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6.
HADHRAT MAULANA HABIBUR RAHMAN
In
1325/1907, due to Hadhrat Maulana Hafiz Muhammad Ahmed's engagements, as also in
connection with the development of Darul Uloom, there arose the need of an able
and competent administrator who might lend a hand to Hafiz Sahib in the
administrative affairs and schemes of development In the eyes of the Majlis-e
Shura there was none more suitable than him for this job. Accordingly, inspite
of his refusal, he was compelled and entrusted with the post of pro vice-chancellor.
It is said that it was a piece of good luck for Darul Uloom that it acquired the
services of a vigilant administrator and sincere man like Maulana Habibur Rahman
Usmani. He was so much interested in the administrative works that major part of
the day and night used to be spent in these works. He had so organized and
streamlined the administrative department of Darul Uloom that when Nawab Sadr-e
Yar Jung Bahadur came to Deoband on behalf of the Asafiyah government to audit
the accounts of the Darul Uloom Deoband, he was surprised to see that vouchers
and receipts of even as paltry a sum as one and two annals were present in the
file in a regular order. Nawab Sadr Yar Jung's statement is that there was no
paper, which was asked for and was not immediately presented. The progress
during Hafiz Sahib's vice-chancellorship is in fact considered to be the result
of Maulana Habibur Rahman’s comradeship; he always remained his right-hand
man, confidant and lieutenant.
In
1344/1925, when Hafiz Sahib retired due to old age from the post of Chief Mufti
of the Hyderabad State, Maulana Habibur Rahman was appointed in his place, but
due to the appearance of internal dissensions in Darul Uloom Deoband he had to
give up this job very soon. Maulana Anwar Shah Kashmiri, Mufti Azizur Rahman and
Maulana Shabbir Ahmed Usmani, along with a large group of some other teachers
and students, had severed their relations with Darul Uloom Deoband. This was a
very delicate and critical occasion but Maulana Habibur Rahman’s resolution
and firmness, courage and daring, and sagacity and foresight saved the boat of
Darul Uloom Deoband from wobbling.
Maulana
Habibur Rahman’s personality was considered past compare in his time in every
respect. It is generally believed that had he had so much interest in the
national politics as he had in Darul Uloom, he would have proved to be the
greatest political leader of India. It was Hadhrat Shaikhul Hind's will that the
members of the Jami'atul Ulema must never leave out two men the first name among
these two was his, and as such he proved to be the best counselor of the
Jami'atul Ulema. In a session of the Jami'atul Ulema held at Gaya (Bihar) in
1340/1921, he was elected president and his presidential address was not only
generally appreciated but in the political circles of the country also its
political significance was looked upon with approval.
Excessive
reading had made him a man of vast knowledge, a polyhistor. Hadhrat Anwar Shah
Kashmiri used to remark: -
"If
there is anyone whose knowledge impresses me, it is Maulana Habibur Rahman".
He had a special liking for Arabic
literature and history and his extensive knowledge in these subjects was
far-famed at the time. The following books are his academic relics;
(1) Qasida Lamiat at-Mu'ajizat: This
panegyric consists of nearly three hundred verses in praise of the Holy Prophet
(Allah's peace and blessings be upon him!), describing one hundred prophetic
miracles in a very eloquent and meaningful style. Maulana Muhammad Izaz Ali
Amrohi (d. A H. 1374) has explained these Arabic verses in simple Urdu.
(2)
Isha'at-e Islam: How did Islam spread in the world? In response to this
question he has reproduced nearly five hundred pages those historical events,
which due to their psychological attraction, became conducive to the spread of
Islam.
(3).
Ta'limat-e Islam: In this book the Islamic system of government has been
described and it has been made explicit how much consultation is necessary for
the leader of the party. In the course of this he has shown that if there is
complete trust in the person of the leader there is then no need of counting the
votes of the majority and the minority, but should the leader not have achieved
such trust of the followers, then there is no other go for carrying on the
business but to rely upon the majority.
(4).
Rahmatul lil Alamin: It is a very valuable work on the biography of the
Holy Prophet (Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), but it is a pity that it
is incomplete. However, whatever has been written is an addition of a monumental
work to the list of prophetic biographies.
