Academic ‘khutputs’ and UK Darul Ulooms
According to Hobson Jobson (the historical dictionary of Anglo-Indian words and terms from Indian languages), the word khutput “is a native slang term in Western India for a prevalent system of intrigue and corruption” and that the general meaning of khutpuṭ in Hindustani and Marathi is “wrangling” and “worry.” It is in
Glimpses of the Khanqah of Gangoh
Within the Deobandi fraternity and those Sufi chains that go through them, reading the biographies of the elders of Deoband is something that is often stressed. These books, written in Urdu, are fantastic resources that enable readers and those treading the Sufi path to familiarise themselves with the temperament of
Did Caliph ‘Umar burn the Great Library of Alexandria?
In the late 19th century, ‘Allamah Shibli Nomani (1857-1914) wrote a short paper on the destruction of the Great Library of Alexandria. Originally published in Urdu in 1898 and subsequently translated into English in 1900, Nomani’s work, entitled An Enquiry into the Destruction of the Ancient Alexandrian Library, sheds important
Where were Indian Muslim scholars interned in Malta?
During the First World War, a group of Indian scholars and freedom fighters led by the head lecturer at Dar al-‘Ulum Deoband, Shaykh al-Hind Mawlana Mahmud Hasan was interned by the Allies on the island of Malta in the Mediterranean for anti-colonial activities. Their story is one of dedication, struggle