RayOfHope 2006-06

The Ray of Hope

14 Jumaadaa I 1427

Sun 11 Jun 2006

A Journal By The Students Of Darul Uloom Deoband, India

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_____________________________________________________________________________ Vol.1 No.1 14 Jumada I, 1427 A.H. Sun 11 Jun 2006

Editor: Noamaan Bader Sub-Editor: Shamsul Islam

C O N T E N T S 1

Renaissance of Indian Society

Noamaan Bader

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Unity: The need of the hour

Muhammad Azhar

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The history of Darul Uloom Deoband

Shamsul Islaam

4

Darul Uloom Deoband news (June 2006)

Ray of Hope beaureau

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The Ray of Hope

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Renaissance Of Indian Society

Noamaan Bader (Haftum Oolaa) History bears irrefutable evidence to the fact that the society at any given time is much more important than the languages and literatures, cultural pattern and folklores of any country. The question requiring our prior attention is, whether we have a healthy, conscientious and upright society or not, far for on it depends the future of the nation and the country. In fact, our existence depends on such society. The government has no importance at all as it changes after every five years. What ultimately determines the position and prestige of the country is a healthy society which can save the country from the grievous mistakes and inviting its doom. This is the danger looming large over our heads today. The power, huge budgets or even the number of universities, none of these can check the ultimate downfall of a nation.

When the decline of the Roman Empire set in, it had innumerable centers of cultural refinement and academies for the promotion of sciences and learning. Nothing could, however, check its downfall. The students of history can testify that all those nations which have gone downhill, had vigorous and leaving culture before they tumbled down. The Iranian culture had reached its zenith when the Arab took over that country. The resplendent carpet known as ‘Bahaar’ bears witness to the artistic achievements and the sophisticated tastes of the Iranian royalty. No embodiment of cultural refinement could withhold the decadence of the Sasanian Empire or the extinction of the once prosperous and powerful kingdoms of Syria, Egypt and Rome.

The only reason for this was that their peoples had become corrupt. The moral sense of these peoples, which could not distinguish right from wrong, virtue from wickedness and justice from inequity, had been numbed. Unfortunately we find the same trend gaining ground in India today.

The foremost danger facing this country is the non-existence of a sense of human worth and dignity in our countrymen. It is often that hundreds of human beings are slaughtered in cold blood for a trifling object, a tree or a beast, or owing to the misguided sentiments of rivalism. We hang our heads in shame when these violent storms of death and destruction are let loose resulting in despicable acts of cruelty to women and children and the aged and the infirm. Unspeakable horrors are perpetrated and human life becomes cheap; the most exquisite creation of God for whom exists the world and all that it contains – the beauty of lakes and mountains, the wisdom of philosophy and the charm of poetry – becomes valueless. We often find some people go-

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ing out of their heads and taking delight in the maddening dance of the senseless chaos and carnage. It is therefore, essential that the sense of human dignity is implanted in the hearts of the people; everyone is made to realize that whatever we see in the world has been created for man. And that a man has not been created for the worldly objects.

The role that Islaam can play in the reconstruction of Indian Society is now much more significant for the Muslims as well as the country. One of the fundamental teachings of Islaam, on which it raises its edifice, is that man is the best of creations.

Thus says the holy Qur’aan:

ِ ِْ ‫ﻟَ​َﻘ ْﺪ َﺧﻠَ ْﻘﻨَﺎ‬ (4) ‫ﺴ ِﻦ ﺗَـ ْﻘ ِﻮ ٍﻳﻢ‬ ْ ‫ﺴﺎ َن ﻓﻲ أ‬ َ ‫َﺣ‬ َ ْ‫اﻹﻧ‬

“We have indeed created man in the best of moulds.” (Qur’aan 95:4) Allaah crowned man with the most respectable mark of distinction.

