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Tawangar
Al Salamu 'Alaykum.
The basis of Dar al-‘Uloom (Deoband) was Inaabat Il-Allah (turning towards Allah). Mawlana Yasin Sahib said, “We saw that time of the seminary when the highest to the lowest teacher (ustaad) and even the door-keeper and the orderlies were Saahib-e-nisbat and `awliya’. At that time the school was a place of knowledge during the day and a Khanqah at night. During the last portion of the night, the sounds of Qur’anic recitation (tilaawat) and remembrance of Allah (dhikr) could be heard from most rooms. This in reality is the special distinction of Dar al-‘Uloom.”
From ‘Ulama-e-Deoband Kya The?
1. Al Salamu 'Alaykum.
The basis of Dar al-‘Uloom (Deoband) was Inaabat Il-Allah (turning towards Allah).
Dar al-'Uloom Deoband is the greatest Islamic seminary in lands of India. It is the mother institute of thousands of seminaries patterned on it throughout India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Europe, Africa and the US. Whichever part of the world you go to, you will find a spiritual son of this mother (Deoband) serving the Deen in some way. Shaykh Ibn Subayyil of Makka said that the school of Deoband was serving at least 50% of the Ummah. This Madrasah was set up by Imam Muhammad Qasim al-Nanotwi in the town called Deoband. It was a time of great suffering for the Indian Muslims at the hands of the British who reserved most of their murderous instincts for Islamic scholars. The basis of Deoband therefore was to turn towards Allah, to seek from Allah and to prepare Muslims throughout the length and breadth of India for Jihad. Which is why the Madrasah does not accept any government help.
2. Mawlana Yasin Sahib said, “We saw that time of the seminary when the highest to the lowest teacher (ustaad) and even the door-keeper and the orderlies were Saahib-e-nisbat and `awliya’.
Mawlana Yasin was the father of Mufti Shafi Deobandi who in turn was the father of the Mufti of Pakistan Mufti Rafi' 'Uthmani and the world renowned researcher and faqih Mufti Taqi 'Uthmani. By 'highest to lowest teacher', Hadrat is referring to the fact that there were many teachers in the seminary. Some were young, some were more experienced, some were knowledgeable and some were literally 'oceans of knowledge'. However despite there being differences in their level of understanding and reading and writing and researching, all of them had ta'alluq ma' Allah (a special relationship with Allah). To the extent that even the door-keeper and the other servants were Sahib-e-nisbat and awliya. Nisbat means affinity. The term Sahib-e-nisbat is used for those who have reached a certain level in the affinity and closeness of Allah. These are people who have achieved the state of Ihsaan according to the hadith of Gibreel (as). Awliya means the protected friends of Allah.
3. At that time the school was a place of knowledge during the day and a Khanqah at night. During the last portion of the night, the sounds of Qur’anic recitation (tilaawat) and remembrance of Allah (dhikr) could be heard from most rooms. This in reality is the special distinction of Dar al-‘Uloom.”
From ‘Ulama-e-Deoband Kya The?
The seminary was a place of knowledge in the day meaning that classes of Quranic studies, hadith, fiqh etc were held during the day but the nights were not spent in sleeping, Rather they were spent in seeking the pleasure (Rida) of Allah. The students and teachers are housed in rooms in the Seminary. So, they would wake up in the later part of the night following the Sunna of offering Tahajjud, reciting Qur'an and remembering Allah. This was a special distinction of the seminary that is not found anywhere else even now. This excerpt was taken from the Urdu book, 'Ulama Deoband Kya the' meaning 'Who were the Scholars of Deoband'? Hope that helped. Wa salam.