Chapter III

Knowledge, Power and Politics-II

The establishment of madrasa Ashrafiya Misbahul Ulum (hereafter madrasa

Ashrafiya) in a big way had to wait till the early 1990s. But the blueprint for this had

already been in preparation. As we noted in the previous chapter, Abdul Aziz was

not content with the way the madras a had been functioning till now. For one, he

might have felt hampered by the then Sarparast (Guardian), Mukhtar Ashraf (d.

1996), who had constantly opposed his plans to expand the madrasa. In the

understanding of Abdul Aziz, the Ahle Sunnat wa Jamaat was facing constant threat

from competing maslaks of the Deobandis and the Ahl e Hadis. In particular he was

concerned that their tirade against the Barelwis was doing much harm to the faith

that he so passionately adhered to. More importantly, the Deobandis and the Ahl-e-

Hadis were according to lpm, creating a 'propaganda war' against the Barelwis not

-

only in the country but also abroad. He noted with particular importance that the

rival maslaks were not only writing in Urdu, but also in Hindi and English. It was

therefore imperative for the upholder of what he considered as 'sahryul aqida' (true

belief) to rise up against the challenge. In his vision of an expanded madrasa, Abdul

Aziz had visualized the creation of class of Ulama, who would be well versed with

internal maslaki debates, but at the satqe time would also be proficient in other

87

languages like Hindi and English to write suitable replies -to refute the theological

literature1 produced by rival maslaks.

The radd literature was therefore to be taken to higher grounds, argued in a

language which a hundred years ago had been foreign to the Ulama but which was

now becoming increasingly important in the wake of a Muslim Diaspora whose

potential needed to be tapped. It is important here to remember that few of the

students of Ashrafiya had already been to countries in Europe and must have felt the

need to produce literature which would be important for the purpose of creating

networks of community of Muslim migrants. Thus Arshadul Qadri, along with Shah

Ahmad Noorani of Pakistan, had already initiated the formation of World Muslim .

Mission in the UK which was intended to the provide a platform to the Barelwi

Ulama abroad and counter the influences of other maslaks, especially the Saudi based

World M~slim League, among the Muslims of Britain and elsewhere2• Similarly

Badrul Qadri had started developing his madras a in Hague, Netherlands. There were

others who also went abroad during different times to cater to the growing needs of

community formation among the . immigrants in places as far as South Africa,

America and Europe. What is common to all these Ulama, however, is that they all

happened to be students of Ashrafiya and had been taught by Abdul Aziz himself.

Their relationship with Abdul Aziz and studying in madrasa Ashrafiya equipped

them with the requisite institutional capital since Ashrafiya had by that time become

one of the leading seminaries of the Ahle Sunnat wa Jamaat. On the other hand, their

1 Refutation of other maslak's literature is called radd and important Ulama in India have all contributed to this genre. For the specific context of madrasa Ashrafiya, see chapter 7 to see how this literature creates a specific identity among madrasa students. For the case of Pakistan, see Tariq Rahman (2004), Denizens of Alien Worlds, pp. 86-89 2 See Philip Lewis (1994), Islamic Britain: Religion, Politics and IdentifY among Bn·fish Muslims: Brar!ford in the 1990s, p. 86

88

understanding of the situation abroad and_the need to produce :Ulama who could

articulate the felt needs of the community there must not have been lost on Abdul

Aziz. His idea of al Jamiatul Ashrafiya as creating a class of Ulama who, <while being

the students of Dars e Nizami would also be masters of English', seems to flow from

such an evolving need. Argumentation and dawah, therefore, had to be carried out in

their own languages; the language of the immigrants who were increasingly becoming

visible especially in Britain and parts of Continental Europe.

Abdul Aziz, then the Principal of Ashrafiya, had been arguing for the need to

expand the madrasa on these lines for some years. He had also complained that the

then two-storeyed building of Ashrafiya was hardly enough to accommodate the

growing number of students. It seems that around the same time, Mukhtar Ashraf,

the Sarparast of the madrasa had opened another madras a called Madrasa Jamia

Ashraf in his native Kichocha, of which he was also the patron. This did not go

down well with the people of Mubarakpur, more so with those associated with

A"!>hrafiya. But Abdul Aziz had not yet voiced his opposition to this move of

Mukhtar Ashraf. On the face of it, there was nothing wrong in opening more Barelwi

madras as for the propagation of true deen. What seems to have been the reason of

parting of the ways between Ashrafiya and Mukhtar Ashraf was the latter's

opposition of any move at expansion of Ashrafiya. Moreover, Mukhtar Ashraf, aided

by some Barelwis from Mubarakpur charged Abdul Aziz with tampering with the

Dars e ~izami by trying to teach English and Hindi.

On the face of it, difference between the two appears as minor. But perhaps

there were deeper reasons involved. One way to understand Mukhtar Ashrafs

position would be to locate this opposition in his understanding of the nature of

89

Islamic knowledge. Since hJ: was the custodian of the main shrine at Kichocha, for

him the transmission of Islamic knowledge flowed from the pir to the circle of the

muridin (disciples). Islamic knowledge, in this epistemology, was not necessarily a

mass phenQmenon which came to be exemplified by the madras a education. This

understanding however, is based at the postulate of an essential difference between

the world of Sufi shrine and the world of Ulama. However, during the 18th and 19th

century India, there were many Sufis who were also votaries of madras a education in

the sense that they themselves organized madrasa education. Thus the founders of

Deoband Madrasa were themselves practicing Sufis but they heralded what became

the modem foundation of madrasa education in India. Moreover, M~khtar Ashraf

himself was educated in Ashrafiya and it would be wrong to assume that he did not

. appreciate the importance of madrasa education. Also, his opposition to English

does not sound convincing since his own progenies got educated in that language.

It seems reasonable to relate his opposition to the 'fields' which were being

created during this f:in:1e '"among the immigrant Muslims in Europe and elsewhere.

Mukhtar Ashraf himself was busy attending meetings called by his disciples (muridin)

in the UK There is a sense therefore that he might have sensed the possibility of a

potential conflict with Ashrafiya's graduates who were at the same time competing

for similar spaces and organizing the Muslims along maslaki lines. Although both

Mukhtar Ashraf and the Ashrafiya shared the same spiritual heritage of the

Chishtiya-Qadiriyah and were Barelwis, this did not prevent them from coming face

to face and competing among themselves,

Another reason for this showdown between Mukhtar Ashraf and Ashrafiya

seems to be related to the caste origins of both. The pirs at Kichocha, including .

90

Mukhtar Ashraf were Syeds, revered highly for their being related to the family of

the Prophet Muhammad. More importandy, this reverence seems to be one of the

important elements of the Barehvi tradition, as exemplified by Ahmad Riza I<han

himself. On the other hand the Ulama related to madras a Ashrafiya were all Ansaris,

a low Muslim weaving caste, which, as we have seen previously has been the object

of upper caste ridicule in India. Starting with Amjad Ali and Abdul Aziz himself,

along with their students like Arshadul Qadri, Badrul Qadri, Yasin Akhtar Misbahi,

etc. all were of low caste origins, and shared the status of being Ansaris. Despite the

. handicap of their low status, they had been successful in creating an institution of .

