The movement pioneered education in religious sciences through the Dars-i-Nizami associated with the Lucknow-based ulama of Firangi Mahal with the goal of preserving traditional Islamic teachings from the influx of modernist and secular ideas during British colonial rule.
Founders of the Deobandi school Nanautavi and Gangohi drew inspiration from the religious and political doctrines of the South Asian Islamic scholar, Salafi-oriented Sufi and theologian Ismail Dehlawi (26 April 1779 – 6 May 1831).
The Pakistani and Afghan branches and the original Indian seminaries have far less contact since the Partition of India, for political reasons related to the India–Pakistan border.
In time, the Darul Uloom Deoband became the second largest focal point of Islamic teaching and research after the Al-Azhar University, Cairo.
[8] Deobandi scholar Maulana Syed Husain Ahmad Madani helped to spread these ideas through his text Muttahida Qaumiyat Aur Islam.
[12][13] Graduates of Darul Uloom Deoband in India from countries such as South Africa, China, and Malaysia opened thousands of madaaris throughout the world.
Graduates of South African madrassas spend their time in service of the Tablighi Jamaat, among them are Muhammad Zakariyya al-Kandhlawi, Masihullah Khan, Mahmood Hasan Gangohi[5] and Asad Madni.
[23] Today, Deobandi thinking is one of the intellectual currents in Sistan and Baluchestan and preaching groups are active in different cities and villages.
"[25] In 2015 Ofsted highlighted the Deobandi seminary in Holcombe as a good example of a school "promoting British values, preventing radicalisation and protecting children".
[27] According to a 2007 report by Andrew Norfolk, published in The Times, about 600 of Britain's nearly 1,500 mosques were under the control of "a hardline sect", whose leading preacher loathed Western values, called on Muslims to "shed blood" for Allah and preached contempt for Jews, Christians and Hindus.
It was authored by Khalil Ahmad al-Saharanpuri (d. 1346/1927) in order to defend and remit the Deobandis from the charge of kufr (unbelief or blasphemy) levied against them by their opponents.
[51] In response to this need to defend their madhhab in the light of scripture, Deobandis became particularly distinguished for their unprecedented salience to the study of Hadith in their madrasas.
[55][56][57][58][59] Deobandis also reject the building of structures over graves, visitation to the shrines of Sufi saints, as well as the practice of loud Dhikr, Qawwali, Wajd and Sama - seeing them as too "innovative" in nature.
[61] Deoband's curriculum combined the study of Islamic holy scriptures (Quran, hadith and law) with rational subjects (logic, philosophy and science).
Mahmood Ashraf Usmani, the former head of Darul Ulum Karachi, defended the concept of Tariqa and Bay'ah based on the Pledge of the Tree incident.
[62] Ashraf Ali Thanwi graduated from Darul Uloom Deoband and was widely considered a preeminent Sufi of modern India.
[67] Muhammad Zakariyya Kandhlawi, noted hadith scholar and Sufi Shaykh of Deobandis, says that, The reality of "tasawwuf" is merely correction of intention.
[69] Deobandi scholars view Taqlid as a crucial means of ensuring the proper interpretation and application of Islamic law, especially for individuals without the necessary knowledge and expertise to engage in Ijtihad.
[71] Rashid Ahmad Gangohi is considered the founder of Deobandi fiqh, with Ashraf Ali Thanwi and Aziz-ul-Rahman Usmani regarded as key figures.
The first wave resulted in the establishment of an Islamic territory centered on Thana Bhawan by the movement's elders during the Indian Rebellion of 1857,[3][7][79][80] prior to the founding of Darul Uloom Deoband.
[81] Imdadullah Muhajir Makki served as the Amir al-Mu'minin of this Islamic territory, Rashid Ahmad Gangohi as the Chief justice, and Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi as the Commander-in-chief.
[83][3] Under the auspices of President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, its expansion occurred through various madrasas, such as Darul Uloom Haqqania and Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia, with political support provided by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (S).
It was founded in British India in 1919 by Ahmad Saeed Dehlavi, Sanaullah Amritsari and several other scholars including Kifayatullah Dehlawi who was elected its first interim president.
[87] The JUI formed when members broke from the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind in 1945 after that organization backed the Indian National Congress against the Muslim League's lobby for a separate Pakistan.
Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam (Urdu: مجلس احرارلأسلام), also known in short as Ahrar, was a conservative Deobandi political party in the Indian subcontinent during the British Raj (prior to the independence of Pakistan) founded 29 December 1929 at Lahore.
[109][110][111] The TTP is not directly affiliated with the Afghan Taliban movement led by Mullah Omar, with both groups differing greatly in their histories, strategic goals and interests although they both share a primarily Deobandi interpretation of Islam and are predominantly Pashtun.
Established in the early 1980s in Jhang by the militant leader Haq Nawaz Jhangvi, its stated goal is primarily to deter major Shiite influence in Pakistan in the wake of the Iranian Revolution.
Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi's established Madrasa Shahi, Moradabad, the alma of scholars like Mufti Mahmud and Saeed Ahmad Akbarabadi has its position.
Darul Uloom Bury, Holcombe, established by Yusuf Motala during 1970s is the first Deobandi madrassa of the West[117] In South Africa,[118][119] Darul Ulum Newcastle, was founded in 1971 by Cassim Mohammed Sema[120] and Dar al-Ulum Zakariyya in Lenasia,[121][122][123] Madrasah In'aamiyyah, Camperdown is known for its Dar al-Iftaa (Department of Fatwa Research and Training) which runs the popular online fatwa service, Askimam.org.
[124] Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Moinul Islam is the first established Deobandi madrassa in Bangladesh, which produced the scholars like Shah Ahmad Shafi, Junaid Babunagari.