.‫َد َم‬ َ ‫َوﻟَ​َﻘ ْﺪ َﻛ ﱠﺮْﻣﻨَﺎ ﺑَﻨِﻲ آ‬

“Very, we have honoured the children of Adam.” (Qur’aan 17:70) The value of human life has been raised by Islaam to inconceivable heights. Allaah says in the holy Qur’aan:

ٍ ‫ﺲ أَو ﻓَﺴ‬ ِ ‫َﻣ ْﻦ ﻗَـﺘَﻞ ﻧَـ ْﻔ‬ ِ ‫ﺎد ﻓِﻲ ْاﻷ َْر‬ .‫ﱠﺎس َﺟ ِﻤ ًﻴﻌﺎ‬ َ َ‫َﺣﻴ‬ ْ ‫ﺎﻫﺎ ﻓَ َﻜﺄَﻧﱠ َﻤﺎ أ‬ ْ ‫ﱠﺎس َﺟ ِﻤ ًﻴﻌﺎ َوَﻣ ْﻦ أ‬ َ ‫َﺣﻴَﺎ اﻟﻨ‬ َ ‫ض ﻓَ َﻜﺄَﻧﱠ َﻤﺎ ﻗَـﺘَ َﻞ اﻟﻨ‬ َ ْ ٍ ‫ﺴﺎ ﺑﻐَْﻴ ِﺮ ﻧَـ ْﻔ‬ ً َ

“… whosoever kills a human being for other than manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he had killed all mankind; and whosoever saves the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind.” (Qur’aan 5:32) Where the life and dignity of man is at stake, no distinction can be made between the majority and minority, one and hundred, individual and community; for the life of every single individual is sacred and the most cherished possession of mankind.

Muslims of India can play a pivotal role in bringing about a better and healthier social order in our homeland by acting on the precepts of the Qur’aan and the teachings of their holy prophet, Mohammed. Unfortunately, our political leaders are too preoccupied in the party affairs, election strategies and matters relating to the governance of the country that they cannot just their precious time for this matter of overriding importance. The responsibility thus devolves on the Muslims who should devote themselves to the task most earnestly with the spirit of service of their homeland. § § § § § § § § § §

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Unity: The Need Of The Hour

Muhammad Azhar (Takmeel e Adab) It is the law of nature that mankind cannot lead a peaceful life and they cannot achieve great accomplishments unless they come together. Islaam is the religion of natural human virtues that calls upon its followers to get familiar with one another for the sake of unity and harmony. Allaah says in the holy Qur’aan:

ِ ِ ِ .‫ﺎرﻓُﻮا‬ َ ‫ﱠﺎس إِﻧﱠﺎ َﺧﻠَ ْﻘﻨَﺎ ُﻛ ْﻢ ﻣ ْﻦ ذَ َﻛ ٍﺮ َوأُﻧْـﺜَﻰ َو َﺟ َﻌﻠْﻨَﺎ ُﻛ ْﻢ ُﺷ ُﻌﻮﺑًﺎ َوﻗَـﺒَﺎﺋ َﻞ ﻟﺘَـ َﻌ‬ ُ ‫ﻳَﺎ أَﻳﱡـ َﻬﺎ اﻟﻨ‬

“O Mankind! We created you from a single pair of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes that you may know each other (not that human despise each other).” (Qur’aan 49:13) The attitude of respecting others and socializing with them is an essential feature of the Islaamic way of life, that is to live with the community and have good relations with one another so that there is a stability and peace of mind in the Muslim ummah. A close-knit community in the Islaamic system ensures that knowledge is spread, Allaah is obeyed in a correct a manner, religious fundamentals become clear to all, virtue prevails and evil does not have an upper hand.

Today, the Muslim community is facing a fierce oppponent waging a brutal war against it whose rancour and ill-will have been unmasked by recent events.

They have filled the earth with corruption and strife and have ignited fires that have engulfed all the four corners of the world. How can such people ever bring everlasting peace and tranquility to the world?