Ashrafiya's stature and which they wanted to develop _into the apex madrasa of the

Ahle Sunnat wa Jamaat in India. Even though it is never acknowledged, yet here we

have one case where we see the network of Ulama developing along caste lines. We

see therefore that in this case solidarity based on everyday operative categories of

caste and regions go a long way in cementing relationships rather than the mere

bonding-of a spiritual silsila. Mukhtar Ashrafs opposition to Ashrafiya's expansion

was seen by the Ansaris of the qasba as a belligerent supremacist posturing of a Syed

bent on denying the grand educational endeavour of the Ansaris. It must also be

noted that the period in question had seen a slow assertion of the lower castes,

particularly the Ansaris which had climaxed during the 1980, when at the Muslim

Convention at Lucknow; they (the Ansaris) had openly claimed the Convention to be

dominated by upper caste Muslims (Ashrajs). They charged the Convention of not

taking interest in the condition of the weavers and the textile industry, thus accusing

3 Usha Sanyal informs us that when Ahmad Riza Khan came to know that one of his palleiwala was a Syed, he immediately got down from the carriage, profusely apologized to that individual and then insisted on carrying the pa/Iei himself with the Syed inside! In this context, also see Sanyal (1996), Devotional Islam, pp. 148-151

91

the Convention of only highlighting symbolic emotive issues to the detriment of

genuine issues like education, government support to textile sector, etc. In short it

called them as being representative of upper caste Muslims only4.

It was considerations such as these which led to the souring of relationship

between Mukhtar Ashraf and Ashrafiya. As early as 1969, Abdul Aziz had resigned

for the second time from being the Principal of Ashrafiya, and wanted to leave

Mubarakpur. The reason cited was interference in day to day running of the madrasa

by people who were considered close to Mukhtar Ashraf. This was for the second

time that Muslims of the qasba persuaded Abdul Aziz to stay. As a precondition for

his stay, he suggested the formation_ of a Majlis e Shura (governing committee),

which would be overall in..:charge of looking into the affairs of the madrasa. Mukhtar

Ashraf as the Sarparast of the madrasa cortsented to such a demand. Such

reconciliation, however, was short-lived and subsequent events forced Mukhtar

Ashraf to resign from the position of patron in 1971, thus leaving the way for Abdul

Aziz to put his plans for the expallsion of Ashrafiya. His 'resignation' however was

much to do with the fact that Abdul Aziz, along with the Shura which he had

chosen, had made Mukhtar Ashraf simply irrelevant for any future course which the

madrasa Ashrafiya would take.

The newly constituted Shura of madrasa Ashrafiya sat for two long meetings,

first on 23rd April, 1971 and second on 30th May, 1971 and drafted a fundamental

change in the Constitution of the madrasa. These two meetings collectively gave all

the powers to a newly created office for this purpose called Sarbarah e Ala, which

Abdul Aziz was to occupy. The two meetings referred to above passed altogether

4 In this context, see M. Aslam (1989), 'State Communalism and Reassertion of Muslim Identity'

92

nine resolutions. These resolutions in effect gave all the powers to Abdul Aziz and

made him much more than a mere Muhatamim; it made him the life time Sarbarah e

Ala of the madrasa and all its future activities. All earlier laws of the madras a were

thus abrogated by the resolutions adopted by the Shura5• The nine points which were

adopted defined the rights and responsibilities of the Sarbarah e Ala as follows:

• To appoint all members of Majlis-e-Shura (General Committee) and Ma;iis-e-

Intezamia/Amla (Working Committee), to suspend members and to appoint

new members in case of death.

• To control everything related to the madrasa.

• All decisions- made by the Ma;iis-e-Shura will be subject to veto by the

Sal;barah e Ala.

• Appointment and dismissal of teachers, administrative staff and other non-

teaching staff members will be made by the Sarbarah e Ala.

• In case of complaints, the Sarbarah e Ala will serve as the court of last appeal

for the teachers and other staff of this madrasa.

• He will have the power to appoint his deputy/successor (Naib) in his life

time. He can make laws for the Ma;iis-e-Shura and Ma;iis-e- Inteiflmia/ Amla to

act after him as per his wishes. If he cannot do it in his lifetime, then the

people of Mubarakpur belonging only to Ahl e Sunnat wa Jamaat in

consultation with other Ulama of Ahl e Sunnat wa Jamaat will have the right to

frame new laws.

5According to Ahmad Misbahi, the current Principal of Ashrafiya, there were no printed laws of Ashrafiya before 1971. Although there was a shura which governed the madrasa according to traditional wisdom, there were no codified laws.

93

• All works, including the construction of new buildings, new organizational

works, introduction of ne\v courses, etc. will be started by Sarbarah e Ala.

The Constitution6 of al- Jamiatul Ashrafiya will be interpreted by him and his

interpretation will be final.

• It will be within the power of Sarbarah e Ala to delegate some of his powers

to anyone he wishes for general or particular works.

• The Sarbarah e Ala will have the power to register the organization in ways

that he deems fit.

As regards the powers of the Sarbarah e Ala, the nine points mentioned

above are self explanatory. From the humble sweeper in the madras a to the

Muhtamim (principal), all were to be under his command.- Even the semblance of

democracy in the form of Mcylis-e-Sh1!ra is actually a misnomer since the Sarbarah e

Ala has the power to change all or any programmes adopted by the Shura, including

. changing its very composition. Moreovel' the very fact that he is selected for life

leaves the office of Sarbarah e Ala almost without any fetters in the exercise of its

power. Curiously enough, the resolutions end with naming Mukhtar Ashraf as the

Sarparast of the madrasa. But it leaves nothing to doubt that the framers of these

resolutions and consequently the Constitution of Ashrafiya had visualized no role for

Mukhtar Ashraf, whose grandfather Ali Husain Ashrafi had been one of the

founders of this madrasa. Tucked away towards the very end of the dastur is a two

line mention of the Satparast of the madrasa. The only role which is visualized is that

6The Constitution (Dastur e Ama~ of madrasa Ashrafiya was prepared after the powers had been devolved to Abdul Aziz. It was ratified in June, 1971 and was registered in the saine month in Gorakhpur. I have a copy of this original dastur e ama/, signed among others by :\bdul Aziz himself.

94

•

of giving guidance to the madrasa from time to time: "the Saraparast should visit the

madrasa at least once in a year for inspection and guidance"'.

