Mufti Taqi Uthmani on educational institutes and systems

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#1 [Permalink] Posted on 22nd March 2016 21:00

youtu.be/Skb--ane5Xk

m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10154176325652573&id=...

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#2 [Permalink] Posted on 23rd March 2016 04:03

Concerned wrote:

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Just started listening.

Sub-han Allah!

Somebody must translate it into English for global benefits.

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Muslim Ummah aspires to attain a rightful and honored place among the civilizations of the world and make our proportionate contribution towards international peace, progress and happiness of humanity.

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#3 [Permalink] Posted on 23rd March 2016 05:00

Meanwhile, my whole Iife I was made to think that deeni education and worldly educations are totally separate. Even Islamic schools make you come separate hours for maktab, Rather than incorporate the maktab syllabus into the school syllabus. The point being made here is that this separation was because of the specific conditions at that specific time in that specific region.

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#4 [Permalink] Posted on 23rd March 2016 05:03

The English translation is found at the Facebook link. The translator said it is just a draft , the final version is yet to be completed.

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#5 [Permalink] Posted on 23rd March 2016 13:15

some points i thought would be beneficial to reiterate:
The Shari'ah has stipulated that it is not an individual obligation (Fard al-’Ayn) to become a scholar (‘alim), rather it is a communal obligation (Fard al-Kifayah). However, it is an individual obligation to learn the basic obligations of the Deen and it is incumbent upon every Muslim to learn it. So the education system was such that every Muslim would receive the education in which they would learn their individual obligations and then if they wanted to pursue higher in the religious sciences then they had those opportunities available and if a student wanted to pursue higher studies in the worldly sciences then they had those opportunities available as well. the curriculum then included the religious sciences along with all the other worldly sciences that are now called the ‘Asri ‘Uloom
One would not be able to distinguish who is the scholar of religious sciences and who is the scholar of worldly sciences by their appearances. Their appearance, their clothing, their culture, their manner of speaking was similar. Both used to pray, both used to know the issues of Salah, and both used to know the issues of Fasting. Among the Muslims, one group that is graduating from this system does not even know their individual obligations (Fard al-’Ayn. They have been conditioned to think that if you want to progress and think then you must look towards the West (for guidance).
Acquiring knowledge once used to be a respectable venture to serve the people, to serve the creation of God and that was the actual objective of learning. Today, the sole objective of seeking knowledge is for economic gains, to learn as much as you can so that you can take as much wealth out of other people’s pockets. Look around and notice how many people are studying and graduating with Master’s degrees and PhD degrees. They are studying so that they can have a good career, so that they can get a good job, so that they can earn more money.
We do not trust these politicians, their governments, and their laws, and in the near future we don’t even have any hope of having such a trust, we will defend these madaris in shaa Allah, and we will continue them on the path that our elders of Darululoom Deoband had established.

some people might try to use Mufti Saheb's speech to justify their own ideas...reminds of when some brothers would give jumuah khutbahs and duroos in our uni and quote ayaat and ahadith about virtues of pursuing ilm when talking about studying...
but all of us who have studied in western universities and come from families where secular education is stressed so much know the reality....there is no arshi uloom in these places...you will never be an Alim (a scholar of divine knowledge) by completing a bachelors, masters, doctorate in the secular sciences...
-many Muslim students have taken interest-based loans to pay for their tuition. many graduates are paying interest every month now, not able to pay zakah or go on Hajj.
-music is unavoidable on campus. blaring on speakers in the main lobbies or on the street. playing in the classrooms sometimes.
-you cannot regularly pray zuhr and asr salah with jamat because of classes or labs. many Muslims simply pray qadha and think it is justifiable. maghrib and isha are hard too if you study in a group of people who don't take salah seriosuly.
-you cannot guard your gaze. forget the thousands of gandi students, even the TA's and profs who you have to stare at for hours are dressed provocatively. you will be in khalwa many times with people of the opposite gender.
-your teachers or "asatiza" and the authors of your texts are mostly disbelievers, many are hardcore anti-Islam. this doesn't matter much for stem majors but very much for those in the liberal arts. most muslims, especially the girls, who go into the liberal arts become MESSED UP, this is a reality, many end up as "cultural muslims".
-like mufti saheb, the real reason we all got an education was to acquire money and prestige for ourselves and our parents drilled this into us. there is no ikhlas whatsoever. premed students are the worst, every good deed they do is so that they can add it to their resume. how many times did our parents yell or hit us for getting low marks but didn't care if we slept through fajr? secular education is huge business, even disbelievers acknowledge this, all the ulterior motives are worldly.
--copying assignments and homework, have others do it for you. This Is all cheating and dishonesty.
-we learnt thermodynamics, microeconomics, biochemistry, etc. we don’t know the basics of fiqh and aqeedah and tajweed. We rarely recite Qur’an, pray nafl, make zikr, etc. Hours would go by while in class, or in labs, or tests or pulling all-nighters without Allah Ta'ala crossing our minds.

