Author: Sayyed Musleh Uddin
Deoband: The Mother of Religious Schools in the Indian Subcontinent (Part 6)
Darul Uloom Deoband
Over time, the school became known as “Darul Uloom Deoband” and made remarkable progress in a short period, attaining an unparalleled scientific, cultural, and social position among the people. Today, it has become a symbol of recognition for Muslims and their Islamic identity in India, with springs of knowledge, culture, invitation, and reform gushing forth from it to every corner of India and beyond.
Many schools and universities have been established in India (and other countries) based on the thought of Darul Uloom Deoband and attributed to it. The graduates of this institution and those who have studied under them have been leading the ship of the Islamic Ummah in their countries amidst the turbulent waves of atheism for more than a century and a half.
The Founder of Darul Uloom Deoband
The founder of Darul Uloom Deoband, Imam Muhammad Qasim bin Asad Ali Siddiqi Nanotawi (MABH), was a divine scholar, reformer, and thinker of the 13th century AH. He was born in 1248 AH in the city of Nanoteh, part of the Saharanpur district, and passed away in 1297 AH at the age of 49 in Deoband, where he was buried.
He studied Islamic sciences under Mawlana Mamluk Ali Nanotawi (MABH) (died 1267 AH) and learned Hadith sciences from Mawlana Abdul Ghani Mujaddadi Dehlavi (MABH) (died 1296 AH) and Sheikh of Hadith Mawlana Ahmad Ali Saharanpuri (MABH) (died 1297 AH).
Imam Nanotawi (MABH) authored approximately 30 outstanding scientific works, which highlight his extensive knowledge, lofty thoughts, and profound insight into the sciences and teachings of the Book and Sunnah, as well as other areas of knowledge. He also engaged in various debates with Christian and Hindu scholars in defense of Islam and to counter missionary activities. The most notable of these debates took place in Chandpur, Uttar Pradesh, where, after several rounds of discussion with prominent Christian and Hindu scholars, he successfully defeated them.
Imam Nanotawi (MABH) also led the freedom movement and revolution against British colonialism at the beginning of 1857 AD, serving as the commander of Muslim forces on the “Tahane-Bun” and “Shamli” fronts. When this revolution ultimately failed for painful reasons, and Islam and Muslims lost their sovereignty, Imam Nanotawi (MABH) began a comprehensive movement in collaboration with other scholars to spread the teachings of Islam and Islamic knowledge by founding Darul Uloom Deoband and creating a network of Islamic schools and colleges that were supported by the masses. These institutions became refuges for Muslims and centers for the leadership of the Islamic community in India.
Through this action, Imam Nanotawi (MABH) is considered the founder of a dynamic and comprehensive movement to establish Islamic schools and colleges, ensuring the survival of Islam and Muslims in the vast Indian subcontinent.
The First Graduate of Darul Uloom Deoband
The first graduate of Darul Uloom Deoband, Allama Mahmud Al-Hasan Deobandi (MABH), was born in 1268 AH/1851 AD. He was the son of the prominent scholar, writer, and poet Mawlana Zulfiqar Ali Deobandi (died 1323 AH/1904 AD). He graduated from Darul Uloom in 1290 AH/1873 AD and began teaching there, later becoming the director of the teaching department in 1308 AH/1890 AD.
Mawlana Mahmud Al-Hasan (MABH) was distinguished by his ambition, foresight, determination, jihad, and struggle against opponents of Islam. He exhibited humility, submission to Allah, courage, and activity in the fields of intellectual and traditional sciences, history, and literature. His humility and patience were evident in his life, and the light of worship and struggle shone in his demeanor.
He excelled among later generations in the knowledge of jurisprudence and its principles, possessing a high level of understanding and proficiency in its texts and rules.
In 1323 AH/1905 AD, Mawlana Mahmud Al-Hasan (MABH) designed comprehensive plans for liberating India from British colonial rule, aiming to seek help from the Afghan government and the Ottoman Empire to implement these plans. He selected a number of his distinguished students, filled with strong faith, lofty ideals, self-confidence, trust in Allah, will, and insight, assigning them various missions. Notable among these students were Mawlana Ubaidullah Sindi (MABH) (died 1363 AH/1944 AD) and Mawlana Muhammad Mian Mansur Ansari (MABH) (died 1365 AH/1946 AD).
To achieve this goal, he identified safe centers in the border areas of India and Afghanistan where anti-colonial Muslims could gather, particularly in the Yagistan region (free areas controlled by Pashtun tribes), whose people harbored deep resentment towards the British and were ready to sacrifice their lives and property for resistance. He initially dispatched some of his students, including Mawlana Fazl Rabbi (MABH), Mawlana Saif-Al-Rahman (MABH), and Mawlana Fazl Mahmud (MABH), to these regions.