What to do in such a situation? Some people may come up with the excuse that this is the age of corruption. It is better to lead a life of seclusion and safeguard oneself from others’ evils. But the main reason behind such an attitude is lack of courage and confidence in one’s own abilities. It is true that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has presented such a monasticism as a solution to the all-pervading evil that will proliferate in the world like water during floods in the last days of this world.

Certainly no reasonable person can believe that this command is meant for our times.

(Continued to page 8)

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The History of Daarul Uloom Deoband

Shamsul Islaam (Takmeel e Adab) The British imperialists had a purpose. They had been sent to India to achieve some welldefined targets that were to ensure that the British got richer at the cost of Indian masses. For this, they employed a three-pronged strategy: to render the Indians illiterate, to convert them into Christianity and to turn them into atheists. Islaam was faced with the real danger of extinction. The guarantors and custodians of Islaamic faith and its teachings – the madrasahs – were on their last legs. Thousands of madrasahs had been destroyed in Delhi itself after the unsuccessful War of Independence in 1857. Thousands of religious scholars and seers had been deported, jailed, tortured to death or hanged. Muslims, wherever they were, had been gripped with extreme terror and apprehension.

To rub salt to their wounds, hundreds of European Christian missionaries and evangelists had arrived to propagate Christianity among the ignorant, clueless masses. Then the new education policy of the British government was having a lethal influence on the faith and creed of the Muslim youths. The Ulamaas who had been held in high esteem among the populace for centuries were made to appear in the eyes of impressionable, unsuspecting new generation as darkminded fundamentalists who were bent upon keeping the masses away from the march of time and pushing them back into the dark times of the medieval age. The commentators of the Glorious Qur’aan, the scholars of the Sacred Hadeeth, the pundits of ancient philosophy and logic had suddenly turned into unrefined rustics in the perceptions of the government and the populace.

At this time, some pious Islaamic scholars of high calibre and valiant mujaahids -- Hazrat Maulaanaa Haajee Imdaadullaah Muhaajir Makkee (1817-1899 = 1233-1317AH), Hazrat Maulaanaa Muhammad Qaasim Naanotavee (1832-1880 = 1248-1297AH), Hazrat Maulaanaa Rasheed Ahmad Gangohee (1829-1905 = 1244-1323AH) and others ‫ – ﺭﺣﻤﻬﻢ ﷲ‬were busy not only nursing the wounds inflicted upon them after the failure of the War of Independence (1857) but were also engaged in prayers and supplications before Allah to change the adverse conditions facing the Indian Muslims for the better. Consultations and discussions among the learned and wise could be of little help as there was no practical solution in sight of anybody.

Any political, social or even religious movement would be crushed with heavy hands by the imperialist power. As for establishing a religious institution or educational establishment, there was no means to sustain it. Earlier maktabs (primary schools) and madrasahs (colleges) were run with government aid or generous grants from Muslim noblemen, jaageerdaars and zameendaars, sometimes in the form of regular donations and at others in the form of jaageers and endowments. Now that the Muslim government in Delhi was gone and the endowments and jaageers in the names of madrasahs stood confiscated, little could be done about preserving Islaamic Faith and knowledge in the country.

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But the entreaties and pleadings by the pious men and devout servants of Allah accompanied by their moans and wails could not remain unanswered for long. Hazrat Maulaanaa Qaasim Naanotavee ‫ ﺭﺣﻤﻪ ﷲ‬came out with a detailed strategy to bring about Islaamic Renaissance in India. He planned to set up a network of Islaamic seminaries – which would be a perennial source of guidance and leadership to the Muslim community in every sphere of its social, religious and cultural life – with the sole support and contributions from the Muslim community. His Eightfold Principles presented a golden set of rules that had the potential of achieving the unthinkable goals which are briefly enumerated below: 1. The staff of the madrasah should do their best to collect as much donations as possible.

2. The well-wishers of the madrasah should make continuous efforts to provide the students with their daily meals and also endeavour to improve it.