The continuance of Mukhtar Ashraf as the Sarparast e Idara despite the

differences between Ashrafiya and him should not come as a surprise. After all,

madras a Ashrafiya had been inaugurated and patronized by Ali Husain Ashrafi, the

grandfather of Mukhtar Ashraf. Moreover, as we have seen previously, Abdul Aziz

himself had become the murid of Ali Husain Ashrafi during the initial days of the

madrasa. Most importantly, the family of Ali Husain Ashrafi had been pits to many

of the Barelwi families in Mubarakpur. The Muslims of Mubarakpur were regular

attendees at the annual urs of Ashraf Jehangir Simnani at the saint's grave in

Kichocha. Later, after the death of Ali Husain Ashrafi in 1936, they had continued to

revere his grave along with the main shrin~ at Kichocha. It was in continuance of

this tradition of spiritual networks that Ashrafiya sought to retain the name of

Mukhtar Ashraf as its Sarparast. Also the mere name of someone associated with the

holy lineage of Abdul Qadir Jil~ni meant continued baraka and Abdul Aziz, in the

Barelwi tradition of discipleship wanted Ashrafiya to be associated with such a name.

Moreover, the association with the house of Chistiya-Qadariyya would translate in

more benefits in the form of followers and which consequently would help in the

proposed expansion of madras a Ashrafiya, a point which would not have escaped

Abdul Aziz himself.

During the pre-1971 phase the madrasa, Ashrafiya did not have a well laid

out printed Constitution. This however, does not mean that there were no rules

according to which the madrasa was run. As we have seen in the previous chapter,

7 Dastur e Amal, al J amiatul Ashrafiya, 'Sarparast e Idara'

95

the establishment of the madrasa itself had been the result of collective effort of the

Muslims of Mubarakpur. It was therefore in the order of things that the madrasa had

much greater surveillance and control from the ordinary Muslims themselves. It was

not unusual for any Barelwi Muslim to inquire into affairs of the madrasa. More

often than not, it translated into the fact that socially important people had a say in

the day to day running of the madrasa. The decisions taken in the madras a therefore,

were open to scrutiny for all, and economically well off sections of the Muslims had

a decisive say in the madrasa. Under such a fluid situation, Abdul Aziz, then the

Muhtamitn of the madrasa was directly answerable to the people for any of his

actions. Since there was no Shura, the pressure to listen to all and satisfy tllem all was

an important task of the Muhtamitn. Related to this was the position of the Sarparast

of the madrasa, in the peJ;son of Mukhtar Ashraf, whose rights in relation to the

madrasa were not defined and who would be accessible to those Muslims who·

thought that the madrasa was not lun as they think it should be run. It was this

ambiguous relationship of Mukhtar Ashraf which gave him the power to 'interfere'

in the affairs of the madrasa and have a final say in its affairs. The demand of

constituting a shura by Abdul Aziz should be seen against such a backdrop of fluidity

and ambiguity of power relationship centering on the madrasa AshrafIya. For once it

lessened his dependence on the people of Mubarakpur which meant that he had to

deal now only with a recognized body, which he had help constitute, rather than with

the more amorphous category of Muslims of Mubarakpur. It was thus an exercise in

Foucauldian normalization of power.

However, at the same time this measure of Abdul Aziz brought a certain

remoteness, a distance between the Barelwi Muslims of Mubarakpur and the madrasa

96

which they had helped create. Moreover, reducing the powers of Mukhtar Ashraf did

not go down well among a section of the Barelwis who as stated above were regular

at the shrine of Kichocha. In this context it is important to know that the new

Sarbarah e Ala of madras a Ashrafiya, Abdul Aziz, had also appointing a number of

Mutawailil who were to act as guardians of Islam in the qasba. Whether this was a

conscious design on their part is beyond the question. What is important is that the

institution of Mutawalli played a very important part in the normalization of relation

between Ashrafiya and the Barelwi population of Mubarakpur after the events of

1971. There were five· Mutawalli chosen by Abdul Aziz himself. The role of the

Mutawalli was to enforce 'Islam' in the qasbah of Mubarakpur in accordance with

the tradition of Ahl e Sunnat wa Jamaat. These Mutawallis were all successful traders

themselves., so that this was not a special role. But definitely this was empowering to

these powerful individuals who could mould public opinion in thett favour. On the

face of it therefore, the Mutawallis were to prohibit any 'un-Islamic' acti'\rity, like

proper enforcing of the veil, to prohibit gambling and alcohol, etc. They also had to

look into the reason as to why a family was not sending its son to school and tell

them to do so. They had the authority to levy filles in case of extreme transgressions

such as drinking of alcohol or being lapse during the month of Ramadhan without

any sound reason9. However, they had a very limited say in the affairs of the madrasa

since being members of Mcylis e Shura rather than the more select group of Mqjiis e

8 Technically, mutawallis are caretakers/ custodians who are specially named so in wakf/ deed. In the case of Ashrafiya, the meaning is different. 9 Personal Interview, Mutawalli, Mubarakpur. Although he still is known by that title, he has been stripped of the powers that he enjoyed at Abdul ""'ziz's time. Abdul Hafeez, his son, seems to have dispensed with this institution, partly because the madrasa does not need them any more for the exercise of its own hegemony. The madrasa now is so big and well entrenched that its anxiety about its acceptance by the people of Mubarakpur is simply not a matter of concern anymore. For the role of Mutawalli see, Zafeeruddin Miftahi (1996), Mosque in Islam

97

Amia, their influence was very limited in the day to day running of the madrasa.

What the institution of Mutawalli did was to give a semblance power and authority to

the Muslims of the qasbah. It did offset their grievance regarding the loss of

collective character of the madrasa. At the same time, these Mutawallis worked for

the hegemony of the Ashrafiya, since being part of its organizational structure, they

were identified as such. More importantly, the Mutawallis worked for a disciplinary

and disciplining 'Islamic regime' an agenda which was an indelible part of madrasa

Ashrafiya. Through the institution of Mutawalli, therefore, the madras a gave back a

sense of collective corporate power to the Muslims, while at the same time distanced

itself from them since now they had to deal directly only with a group of select

people.

Clearly then, having been stripped of all powers, Mukhtar Ashraf resigned from

being the Sarparast of Ashrafiya in 1971 10• The sam~ Shura which had endorsed the

nine point resolution cited above now also made a full fledged Constitution of

Ashrafiya, in which the above discussed nine resolutions are also included. The

Dastur, as it is known, is a document which lays out the power and privileges,· rights

and duties of the teachers, important functionaries of the madras a such as the Nazim

e Ala, Nazim e Talimat, Sadar, etc. While it lists the rights and duties for madrasa

functionaries, the dastur only has duties rather than rights for its prospective

. students. For the smooth functioning of the madras a, the organizational structure

envisages two Committees: Majlis e Shura and Majlis e Intezamia/ Amla. The Majlis e

Shura is a general committee, consisting of 51 members selected from all over India

for five years. The requirement for being included in this committee is that they

10 Al Jamiatul Ashrafiya, p 86.

98

should be Sunni/Barelwi Muslims and should be well versed with the 'law of the _

land,l1. The Majlis e Shura should meet at least once in a year, although the dastur

does not make it mandatory to do so. It is the second committee, the Majlis e Amla

which is more important since it is called the working committee and is directly

responsible for the day to day functioning of the madrasa. This is an 11 member

committee, chosen out of the Majlis e Shura, the requirements being the same. But

while the Shura is considered a national representative committee, the members of

the Amla are chosen on the basis of their availability for the madrasa. They are

therefore the most important functionaries of the madrasa since the Sadar, Nazim,

etc. all have to be members of the Majlis e Amla. Like the members of the Majlis e

Shura, they are also chosen for a period of five years. However, unlike the former,

this committee must meet at least three times in a year or for more in case of an

emergency. This committee is charged with implementing tlle resolutions passed by

the Shura. More importantly, the Shura approves the budget of the madrasa, which is

placed for their approval by the Majlis e Amla. In case~the Shura does not happen in

a particular year, the Amla is empowered to pass the budget which it has prepared.

