The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
19,000 people fit into the new Barclays Center to see Jay-Z perform. This blog was viewed about 150,000 times in 2012. If it were a concert at the Barclays Center, it would take about 8 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
A cornucopia of arts, science, mathematics, guns, languages, and what not! Its a long read but a brilliant one, really worth the time.
The time when the Dar al-Ulum, Deoband was established only nine years had passed over the fight for freedom of A. D. 1857.
Since the common Muslims and the elders at the Dar al-Ulum had taken up arms and ranked against the English in this fight for freedom, the English government was very much antagonistic to the Muslims, suspicious of and ill-disposed towards them.
The Muslims activities and movements were being kept under strict surveillance.
On this account a series of investigations, secret and open, in respect of the Dar al-Ulum continued for a long time. As such, in 1291 / 1875, the governor of Uttar Pradesh (formerly, the United Provinces), Sir John Strachey, sent a trusted man of his, John Palmer, to visit the Dar al-Ulum with the purpose of making secret investigations and report about the objective behind the establishment of the Dar al-Ulum and about the thought and activity the Muslims Ulamah [a term used for Scholars] were engaged in under the cover of this institution.
The report that John Palmer prepared and the impressions that he gathered, he has described in detail in a letter that he wrote to a friend.
The interesting and scholarly manner in which John Palmer has expressed his observations and impressions, comparing the educational condition of the Dar al-Ulum with the English universities, helps a good deal in understanding the educational position of the Dar al-Ulum. This incident occurred during the incipience of the existence of the Dar al-Ulum.
It can be estimated from this as to what the educational standard of the Dar al-Ulum has been from the very beginning.
While this letter consists of details of the Dar al-Ulum’s educational and some other particulars as well as review and criticism, it also brings forth an interesting album of the Dar al-Ulum’s features and its educational peculiarities, based on very profound impressions from the pen of a man,who had had an adverse view-point.
Hence it seems apt that the whole text of the letter is reproduced here.
“The Muslims here, at Deoband, have started a madrasah against the government. Go there incognito and find out what is taught there and what the Muslims are after”.
Accordingly, on Sunday, 31st January, I reached the habitation. The village is quite clean, the inhabitants are courteous and pious but are poor and miserable.
Making enquiries, I reached the madrasah. Having reached there, I saw a large room in which boys were sitting on a palm-mat with books open before them, and an older boy was sitting in their midst. I asked the boys who their teacher was? One boy pointed out and then I came to know that the fellow sitting in the middle was himself the teacher. [1]
I wondered what kind of teacher he might be.
I asked him, “What do your boys read?”
“Persian is taught here”, he replied.
When I proceeded from here, a man of medium height but very handsome was sitting at one place, with a row of older boys before him. Approaching near, I heard that the science of triangle was being discussed.
It was my guess that considering me to be a stranger they would be startled, but no one paid any attention to me at all.
I went near, sat down and began to hear the teacher’s lecture.
My astonishment knew no bounds when I saw that such strange and difficult theorems of the science of triangles were being expounded that I had never heard even from Dr. Sprenger.
Rising from there when I went to a courtyard. I saw that students, wearing ordinary clothes, were sitting before a Maulvi (Honorific Islamic religious title given to Sunni Muslim religious scholars or Ulamah). Here the variants of the second figure of the sixth article of Euclid were being stated and the Maulvi was speaking off-hand in such a way that it appeared as though Euclid’s soul had entered his body?. [2]
I was agape with wonder.
Meanwhile, the Maulvi sahib asked the students such a difficult question on the first grade of equation from Todd Hunter’s Algebra that I was in a sweat at my own knowledge of mathematics and I was astounded.
Some students solved it correctly.
From here I reached a third courtyard. One Maulvi [3] was teaching a thick tome of Hadith and was all smiles while lecturing.
Climbing a staircase from here, I reached the 1st floor. There were elegant houses on its three sides and in the centre was a small courtyard in which two blind men were chattering.
In order to hear what they were saying, I went near stealthily.
I came to know that they were committing to memory some lesson from a book of astronomy. Meanwhile one blind man said to the other: “Brother! In yesterday’s lesson I could not understand the bridal figure properly. If you have understood it, please explain it to me”.
The other fellow first stated the claim and then proceeded to prove it by drawing lines on his palm and when their mutual discussion was going on, I was wondering, bringing before my eyes the scene of Principal Breggar’s lecture.