Our “Islamic” grade schools for children are not much better. Lack of religious knowledge and tarbiyah, Segregation is lax. Even the ones in Muslim countries aren’t that great either.
So I laugh at anyone who thinks we are gaining “ilm” and doing a good deed in and of itself by learning secular knowledge. However, the madrasah student who is learning advanced texts gets ajr even if he doesn’t put it into practice and he is a guest of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
It will take a looong time and a lot of effort to marry the two streams togethers. Until then, like Mufti Saheb said, we have to continue on the path of our elders…instead of berating Ulama like many juhhal do. The only people I see making this sincere effort are those pakka tablighi brothers on campus, they are the only ones on campus whose hearts are not in ghaflah, who understand “I am Muslim first, then a professional”, who are trying to sincerely please Allah Ta’ala.

some madrasa graduates are going to university now. some say it is for da'wah, others to get whatever beneficial knowledge the West has to offer in that particular field. Allahu a'lam how true their intentions are One maulana when asked why, honestly replied that the salary of an Imam isn't enough. Maulanas Abdul Hamid Essack and Maulana Fazlur-Rahman Azmi are totally against studying Ulama going to university. I heard some Ulama in UK encourage it though.

what's better than trying to put deen in secular institutions like most are doing is to put secular studies in madrasah....but which teaching graduate wants to get paid the pennies madrasah asatiza are awarded? so very few madrasahs have legitimate maths, science, language classes. if professionals truly had ikhlas they would go the madrasah and volunteer to teach and devote their lives like these ulama and asatiza do with little [material] to gain in return. instead with their 5,6 digit salaries and comfortable careers, giving a few hours of the week at most to deen, they criticize those in the madaris.

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#6 [Permalink] Posted on 23rd March 2016 13:22

Isn't Mufti sahib speaking about incorporating Islamic and secular studies such that both are studied simultaneously at the same institute ? I am not sure up to which level he is refering to though.

What does that have to do with all that you posted?

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#7 [Permalink] Posted on 23rd March 2016 13:34

Concerned wrote:

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many Muslims try to prove that secular studies is also ilm (divine knowledge). and they are going to use Mufti Saheb's comments to do so. his comments aren't new, many people have talked about this before. but the same people put secular studies on a much higher pedestal than ilm. we still have fuqaha and muhadditheen but we have no ibn rushds in our schools of philosophy and ibn sinas in our med schools.

this is what i wanted to mention. anyways, mufti saheb's feeling aren't new. but he might be the first "muttaqi, Allah-wala, traditional" Alim to say so so people might twist his comments in order to convince others.

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#8 [Permalink] Posted on 23rd March 2016 14:22

Aslkm,
Wonderful thoughts by Maulana db,
intentions play an important role here.
if a student studying medical ,engineering etc make an intention that he ll study his field & serve it for the growth of Islam, then the whole scenario can be changed.

also in asri taalim( secular education) at least we have to teach Islamic basics that, one cannot differentiate between aalim & student from his physical appearance.