Maulana
Habibur Rahman was of a very frail constitution; his intake of food was
astonishingly low but inspite of emaciation and weakness he possessed unbounded
courage. Exactly fourteen months after Hafiz Sahib's death, he passed away from
this mortal world on the night of 4th Rajab, A H. 1348/ AD. 1929/
leaving Darul Uloom as his eulogizer forever and ever. May Allah illuminate his
grave!
7-
HADHRAT MAULANA QARI MUHAMMAD TAYYIB
He
is Hadhrat Nanautawi's grandson. He was born in 1315/1897. His chronogrammatic
name is Muzaffaruddin. He was admitted to the Darul Uloom at the age of seven;
the ceremony of his admission to the school was performed in a glorious
gathering of distinguished august men. Within the short span of two years he
committed the entire Quran to memory with cantillation and orthoepy. After
reading for five years in the Persian and Mathematics classes, he started
studying the Arabic syllabus, which he completed in 1337/1918 and secured the
Sanad of graduation. During the course of education the teachers, because of his
lineage, participated in teaching and training him on a high scale and in a
special manner. The special Sanad of Hadith he obtained from the most eminent
Ulema and teachers. The savant of the age, Maulana Muhammad Anwar Shah Kashmiri,
was his special teacher in the Science of Hadith. In 1350/1931 he received
khilafat from Hadhrat Thanwi.
After
graduation he started teaching in Darul Uloom. Due to his own knowledge and
learning, geist, and ancestral relation and respectability he soon won
admiration in the students circle. In early 1341/1924 he was appointed
pro-vice-chancellor, in which post, till early 1348/ 1924, he kept taking part
in the administrative affairs of the vice chancellor's office, under the
supervision of his august father and Maulana Habibur Rahman. In the middle of
1348/1929, after Maulana Habibur Rahman’s demise, he was made vice chancellor.
In view of his precious experience, competency and ancestral lineage it had been
proved that the capacity to run Darul Uloom ran in his blood and was bred in his
bones; accordingly, after becoming vice-chancellor, he very soon won popularity
and greatness in the country due to his knowledge and learning and family
respectability and influence, which proved very advantageous to the fame and
glory of the Darul Uloom.
As
such, Darul Uloom has made remarkable progress during his vice chancellor ship.
In 1348/1929, when he took the reins of administration of Darul Uloom into his
hands, there were only eight administrative sections; now their number has
reached 23. At that time the budget of annual income of Darul Uloom was Rs.
50,262; now it has risen to Rs. 26,00,000. In 1348/1929, the staff of the
employees in the Darul Uloom consisted of only 45 hands, which number has now
gone up to 200. The magistral staff then consisted of only l8 teachers; now
there are 59. The students strength then was 480 and now it is nearly 2,000.
Similarly
there has beer addition to the buildings also Darut Tafsir, Darul Ifta, Darul
Quran, Matbakh-e Jadid, Fauqani Darul Hadith, Balai (2nd floor)
Masjid, Babuz Zahir, two-storied Jamia Tibbia, Jadid, Darul Iqama, the
magnificent building of the Guest House, the long and wide halls of the library,
Darul Iqama Jadid, Afriqi Manzil, addition of three auditoriums near the
kitchen; all these buildings have been constructed during his vice chancellor
ship. Moreover, the room of the Chhatta Mosque where Hadhrat Nanautawi used to
teach and inculcate had become dilapidated due to ravages of time; so it was
also rebuilt.
In short, every department of Darul Uloom has made unusual progress during his tenure of office. The administrative and consultative councils of Darul Uloom, in connection with the acknowledgement of his extraordinary services and as an expression of their appreciation, have at different times, passed several resolutions. To keep the candle of Darul Uloom alight he is still active in his old age like young men.
Academically,
besides teaching, he has got a natural endowment in the art of oratory and
lecturing, a gift of the gab. Right from the student days his speeches in the
public functions are being heard with eagerness. Speaking on even the most
important problems for two and three hours at a stretch he does not experience
any interruption or difficulty. He has had special mastery in discoursing on the
realities and mysteries of the Shari'ah and in making the subjects concise and
compact. The modern educated class particularly enjoys his academic and
philosophical style of discourse; his lectures are specially popular in Muslim
University Aligarh, and other universities, and some of his momentous lectures
have already been published by the former. There is no region in the country
where the echo of his speeches may not have reached. When his fluent and
fascinating speech passes through the deep ocean of knowledge, the stillness of
the waves is worth seeing.
