NADVAT- Al - 'ULAMA' a CENTRE of ISLAMIC LEARNING
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NADVAT- al - 'ULAMA' A CENTRE OF ISLAMIC LEARNING ABSTRACT THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ISLAMIC STUDIES BY SHAZANFAR ALI KHAN UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF DR. M. AZAAA QASMI THESIS T57oB (READER) DEPARTMENT OF ISLAMIC STUDIES ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH (INDIA) 2001 If we go through the past one hundred year of the development of Islamic arts and sciences, preservation of Islamic faith and belief, dissemination of Islamic teachings and practices, we come to the conclusion that in the Indian sub-continent Dar al-'Ulum Nadvat al-'Ulama' has played a leading role during the 20th century. The services of the scholars of Nadvah in the educational, social, political and religious fields are quite remarkable and in many respects un-paralleled. Since 1894 Dar al-'Ulum Nadvat al-'Ulama' has been a centre of Islamic arts and sciences and its culture and values, As the time passed its Dar ai-'umm (educational institution) acquired a unique place among the top Islamic educational centres of the world. Several 'ulama'and scholars of repute emerged from the lap of Dar al-'Ulum Nadvat al-'Ulama' whose contributions and services in the dissemination of Islamic learning and values are remarkable not only within India but also in foreign countries. The days when Dar al-'Ulum Nadvat al-'Ulama' was established the conditions of Muslim Community in every field, viz, educational, social, financial, religious, etc, were utterly pitiable and hopeless. The British rulers had made every effort to ruin them. They had closed down Muslim factories, discouraged their arts and industries and grabbed their lands. They shut down the madrasahs, impounded their properties. They openly supported the missionaries for the propagation of Christianity and targeted the Islamic faith and the life of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). In this hopeless situation some farsighted Muslim scholars 2 like Maulana Qasim Nahautavi, Maulana Rahmat-Allah Keranvi and others stood up to counter these attacks and forcefully defended their faith. They also established a madrasah at Deoband and led a movement of religious education on traditional line. On the other hand Sir Syed Ahmad Khan who was also very anxious for the betterment and upliftment of Muslim Community, started an educational movement on modern and Western pattern. No doubt these two educational centres fulfilled their objectives but there was a wide gap between the two. This caused some Muslim scholars. Viz , Maulana Muljammad 'Ali Mongeri, Maulana Lutf-Allah Aligarhi, Maulana Ashraf 'Ali Thanvi, Maulana Shah Sulaiman Phulwarwi, 'Allamah Shibli No'mani and others to realize that there was an urgent need to combine both of these schools of thought, i.e. traditional as well as modern knowledge. Only then they could hope to be able to defend their religion and culture and improve their miserable conditions. To achieve this objective they established a committee of scholars, Nadvat al- 'Ulama', in 1892 and its educational centre, Dar al-'Ulum Nadvat al-'Ulama', in 1898. The main objective behind the formation of Nadvat al-'Ulama' were - (i) to reform and update old and outdated courses of studies as needed and (ii) to minimise the differences among Muslim groups on different religious issues. Shibli No'mani advocated for the acquisition of English language and modern sciences and never hesitated to borrow any thing from Western arts and sciences if they were beneficial and advantageous for the regeneration of Islam. 3 He also appreciated the positive response of Hindu Community towards modern education. He realized that the acquisition of modern education did not wean them away from being wel-versed in their religious culture and values. He stressed frequently that modern education and knowledge is not a threat to the Islamic faith or culture. Maulana Muhammad 'Ali Mongeri on 14lh Jarnadi al- Awwal 1313 produced a draft of curriculum entitled Musavvidah-Nisab-i 'Arabi. In this he emphasized that unnecessary portion of philosophy and logic should be excluded from the curriculum and these should be substituted by the inclusion of Modern Philosophy, Modern History, Modern Astronomy, Geography, Mathematics, Political-Economy and Principles of Governance in the syllabi. To prepare this up-to-date curriculum a committee of three members. Viz, 'Allamah Shibli, 'Abd al- Qayyum Hyderabadi and 'Abd al-Hai, was formed. They prepared the new curriculum which was approved in 1904 in the meeting of Executive Council of Nadvat al-'Ulama'. But unfortunately it was not introduced in the madrasah as most of the people were not yet ready to accept any change in the old syllabi. This new curriculum was practically implemented in 1905 when Shilbli No'mani became the Dean of Dai" al-'Ulum Nadvat al-'Ulama'. Shibli after some efforts