Getting up from there I went to a 5 doored room. Small children sitting very respectfully before the teacher were reading books of grammar. In Class III a traditional science was being taught.
I came down by another stair-case. I was under the impression that the madrasah was only this much. By chance I met a man and sought confirmation of my impression from him. He said: “No. The Holy Quran is taught at another place”. When I asked him where?, he took me to the mosque.
In the courtyard of the mosque, many small children were reading the Quran before a sightless Hafiz. [4]
The Hafiz caught hold of a small child and thrashed him mercilessly. The child shrieked. I told my guide that it was an oppression to exact such hard work from small children. He laughed and said:
“Apparently it is an oppression, but in fact it is affection. To habituate children from the very beginning with hard work is the very essence of wisdom and in their interest and is very much needed to overcome the hardships to be encountered in future life. Nowadays only this thing of courage and tail has remained among the Muslims and it is because of this that some shattered pieces of Islam still remain with them”.
I said that “Last year I had seen in newspaper [5] that four students had been awarded ‘the turban of proficiency’. Is any one of them present here?”.
“Yes”, he said, “there is one, come along with me and I will introduce you to him”. He took me to a house where a young man was sitting. A thick book was lying before him and ten to twelve students were sitting and reading. Two guns were also lying on one side. I saluted him and he responded with utmost courtesy. I asked him,
“Was the turban of proficiency tied on your head last year”?
“It is”, he replied, “my teachers favor”.
“What’s this book”? I asked him.
“It is”, he said. “a technical book in the Arabic language. The manager of a press has sent it for translation. Its remuneration has been settled at Rs. 1000/-, I have been translating it for three months and nearly three-fourth of it is finished. The remaining, if it please Allah, will be completed in a month”.
“How are these guns here”? I asked.
He said:
“I am fond of hunting. From seven to ten I teach, from eleven to one I go on hunting and from two to five I translate”.
I asked: “Why don’t you take up same service”?
He said: “God gives me Rs 250/- per month while I sit at home. Why should I then serve?” [6]
Rising up from here I came to the library. The librarian, welcoming me, showed me the catalogue of books.
I was amazed. There was no subject on which a book was not there.
He showed me another register. It was a muster-roll for the students and was written in a very neat hand. Out of the 210 students on the roll, 208 were present.
I was about to get up when a young man with an incipient beard came and, having saluted, sat down. I asked him who he was.
He said: “I am the vice-chancellor”. [7]
Then he placed three large registers before me and said: “Please see it; this is the account of income and expenditure for the whole year”.
I saw that the account was written date wise with extreme soundness. From the abstract I learnt that at the end of the last academic year some money had remained in balance after the expenses.
I wished to have a look at the books but the time was short and evening was about to set in. I was obliged to return.
The results of my investigations are that the people of this place are educated, well behaved and very gentle. There is no necessary subject which is not taught here. The work that is being done in big colleges at the expense of thousands of rupees is being clone here by a Maulvi for forty rupees. There cannot be a better teaching institution than this for the Muslims and I can even go to the extent of saying that it even if a non-Muslim takes education here, it will not be without benefit. I had heard about the existence of a school for the blind in England, but here I saw with mine own eyes two blind men prove mathematical figures on their palms in the way it should be!
I regret that Sir William Muir is not present today otherwise he would have inspected this madrasah with great zest and eagerness and would have given prizes to the students”.
References:
1. He was Maulana Munfi’at Ali Deobandi, teacher of Persian who had been appointed the same year (A.H. 1291 / 1874) after the completion of his education. Initially he served as a Persian teacher and after some years was made Arabic teacher in which capacity he served the Dar al-Ulum till 1318 / 1900.
2. He was Maulana Sayyid Ahmed Dehelvi who was appointed second teacher in A. H. 1285 / 1868 and was made Vice-Chancellor on Maulana Muhammad Yaqub Nanautavi’s demise in A. H. 1302 / 1884. He continued on this post till A. H. 1307 / 1889. He was a matchless scholar of the time in mathematical sciences. Maulana Muhammad Oasim Nanautavi remarks “The Beneficient Lord has endowed Maulavi Sayyid Ahmed with such ability in and affinity with the mathematical arts that the inventors of these sciences too perhaps had had this much only.” (Report for A. H. 1293 / 1876, p. 13).
3. This is a reference probably to Maulana Muhammad Yaqub Nanautavi, the vice-chancellor. From the very inception he had been appointed to this post. - Sayyid Mahboob Rizvi.