His
presidential addresses in the annual sessions of the Jami'atul Ulema have been
highly valued his academic lectures have created a particular circle of
influence and the effects of his elocution have also reached the academic
circles outside India. In 1363/1934, during his journey to Hejaz, the speech he
delivered as the leader of a dignified delegation of India in the court of
Sultan Ibn Sa'ud, impressed the Sultan very much. Sultan Ibn Sa'ud honored him
with the award of a royal robe of honor and a gift of highly valuable books.
His
journey to Afghanistan in 1358/1939 is an independent history of academic
services; he had undertaken this journey as a representative of Darul Uloom to
forge educational and spiritual relations between Darul Uloom and the government
of Afghanistan. The academic circles of Afghanistan befittingly welcomed him.
The government itself did him the honor of being his host. The educational and
literary associations and government and non-government societies of Afghanistan
invited him. The literary and academic circles there were very much impressed by
his scholarly speeches. He has similarly toured foreign countries like Burma,
South Africa, Zanzibar, Kenya, Rhodesia, Reunion, Madagascar, Ethiopia, Egypt,
England; France, Germany, etc.
The
fact is that there are many charming facets of his fascinating personality:
nobility and humanity, personification of modesty, purity of heart, knowledge
and learning, oratory and art of public speaking, sermonizing and inculcation,
simplicity and humility, philosophic eloquence and succinctness while talking;
in fine, his commanding and towering personality is an exquisite amalgamation of
deeds and character, grandeur and elegance.
Besides
the administrative affairs of Darul Uloom, the things he has had a natural
interest in are education and teaching, missionary work and preaching. Due to
these accomplishments he commands a pre-eminent position in the country. His
zest for recreation consists in reading and writing books. This diversion of his
always continues over and above the administrative affairs of Darul Uloom and
the quantum of teaching work, particularly so during the free hours in the
course of a journey. When not out of station, that is, while residing at Deoband,
there is almost daily a regular get-together of friends and scholars, between
Asr and Maghrib, in the male parlour, where the topics of discussion are
generally of an academic nature and interest. He has affinity with the art of
poesy also; many of his poems have been published; the title of the collection
of his poetical compositions, which too has been published, is Irfan-e A'rif.
Like
his mastery in the art of elocution and oratory, he is also a profound, prolific
and talented author; the number of his works is pretty large, some of which are
named below;
Attashabbuh
fiI-lslam, Mashahir-e Ummat, Kalimat-e Tayyibat, Atyabus-Thamar fi
Mas'alatil-Qaza wal-Qadar, Science Awr Islam, Ta'limat-e Islam Awr Masihi Aqwam,
Mas'ala-e Zuban-e Urdu Hindustan Men, Din-o-Siyasat, Asbab-e Urooj-o Zawal-e
Aqwam, Islami Azadi ka Mukammal Program, AI-Ijtehad wal-Taqlid, Usool-e Da'wat-e
Islam, Islami Masawat, Tafsir-e Sura-e FiI, Fitri Hukumat, etc.
8.
HADHRAT ALLAMAH SHABBIR AHMED USMANI
He
was Maulana Fazlur Rahman's eldest son. He was born on 10th Muharram,
A. H. 1305/ A. D. 1887, at Bijnor. At the age of seven he started reading the
Holy Quran. The date of his admission in Darul Uloom is 10th Rabius
Sani, A. H. 1319; of graduation, 1325/1907. He was one of the well-guided
disciples of the Shaikhul Hind and also owed allegiance to him. After graduation
he was appointed head-teacher in the Madrasa-e Fatehpuri at Delhi; from there he
was called to Darul Uloom in 1328/ 1910. Here, for a long time, he taught books
to the higher classes. Maulana Usmani's teaching of the Sahih-e Muslim was
very famous, and he had a deep insight into Hadhrat Nanautawi's sciences. After
rendering teaching services in Darul Uloom for a long time, in 1346/1928, due to
certain differences with the authorities of Darul Uloom, he, along with Maulana
Anwar Shah Kashmiri, Maulana Mufti Azizur Rahman and some other gentlemen, went
to Jamia-e Islamia, Dabhel (Dist. Surat).
After
Hadhrat Shah Sahib's death, he was appointed Shaikhul Hadith there in 1352/1933.
In 1354/1935, at Hadhrat Thanwi's and other elders instruction he came back to
Darul Uloom and while maintaining his relation with Jamia Islamia, Dabhel, he
continued to serve the Darul Uloom as its chancellor till 1362/1944.