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#9 [Permalink] Posted on 24th March 2016 10:10

kanzoorbhai wrote:

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Assalamu Alaykum,

Dear brother, you have made some wonderful points. I come from exactly the same school of thought like you have. Infact I quit higher secular education and got into Dars-e-Nizami, for exactly the same reasons like you wrote. How can I be seeking "Ilm" in a wordly environment full of sins, and that too for making a carrier full of money?

And your points about secular education in the west are again spot on. The amount of fitnah that exists in those places. I am sure many people would again try to twist Hazrat Mufti Sahab's views to justify their own definitions.

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#10 [Permalink] Posted on 24th March 2016 10:31

Since everyone seems to be focussing on the possibly of people using Mufti Sahibs words for their own agendas, please explain what Mufti Sahib is saying and actually calling for. Jazak Allah

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#11 [Permalink] Posted on 24th March 2016 15:02

Concerned wrote:

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The education related to worldly affairs, that is becoming secular, due to our ignorance, and some weaknesses also, needs to be islamized. This is the point.

Use of word "skill" for engineering etc etc instead of "ilm" seems okay, but not the word "secular (la deen)".

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Fa laqad Alimtu bi anna afwaka a'zamu

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#12 [Permalink] Posted on 25th March 2016 04:05

From what i gather, What you all are saying may be true, but Mufi Sahib is speaking about the way forward to solve these problems. Some people think the current separation between the two branches of knowledge is the ideal situation and the way it should remain, and this speech says the opposite.

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#13 [Permalink] Posted on 2nd February 2020 08:17

The State of the Education System in the Muslim World by Mufti Taqi Usmani

Posted on March 23, 2016

Translated by Umer Ansari | Lecture originally given in Urdu

[After salutations, peace and blessings upon Prophet Muhammad]

Peace be upon you all,

Today we have gathered here at the Hira Foundation for the Hifz program ceremony. What is the background of the Hira Foundation? The President of the University (Darululoom Karachi), Grand Mufti of Pakistan, my respected brother Mufti Rafi Usmani has stated on numerous occasions, and I have also been able to mention what my father (Mufti Shafi Usmani) had once stated at a gathering: “After the creation of Pakistan, we need a new education system.”

Before the creation of Pakistan, there were three major education systems that were in effect (in South Asia):

The system of Darululoom Deoband
The system of Aligarh Muslim University
The system of Darululoom Nadwatul Ulama

In 1950 or 1951, my father said that after the creation of Pakistan, we do not need Aligarh, Nadwa, or Deoband (education systems), rather we need a different education system that follows through from our predecessors (aslaf). It was strange for people to hear that a Grand Mufti of Deoband would say that we do not need Deoband, instead we need a new education system.

Akbar Allahabadi had commented on these three major systems that were prevalent in India:
قلب یخزاں ہے مثال دیوبند , اور ندوه ہے زبان ہوشمند
اب علیگڑہ کی بهی تم تمثیل لو , ایک مہزب پیٹ تم اس کو کهو

This is how he commented on these three major education systems.

In reality, my father’s statement was a very deep one and the result of not understanding it, we now face great many misunderstandings (and confusion). These three education systems in India were not natural or organic, rather they were a reaction to an education system that was brought by the British and their (colonial) plans. If we are to look at our centuries long education system, we will not find any difference between the madrasa and the school. From the very beginning until colonialism, we find that the schools or universities that were established, they would provide religious education as well as the worldly education together [1].

The Shari’ah has stipulated that it is not an individual obligation (Fard al-’Ayn) to become a scholar (‘alim), rather it is a communal obligation (Fard al-Kifayah) [2]. In a town or a country, if there are enough scholars then the communal obligation has been fulfilled. However, it is an individual obligation to learn the basic obligations of the Deen and it is incumbent upon every Muslim to learn it. So the education system was such that every Muslim would receive the education in which they would learn their individual obligations and then if they wanted to pursue higher studies they could. If a student wanted to pursue their higher studies in the religious sciences then they had those opportunities available and if a student wanted to pursue higher studies in the worldly sciences then they had those opportunities available as well.

