Muhammad Qasim Nanotvi

Muhammad Qasim Nanotvi

Full name	Muhammad Qasim Nanotvi
Born	1833
Died	1880
Era	Modern era
Region	Islamic scholar
Main interests	Aqidah, Tafsir, Tasawwuf, Hadith, Fiqh, Kifaya, Usul, Ma'aani, Mantiq, Falsafa, Hai'aath, Riyali, Ma'luqat
Notable ideas	Widow's Re-marriage, Darul Uloom Deoband, Madrasah Thanabhavan, Madrasah Meerut, Madrasah Galautti, Madrasa Danpur, Madrasa Muradabad
Influenced Mahmudul Hasan, Mufti Azizurrahman Uthmani, Abdul Ali, Ahmad Hasan Amroohi

Muhammad Qasim Nanotvi was an Islamic Scholar and one of the main people responsible for establishing the Deobandi movement. Nanotvi was born in 1833 in Nanota, a village near Saharanpur, India. He completed his primary education in his hometown and then he was sent to Deoband, where he studied in Maulvi Mahtab Ali's primary school. Then, he travelled to Saharanpur, where he remained with his maternal grandfather. In Saharanpur, he studied elementary kitabs of Arabic grammar and syntax under Maulvi Nawaz. At the end of 1843, Mamluk-Ul-Ali escorted him to Delhi. There, he studied Kafia and various kitabs. Later he was admitted to Delhi College, without having written the annual examination.^{[citation needed]}

his close relative, Muhammad Yaqub Nanotvi wrote:

"My late father enrolled him at the Government Arabic Madrasa and said, 'Study Euclid yourself and complete the arithmetical exercises.' After a few days, he had attended all of the ordinary discourses and completed the arithmetical exercises. Munshi Zakatullah asked a few questions of him, which were difficult. Because he was able to solve them, he became well-known. When the annual examination drew near, he did not write it and left the madrasa. The whole staff of the madrasa, particularly the headmaster, regretted this very much".

Prior to his enrollment at Delhi College, he had studied kitabs on logic, philosophy, and scholastic theology under Mamluk Ali at his house.^{[citation needed]} he joined a study circle, which possessed a central position in India with regards to the teaching of the sciences of the Qur'an and Hadith. He studied hadith under Abdul Ghani Mujaddidi.^{[citation needed]}

After the completion of his education, he became the editor of the press at Matbah-e-Ahmadi. During this period, at Ahmad Ali's insistence, He wrote a scholium on the last few portions of Sahihul Bukhari. Before the establishment of Darul Uloom Deoband, he taught Euclid for some time at the Chhatta Masjid. His lectures were delivered within the printing press and attended by a few people only. his teaching produced a group of accomplished Ulama, the example of which had not been seen since Shah Abul Ghani's time. went on to establish Darul Uloom Deoband.^{[citation needed]}

In 1860, he performed Hajj and, on his return, he accepted a profession of collating books at Matbah-e-Mujtaba in Meerut. He remained attached to this press until 1868. he performed Hajj for the second time and, thereafter, he accepted a job at Matbah-e-Hashimi in Meerut.^{[citation needed]}

He conformed to the Shari'a and Sunnah and tried his best to motivate people to do so as well. It was through his efforts that a prominent madrasa for impartation of Islamic education of religious sciences was established in Deoband and a fine masjid was built. Besides this, through his efforts and endeavours, Islamic madaris were established at various other locations as well.^{[citation needed]}

View on Seal of Prophet

Muhammad Qasim Nanotvi, the founder of Deoband seminary seems to conform to the Sufi idea of Seal i.e. honour and not last. He writes,

According to the layman, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings on him, being Khatam is supposed to have appeared after all the other prophets. But men of understanding and the wise know it very well that being the first or the last, chronologically, does not carry any weight. How could, therefore, the words of the Holy Qur'an "'But he is the messenger of Allah and the Seal of Prophets" (33:40) mean to glorify him? But I know very well that none from among the Muslims would be prepared to agree with the common men.