As regards the budget and other decisions, it is the Majlis e Amla which has the final

say, since even in case the budget is not passed by the Shura, it can be adopted by the

Amla since the decisions of the Shura are non-binding. However, since both the

Shura and Amla members are chosen by the Sarbarah e Ala, such a situation is hardly

bound to arise.

The Ashrafiya constitution mirrors closely the differentiation and separation of

power which comes in the wake of building any modern institution. The madrasas of

11 C[ Dasfur, al Jamiatul Ashrafiya, "Nizam", clause 1 (all translations mine except otherwise indicated)

99

an earlier period often combined the roles and responsibilities of many functionaries

into one. Thus it was not unusual to find the Sadar of the madras a often also

performing the role of the Nazim as well being a teacher in the madrasa. We saw

similar combining of roles in the person of Abdul Aziz, who would often teach

Hadith while at the same time being the Principal/Nazim e Talimat of madrasa

AshrafIya. The adoption of 1971 dastur seems to have carried forward the process of

specialization. The dastur therefore has roles, rights and responsibilities well deftned

for every functionary of the madrasa. While we saw the division of functions in the

form of development of Majlis e Shura and Majlis e Atrial above, the Dastur also

talks about the different roles of important functionaries of the madrasa such as the . .

Sadar (president), Nazim e Ala (Secretary/Manager), Nazim e Talimat (principal). As

mentioned above it also has detailed regulations for the teachers and students of the

. madrasa. We have talked about the position of Sarabarh e Ala, the rights and

privileges of which were consensually devolved on Abdul Aziz. The position of the

Sadar mirrors the position of Sarbarah e Ala and during the lifetime of Sarbarh e Ala,

both these positions were fused in the person of Abdul Aziz. As is clear from the

term itself, the Sadar (president) presides over everything relating to the madrasa and

has the ftnal say in case of any dispute. Ho\vever, he is not supposed to be concerned

with the day to day to day running of the madrasa, a responsibility which falls on the

Nazim e Ala and Nazim e Talimaat. The Sadar however has to supervise both these

positions and see that the madrasa is run in accordance with the objectives of the

madrasa stated in the Dastur.

Most of the ftnances are handled via the offtce of the Nazim e Ala. He has to

keep all the records of the office, maintain the salary register of the teachers and

100

other staff members. He is also made responsible.. for the mamtenance of the

property owned by the madrasa. He maintains the account of the madras a and has

the right to correspond to anyone regarding financial matters related to the madrasa.

Although the expenditure needs to be in accordance with the resolutions passed by

the Majlis e Shura, such a check seems to be powerless since we have seen that the

N azim as a member of the Majlis e Arnla, would be fully in his powers to organize

the finances of the madrasa, as he deems fit, even without the approval of the Shura.

To aid him in the day to day running of the madrasa, the dastur makes the provision

of a Khazan (Treasurer) who handles all the money on behalf of the Nazim.

However, he cannot give any money to anyone without the approval of the Sarabarh

e Ala/Sadar. This necessity of endorsement serves to make the Nazim dependent on

the Sarbarah e Ala, who remains all powerful. While it is not mandatory for the

Nazim e Ala to be an Alim, the dastur makes it categorical that the Nazim e Talimat

must be such a person. At the same time this Alim should have e}'."perience in

teaching as well. The dastur makes him the overseer of-the 'character' (tarbjyaf) of

students and see to it that classes are held regularly and according to the madrasa

routine. An area where he has the sole power is in the matter of curriculum since

without his approval, the curriculum of the madras a cannot be changed. Moreover,

in case of any deadlock over educational matters in any of the committees, his

opinion will be considered finaL

The abov~ mentioned organizational structure of the madrasa clearly

formulates specialized roles for the madras a functionaries. Akin to any modem

. bureaucracy, the madrasa Ashrafiya makes way for a hierarchy of officials who are

responsible for carrying forward the different tasks enshrined in the dastur. At the

101

same time the madrasa organization..is subservient to its overall ideology which gets

reflected in the objectives which the madrasa has set for itself. These objectives12

were prepared by Abdul Aziz himself along with other Ulama associated with the

madras a at that time and endorsed by the Majlis e Shura. They are as follows:

• To spread the education of 'true' religion which in this case is the mazhab of

Ahle Sunnat wa Jamaat. To spread as well as to organize the Ahle Sunnat wa

Jamaat and to make this madras a into the apex madrasa of Ahle Sunnat wa

Jamaat.

• To open other madrasas across the country on similar pattern and to

organize and supervise them.

• To provide for other kinds of education (worldly I dun!Jawt) in this madrasa,

for purposes of earning a living.

• To provide for books of all disciplines so as to create a library m this

madrasa.

• To do tabfigh and taknr of Ahle Sunnat wa Jamaat and to create religiosity

among Muslims.

• To serve J ama Masjid Raja Mubarak Shah and the people of Mubarakpur.

• To do tabligh of Imam Ahle Sunnat Ala Hazrat Barelwi and to save the

Muslims from bad-mazhabis

• To continue with the study of Dars e Alia along with Dars e Nizamia. To

have a full fledged department of fatawa writing. To have another

department of munazara. To continue to fmd ways to establish a technical

institute.

12 Cf. Dastllr, alJamiatul Ashrafiya

102

The objectives of the madras a serve two related purposes. First of all it lays

down in no unequivocal terms that it wants to expand itself from merely teaching

only religious education to an institution which teaches other 'worldly' subjects also.

This is reflected in its urge to find ways to establish a technical institute. It is not sure

what it means by the word 'technical institute', but defmitely it did not mean a vision

of having an engineering college or something akin to that. The meaning of technical

institute within madras a AshrafIya meant having an institute which would teach the

students some skills which would equip them to find some jobs in the market The

idea of the technical institute might have included training t4e students in book

binding, the art of calligraphy, etc. all considered 'pious' works. This idea of technical

institute had already been in practice in the Madrasa Faiz ul Ulum, Jamshedpur,

started by Arshadul Qadri, himself a graduate of Madrasa AshrafIya. He was also

present in the meeting which endorsed the Dastur of AshrafIya. The rationale for

having a technical institute and to teach worldly subjects was that students would be

able to earn a living through these skills. It must also be mentioned here that this was

also the time of migration to Gulf countries due' to the oil boom13. Having a

technical institute would have served the purpose of giving training to these migrants

so that they can have some skills. In this sense the madras a seems to appropriate and

even extend its influence to hitherto uncharted terrain. This proposed extension of

AshrafIya would have brought the madrasa new loyalties within Mubarakpur itself as

no other madras a had a similar programme and no such institute existed in its

vicinity. It was therefore an attempt to capture a growing immigrant population, who

13 CE. Mary Searle Chatterjee, Contemporary South Asia (1994), p. 83

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becal.lse of its association with Ashrafiya, would have become the carriers of their

version of Islam and as followers would have become its humble donors.