Few days ago, my older brother Mufti Rafi Usmani was in Morocco. Last year I witnessed it and this year my brother saw it as well. There are two cities in Morocco- Marrakesh and Fes. I was in the city of Fes last year, and my brother visited it this year, and there is a university called University of Qayrawan that is still operational. If we are to look into the history of our major universities, we find four major universities:

The University of Qayrawan in Fes, Morrocco
The University of Zaytuna in Tunis, Tunisia
The University of Al-Azhar in Cairo, Egypt
The University of Darululoom Deoband in Deoband, India.

The Qayrawan University was established in the 3rd century Hijrah (i.e. 9th century CE) in the city of Fes. It is recorded in its history, it is claimed and I haven’t found any other claim against it that it is not only the oldest university of the Muslim world, rather it is the oldest university in the entire world! What does this mean? It means that in the Qayrawan University, the curriculum then included the religious sciences like Tafsir, Hadith, Fiqh, along with Medicine, Mathematics, Astronomy and all the other worldly sciences that are now called the ‘Asri ‘Uloom [3].

Ibn Khaldun, Ibn Rushd (Averroes), and Qadi ‘Iyad had taught there, along with a long list of our predecessors (aslaf), and their teaching spots are preserved to this day! The spot where Ibn Khaldun and Ibn Rushd taught, the spot where Qadi ‘Iyad gave lectures, and the spot where Ibn al-’Arabi al-Maliki taught, all of their spots are still preserved! This is one of the oldest university of the world. The smaller madaris would certainly have existed but the Qayrawan University existed as a university where all the religious and worldly sciences were taught (under one roof). Even today, the University has replicas of the scientific inventions that were developed in the 3rd and the 4th century Hijrah from that university. Legendary Islamic religious scholars learned from this university along with the famous philosopher Ibn Rushd and major scientists of that era.

The system was designed as such to provide the obligatory education to everyone and then for higher studies in religious studies the student would take relevant classes or for mathematics, medicine or other worldly sciences, the student would take those classes within the same Qayrawan University. Similar was the case in Zaytuna University (in Tunis) and Al-Azhar University (in Egypt).

These three of our oldest universities had such an education system that you would see Qadi ‘Iyad, who is the Imam of Hadith and Sunnah, and Ibn Khaldun, who is the Imam of History, both looked the same. One would not be able to distinguish who is the scholar of religious sciences and who is the scholar of worldly sciences by their appearances. Their appearance, their clothing, their culture, their manner of speaking was similar. If you look at our scientists like Farabi, Ibn Rushd, and al-Biruni, their appearance was the same as our Mufassireen, Muhadditheen and Fuqaha. Both used to pray, both used to know the issues of Salah, and both used to know the issues of Fasting. So the basic foundational knowledge that is an individual obligation upon every Muslim, was known to all the Muslims and it was taught to all the pupils across the board.

The separation (between the religious and the worldly sciences) occurred when the British came with their education system and according to a well thought out plan and conspiracy [4], they removed the Deen from the land. Facing this our elders were compelled to react to safeguard the knowledge of individual obligations of the Muslims and they established Darululoom Deoband. However, the reality (of our education system) was that which had existed in the Qayrawan University, Zaytuna University and in the preliminary days of Al-Azhar University.

If Pakistan would have been truly a Muslim state, then as my father had stated, we would not have needed Aligarh, Nadwa or Darululoom Deoband, instead we would have needed Qayrawan and Zaytuna University. A university that would have been the center of learning for all of the various sciences and all of its graduates having the same foundation of the Deen, whether they become engineer, doctor, or thread the path in any other field.

The education system that was imposed upon us, it only taught us to be intellectually enslaved and made us into slaves. Akbar Allahabadi had truly stated:
اب علیگڑہ کی بهی تم تمثیل لو , ایک مہزب پیٹ تم اس کو کهو
(The similitude of Aligarh is like a respected belly)

This system was only to fill up our bellies and made a means of just earning, and as a result, the entire rich history and tradition of the Muslims was completely destroyed. The result of this is the great divide evident among the Muslims, where one group that is graduating from this system does not even know their individual obligations (Fard al-’Ayn), they don’t know what their individual obligations are, they are completely unaware of it. Secondly, they have been conditioned to think that if you want to progress and think then you must look towards the West (for guidance). Thirdly, their entire culture has been overturned where they have been conditioned to think that if they want to progress they can only achieve in the environment and in the manner of the West.

