The Darul Uloom Deoband is an Islamic seminary in India at which the Sunni Deobandi Islamic movement began. Uttar Pradesh-based Darul Uloom is one of the most important Islamic seminaries in India and the largest in the world. It is located in Deoband, a town in Saharanpur district, Uttar Pradesh. The seminary was established by Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi, Fazlur Rahman Usmani, Sayyid Muhammad Abid and others in 1866. Mahmud Deobandi was the first teacher and Mahmud Hasan Deobandi was the first student.
Muhammad Rafi Usmani was a Pakistani Muslim scholar, jurist and author who served as the President of Darul Uloom Karachi. He was an alumnus of Darul Uloom Deoband, University of the Punjab and the Darul Uloom Karachi. He authored books including Ahkām-e-Zakāt, Al-Tālīqāt al-nāfi'ah alā fath al-mulhim, Islām mai aurat ki hukmrāni and Nawādir al-Fiqh. He was a syndicate member of the University of Karachi, vice-president and a member of the executive council of Wifaq-ul-Madaris. His brother Muhammad Taqi Usmani is also a senior scholar.
Muhammad Tayyib Qasmi was an Indian Sunni Islamic scholar who served as Vice Chancellor of Darul Uloom Deoband for more than half a century. He was grandson of Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi, the founder of the Darul Uloom Deoband.
Idris Kandhlawi was a Pakistani Sunni scholar during the mid-twentieth century, widely recognized for his contributions to various fields of Islamic studies, including hadith, Quranic studies, Islamic jurisprudence, Prophetic biography, and theology. Holding the titles of Sheikh al-Hadith and Sheikh al-Tafsir, he traced his lineage to Abu Bakr on his father's side and Umar on his mother's side. He studied in Thana Bhawan under Ashraf Ali Thanwi. He studied hadith, first at Mazahir Uloom under Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri, and later at Darul Uloom Deoband under Anwar Shah Kashmiri. He started his professional career at Madrasa Aminia and later went to Darul Uloom Deoband. In 1929 he took a position in Hyderabad State, where he had access to the Asafia Library. This experience enabled him to produce a five-volume Arabic commentary on Mishkat al-Masabih titled Al-Taleeq al-Sabeeh, of which the first four volumes were published in Damascus. His scholarly work garnered recognition in the Arab world. He later assumed the roles of Sheikh al-Tafsir at Darul Uloom Deoband and Sheikh al-Hadith wa al-Tafsir at Jamia Ashrafia. In addition, he served as the Chancellor of Islamia University of Bahawalpur during its tenure as Jamia Abbasia.
Syed Fakhruddin Ahmad (1889-1972) was an Indian Sunni Muslim scholar and jurist who served as the Principal of Madrasa Shahi, and the sixth President of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind. He was a professor of hadith at the Darul Uloom Deoband.
Izaz Ali Amrohi was an Indian Islamic scholar who served as the second and ninth Grand Mufti of the Darul Uloom Deoband. His book Nafahtul Arab is taught in madrassas including the Darul Uloom Deoband.
Hifzur Rahman Seoharwi was an Indian Sunni Islamic scholar and an activist of the Indian independence movement, who served as the fourth general secretary of the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind. He fought against British rule for 25 years (1922-1947) and spent eight years in jail. As a politician, he opposed the partition of India, and served as a member of the Indian Parliament for the Indian National Congress from Amroha from 1952 to 1962.
Hafiz Muhammad Ahmad (1862–1928) was an Indian Muslim scholar, who served as the Vice Chancellor of the Darul Uloom Deoband for thirty five years. He was the Grand Mufti of the Hyderabad State from 1922 to 1925.
Aziz-ul-Rahman Usmani was an Indian Sunni Muslim scholar who served as first Grand Mufti of Darul Uloom Deoband. He is best known for his Fatawa Darul Uloom Deoband. His brother was Shabbir Ahmad Usmani.
Sayyid Muhammad Abid (1834–1912) was an Indian Muslim scholar who co-founded Darul Uloom Deoband. He was the Vice Chancellor of Darul Uloom Deoband for three times.
Zafeeruddin Miftāhi was an Indian Muslim scholar and jurist who served as a Mufti of Darul Uloom Deoband and the second president of Islamic Fiqh Academy. He compiled the religious verdicts of Azizur Rahman Usmani, called the Fatāwa Darul Uloom Deoband in twelve volumes and wrote books including Islām Ka Nizām-e-Masājid, Islām Ka Nizām Iffat-o-Asmat and Tārīkh-e-Masājid.
