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{{Short description|19th–20th century Indian Islamic scholar and writer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Zulfiqar Ali Deobandi
| native_name = ذوالفقار علی دیوبندی
| native_name_lang = ur
| birth_date = 1822
| birth_place = [[Deoband]], [[Ceded and Conquered Provinces]], [[Company rule in India|Company Raj]]
| death_date = 1904
| death_place = Deoband, [[United Provinces of Agra and Oudh]], British India
| resting_place = [[Qasmi Cemetery]]
| occupation = Islamic scholar, educator, writer
| notable_works = ''Tashīl al-Dirāsah'', ''Tashīl al-Bayān'', ''al-Taʿlīqāt ʿalā al-Sabʿ al-Muʿallaqāt'', ''al-Irshād'', ''ʿIṭr al-Wardah'', ''Miʿyār al-Balāghah/Tadhkirat al-Balāghah'', ''Tashīl al-Ḥisāb''
| known_for = Early association with [[Darul Uloom Deoband]]; member of its first [[Shura]] council
| children = [[Mahmud Hasan Deobandi]] (among others)
| relatives = [[Usmani family of Deoband]]
| alma_mater = [[Zakir Husain Delhi College|Delhi College]]
}}

'''Zulfiqar Ali Deobandi''' (1822–1904) was an Indian Islamic scholar, educator and writer. He was among the early founders of [[Darul Uloom Deoband]] and served for decades as a member of its first consultative council (''[[Majlis al-Shura|shūra]]''). He taught at [[Bareilly College]], worked as an inspector in the colonial education department, and later served as an honorary magistrate in Deoband. He authored Urdu commentaries on several Arabic literary classics, as well as works on rhetoric and mathematics. He was the father of [[Mahmud Hasan Deobandi]].

== Early life and education ==
Accounts in local histories record that Zulfiqar Ali Deobandi was born in [[Deoband]] in 1822 (1237 AH), the son of Sheikh Fath Ali, and the younger brother of [[Mahtab Ali Deobandi]].<ref name="Khalili">{{Cite book |last=Khalili Qasmi |first=Muhammadullah |author-link=Muhammadullah Khalili Qasmi |url=https://archive.org/details/darul-uloom-deob-ki-jamey-wa-mukhtasar-tareekh-edition-2/page/n518/mode/1up |title=Darul Uloom Deoband Ki Jame O Mukhtasar Tareekh |trans-title=Comprehensive and Concise History of Darul Uloom Deoband |publisher=Shaikh-Ul-Hind Academy |edition=2nd |date= October 2020 |location=India |language=ur |oclc=1345466013 |page=517}}</ref>

He studied at [[Zakir Husain Delhi College|Delhi College]] under [[Mamluk Ali Nanautawi]] and [[Sadruddin Khan Azurda Dehlawi]] and is listed among the prominent pupils of Mamluk Ali.{{Sfn|Khalili Qasmi|2020|p=517}}<ref name="Rizwi">{{cite book |last1=Rizwi |first1=Syed Mehboob |author1-link=Syed Mehboob Rizwi |translator= Murtaz Hussain F. Qureshi |volume= 1 |title=[[History of Darul Uloom Deoband]] |year=1980 |publisher=Idara-e-Ehtemam |location=Darul Uloom Deoband |edition=1st |page=93 |chapter=Maulana Zulfiqar Ali|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/2VolumeBookOnTheHistoryOfDarAlUlumDeoband/HistoryOfTheDarAlUlumDeoband-Volume11980/page/n107/mode/1up |language=en}}</ref>