3. During consultations, the advisors of the madrasah must not insist upon their own views being accepted. Rather they should be prepared to accept others’ views in the larger interests of the madrasah. The rector is supposed to consult a considerable number of the members of the Advisory Board or, if he wishes, other men of learning and experience.

4. The faculty should not be self-centred and must not harbour ill-will towards their own colleagues.

5. The curriculum as prescribed beforehand or as stipulated later after consultations should be completed on time in every academic year.

6. The madrasah will continue to run successfully as long as there is no permanent source of income for it. Any such source will put an end to the spirit of hope and fear towards Allaah in the hearts of the members of the staff. The divine aid and assistance may come to an end and dissensions and conflicts may arise.

7. The assistance from the State or from the rich too appears to be detrimental to the future of the madrasah.

8. Contributions from people not desirous of fame and glory seem to be a source of blessing.

Then came the stage of the scheme’s implementation. The scheme needed to be put into action at a particular location as a pilot project which would act as a trigger for setting up similar such institutions in every nook and corner of the country. How the sleepy village of Deoband (Saharanpur district, Uttar Pradesh) beat others to it is an interesting story.

Deoband was the marital home of Hazrat Maulaanaa Qaasim Saahib Naanotavee ‫ﺭﺣﻤﻪ ﷲ‬.

His Eightfold Principles had a strong influence on the people here. In the wee hours of a Friday, Haajee Sayyid Aabid Husain Saahib (b.1834) making a bag of his hankie, set out to collect donations for establishing such a madrasah. He began with himself contributing Rs.3 to the cause.

Then he went to Hazrat Maulaanaa Maahtaab Alee Saahib (d.1876) who contributed Rs.6 with an open heart. Hazrat Maulaanaa Fazlur Rahmaan Saahib (1831-1907) came up with Rs.12. By the end of this auspicious day of 30 Mar 1866 (~12/11/1282AH), Haajee Aabid ‫ ﺭﺣﻤﻪ ﷲ‬had collected Rs.300.

(Continued to page 8)

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Daarul Uloom Deoband News (Jun 2006) Bazme Shaikhul Islaam’s half-yearly function The half-yearly function of the Bazme Shaikhul Islaam – a subordinate body of the Madani Darul Mutala set up with an aim to improve the oratory skills of the member students – is likely to be held on Thursday, 29 June 2006 in the Darul Hadith. It is also holding an essay competition on the topics “Hazrat Fidai Millat ‫ﺭﺣﻤﺔ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ‬: Life and Achievements” and “Hazrat Maulaanaa Anwar Shah Kashmiri‫ ﺭﺣﻤﺔ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ‬and his Contributions in the Field of Hadith” for which the last date of submission of the articles is 18 June 2006 (Sunday). Rs.1100, 900 and 700 will be awarded as the fist, second and third prizes respectively. Books worth more than Rs.40 will be awarded as consolation prizes to all the remaining participants.

Annual functions of the five main students’ associations The dates for the annual functions of all the five major societies of the students of Darul Uloom, Deoband have been announced. The Sajjad Library (the association of the students of Darul Uloom belonging to Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and Nepal) will be holding the function on 29 June 2006, the Anjuman Taqwiatul Islaam under the Department of Munazara (debates and discussions) will hold its annual programme on 6 July 2006 while the programme of the An Nadi al Adabi (for the students desirous of improving upon their skills in elocution and literary writings in the Arabic language) is scheduled on 20 July 2006. The Bazme Shaikhul Islaam under the Madani Darul Mutala will conduct its annual function on 27 July 2006.

Half-yearly function of the An Nadi Al Adabi The half-yearly function of the An Nadi Al Adabi is scheduled to be held on 15 June 2006 in the Darul Hadith. The Deputy Rector of Darul Uloom and patron of this journal Hazrat Maulaanaa Qari Usman Sahib Mansoorpuri will preside over the function while Hazrat Maulaanaa Abdul Khaliq Sahib Sambhali is the chief guest. Hazrat Maulaanaa Shaukat Sahib Bijnori is the association’s supervisor.

