Comparative Analysis of the Theological Inclinations of the Deoband School with the Contemporary Salafi Schools and the Analysis of the Expected Trends

Hadi Valipour

Stating the Issue:
The Deobandi School of Islamic Thought although grounded in the thoughts of Shah Waliullah Dehlavi but he himself was not influenced by the Salafi thought of his era (18th Century CE). But during the later centuries gradual changes occurred in the Deobandi School and its connections with the contemporary Salafi Schools are observed. These changes are observed in the topics such as Tawheed (Oneness of God) and Shirk (polytheism), Wahdat al-Wujud (Oneness of Being), attributes of God, Ziyarah (pilgrimage), Tawassul, the station of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.), celebrating the Mawalid (birth Anniversaries), getting blessed by the graves, the belief in the perpetual powers of the dead, Zikr and invocations of the Sufis, Ijtihad and Takfir, declaring Muslims as Kafirs, the conditions of Jihad and the Islamic Government. This developments impels us to analyze the common grounds of the beliefs and thoughts of the Deobandi school with the contemporary Salafi schools so that critical analysis of the reasons and the fruits of this proximity is ascertained.

The basic question:
1-What are the common grounds in the beliefs of the Deobandi School with the Salafi Schools?
2-What are reasons which resulted in the changes in the approaches in the beliefs of the Deobandi School during different periods?
3- What will be the result from the changes in the approaches for the Deobandi School?

Keynote Meanings:

Deobandi:
Deobandi school was established in the second half of the nineteenth century by a group of Sunni scholar of Hanafi School of jurisprudence based upon the thoughts of Shah Waliullah Dehlavi in the Deoband town in the present Uttar Pradesh province in India. The Ulama of Darul Uloom in Deoband in jurisprudence are the followers of Hanafi School and in theology accept the teachings of Abu Mansur Maturidi and Abul Hasan Ashari. They embrace all the leading Sufi orders but mostly follow the Sufi orders of Chistiyyah and Naqshbandiyyah and also name their order as the Silsila Muhammadi. As per the standards of the Deobandi School all those scholars who base their beliefs on the teachings of Mujaddid Alf al-Thani and Shah Waliullah Dehlavi and connect themselves to the teachings of the founders of Darul Uloom in Deoband are considered as the Ulama of the Deobandi School in spite of being active in religious, political and social fields outside the Indian sub-continent.

Salafi:
Salaf means the first three centuries of the history of Islam which are considered as best centuries of Islam. These are the centuries in which the understanding of Islam, its doctrine and creed and following them was firmly implemented. Salafi claim themselves to belief in the doctrines and laws as understood and practiced by the Muslims during this period. Thus, Salafis are defined as the Muslims who claim to belief in the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.), sayings of the Sahabah and the edicts of the Tabiun (the followers of the Sahabah) and those who followed them (Tabi-Tabiun).
But the Salafi School emerged originally during the time of Ibn Taimiyyah but under went wide range of changes and developments during the later centuries. Previously the Salafi School was limited only to the subject of doctrines and beliefs but today it is actively involved in the political arena. The Salafi School’s links with political commences during the period of cooperation between Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab and the Saudi dynasty in Najd area of Arabia. The doctrine of the Salafi schools in the contemporary era can be categorized into five schools of thoughts which are: Salafi Takfiri( who call the Muslims as Kafirs), Salafi Jihadi (to wage war in the cause of Islam), Salafi Islahi (to reform the Muslims),Salafi Siyasi (active in Islamic political system) and Salafi Tablighi ( active in propagating Islam).