It is sad to see that those who graduate from such education system, or earn their doctorate or become professor, they criticize the students of knowledge like us on a daily basis, that we have closed the doors of Ijtihad, as in the Qur’an, Sunnah and Fiqh, Ijithad used to have a significant place. However, there were fields where the doors of Ijtihad were wide open, for example in science, technology, mathematics and other worldly sciences, and no one had closed the doors of Ijithad for them in such fields. With the help of Aligarh University and with the help of the education from Aligarh University, why were they not able to prepare Mujtahids that could compete the scientists from the West? Why did they not prepare Mujtahids that could have done Ijtihad in the field of medicine and made a new development in that field? Or those who could have contributed in the field of Astronomy? The fields that were wide open, they didn’t do Ijtihad in it and didn’t contribute anything, but when it comes to the Qur’an and the Sunnah, where Ijtihad must be exercised within its prescribed limits, there they complain that Ulema do not do Ijtihad.

Few days ago, a fellow forwarded me a clip in which a religious scholar was being questioned: “Mawlana sahib, the contribution of Ulema is known but why is it that there has not been any scientist or doctor or new invention from the Ulema? What do you have to say about this?”

Oh servant of God, you should have questioned yourself that from the education that you have received, has their been a Mujtahid that had invented a new thing? Here, the doors of Ijtihad are sealed in such a manner that whenever anything that is said by the Englishmen, it is accepted without any fact checking. If the West says that something is harmful to your health, then so it is; and if they say otherwise then so it becomes? For a couple of years, it was being said that the egg yolk increases cholesterol and thus harmful for the body, but now suddenly all the doctors are saying that egg yolk is fine to consume and there is no harm. Why is that? It is so because the West said that it is fine to consume, so you accepted that it must be true. There are plenty of herbs across our lands, why have you never researched them to find their medicinal use? The Prophet mentioned the benefits of black cumin (kalonji), why have you never researched on it? Here the doors of Ijtihaad have been sealed shut, instead they demand why (Ulema do not do) Ijtihad in the Qur’an and the Sunnah. So this is the system of enslavement that has brought us to this stage.

Acquiring knowledge once used to be a respectable venture to serve the people, to serve the creation of God and that was the actual objective of learning. If through this venture a person would get any economic gains that would have been a side benefit. Today, the sole objective of seeking knowledge is for economic gains, to learn as much as you can so that you can take as much wealth out of other people’s pockets. Your knowledge is only beneficial if you can earn more than other people. Look around and notice how many people are studying and graduating with Master’s degrees and PhD degrees. Look at their thinking as to why they are studying? They are studying so that they can have a good career, so that they can get a good job, so that they can earn more money.

The concept of education has been overturned by making the purpose of learning to just earn money. There is no concept of serving the community and humanity in this education system. The result is that everyone is engaged in a race to earn more and more, and they don’t have any concern for their country or their nation, or a desire to serve the people or the humanity. They are busy day and night to earn as much as they can, so much so that people have resorted to deceit, theft, and murder. From the people who have graduated from this system, how many have served the humanity and benefited the people?

We were taught by the Messenger of Allah not to make ourselves engrossed in this dunya, and not to make this dunya our sole objective, however, this education system flipped that worldview. So my respected father used to say this worldview that has been overturned after the enslavement to the British, we need to re-overturn it and go back to thread the path that was shown to us by Qayrawan University and Zaytuna University and the path that was shown to us by the early days of Al-Azhar University, as it’s system has also been overturned (from its legacy).

Since we couldn’t get that system established from the government level, we at least tried to preserve the system of Darululoom Deoband, and because of that, madaris were established. Since we do not trust these politicians, their governments, and their laws, and in the near future we don’t even have any hope of having such a trust, we will defend these madaris in shaa Allah, and we will continue them on the path that our elders of Darululoom Deoband had established.