Hazrat Maulaanaa Qari Usman Sb returns The Deputy Rector of Darul Uloom and patron of this journal Hazrat Maulaanaa Qari Usman Sahib Mansoorpuri returned from his three-day tour of West Bengal on 9 June 2006 (Friday).

He addressed a public meeting called to raise general awareness about the heresy of the Qadiani sect.

Hz Maulaanaa Naseem Sahib returns from his home-district Hazrat Maulaanaa Naseem Sahib Barabankawi came back from his home district Barabanki in the night of 7 June 2006 (Wednesday) after attending the funeral ceremony of his maternal uncle. §§§§§§§§§§

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(Continued from page 4) Though evil and atheism seem to be the rage of the world, there is no lack of people willing to accept the good teachings and values of Islaam. So it becomes incumbent upon all God-fearing Muslims to go out among the masses and propagate among them the sublime message of Islaam.

Islaam lays great stress on the importance of social and public life. Therefore, the reward for offering congregational prayers is 27 times more than that for the prayer offered in seclusion. But as a religion preaching the mean path, Islaam also advises its followers to spend a part of their day away from other people in contemplation and meditation. ِ َ ‫إِ ﱠن ﻟ‬ (8) ‫ﱠﻞ إِﻟ َْﻴ ِﻪ ﺗَـ ْﺒﺘِ ًﻴﻼ‬ َ ‫اﺳ َﻢ َرﺑﱢ‬ ْ ‫( َواذْ ُﻛ ِﺮ‬7) ‫ﱠﻬﺎ ِر َﺳ ْﺒ ًﺤﺎ ﻃَ ِﻮ ًﻳﻼ‬ َ ‫َﻚ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻨـ‬ ْ ‫ﻚ َوﺗَـﺒَﺘ‬ “True, there is for you by day prolonged occupation with ordinary duties. But keep in remembrance the name of your Lord, and devote yourself to Him wholeheartedly.” (Qur’aan 73:7-8) The long and short of this argument is that we Muslims should get ready to face the present challenges. We need to come together and unite for the sake of our religion, its dissemination and propagation. §§§§§§§§§§ (Continued from page 6) In less than two months, on the propitious day of 30 May 1866 (Wednesday), the first madrasah of its kind was inaugurated in the historic Chhatta Mosque of Deoband with just one teacher and one pupil – both of whom incidentally had the same name, Mahmood. The teacher was Mulla Mahmood Deobandi while the student was Mahmoodul Hasan Deobandi who later came to be revered as Shaikhul Hind ‫ﺭﺣﻤﺔ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ‬.

In an amazingly short time, the repute of the madrasah flew far and wide and by the end of the calendar year, the madrasah boasted of 78 students and 6 teachers, namely Maulaanaa Mohammad Yaqoob Sahib Nanotvi (head of faculty), Mulla Mohammad Mahmood Sahib Deobandi, Mulla Mohammad Fazil, Mulla Meerbaz Khan, Mulla Fatah Mohammed and Hafiz Ahmed Hasan (Rahima humu Allah ie, May Allah’s mercy be upon all of them). Hazrat Maulaanaa Qasim Sahib Nanotvi ‫ ﺭﺣﻤﺔ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ‬was the first patron and supervisor of the affairs of the seminary while Haji Abid Hussain ‫ ﺭﺣﻤﺔ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ‬was the first rector.

Soon many other madrasahs were set up on this successful model. Of them, the madrasahs at Saharanpur (Mazaahirul Uloom), Moradabad, Hapur (Ghaziabad district), Thaanaa Bhawan (Muzaffarrnagar district) and Gulaaothi (Bulandshahr district) deserve special mention. Within a few decades, the madrasah of Darul Uloom, Deoband acquired a pivotal role in the social and religious affairs of Indian Muslims. A large section of Muslims inhabiting the Indian subcontinent who followed the message of Prophet Mohammad ‫ ﺻﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ‬in its original, unaltered form came to be known as Deobandees. §§§§§§§§§§

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