Although there were scattered clashes with the British forces, who held significant military power, the Muslims achieved some victories despite the enemy’s superior military strength. Recognizing the need for more resources, the Muslim fighters corresponded with Sheikh Al-Hind (MABH) asking for aid. He sent his capable student Allama Ubaidullah Sindi (MABH) to Kabul while he personally traveled to Istanbul. Along the way, he first visited Hejaz, where he met with Ghalib Pasha (the governor of Hejaz in the Ottoman Empire), Anvar Pasha (the Minister of War and Commander-in-Chief of the Ottoman Army), Jamal Pasha (a prominent Ottoman military leader), and other figures.
Each of these leaders emphasized the importance of financial and military cooperation. Germany also agreed to collaborate due to its alliance with Turkey. Sheikh Al-Hind (MABH) intended to coordinate an offensive against the British Indian government, particularly while Britain was occupied with Allied forces during World War I (1914-1918), relying on the support of Muslim freedom-loving tribes and the Ottomans. However, this plan was thwarted by the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, the arrest of Sheikh Al-Hind (MABH) by Sharif Hussain (the Emir of Makkah who rebelled against the Ottomans and sided with the British), along with the betrayal of certain individuals and the exposure of confidential communications between Sheikh Al-Hind (MABH) and his students and aides. This event, known in contemporary Indian history as the “Rishmi Romal Movement,” aimed at ending British colonialism not only in India but also across other British territories.
Mawlana Mahmud Al-Hasan (MABH) established bases in Delhi, Karachi, and several other locations in the free areas of the Pashtun tribes for military training. He organized plans to incite Indians employed by the British forces to revolt and disobey, seeking to create a nationwide revolution.
He also made efforts in Constantinople, Ankara, Berlin, Medina, and other cities to unite governments in the war against Britain to gain their military and spiritual support. Numerous diplomatic missions were sent to Japan, China, the United States, and France to rally support from the Indian people, ultimately establishing the Provisional Government of India in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.
In pursuit of his plans, Mawlana Mahmud Al-Hasan (MABH) personally traveled to Hejaz in 1333 AH/1915 AD to meet with high-ranking officials of the Ottoman government in Medina, despite his declining health. However, following the British Indian government’s discovery of his confidential letters, he was arrested in Safar 1335 AH/November 1916 AD, along with a group of his students and assistants, including Mawlana Sayyed Hussain Ahmad Madani (died 1377 AH/1957 CE), and exiled to Malta in the Mediterranean Sea, where he was imprisoned.
After three years and two months of exile and imprisonment, he was released on Jamadi Al-Thani 1338 AH/January 1920 CE. Mawlana Mahmud Al-Hasan (MABH) returned to India on the 20th of Ramadan 1338 AH/May 9, 1920 CE. The Indian populace, both Muslims and non-Muslims, warmly welcomed him, bestowing upon him the title of “Sheikh Al-Hind.”
Despite his weakness, illness, and post-exile complications, he did not remain in Deoband but traveled to various cities, delivering lectures and speeches that called on the people to resist British colonialism and sever ties with it. During this period, he also traveled to Aligarh, where he founded the National Islamic University (Jami’a Milliya Islamiya) on October 29, 1920 (16 Safar 1339 AH). This university was later relocated to Delhi and is now recognized as one of the major universities in India.
Sheikh Al-Hind Mawlana Mahmud Al-Hasan (MABH) also translated the Holy Quran into Urdu, producing one of the best and most famous translations in the language. Allama Shabir Ahmad Usmani (MABH) (died 1369 AH/1989 CE), a prominent student of Sheikh Al-Hind, added useful annotations to the margins of this translation, known as the “Usmani Tafsir,” which enhanced the value of this work.
The King Fahd Printing House in Medina published this distinguished translation along with the commentary in 1409 AH/1989 CE, distributing hundreds of thousands of copies among Muslims worldwide. (The Persian translation of the “Uthmani Tafsir” is recognized in Iran and Afghanistan as the “Kabuli Tafsir.”)
Mawlana Mahmud Al-Hasan’s (MABH) health gradually deteriorated until he died in Delhi on the morning of 18 Rabi’ Al-Aw’wal 1339 AH/30 November 1920 CE. The next day, his body was taken to Deoband with a magnificent funeral procession and buried next to the tomb of his esteemed teacher, Imam Muhammad Qasim Nanotawi (1297 AH/1880 CE), in the “Jamiyyah” cemetery, which later became known as the “Qasimiyah” cemetery.
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