need as prospective civil servants.
It is interesting to note that part of the dars-e- nizamī Engineering and Astronomy were also taught as part of the curriculum. Students were also taught the skills of official letterwriting and calligraphy, which they would need as prospective civil servants.
However, towards the end of
this third period Shah Waliyullah (1702-1762 C.E.), following his 14 year stay
in the Hijaz, introduced the teaching of the Sihah sittah into
the curriculum of India (dars-e- nizamī ) – which
overlaps into the fourth period. Shah
Waliyullah had also devised a new syllabus but because the centre of Islamic
knowledge at the time had shifted from Delhi to Lukhnow and because of the
influence of the Mughal‘ulama’ his syllabus did not reach fruition.
Shah Waliyullah and his
family were based in Delhi and they focused on the manqūlat (tafsīr and
hadīth); the‘Ulama’ of Lukhnow –the traditional scholars of Farangi Mahal
– still remained heavily influenced by the teachings of‘mawara’ al - nahr’ (Transoxania),
hence their focus was on fiqh and usūl al -fiqh ,
The 'Ulama' of Delhi and Farang Mahal spearheaded this task. After
the demise of Shah Wali-Allah, the Delhi school of 'Ulama' were led by his
three sons, especially Shah 'Abd al-'Aziz (1746-1824), the eldest son. All of them continued the reformist
teachings of their father.
1.5 Dar al-'Ulum Nadwat al-'Ulama
The intellectual movement of Nadwat al-'Ulama founded in 1893 by Mawlana Muhammad `Al Monghor (d. 1927) and the Islamic Institution of Dar al-'UlumNadwat al-'Ulama in 1898 came into existence at a time when fierce controversies were raging among Muslim ranks. There were those who supported the British and those who stood with the 'Ulama. Thus the intellectual movement of Nadwat al-'Ulama came about to chalk out a balance and moderate course which would serve as a bridge between the old and the new order, since the founders were against extremism in both ancient and modern methods of education. The founders of this movement and institution called for the revision and expansion of the Islamic syllabus. This was a rather unfamiliar call in India where the old Dars-e-Nizami syllabus was still strictly being adhered to.
The British exploited the differences among the various Schools of Islamic Jurisprudence to sow discord among Muslims. Thus the founder members of the Nadwat movement endeavoured to foster unity and understanding amongst the different Muslim factions. Moreover, this movement sought to establish an Islamic institution of higher Islamic learning in Lucknow which would incorporate some aspects of western education along with the classical Islamic disciplines. Within a short period of time this institution came to be accepted in India and internationally as an acclaimed institution of Islamic learning.
Despite all the negativity,
there is a worldwide increase in number of madrasa institutions as
interest in what they offer increases
Deoband was intended to
resist the British by non-violent methods, the military option having been
tried fruitlessly in 1857.
I am convinced that the dars-e- nizamī
play a significant role in the madrasa thought
process. However, the ‘ulama’ in medieval India were employed in the
state bureaucracy in various capacities,as judges, experts in offering legal
opinions, censors of public morals, preachers and teachers. Leading ‘ulama’
thus enjoyed close relations with the state.
In India alone, there are some 30,000 madrasas
which train professional ulama.20 Pakistani traditional institutions are also
quoted between 30-35,000 while Bangladesh statistics report about 79,000.21
Although these statistics fluctuate across data resources, traditional
institutions run in the tens of thousands while its students are in the
millions. It would be wishful thinking that these institutions do not play a
significant role in the daily lives of ordinary Muslims who are advised by the
ulama matters crossing their spiritual, social, economic and moral affairs.
Therefore, it seems clear that madrasas are regarded by Muslims as a central
entity in the production and preservation of religious knowledge for posterity.
We need to focus
on SA and its needs
Skill Development
English
Child psychology
Indigenous Languages
Oratory Skills
Teaching Skills
Writing Skills
NEW TOPIC
A summary of a paper presented by Maulana (Dr.) Yunoos Osman in October 2019 at a Ulama Conference in Durban. South Africa. 550 Ulama and religious scholars attended.
Islam and Politics.
Respected Ulama, Muftis,
Huffaz, Imams and guest from far and wide Assalamualaikum
In the Name of Allah,
the Most Merciful and Compassionate and, it is only Allah who has
regularized different stages through which all things, including human beings,
must pass on the way to their completion and perfection.
As a complete and comprehensive religion, Islam
provides its followers with guidance in all aspects of life. Politics and
governance are no exception, and yet they are often thought to be areas which
Islamic teachings do not cover. By not including this aspect of our belief, the
holistic concept of Islam would be incomplete. With a view to dispelling this
misconception, a few points would be discussed.
This topic and theme
given to me for today’s discussion, though it’s a very wide topic, I chose
to express the views of the scholars from a historical perspective and summaries
the opinions of different scholars and finally concluding with the opinion of
our great scholars and ulama. Most of
the scholars have discussed this topic, within the context of a Muslim State or
Country and very few have discussed this topic within the context of our, Southern
African, or Muslims living as a minority within a predominant non-Muslim State.
However, we should take
note that three opinions have emerged:
1: There are scholars
who have said that these are two
separate issues, that religion and politics cannot mix.
2: There are those who
say that the two are not separable.
3: There are those who
say spiritual and worldly matters are encouraged on a separate platform.
In reality, religion has
many branches and politics is one of them, and Islam provides basic guidelines
in the field of politics as well, and this is the view of majority of our
Ulama.
To sum up politics has
an important place in religion, but to declare it to be its principal purpose
is extreme, and also to suppose that religion is limited to prayers, fasting
and rituals and Politics has no
place in it would also be a great mistake.
A long and passionate
debate about religion and politics on an academic level continued for many
years.
Politics
literally means ‘affairs of the cities’ and government. But more practically it
means, distribution of power and resources and inter-relationships. I would not
take much time to discuss the definitions of different systems of political
structure such as democracy, republic, socialism, secularism and other systems
as I am sure you all have an insight to these. We all acknowledge the ultimate
sovereignty belongs to Allah and that is what distinguishes Islamic politics to
secular politics. As the constitutional bases of an Islamic government are the
Holy Quran and the Sunnah, and they are unalterable. There can be no law or
article in the constitution that does not conform to them.
Most early discussions
around politics and Islam focus on the ideas of government (siyasa)
proposed by Abū al-Hasan 'Alī ibn
Muḥammad al-Māwardī (972–1058
CE), appointed as the chief judge over several districts near Nishapur in Iran, and Baghdad itself, al-Mawardi also served as a diplomat for the Abbasid caliphs al-Qa'im and al-Qadir in negotiations with the Amirs
and clans. He is best known for
his treatise on "The Ordinances of Government", Al-Ahkam
al-Sultaniyya w'al-Wilayat al-Diniyya,
in where he provides a detailed definition of the functions of caliphate
government. Imam al-Ghazali and
Ibn Taymiyyah. Also detailed in their works how an Islamic Political Structure
should function.
All
of these political systems are peaceful and anti-revolutionary and to date
remained the position, from the Tabi’in era onward to
colonial times.
The Constitution of Medina was
drafted by the Rasullullah S.A.W., It constituted a formal agreement
between Rasulullah S.A.W. and all of the significant tribes and families
of Yathrib, (later known as Medina),
including Muslims, Jews, Christians and Pagans. This
constitution formed the basis of the first Islamic state.
The document was drawn up with the explicit concern of bringing to an end the bitter inter
tribal fighting between the clans of the Aws (Aus)
and Khazraj within
Medina. To this effect it instituted a number of rights and responsibilities
for the Muslim, Jewish, Christian and Pagan communities of Medina, bringing
them within the fold of one community.
The
Constitution established: the security of the community, religious freedoms,
the role of Medina as a sacred place, the security of women, stable tribal
relations within Medina, a tax system for supporting the community in time of
conflict, a system for granting protection of individuals, a judicial system
for resolving disputes, and also regulated the paying of blood money.
After
the death of Rasullullah S.A.W., his community needed to appoint a new leader,
giving rise to the title Caliph,
meaning "successor". Thus the subsequent Islamic empires were known
as Caliphates.
Alongside the growth of the Umayyad empire,
the major political development within Islam in this period was the sectarian
split between Muslims; this had its roots in a dispute over the succession
of the Caliphate. Muslims believed the caliphate was elective, and any Muslim might
serve as one. While some, on the other hand, believed the caliphate should be
hereditary.
Abu Bakr
Al-Baqillani, a Maliki scholar,
and Imam Abu Hanifa stated
that the leader of the Muslims simply should be from the majority.
