The Great Scholars of the Deoband Islamic Seminary

The Great Scholars of The Deobandi Seminary is a highly inspirational glimpse into the lives and works of some of the luminaries affiliated to Dar al-Ulum Deoband, aptly renowned as the Azhar of the East. It is a translation of two Urdu articles authored by Mufti Taqi Usmani, which were later jointly published under the title Akabir-i Deoband Kya Thay. The first article is essentially a recollection of an array of profound stories, teachings and personal interactions, which Mufti Taqi Usmani’s illustrious father, Mufti Muhammad Shafi Usmani, would often related with great fondness regarding his teachers and elders whom he benefited from. The second article, again a collection of stories and sayings, highlight the salient features of those who hailed from the rich tradition of the Deoband seminary.

Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani is one of the world’s most prominent scholars of the Islamic sciences and former Justice of the High Court of Pakistan. Born at Deoband, India, in 1943, he studied with leading ‘ulamā’ in Karachi and elsewhere. His main fields of expertise are Hadith, jurisprudence, Sufism, and economics. Mufti Usmani has published numerous books and articles, in Urdu, Arabic and English, on these and other aspects of Islamic studies.