However, we want our people to step by step move towards that system that we once had, and towards that end, you have watched the presentation. By the grace of God, we have madaris spread across the nation (of Pakistan) and they are fulfilling the communal obligation, and they are probably just a 1% of the nation. The 99% of the nation that is going to the prevalent system, and the way they are becoming intellectually enslaved to the Englishmen; I often speak to the male and female teachers of the Hira Foundation that for God’s sake take this generation out of this intellectual enslavement, and that you have to give them a perception that we are a free people and a free nation and possess freedom of thought, and that we follow the teachings of the Messenger of Allah. This is why we had established the Hira Foundation.

Not everything that comes from the West is bad, as there are things that are also good. So take the good that the West has, and leave the bad that they have. If we act on this principle then we can reach our desired destination.

Iqbal has commented on this in beautiful [Persian] couplets:
“The progress of the West is not because of their musical instruments or their beautiful female dancers,
The progress of the West is because of their hard labor in learning and in seeking knowledge.
The wisdom and knowledge is not attained through the kind of clothes one wears,
If you wear a turban, it will not prevent you from attaining knowledge or skill.”

So this is the vision for which the Hira Foundation was established and it has achieved many milestones as you have seen (in the presentation), although it is only a beginning. Honestly, because of my son I shouldn’t be saying this, Allah enabled Mr. Imran Ashraf sahib to have special desire and with a lot of hard work with his colleague Mufti Mujeeb sahib that they have worked hard to make this institution a successful one. Due to the circumstances, this school has been established as an English medium, although my personal opinion is that the education should be in one’s own mother tongue. However, there is a culture now of this and to attract such parents, we have made it an English medium school, and with that there are Hifz classes and Arabic classes, and we are also trying to teach Urdu up to a good level.

We ask Allah to accept this.

[End of the speech]

Link of the original lecture: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Skb–ane5Xk

Footnotes:

[1] ‘Asri ‘Uloom (عصری علوم) has been translated as worldly sciences or worldly education.
[2] Fard al-’Ayn (فرض العین) is an individual obligation that every Muslim is obligated to know about and fulfill it. For example, the 5 daily obligatory prayers.
Fard al-Kifayah (فرض الکفایه) is a communal obligation. If a significant people from a community fulfill it then it is fulfilled on behalf of the entire community, but if no one fulfills it then the entire community is sinful. Example of this is the Funeral Prayer.
[3] See the footnote [1] above.
[4] Reference is being made to the Lord MaCaulay plan that systematically removed Persian, Urdu and Arabic as a language of instruction, and forced English as a language of instruction in the schools in the British India.

(Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani addressed in Adae Shuker ceremony on 15 March 2016 organized by the Hira Foundation School in Karachi, Pakistan).

Source : WordPress Blog : Ruhani Qalb

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#14 [Permalink] Posted on 2nd February 2020 16:10

Maripat wrote:

