Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama
Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama translated to English as House of Knowledge & Assembly of Scholars University is an Islamic institution at Lucknow, India.
This educational institution draws large number of Muslim students from all over the world. Nadwatul Ulama fosters a diverse range of both scholars and students including Hanafis, Shafi'is and Ahl al-Hadith. Additionally it is one of very few institutes in the region to teach the Islamic Sciences completely in Arabic.
"Nadwa" means assembly and group, it was named nadwa because it was constituted by a group of great Islamic scholars of India in Kanpur. Darululoom is the educational body of Nadwat-ul-Ulama. It was eventually shifted to Lucknow in 1898 from Kanpur and the Islamic curricula was updated with modern sciences, mathematics, vocational training and the addition of English Department.
Formation of Nadwa
On the occasion of convocation of Madarasa Faiz-e-Aam, Kanpur in 1893, scholars including Lutfullah Aligarhi, Shah Muhammad Hussain Allahabadi, Ashraf Ali Thanwi, Muhammad Khalil Ahmad, Sanaullah Amritsari, Noor Muhammad Punjabi, Ahmad Hasan Kanpuri, Syed Muhammad Ali Kanpuri, Maulana Mahmud Hasan, Shah Sulaiman Phulwari, Zahurul Islam Fatehpuri, Abdul Ghani Murshidabadi, Fakhrul Hasan Gangohi and Syed Shah Hafiz Tajammul Husain Desnavi agreed to form an organization of Ulema and convene a gathering in the next annual convocation of Madarsa Faiz-e-Aam. They named the organization Nadwatul-Ulema. The responsibilities of the organization were given to Syed Muhammad Ali, who became the first Nazim of Nadwatul-Ulema. The goal was to bring harmony and co-operation among various groups within the Muslim Millat, to bring about the moral, religious and educational reform and progress.Nadwatul-Ulema held its first convention on 22–24 April 1894 in Madarsa Faiz-e-Aam. It was attended by a huge group of scholars from all sects of the ummah and all corners of the sub-continent including Maulana Abdullah Ansari and Maulana Shibli Nomani, who were teachers of Arabic and Persian at MAO College. Maulana Shibli Nomani proposed Maulana Mufti Lutfullah to chair the opening session. According to Nawab Sadar Yaar Jang Maulana Habibur Rahman Khan Sherwani, Maulana Ibrahim Aaroomi and Maulvi Muhammad Hussain Batalwi were representing Ahle-Hadis delegation, Maulvi Ghulamul-Hasnain were representing Shia delegation. Maulana Shah Muhammad Hussain presented the organization's objectives and Maulana Shibli Nomani presented the working guidelines.
On the recommendation of Maulana Muhammad Husain Batalwi, these working guidelines were referred to a committee of scholars to discuss. On 23 April, after maghrib prayer, a special session of 30 scholars convened and discussed and finalized each and every guideline. On the next day, in the morning session under the chairmanship of Maulana Lutfullah of Aligarh, Maulana Shibli Nomani announced the proposals:
- The Present educational system needs a reform.
- Principles or representative of all the Islamic Institutions should attend the annual convention of Nadwatul Ulema.
- A Federation of Madaaris should be formed so that all the madaaris should come under one umbrella. To implement this scheme few large Madaaris should be started which will act as a main Madrasah known as Nadwatul-Uloom and rest will be their branches. Nadwatul-Uloom will keep an eye on the activities of the branches.
- Expansion of Madarsa Faiz-e-Aam with Hostel facility.
- Curriculum reform
One of the main aim of the formation of Nadwa was to bring all the sects of Islam together irrespective of some of their differences in beliefs.
Initially the founders of Darul Uloom Deoband like Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi, Qasim Nanotwi were against the Nadwa Movement but later they joined in. Now Nadwa is a sister institute of Darul Uloom Deoband, also preaching its teachings.
Purpose of Foundation
It was founded with the following three distinct features:- and to serve as a bridge between the Old World and the new but firm and unbending in the matter of fundamentals.
- Aimed at producing an educated class of Muslims well versed in traditional learning and yet actively involved with the ruling power.
- Sought to give Arabic, both modern and classical, a central place in its system of education besides facilitating links with Muslim West Asia.
Aalim/Shariah Course Syllabus
The condensed 5 year course consists of:
| Year | Course Content |
| 1st Year | Purely Arabic |
| 2nd Year | More Arabic literature, starts translation of Qur'an, starts Fiqh, Hadith |
| 3rd Year | Hadith, Usoolul Hadith, More Translation/Tafseer, Fiqh, Aqeedah, Some literature and Balaghah. |
| 4th and 5th Year | After 3 years, students join the 7th and 8th years of the regular Aalim course in which they are taught the remaining Mishkath. Further books are taught in Usool Al-Hadith and Usool Al-Fiqh, the remainder of Hidaayah, Usool Al-Tafseer, Tafseer, Aqeedah Tahaawiyah. Finally the Sihah Sittah are taught. |
After the completion of the Aalim course, students generally go for Fadheelath in Arabic, Hadith, Fiqh or Tafseer.
The 5 year courses do have one stream which are taught exclusively in Arabic
Role of Ali Mian in development of Nadwa
was born in Raebareli in 1914 in family of Islamic scholars. In 1934, he was appointed as teacher in Nadwa, later in 1961, he became Principal of Nadwa and in 1980, he was appointed as Chairman of Islamic Centre Oxford, UK. He has been awarded King Faisal Award given by King Faisal Foundation and Sultan Brunei Award for his contributions.He was a prolific writer in Urdu and Arabic, his books are part of syllabus in various Arab Universities, several books have been translated in English.