An
important Islamic concept concerning the structure of ruling is shura,
or consultation with people regarding their affairs, which is the duty of
rulers mentioned in two verses in the Quran.
"...those who answer the call of their Lord and establish
the prayer, and who conduct their affairs by Shura. [are loved by God]"[42:38]
"...consult them (the people) in their affairs. Then when
you have taken a decision (from them), put your trust in Allah"[3:159]
The legislative power of the Caliph (or later, the Sultan)
was always restricted by the scholarly class, the ulama,
a group regarded as the guardians of Islamic law.
Since the law came from the legal scholars, this prevented the Caliph from
dictating legal results.
Practically,
for hundreds of years after the Khulafa Rashidin and
until the 20th century, Islamic states followed a system of
government based on the coexistence of sultan and ulama following
the rules of the sharia.
"O believers! Obey Allah and obey the Prophet and those who
have been given authority [uulaa al-amr] among you" (Qur'an 4:59).
All scholars agreed as long as it was orders within the Shariah
Starting from the late medieval period, Fuqaha elaborated the
doctrine of siyasa shar'iyya,
which literally means governance according to sharia,
and is sometimes called the political dimension of Islamic law. However, under
the Mamluk sultanate,
non-qadi courts expanded their jurisdiction to commercial and family law,
running in parallel with sharia courts and dispensing with some formalities
prescribed by fiqh.
In
later times the doctrine has been employed to justify legal changes made by the
state in consideration of public interest,
as long as they were deemed not to be contrary to sharia. It was, for example,
invoked by the Ottoman rulers who promulgated a body of administrative,
criminal, and economic laws known as qanun.
In
the 19th century, European colonization of the Muslim world coincided with
the retreat of the Ottoman Empire,
the French conquest of Algeria (1830),
the disappearance of the Moghul Empire in
India (1857), the Russian incursions into the Caucasus (1828)
and Central Asia.
Muslim reaction to European colonization was a
common Islamic political theme that is, to resist Western imperialism and
enforcement of Sharia through democratic or militant struggle
which was led by "Charismatic
leaders", generally members of the ulama or religious scholars. Sharia in
defiance of local common western law was imposed to unify tribes.
Following, World
War One and
the subsequent abolition of the Caliphate by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Muslims perceived that the
political power of their religion was in retreat. There was also concern that
Western ideas and influence were spreading throughout Muslim societies. This
led to considerable resentment of the influence of the European powers.
Several Muslim Scholar’s in the early 20th century advocated nonviolent
resistance and the adoption of some Western political, social, cultural and technological
ways. Members of the urban elite, particularly in Egypt, Iran,
and Turkey advocated
and practiced "Westernization".
- Many
rejected this view, Sayyid Qutb and others,
condemned imitation of foreign ideas, drawing a distinction between
Western democracy and the Islamic doctrine of shura. (consultation
between ruler and ruled). This perspective, which stresses comprehensive
implementation of sharia, was widespread in the 1970s and 1980s among
various movements seeking to establish an Islamic state, but its
popularity has diminished in recent years.
- The
moderate Islamic view stresses the concepts of maslaha (public
interest), ʿadl (justice),
and shura. Islamic leaders are considered to uphold justice if
they promote public interest, as defined through shura. In
this view, shura provides the basis for representative
government institutions that are similar to Western democracy, but reflect
Islamic rather than Western liberal values. Hasan al-Turabi, Rashid al-Ghannushi,
and others have advocated different forms of this view.
Up to this point these Scholars
discussed Islamic Politics within a Muslim Country and did not address the
political standing of Islam and Politics within a non-Muslim country or
predominant non-Muslim state where Muslims were a minority.
Shah
Wali Ullah and Shah Abdul Aziz his son gave political guidance to the Muslims
of India and later the likes of Maulana Rashid Ahmed Ganghohi, details cannot
be summarized today but all is found in the early books and literatures.
Upto 1905 the political programme of the Ulema appears to be
vague and uncertain. It was Maulana Mahmud-ul-Hasan (1851-1920), successor of
Ml Rasheed Ahmed Gangohi, who attempted to provide political and intellectual
insight to the religious ideal of Deoband school. He was very conscious of the
need for vigorous political activities and importance of organization. Many scholars, Ml Shaukat Ali, Maulana Moh
Ali, etc supported his course and every fatwa he issued had the signatures and
support of several hundred Ulama of his time.
At the same time, the Jamiyat-ul-Ulema-i-Hind was founded in the wake of the Khilafat
Movement in 1919. For the first time, it
brought the Ulema of all shades of opinion on a common platform and induced
them to organize themselves into a religious political body to guide the
Muslims of India in their religious and political matter. The
Jamiyat-ul-Ulema-i-Hind was organized with the exclusive purpose of
safeguarding the 'sharia' and giving the Muslim community religious and
political guidance according to Islamic principles.
Maulana Hussayn Ahmed Madani who was influenced by Maulana Mehmud
al hasan continued to play the political role of his Shaikh and the most
comprehensive exposition of Maulana’s political approach is found in his
presidential address at the fifth session of the Jamiat-al-Ulama Hind held in
December 1923. The address begins with a brief account of how Islamic power was
driven out of Europe, how Arabs were incited to revolt against Turkey, how the
Islamic institution of Khilafat was destroyed to shatter the unity and
solidarity of Islamic countries and ultimately how the Arab world was divided
into bits and distributed among the ambitious imperialists powers of Europe.
For all these developments he holds Britain responsible than other partners, of
the conspiracies behind these events.
Maulana was a member of the Congress that was the main torch
bearer of communal unity.
Hakim al-Ummah Hazrat Maulana Ashraf ‘Ali al-Thanawi drew attention to this point in a brief but
firm statement, in Ashraf al-Sawanih, that though there is a place in Islam for Politics but this is
not the real objective of our religion.Further stating:
“Thereby it becomes clear that politics is a mean from the
means and the objective is spirituality. The implication of this is not
that politics is not sought after altogether. I only intend thereby to specify
the place of politics in religion in that it is not the objective, as opposed
to spirituality, for indeed this is the essential objective.
Maulana Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi was an eminent Islamic scholar, has outlined in his Book Al-Tafsir
al-Siyasi li ‘l-Islama religious approach to Politics and essentially
encourages choosing that road which the Prophets instituted; he was a scholar,
socio-religious reformer and a political thinker. He spent his entire life for
the cause of Islam,
Realizing that the Muslims are facing numerous problems and it
requires a political solution, he forced himself, against his will, to enter
politics.
He mentions, " Muslims could not afford to remain aloof
from politics. To do so would be tantamount to collective suicide, for they
would not be able to protect their identity, their personal laws, their religious
traditions, and even their lives, in the face of the growing threat of Hindu
aggression as well as the Hinduisation of the state".
Therefore,
in 1964 He, along with leading Muslim, social, political and religious figures,
set up the All-India Muslim Majlis-i Mushawarat (The Muslim Consultative
Assembly), an umbrella body of several Muslim organizations, to chalk out a
coordinate political strategy for the Muslim community.
It
actively promoted communal harmony while at the same time promoting Muslim
rights and interests. Seeking to politically integrate the Muslims into the
mainstream of social and political life
in India. The Majis leaders argued the need for Muslims to enter into alliances
with other political parties, to bargain with them, promising Muslim votes in
return for assurances of protection of Muslim interests".
Muslims,
acting within the framework of the Indian Constitution, would support political
forces that could guarantee protection of their lives, property and religious
freedom".
Hazrat
concluded that as a minority and an increasingly threatened one, Muslims needed
to work along with existing political
parties, rather than set up one of their own. In fact, Ml Abul Hasan believed
that, if Muslims attempt to make a separate party of their own, it would
tantamount to unite Hindu voters against Muslims.
In sum, the truth is we understand, that politics,from this
discussion is a branch of the branches of religion, just as business and
economics is a branch thereof, and indeed the rules of religion pertain to
politics, must be clearly defined, just as they pertain to business.”
It is also clear that
not everyone must be involved in Islamic Politics but a few should be elected
and appointed to run the affairs of the Muslim citizens and communities within
the scope of Islamic Shariah.
In Conclusion, we note how
the scholars and Ulama of the past played important roles in Politics and faced
the political challenges of their era and times, we should take stock and see
if we the leaders of the Muslim communities of our region are playing an important
role in highlighting to the masses our role in the political sphere, our
challenges are and might be different, our challengers, freedom of religion,
freedom of education of choice, poverty, unemployment, corruption, inter faith,
religious tolerance, party politics,
crime, etc, are our platforms used to
address these challenges, not only for Muslims alone but for the general
masses.