4. That is Hafiz Namdar Khan, a resident of Bassi, District Muzatfarnagar. In the second year of the establishment ot the Dar al-Ulum, when the Quran class was started in 1284 / 1867, he was appointed its teacher and for nearly 55 years i.e till 1339/1920, he taught this class and produced a vast circle of Huffaaz including several teachers of the Dar al-Ulum.
5. This was the earliest stage of the life of the Dar at-Ulum but it seems from John Palmer’s sentence that the conditions and particulars of the Dar al-Ulum were published prominently in the newspapers, which means that even in those incipient days the Dar at-Ulum was deemed to have achieved a central and distinguished position.
6. Most probably he was Shaikh al-Hind. He had completed his studies in 1290/1874 and had been appolnted as teacher without pay in A.H. 1291. Among those who graduated in A. H. 1290 / 1873, Shaikh al Hind alone was an inhabitant of Deoband. And he was very fond of hunting also. It is regrettable that the book under translation referred to by John Palmer could not be traced.
Note: Shaykh al-Hind Maulana Mahmud Hasan [may Allah be pleased with him] is not to be confused with another great Islamic scholar, Mufti Mahmud al-Hasan popularly referred to with the title ‘Faqeeh ul Ummah’ meaning ‘Jurist of the Muslim community’ who is also a graduate of Deoband. - Blog author.
7. That is Maulana Rafi al-Din, Vice Chancellor of the Dar al-Ulum from 1284 / 1867 to 1286 / 1869 and again from 1288 / 1871 to 1308 / 1888.
This letter is a translation from the Urdu version of John Palmer’s letter. As a spy he might have known Urdu and Persian well. Unfortunately the compiler of this history. Maulana S. M. Rizwi died of heart failure on 25th March, 1979 otherwise he could have supplied the original English text, if there was any. – Murtaz Husain F. Quraishi, the translator of the book into English.
[Source: Pg. 135, Volume 1, History of Dar al Ulum Deoband, by Sayyid Mahboob Rizvi and translated into English by Prof. Murtaz Husain F. Quraishi]
@ http://theijtema.wordpress.com/2012/12/08/the-amazing-story-of-an-english-spy-at-dar-al-ulum-deoband-1875/
This is the outcome of the fear of Allah and being conscious of accountability in the court of Allah. The following is a must read for all and hope to be a lesson for many in our society—-Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
Gulf News-Manama: An expatriate working as a street sweeper in Makkah saw his life change in a blink during the Haj season after his estranged brother sought to make amends for wronging him by returning his share of the family fortune.
The Bangladeshi man was sweeping Taneem Street in Makkah when an old man wearing the Ihram cloth of Haj pilgrims crossed the busy road and embraced him warmly much to the perplexity of passersby. However, the sweeper returned the embrace, indicating his familiarity with the older man.
The embrace in fact was between two brothers who had not seen each other for more than five years in the aftermath of a bitter dispute over inheritance rights, Saudi news site Sabq reported. The two men were from a wealthy family in Bangladesh, but the older brother had refused to give his sibling his share of the inheritance estimated at 17 million Saudi riyals (Dh 16.64 million) in cash in addition to several properties.
The older man even managed to have his younger brother sent to prison whenever he asked for his share. The younger brother, disappointed and dejected, opted to leave Bangladesh and work as a sweeper in the holy city of Makkah. As it turns out, the sweeper has become a millionaire in his home country.
He told the people who gathered around him and his brother that he had forgiven his brother who had apologised profusely for mistreating him and that he was ready to return home.
The older man said that he had been diagnosed with cancer and that he was not sure how long he would live.
He reportedly looked for his brother in several places to ask for his forgiveness and make amends for all the years of deprivation he was forced to endure. He even offered financial rewards to whoever could help him locate his brother.
According to the news site, the younger brother said he was ready to forget the past and move forward with his new life. “I will always be kind with the poor and the needy,” he said. “I have learned a lot about deprivation and poverty in the last five years. I will always be fair with everyone after I lived through years of injustice,” he said in Arabic, a language he learned during the time he spent sweeping the streets of Makkah.
@GulfNews.com
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There are 15 places wherein the opinion of Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) conformed to revelation.
There are nine instances in which verses were revealed exactly as Hadhrat Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) had suggested.
