Gujarat! The birth place of Mahatma Gandhi!

Gujarat lies in Western India and is one of twenty-nine states of India. Around 20 million tourists visited this state of India in 2010-2011. It is increasingly becoming a tourist hotspot. With year round sunshine and a pleasant climate, it has become a place for tourists especially in the winter, when the temperature is around 30-35 degrees.

Aside from all this, Gujarat has its special place in Islamic history. It is a place known to have received Tabieen & Tabe Tabieen [those who met the companions of the Prophet Muhammad SAW]. Today a large population of Gujarat are Muslims with many being very devout. For many, religion plays more of an important role than culture.

Scholars from around Gujarat & other parts of India played a great part in spreading and propagating the message of Islam to the people of Gujarat. This was primarily done through teaching in Darul Ulooms. A Darul Uloom is basically an institute of Islamic Studies; a place that not only teaches the holy scriptures and prophetic traditions, but also places great emphasis on ethics, morality and social codes of conduct.

Fortunately, we had the opportunity to visit some of these Darul Ulooms. Not only that, but we also had the oppurtunity to visit a grave yard home to graves of scholars from hundreds of years ago. Below are some of the Darul Ulooms we visited.

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Ankleshwar Darul Uloom Markaz Islami

Located in the city of Ankleshwar, this Darul Uloom was opened in 1984 which makes it nearly 35 years old. We arrived at the Darul Uloom on a Tuesday evening just before Maghrib. Students were on academic leave, though there were some students that remained due to living too far or because they were orphans or too poor to travel back home.

We were shown around the place and even personally invited to the house of the principal. His son personally invited us. The place was beautiful and the campus was filled with greenery. Beautiful buildings and passionate students. The teachers and staff were very friendly and accommodating in showing us around. At one point throughout the tour, three students were called forward and were made to recite some Quran and sing a Nasheed. It was very beautiful considering that they were only around 13 years old.

We were taken to the house of the principal, Mawlana Moosa Ismail Mankrod. He sat me by his side and greeted me. Whilst his sons offered me some drink and fresh barley, the principal got to know me. I told him where I’m from and where I was staying in India. His entire family was very friendly. We were treated with great honour and respect. The family wanted to even feed us dinner. All this, despite the family grieving over their late son [Mawlana Ismail]. At Maghrib time, the principal insisted that I take the rickshaw with him to the Masjid and not walk. Later on, he insisted that we are driven back to our place of residence for free.

This Darul Uloom is young in age but has progressed significantly throughout the years. It accommodates many students including orphans and poor students [always worth helping via donations – click here for details].

Google Maps Location: click here

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Tadkeshwar Darul Uloom Falah Darayn

A holy city. Home to a world famous Darul Uloom and a resting place for many senior and notable Muslim scholars. Driving around this place makes one feel peaceful knowing that not only are scholars buried here but they are also residing here and are active in propagating the religion in the Darul Uloom.

We also visited this Darul Uloom whilst students were on academic leave. Again another beautifully built institute which is actually pretty old. Not sure exactly but it is definitely over a 100 years old. Graduates of this institute have travelled to various parts of the world and have engaged themselves in teaching and academia.

Then we rode around on a motorbike which was quite fun whilst we made our way to a teacher’s house. We were going to visit a well known teacher of Tajwid in the area called Qari Mehmudul Hasan from Calcutta. Conveniently, many of the other teachers of the Darul Uloom also live around the city. Witnessing and observing students, teachers, graves of the pious, and the many Mosques, I have to say that it was indeed a touching experience. As we sat in Qari Mehmudul Hasan’s house, he kindly served me water and asked me to come back whilst the Darul Uloom is in full swing. This was also a personal invite to also meet all the teachers of the Darul Uloom.

The hospitality was exceptional.

Google Maps Location: click here

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Dabhel Darul Uloom Jamiah Islamiyyah Talimuddin

Back on the road to our next stop; Dabhel. Dabhel is a small town close by to Surat. It is known for its world famous Darul Uloom. Established in 1908, 100s of students study here and some of the greatest scholars around the world have graduated from here.

The world famous Mufti, Mufti Ahmed Khanpuri teaches Hadeeth here and has been doing so for the past 50 years. I had the good fortune of meeting him immediately after his morning lesson. Usually when he comes to the UK, it can be very difficult to even get a handshake. However, being here, in the Madrasa where he teaches daily, gave me the privilege to witness his very humble personality and have a moment with him. Upon meeting him and shaking his hand, he made a small prayer and departed.

Dabhel Darul Uloom is filled with greenery and the buildings are amazing. Luckily because of this, it provides a breathtaking environment for students, teachers and visitors.

Google Maps Location: click here

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Rander Darul Uloom Madrasa Ashrafiyya

Established in 1870, this is the oldest Darul Uloom in Gujarat. Historically, students were taught in the residences of teachers but gradually buildings were purchased and renovated for housing students and teachers.

We went to visit this Darul Uloom and just before we left, our guide alerted me that one of the senior teachers had just arrived at the gate of the Darul Uloom. Talk about timing!

So who was this senior teacher. It was none other than Mufti Kaleem Luharvi. After greeting me with a warm hug, he smiled as he spoke to me. I found him to be extremely welcoming and humble. He even offered us to come in for food and drink. When we parted he told our guide to give me copies of his books.

Google Maps Location: click here

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Stopping To See Some Of The Oldest Mosques Of Gujarat & The Graveyard

Rander – also known as the City of Mosques.

There are around 25 Mosques in this small place. Below are some images of these Mosques. They range from being newly built to being 700 years old. Despite being old, they maintain such beautiful intricate designs.

It makes you wonder how much thought and effort must have gone into not only the construction and design of the Mosques here, but also the aesthetics.

Rander historically was known as a place which possessed some of the finest Mosques in India. However, today, Mosques with similar designs have been built around India in great numbers so it no longer holds the title of the City of Mosques.

We then visited the graveyard of Rander. Some notable Ulama are buried here. Our guide also mentioned that a Tabe Tabieen [a 3rd generation Muslims who was born after the demise of the Prophet Muhammad SAW] is buried here but the grave is unmarked.

One of the greatest scholars of Deoband [India], Mawlana Asghar Hussain [whose grave is pictured above on the right] actually migrated to Rander to be buried here when he heard about this.

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Rander Darul Uloom Husaynia

This was the last Darul Uloom we visited. Here we visited Mufti Ismail Kacholvi who used to live in Bradford, UK. He is the principal of this Darul Uloom. He was very welcoming and hospitable meeting me with a hug. They opened their guest house and accommodated for the women folk with us.

Google Maps Location: click here

Last few words…

I appreciate that this has been a long article but one thing I wanted to add is this. Like me, you may be asking many questions on visiting these places. All I can say, it’s easy and straightforward. All you need is a guide and that is easy to get hold of. To be honest, if you like, you can go with someone you know or by yourself, but its better to have someone that knows the place with you and someone who can give you a tour of the places. Otherwise if you just want to go and see these places, by all means feel free to visit without a guide.

For the Darul Uloom in Ankleshwar you will not need a tour guide. You can simply get dropped off at the entrance by a rickshaw and ask at the gates to be shown around.

For the Darul Ulooms in Rander, Tadkeshwar and Dabhel, message me or comment below and I will give you more information.

Any questions, get in touch below.

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