Scholars should educate themselves of these challenges and
address them through their platforms so that our community can play a larger
role in addressing these challengers through the political structures of our
lands. Since in this time of twenty
minutes cannot cover much but for our South African situation further
consultation and reading on this subject is a must.
A summary of a paper presented by Maulana (Dr.) Yunoos Osman in October 2016 at a Ulama Conference in Lenasi, Johannesburg. South Africa. 800 Ulama and religious scholars attended.
Respected Ulama, Huffaz of the Holy Quran, Huffaz of the Ahadith,
Respected Mufassirin, Muhaddithin, Muftis and great Scholars and contributors
of this region.
Assalamualaikum:
Darul
Ulum Deoband, was not established by great scholars, as a result of dispute
between Ulama of one institute thus establishing another, nor for the means of
sustenance for a few Scholars, it established as a result of a great challenge
that was faced by the Muslims and Ulama of India. The Ulama took up this challenge
and they rose to the need of the time which was Muslims’ survival. If necessary
steps had not been taken, the importance of Islam may have perished in India.
The result was the coming into existence of this world renowned Darul ulum.
From its humble beginning it has left an unparallel legacy of such great
magnitude globally that Scholars have recognized this institute as the second
greatest to the Al Azhar of Cairo but I am convinced it is greater than Azhar.
Its importance has been acknowledged not only by Muslim scholars but also by
western scholars as well.
In the early and middle
centuries, Islamic sciences enjoyed the highest level of priority among
Muslims. Islamic history is witness to a large number of scholastic centres
throughout the Muslim world. These centres not only preserved the knowledge but
also led and guided Muslims in their times of hardship.
Because of these great
institutions we possessed intellectual dominance and were at the forefront of
creativity and innovation. Our ideas were transported to Europe as it lived
through the dark ages. Our message penetrated the hearts and minds of many and
our lands expanded through the physical, spiritual and intellectual strength we
possessed.
But today we only
read about these institutes in the books of history and do not experience the
continuous legacy that we experiencing from Deoband.
The history of the arrival
of Muslims in India and their positive contributions in the field of knowledge
and culture, in the socio-economic sphere, and political structure are also
well documented.
Muslim India was colonized
by the British and this new colonial power introduced drastic reforms in the
political, educational and economic sectors.
The failure of the 1857
uprising gave the British an opportunity to unleash their savage atrocities
against the Muslims. The educational policy imposed by the British after the
seizure of Delhi in 1803 and its eventual surrender in 1857 was detrimental for
the Muslims. They established colleges and schools with the aim of promoting
Western culture and values.
It was a tragic turn of
history that not only the Muslim government was destroyed but, multitude Muslim
leaders and scholars were beheaded, gunned down and even hanged to death. The
Muslim monuments, masajid, madrasas and institutions were razed and pulled
down. Muslim culture and Islamic heritage was at a verge of destruction and
perishing away. The British government was bitterly against Muslims and it
utilized every means to crush, the Muslims. The situation was so destructive
that It is said that for miles no ‘ālim could be found to even lead
the funeral prayers.
Moreover, the Colonial
forces were embedded with scores of missionaries ready to convert the
heartbroken and poverty-stricken masses to Christianity.
The affluent Muslims, Nawabs,
and landlords were reduced to bankruptcy. These people would establish madrasas
in their territories and endow a good deal of properties for them. Now
their castles and Havelis were pulled down and their lands were confiscated.
James Grant, says these endowments were equal to the income of united state of
Bengal. In the words of Hunter this struck at the root of the education system
of Muslims in India. From here began Muslims’ declining in the field
of education.”
The general Muslims were not
bothered before this to raise funds or pay fees to run a madrasa. The area
around Delhi had five thousand Ulama who taught in various Madrasas and got the
salary from Nawab Hafiz-ul-Mulk. The same condition was prevailing in Aoudh, Hyderabad
Daken and other states.
So now when there was no
financial arrangement for education the entire Muslim generation became
uneducated all across the country. Ulama thought over the matter and came out
with solutions. Maulana Nanautavi pioneered and shouldered to provide Muslims
with the religious education. He discovered a new way to operate madrasas with
the help of the general Muslims’ donations. Instead of depending upon a
particular person or property he used the Muslims’ help and set certain rules
and regulations for the madrasas to follow the same track. Doing this
marvellous job he and his colleagues set a shining example before the Indian
Ulama and removed the danger that loomed large at the Muslims’ survival. If
necessary steps would have not been taken, Muslims may have perished from this
soil like they perished from Spain and Sicily.
At that time the only party
to bear the responsibility of protecting Islam was that of the Ulema; every
inch of land of India is a witness to this fact that the Ulema did not fail in
discharging their duty.
(The Legacy)
May 30, 1866 was that
blessed and auspicious day in the Muslim history of India when the foundation
stone for the renaissance of Islam
was laid in the land of Deoband. Seeing the simple and ordinary manner in which
it had been started, it was difficult to visualize that a madrasa beginning so
humbly, with utter lack of equipment, was destined to become the centre of the
Islamic sciences in the world.
A huge network of madarsas
rapidly developed. These institutions have been the backbone of Islamic revival
in this part of the world, playing a significant role in spreading the Islamic
call and preserving the Islamic sciences.
In the earliest
years,Darul
Uloom attracted students from every corner of the country and later from
different parts of the world. Stringing all the inhabitants of the Islamic
world in one academic thread. As such, the
25 thousand academic benefactors of Darul Uloom from over 50 countries
including Russia, Canada and Fiji in the first hundred years of its being did not remain confined but their versatile
effects created such an atmosphere whereby religious schools continued to come
up in their countries.
Those who graduated used to
go back to their region and country and the first priority they gave was to establisha
madrasa along the pattern of Darul Uloom and imparting knowledge.
For over 150 years, this
great seat of Islamic learning occupies an unrivalled place amongst Muslim
religious institutions worldwide.
International Branches and Networking
The international reach of Deoband over the years has
largely grown thanks to its graduate network encompassing ever more countries.
There are over 15 thousand
institutes influenced by DU and over 2.5 million students benefiting from this
system of education worldwide currently.
The largest networks of Deoband institutions outside
South Asia can nowadays be found in South Africa and in the United Kingdom which
are primarily driven by thriving Muslim communities of Indian descent.
Religious revival of recent years and the desire of parents to provide their
children with religious and culturally compatible education in a religious
minority environment have also contributed to its spreading. There
are now well over thirty such madāris in South Africa.
Much
of the recent debate concerning Muslims and Islamic religious education has
been confined to security issues. Predetermined assumptions that regard Islam
as a fixed religion and Islamic institutions as hotbeds of terrorism disregard
the specific and complex local and political histories that have shaped and
continued to influence various transformations in the fundamental ideology of
many Islamic religious institutions.
We
experiencing similar situations in different parts of the Muslim world today where
America and Russia are deciding the fate of the Muslim World, when must they
fight and kill and when must they not.
Despite this hype and
headlines there exists very little empirical and serious work exploring the
role of the madaris in civil society by Muslim scholars. You will be surprised
that western scholars have done greater work in this field than Muslims
themselves (Steven Cohen, Gilles Kepel, Babera Metcalsf, Francis Robertson etc)
Syllabus
The evolution of Deoband has to be understood in
the large context of the madrasah system that existed in India. Before the
establishment of Deoband the madrasah was a centre of both religious sciences
and secular rational sciences
Moulana Manazir Ahsan Geelani
and others have affirmed that under the Moghul rule, there was a single
education system for all citizens. The establishment of Darul Uloom Deoband
occurred at a time when colonialism posed a threat to the fundamental teachings
of Islam and was aimed at protecting the Islamic sciences from western
influence. It did not aim to establish a permanent national educational system
that would be comprehensive and address all the needs of the Muslims. It is
important to understand the rationale and context of establishing Darul Uloom Deoband as a part of the
solution and not the complete solution.
At this critical juncture of
the history of Muslims in India, two types of institutions of higher learning
came into existence. One was totally religious under the patronage of the
'Ulama' and the other combined in its
curriculum both religious and secular education and was spearheaded by Sir
Sayyid Amad Khan (d. 1898) and his colleagues who were influenced by the
British system of education.
It is perhaps for this
reason that Darul Uloom Deoband and its associates started to champion a
network of Makatib to protect the fundamental beliefs of Muslims realising the
dangers of the national western based education system that had emerged.
Establishing such a parallel
system was undoubtedly the need of the era and its impact should not be
underestimated or undervalued. The parallel system has saved the faith of
thousands and preserved Islamic sciences that were under threat. Protection was however not intended to be
the end goal and ultimate objective.