The reference to 'worldly' subjects in the objectives of Madrasa Ashrafiya

also should be understood in a limited sense. It does not mean that the madras a

wanted to teach subjects such as modem science or social sciences. Rather the

mention of other subjects should be read along with its objectives to establish a

technical institute. The understanding was that .the madrasa, in time would start

teaching other languages such as Hindi and English, the need of which had been

voiced by Abdul Aziz form time to timel4• Such a move, it was understood, was

necessary for two purposes. As stated in chapt~r 2, teaching of English and Hindi

was considered necessary to counter the attacks of rival maslaks which was being

done in these languages, both in India and among the Diaspora abroad. Secondly,

acquisition of these languages would also serve a more mundane purpose of

providing jobs to the graduates of this madrasa where language skills were needed

such as those of translation, journalis~, etc. The mention of 'other subjects' should

therefore not be taken to include the study of social sciences, sciences, etc. In this,

despite being in doctrinal opposition, it emulated the resistance of Deoband madrasa

in its refusal to include modem studies as part of its curriculum. Metcalf has argued

that the purpose of establishment of the Deoband madrasa was to safeguard the

traditional Islamic education, which was at the verge of disappearing at the close of

19th century. The curriculum of Deoband therefore consisted of a reformulated dars

e nizami which had a clear preference for manqulat (revealed) as opposed to maqulat

14 'Hafiz e Millat number', MahanamaAshraJrya, p. 78, 80

104

(rational) SCiences. Moreover, there was active opposition led by Rashid Ahmad

Gangohi, against the teaching modern subjects including philosophylS.

The second purpose of these objectives was to clearly demarcate what

Ashrafiya considered as 'true Islam' and what it took upon itself to do. The

expansion of the madtasa was to be subservient to this fundamental objective of

spreading knowledge of what it argued was the true Islam. It defines true Islam as

following the path of Ahle Sunnat wa Jamaat. In fact most of its objectives are to

propagate the cause of their own maslak. The prime objective of the madrasa

therefore is to organize and strengthen the Jamaat. This was sought to be done

through making the madrasajnto the apex institution of the Barelwi maslak.

Simultaneously it envisages opening or encouraging opening up of more madrasa on

similar lines across the length and breadth of the country, a feat in which it wanted to _

emulate the Deobandi network of madras as. It must be mentioned here that by this

time (1971), Deoband already had a network of 8934 maktabs and madras as dotting

the countryl6. It was a widely felt need among thel3!lrelwis, including Abdul Aziz

himself that they lagged behind their rival Deobandis in terms of organization and

they felt that having a network of madrasas would be the best way to do S017. In

addition to this the objectives also sets for itself the important activity of tabligh and

takrir. This seems to be a counter effort to dissuade the Muslims to become

IS Metcalf, Islamic Revival, p. 103 16 Quoted in Metcalf, Islamic Revival, p. 111 17 Personal Interview, Yasin Akhtar 11isbahi; Abdul Aziz, "the sunnis lack the emotion required for organization" quoted in Hafiz e i'vIillat number, p. 71. Usha Sanyal too argues that in Bareilly, the seat of the Barelwi tradition in India, the focus is more on piri- muridi rather than towards making an organization; cf. Sanyal (1998), 'Generational Changes in )\hle Sunnat wa Jamaat', pp.635-656

105

Deobandis by becoming involved with the Tabligh Jamaaes. It is well known that the

Tabligh Jamaat had close connections with the Deoband and that Deobandi

madrasas serve as institutional support structures for the visiting batches of

Tablighis. In addition to this, the madrasa also sets upon itself to do takrirl speech of

the 'true' path of Ahmad Riza Khan. For this purpose it envisions a whole separate

department of munazara where makiflg speeches in defence of the maslak will be

taughe9. This however, is not to suggest that the madras a did not have this

institution before. Indeed among its alumni, Arshadul Qadri (d. 2002) and

Obaidullah Azmi were known as great speakers of their times. But as was argued

earlier, dle maqrasa did not have such differentiations earlier and many roles were

combined in one. Having a separate department for honing the debating skills of its

students were necessary considering the threat from the Deobandis. Also, trying to

project itself as the apex madrasa of Ahle Sunnat wa Jamaat, its Ulama would be

called to give speeches by their community or to participate in a munazara20• Metcalf

has noted that the debates during the close of. 19th century were 'social events' and

that they served the purpose to confirm a sense of community among its

participants. These debates were not only a 'ritual' of community building vis-a-vis

the others such as the Christians and the Hindus but also vis-a-vis other Muslim

groups. The self prestige of the Deobandi Ulama in such settings were not only

defined in terms of their routing of non-Muslim opponents but they also derived

satisfaction from being considered as the vanguard of Muslim defence since the

18 The 'faith movement' started by the Maulana Muhammad Ilyas (d. 1 (44) during the late 1920s. The Tabligh movement aims at revitalization of Islam through individual regeneration. The movement has close links with Deobandi Islam, Maulana Ilyas' family having long association with Deoband and its sister madrasa at Saharanpur, Mazahir ul Ulum. 19 The department of munazara had existed at Deoband Madrasa, see Metcalf, Islami,' Revival, p. 231 20 Personal interview: Abdul Mannan, Sahikh ul Hadith, Madrasa Shamsul Ulum, also one of the signatories of the Dastur.

106

Barelwi Ulama were mostly 'silent' on such occasions21• The necessity of having a

separate department of munazara would have not escaped Abdul Aziz himself, since

as we saw in the previous chapter; he had himself debated with the Deobandi Allin

of the rival Ehya ul Ulum madras a, Shukrul1ah Mubarakpuri. One hundred years on

the need for having munazaras did not diminish. Rather its need was being

reformulated afresh. This time by a Barelwi madras a, which had a blueprint of

expansion in order to create networks of Barelwi communities, a task in which they

claimed the Barelwis had lagged behind.

Abdul Aziz did not live long after the endorsement of the dastur. It was his

_ desire to see madras a Ashrafiya develop into al Jamiatul Ashrafiya, the finer points of

which he had laid down in the above mentioned dastur. Abdul Aziz died in May

1976. Before his death he had the satisfaction to h_ave organized two educational

conferences, laying the foundation stone of al J amiatul Ashrafiya and inaugurating its

publication department which brought out the first issue of Mahanama Ashrafiya

(Ashrafiya Monthly) shortly .?efore his death22• The first educational conference was

held on 6th of May 1972, slightly away from the main qasba, in the vicinity of where

the madras a stands now. It was attended by a large number of Ahle Sunnat Ulama.