"In short, if the meaning of the word Finality is accepted as explained, then his Finality of Prophethood will not be exclusively attached to the past Prophet. But even if for instance another Prophet appeared during the era of the Prophet then too, him being the Final Prophet remains intact as normal."

"If for instance even after the era of the Prophet any Prophet is born, then too it will not make any difference to the Finality of Prophethood of the Prophet."

Despite the more non-conformist stance taken by Nanotvi, most scholars have taken a more simplistic view of this concept and they support their belief by quoting Qasim Nanotvi himself where he declared:

"That Finality of time is something on which there is Ijmah"

"It's my firm Belief that after Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) there is NO chance of a prophet, Who has a belief against this, I consider him as a Kafir"

This same question was asked by the ulema of the Haramain in a letter to the ulema of Deoband in India, and the answer was given to them -and published- way back in 1907. Nowadays, some unworthy people have been digging up the false allegations made all these years ago, and despite the fact that they have been cleared, still ascribe them to Maulana Qasim Nanotwi.

Before I go on though, a small introduction is necessary. Maulana Qasim Nanotwi was the founder of Dar-ul-Uloom Deoband, a seminary in the city of the same name, Deoband, India. This institute flowered into one of the most prolific centres of Islamic learning and produced great towers of knowledge who spread to all parts of the Sub-continent and served the Deen to their utmost.

Today, many Ulema that hail from the sub-continent are affiliated with the seminary in some way or another through their teachers, and there are many luminaries of this school present in Western countries as well. http://www.www.darululoom-deoband.com/.

To read more about Maulana Qasim visit http://darululoom-deoband.com/english/index.htm and click on Introduction of ulema-e-Deoband and then choose 'The six great ones (Founders)'

Now back to the topic, the booklet that was published in defense of the Ulema of Deoband is called Al-Muhannad alal Mufannad and I will translate the section on Maulana Qasim for your benefit. I have also added my own comments in square brackets to aid understanding.

16th Question : Do you accept that there may be another prophet after Prophet Muhammad even though he is the Seal of the prophets and his declaration that 'there will be no prophet after me' has reached an uncontestable degree ( wa qad tawatur ma'nan) and upon this the whole ummah is unanimous(ijma). What is your opinion about the person whom, after this, believes that there could be a Prophet after Muhammad? And has anyone among you or your teachers said anything of this kind?

Answer: Our belief and that of our teachers is that our Master and Maula, our beloved Intercessor is the Seal of the Prophets and there is no prophet after him as Allah has declared in his Book

'وَلَكِن رَّسُولَ اللَّهِ وَخَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ

and this is what is evidenced from the many sayings of the Messenger that have reached the degree of uncontestibility, also by the unanimity of the ummah. Impossible it is that any one of us could deny this because any person who rejects this [finality] is an unbeliever and apostate in our opinion because he is denying the clear Proof.

Our Shaikh Maulana Qasim Nanotwi has, through his astuteness, actually outlined it in a profound way and given his Finality more perfectness and made it more decisive.

Whatever he said in his treatise 'Tahdheer un Naas', its summary is that Finality (khatamiyah) is a trait that is of two types. The first being Finality of era and that is that RasoolAllah is the Seal and the Final of the prophets because he came in the last period, after all the others. So, he is a Seal in the sense that he 'sealed' the line of prophets and came last.

The second type is Finality in itself, meaning that it is his Prophethood that the prophethood of others fall under and finish at.

Muhammad rasoolAllah is both the Seal with regards to his position in time, and the Seal in essence. He is the most Perfect and unequaled [among the prophets] and the centre of the circle of Prophethood.

He is not the Seal of Prophethood only in the sense of coming in the last era, because it is not something that constitutes much excellence in itself [for example Yaqoob and Yahya came after, in time, to Ibrahim but the latter holds a higher rank] but actually Muhammad rasoolAllah's greatness and mastership, and the pinnacle of perfection and honour will come from being the Seal in both the senses, timewise and finality in itself [where all other merits converge and finish at].