But the negative consequence
of this parallel education system is the artificial divide between ‘religious’
and ‘secular’ education. In Islam, there is no such divide. The divide is
between beneficial and non-beneficial knowledge. The superiority of the
knowledge of the Qur’an and Sunnah is undoubted. However, the knowledge of what
is commonly known as secular or worldly sciences is not prohibited. In fact,
Shaykhul Islam Mufti Taqi Uthmani states that it is a communal obligation to
acquire knowledge of the worldly sciences because Islam is a comprehensive
religion and way of life. We do realise that there is no ambition or aspiration
to produce the Ibn Rushds, Al-Khwarizmis, Al-Razis ,Ibn Khalduns and others
whose contribution is acknowledged by the world, at our institutes, scholars
prohibiting studying of certain science at our institutions were due to the
inherent risks of western influences in a specific context and not due to the
inherent negativity of the subject matter per se.
The Muslim Masses of South
Africa and the general public still support the ulama and look upon the Ulama
for their guidance and leadership but patiently and silently are requesting the
Ulamato attend to the needs, challenges and demands of our changing times.Immediate
drastic steps and measures needs to be addressed for us to continue getting
this support and for the legacy to continue for generations to come.
The first is to introduce a
proper system of professional skill development, lessons in English and one other indigenous
language is very important, for effective dawah within the indigenous population.
Deoband introduced the department of English Language and literature in 2002.
Computer
literacy programmes - gone are the days when scholars should pack
their bags with all their books, nowadays they carry a USB with all the
Ahadith, Quran and fiqh books downloaded. Knowledge in Website development and
updating is an important tool for every scholar. D.U. introduced a computer
literacy programme in 1996.
Regular
Refresher courses and workshops on current issues and concerns to
keep the Ulama abreast of developments in the political and financial changes
that continuously affect our daily lives. DU Karachi has introduced it many
years ago.
Training
in oratory skills, communication and public speaking is very
important to allow for more effective public speaking. We cannot continuously
ignore the criticism of the masses towards our scholars in this field.
Enhance our ability to arbitrate, mediateand dispute resolutions skills which is a great need of our
time in the ever increasing of social related problems, in our society (divorce
and drugs).
A
course in comparative religion would assist our scholars
to be more effective in their propagation of Islam within the diversified indigenous
population of our country.
Child
psychology will help to have a professional relationship with our
students as this is becoming a huge problem.
The absence of a
comprehensive education system has undoubtedly contributed to the overall
decline of the Ummah. What is required is a fundamental shift in approach; from
a parallel system to an integrated single education system that is balanced,
inspired by our legacy, adapted to the modern context and one that is
underpinned by religious education.
Undoubtedly, this needs to
be thought through and involve educationalists, historians and scholars. What surprise
me are the contentment of most people with the current system and the absence
of a discussion on the alternative.
A well-integrated education
system can strengthen the Muslims spiritually as well as in other ways. This
would also reduce the divide between the liberal and secular sections of the
community and the religious minded sections of the community. Over time, this
would have material impact in strengthening the state of the Ummah with the
graduates having great know how to face new challenges that will evolve.
Winter
says that there must be something lacking with the madrasa sector and
elaborates: ‘…It is an interesting fact that there are twice as many Muslims
training as Imams in this country as there are Christians of all denominations
training for Christian ministry.
Just
a slight reference to Dars e Nizami
Mullāń Nizām al-Dīn Sahālwī Lukhnawī
(d. 1748 C.E.) laid the foundations to the dars-e-nizāmī . The
set of texts chosen by Mullāń Nizām al-Dīn were selected for the students of
Firangī Mahal about 270 years ago. The syllabus which was named
after him was in fact heavily influenced by ma’qūlāt (rational
sciences) as opposed to the manqūlat (traditional sciences).
This syllabus reserved fifteen books on logic, and several books on Greek
philosophy, mathematics, history, medicine, and engineering, and also texts on
Persian literature and Arabic grammar, rhetoric and
literature’. Alongside fiqh, and Usūl al-Fiqh,
for tafsīr ‘al-Baydāwiyy’ and ‘Jalālayn’ were
taught, and for hadith it was thought sufficient to study ‘Mishkāt
al-Masābīh. (Shah WaliUllah introduced the SihahSitta).
It is interesting to note
that part of the dars-e-nizāmī Engineering and Astronomy were
also taught as part of the curriculum. Students were also taught the skills of
official letter writing and calligraphy, which they would need as prospective
civil servants. It is interesting this is no longer being taught in any of
the madāris, However, with contemporary madāris it
has now become important to ask the question whether we can really claim or
name this syllabus ‘dars-e-nizāmī’, when it only constitutes merely a
third of the syllabus
The challenges that the graduates face today are much
different to the challenges our founding fathers faced and yes they face these
with great strength and vigor are we defining any of our challenges and are we
facing these challenges with the similar vigor they did.
Lastly, a committee needs to
be formed with immediate effect to address the total lack of social needs of
our Ulama, For how long are we going to see the wives of our scholars giving
birth in the corridors of government hospitals and how many more Alims are we
going to allow to die on an operating table because for not affording proper
medical care for himself and his family. Why does an alim need to depend on the
welfare of the community until his death?. He is sometimes thrown out of a
house where he lived for many years or his family is thrown out since the need
for his services is no more. A very few of us enjoy the privileges and
generosities of the businessman while the majority silently satisfy themselves
with hoping for a better life in the hereafter. An able scholar has to do other
forms of work to generate income to sustain his family’s livelihood, working
part time in shops or driving taxis thus unable to focus on what he is
qualified to do best. We have to address this issue as a community and find a
mutually accepted solution.
NEW TOPIC
A summary of a paper presented by Maulana (Dr.) Yunoos Osman in October 2014 at a Ulama Conference in Durban. South Africa. 550 Ulama and religious scholars attended.
Respected Ulama, Huffaz of the Holy Quran, Huffaz of the Ahadith, Mufassirin, Muhaddithin, Muftis and finally the Warathat ul Ambiya.
The world of Islam today is passing through a critical period of its history. We are confronted with many problems and find ourselves in a limbo, between aspirations and despair.
If we are really sincere and determined to overcome the problems facing Muslims worldwide, we need cooperation between the different sectors of Muslim societies.
With a community that no longer accepts everything the local imam says as gospel and readily turns to the internet for answers or merrily does some forum shopping among the scholars to get the answers they like best, young ulema have a tough task to win a place in the community. With Google and Wikipedia ever ready to provide answers, ulema have to be on their toes because it is not enough that people want answers on a wide variety of subjects, but they also want today's answer yesterday.
As the topic suggests, I will discuss and share with you my thoughts and ideas with a brief historical perspective of the roles played by the Ulama in facing challenges during their times and a very few examples and names will be mentioned.
If we really want to serve the cause of Islam in a meaningful way in today’s world, and respond effectively to the ills of our times, we must be aware of contemporary problems. As our Ulama in the past acquinted themselves with the issues of the day and faced the challenges.
Years 661-1250
During the years 661 and 1250, a vast empire was created with successive capitals in Medina, Kufa, Damascus, Baghdad and Cordoba. Stunning political success was complemented by a cultural florescence in law, theology, philosophy, literature, medicine, mathematics, science, and art.
Fabricating of Ahadith
It was during this period that different isms evolved and developed and the founders of these sects were responsible forfabricating ahadith to support their beliefs, for instance Khawariji, emerged early in Islam, and later different groups emerged from this namely shiasm, Mu'tazili, Ash'ari, Maturidi, Murji'ah, Qadariya, Jabariya, etc.
To arrest this development, `Umar ibn Abdul-Aziz in 699 ordered the scholars to compile the traditions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Many scholars had already begun composing books containing biographical data on the various narrators of Hadith in order to expose the liars and fabricators. Abu Bakr ibn Hazm, Urwah ibn Zubayr and Ibn Shihab Az-Zuhri(born in Madina, when duty called he settled in Damascus and never returned to Madina). In fact due to this effort Az-Zuhri became the first compiler of Hadith to record the biographies of the narrators with particular reference to their character and honesty.
Imam Malik ibn Anas in Madina, Al-Awza`I of Syria, `Abdullah ibn Al-Mubarak of Khurasan; Hammad ibn Salamah of Basrah; and Sufyan ath-Thawri of Kufah were some of the famous scholars who stood up to this challenge.
