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Madinah University’s Faculty of ‘Hindus’ that India should be proud of

Reasons apart, the attribution “Kulliyat ul Hunood” for the department devoted to the domain focusing the Life, Seerah and Narrations of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in itself should be a matter of pride for India and every Indian.

Tuesday October 29, 2024 12:37 PM, Aleem Faizee, ummid.com

Madinah University’s Faculty of ‘Hindus’ that India should be proud of

[AI image for representation]

It may sound strange, but it is true. The Faculty of Hadith of Jamia Islamia Madinah Munawwara or Islamic University of Madinah is called, Faculty of Hindus, and this please remember, affectionately.

Madinah University - established on 16 Rabi al Thani 1381H corresponding to 26 September 1961, as on today is a leading global Islamic beacon that expands knowledge and influences communities through a commitment to excellence and inclusiveness.

“Madinah University has various faculties devoted to different domains of knowledge and research. One among them is ‘Kulliyat ul Hadith’.

“This department is however lovingly called by everyone at the Madina University, including Arabs, as ‘Kulliyat ul Hunood’”, Sheikh Mustafa Bashir Madni - an Indian national who did Masters from the renowned university in 2017, told ummid.com.

Kulliyah, Hadith and Hunood

Kulliyyah is the Arabic word for faculty or department in English whereas Hunood is the Arabic plural for Hindus.

In India, the follower/followers of Sanatan Dharam is/are referred as Hindu/Hindus. The reference Hindu is also used in the Urdu language where its plural form is Hunood. See Allama Iqbal’s famous couplet:

Waza mein tum ho Nasaara, to tamaddun mein Hunood
Yeh Muslaman hain jinhe dekh ke sharmayen Yahood

But for Arabs, Hindu or more specifically Hindi, is the Arabic equivalent of Indians and the word Hunood is used as plural for all Indian natives.

Hadith is the narrative records of the sayings, quotes, customs, actions and silent approvals of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

So, Kullyat ul Hadith is the Faculty or Department of Hadith.

When Arabs and other students of the Madinah University, say "Kulliyat ul Hunood", they mean the “Department of Hindus” meaning “Department of Indians”.

“This attribution is for two reasons. One, majority of the students to enroll in Kulliyat ul Hadith at Madinah University would be from India or the Indian Subcontinent.

“Two, this is their way of appreciating the deep interests the Indian students have in Hadith, and acknowledging the extraordinary contributions of the Indian scholars in the field”, Sheikh Mustafa Bashir said.

Reasons apart, the attribution “Kulliyat ul Hunood” for the department devoted to the domain focusing the Life, Seerah and Narrations of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) who is the most beloved of all for Muslims around the world in itself should be a matter of pride for India and every Indian.

Nonetheless, the interests of Indians in Hadith and the contributions of Indian scholars in the field are not new. India in fact has always been a prominent Seat of Quran and Hadith learning. There was a time when renowned Muslim scholars from all around the world, like Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali, Abdul Azeez Rashid and others, would travel to Delhi to seek knowledge of Quran and Hadith.

Contributions of Indian Scholars in Quran and Sunnah

Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall’s “The Meaning of the Glorious Koran” is the first ever English translation of Holy Quran. The work was fully funded by Nizam of Hyderabad. The Nizam had called Pickthall to Hyderabad from Britain in 1928 who completed the first English translation of Quran in 1930.

Around 200 years before Pickthall translated the Arabic text of Quran into English, Shah Waliullah Muhaddis Dehlawi (1703-1762) translated Quran into Persian.

The Persian language at that time was the lingua franca. This was the time when Quran was used merely to seek blessings. The teachings of Holy Quran was forgotten. The Holy Book in itself was accessible to the limited lot who claimed to be well versed in Arabic. The teachings of Quran and Sunnah to general public and masses were forbidden.

Shah Waliullah Muhaddis Dehlawi however was of the view that the teachings and knowledge of Holy Quran should reach to everyone. The language however was a barrier for the Indians to understand the Verses of Holy Quran. He therefore translated Quran into Persian.