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BACK TO QAYRAWAN, ZAYTUNA AND AL-
AZHAR?
In his bayaan, Hadhrat Mufti Taqi Sahib said: “We need to go back to
the path shown to us by Qayrawan University, Zaytuna University and
the early path of Al-Azhar.”
This is indeed a grave misunderstanding which is the basis of a
massive miscalculation. It is not a solution for the degenerate
condition of the Ummah incrementally sinking further and further into
the quagmire of humiliation and enslavement which gross rebellion
and treachery against Allah Ta’ala have created. The
misunderstanding is the erroneous idea that our history – the history
of the Ummah – commenced in the third Islamic century, hence we
should take our directive from Qayrawan and from the other entitities
which came into existence much later. Based on this
misunderstanding, the solution for the ills of the Ummah is believed to
be Qayrawan, as if that ever was the fountainhead of Islam and its
rapid advance and domination over the world.
The history of the Ummah was initiated with the advent of the
proclamation of Tauheed by Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam).
Thus, the history of the Muslim Ummah commenced from the Makki
era, not even from the Hijri time. We have to find the solutions for our
problems and our rot in the entire history of the Sunnah which
includes the pre-Hijrat Makki era. In fact, today this Ummah
wandering aimlessly in a raging ocean of humiliation, degeneration,
immorality and impotency is more in need of the Sunnah which
prevailed during the Makki era.
Relative to the Sunnah of Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam),
Qayrawan, Zaytuna and Azhar have no significance. The cure for the
ills of the Ummah is not in a reversion to whatever educational system
was in vogue at the time in these institutions.
The honourable Hadhrat Mufti Taqi Sahib has not correctly applied
his mind to fathom the diseases besetting the Ummah, nor has he
correctly understood the solution, hence he believes that our history
commenced with Qayrawan. The solution is never “back to
Qayrawan”. The one and only solution is “Back to the Sunnah”, and
the Sunnah commenced three centuries prior to the advent of
Qayrawan. The system of Qayrawan was not the Sunnah system which
was revealed by Allah Ta’ala for the guidance, success and victory of
the Ummah.
The philosophers, Ibn Rushd and Farabi were kufr mongers. They
have nothing to offer the Ummah. They spread satanism in the
Ummah. Our true Teachers are the Sahaabah and the Aimmah-e-
Mujtahideen of the Khairul Quroon epoch about whom Rasulullah
(Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said:
“Honour my Sahaabah, for verily they are your noblest, then those
who come after them, then those who will come after them. Thereafter
falsehood (KITHB) will become prevalent.”
In another Hadith, it appears: “Then will come people who will love
obesity.” Their love for the jeefah (carrion) of the dunya will make
their bodies obese and diseased, and their souls will become
emaciated, bereft of Roohaaniyat.
Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) commanded and greatly
emphasized obedience to his Sunnah which presupposes obedience to
his Sahaabah who were the Asaatizah of the first wrung of Aimmah-e-
Mujtahideen in the ladder of Shar’i Uloom. This Sunnah was greatly
on the decline during the age of Qayrawan and worse during the time
of Zaytuna and Azhar. Whilst these institutions were undoubtedly
Madaaris of higher academic learning, we have to go back to the
Sunnah – three centuries before Qayrawan. That is where the solution
for our malady is to be found. It cannot be found in the kufr imparted
by Ibn Rushd (Averroes), Farabi, Ibn Sina and other ‘Muslim’
scientists and philosophers who are unthinkingly extolled by the
Ulama. Their beliefs were corrupt, lapped up from the kufr of Aristotle
and Plato. The focus is on the dunya, not on the Aakhirat. That is why
the mind is not correctly applied. The dunya has its false glitter which
appears attractive.

Yes, Daarul Uloom Deoband did offer a solution and some succour
in the vortex of the raging storm of bid’ah, fisq, fujoor, baatil and
kufr which had engulfed the Ummah. Darul Uloom Deoband was
the only Institution which had expended great and wonderful effort in
the noble Plan of restoring the Sunnah. Its primary objective was the
revival and restoration of the Sunnah. The attempt and efforts of our
Akaabireen of Deoband were to revive and disseminate the Sunnah.
They were interested only in Allah’s Pleasure. They were Auliya.
They were Sufiya, hence they had no affinity with science and
technology. They constituted an insignificant force numerically
speaking. They posed no impediment to science and technology. If
Muslims had desired to acquire expertise in these fields, there was no
obstacle posed by Deoband.
Understanding well that one academic institution of higher learning
of the Fardh Kifaayah kind - or even a number of such institutions, are
not adequate for the Imaan of the masses, Hadhrat Shaikhul Hind
Maulana Mahmudul Hasan (Rahmatullah alayh), after returning from
his exile in Malta, said that the only way of preserving Islam in the
Indian subcontinent was to establish a primary Maktab for children in
every village of the land. This holds good for the entire world. The
Makaatib are the only bastions guarding and disseminating the Fardh
Ain dimension of Knowledge. In fact, this is the noblest and the
highest form of Shar’i Knowledge. It is for this purpose that the
Qur’aan was revealed.
Our educational system should be the original system – the system
which existed during Khairul Quroon. The Sahaabah may not be
deleted from the equation of Muslim progress and success. By
beginning with an institution established three centuries after the
Sahaabah, and at a time when the seeds of decline had already
germinated in the Ummah, Hadhrat Mufti Taqi Sahib had deleted from
the equation, the noblest of mankind whose nobility was attested to by
Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam):
“The best of ages is my age, then the next age, then the next age,
(Sahaabah, Taabi’een and Tab-e-Taabi’een). Then shall come people
who will (hasten) to testify whilst they will not be asked to testify.

