DEOBAND SCHOOL

Arabic Dar Al-'ulum (House of Learning), the leading Muslim theological centre (madrasah) of India. It was founded in 1867 by Muhammad 'Abid Husayn in the Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. The theological position of Deoband has always been heavily influenced by the 18th-century Muslim reformer Shah Wali Allah and the early 19th-century Indian Wahhabiyah, giving it a very puritanical and orthodox outlook. The program of studies is highly traditional, stressing jurisprudence (fiqh), Qur'anic exegesis (tafsir), the study of traditions (Hadith), scholastic theology (kalam), and philosophy (falsafah). Modern disciplines, which are not relevant to a proper knowledge of Islam and can lead to sinful innovation (bid'ah), are ignored, and the modern practice of Islam is studied only in order to purify it of unorthodox accretions. The student is thus prepared mainly for religious leadership of the Muslim community. Deoband's enrollment of about 1,500 students is culled from all parts of the Muslim world. The madrasah boasts a library of 67,000 printed books and manuscripts in Arabic, Persian, and Urdu. A mosque, lecture halls, and student residences further serve the scholarly community.