Traditional Islamic Studies at Dar al-‘Ulum Deoband

In 1295 ah, Mawlana Thanawi enrolled at the prestigious Dar al-‘Ulum Deoband, from where he graduated in 1301 ah, after studying under some of the most erudite Islamic theologians of his time. Among his teachers were Mawlana Muhammad Qasim Nanotwi, Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, Mawlana Muhammad Ya‘qub Nanotwi, and Shaykh al-Hind Mawlana Mahmud al-Hasan. Mawlana Thanawi’s six years at Deoband were spent under the tutorship and guidance of God-fearing men, many of whom were the spiritual students of Haji Imdadullah Muhajir Makki.

The spiritually charged atmosphere of Dar al- ‘Ulum Deoband, coupled with brilliant teachers and Mawlana Thanawi’s own intelligence and piety, together contributed to the excellence of theory and practice that was manifested in his personality. His literary life began at Dar al- ‘Ulum Deoband, when he wrote Mathnawi zer-o bam in Persian at the age of eighteen. He possessed unmatched linguistic skills and mastered the Arabic, Persian, and Urdu languages by the same age.