Quran was earlier been translated into Persian elsewhere in the world. But this was India's first. The powerful clergy in India became so furious and enraged by this that they issued a fatwa and death warrant against Shah Waliullah.

Shah Waliullah used to take lessons and teach Quran and Hadith along with Islamic Theology at Madrasah-i Rahimiyah - the Islamic seminary founded in Delhi by his father Shah Abdur Rahim during the time of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. After Shah Abdur Rahim passed away in 1718, Shah Waliullah started teaching at the Madrasah.

After the demise of Shah Waliullah Muhaddis Dehlawi, his eldest son Shah Abdul Aziz took over the reins of the Madrasah-i Rahimiyah. After their death, the father-son duo’s legacy was carried forward by Shah Ishaque Dihalwi – Shah Abdul Aziz’s grandson and his successor. The responsibility of teaching Quran and Hadith at the Madrasa Rahimiyah fell on Syed Nazeer Husain Dehlawi after Shah Ishaque (1783-1846) migrated to Hijaz (present time Saudi Arabia).

Syed Nazeer Husain (1805-1902) was born in Munger, Bihar. He moved to Delhi in 1826 where he first studied under Shah Abdul Aziz and later under Shah Ishaque. Syed Nazeer - also respectfully called as Miyan Saheb, was such a learned man and acquired such scholarly status that the academics of the time and his disciples would call him “Shaykh al-kull”, which means "teacher of all", and “Shaikh ul kul fil kul” meaning “scholar of all knowledge”.

After taking over the reins from his teacher and mentor, Shah Ishaque, Syed Nazeer Husain Muhaddis Dehlvi taught Hadith for over a half century, gaining international renown in the field and attracting students from different parts of India, Afghanistan, Central Asia, the Hijaz and Najd.

Sheikh Abdullah Hussain of Kuwait while addressing an event in Malegaon on November 25, 2017 acknowledged the contributions of Syed Nazeer Husain and other Indian scholars in the field of Quran and Sunnah in these words:

"While acquiring the knowledge of Hadees in my college, we found the name of Shiekh-ul-kul-fil-kul Syed Nazir Hussain Dehlvi in most of the chains we were taught".

In one of his lectures in Saudi Arabia during his visit to the Kingdom, noted Islamic scholar and founder of Jamia Islamia Sanabil New Delhi, Sheikh Abdul Hameed Rahmani, listed over two dozen names of contemporary Islamic scholars who directly or indirectly received lessons and acquired knowledge of Quran and Sunnah from Syed Nazir Hussain Muhaddis Dehlvi.

“Some of them are Sheikh Sa’ad bin Ateeq and his teacher Ishaque bin Abdur Rahman, Ali ibn al Wadi al Wadi, Sheikh ibn 'Uthaymeen’s teacher’s teacher, Shaikh Abdullaah Al-Qar'aawee, Abdul Aziz Rashid, Abdullah Ali Quwai, Shaykh Abdullah ibn Saleh al-Qusayr and other who travelled to Delhi and acquired knowledge of Quran and Hadith from Shaikh Nazir Hussain Muhaddis Dehlvi and Shaikh Hussain Ansari and then went back to Saudi Arabia”, he said.

Watch - Sheikh Abdul Hameed Rahmani

Maulana Hameed Rahmani further said:

“Abdul Aziz Rashid and some other scholars in fact had initially approached Egyptian scholar Muhammad Rashid Rida (Rashid Reza) to acquire knowledge of Hadith from him. He however said you have come to a wrong place and asked them to go to India.”

Maulana Rahmani said the Muslim rulers who contributed to the teachings of Quran and Hadith were Muhammad Tughlaq, Shahabuddin Ghori, Akbar Shah Nawab of Asthana, Siddiq Hasan Khan Nawab of Bhopal, Wahiduzzaman Nawab of Hyderabad and a number of others who made possible consistent and continuation of teachings of Quran and Sunnah in India.

