Some basic facts should be kept in mind that may help make clear the importance of the Deobandi School:[1] The scholars of Deoband represent an educational movement that has succeeded in removing many evils in Muslim societies through painstaking grass roots work. Many alien practices and beliefs to Islam crept into the lives of Muslims such as the worship of graves, the celebration of festivals that have no basis in the Deen and many other innovations.

Deobandi scholars, taking the path of moderation, without branding people as disbelievers, have intellectually made people appreciate the error of these things. Similarly, a great evil that dogs this Umma is simple lack of knowledge of the teachings of the Deen, in the sense of knowing how to read the Holy Qur'an correctly, how to perform Salah amongst other acts of worship in the correct way and of course how a Muslim must conduct himself with society in general and what are the rights his family, relatives and various sections of society have upon him. It cannot be denied the Deobandi madrasas have fulfilled this need to a great degree by producing thousands of proficient reciters and Huffaz (memorizers) of the Holy Qur'an, scholars who are intimately aware of the rulings of the Deen and understand the Holy Qur'an and Hadith in a thoroughly holistic manner. These men and women have gone into the World and taught thousands of people the above things, bringing the Deen practically into the lives of the believers something which a person who studies only in a University in the West could never do, as the mentality created in these institutes is merely to criticize and argue. What also needs to be appreciated is that to first reach this deep level of knowledge has taken people (men and women) to sacrifice years of their lives, sometimes over six years, to acquire this sacred knowledge and then to expend the rest of their lives in the service of the Deen in teaching and preaching. How many of the critics sitting in university classrooms today are willing to give this kind of sacrifice for the sake of the Umma? [2] The Scholars of Deoband have always been accepted by the mainstream Arab scholars as reputable vessels of sacred learning. Scholars who have openly praised Deobandi scholars are many; they include the likes of the Shaikh Abu Zahra of Al-Azhar, Shaikh Zahid al-Kawthari of Turkey and Shaikh Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda of Syria.[3] The scholarly works this school has contributed to the Islamic Heritage is unparalleled in the last century. These works have found wide acceptance and have, despite the thousand years plus intellectual Heritage being replete with commentaries, super-commentaries and tomes of research, been acknowledged by the scholars as being something new in the respective areas of learning. For example Shaikh Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda, the famous Muhaddith of Syria who passed away in 1997, wrote about the 16 volume hadith commentary "I`ila al-Sunnan" by Shaikh Zafr Ahmad Uthmani, that in the twentieth century it was a book that added to the noble Science of Hadith even after a thousand years of the Science being given the finest level of rigorous intellectual attention by the greatest minds the World has produced. Another important work by a Deobandi scholar is Badhl al-Majhood of Shaikh Khaleel Ahmad Saharanpuri, a commenatary of Sunnan Abu Daud in 13 volumes, and recently reprinted in Beirut. Another work is: "Fath al-Mulhim" by Shaikh Shabir Ahmad Uthmani, a commentary of Sahih Muslim. Maulana Shabir Ahmad passed away before he could complete this work. Mufti Taqi Uthmani, recently, then added another six volumes to the existing five volumes and thereby brought the work to conclusion. Mufti Taqi's work is entitled "Takmila Fath al-Mulhim." Perhaps the greatest Muhaddith of the twentieth century was the deobandi scholar Maulana Anwar Shah Kashmiri (1874-1933c.e.). We have many of his erudite masterpieces that testify to his vast learning. The four volume: "Majmooa` Rasail al-kashmiri" has eleven of his works and is easily available in the Urdu book markets. It includes his compilation of the hadith on the returning of `Isa a.s., written as a refutation to the Qadiani sect. In it he establishes that the belief that `Isa a.s. is in the heavens and is to return near the end of time is proven by multiple narrations (Mutawatir) and to deny it takes a person out of Islam. Another important work in the aforementioned collection is his "Ikfar al-Mulhidin fi-daruriyat al-Din." In this latter work, Shaikh Anwar deals with the issue of the rules of Takfir (declaring a person to have left Islam). From the subjects he deals with thoroughly is that a person who holds a belief and uses divine text through interpretation as proof for it, can still be the subject of Takfir. In other words, just because a person argues using a divine text does not make him beyond Takfir, and really it depends on the legitimacy of the interpretation. The Shaikh taught Sahih Bukhari at Dar al-Ulum Deoband itself and then in later life at Dhabel. One can also get an appreciation of the level of his scholarship and rank in hadith by reading his Bukhari lectures as they are available in Arabic in book form, entitled: "Fayd al-Qadir." Shaikh Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda testifies to the Shaikh's erudition in these words as they appear in his introduction to one of the Shaikh's works:"…had the Shaikh fully devoted himself to authoring works, the valley of the earth would have been flooded with his erudition and his research. His striking lights would have illumined the corners of the World despite her vastness and the many great predecessors she has in her. The Shaikh only authored a number of treatises, which we shall mention in the listing of his works, when he was motivated by the need of the Deen and its service…, (Introduction to "Al-Tasrih bima-Tawatara fi-Nuzul al-Maseeh," p.27) Another contribution to hadith that comes to mind is the ongoing work of the current Shaikh al-Hadith of Dar al-Ulum Deoband Maulana Arshad Madani. The Shaikh some years ago started the painstaking task of writing a super-commentary for the commentary of the famous Hadith book "Sharh Ma`ani al-Aathaar" of Imam Tahavi by Imam Badr al-Din al-Ayni called "Nukhab al-Afkar." Approximately five volumes have come out in the market and many more volumes are hoped (Inshallah) to follow.Deobandi scholars have also produced many works in the other fields of sacred learning such as the Sciences of the Holy Qur'an and Fiqh. There are commentaries, marginalia, translations, independent works, research papers and dozens of Fatawa collections that deal with all kinds of issues. Lest this reply, which has already become somewhat lengthy, becomes any longer I will restrict myself to the above, as it should be enough for the objective. [4] Another merit of the school is that it does not deny the spiritual/sufi Tariqas and in fact promotes their following and has come to represent a beautiful and sound harmonizing and joining between the two; that is the Law and the Ruh. We note that with many schools, even those within Orthodox Islam, there has been the emphasizing of just one with neglect of the other and sometimes even complete denial, which has lead to many imbalances and defects. [5] The Deobandi school authority in religious matters comes also from the fact that they are purveyors of the Deen in the traditionally recognized manner. The Madrasas impart knowledge of the Holy Qur'an and Hadith with Ijazas (a license given by the teacher to the student who studied under him to transmit that particular book) that link the student through an unbroken chain of dozens of Muhadithin, Fuqaha and Saints to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. [6] It would be prejudice to consider the Deobandi School as just another sect or a schism from Orthodox Islam. For there is nothing they teach that is not firmly rooted in classical Islam. Their Fiqh is classic Hanafi jurisprudence, the Creed is that of the Ahl al-Sunna Wal-Jamaah as stated in Imam Tahavi's "Al-Aqeedah Al-Tahawiyya" and the Creed of Imam Nasafi.It is easy for armchair critics to criticize and make slanderous statements sitting in their Ivory towers. We should ask them to ask themselves: what sacrifices have they made for the Deen, how many Huffaz and Muhadithin and Fuqaha have they produced, how many people have they conveyed the teachings of the Deen to, how many works have they produced, how much of the teachings of the Deen and Sunna of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, do they adhere to?