The Siddiqi family of Nanauta are the descendants of the first Rashidun Caliph, Abu Bakr, based primarily in the town of Nanauta in India. The notable people of this family include Mamluk Ali Nanautawi, Muhammad Qasim Nanautawi, Muhammad Yaqub Nanautawi, Muhammad Tayyib Qasmi, Muhammad Salim Qasmi and Qari Shakir Qasmi.
Muhammad Ibrahim Balyawi (1887–1967), also spelt as Muhammad Ibrahim Balliavi, was an Indian Sunni Muslim scholar who served as the 6th Principal of Darul Uloom Deoband. He spent almost 50 years instructing Hadith, Mantiq, Islamic philosophy, and other subjects at Darul Uloom Deoband.
Badre Alam Merathi was a mid-twentieth-century hadith scholar and poet originally from Meerut, initially migrated to Pakistan and eventually settled in Medina. Best known as the interpreter of Anwar Shah Kashmiri's teachings, he was a disciple of both Kashmiri and Shabbir Ahmad Usmani. Educated at Mazahir Uloom and Darul Uloom Deoband, he taught at both institutions and Jamia Islamia Talimuddin. During his tenure at Jamia Islamia Talimuddin, he compiled Fayd al-Bari, a four-volume Arabic commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, published in Cairo with financial support from Jamiatul Ulama Transvaal, considered a masterpiece in hadith commentary. He was also associated with Nadwatul Musannifeen and authored Tarjuman al-Sunnah, a 4-volume hadith explanation designed for contemporary needs, widely acknowledged in academic circles. In his final years, he focused on teaching hadith in Prophet's Mosque, where many South Africans pledged allegiance to him, expanding his spiritual influence in South Africa.
Sharif Hasan Deobandi was an Indian Islamic scholar and Muhaddith. He served as Sheikh al-Hadith at Darul Uloom Deoband from 1972 to 1977. He also worked as a professor of Hadith and Sheikh al-Hadith at Jamia Islamia Talimuddin in Dabhel for almost ten years.
Mahdi Hasan Shahjahanpuri (1882–1976), also known as Mufti Mehdi Hasan and Mahdi Hasan Gilani Qadri, was an Indian Islamic scholar and mufti. He served as grand mufti at Darul Uloom Deoband for twenty years. He was an alumnus of Madrasa Aminia and Darul Uloom Deoband. He was a student of Mahmud Hasan Deobandi and Kifayatullah Dehlawi. Along with jurisprudence, he also had access to hadith and biographical evaluation. His literary works include Rijāl-u-Kitāb al-Āthār, Sharh-u-Balāghāt-i-Muhammad Fī Kitāb al-Āthār, Al-la'ali al-Masnoo'ah fī al-Riwāyāti al-Marjoo'ah, and a critical commentary on certain ideas of Ibn Hazm in the Science of Hadith entitled As-Sayf al-mujalla 'ala al-Muḥalla. He has done research and commentary work on Muhammad al-Shaybani's two books, Kitab al-Hujjah Alā Ahl al-Madīnah and Kitab al-Āthār.
Syed Ahmad Dehlavi was an Indian Muslim academician and hadith scholar who served as the second principal and Sheikh al-Hadith of Darul Uloom Deoband between 1884 and 1890. He specialised in Islamic astronomy and mathematics. His students included Murtaza Hasan Chandpuri.
Habibur Rahman Usmani (1860–1929), also written as Habibur Rahman Deobandi and Maulāna Habib al-Rahmān, was an Indian Islamic scholar, Arabic writer and poet, and an Islamic jurist. He served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor, then Vice-Chancellor for the VC Office of Darul Uloom Deoband, for nearly twenty-three years. He succeeded Hafiz Muhammad Ahmad as Grand Mufti of Hyderabad State for about one year. His students included Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, Manazir Ahsan Gilani, Muhammad Shafi Deobandi, Habib al-Rahman al-A'zami, Muhammad Idris Kandhlawi, Atiqur Rahman Usmani, Qari Muhammad Tayyib, Badre Alam Merathi, Hifzur Rahman Seoharwi, Saeed Ahmad Akbarabadi, Manzoor Nomani, and Yusuf Banuri.
