Department of Islamic Studies

In the contemporary understanding, the word madrasa connotes various meanings and interpretations. For Muslims, however, this word has its historical significance as an institution for learning; in the modern world, it was set up as the guardian of religious education, or religion itself. The word madrasa also brings to mind more than a century-long debate in India about reform in the madrasa curriculum. The current curriculum was essentially designed by the eighteenth-century scholar Mullā Nizāmuddīn. It is therefore known as Dars-e-Nizāmī, or Nizāmī Curriculum, and is still functioning in most of the Indian madrasas although there are some madrasas associated with movements such as Salafism that use a different curriculum. However, the debates about reform of madrasa curriculum have been around without any distinction.

ABSTRACT
The Muslim rule in India can be categorised into the following stages; (1) from the era of Caliphate up to Arab Governors in Sind i.e. 645 to 856, (2) Ghaznavid rule in northern India from 1004 to 1186, (3) Delhi Sultanate from 1206 to 1526 and finally (4) Mughal Empire from 1526 to 1857.

It was Delhi Sultanate that carried the flag of Islam from western and northern sides into central and eastern and southern India. It established strong Muslim rule in Delhi and united several parts of the country under its control. During Delhi Sultanate period, several dynasties ruled India one after another: (1) Mamlook (Slave) Dynsty from 1206 to 1290, (2) Khilji Dynasty from 1290 to 1320, (3) Tughlaq Dynasty from 1320 to 1414, Sayyids Dynasty from 1414 from 1451 and lastly Lodhi Dynasty from 1451 to 1526. Besides, there were regional Muslim states and kingdoms at occasions in southern, central, western and eastern India during the Sultanate period.

The period of Delhi Sultanate was a bright era of Indian history which witnessed revolutionary changes in education, sciences, architecture, fine arts, administration etc. The Islamic sciences, especially, fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) flourished and expanded during this period. Fiqh had central position among all Islamic sciences and being scholar of fiqh was the zenith of academic excellence. The rulers adhered to Hanafi Fiqh and thus the administration of Delhi Sultanate was based on Hanafi Fiqh. They established madrasas where Hanafi Fiqh was taught. They sponsored ulama, qadhis and scholars of fiqh who therefore were encouraged to produce great works on Hanafi Fiqh like Al-Fatawa al-Ghiyasia, Fawayid Ferozshahi, Fatawa Qarakhani besides other fatwa and fiqh literatures. The encyclopedia of Hanafi Fiqh, Fatawa Tatarkhania, is a matchless legacy left behind by Delhi Sultanate. There were numerous great scholars of fiqh during the Sultanate period who contributed greatly to the promotion of Hanafi Fiqh in India.