Merely saying Muhammad RasoolAllah is the last of the prophets timewise will not raise his ranks to the highest degree and mastery nor will it do justice to his complete nobility and augustness.

This erudite exposition is actually the product of Maulana's insight. We don't think anyone of the preceding ulema and deep-thinking scholars have been able to approach such a field and it has instead become a reason of, in the opinion of the Innovators of Hindustan, disbelief and misguidance.

These innovators have misled their followers and alleged that this is actually a rejection of the finality of the holy Prophet. Oh how deplorable! I swear on my life that this is nothing but deceipt of the highest order and slander, borne out of hatred and grudge with the Friends of Allah and Allah's Way (sunnat-ul-Allah) has been like this with his Prophets and Friends.

Method of teaching hadith

He was a good scholar and his style of teaching hadith was good, interesting and beautiful.He played a vital part in the development of the method of affirmation and preference for the Hanafi madhhab and the style of the sifting of information and explanation, which are the distinctive feature of Darul Ulum Deoband and in use more or less in the lessons of hadith in Arabic madaris. Until the time of him, only the translation of hadith and the statement of the four methods (madhahib ul arba'a) was considered enough. When the Hanafis were criticized by the Ahl-e-Hadith for not teaching in accordance with the hadith, Shah Muhammad Ishaq and his disciples paid attention to the affirmation and superiority (tarjih) of the Hanafi method. He stated: "All of the commandments of the Qur'an and Sunnah are rational; however, the intellect of every person cannot have access there". Hakim Mansur Ali Khan Muradabadi wrote in his Madhhab-e-Mansur about the peculiarities of his teacher's lessons and lectures: "Whenever he proved any important or difficult proposition to be contrary to people's perspective, prominent men of light and learning became amazed and astonished. The commandment always appeared absolutely and perfectly rational after his lecture. Great men of knowledge and learning would not dare to say anything against thearguments put forth by him".^{[citation needed]}

After completing his education, he, as a means of earning money, accepted a profession of collating and emending of books at Matbah-e-Ahmadi in Delhi. This remained his profession until his death. Along with this profession, he became a teacher, but did not accept money for his teaching. Besides Sihah Sitta, he taught Mathnavi-e-Maulana Rumi and other kitabs. he taught either at the printing press, a masjid, or a house.^{[citation needed]} his disposition was such that he never adopted the normal style of dress of the Ulama, once stating "This nominal knowledge has spoilt me. If it had not, I would have marred my condition to such an extent that none would have known that a man named Qasim was ever born".

Establishment of the madaris

His greatest achievement was the revival of an educational movement for the renaissance of religious sciences in India and the creation of guiding principles for the madaris on which their survival depends. Under his attention and supervision, madaris were established in various areas such as Thanabhavan, Galautti, Kerana, Danapur, Meerut, and Muradabad. Most of them continue to exist, rendering educational and religious services in their vicinity. During his lifetime, Christianity began to rise in India and prodigious efforts were made to convert the people of India to Christianity in every possible way. When he, during his sojourn in Delhi, witnessed this situation, he ordered his pupils to stand in the bazaars and deliver sermons against Christianity. One day, he himself, without introduction or the statement of his name, attended a gathering and repulsed Christianity publicly in the bazaar.^{[citation needed]}

On May 8, 1876, a "Fair for God-Consciousness" was held at Chandapur village, near Shahjahanpur (U.P.), under the auspices of the local Zamindar, Piyare Lal Kabir-panthi, under the management of Padre Knowles, and with the support and permission of the collector of Shahjahanpur, Mr. Robert George. Representatives of all the three religions, Christian, Hindu and Muslim, were invited through posters to attend and prove the truthfulness of their respective religions. At the suggestion of Muhammad Munir Nanautawi and Maulawi Ilahi Bakhsh Rangin Bareillwi, Nanautawi, accompanied by numerous colleagues also participated. All these Ulama delivered speeches at this fair, causing the desired effect. In repudiation of the Doctrine of Trinity and Polytheism, and on affirmation of Divine Unity (Monotheism), he Nanautawi spoke so well that the audience, both those who were against and those who were for him, were convinced.^{[citation needed]} One newspaper wrote:

