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Vol.2 No.2 Jumada II, 1428 A.H. Jun-Jul 2007
C O N T E N T S
1 The spectacular success story of the madrasa Shamsul Islam 2
system
2 The Nizaamee curriculum Md Ghufran Ahmed 5
3 Bring a chapter like it, can anybody? Zaheerul Haq Nadwi 6
4 Quranic verses dealing with the challenge Md Rizaullah Qasmi 8
5 Mullaa Nizaamuddeen and the Nizaamee Md Shadab Anwar 9
curriculum
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1276/1859), the author of the new educational policy in our country gave a hint of his nefarious
designs when he pronounced in the British House of Commons in 1835:
“It is impossible for us, with our limited means, to educate the body of the people. We
must at present do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions
we govern; a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, in
morals, and in intellect.” After the First War of Indian Independence, Muslims particularly
their clerics and scholars became targets of the senseless revenge campaign launched by the
British. And the erstwhile madrasas seemed to be in their last days of existence. In all, the
future of Islam and Muslims in India, to say the least, looked gloomy.
But Allah had some other plans:
They intend to put out the Light of Allah (i.e. the religion of Islam) (by blowing) with their
mouths. But Allah will bring His Light to perfection even though the disbelievers hate (it).
(61:8)
Allah inspired a number of Muslim intellectuals and scholars with a novel idea for
safeguarding Islam, that was to establish madrasas which would run solely on public charity
and impart religious education. It was proposed that the madrasas should completely desist from
accepting any fund from the government or an agency working under it. Maulana Qasim
Nanotvi was the first to put these thoughts into action as he laid the foundation of Madrasa
Arabia (meaning: Arabic seminary) in Deoband, a far-off village of Saharanpur district (Uttar
Pradesh). The madrasa had a humble beginning with a single teacher teaching a lone student –
incidentally, both were named Mahmood – under the shade of a pomegranate tree. But in a few
years, the novel idea of setting up seminaries with donations from the generous Muslim
populace gained so much popularity that it revolutionized the academic landscape of India.
Much credit goes to the nameless, faceless Muslim men and women who, in spite of being
impoverished by the oppressive and discriminatory policies of the British, never backed from
their religious duty to see the venture through. Consequently, many madrasas and maktabs
came into existence following this model. A few months later, Madrasa Mazahirul Uloom was
founded; madrasas at Thana Bhawan (Muzaffarnagar, U.P.), Gulaothi (Bulandshahr, U.P.),
Meerut and Moradabad followed in succession while at the same time the mother of all
madrasas, Madrasa Arabia of Deoband, expanded and flourished slowly but steadily
transforming itself into the premium Islamic university of Darul Uloom, Deoband. As for now,
a Muslim locality without a madrasa or a maktab is as good as non-existent in the sub-
continent.
Looking back in perspective, we find that after the unsuccessful bid to overthrow the
British colonialists in 1274/1857, the story of Islam and its followers appeared all but over. The
aggressive educational policy of the imperialists was undoubtedly aimed at making the new
generation oblivious – or worse, ashamed – of their grand heritage, culture and history. The
motive was to keep the children ignorant of their noble forefathers, the illustrious Sahaba
(Companions of the Prophet), the Holy Prophet himself, the Glorious Quran, the symbols of
Islam: namaz, azaan, mosque, fast; in short everything that Islam stood for.
But the madrasas stood in the way of this deadly tsunami like the Himalayas shielding the
ingenuous populace from the fierce onslaught of the imperialists through its educational system
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and through Christian Missionaries imported from Europe specifically for this purpose. The
alumni of these madrasa showed to the people the blessings of Islamic life by living themselves
in accordance with it. Then they went to the people calling them through their speeches and
writings to the glorious life of true Islamic faith. They exhorted them to adopt the ways and
manners of the virtuous Sahaba to attain a life of peace and tranquility in this world and that of
eternal bliss in the Hereafter. These „shields‟ (madrasas) against the imperialist onslaught stand
up to this day performing these heroic tasks with more or less the same vigour and energy.