“The disciples of Muhaddis Nazeer Hussain Dehlvi were thus spread all across the world who then carried forward his legacy after their mentor’s death in 1902”, Maulana Rahmani said.

Malegaon Connection

About a month ago, Sheikh Abu Anas Rahatullah Faruqi joined us for Friday Lunch. He recalled a conversation Maulana Abdul Hameed Rahmani had with former Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia Sheikh Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz and some other Saudi scholars at his office in Taif back in 1982.

“While highlighting the contributions of Indian Islamic Scholars in spreading the knowledge and teachings of Quran and Hadith, Maulana Rahmani said pilgrims from places like Malegaon embarking on Hajj used to carry with them religious books that were handed over to scholars in Makkah and later distributed”, Sheikh Rahataullah Faruqi, a teacher at Jamia Mohammadia Mansoora Malegaon, told ummid.com.

Sheikh Rahatullah Faruqi said back in Malegaon, he shared this discussion with Abdur Rahman Sardar who confirmed that Seth Mohammad Khalil and other office bearers of Jamiat Ahle Hadees Malegaon "were known for giving religious books to pilgrims with requests to deliver them in Makkah".

Hearing this, my mother, Badrunnisa Anwer, recalled my grandmother Aasma Hajjin telling them that among the luggage they carried when they embarked on Hajj was two trunks tied around with ropes for safety.

Dadi said they were huge trunk bags, full of books. Your father would carry them on his shoulders and we could see the mark of the ropes that tied the trunk on his back”, my mother recalled.

The books were provided by Maulana Mukhtar Ahmad Nadvi – founder of Jamia Mohammadia Mansoora Malegaon and a renowned scholar who is credited to have brought reforms in Madrasa syllabus integrating it with modern curriculum.

Dadi said the books were meant for a Maulana in Makkah. The Maulana was Sheikh Abdullah Lucknavi (D 1978), who had migrated from India to Saudi Arabia. He used to teach in Haram al Sharif Makkah, according to Maulana Rahatullah Faruqi.

Besides others, one of his most famous disciples was Sheikh Mohammad bin Abdullah Al-Sebail (1924-2012) - Imam and Preacher of Masjid al Haram for 44 long years. I am privileged to have met Imam e Haram Sheikh Al Sebail in Mumbai during his visit to India in 1987.

My grandfather Haji Abdul Wakeel, who was maternal uncle of Seth Mohammad Khalil, had embarked for Hajj for the first time in 1955. This time he was alone. On two other occasions – in 1963 and 1970, he travelled to Makkah with my grandmother Aasma Hajjin.

Madinah University’s Faculty of ‘Hindus’ that India should be proud of

[Passport copy of my grandfather Haji Abdul Wakeel with visa stamp which shows he embarked for Hajj on Shawwal 07, 1374 AH corresponding to May 29, 1955.]

Unlike now when pilgrims are allowed to stay in the Kingdom only for 35 to 40 days, pilgrims during those days would embark for Hajj via sea route in the month of Shawwal soon after Eid al Fitr and would have extended stay in Makkah of around 4 months and return in Muharram.

When my grandfather took my grandmother to Hajj in 1963, she was pregnant. She delivered a male child on May 16, 1963. It was normal and not unusual for female pilgrims to deliver babies during their stay in the Kingdom.

What however was unusual was that my grandfather took unprecedented efforts so that the new born baby is issued a birth certificate by the Health Department of the Holy Makkah Municipality. The newly born baby was named Abdullah. Because his birthplace is Makkah, he became famous as Abdullah Makki.

“This is the rarest of rare case, and something next to impossible today, when a foreign national was issued a birth certificate by the Holy Makkah Municipality”, Abdullah Faizee aka Abdullah Makki – one of the most sought after Electrical Engineers in Malegaon and a successful businessman now, said.

[The writer, Aleem Faizee, is Founder Editor ummid.com. He can be reached at aleem.faizee@gmail.com.]

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