Part 5
Dr. Hummam Sultani
The Daeshi Khawarij and the extremist Madkhalis use the claim that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) and the Taliban follow Deobandi and Maturidi beliefs as a pretext for declaring them disbelievers. These takfiri groups claim that the Deobandi and Maturidi beliefs themselves are based on disbelief. Unfortunately, some people, particularly in the Arab world, fall under the influence of these takfiri groups’ propaganda, simply because they don’t know the truth and the historical background behind this accusation. Certain basic facts need to be understood here, so the true nature of this accusation, its background, and the wrong assumptions spread about it can all be made clear.
Deobandism: Historical Background, Approach, and Religious and Reform Work
Deobandism isn’t, at its core, some new or independent creed (aqidah) or Madhhab. It’s a comprehensive approach to studying and teaching the religious sciences, to reforming creeds and practices, and to moral and spiritual training, one that many scholars and elders across the subcontinent and Afghanistan are connected to. Deobandism takes its name from Deoband, a historic city in India, where a renowned madrasa called “Darul Uloom Deoband” was founded in 1866 (15 Muharram al-Haram, 1283 AH). This madrasa later became the center of an influential reform and jihadi movement across the subcontinent.
Historical Background and the Founding of Darul Uloom Deoband
Darul Uloom Deoband’s educational approach wasn’t some newly invented method. Its roots went deep into the ancient traditions of Islamic scholarship. In the subcontinent specifically, Shah Waliullah Muhaddith Dehlawi (rh) and his intellectual heirs had done valuable work turning people back toward the Quran and Sunnah, calling to tawhid, reviving the religious sciences, reforming creeds and practices, and pushing back against shirk-laden beliefs and innovations that had become common in society. The Akabir-e-Deoband carried this same heritage forward, shaping it into an organized educational, training and reform movement.
Following the war of 1857, British colonial rule severely weakened Muslims’ political and military power, while their religious and cultural identity faced serious threats. Given this, the elders of Deoband saw it as necessary to build a center that could, on one hand, protect Muslims’ religion and faith, Islamic civilization, scholarly heritage and religious identity, and on the other, train capable, strong leadership able to resist colonial rule and keep the spirit of religious awakening and independence alive within the ummah.
Darul Uloom Deoband was founded for exactly this purpose. Over time, it didn’t stay limited to being just an educational institution; it grew into the influential center of a broad religious, intellectual and jihadi movement. From the nurturing embrace of this great madrasa came renowned scholars, hadith experts, jurists, reformers and mujahideen. Their influence shaped the religious and scholarly life of the subcontinent and Afghanistan, and they also played a significant scholarly, political and practical role in the struggle against British colonialism.
Darul Uloom Deoband’s Educational Approach
Darul Uloom Deoband’s educational system isn’t limited to teaching books and transmitting information; it’s a comprehensive, organized system of knowledge and practice, education and character-building, reform and self-purification. Here, a teacher is not merely an instructor but also a mentor, guide and builder of character. Students learn the religious sciences under their teachers’ direct supervision, benefit from their companionship, and come to understand not just the words and phrases of their books, but their meanings, aims and practical demands as well. Alongside gaining knowledge from books, students also gain maturity, intellectual growth and practical training from their teachers’ guidance and company.
A key feature of this approach is that knowledge and practice, education and character-building, are never treated as separate from each other. It isn’t enough here for students to become skilled in scholarly debate and familiar with religious matters; particular attention is also given to reforming their inner selves, improving their morals, purifying their character, and correcting their outward and inward conduct. Commitment to worship, the steady practice of remembrance of Allah (SWT), piety and self-purification are all counted as essential parts of religious training, so that a graduate of this center isn’t just someone with religious knowledge, but someone who becomes a practical example of that knowledge in their own life and conduct.
Self-Purification, Tasawwuf (Sufism), and the Approach of Akabir-e-Deoband
Some extremists and takfiris use this spiritual, reform-minded side of Darul Uloom Deoband as a pretext to paint this madrasa’s scholars, and those connected to it, as grave-worshipping Sufis, trying to lump them together with Sufi groups involved in excess and innovation. But in Deoband’s elders’ view, inner reform and self-purification must align with the guidance of the Quran and Sunnah, and must stay within the bounds set by Islamic Sharia.
The goal of their spiritual training is to make a person committed to Sharia, to reform their character and conduct, to purify their inner self of bad qualities, and to turn them toward obedience and worship of Allah (SWT), not to become a means of spreading un-Islamic beliefs tied to graves, extremist ideas, or baseless customs within religion.
Treating Deoband’s reform approach as the same as Sufi groups criticized for excess and un-Islamic practices is, in reality, closing one’s eyes to the actual nature of this school of thought. For Deobandi scholars, the core goal of self-purification is to bring both a person’s outward and inward life under Sharia, so that their whole life aligns with the Quran and Sunnah.
This is the very same heritage whose foundations were strengthened by Shah Waliullah Muhaddith Dehlawi (rh) and his intellectual heirs, and which Akabir-e-Deoband later carried forward as an organized system of teaching, preaching, reform and self-purification. Its influence gradually extended beyond the subcontinent’s borders, reaching Afghanistan and other regions of the world.
The Struggle Against Colonial Powers and Deoband’s Scholarly Legacy
Darul Uloom Deoband’s influence wasn’t limited to the era of British colonialism. Scholars and religious movements tied to this approach went on to play significant roles across various fields. Akabir-e-Deoband played a broad role in the struggle for independence against British colonialism in the subcontinent. In Afghanistan too, scholars and religious circles tied to this tradition took part in the struggle against British colonialism, in resistance against the Soviet military invasion, and later in the war against American and allied forces.
After the United States’ invasion of Afghanistan specifically, numerous figures and groups tied to the Deobandi tradition played a clear role in the resistance against American and allied forces in Afghanistan and Pakistan. After two decades of war, military resistance, and political and diplomatic efforts, the United States began negotiations with the Taliban. The Doha Agreement was signed in February 2020, and American forces withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021.
Deoband’s intellectual legacy remains alive and influential to this day. Institutions tied to this tradition consider spreading Islamic knowledge, protecting religious values, reforming society, and defending religious and cultural independence their historical mission. As long as the effects of colonial rule remain, and Muslims’ religious and cultural identity continues to face threats, their responsibilities will therefore continue in scholarship and research, preaching and reform, intellectual and jihadi struggle, and the defense of their religious and social rights.
The Nature of the Deobandi Affiliation
Darul Uloom Deoband’s approach spread from the subcontinent to Afghanistan and other regions because of its unique features, comprehensiveness, and religious and reform work. Scholars who graduated from this center, and people connected to its approach, became known as “Deobandis” because of this connection, the same way scholars connected to Jamia al-Azhar are known as “Azharis.”
This makes clear that “Deobandi” is, at its core, a scholarly affiliation, one that reflects a connection to Darul Uloom Deoband, its intellectual legacy and its particular educational and reform approach, not the name of some new or independent creed. Scholars of this movement are, of course, Hanafi in fiqh, and in theological discussions about creed, they’re connected to the Maturidi approach.
To form a fair view of any scholarly movement, its beliefs, sources, historical background and fundamental teachings need to be understood separately, on their own terms. Passing judgment on an entire movement based only on a scholarly or educational affiliation is contrary to sound scholarship and fairness.