"In the gathering of 8 May of the current year (1876), Muhammad Qasim gave a lecture and stated the merits of Islam. The Padre Sahib explained the Trinity in a strange manner, saying that in a line are found three attributes: length, breadth and depth, and thus Trinity is proven in every way. The said Maulawi Sahib confuted it promptly. Then, while the Padre Sahib and the Maulawi Sahib were debating regarding the speech, the meeting broke up, and in the vicinity and on all sides arose the outcry that the Muslims had won. Wherever a religious divine of Islam stood, thousands of men would gather around him. In the meeting of the first day the Christians did not reply to the objections raised by the followers of Islam, while the Muslims replied the Christians word by word and won."

Next year this "fair" was held again in March 1877. On this occasion, Prof. Muhammad Ayyub Qadiri, writing in Ahmed Hasan Nanautawi's biography, wrote that:

"One thing specially deserves deliberation here that the fair for God consciousness at Shahjahanpur was held consecutively for two years with announcement and publicity, throwing in a way. A challenge to the religion of Islam and yet one does not find a clue to any interest the Ulama of Bareilly and Badaun, the two districts so near, almost contiguous to Shahjahanpur, may have evinced in this fair."

Widow remarriage

Until the end of the thirteenth century Hijri the re-marriage of widows was considered very reproachful. People used to feel its disgracefulness but no one had the courage to put an end to it. By the efforts of Syed Ahmed Shaheed, MauIana Muhammad IsmaiI Shahead Dehlawi, Mamlook Ali Nanautawi, Muzaffar Husain Kandhlawi, Muhammad Ahsan Nanautawi and Muhammad Qasim Nanautawi, the remarriage of widows came into vogue. Nanautawi, making his widowed sister, who was much older than himself and had become quite old, prepared for re-marriage, helped end this custom.^{[citation needed]}

Death

Nanautawi died on Thursday, 4th Jamadil Ula, 1297/1880, aged 47. His grave is to the north of the Darul-Uloom,. This place is known as Qabrastan-e-Qasimi, where countless Deobandi scholars, students, and other people are lying buried. Many people wrote chronogrammatic quatrains on Nanautawi's death. The one composed in Urdu by Fazlur-Rahman Usmani is still hanging in the Vice-chancellor's office. Just to give an idea of the thoughts expressed in it, the English translation of the verses is given below:

"Such is the sorrow caused by the passing away of the Qasim of the assembly of guidance that every heart (lit., interior) is sipping the draught of grief. Such is the sorrow that thereby the cup of the assembly of spiritual knowledge is inverted like the cask of the sky. Not only is the earth pallid due to this sorrow; the attire of the sky too is bluish in this mourning. Though the supporters of the Shari'ah have had boundless sorrow, the wayfarers of the Path are suffering it doubly. Where's the true supporter of the Madrasah of religion that without him the realm of knowledge and action is desolate? Don't ask about the condition of the sad hearts of the thirsty seekers of knowledge, as to how their life is in your separation. If the flame of separation has grilled the liver, the fire of the grief of separation has roasted the heart. However, from your sacred grave, O good-natured one, your devotees do have a patience of sorts. Out of anguish wrote Fazl this year of death: “Wafat-e Sarwar-e Alam ka yeh namoona hai” (i.e., this is a specimen of the death of the Chief of the World)". (The numerical value of the Urdu letters of the last half-verse totals up to AH. 1297)

Online material

http://www.darululoom-deoband.com/

Source

• Kasim Al Uloom