Deobandi

Part of a series on Sunni Islam
Schools of Law
Hanafi • Shafi`i • Maliki • Hanbali
Schools of Theology
Maturidi • Ash'ari • Athari
Movements
Deobandi • Barelwi Salafism
Beliefs
Tawhid • Nabi and Rusul Kutub • Mala'ikah Qiyamah • Qadr
Rightly Guided Caliphs
Abu Bakr • Umar ibn al-Khattab Uthman • Ali ibn Abi Talib
Texts
Sahih Bukhari • Sahih Muslim Al-Sunan al-Sughra Sunan Abi Dawood Sunan al-Tirmidhi Sunan ibn Maja • Al-Muwatta Sunan al-Darami

The Deobandi (Urdu: دیو بندی devbandī) is a Sunni Islamic revivalist movement which started in South Asia and has more recently spread to other countries, such as Afghanistan, South Africa and the United Kingdom. Deobandis follow the fiqh of Abu Hanifa and are regarded as a part of the Ahlus Sunnah wal-Jamaa'h. They follow Abu Mansur Maturidi's thought in Aqeedah and Ilm ul Kalaam i.e refuting criticism of Islam made using Greek logic and Islamic logic. Deobandi purport to be characterised by a strict adherence to the Sunnah and an emphasis on Sharia. The Deobandis are associated with the Sufi Tariqahs of the Naqshbandi, the Chishti Order, Qadiriyyah and Suhrawardiyyah.^[1] The name derives from Deoband, India, where the madrassa Darul Uloom Deoband is situated.

Tenets

Deobandi thought has five main principles, which are:

Tawhid: (Monotheism) of God; no one shares His attributes.
Sunna: Following the methodology of Muhammad.
Ħubbus-Sahaba: Following the methodology of companions of Muhammad.
Taqlid wal-Ittibā: Giving preference to the jurisprudence of one of the earliest jurists of Islam over that of later jurists.
Jihād fī Sabīlil-Lāh: Doing Jihād

History

The Deobandi movement developed as a reaction to the British colonialism in India, whom they believed to be corrupting Islam. Fearing this, a group of Indians Ulama led by Maulana Qasim Nanautavi founded an Islamic seminary known as Darul Uloom Waqf Deoband. The Urdu word "Waqf" refers to a social trust. It is here that the Islamic revivalist and anti-British ideology of the Deobandis began to develop. Gradually, their influence, through organisations such as Jamiat Ulema-e Hind and Tableeghi Jamaat, began to spread and hundreds of Madrassas and Darul Ulooms affiliated to Deoband sprouted. Notable Deobandi seminaries include Nadwatu l-Ulama in Lucknow and Darul Uloom Karachi Karachi, Pakistan.

Some of the early Deobandi scholars included Maulana Qasim Nanotwi, Maulana Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi, Maulana Husain Ahmed Madani, Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi, Allama Anwar Shah Kashmiri, Mufti Kifayat Ullah Dahlavi, Maulana Ilyas Khandhelawi and Mawlana Ubaidullah Sindhi, Maulana Muḥammad Zakarīyā al-Kandahlawī, as well as Maulana Rahmatullah Kairanvi, the famous polemicist who emigrated to Arabia after the 1857 war, who was also associated with Deoband.

Controversy and Criticism

The Barelwis oppose Deobandis for their opposition to several practices which are common in the Indian subcontinent, like the celebration of Mawlid an-Nabi. Deobandis claim these practices were never practised by the Sahaba and are considered to be bid'ah.

Present

Prominent Deobandi scholars today include Maulana Saalim Qasmi, Mufti Taqi Uthmani, Mufti Ebrahim Desai, Grand Mufti Muhammad Rafi Usmani of Pakistan, and Maulana Tariq Jamil.

The Taliban

The Taliban are said to follow the teachings of the Deoband school, although some journalists, such as Ahmed Rashid, claim they follow a simplistic version of the school's teachings.^[2]

Tablighi Jamaat

Some famous people who propagate Islam by joining the Tablighi Jamaat (a movement started by a student of the Islamic University, Deoband, Maulana Muhammad Ilyas) are Pakistani cricketers Shahid Afridi, Inzamam ul Haq, Mohammad Yousuf (a recent revert/convert), Saqlain Mushtaq and many others. Also, former Pakistani cricketers including Saeed Anwar and Salim Malik. A very famous pop star Junaid Jamshaid is also a visible personality, propagating Islam to the masses amongst many others.

In the United Kingdom

According to The Times, about 600 of Britain's nearly 1,400 mosques are run by Deobandi-affiliated clerics, and 17 of the country's 26 Islamic seminaries follow Deobandi teachings, producing about 80 percent of all domestically trained Muslim clerics.^[3]

Notes

^ 'Ulama-e-Deoband ka Maslak, Fatawa Rahimiyyah, Vol. 1, pg, 9-10, 58; Islamic Book Printers, Feb. 1997 ed.
^ Ahmed Rashid Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia (2001)
^ Times Online September 7, 2007

References

Zaman, Muhammad Qasim (2002). The Ulama in Contemporary Islam: Custodians of Change. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691096805.

External links

Opposing views

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