== Career ==
After completing his studies, Zulfiqar Ali was appointed a professor at [[Bareilly College]]; he subsequently served as Deputy Inspector and then Inspector of primary schools in the education department. After receiving a pension, he worked as an honorary magistrate in Deoband.{{Sfn|Rizwi|1980|pp=93–94}}{{Sfn|Khalili Qasmi|2020|p=517}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Minault |first=Gail |author-link=Gail Minault |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gAW8GreFqjkC&dq=maulana+zulfiqar+Ali+deoband+co-founder&pg=PA25 |title=The Khilafat Movement: Religious Symbolism and Political Mobilization in India |date=1982-08-22 |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |isbn=978-0-231-51539-9 |page=25 |language=en}}</ref> Local histories identify him among the early founders of [[Darul Uloom Deoband]] and state that he sat on its first ''[[Majlis al-Shura|majlis-e-shura]]'' (consultative council).{{Sfn|Khalili Qasmi|2020|p=517}} [[Muhammad Tayyib Qasmi]] records his tenure on the first shura from 1283 to 1321 AH (1866–1903 CE).<ref name="Tayyib">{{cite book |last1=Tayyib|first1=Qari Muhammad|author1-link=Muhammad Tayyib Qasmi |title=Darul Uloom Deoband Ki Sad-Sāla Zindagi |trans-title=Centenary Life of Darul Uloom Deoband |url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/detail/darul-uloom-deoband-ki-sad-saala-zindagi-qari-muhammad-tayyab-ebooks |publisher=VC Office, Darul Uloom |location=Deoband |page=118 |date=June 1965 |edition=1st |language=ur}}</ref>

=== Role in Darul Uloom Deoband ===
Local histories describe Zulfiqar Ali as an early supporter and adviser in the establishment and early operations of [[Darul Uloom Deoband]], alongside [[Sayyid Muhammad Abid]].{{Sfn|Khalili Qasmi|2020|p=517}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Amin |first=Muhammad Talha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TrByEQAAQBAJ&dq=zulfiqar+ali+deobandi&pg=PA28 |title=The Shamli uprising: Unsung Indian freedom fighters |date=2024-06-06 |publisher=Kindle Direct Publishing |isbn=979-8-3276-7863-7 |page=28 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Moj |first=Muhammad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qLbMBgAAQBAJ&dq=zulfiqar+ali+deobandi+co-founder&pg=PA44 |title=The Deoband Madrassah Movement: Countercultural Trends and Tendencies |date=2015-03-01 |publisher=Anthem Press |isbn=978-1-78308-446-3 |page=44 |language=en}}</ref>
Several accounts directly describe him as a co-founder of the seminary.{{Sfn|Rizwi|1980|p=94}}{{Sfn|Miftahi|1980|p=13}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Banerjee |first=Kanchan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Em17EAAAQBAJ&dq=zulfiqar+ali+deobandi&pg=PP69 |title=The Crash of A Civilization |date=2022-07-13 |publisher=Prabhat Prakashan |isbn=978-93-5521-240-5 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Jafri |first1=Saiyid Zaheer Husain |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=21DYAAAAMAAJ&q=maulana+zulfiqar+Ali+deoband+co-founder |title=The Islamic Path: Sufism, Society, and Politics in India |last2=Reifeld |first2=Helmut |date=2006 |publisher=Rainbow Publishers |isbn=978-81-86962-85-5 |page=341 |language=en}}</ref> He is also recorded as a member of the first ''shura'' for several decades (1283–1321 AH / 1866–1903 CE).<ref name="Tayyib"/>{{Sfn|Khalili Qasmi|2020|p=517, 746, 753}}

== Writings ==
Zulfiqar Ali wrote in Urdu on Arabic literature and rhetoric, and authored a mathematics primer. Titles reported in the sources include:{{Sfn|Khalili Qasmi|2020|pp=517–518}}{{Sfn|Rizwi|1980|p=94}}
* ''Tashīl al-Dirāsah'' — Urdu commentary on ''[[Kitab al-Hamasah|Dīwān al-Ḥamāsa]]''.
* ''Tashīl al-Bayān'' — Urdu commentary on ''[[Al-Mutanabbi|Dīwān al-Mutanabbī]]''.
* ''al-Taʿlīqāt ʿalā al-Sabʿ al-Muʿallaqāt'' — Urdu commentary on the ''[[Mu'allaqat|Sabʿ al-Muʿallaqāt]]''.
* ''al-Irshād'' — Urdu commentary on ''[[Ka'b ibn Zuhayr|Qaṣīdat Bānat Suʿād]]''.
* ''ʿIṭr al-Wardah'' — Urdu commentary on ''[[Qaṣīdat al-Burdah]]''.
* ''Miʿyār al-Balāghah'' (also referred to as ''Tadhkirat al-Balāghah'') — a handbook of rhetoric presented in Urdu with examples from Urdu poetry.
* ''Tashīl al-Ḥisāb'' — a mathematics work; [[Garcin de Tassy]] (as quoted by [[Syed Mehboob Rizwi|Rizwi]]) notes an Urdu edition printed at Bareilly in 1852.{{Sfn|Rizwi|1980|p=94}}

