After reading the news in the papers about the despairing
situation faced by deeni madaris and the ulem-e-haq, the whole
story of Daarul Uloom Deoband flashes through my mind: the
verdict of Shah Abdul Aziz Muhaddith Dehalvi rahimuhullahu
ta'ala decreeing Hindustan Daarul Harab; the war of Independence
1857; the country-wide rebellion against British rule; the
jihadi battleground of Shamili;; the British occupancy of
Delhi; the murder of the princes and the common public; the
desolation of the khanqah's (convents) and madaris; martyred
ulema and scholars hanging from the gallows; torn bodies;
the notorious jail of Kala Pani; the confiscation of property;
the carousing of rebels; the luxuries of time-servers; hard
trials for the caravans of Right and faithfulness; the anxiety
for the protection of dear Imaan; the endeavors of Christian
missionaries; the curse of the 'Padri Fund'; the impudence
of Swami Dianand Sarsoti; the sacrilege concerning our dearest
Prophet Muhammad sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam and the Azwaje-Mutahharaat
radhiyallahu ta'ala 'anhuma; books like 'Siyarath Parkash'
that criticized every surah of the Quran from Bismillah to
Wan-Naas. On one hand the priests were striving to change
Hindustan into a Christian state and on the other people like
Sarsoti were busy in efforts to change people to Arians and
Muslims to apostates. He had scores of students who on the
same track vilified Islam and challenged the Muslims.
They thought Islam a flickering flame that they could snub
out in Hindustan with their blows. This was the time when
some wise Muslims deduced with their spiritual insight that
if no solution was found to the situation, Muslims would soon
be ensnared by these satanic priests and pundits. Thereof,
HujjatulIslam Hadhrat Nanotvi rahimuhullahu ta'ala and his
companions inaugurated a madrasah under a pomegranate tree
of the Chhatta Masjid in Deoband. The gathering consisted
of one teacher and one student; coincidentally the teacher
and student were both called Mahmood; the aim and action both
laudable. When the news was given to Haji Imdadullah Sahib
Mahajir MAkki rahimuhullahu ta'ala, and a request made for
the madrasah they had founded in Deoband, he replied, "SubhanAllah!
You say you have founded a madrasah, what you don't know is
how many foreheads prostrate and implore Allah in the night
that 'O God! Create a source for the continuance of Islam
and the protection of knowledge in Hindustan'. This madrasah
is the fruit of these pre-dawn supplications."
Darul Uloom Deoband was a blessed tree whose lush green branches
spread throughout the world; it was a flame which lighted
countless other flames; millions of people have quenched their
thirst of the Prophet's knowledge from this fountain.
There was no proper madrasah here when Pakistan came into
being for the Muslims had left all their centers of knowledge
and propagation in Hindustan. This new country was being ransacked
and there was no regard for others; renowned members of the
Movement were busy in the allotment of plots, houses, property,
shops, and factories. There was chaos all round, everyone
remembered ownership and the new land but no one recalled
the spirit of the Movement and the reason for the new country.
Who could remember the masjid and the madrasah at such a time?
It was only the maulvi whose origin had been leavened with
their love: it was he who did not forget the masjid, or the
madrasah, nor did he put the Qur'an or hadith in a forgotten
recess of the mind, nor did he turn away from Allah and His
Messenger sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam. The people who did
not take a step without consultation with the maulvi, now
shied away from him because his dress, his countenance, his
temperament, and his talk did not seem to match with the new
country and its demands. The "babu loag" (modernists)
gradually drifted away from the maulvi, who had had them supplicate
at their marriages and their funerals but were now unwilling
to give them an effective role in the governing of the state.
Those who had given the most for the building of the nest
were directly or indirectly told that they had no right over
it.
The Padri Fund and the spirit of Dianand Sarsoti started raising
their heads here too: the ridicule of the symbols of Islam,
the rejection of the reasoning of hadith, the self concluded
explanations of the Quran, the degradation of Sunnah, making
fun of the religious, apostate movements in shape of NGO's……the
maulvi realized that the Independence Movement was still on.
Without doubt this piece of land was a great blessing from
Allah, but the real thanks would be when the Quran and Sunnah
ruled it. The maulvi could neither take up arms nor besiege
anyone; he did what he had done after the War of Independence
1857: he spread a net of madaris throughout the country. When
grand nawwabs were busy seizing property, the maulvi was working
hard at collecting straws for his net of madaris.
Even though contributors and donors were few and far between,
madaris grew in towns and villages until the echoes of "qaal
Allah wa qaal ar Rasool sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam"
could be heard from Karachi to Khayber. There were madaris
that did not have a building, hostel, or kitchen. The students
and teachers used to rest in the mosque and were fed twice
a day by neighbors or the well-to-do. There is no lack of
such madaris even today that do not have a proper building;
somewhere it's just a few mud rooms, somewhere it's beneath
the shade of trees, and somewhere it's under the thatched
lean-to of a mosque. The continuance of this teaching and
training is called a madrasah. The common man, even the rulers,
think that madrasah is the name of a particular boundary,
a magnificent building, a splendid hostel,, and attractive
classrooms……but this thought is erroneous. Madrasah
is not the name of a pile of blocks or cement, nor tall buildings
and decorated rooms; if that had been the case, that simple
platform (Suffah) would not have been called a madrasah whose
students conquered the world. Some of them became monarchs
and rulers of countries, some became generals who overthrew
the cruel rulers of East and West; some laid the foundations
of Islamic jurisprudence and Law, others made a name in devotion
and abstinence.
All of these generals, commanders, rulers, jurists, and sufia
were alumnae of the madrasah that had no building, no rows
of classrooms, no piles of books, no research labs or stores;
There was only this passion for knowledge, the light of Imaan
and sincerity in breasts, a strong structure for training,
affection and care in the hearts of teachers, respect and
love in the students', there was a fervor to do something.
A madrasah will be established wherever this "equipment"
is nearby.The maulvi sans madrasah is not a maulvi, the madrasah
sans the maulvi is not a madrasah; both are fixed together.
For a long time, and specially now, attempts have been underway
to sever the relation between these two and do away with the
"equipment". The Model Madaris seem to be one of
these attempts. "Modern Maulvis" are also being
brought to the fore but even the public is not ready to accept
them as such. A noose of fear and horror has been flung around
the madaris. From Anwarul Qur'an to Binnoria, from Jamiatur
Rashid to Jamia Faridia, the dead bodies of students and teachers
are thrashing about and asking, "For what crime are we
being murdered?" the rope is being tightened around supporters
of the madaris forcing some to hold back.
But the help of Allah for His deen has a pattern: one goes
and two come on the scene, one gets killed and two come forward
to fly the banner. If the people of the madaris hold tight
to the "eternal equipment", keep deen above this
dunya, hold fast to sincerity, the relation with Allah is
kept strong; wisdom and insight, determination and steadfastness
are kept side by side; the person is kept secondary to the
madrasah and group, the trust in collective wealth is not
broken, the madrasah is saved from becoming a business, unlawful
means are not taken to cajole higher ups…………….then
no one will be able to finish off the maulvi or the madrasah;
not American dollars, not British pounds, not the conspiracies
of agencies, no bullets or blasts, no arrests. But if God
forbid! This "Equipment" fails us, there will be
no need for any outside force or pressure; they will die their
own natural death. Yes, the buildings will be there, but be
warned: a building alone is certainly not a madrasah!!
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