The Political Development:
The behavior of many of the Umayyad caliphs, the intrigues of court life, and the privileged status of new elites were regarded as having little to do with Islam and with that they tried to impose some Tribal Customs into the daily life of the Muslim,
With the objective in mind that the institutions of the state should have as their source Islam and not the precedents of tribalism and foreign culture. The Ulama from all walks of life devoted themselves to the study of the Quran, Arabic language and linguistics, in order to safeguard their beliefs and limit the power of the caliph. Many devoted themselves to the formulation and explication of Islamic law. By the late Umayyad period, centers of law could be found in many cities of the empire.
Great scholars emerged:
Sa’eed ibn Musayyib, Yahya ibn Yahya al Laythi, Ash-Sha’bi, Hasan al-Basri, Ibrahim an-Nakha’ee, Alqamah bin Qais, Imam Abu Hanifah, Imam Yusuf , Imam Muhammad, Imam Zufr and IbnJurayj, Imam Malik, Ibn Abi Layla, Sufyan b. 'Uyayna, Ishaq b. Rahwayh, Ibn Shubrama, Ibn Jarir al-Tabari. Imam Shafi, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal are few of the great giants.
Because of their expertise, they became the jurists, theologians, and educators (in every field) in Muslim society, the interpreters and guardians of Islamic law and tradition. The judge (qadi) who administered the law as it was developed by these early jurists, firmly establishing the Islamic court system.
Cultural
Mass conversions to Islam took place in the reign of Omar bin Abdul Aziz (717-719) who abolished unfair taxation, tolerated dissent and treated Muslim and non-Muslim alike with the dignity due to fellow man. Impressed with his initiatives, people in the former territories of the Roman and Persian empires embraced Islam in droves.
The new Muslims brought with them not only their ancient heritage and culture, which was fundamentally different from that of the Muslims. Muslims had to face the religious and traditional challenges of the Greeks, Persians, the Hindus, the Buddhists and the Chinese. Add to it the internal convulsions in the Islamic world arising out of the conflicting claims of the Umayyad, and fractious approach of the many parties to legal issues, and one has a good idea of the challenge faced by the earliest Islamic jurists.
Ulama needed to learn languages of others to teach, educate and translate to the new masses, thus institution were established to cater for such sciences. Example, Toledo and Cordoba in Spain, House of Wisdom in Baghdad, Merve, Samarqand and Nishapur in Khorasan, Cairo, Qayrawan and Fez in North Africa and Palermo is where great translation and cultural centers were created.
The Ulama ceased to be mere disciples and became masters, thus producing an Islamic civilization, dominated by the Arabic language and Islam's view of life. Towering intellectual giants dominated this period: Islam had challenged the world politically; it now did so culturally.
Notable medieval Muslim polymaths included al-Biruni , al-Jahiz, al-Kindi, al Razi, al jazari, ibn fadhlan,ibn Hawqal, ibn Battuta, Ibn Sina, Ibn Bajjah, Ibn Zuhr, Ibn Tufail, Imam Ghazali, Ibn Rushd, Jābir ibn Hayyān, Abbas Ibn Firnas, Ibn al-Haytham Ibn al-Nafis, Ibn Khaldun, al-Khwarizmi, al-Masudi, al-Muqaddasi, and Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī, each of whom contributed to a variety of different fields of learning. During the Islamic Golden Age, polymath scholars with a wide breadth of knowledge in different fields were more common than scholars who specialized in any single field of learning. A number of them were great Ulama, Fuqaha, Muhathin, Mufassirin who never separated knowledge ilm into so called secular or religious science because Islam is a comprehensive way of life.
The period between 1250- 1600/1700
Succession struggle became so bitter that the Muslim empire fell into pieces of city states. Muslim Andalus and other parts in the Muslim world never recovered from this infighting which was almost a civil war.
In 1492, with the fall of Granada, fall of Muslim Spain was complete and no less than a million books on theology, physics, chemistry, astronomy, philosophy and medicine burned. Thousands of Ulama killed. Three million Muslims were either expelled, killed or forced to become Christians.
In another part of the world a great Muslim empire was emerging, Namely, Uthmanly Empire, known as the Ottoman Empire, created by Turkish tribes in Anatolia. It was an empire inspired and sustained by Islam, and Islamic institutions. It expanded to cover the Balkans and Hungary, and reached the gates of Vienna. Its decline was due to the decline in the Islamic Educational Structures.
Ottoman madrasas managed to build up a unique tradition of Islamic sciences by combining the contributions of many scholars that came from all corners of the Islamic world, primarily in the area of Rumelia. Anatolia’s Seljuk Madrasah, Altun aba madrasah in Konya, a great Madrasah in Amesya, by Mubarriz al din Halifet Gazi, Madrasah in Antalya by Mubariz al din er Tokus, in Goka Marasah by Sahib Ata Fehredin, Jamal uddin Al Aksaya established the famous Zincirli Madrasah, Molla Samseddin al Fanari, Dawud al Kayseri, Taceddin al Kurdi, Alaeddin Asved all taught at the famous madrasah in Iznik. Great Institutions of learning were also established in Bosra.
A number of scholars discuss the gradual decline of the madrasah in Turkey towards the end of the sixteenth and beginning of the seventeenth century, this was attributed to the standard of teaching dropping from earlier times. Mustafa al effendi attributes the decline to the decline of interest in scholarly research and writings of scholarly works. He further states that the cause of decline was also that the sons of famous Ulama were favored, rather than the most educated, in having high positions at the institutions and other positions reserved for scholars such as rectors, qadhis and lecturers (Nepotism).
Khatib Chelebi also mentions that a very large number of students were enrolled with out their interest in studies churning out numbers. Quantity was preferred rather than quality. This decline continued until its total destruction in 1920’s by Mustafa Kamal Ata Turk.
Whilst the decline started in this part of the world, Islam began to spread in the Indian Sub Continent.
The Mughal Empire did not stamp out the local societies it came to rule, but rather balanced and pacified them through new administrative practices.
Akbar started as an orthodox Muslim, in the course of time, he became disillusioned by the arrogance, petty-mindedness, intolerance and mutual rivalries of the ulema of his court. Makhdum al-Mulk, the shaykh al-Islam, and Shaykh 'Abd al-Nabi, who had for a time enjoyed power and great prestige,were disgraced and sent to the Hijaz in exile. In his disillusionment Akbar turned to the teachings of other sects in Islam, to other religions; and finally evolved a heretical cult of his own, the Din-iIlahi. With the assistance of some Ulama such as Amir Sharif Amili, Abul Fazl, the son of Shaikh Mubarik Nagori etc.
Using the name of Muhammad and Ahmad were banned and many mosques were closed in order to promote his din ilahi. In the history of India the period of Emperor Akbar was most critical and dangerous for Islam.
Shaikh Ahmed Sirhindi, Shaykh 'Abd al-Ahad, Shaykh Muhammad Sadiq, Shaykh Muhammad Tahir al-Lahuri, Maulana Kamaluddin, Sheikh Yaqub Sarfi (1521-1595) and Qazi Bahlol Badakh shani were some of those ulama who rose to the challenge of the day. They changed his entire direction from a Sufic orientation to a jurisprudence one.
Colonization
The period between 1600-1947
The legacy of colonialism remains alive today. Colonialism altered the geographical map of the Muslim world. They replaced the educational, legal, and economic institutions and challenged the Muslim faith.
The Europeans came, this time, not with cavalry and swords, but with an army of Christian missionaries and missionary institutions like schools, hospitals, and churches, many of which remain in Muslim countries to this day.
Muslim response to colonial rule was not exclusively in terms of adaptation to Western norms and institutions. Scholars in each of the Muslim countries challenged this imperialism in their own way.
The ‘ulama in India, themselves under went important changes to meet this challenge: Shah Waliullah had seen the decline of Mughal rule in India and observed similar degeneration in other countries of Asia and Africa he came to the conclusion that monarchist and imperialist tendencies were the main cause for worsening state affairs.
Ulama started the armed struggle against the British occupation in 1808, Shah Abdul Aziz ordered his disciple Syed Ahamd Shaheed to merge his army with that of Amir Ali Khan.
In 1857 another edict for Jihad against the oppressors was issued which carried the signature of 34 Ulama. Prominent among them were Maulana Qasim Nanautavi, the founder of Darul Uloom Deoband, Maulana Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi and Hafiz Zamin Shaheed who fought the British army under the leadership of Haji lmdadullah at Shamli battle.
Ulama, thereafter, became the main target of the British oppression and persecution. The word ‘Maulvi’ was synonymous to ’rebel’ in the British eyes. Out of approximately 200,000 people martyred during the revolt, more than 51,200 were Ulama. Edward Timus admitted that in Delhi alone 500 Ulama were hanged to death.
