hanafi.
- Mahmud Hasan, aka Shaykh al-Hind, founder of Deoband madrasa. Silk Letter Movement. Tried a jihAd against British to reestablish Muslim rule in India - Nipped in the bud. Highly aided by recent converts (including 2 brothers of Kriplani and a former sikh).
Founding context
- Wars failed. Abdali, British, Sikh empire vs Syed Ahmed.
- Quite a few high-profile counter-conversions (including Arya samAj) had started.
- Response 1- small-scaling of jihAds. switched to riots. High profile assassinations.
- Response 2- ashrafs thought muslims haven’t adapted - so they’re loosing.
- Response 3- imAm mahdi claimants. Including Ahmediyas.
- Response 4- “muslim society is not prepared to focus on islamic state. Can we get to our goals without having a state? Can we make the society more properly islamic via grassroots efforts?”
- Response 4 led to founding of Deoband madrasa and later Tablighi jamAt.
- Many more madrasas were soon founded.
Tablighi jamAt
- Established in 1926 by Muhammad Ilyas al-Kandhlawi was disciple of Mahmud Hasan. Also a disciple of Gangohi. A biography says that Muhammad Ilyas took a vow of (physical) jihAd in front of him.
- Muhammad Ilyas’s maternal grandfather, Muzaffar hussain, was disciple of muhammad ishaq, principle disciple of shAh waliullah’s son. Another ancestor was also direct disciple of abdul aziz, and after his death, syed ahmed barelvi.
- Notable people - shAh waliullah, muinuddin khan, aliuddin mian, zAkir naik
Modus operandi
- Go to some place in a group.
- Knock on doors.
- Live in a mosque.
- Deliver an inspirational speech aka bayaan. Give some simple instruction.
- Invite volunteers to do the same. Eg. Devote 3 days.
- Take them to huge confereces at markaz-es. So, disconnect from local practices and identification. Connect to global ummah.
Jamia Millia Islamia
- Founders include Mahmud hasan, Abdul Kalam, Zakir Hussain (a career tablIghi).
pre-deobandis
shAh waliullah
- Once in 100 years reviver - “mujadid”.
- Several tablighi mosques and madarasas are named after him.
- Concerned by marATha supremacy, shia lordship, sufi popularity.
- Wrote to muslim kings - mogol, nizaam, ahmad shAh abdAli.
- Called for suppression of public Hindu (holi, gangA bath) and shia rituals.
- Most of his work in persian, arabic.
- Physical correspondence with Wahab. Born in the same year. Might have met in Medina, Arabia. Both were studying under mohammad hayat. wahAbis are hanbalis, deobandis are hanafi-s - both come together. (al-quaeda and taliban - hanbali and hanfi).
- Son - abdul aziz.
syed ahmed barelvi
- Was initially a pinDAri soldier. pre-deoband-s (amIr khAn and co) murdered even the head of the nAth sampradAya.
- Not to be confused with barelvi-s. He was actually from Rae Bareli, not Bareli.
- Became disciple of abdul aziz (son of shAh waliullah). Ideological grandfather of deobandis. Trained several hardcore followers.
- When he went to makka, he went with 3 shiploads. Stayed there for long periods. Got influenced by wahabism. Came back and greatly influenced N Indian sunni atmosphere.
- Called for jihAd against sikh empire of raNajIt singh. sikhs sent him to the houris at balAkoT (later surgical-strike spot).
- Highly revered by tablighi jamAt, called a shahId.
Bengali disciples of syed ahmed
- maulana Shariatullah, his son. TituMir - came back from mecca, tried a jihAd against the British, got killed.
- Disciple of syed ahmed.