In 1307 AH he wrote an Arabic treatise, ''al-Hadiyya al-Saniyya fī Dhikr al-Madrasah al-Islāmiyya al-Diyūbandiyya'', describing [[Darul Uloom Deoband]], its elders, and features of Deoband in a brief, literary style.{{Sfn|Rizwi|1980|p=94}}{{Sfn|Khalili Qasmi|2020|p=518}}

== Reception ==
Fuyūz ar-Rahman's compilation cites [[Abdul Hayy Hasani]]'s remarks that Zulfiqar Ali studied under Mamluk Ali and Sadr al-Din Dehlavi, excelled in literary sciences, and served as an inspector of primary schools; his listed writings include Urdu commentaries on ''Dīwān al-Ḥamāsa'', ''Dīwān al-Mutanabbī'', and the ''Sabʿ al-Muʿallaqāt'', as well as a work on rhetoric.<ref name="Fuyuz">{{cite book |last1=ar-Rahman |first1=Fuyūz |title=Mashāhīr-e-Ulama-e-Deoband |trans-title=Notables Among the Scholars of Deoband |url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/mashaheer-ulama-e-deoband-qari-fuyuzur-rahman-ebooks#195 |year=1976|volume=1|publisher=Azīzia Book Depot|location=Urdu Bazar, Lahore |pages=180–182 |contribution=Maulana Muhammad Munir Nanautavi |language=ur}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hasani |first1=Abdul |author1-link=Abdul Hai Hasani |last2=Nadwi|first2=Abul Hasan Ali Hasani|author-link2=Abul Hasan Ali Hasani Nadwi|title=[[Nuzhat al-Khawatir]] |year=1999 |publisher=Dar Ibn Hazm |location=[[Beirut, Lebanon]]|edition=1st |volume=8th |page=1225 |chapter=Maulana Zulfiqar Ali|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/20200621_20200621_1558/page/n1224/mode/1up |language=ar}}</ref>

=== Garcin de Tassy reference ===
[[Syed Mehboob Rizwi]], citing [[Mohammad Ayyub Qadiri]], reported that the French Orientalist [[Joseph Héliodore Garcin de Tassy|Garcin de Tassy]] mentioned Zulfiqar Ali.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rizwi|first=Syed Mehboob|title=Tarikh-e Dar al-Ulum Deoband|trans-title=History of Dar al-Ulum Deoband|publisher=Idarah Ihtimam Dar al-Ulum Deoband|location=Deoband|year=1976|volume=1|page=127|url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/tareekh-e-dar-ul-uloom-deoband-volume-1-ebooks#125|language=ur}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Qadiri|first=Mohammad Ayyub|author-link=Mohammad Ayyub Qadiri|title=Maulana Muhammad Ahsan Nanotwi|trans-title=Maulana Muhammad Ahsan Nanotwi|publisher=Rohilkhand Literary Society|location=Karachi|year=1967|pages=26–27|url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/maulana-mohammad-ahsan-nanotwi-mohammad-ayyub-qadiri-ebooks#26|language=ur}}</ref> However, in de Tassy's original French text the person named is '''Ashraf ‘Alī''' (a professor at Delhi College); Zulfiqar Ali is not mentioned.<ref>{{cite book |last=Garcin de Tassy|first=Joseph-Héliodore-Sagesse-Vertu |author-link=Joseph Héliodore Garcin de Tassy|title=Histoire de la littérature hindouie et hindoustanie |volume=2 |edition=2nd |location=Paris |publisher=Adolphe Labitte |year=1870 |page=575 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CoxDAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA575|language=fr}}</ref>