Tomson, the British army general who fought against Muslims in the 1857 revolt, detailed in his memoir, Rebellion Cleric, and honestly accepted that the real heroes of the 1857 revolt of India against East India Company were none other than Ulama, (Maulvis in his word).
After the defeat of 1857, some of the prominent Muslim leaders of the freedom movement found it very hard to save India from the cultural onslaught of the British. To counter the nefarious British plan to enslave India culturally, they planned to establish institutions that would impart knowledge as well as enthuse fervor among students to fight against oppressive forces. Darul Uloom Deoband, the most eminent Islamic learning centre thus was established in May 1866.
Than started the problems of differences in opinion.
The "Nadwat ul Ulama" Movement emerged in the midst of fiqhi as well as doctrinal differences and disputes taking place among scholars in India. Muslims were also accusing each other of being disbelievers. The first session of Nadwat ul Ulama was held in 1892 under the presidency of Shaykh/ Muhammad Ali al-Mongeri and with the presence of distinguished scholars. During this session, Shaykh/ Al-Mongeri brought up the idea of Nadwat ul Ulama and determined its main objectives; first: Mending fences and solving disputes among scholars in particular and among people in general. Second: Reforming the methodology of education.
Post Colonization (The Period after 1947)
Over the last two centuries the Muslim world has been under Neo-Colonization from the West. The Europeans who came in the 19th and 20th centuries to militarily colonize the Muslim world did not embrace Islam like the Turks and Mongols. For the first time, Muslims were politically subjugated by the European empires of Russia, Holland, Britain, and France.
The 20th century was marked by two dominant forces: European colonialism and the Muslim struggle for independence.
In addition to influencing those who came to power in emerging modern Muslim nation-states, Europe, and later America, forged close alliances with authoritarian regimes, tolerating or supporting their non democratic ways in exchange for, or to ensure, Western access to oil and other resources.
Thus the colonial countries posed a great challenge to Islam in the colonized countries through their technological supremacy. Many religious leaders and intellectuals in these countries were overwhelmed by the supremacy of the West and began to advocate secular modernization. Many reform movements thus were born in Muslim countries. Jamaluddin Afghani, Sir Sayed Ahmad Khan, Hasan al Banna and Muhammad Abduh of Egypt were among them.
The `Ulama strongly resisted any change in the Shari`ah laws and rejected the very concept of secular law, not only that, they would not even admit of any reform.
Many governments attempted to break the influence of the ulama after they rose to power. Religious institutions were nationalized and the system of waqf "religious donations", which constituted the classical source of income for the ulama, was abolished.
In 1961, Gamal Abdel Nasser put the Al-Azhar University, one of the highest Islamic intellectual authorities, under the direct control of the state. "The Azharis were even put in army uniforms and had to parade under the command of army officers" (G. Keppel, Jihad). In Turkey, the traditional dervish tekkes and Islamic schools were dissolved and replaced by state-controlled religious schools in the 1950s and 1960s. After the independence of Algeria, President Ahmed Ben Bella also deprived the Algerian ulama of their power.
Muslim studying and qualifying in westernized institutions brought about different challenges, the likes of Mohammad Abdu, Sir Sayed Ahmad Khan, Sayed Qutb, Hassan al banna, Maududi, etc.
These reformist were challenged by the Ulama of the times, Ulama, Allama Yusuf Binnori, Ml Idris Khandelwi, Ml Anwar Shah Kashmiri, Ml Shabbir Ahmed Uthmani, Ml BadrAlam, Ml Husayn Ahmad Madani, Mufti Shafi, Mufti Kifayatullah Dehlavi, Ml Abul Hasan Nadvi, etc.
Present Challenges and pressing needs of the day, are vast, some we do not even consider a challenge as we are aware of its implications and applications.
Ideology:
During the last century, we confronted the ideologies of socialism, capitalism, secularism, and the ideas of Darwin and Freud and these continue to be significant issues until today.
Today Shiasm poses still a great challenge to the Sunni world, with a different dimension as they have become a force with the support of the Western Powers in Iraq, Bahrain and Yemen. The West has de stabilize the Middle East in conforming with their age old policy of divide and rule by pitting shias against sunnis.
Also, today the ugly head of Kwarism has emerged again in the world: The rising specter of this extreme group feeds on indiscriminate violence. It wraps itself in a religious mantle and advertises itself as the shield against western domination. It is a misguided reaction that thrives on the killing of innocent civilians in the name of religion. The world waits for reaction to this Extremism.
Politics
Today, a great deal of change has become apparent in the realm of politics. Parliamentary system has been introduced. The ballots are now being cast in secret. Issues such as those concerning the decentralization of power, federal structure of the government which shares powers with the autonomous units, the delegation of power to regional government, etc. have come to the forefront. These issues and concepts are completely new and therefore not discussed in the old books of Fiqh.
Economics.
Likewise, a good deal of change has taken place in the economic arena. Earlier, concepts like Central Bank, Monetary Policy, Inflation, etc. were absent.
Information Technology and Social Media: How it affects the Masa;il of today:
The advent of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has impacted virtually on all aspects of human endeavor, most especially on how information is generated, processed, and disseminated. While a lot of progress can be seen in efforts being made to meet the needs of various professional groups such as engineers, lawyers, medical practitioners, scientists, administrators etc. through the development of specialized databases and tailor-made information retrieval systems (IRS),
Unfortunately the Ulama the most influential professional group in the Muslim world, vested with the responsibility of preaching, counseling, administration, and providing religious leadership to the Muslims do not have the capacity to this technology effectively. Among several factors identified, lack of a comprehensive Islamic Database and a suitable Information Retrieval System (IRS) is among the factors militating against the use of ICT by the Ulama. Muslim information professionals together with the Ulama have to come up with suitable data-bases and tailor-made IRS specifically designed to meet Islamic search pattern. It’s very essential that we have capacity building in this field in our institutions.
1. If a talaq is send by whats app, sms, bbm, email
2. Is shahadah on face time and skype accepted in Nikah
3. Is this considered as khalwah in marriage
4. If a picture is sent on mail or the above forms of communication is bai istisnah accepted
5. From these form of communication ba’y as salam done.
6. When is ijab and qubul or is it not accepted in this form of communication, when is the majlis terminated, if the battery of the phone dies has the buyer a right to claim the ba’y
7. When is thaman received is it when proof of wire transfer sent or when the funds reflect.
8. If the seller says on cash the price is 100 rands and on account 120 rands, the transfer was made immediately but money only reflected a few days later is this a qardh deal.
9. In money market accounts when dealing online on your account, how do the laws of ba’y as sarf complete how does yadam be yadin takes place.
. In bid o buy, amizon.com transacts is physical qabza required or virtual.
1 . Khiyar Ru’ya or Khiyar ul Aib
We need to ponder on many hundreds of such masail that affect our daily lifes,
Genetically modified foods (or GM foods) are foods produced from organisms that have had specific changes introduced into their DNA using the methods of genetic engineering, this is left to their discretion of using the dna from any source even it could be insects.
1. Some scientists are even questioning what effect would this have on humans health in the future.
2. Seeds for this are bought from an American company thus, Exploitation, monopoly and future control of food productions is one of the majors consequences of this.
Botanist, Ebrahim ibn al Awwan, Moh. Al Ghafiqi, Abbas al Nabati
An article had mentioned, to make baby milk powder similar to a mothers breasts milk dna from women would extracted to produce this milk powder, This would effect masail of foster children.
Womb Transplant
Ebola Burial
Response to Stem cells and Cloning.
Medical Scholars attended to these in the earlier times, Ibn Sina, ibn Haytham, al razi and al Zahrawi.
Homosexuality : Recently a Gay Friendly and women Imam friendly mosque has opened in America to reform American Islam.
Our reaction to provocation by the West, Burning of the Quran, Films on Rasullauha etcs,
Thus far our response has always been emotional thus resulting in loss of Muslim life’s unfortunately Ulama are responsible for in sighting the Muslim masses, lets take a queue from the times when the Prophet himself had……….
Forging of Muslim and Ulama unity. One of the greatest downfalls of Muslim Spain was that the Ulama were totally disunited on every ma’ala and issue of the day.