succeeded in introducing the English language as a compulsory subject for every student as well as Hind, Sanskrit and Modern Arabic in the curriculum. It was decided at the very beginning in the second annual meeting of Nadvat al-'Ulama' in 1895 that the last two years should be devoted to the study 4 of specialised courses. It was due to Shibli No'mahi's effort that in 1909 Darjah-i Takmll in lIlm-i Kalam and 'Ilm-i Adab were started. Later in 1912 Darjah-i TakmJl In Tafsir, Fiqh and Usiil-i Fiqh was also started. The major part of the curriculum of these specialised courses had been prepared by 'Allamah Shibli. Further during the nizamat of Maulvi Syed ' Ali Hasan Khan and Dr. Syed 'Abd al-'Ali, a revision of curricula was undertaken in 1921 and 1931 respectively. Dr. Syed 'Abd al-'Ali improved the standard of instruction in English and introduced a few more branches of modern sciences viz. politics and economics. His desire was to introduce a new curriculum which could compete with the graduation standard of the modern Universities along with the teaching of religious disciplines. In the course of time the syllabi of Dar al-'Ulum Nadvat al-'Ulama'' became widely famous that it was adopted in many madrasahs of India as well as of some foreign countries. Approximately more that 200 madrasahs had introduced the syllabi of Nadvat al-'Ulama' in their institutions. Moreover there are several madrasahs in foreign countries which have been established on the pattern of Nadvah, such as in Nepal, Bengladesh, Malaysia, Thailand etc. Most of these madrasahs have been established by the graduates of Nadvat al-'Ulama' themselves. In Lucknow alone there are 22 branches of Nadvah whereas about 140 branches are functioning in other parts of India and abroad. Dar al-'Ulum Nadvat al-'Ulama' has produced thousands of 'ulama' and scholars and reformers who are wel-known for their contribution in the 5 dissemination of Islamic learning. They have devoted their whole life in the service of Islam. Some reputed graduates of Nadvat al-'Ulama' are as follow:- Syed Sulaiman Nadvi, 'Abd al-Salam Nadvi, 'Abd al-Bari Nadvi, Mas'ud 'Ali Nadvi, Dr. 'Abd al-'Ali are the scholars of first generation of Nadvah. Their disciples who belong to the second generation are Shah Mo'in al-Din Ahmad Nadvi, Mas'ud 'Alam Nadvi, Syed Abu'l Hasan 'Ali Nadvi, Syed Riyasat 'Ali Nadvi, Syed Najib Ashraf Nadvi, Abu laith Isjahi Nadvi, Muhammad Nazim Nadvi, Muhammad Ikram Khan Nadvi, 'Abd al-Salam Kidwai Nadvi, Muhammad Owais Nigrami Nadvi. The Scholars of third generation are Mujib-Allah Nadvi, 'Abd-Allah Abbas Nadvi, Abu'l Irfan Nadvi etc. The scholars of next generation who have distinguished themselves are syed Muhammad al-Hasani, Habib Raihari Khan Nadvi, Prof. Syed Muhammad Ijtiba Nadvi, Prof. Dia al-Hasan Nadvi, Prof Syed Ihtisham 'Ali Nadvi, Prof. M. Rashid Nadvi, Prof. M. Salim Kidwai, Prof. M. Yasin. Mazhar Siddiqui etc. Syed Muhammad Rabe' Hasani Nadvi (now nazim of Dar al-'Ulum Nadvat al-'Ulama') said on 18th May, 1999 in the reception-function of Saudi Ambassador that there were more than 5000 students enrolled in Lucknow only while more than 20,000 students are on the rolls in the branches of the Dar al-'Ulum. The graduates of Nadvat al-'Ulama' rendered admirable services in the dissemination of correct and true religious teachings and Islamic sciences. They 6 have been playing a remarkable role in imparting and propagating the Islamic culture and sciences. A number of books have been authored by them, many of which have secured a prominent place in intellectual circles. Their works cover a wide range of subject, e.g. Qur 'an, tafsir, i}adith,fiqh, Islamic history, philosophy, sirah, biography, literature, politics, ethics, rituals, education, economics, dealing affairs, prayers etc. quite a few of these works have been translated into foreign languages like English, Turkish, Persian, Arabi, whereas many in other Indian languages such as Bengali, Tamil, Telgu etc. The scholars of Nadval: al-'Ulama' not only enriched the Islamic literature by their valuable writings but also contributed to Islamic arts and sciences through translations. The 'ulama" of Nadvah often took pains in collecting the historical data and in verifying their accuracy. They have written quite often in elegant and literary style and largely tried to be fair and impartial in criticism. NADVAT- al - 'ULAMA' A CENTRE OF ISLAMIC LEARNING THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ISLAMIC STUDIES BY GHAZANFAR ALI KHAN UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF DR. AA. AZAM QASAAI (READER) DEPARTMENT OF ISLAMIC STUDIES ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH (INDIA) 2001 T5708 "Anna Ar^dT^t^ ** T-£?D8 d" i> -'-. „S 0 4 J; 2003 Dr. M. Azam Qasmi ig£3^ Department of Islamic Studies Reader (fw^^M Aligarh Muslim University, "~ Aligarh - 202002 (India) Phone No. (0571) 701131 Certificate This is to certify that Mr. Ghjzznfar Ali Kbjn has completed his Ph.D.