Prominent among them were Mustafa Riza Khan23, Syed Ale Mustafa24 and Arshadul

Qadri. We saw above how the plan to expand Ashrafiya had led Abdul Aziz into

conflict with its sarparast, Mukhtar Ashraf, who had resigned in 1971. Although

21 Metcalf, Islamic Revival, p. 219 22 al Jamiatul Ashrqrya, pp.86-87 23 Mustafa Raza Khan (d.1981) was the younger son of Ahmad Riza Khan, known to his followers as the Mufti e Azam e Hind 24 Syed Ale Mustafa, a prominent member of the family of Barkatiya Syeds from r"farhara to which Ahmad Riza was affiliated through Sufi discipleship. At the time of the above mentioned Conference, he was the President of all India Sunni Jamiatul Ulama, an umbrella organization of Barelwi Ulama in India.

107

Abdul Aziz lost a valuable patron, yet the madrasa did not sever its ties from the

house of Kichocha. Abdul Aziz was clear that the expansion of the madrasa would

have to be done by projecting it as the Sunni madras a which had the potential of

rivalling the Darul Ulum at Deoband. The presence of Syed Ale Mustafa had the

potential to offset the loss of its earlier patron.

There was another significance of the presence of Syed Ale Mustafa. Within

a section of Muslims in Mubarakpur and outside, the conflict between Mukhtar

Ashraf and Abdul Aziz had been seen in terms of caste: Mukhtar Ashraf being a high

caste Syed and Abdul Aziz being a low caste Ansari. The expansion of the madrasa

could not be realized if such divisions became the dominant perception; madrasa

Ashrafiya therefore had to shun its image of being an Ansari madrasa. It is in this

context that the presence of Mustafa Riza Khan and Syed Ale Mustafa makes sense.

Abdul Aziz had made the propagation of the ideas of Ahmad Riza Khan as one of

the important objectives of the madrasa. Also, he had already earned much goodwill

by debating with the Deobandis iike Shukrullah and had consolidated the Barehvi

population of Mubarakpur under the fulcrum of Ashrafiya. Moreover, Abdul Aziz's

own mentor, Amjad Ali had been the disciple of Ahmad Riza Khan. The presence of

Mustafa Riza Khan was therefore an attempt to reinvigorate these dormant ties of

discipleship. Additionally it silenced the impression that madrasa Ashrafiya was an all

Ansari affair. The presence of a Syed, in the person of Ale Mustafa, served the same

purpose. Moreover, it brought much needed cultural capital to madrasa Ashrafiya,

since it could now present itself as having the grace (baraka) of being associated with

one of the leading family of Syeds in India, a family whose disciple included their

108

own Ala Hazrat, Ahmad Riza Khanzs. On. the other hand, for Ale Mustafa, the

occasion was used to mark out the special status of Syed in Indian Muslim society,

hinting that the success of Ashrafiya can come about only when it is closely

associated with a Syed like himself:

"There is a descendant of the Prophet with Hafiz e Millat (Abdul Aziz) in the

great cause of Ashrafiya and one who is favoured with the association of a

descendant of the Prophet is naturally blessed with the help and the assistance

of the prophet himself. If there is a need I am all ready to do every type of

service and make sacrifice for the development of the Madrasa along with my

disciples. "26

It was after this Conference that the foundation stone of the new building of

Ashrafiya was laid. The then Ashrafiya was a two storey building which was built

during a· process of ten years (1935-1945). Not much infrastructural work had

happened after that. The need for bigger building had been felt since the early sixties

with the growing number of students. The new plan for Ashrafiya therefore saw it

move to a different location, a 40 acre plot just outside the qasba, near the main road

which links Mubarakpur with the main town of Azamgarh. One of the first buildings

• to come up was a students' hostel and it was called Barkati hostel, so called in

deference to their new closeness with the Barkatiyya Syeds. Other buildings were

added slowly and gradually until in 1991, the old two- storey building itself in Purani

Basti was demolished to make way for a new six storey, which has now become an

ancillary to the main madrasa building outside the qasba. However, as mentioned

above, all this happened much after the death of Abdul Aziz in 1976. While the

25 For the association of Ahmad Riza Khan with the family of Barkatiya Syeds, see Sanyal, Devotional Islam, pp. 97-127 . 26 Syed Ale Mustafa, quoted in al JamiatulAshrafiya, p. 30

109

Ashrafiya booklet gives the credit for everything to Abdul Aziz, in reality the real

expansion of Ashrafiya took place during the time of his successor and son, Abdul

Hafeez.

Sarbarah eAla, Abdul Aziz had not named his successor. Although the new

dastur had given him the right to do so, he had refrained from it, arguing that it was

upto the Mus4ms of Mubarakpur to choose his successor27• Among those closely

associated with him were Muhammad Rauf, who was the Vice Principal (Naib

Nazim e Talimaat) of the Madrasa and Abdul Mannan, one of the important teachers

of Hadith. Muhammad Rauf had died shortly after the finalization of the dastur in

1971. That left only Abdul Mannan to be considered as the successor of Abdul Aziz

since he was the senior most and had been a student of Abdul Aziz himself. One

member of the Shura, Muhammad I~rahim28, proposed the name of Abdul Mannan

to be the Sarbarah e Ala. Supporting the candidature of Abdul Mannan were two

other members of the Shura, Qari Muhammad Yahya, the then Nazim e Ala and

Maulana Muhanu:n,ad Shafi, the~then Nazim e Talimaae9• There was much debate on

the question of successor since there was no consensus on the name of Abdul

Mannan. Another member of the Shura, Bekal Utsahi30, castigated other members

present that they were forgetting the services of Abdul Aziz. He argued that a true

recognition of Abdul Aziz's services would mean that one has to look for his

successor in his own family. Thus he proposed the name of Abdul Aziz's son, Abdul

27 Hafiz e Millat Number, Mahanama Ashrrifrya, p. 69 28Muhammad Ibrahim was a resident of Poora Sufi and was one of the successful traders in Mubarakpur. He was one of the original signatories to the Dastut which made Abdul Aziz into a Sarbarah e Ala. 29 Both Qari Muhammad Yahya and Muhammad Shafi had been closely associated with Abdul Aziz and had been original signatories to the dastur which made him the Sarbarah e Ala. They collectively shared the vision of making madrasa into the apex institution of Ahle Sunnat wa Jamaat in India. 30 Bekal Utsahi is a well known poet and a former Rajya Sabha member.

110

Hafeez on which broad consensus could onl¥ be arrived at after the withdrawal of

the name of Abdul Mannan by Muhammad Ibrahim.

