Author: Seyyed Musleh Uddin
Deoband; The Mother of Religious Schools in the Indian Subcontinent (Part 8)
Services of Deoband Scholars
A selection of the activities of the scholars of Darul Uloom Deoband in various sectors are as follows:
Spreading Islamic culture and correct belief among Muslims through teaching, writing, preaching, guidance, and journalism;
Awakening Muslims and instilling in them the spirit of scientific orientation and Islamic zeal, and reminding them of their mission and responsibility in life and the contemporary world;
Familiarizing people with correct Islamic teachings that are free from polytheism, idolatry, innovation, and superstition. Also, familiarizing them with Islamic thoughts and ideas that enlighten hearts and convince minds;
Encouraging people to adhere the pure religion and fulfill their obligations, and abandon the habits and customs of ignorance that Satan makes them appear good with decoration and grooming;
Establishing a wide network of Arabic-Islamic schools and transforming them into fortified fortresses to protect the sanctity of Islam, defend its values, and safeguard its great heritage;
Fighting and confronting the intellectual attacks of the Crusaders, the attacks of the Orientalists, and the doubts of the opponents of Islam;
Resisting any destructive anti-Islamic call, atheistic and misleading activities, and rebellious movements such as Qadianism, Bahaism, and the like;
Eradicating the innovations and superstitions that have arisen in the name of Islam;
Eliminating the efforts of British colonialism to change the thoughts of Muslims, create a distance from the spirit of religion, and change their religious identity by establishing fabricated systems and false values;
Fighting against colonialism, to the extent that they were able to cleanse India of their taint. Therefore, India’s independence and its freedom from British colonialism are, in the first stage, due to the efforts of the Deoband scholars and their sheikhs.
Drawing the attention of Muslims to the statement of Allah: «وَكَذلِكَ جَعَلْناكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطاً لِتَكُونُوا شُهَداءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ» Translation: “And thus We have made you a moderate nation, that you may be witnesses over mankind.”; and establishing in their minds that they are a nation that has come to be good to other people, enjoining good and forbidding evil;
Actively cooperating with every call and movement in the world that has Islamic characteristics to serve Islam and the interests of Muslims;
Supporting Islamic and Arab movements that occur in Islamic lands or elsewhere, both verbally and practically, using all the means and facilities at their disposal, especially supporting the case of Palestine;
Attempting to writing, translating, researching, and annotating and commenting on scientific and religious subjects, to the extent that some of their works in the sciences of Hadith in particular and in other sciences in general have gained worldwide fame.
Intellectual Background of Darul Uloom Deoband
Maulana Muhammad Qasim Nanotavi and Maulana Rashid Ahmad Ganguhi (may Allah bless them), who were among the founders of Darul Uloom Deoband, were deeply influenced by the teachings of Shah Waliullah Dehlavi (MABH). They followed the Hanafi school of thought and were precise in matters of jurisprudence, and in terms of their beliefs, they followed the Ash’ari and Matoridi theological schools. Maulana Muhammad Qasim Nanotavi (MABH) has written works on matters of faith. He has written a book called “Tafsī’at al-Aqīdah”. In this book, using dialectical methods of theology, he argued in favor of the Ash’ari belief in the direct and exclusive power of Allah over His creation, the subordination of intellect to the Sunnah of the Prophet, the citation of narrations from trustworthy and reliable narrators of hadith, and in favor of the necessity of accepting the Ijtihad of the early scholars and jurists, namely the companions and the Tabe’een, the righteous predecessors who have reached consensus. He also employed his talents in the book ‘Taqrir Delpazir’ to debate and combat Christianity, Judaism, and especially Hinduism.
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