It
will not be inapt here to reproduce that speech of Allamah Usmani, which he had
delivered at the time of his taking the reins of administration into his hands.
In his speech he had explained, in a very subtle manner, the causes of his
separation from Darul Uloom in 1346/1928. Since the previous bitterness is
excellently compensated by this speech, its requisite portions are reproduced
here. Allamah Usmani had stated in a very eloquent and pithy manner;
"This
Darul Uloom is the benefactor (lit, patron) of all of us. All of us were born
here; here we played, here we bounced and bounded, here we learned to read and
write, and here we taught; whatever we attained and learnt, it is due to this
headspring of knowledge and gnosis only. Our Darul Uloom is indubitably a vast
sea, a shoreless ocean of reality and divine knowledge. Its grace is current not
only in India but wherever the sound of "Said Allah and Said the
Apostle" is heard, it is also its resounding only, even as in the months of
May and June the sea becomes hot due to the heat of the sun and heat is created
in its heart, the air lifts up vapors from it and spreads them over the earth in
the form of clouds, and these big and small pieces of clouds, rising from the
Bay of Bengal or the Arabian Sea, burst in far off lands whereby the dead earth
is revived and dead farms begin to bloom and become verdant.
"But
when there is billowing and agitation in the sea due to its boiling, some
partial losses are also caused. As such, under such circumstances, life and
wealth are also often lost. Sometimes huge ships too are involved in danger and
some of them get drowned. And when those vapors, changing into clouds, spread
over the earth, sometimes thunder and lightning are also produced in them, which
frighten the people and sometimes a bolt of lightning strikes, someone. But
inspite of all these losses those who have an eye upon Allah's mature wisdom
understand that some absolute good too is surely going to appear from these
losses, and though these losses are painful for the creatures and though this
ferment and agitation of the sea puts man into distress, some great benefit and
some provision of life for the creatures is to appear from the same losses. In
short, the aftermath of all this process happens to be this that when the rain
has rained down and the dead earth has received that much amount of water that
it needs, the same rain water some of which is used up by the earth, ultimately
passing through channels and rivers reaches to join its original headspring from
which it had been produced and from which it had separated.
"So
understand it just like that that in accordance with the creative exigencies of
the workers of destiny and fate, some time back a commotion of sorts, a heat had
been created in the heart on he academic sea of Darul Uloom, wherefore waves
rose up and clashed with each other. During this spell of surging and commotion
some losses were also caused but some waves and drops of this sea, forming into
a cloud of mercy, went and rained over the land of Gujarat. Well, the mention of
(insignificant) people like us apart, there is indeed no doubt at all regarding
the savant of the time, Hadhrat Maulana Syed Anwar Shah Kashmiri and Hadhrat
Maulana Mufti Azizur Rahman that they were clouds of mercy. By the light of the
countenance of these savants the home of heretic innovations that was Gujarat,
is today, thank Allah, resplendent with the light of the Quran and the Sunnah.
The fanatical people of Gujarat used to consider it a great sin to shake hands
with the Deobandi Ulema and if someone did shake hands by mistake, it was
thought necessary to wash the hands with soap, so much so that even a mosque had
to be washed if per chance a Deobandi divine happened to say his prayer in it.
But the same fanatics today - praise be to Allah as a result of the diffusion of
the light of the Quran and the Sunnah in that region, pride themselves over
doing even a menial service (lit., setting a pair of shoes in order for the
wearing of any dignified person) to the truthful Ulema and now - thank Allah! -
the very condition has been reversed.
"Yearning
for the annual function of our Madrasah that is held in Dabhel, thousands of men
await it eagerly throughout the year, counting the days on fingers as to when
the function would be held and they would have the felicity of participating in
it. In short, some of those big and small clouds which, breaking from their
original source, had rained down on the land of Gujarat, got used up in the
meanwhile, and some of them, passing different periods, at last came back and
joined their original headspring. My returning to Darul Uloom now or the Darul
Uloom's attracting me is of the same nature and relation as a drop has with the
sea. So if a drop returned to its main spring, what wonder has the drop worked,
what is its excellence therein? May Allah Most High bestow upon all of us the
grace to compensate for the previous losses and redress our short comings.