After Abdul Hafeez became the Sarbarah e Ala and Sadar of the madrasa,

there was much consternation among those members of the Shura who had wanted

Abdul Mannan to be the successor of Abdul Aziz. One of the important reasons was

that it was widely felt that Ashrafiya was getting transformed like any other madrasa

into a <family concern'. In this they had quoted Abdul Aziz himself who had refused

to name his successor even when it was in his power to do so. Then, there was the

fact that Abdul Mannan had been a student of Abdul· Aziz and that he was

considered one of the important authorities on hadis and a leading Mufti of his time.

Led by suchan Alim, the madras a would gain additional prestige. But perhaps the

most important matter was not the personal qualities and qualifications of Abdul

Mannan but the lack of it in Abdul Hafeez, the eventual successor of the madrasa.

Abdul Hafeez had only had an elementary madras a education. His main schooling

was done in a government school nearby and after that he had studied for his

graduate degree at the Aligarh Muslim University. As has been seen in many families

ofUlama3t, Abdul Aziz, while signaling the need for madrasa education for Muslims,

had opted for secular education for his son. This despite the fact that his madrasa's

own dastur32 mentions that to fight against the naturil'3 is one of the important

31See Francis Robinson (2002), The Ulama ofFirangi Mahalf, Claudia Leibeskind (1998), Piery on its Knees: Three Sufi Traditions in South Asia in Modem Times, for comparable instances. 32 Cf. Dastur, 'Policy', clause 3 _ 33 Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, the founder of MAO College (now Aligarh Muslim University) was and still is considered by many as a 'Naturi'. A naturi is one who attaches too much importance to nature as opposed to divine will while explaining any phenomenon.

111

matters of faith for the madrasa Ashrafiya. The detractors of Abdul Hafeez argued

that since he was not a madrasa educated Alim, he should not lead the madrasa34•

However, it was precisely the lack of this qualification which in the end made

him the Sarbarah e Ala. As I have argued above, the developments within madras a

Ashrafiya cannot be understood without the process of ongoing differentiation with

the Mubarakpur Muslim society. We have seen how, from a sense of collective

ownership the madrasa tried to successfully transform itself as one among many

social institutions in that society. From a period when madrasa students would live

With. the families of Mubarakpur who would take care of their food and clothing

(during the 1930-40s) to a time when the madrasa had its own two storey building is

an example of such differentiation. However, we see that in the 1970s the madrasa

desires to expand itself further and ingratiates itself outside the qasba, physically

removed from the everyday surveillance of qasba Muslims. The demolition of the old

structure was perhaps the firmest example on the part of the madrasa to do away the

educational understandings of the past and reposition itself as Q!le, although leading, . ,.~

educational institution of the qasba. The blue print for all this had already been in the

dastur which I have already mentioned previously. The argument for the selection of

Abdul Hafiz was precisely that. It was argued that he was the best placed among all

to work for the expansion of the madrasa. Having himself studied at a modern

University, he would be fully conversant of the needs which a <modem' institution

might have. He would also be able to work his way through the government

machinery since his knowledge of English would put him at ease as compared to the

other Ulama. In other words it was being argued that the proposed expansion of

34Muslims in Mubarakpur as well as the publications of madrasa Ashrafiya refer to Abdul Hafeez as a Maulana, which is clearly misleading since he was never trained as an Alim. .

112

maruasa Ashrafiya could only come about with. a person having the requisite 'cultural

and social capital'. After all, madras a A~hrafiya \vas set to become an 'Arabic

University' and who could be better suited to lead this transformation than a

University graduate himself. Successive events, almost thirty years after he was

chosen th~ Sarbarah e Ala, have proved that those who argued for him were right ..

We have seen the maruasa accommodated the students in a two storey

building located in the qasba since the late 1940s. After the death of Abdul Aziz in

1976, the maruasa still operated from the same building in Purani Basti. Gradually,

new sites were acquired a litde distance away from the qasba, and the maruasa

moved there, permanendy establishing itself on a 40 acre· campus, where it now

stands. As we have seen, the old maruasa building itself was demolished in 1991.

Much before that in 1973-74, a two storey building was constructed at this new site

which served as the administrative building cum classrooms35• This had been done

during the time of Abdul Aziz himself but the construction of it went on after his

death, portions being added to this building as time and money permitted. The final

piece added to this building was a dome which was built much later during the time

of Abdul Hafiz. The construction of this building served to lessen the chaotic spatial

arrangements within the old maruasa. Offices of the Principal, Nazim and other

essential officers were shifted to this building. Some of the higher classes, such as

those of upper levels of students studying for their fazilat degree were also shifted.

The classes. of the lower grades including those of hifz continued to be held in the

old maruasa in Purani Basti. Presendy, this building is one of the main structures of

the campus and on entering the campus gate this is the first structure which one

35 af Jamiatuf Ashrafrya, p. 31

113

comes across. Classes of all levels, including hifz are now held at both the floors of

this building. Some rooms at the ground floor serve as offices of the madrasa.

Other buildings of the madrasa were added after that. Progress was slow but

steady and in the period of thirty years, the madras a today is one of the biggest in

India. There are two students' hostels: Barkati hostel and Azizi Hostel. As we noted

earlier, the former was built earlier and was completed duriilg the early 1990s. The

second hostel, Azizi was built later during the period 1996-99. Both these hostels

serve to accommodate nearly 90% of the students of the madrasa of all levels.

- Barkati hostel is a two storey structure while Azizi is a much bigger three storey

structure. Among them they accommodate around 2000 students. The living

arrangements in these hostels are very modest. The rooms do not have beds and

students generally sleep on the fl90r. There are some very big halls in these hostels

which serve to accommodate generally Hifz students. In a single hall, there would be

25-50 students of Hifz, Nazra, etc in the age group of 10-15. The students generally

have their belongings on the _ !l0or, where they sleep, including their books. Then

there are smaller rooms where senior students live. These students are generally

studying for their Fazilat degree and are normally in the higher classes. On an

average around 6-8 students would occupy these rooms. These rooms have

cupboards in them and the students generally would keep their necessary belongings

there. Then there is another smaller -hostel, which is reserved for the students of

Tahqccrl but also accommodates students of higher stages of Fazilat. The

arrangement is similar to the other two hostels. There are plans for building a

36 The highest degree that madrasas bestows on its students. Tahqeeq is a two course after Fazilat in which students are supposed to write dissertation on a topic of their choice. It is equivalent to a Masters degree in mainstream universities in India.

114

separate hostel for foreign students in the near Juture, the foundation stone for

which has already been laid by Abdul Hafeez37.

Other buildings within the precincts of the madrasa include a teachers'

colony which was completed in 2003. As the name suggests, it houses the madrasa

teachers and their families, although not all of them stay here since some are

residents of the qasba themselves. A maruasa of this stature cannot be without a

mosque. The foundation stone of a grand mosque inside the madrasa was laid in

1991. It has been almost complete, but beautification work of the exterior of the

mosque is still underway. Called Aziz ul Masajid, it is one of the grandest structures

inside the madtasa precincts. Other recent buildings include an imposing dining hall

which accommodates 1000 students at anyone time. The students are normally

required to take their meals there although senior students are encouraged to take

their meals inside their rooms so as to lessen congestion inside the mess. Another

recent building of Ashrafiya is called the Hafiz e Millat technical institute38• It is

actually a computer center in which students learn the basic of computers handling.