What could make them even more potent force in the contemporary world is a readiness
for a bit of reforms in their curricula, mode of teaching, etc. without compromising a whit on
their fundamental principles. Many glorious sons of these great institutions like Maulana
Manazir Ahsan Gilani (d. 1375/1956), Mufti Taqi Usmani (b. 1362/1943), Maulana Rizwan Al
Qasmi and others have made detailed proposals on this count (d. 1425/2004). A little openness
towards English language and some modern sciences could help a lot in making their alumni
more successful and confident in their honourable mission of preaching Islam – the only
complete code of life that promises to rid the world of all its evils and misfortunes.
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[Source of the table: A Study Of Jami'a Nizamia, Hyderabad by Parveen Rukhsana Farooqui]
§ § § § § § § § § §
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this world,as it goes on describing the Evergreen Gardens with cool streams flowing in their midst, the
residents reclining and relaxing on their super-comfortable couches furnished with silken mattresses,
fruits of every kind present at their hands the moment they desire, lively conversations with partners
and attendants. But that‟s not all. The Quran says:
No person knows what joy is kept hidden for them as a reward for what they used to do. (32:17)
Enter Paradise, you and your wives, in happiness. Trays of gold and cups will be passed round them;
(there will be) therein all that inner-selves could desire, and all that eyes could delight in and you will
abide therein forever. (43:70-71)
When it comes to warning of the divine punishment through natural calamity or that of the Day
of Judgement, the day when a man shall flee from his brother, mother, wife and children, when every
pregnant creature will drop her load, every nursing mother will forget her nursling and every person
will appear as if in a drunken state though they will be sober; the Holy Scripture shocks and stupefies
the reader. And when it holds forth on relentless upheavals, terrible quakes and massive landslides as
punishment for evil-doers in this world, it agitates and shocks and terrifies:
Do you feel secure that He will not cause a side of the land to swallow you up, or that He will not send
against you a violent sand-storm? Then, you shall find no protector. (17:68)
Do you feel secure that He who is over the Heavens (Allah), will not cause the earth to sink with you,
and then it should quake? Or do you feel secure that He who is over the Heavens (Allah), will not send
against you a violent whirlwind? Then you shall know how terrible has been My Warning. (67:16-17)
And over and above all of this, it has a heartrending depiction of the Hell: blazing fire, high-
rising flames like mountains, the omnipresent stench and stink, sky-rending wails and screams. Sample
these:
(It will be said): Seize him and fetter him; then throw him in the blazing Fire, then fasten him with a
chain seventy cubits long! … So no friend has he here this Day, nor any food except filth from the
washing of wounds. (69: 30-32, 35-36)
And they will cry: “O Malik (Guard of Hell)! Let your Lord make an end of us.” He will say: “Truly,
you shall abide forever.” (43:77)
The miracle of the Holy Quran does not end here. It has more: wa lan taf’aloo meaning „and you
can never do it (author a resemblance of the Holy Book)‟ (2:24). The emphatic pronouncement with
utmost conviction is another supernatural event. Fourteen centuries have passed and the claim remains
uncontested.
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Or do they say: “He (Prophet Muhammad) has forged it (the Quran)?” Say: “Bring then a Sura
(chapter) like it, and call upon whomsoever you can besides Allah (to your help), if you are
truthful!” (10:38)
Or do they say: “He (Prophet Muhammad) forged it?” Say: “Bring you then ten forged Suras
(chapters) like it, and call whomsoever you can besides Allah, if you are truthful!” (11:13)
Say: “If the mankind and the jinn were together to produce the like of this Quran, they could not
produce the like thereof, even if they helped one another.” (17:88)
Say to (them, O Muhammad): “Then bring a Book from Allah, which is a better guide than
these two [the Taurat (Torah and the Quran)], that I may follow it, if you are truthful.” (28:49)
Or do they say: “He (Prophet Muhammad) has forged it (this Quran)?” Nay! They believe it
not! Let them then produce a recital like it (the Quran) if they are truthful. (52:33)
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