By Mawlana Moosa Kajee

The 'ulama of Deoband contributed greatly to the spread of fiqh, particularly the Hanafi madhhab, as this is the dominant madhhab in the Subcontinent.

Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi رحمه الله was a faqih of great standing. Mawlana engrossed himself in the acquisition of knowledge in his student days to such an extent that he devoted only seven hours daily to his other needs. His specialities in teaching were fiqh and hadith. He taught the Al-Hidayah fourteen times. Besides other works, he is the author of the famous Fatawa Rashidiyyah. 'Allamah Anwar Shah Kashmiri رحمه الله said concerning Mawlana, "None from amongst the 'ulama of Deoband had reached such depths in fiqh like Mawlana Gangohi". Mawlana Qasim Nanautwi رحمه الله gave him the title of, 'Abu Hanifah رحمه الله of our time'. 'Allamah Kashmiri رحمه الله in spite of acknowledging the great knowledge of 'Allamah Ibn 'Abidin al-Shami رحمه الله would not call him by the title faqih al-nafs, regarding none other than Mawlana Gangohi رحمه الله fit for this title. Once when Mawlana Gangohi رحمه الله dictated an answer giving reference to 'Allamah Shami رحمه الله, an 'alim objected that the ruling is certainly not in Shami (Radd al-Muhtar). Mawlana Gangohi رحمه الله asked for the book to be brought to him whereas he was blind at this time. Passing his hands over the breadth of the book, he roughly estimated, turned to a page and said, "Look to the bottom of the left page". It was exactly as Mawlana Gangohi رحمه الله stated.

Mawlana Ashraf 'Ali Thanawi رحمه الله was responsible for a great scholarly and religious awakening in India. He is probably one of the scholars in this century with the most written books. His fatawa show his great depth of understanding and insight. His book, Bahishti Zewar, explaining the basic rulings needed by all, has become one of the most famous books in the world.

'Allamah Anwar Shah Kashmiri رحمه الله acquired the necessary skills of Arabic, fiqh, usul, tafsir and hadith, all of which he understood very well by the time he had reached thirteen years. He used to issue fatawa while he was only twelve years old which were in agreement to those issued by the senior scholars of Kashmir. He contributed greatly to the Hanafi madhhab and was able to provide substantial evidence from the Sunnah for almost any issue. His distinguished academic qualities in the sphere of fiqh may be summarized as follows:

He was not only proficient in the Hanafi madhhab, but was well-acquainted with the other madhahib. He spent lots of time and effort explaining the texts of the Qur'an and Sunnah related to fiqh. He was well acquainted with the reasons for dispute and disagreement between the scholars, particularly in those matters that are practised daily. He once said, "Alhamdulillah, after thirty years of effort, I am now confident that our fiqh is totally in accordance to the Qur'an and hadith".

Mawlana Zafar Ahmad 'Uthmani رحمه الله belonged to a noble and educated family, and is probably one of the most famous products of the Hanafi madhhab. His book, I'la al-Sunan contains immense benefit in the science of hadith and in providing proof for the Hanafi position. He also wrote several excellent books in connection to fiqh. Mawlana Thanawi رحمه الله was very impressed with his talents and used to say, "My nephew, Mawlana Zafar Ahmad رحمه الله is the Imam Muhammad رحمه الله of this era and the fountain-head of dini knowledge".

Other great Deobandi fuqaha include: Mufti Muhammad Shafi' رحمه الله, Shaykh al-Hind, Mufti Mahmud al-Hasan Gangohi رحمه الله, Mufti Kifayat Allah رحمه الله (when his fatawa were presented to the 'ulama of Egypt, submitted, "We have not come across an 'alim of his calibre anywhere in the world"), Mufti 'Abd al-Rahim Lajpuri رحمه الله, Mufti Taqi 'Uthmani حفظه الله and Mufti 'Aziz al-Rahman رحمه الله who passed away whilst writing a fatwa.

[Kajee, Moosa. 'Ulama of Deoband. Azaadville: Madrasah Arabia Islamia. 1432H, 2011C. p22-4]

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