== Family ==
{{See|Usmani family of Deoband#Shaykh Fateh Ali}}
Published accounts identify him as the father of [[Mahmud Hasan Deobandi]] (1268–1339 AH). Other sons mentioned in local histories include Hamid Hasan, Muhammad Hasan, and Muhammad Mohsin; two daughters are also noted.<ref name="Fuyuz"/><ref name="Miftahi">{{cite book |last=Miftahi|first=Zafeeruddin|author-link=Zafeeruddin Miftahi |title=Mashaheer-e-Ulama-e-Darul Uloom Deoband |trans-title=Notable Scholars of Darul Uloom Deoband |url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/detail/mashaheer-e-ulama-e-darul-uloom-deoband-mohammad-zafeeruddin-ebooks#14 |publisher=Daftar Ijalas-e-Sad Sala |location= Deoband |edition=first |year=1980 |pages=13–14 |language=ur}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Metcalf |first=Barbara |author-link=Barbara D. Metcalf |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8apNAQAAMAAJ&q=maulana+zulfiqar+Ali+Deobandi |title=The Reformist Ulama: Muslim Religious Leadership in India, 1860-1900 |date=1974 |publisher=[[University of California, Berkeley]] |page=206 |language=en}}</ref> Some compendia state that he left a large family at the time of his death.<ref name="Asghar">{{cite book |last=Deobandi|first=Asghar Hussain|author-link=Asghar Hussain Deobandi |title=Hayāt-e-Shaikhul Hind |trans-title=Life of Shaikh al-Hind |url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/hayat-e-shaikh-ul-hind-syed-asghar-husain-ebooks#12 |publisher=Matba'-e-Qasmi |location= Deoband |edition=first |year=1921 |pages=6–7 |language=ur}}</ref>

== Death ==
Multiple sources record that Zulfiqar Ali died in Deoband in 1322 AH/1904 CE at the age of 85. He is buried to the east of [[Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi]]'s grave in the [[Qasmi Cemetery|Qasmi cemetery]]; Muhammad Ahsan Nanautavi is reported to be buried to his left.{{Sfn|Khalili Qasmi|2020|p=518}}<ref name="Rizwi"/><ref name="Miftahi"/>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite journal |last1=Ahmed |first1=Nazir |last2=Badshah |first2=Hafiz Muhammad |date=2021 |title=Mawlavi Zulfiqar Ali Al-deobandi And His Creative Works: A Descriptive Study |url=https://islamicsciences.org/index.php/islsci/article/view/34 |journal=Islamic Sciences |language=ar |volume=4 |issue=1 |doi=10.52337/islsci.v4i1.34 |issn=2707-7470|doi-access=free }}
* {{Cite thesis |last1=Sulaiman |first1=A. F. M. |title=Indian Contributions to Arabic Literature: A Study on Mohd Rabe Hasani Nadwi |date=2011 |type=Ph.D. |publisher=Assam University |url=https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/92992 |pages=55–56 |journal=University |page= |hdl=10603/92992 |via=Shodhganga}}
* {{Cite book |last=Nehtauri |first=Azizur Rahman|author-link=Azizur Rahman Bijnori|url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/detail/tazkira-e-shaikh-ul-hind-mufti-azeezur-rahman-ebooks#51 |title=Tazkira-e Shaikhul Hind |trans-title=Memoir of Shaikh al-Hind |date=August 1965 |publisher=Madani Dar-ut-Talīf |edition=2nd |location=Bijnor |pages=51–53 |language=ur}}

[[Category:1822 births]]
[[Category:1904 deaths]]
[[Category:Founders of Darul Uloom Deoband]]
[[Category:Deobandis]]
[[Category:Indian Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian Muslims]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian Muslims]]
[[Category:People from Deoband]]
[[Category:Zakir Husain Delhi College alumni]]
[[Category:Burials at Qasmi Cemetery]]

Zulfiqar Ali Deobandi - Revision history

IolaBrookshire: Created new bio v1