Fuzla-i Deoband ki Qur’ani Khidmat (Urdu)

The history of Dar al-[Ulum, Deoband (hereafter Deoband), co-founded by Imam Muhammad Qasim Nanatwi (d.1880), is inseparable from its Qur’anic contribution since its establishment in 1866.

This book under review illustrates the institution’s global presence in the Islamic resurgence discourse. Tijarwi has succinctly discussed the visionary spirit of Deoband against the backdrop of British colonialism. Its founder, Muhammad Qasim Nanatwi, had envisioned an institution of higher Islamic learning committed to the preservation of the Islamic legacy under changing political circumstances.

Tijarwi has highlighted important points about the global profile of Deoband. Of interest here is its Qur’anic contribution, as its early plans already included the promotion of Qur’anic studies. In this perspective, its syllabus incorporated classical tafasir like those of Baydawi and the Jalalayn. Interestingly, there was no fixed notion of teaching a particular tafsir; instead, curriculum changes entailed a review of tafasir as prescribed texts.

One of the remarkable features of Deoband is its production of Qur’anic literature. No other Islamic institution has to its credit a plethora of tafsir publications and other works relevant to the Qur’an. Tijarwi has provided details of prominent Qur’anic works dating back to the early 1900s.

A brilliant exponent of Qur’anic and Hadith studies, Shaykh al-Hind produced an Urdu translation of the Qur’an, Muditi al-Furqan, which retained the essence of Shah [Abd al-Qadir’s Muditi al-Qur’an and simplified the latter’s concise marginal notes (tiawashi).