"You
may understand the example of our returning to Darul Uloom like the example of
faith (Iman) given in the noble Hadith that when the snake slithers into
its burrow, it shrinks, and faith too likewise would shrink in the last era and
would return to its original tract, even as the snake returns to its hole. Darul
Uloom Deoband is a divine trust, a dear wealth of the Muslims. It has been
raised with the bricks of piety, those who laid its foundation-stone were not
members of the nobility and the affluent class; on the contrary its founders
were a few pious souls, faqirs and saints. Hence it should be preserved on their
principles and pattern only and all should in fact join hands to protect
it".
In
respect of knowledge and learning, intelligence and acumen, statesmanship and
reasonableness, Allamah Usmani was being reckoned amongst the few outstanding
Ulema of India. He had had equal mastery both in speech and writing (lit.,
tongue and pen). A high-ranking litterateur in Urdu and a master of
spell-binding oratory, both his writings and speeches used to be unparalleled in
respect of eloquence and succinctness, commonly-intelligible arguments,
effective similes, style of expression and subtle points of wit and wisdom.
Because of his having deep insight into the current affairs, his speeches used
to be highly appreciated by the high and the low. The connoisseurs still cherish
the memory of his eloquent, expressive and scholarly speeches in grand
functions. It was Maulana Usmani who had received the honor of writing and
reading out in the function the last address Hadhrat Shaikhul Hind had delivered
on the occasion of the founding of the Jamia Millia Islamia (Delhi), during his
last days.
Ilmul
Kalam, AI-Aql wan-Naql, Ijazul Quran, Hijab-e Shara'i, and AI-Shahab le-rajmil
Khatifil Murtab, etc. are his monumental works. Maulana Usmani's exegetical
marginalia on the translation of the Holy Quran by Hadhrat Shaikhul Hind are
very famous. His valuable book entitled Fathul Mulhim in the science of Hadith
is, from the Hanafite point of view, the first commentary on the Sahih Muslim.
This is such a magnum opus of his that it has familiarized his knowledge and
learning in the whole Islamic world.
In
politics Maulana Usmani had from the very beginning joined the Jami'at Ulema-e
Hind and earlier he had been an important member of the Khilafat Committee. In
1333/1914, during the Balkan war, he had participated very ardently in
collecting funds for the Turks. Maulana Usmani remained a member of the
executive council of the Jami'at Ulema Hind for a number of years, and was
reckoned amongst the first class leaders of the said organization of the Ulema.
In the end, due to the question of one nation theory, he dissented with the
Jami'at Ulema and joined the Muslim League and, in 1365/1946, he was elected
president of the Jami'at Ulema-e Islam. In 1946, when an election was held for
the Indian Constituent Assembly, he was elected its member on behalf of the
Muslim League from Bengal. After the partition of India, he was elected as a
member of the Pakistan Constitutent Assembly in his capacity as a representative
of East Bengal. To participate in the session of the Pakistan Constitutent
Assembly Maulana Usmani went to Pakistan before Ramadhan, A. H. 1366/1947 and
then stayed in Karachi fore over. Along with his membership of the Pakistan
Constitutent Assembly he was also elected as the president of the Shara'i
Dastur-saz Committee. In Pakistan he rendered many religious and national
services; his academic and political services had a special impression on the
highest authority of Pakistan. He enjoyed a great position particularly as a
religious divine and thinker and along with his religious leadership, his
political leadership was also acknowledged on all hands.
Jamia
Abbasia Bhawalpur, is an old seminary in Pakistan. Its educational and
administrative set-up had much deteriorated. So the Education Ministry of the
Bhawalpur State requested Maulana Usmani to make it convenient to go to
Bhawalpur and favor the state with his opinion as regards improvement and
progress of the said seminary. Accordingly he went to Bhawalpur but hardly had
he started consultations with the Ministry of Education there when suddenly, on
21st Safar, A. H. 1369/ 1949, he after a few hours illness, passed
away. His bier was taken from Bhawalpur to Karachi and his body was laid into
the grave prepared near his residence on Muhammad Ali Road.
In
a condolence meeting held in Darul Uloom at Allamah Usmani's demise, Hadhrat
Maulana Madani said in his speech: "The late Maulana's personality was
unique; in knowledge and learning his rank was very high and he was one of the
top-most Ulema. Political differences were indeed there between us but they are
at their place. The God-given mastery in writing and speech was the late
Maulana's special feature and he was a repository of many other good
qualities".
9. HADHRAT MAULANA MARGHUBUR RAHMAN
(The
article is under classification.)