Agree to disagree, tolerance, egoism, etc, …………………………
Liasing with other organizations for social welfare, poor, beggars in the masjids and street corners, drug, Re-think our methodology
Involvement with other organizations to address issues such as women abuse in our homes, incest (countries trying legalize)
Environment, Flora, Fona, animals etc, Abu Uthman al Jahiz,
Important of taking care of marine, animal life and environment (Botanist and Zoology) trees etc where important in the past for healthy
Ulama involvements in Political issues, challenges in open societies, multi culturals-----directions
To complete the phase of leadership, guidance, their involvement in this field is essential. Thus effective lobbying against certain laws can be done.
Masjids: Not Fully Utilised : Friday Lectures can be more effective, in S.A. alone the Ulama are addressing 1.2 million every Friday.
Space exploration, how it will affect our masa’ile
Muslims living in space ships, how are they to go about in the daily life, no water no sand, lets go a few light years further.
An Indian entrepreneur is starting mining expedition next year on the moon, if Muslim miners will be on the moon for few months which moon they will have to look for for ramadaan etc.
The Japanese are sending tourists to the moon in 6 years how we going to direct our muslims in salahetc
Let’s go few light years in a few years, one way ticket holders will not be returning to earth, can we give the muslims, Quduri, Hidayah, Fathul Qadir, sharh al Wiqaya, Kanz al Daqaiq, Bahrur Raiq or one Fatwa Kitab and accept them to be guided.
The emerging black indigenous elite, are we in Africa not according to the demographics of the participants of today conference in Africa. The future of Islam in Africa is rests squarely on the shoulders of the Black Ulama and their leadership role. Ulama are traveling the world, how much time we have spent in Soweto, Sharpville, Kwa Mashu, Guguleto etc.
52 years ago Islamic Banking was introduced in its modern method, we are still debating its acceptability, 42 years a ago television was introduced in South Africa, we still debating its acceptability, 32 years ago rainbow chickens was discussed and today we still debating its being halal or haram. Several other such age old issues are debated and lectured, books etc. are produced, we will have to take a firm position on the century old matters so that we could concentrate on current matters to assist future generations.
We need to read works of contemporary scholars to understand their thoughts and combat what we need to.
Ulama have not only continued to respond—admittedly, with varying degrees of enthusiasm and success—to the challenges of changing times;
Moulana Ahmed Sirhindi, Shah Wali Ullah, Shah Abdul Aziz, Shah Ismail Shaheed , etc
When Political; Shaikh ul Islam, Moulana Madani, Ml Nanotvi, Ml Ganghohi
New Technology: Sayed Suliman Nadvi, Mufti Shafi, Maulana Abul Hasan nadvi, etc
New Economic Structures: Qadhi Mujahidul Islam, MoulanaTaqi Uthmani, Moulana Saifur Rehman.
The institutions of learning have grown dramatically in recent decades, where Muslims constitute a majority and where they are a minority, and the ‘ulama in recent decades have grown increasingly in numbers.
But success depends on learning from the faults of the past:
Quality rather than quantity in Educational structures is important (Turkey)
Disunity in every aspect of our life (Spain)
Love for status (Egypt and Syria)
Love for wealth and association with the wealthy for their own needs. (India)
No association with the lay man and indigenous.(Transoxania).
Involvement in broader societies. (Sri Lanka)
This is just a few, forgetting the socio-political changes that are rapidly taking place and how we are coping, no one bothers to listen to us any more, and we have become tools of mundane issues,
Where are the giants to face the challenges of our time?
It’s an easy excuse that what we have today is still better than what we will have tomorrow, but todays issues are not being addressed and we will be judged by what we do today because tomorrow is promised to no one.
Thinkers and Scholars need to brain storm and find resolution, practical resolutions to assist Ulama in re defining our role in Muslim society and how effective can we make a change.
A summary of a paper presented by Maulana (Dr.) Yunoos Osman in October 2014 at a Ulama Conference in Durban. South Africa. 550 Ulama and religious scholars attended.
The following Paper Published here under was presented by Maulana (Dr.) Yunoos Osman in October 2016 at an Ulama Conference in Johannesbrg. South Africa. 850 Ulama and religious scholars attended.
NEW TOPIC
Respected Ulama, Huffaz of the Holy Quran, Huffaz of the Ahadith, Respected Mufassirin, Muhaddithin, Muftis and great Scholars and contributors of this region.
Assalamualaikum:
Darul Ulum Deoband, was not established by great scholars, as a result of dispute between Ulama of one institute thus establishing another, nor for the means of sustenance for a few Scholars, it established as a result of a great challenge that was faced by the Muslims and Ulama of India. The Ulama took up this challenge and they rose to the need of the time which was Muslims’ survival. If necessary steps had not been taken, the importance of Islam may have perished in India. The result was the coming into existence of this world renowned Darul ulum. From its humble beginning it has left an unparallel legacy of such great magnitude globally that Scholars have recognized this institute as the second greatest to the Al Azhar of Cairo but I am convinced it is greater than Azhar. Its importance has been acknowledged not only by Muslim scholars but also by western scholars as well.
In the early and middle centuries, Islamic sciences enjoyed the highest level of priority among Muslims. Islamic history is witness to a large number of scholastic centres throughout the Muslim world. These centres not only preserved the knowledge but also led and guided Muslims in their times of hardship.
Because of these great institutions we possessed intellectual dominance and were at the forefront of creativity and innovation. Our ideas were transported to Europe as it lived through the dark ages. Our message penetrated the hearts and minds of many and our lands expanded through the physical, spiritual and intellectual strength we possessed.
But today we only read about these institutes in the books of history and do not experience the continuous legacy that we experiencing from Deoband.
The history of the arrival of Muslims in India and their positive contributions in the field of knowledge and culture, in the socio-economic sphere, and political structure are also well documented.
Muslim India was colonized by the British and this new colonial power introduced drastic reforms in the political, educational and economic sectors.
The failure of the 1857 uprising gave the British an opportunity to unleash their savage atrocities against the Muslims. The educational policy imposed by the British after the seizure of Delhi in 1803 and its eventual surrender in 1857 was detrimental for the Muslims. They established colleges and schools with the aim of promoting Western culture and values.
It was a tragic turn of history that not only the Muslim government was destroyed but, multitude Muslim leaders and scholars were beheaded, gunned down and even hanged to death. The Muslim monuments, masajid, madrasas and institutions were razed and pulled down. Muslim culture and Islamic heritage was at a verge of destruction and perishing away. The British government was bitterly against Muslims and it utilized every means to crush, the Muslims. The situation was so destructive that It is said that for miles no ‘ālim could be found to even lead the funeral prayers.
Moreover, the Colonial forces were embedded with scores of missionaries ready to convert the heartbroken and poverty-stricken masses to Christianity.
The affluent Muslims, Nawabs, and landlords were reduced to bankruptcy. These people would establish madrasas in their territories and endow a good deal of properties for them. Now their castles and Havelis were pulled down and their lands were confiscated. James Grant, says these endowments were equal to the income of united state of Bengal. In the words of Hunter this struck at the root of the education system of Muslims in India. From here began Muslims’ declining in the field of education.”
The general Muslims were not bothered before this to raise funds or pay fees to run a madrasa. The area around Delhi had five thousand Ulama who taught in various Madrasas and got the salary from Nawab Hafiz-ul-Mulk. The same condition was prevailing in Aoudh, Hyderabad Daken and other states.
So now when there was no financial arrangement for education the entire Muslim generation became uneducated all across the country. Ulama thought over the matter and came out with solutions. Maulana Nanautavi pioneered and shouldered to provide Muslims with the religious education. He discovered a new way to operate madrasas with the help of the general Muslims’ donations. Instead of depending upon a particular person or property he used the Muslims’ help and set certain rules and regulations for the madrasas to follow the same track. Doing this marvellous job he and his colleagues set a shining example before the Indian Ulama and removed the danger that loomed large at the Muslims’ survival. If necessary steps would have not been taken, Muslims may have perished from this soil like they perished from Spain and Sicily.
At that time the only party to bear the responsibility of protecting Islam was that of the Ulema; every inch of land of India is a witness to this fact that the Ulema did not fail in discharging their duty.
(The Legacy)
May 30, 1866 was that blessed and auspicious day in the Muslim history of India when the foundation stone for therenaissance of Islam was laid in the land of Deoband. Seeing the simple and ordinary manner in which it had been started, it was difficult to visualize that a madrasa beginning so humbly, with utter lack of equipment, was destined to become the centre of the Islamic sciences in the world.
A huge network of madarsas rapidly developed. These institutions have been the backbone of Islamic revival in this part of the world, playing a significant role in spreading the Islamic call and preserving the Islamic sciences.