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#15 [Permalink] Posted on 2nd February 2020 16:15

Furthermore, the importance of Qayrawan and Zaytuna relevant to
the preservation and impartation of the Fardh Ain obligation has been
grossly exaggerated or misunderstood by Hadhrat Mufti Taqi Sahib. It
is incorrect to contend that these institutions of higher learning
secured the bastion of Fardh Ain obligations for the Ummah. The
contention that these institutions were established for the purpose of
imparting the Fardh Ain obligations is ludicrous.
The bastions for the Fardh Ain obligations are the primary
Makaatib where little children acquire the basic knowledge of the
Deen. By the age of ten, the Muslim child who attends the Maktab
masters the Fardh Ain quota of Ilm. He does not have to wait to go to
a university after becoming an adult to gain the Fardh knowledge
which he requires incumbently from the age of buloogh.
The process of imparting the Knowledge of Fardh Ain was not
initiated by Qayrawan. The Ummah’s children were not reared in
ignorance of their Fardh Ain obligations during the Khairul Quroon
and for the three century period prior to Qayrawan. All the branches
of Shar’i Uloom, both of the Fardh Ain and Fardh Kifaayah
categories were imparted par excellence during the era of Khairul
Quroon which were the golden and noblest ages of Islam. We are
required to turn back to the Khairul Quroon when the Sunnah had
flourished. The bastions for Fardh Ain were the primary Makaatib
which were the original institutions for the preservation and
dissemination of the Knowledge of the obligations of every individual
Muslim.
It is also ludicrous to contend that Qayrawan had catered for the
Fardh Ain Knowledge of the Ummah. When Qayrawan was
established, there were millions of Muslims in the Islamic empire
which stretched from the shores of the Atlantic in the West to right
within China in the East. Much of Europe too was under Islamic
domination by the time Qayrawan sprang up. How could this one
Madrasah specializing in academic learning cater for the Fardh Ain
Ilm of millions of Muslims spread out in dozens of countries? The
claim that Qayrawan fulfilled this objective is baseless.

The primary Makaatib which had existed from centuries before
Qayrawan in their thousands, catered for the Fardh Ain Knowledge.
It should be remembered that the conquests of Islam had been
completed more than two centuries before Qayrawan. By the year
715 C.E. the entire Spain came under Muslim domination. That is,
within about 80 years from the inception of Khilaafat-e-Raashidah,
the Islamic Empire had attained its zenith and limits of expansion.
Qayrawan, Zaytuna and Azhar had played no role in the spread and
domination of Islam.
The Islamic Empire was the product of the Men of the Sunnah
whose greatest Ruler, Sayyiduna Umar Ibn Khattaab (Radhiyallahu
anhu) was a shepherd. Leave alone science, he had not acquired even
a primary level of secular education. But, the Roman and the Persian
empires - the two world powers of the time – lay prostrate at his feet
within a decade of his Khilaafate. He was not in need of science and
technology to achieve the mind-boggling successes and victories, and
to establish the best governmental systems for all the lands in the
Islamic Empire. He had Allah’s Nusrat – the Nusrat which has been
uplifted as a consequence of the treachery and immorality of the
Ummah.
The goal was the Aakhirat and the focus was on the Qur’aan and
Sunnah, hence the fulfilment of the Divine Promise stated in the
Qur’aan Majeed:
“Allah has promised those among you who believe and practise
righteousness that He will most assuredly make them the rulers on
earth as He had made rulers of those before them. And He will most
certainly strengthen their Deen which He has chosen for them, and
certainly, He will replace their fear with peace. They worship ME.
They do not ascribe any partner to ME. Whoever commits kufr
thereafter, verily they are the faasiqoon (flagrantly vile).”

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Mufti Taqi Uthmani on educational institutes and systems

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