There are around 10-12 computers in this building which is accessible only to the

higher grade students of Fazilat. This 'modernization' of the maruasa took place in

2003 and this 'institute' is run by a graduate of J arnia Millia Islamia having a diploma

in computer applications39• Finally there is the Central Library which is still being

constructed behind the main administrative building. The library presently has a

small collection, of books mainly related to the course of study in the madrasa. It is

37 Personal Interview, Qaisar Jawed, al Jamiatul Ashrafiya 38 As noted above, the technical institute was originally mentioned in the dastur which was framed by Abdul Aziz. The appellate 'Hafiz e Millat' serves to honor that wish of Abdul Aziz. 39 Personal Interview, Muhammad Shamim who supervises the 'technical institute'

115

planned as one of the biggest libraries which would house different kinds of religious

books40, although the area allotted to the library does not give this impression.

The madrasa has also expanded its area of activities in founding 'mainstream' .

schools in the qasba, especially for girls. The same committe~, which runs the

madras a, also runs these schools. These schools are located at different places within

the qasba and are thus spatially separate from the madrasa. The fIrst of these schools

was founded way back in 1965 by Abdul Aziz himselr1, although this was not a

regular school but only a maktab meant for girls to learn the Quran and other

essentials of religion. During the time of Abdul Hafiz, a Junior High School42 was

opened for boys in 1977. This was upgraded to a High School in 1990. Also in the

1990s, a primary school was established. While both boys and girls would study

together uptothe primary stage, they ~ould be segregated after that. As far as girls

were concerned, a Junior High School for them was established only in 1989 which

was upgraded to the level of High School in 1994. It is worthwhile to note that there

: --c'now exists an Inter College for girls run by Ashrafiya but a comparable institution

for boys has not been thought about. Students in these schools are taught a

government syllabus which is comparable to the other schools. At the same time

they also have classes in 'deen!Jat' which teaches them the elementary aspects of their

religion.

In 2004, al Jamiatul AshrafIya had over three thousand students in its

different departments. In the Arabic section alone, the madrasa had more than one

40 Personal Interview, Qaisar Jawed, madrasa Ashrafiya 41 al Jamiatul Ashrafrya, p. 86 42 Junior High School would teach students up to 8th standard, High school up to 10th and Primary school up to standard five.

116

thousand students43• Other madras as of Mubarakpur, ~uch as those run by the

Deobandis and the Ahle Hadith, the student number no where reaches this figure.

Thus the total number of students in all departments of the Deobandi Ehya ul Ulum

is around one thousand with Arabic department having 250 students only44. Similarly

madras a Dar al Taleem of the AWe Hadith has a total number of only around six

hundred students45• One important reason for the growth and expansion of madrasa

Ashrafiya has to do with the clientele which it formed during the course of its

operation. Thus although all Muslim denominations are to be found in Mubarakpur,

the greatest number is that of the Barelwis. Added to this is also the fact that the

Barelwis are also economically better off than the other denominations in this qasba.

This numerical and the economic clout translates into greater donations for the

madras a Ashrafiya which derives its finances mostly from the zaka! money donated

to the inadrasa by Barelwi Muslims of Mubarakpur.

It would however be wrong to limit madras a Ashrafiya to Mubarakpur alone .

. As stated earlier, the madras a is considered as the apex institution of the Ahle Sunnat

wa Jamaat in India. Its successful expansion has given rise to a number of other

Barelwi madras as across the length and breadth of the country, although they are

more in certain regions and compared to others. Ashrafiya helped many Barelwi

madrasas to get established. Thus Abdul Aziz himself laid the foundation stone of

Barehvi madrasas such as madrasa Faruquia in Moradabad, madrasa Faiz ul Ulum in

Jamshedpur, madrasa.Ain ul Ulum in Gaya, madrasa Ahle Sunnat in Gorakhpur,

43 Data from the office of alJamiatul Ashrafiya 44Personal Interview, Abdul Moeed Qasmi, Nazim, Madrasa Ehya ul Ulum 45Personal Interview, Abdur Rab Faizi, Nazim, Madrasa Dar al Taleem

117

- .. ~;,~

madrasa Anwarl ul Ulum, Azamgarh, etc46• Some of these madras as were established

by the graduates of Ashrafiya themselves such as the Ain ul Ulum in Gaya started by

Serajul Hoda and Faiz e Aam in Jamshedpur started by Arshadul Qadri. Other

madrasas were the result of local Barelwi initiatives. Thus madrasa Anwar ul Ulum

(later changed to Anwar ul Quran) in Azamgarh was founded during the early 1940s

by the Halalkhors47 who wanted a madras a- in their vicinity to teach the basics of

Islam to their children48• Abdul Aziz was called for laying the foundation stone of

this madrasa. On the other hand madrasa Aziz ul Ulum, also in Azamgarh was

formed around a decade ago by a murid of the current Sadai of Ashrafiya, Abdul

Hafeez, who is called Aziz e Millat by his followers; the madrasa deriving its name

from this title. Almost all the teachers of this madras a are graduates of madras a

Ashrafiya themselves. Moreover, the _parent madras a in Mubarakpur also pays the

salary of two of its teachers. The madrasa, although financed mostly through local

donations, is built on a piece of land which is owned by madrasa Ashrafiya 49.

Thus, similar to Deoband, Ashrafiya also developed a network of madrasas,

which was staffed by its own graduatesso. Thus the booklet of the madras a provides

the names of 67 madrasas where two or more of its graduates are teachingS!. This

however, is not exhaustive52 but a list of the more important madras as organized by

the Barelwis. The listed madrasas represent the geographical diversity of its reach and

46 Hafiz e Millat number, MahanamaAshrafrya, p 76 47 Being very 'low' caste, Halalkhors occupy of a very low social status among the Muslim society. Risley defInes them as those 'to whom all kinds of food are lawful", Cf. Risley, Caste and Tribes of

India, Vol 1, p. 310. See also Buchanan's account of Halalkhors in the erstwhile district of Shahabad, Cf. Buchanan, An Account of District Shahabad, p.182. For a contemporary account see, Ali Anwar (2001), Masawaat ki Jung, pp. 41-43 48 Personal Interview, Taufeeq Ahmad, Nazim, Madrasa Anwar ul Quran 49Personal Interview, Ali Afsar Azizi, Principal, Aziz ul Ulum sOIn the context of Deoband, see Metcalf, Islamic Revival, p. 135 j! al J amiatul Ashrtifrya, pp. 75-76 52 Personal Interview, Yasin Akhtar Misbahi, who has compiled the list

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acceptance. Thus apart from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar,-graduates of the madras a are

teaching in places such as Kerala, Maharashtra, Del!U, Gujarat and Bengal as well as

in neighbouring Pakistan.

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