In the earliest years,Darul Uloom attracted students from every corner of the country and later from different parts of the world. Stringing all the inhabitants of the Islamic world in one academic thread. As such, the 25 thousand academic benefactors of Darul Uloom from over 50 countries including Russia, Canada and Fiji in the first hundred years of its being did not remain confined but their versatile effects created such an atmosphere whereby religious schools continued to come up in their countries.
Those who graduated used to go back to their region and country and the first priority they gave was to establisha madrasa along the pattern of Darul Uloom and imparting knowledge.
For over 150 years, this great seat of Islamic learning occupies an unrivalled place amongst Muslim religious institutions worldwide.
International Branches and Networking
The international reach of Deoband over the years has largely grown thanks to its graduate network encompassing ever more countries.
There are over 15 thousand institutes influenced by DU and over 2.5 million students benefiting from this system of education worldwide currently.
The largest networks of Deoband institutions outside South Asia can nowadays be found in South Africa and in the United Kingdom which are primarily driven by thriving Muslim communities of Indian descent. Religious revival of recent years and the desire of parents to provide their children with religious and culturally compatible education in a religious minority environment have also contributed to its spreading. There are now well over thirty such madāris in South Africa.
Much of the recent debate concerning Muslims and Islamic religious education has been confined to security issues. Predetermined assumptions that regard Islam as a fixed religion and Islamic institutions as hotbeds of terrorism disregard the specific and complex local and political histories that have shaped and continued to influence various transformations in the fundamental ideology of many Islamic religious institutions.
We experiencing similar situations in different parts of the Muslim world today where America and Russia are deciding the fate of the Muslim World, when must they fight and kill and when must they not.
Despite this hype and headlines there exists very little empirical and serious work exploring the role of the madaris in civil society by Muslim scholars. You will be surprised that western scholars have done greater work in this field than Muslims themselves (Steven Cohen, Gilles Kepel, Babera Metcalsf, Francis Robertson etc)
Syllabus
The evolution of Deoband has to be understood in the large context of the madrasah system that existed in India. Before the establishment of Deoband the madrasah was a centre of both religious sciences and secular rational sciences
Moulana Manazir Ahsan Geelani and others have affirmed that under the Moghul rule, there was a single education system for all citizens. The establishment of Darul Uloom Deoband occurred at a time when colonialism posed a threat to the fundamental teachings of Islam and was aimed at protecting the Islamic sciences from western influence. It did not aim to establish a permanent national educational system that would be comprehensive and address all the needs of the Muslims. It is important to understand the rationale and context of establishing Darul Uloom Deoband as a part of the solution and not the complete solution.
At this critical juncture of the history of Muslims in India, two types of institutions of higher learning came into existence. One was totally religious under the patronage of the 'Ulama' and the other combined in its curriculum both religious and secular education and was spearheaded by Sir Sayyid Amad Khan (d. 1898) and his colleagues who were influenced by the British system of education.
It is perhaps for this reason that Darul Uloom Deoband and its associates started to champion a network of Makatib to protect the fundamental beliefs of Muslims realising the dangers of the national western based education system that had emerged.
Establishing such a parallel system was undoubtedly the need of the era and its impact should not be underestimated or undervalued. The parallel system has saved the faith of thousands and preserved Islamic sciences that were under threat.Protection was however not intended to be the end goal and ultimate objective.
But the negative consequence of this parallel education system is the artificial divide between ‘religious’ and ‘secular’ education. In Islam, there is no such divide. The divide is between beneficial and non-beneficial knowledge. The superiority of the knowledge of the Qur’an and Sunnah is undoubted. However, the knowledge of what is commonly known as secular or worldly sciences is not prohibited. In fact, Shaykhul Islam Mufti Taqi Uthmani states that it is a communal obligation to acquire knowledge of the worldly sciences because Islam is a comprehensive religion and way of life. We do realise that there is no ambition or aspiration to produce the Ibn Rushds, Al-Khwarizmis, Al-Razis ,Ibn Khalduns and others whose contribution is acknowledged by the world, at our institutes, scholars prohibiting studying of certain science at our institutions were due to the inherent risks of western influences in a specific context and not due to the inherent negativity of the subject matter per se.
The Muslim Masses of South Africa and the general public still support the ulama and look upon the Ulama for their guidance and leadership but patiently and silently are requesting the Ulamato attend to the needs, challenges and demands of our changing times.Immediate drastic steps and measures needs to be addressed for us to continue getting this support and for the legacy to continue for generations to come.
The first is to introduce a proper system of professional skill development, lessons in English and one other indigenous language is very important, for effective dawah within the indigenous population. Deoband introduced the department of English Language and literature in 2002.
Computer literacy programmes - gone are the days when scholars should pack their bags with all their books, nowadays they carry a USB with all the Ahadith, Quran and fiqh books downloaded. Knowledge in Website development and updating is an important tool for every scholar. D.U. introduced a computer literacy programme in 1996.
Regular Refresher courses and workshops on current issues and concerns to keep the Ulama abreast of developments in the political and financial changes that continuously affect our daily lives. DU Karachi has introduced it many years ago.
Training in oratory skills, communication and public speaking is very important to allow for more effective public speaking. We cannot continuously ignore the criticism of the masses towards our scholars in this field.
Enhance our ability to arbitrate, mediateand dispute resolutions skills which is a great need of our time in the ever increasing of social related problems, in our society (divorce and drugs).
A course in comparative religion would assist our scholars to be more effective in their propagation of Islam within the diversified indigenous population of our country.
Child psychology will help to have a professional relationship with our students as this is becoming a huge problem.
The absence of a comprehensive education system has undoubtedly contributed to the overall decline of the Ummah. What is required is a fundamental shift in approach; from a parallel system to an integrated single education system that is balanced, inspired by our legacy, adapted to the modern context and one that is underpinned by religious education.
Undoubtedly, this needs to be thought through and involve educationalists, historians and scholars. What surprise me are the contentment of most people with the current system and the absence of a discussion on the alternative.
A well-integrated education system can strengthen the Muslims spiritually as well as in other ways. This would also reduce the divide between the liberal and secular sections of the community and the religious minded sections of the community. Over time, this would have material impact in strengthening the state of the Ummah with the graduates having great know how to face new challenges that will evolve.
Winter says that there must be something lacking with the madrasa sector and elaborates: ‘…It is an interesting fact that there are twice as many Muslims training as Imams in this country as there are Christians of all denominations training for Christian ministry.
Just a slight reference to Dars e Nizami
Mullāń Nizām al-Dīn Sahālwī Lukhnawī (d. 1748 C.E.) laid the foundations to the dars-e-nizāmī . The set of texts chosen by Mullāń Nizām al-Dīn were selected for the students of Firangī Mahal about 270 years ago. The syllabus which was named after him was in fact heavily influenced by ma’qūlāt (rational sciences) as opposed to the manqūlat (traditional sciences). This syllabus reserved fifteen books on logic, and several books on Greek philosophy, mathematics, history, medicine, and engineering, and also texts on Persian literature and Arabic grammar, rhetoric and literature’. Alongside fiqh, and Usūl al-Fiqh, for tafsīr ‘al-Baydāwiyy’ and ‘Jalālayn’ were taught, and for hadith it was thought sufficient to study ‘Mishkāt al-Masābīh. (Shah WaliUllah introduced the SihahSitta).
It is interesting to note that part of the dars-e-nizāmī Engineering and Astronomy were also taught as part of the curriculum. Students were also taught the skills of official letter writing and calligraphy, which they would need as prospective civil servants. It is interesting this is no longer being taught in any of the madāris, However, with contemporary madāris it has now become important to ask the question whether we can really claim or name this syllabus ‘dars-e-nizāmī’, when it only constitutes merely a third of the syllabus.
The challenges that the graduates face today are much different to the challenges our founding fathers faced and yes they face these with great strength and vigor are we defining any of our challenges and are we facing these challenges with the similar vigor they did.
Lastly, a committee needs to be formed with immediate effect to address the total lack of social needs of our Ulama, For how long are we going to see the wives of our scholars giving birth in the corridors of government hospitals and how many more Alims are we going to allow to die on an operating table because for not affording proper medical care for himself and his family. Why does an alim need to depend on the welfare of the community until his death?. He is sometimes thrown out of a house where he lived for many years or his family is thrown out since the need for his services is no more.
A very few of us enjoy the privileges and generosities of the businessman while the majority silently satisfy themselves with hoping for a better life in the hereafter. An able scholar has to do other forms of work to generate income to sustain his family’s livelihood, working part time in shops or driving taxis thus unable to focus on what he is qualified to do best. We have to address this issue as a community and find a mutually accepted solution.
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