1. Maqaam Ibraahim: wherein Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) told Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam), “Why don’t you make the Maqaam Ibraahim (Alayhis salaam) a prayer place?” Allah revealed the Aayat, “And the Maqaam of Ibrahim (Alayhis salaam) a prayer place.” (Baqarah 124)
2. Hijaab: Hadhrat Aaisha (Radhiallaahu Anha) said that after the laws of Hijaab were implemented, Hadhrat Sawda (Radhiallaahu Anha) went out for some need. Despite being covered, she could still be recognised. Hence, Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) recognised her and said, “O Sawda, look at how you have come out, by Allah you cannot hide.” Sawda (Radhiallaahu Anha) immediately went to Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) who was eating at the house of Aaisha (Radhiallaahu Anha). Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) had a bone in his hand. Sawda (Radhiallaahu Anha) told Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) that she had went out for some need and Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) told her such and such. Hadhrat Aaisha (Radhiallaahu Anha) narrates that the bone was still in the hand of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) and he hadn’t yet placed it when Wahy (revelation) came to Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam). After the revelation was complete, Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) told the women that they have been given permission to go out for need only if they are properly covered. (Mazaahirul Haqq vol.9 pg.430)
3. Prisoners of Badr: Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) made Mashwara with the Sahaaba (Radhiallaahu Anhum) regarding the prisoners. Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) said, “O Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam), these Kuffaar should be killed by chopping their necks.” Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) accepted the opinion of Abu Bakr (Radhiallaahu Anhu) to free them and take a ransom. The Aayaat, “It is not for a prophet that he have prisoners of war…” (Anfaal 67) was revealed.
4. Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) told the wives of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam), “Either you will refrain from displeasing Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) or Allah Ta’ala will replace you with wives who will be better than you…” Then a similar Aayaat was revealed, “It may be if he divorced you that his Lord will grant him instead of you, wives better than you.” (Al-Tahrim 5)
5. When Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) separated from his wives in an enclosure, Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) told Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam), “If you divorce your wives, then Allah Ta’ala and Jibraaeel (Alayhis salaam) and myself and Abu-bakr and the believers are with you.” Then Allah Ta’ala revealed a similar Aayat, “but if you help one another against him (Muhammad), then verily Allah is his Mawla (Lord) and Jibraaeel and the righteous among believers and angels are his helpers…” (Al-Tahrim 4)
6. When Abdullah ibn Ubayy (a Munaafiq) passed away, then Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) wanted to perform his Janaaza Salaat. Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) held the clothes of Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) and prevented him from doing so. Allah Ta’ala revealed, “And never (O Muhammad) pray (funeral prayer) for any of them (hypocrites) who dies.” (Tawbah 84)
7. When the Aayat, “Even if you ask forgiveness for them 70 times, Allah will not forgive them.” (Tawbah 80). Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) said, “Definitely, I will increase upon 70″ and he began making Istighfaar for them. Then Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) said, “O Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam), Allah will not forgive them at all whether you make Istighfaar for them or not.” Then, the Aayat, “It is equal to them whether you (Muhmmad) ask for forgiveness or ask not forgiveness for them. Allah will never forgive them.” (Munaafiqoon 6)
8. When the Aayat, “And We created man (Adam) out of an extract of clay. Thereafter, We made him as a Nutfah…” (Surah Mu’minoon 12-14) came, Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) remarked, “Glory be to Allah, the best of all creators.” The same Aayat was revealed. According to some narrations, Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) exclaimed, “Are you increasing on the Qur’aan, O Umar?” Thereafter, Jibraaeel (Alayhis salaam) descended with revelation and said to Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) that is the completion of those Aayaats.
9. When Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) made Mashwara with the Sahaaba (Radhiallaahu Anhum) regarding Aaisha (Radhiallaahu Anha) when the incident of Ifk (accusation of Zina took place), Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) asked Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam), “Who has made your Nikah to her O Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam)?” Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) replied, “Allah Ta’ala.” Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) said, “Do you think that your Lord deceived you on that? Glory be to You (Allah), this is a great lie.” (Noor 16) Then Allah Ta’ala revealed the exact same words.
There are four Aayats revealed which were similar to the opinion offered by Hadhrat Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu).
The Aayaats were not exactly like the opinions of Hadhrat Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) as in the previous nine Aayaats.
1. Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) said to the Jews: “I implore you in the name of Allah! Do you find the description of Muhammad (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) in your books?” They replied, “Yes.” He then asked them, “What is stopping you from following him?” They said, “Verily Allah does not send a messenger except that there is an angel appointed for him. Verily, Jibraaeel (Alayhis salaam) is the one who has been appointed for Muhammad (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) and he is our enemy from the angels, and Mikaaeel is our friend. If he had been with Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam), we would have followed him.” Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) then told them, “Verily, I bear witness that Mikaaeeel does not have animosity for the friends of Jibraaeel (Alayhis salaam) and Jibraaeel (Alayhis salaam) does not befriend the enemies of Mikaaeel (Alayhis salaam).” The Aayat, “Say (O Muhammad), whoever is an enemy to Jibraaeel (Alayhis salaam) (let him die in his fury), for indeed he has brought it (Qur’aan) down to your heart by Allah’s permission confirming what came before it and (offers) guidance and glad tidings for the believers. Whoever is an enemy to Allah, His angels, His messengers, Jibraaeel and Mikaaeel, then verily Allah is an enemy to the disbelievers.” (Baqarah 98)
2. Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) was desperate for wine to become Haraam and he used to say, “O Allah explain for us regarding wine, because verily it destroys wealth and intelligence.” Then the Aayat, “They ask you (Muhammad) about wine and gambling; say, in them is a great sin and some benefit, but the sin is greater than their benefit.” (Baqarah 219). Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) recited this Aayat to Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu), but he did not find clarity; hence, he said, “O Allah, explain to us clearly.” Then the Aayat, “O you who believe, do not come close to Salaat whilst you are intoxicated.” (Nisaa 43). Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) read this Aayat to him, but he did not find proper clarity still so he said, “O Allah explain to us regarding wine very clearly.” Then the Aayat, “O you who believe, intoxicants and gambling … are an abomination of Shaytaan… so avoid it.” (Maaidah 90). Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) read this to Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu). Then Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) finally stated, “We have stopped, O our Lord, we have stopped.”
3. Abdullah ibn Abbaas (Radhiallaahu Anhu) narrates that once Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) sent a person from the Ansaar to Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) during the afternoon to call him. When he came to Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu), he found Umar in such a condition that Umar disliked anybody seeing him. Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) then said, “O Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam), I hope Allah Ta’ala commands us and directs us regarding the aspect of seeking permission.” Thereafter the Aayat, “O you who believe, let your slaves and those among you who have not come to the age of puberty ask permission (before coming to your presence) on three occasions: before Fajr, while you put off your clothes for noonday rest…” (Noor 58)
4. When the Aayat, “(in the gardens of delight) a multitude of those will be from the first generation. And a few from later generation.” (Waaqiah 13) was revealed, Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) began to cry and said, “O Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) and little from the later generations. We believe in the messenger of Allah and testify in him and which little from us will be saved?” Then Allah Ta’ala revealed the Aayat, “A multitude will be from the first generations and a multitude from the later generations.” (Waaqiah 39-40). Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) then called him and told him that Allah Ta’ala has revealed what you said.
There were two opinions of Hadhrat Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) which the Jews confirmed to be in the Tawrah.
1. Tariq ibn Shihaab (Radhiallaahu Anhu) narrates that a Jew came to Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) and asked him, “Do you see the Aayat of Allah in the Qur’aan? ‘and hasten to forgiveness from your Lord and a Jannat whose width is the skies and earth. It is prepared for the muttaqeen (God-fearing).’ (Aali Imraan 133)
“In that case, where is the fire, i.e. Jahannum?” Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) told the other Sahaaba (Radhiallaahu Anhu) that were present to answer him, but none of them could answer. Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) then said to him, “Do you notice the day when it comes, doesn’t it fill the skies and earth?” He replied, “Yes, indeed.” Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) then asked him, “Then where is the night?” he replied, “to wherever Allah Ta’ala wishes.” Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) then told him (in the same way) “the fire is also wherever he wishes it to be.” The Jew then took an oath saying to Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) that, “O Ameerul Mu’mineen, verily it has been revealed in the book of Allah in the same way.”
2. It has been narrated that Ka’ab Ahbaar (a famous Jewish rabbi) once said to Umar, “Destruction to the king of the world from the King of the sky.” Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) said, “with the exception of that person who restrains himself.” Ka’ab then said, “By oath on that being in whose hands is my life, verily I have found it in the book of Allah.” Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) then fell into Sajdah for Allah.
(Irshaad-us-saari vol.10 pg.518; Ilmiyyah)
and Allah Ta’ala Knows Best
Mufti Ebrahim Desai,
FATWA DEPT.
