Zulfiqar Ali Deobandi
Zulfiqar Ali Deobandi 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. 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, the son of Sheikh Fath Ali, and the younger brother of Mahtab Ali Deobandi.He studied at Delhi College under Mamluk Ali Nanautawi and Sadruddin Khan Azurda Dehlawi and is listed among the prominent pupils of Mamluk Ali.
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. Local histories identify him among the early founders of Darul Uloom Deoband and state that he sat on its first majlis-e-shura. Muhammad Tayyib Qasmi records his tenure on the first shura from 1283 to 1321 AH.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.Several accounts directly describe him as a co-founder of the seminary. He is also recorded as a member of the first shura for several decades.
Writings
Zulfiqar Ali wrote in Urdu on Arabic literature and rhetoric, and authored a mathematics primer. Titles reported in the sources include:Tashīl al-Dirāsah — Urdu commentary on Dīwān al-Ḥamāsa.Tashīl al-Bayān — Urdu commentary on Dīwān al-Mutanabbī.al-Taʿlīqāt ʿalā al-Sabʿ al-Muʿallaqāt — Urdu commentary on the Sabʿ al-Muʿallaqāt.al-Irshād — Urdu commentary on Qaṣīdat Bānat Suʿād.ʿIṭr al-Wardah — Urdu commentary on Qaṣīdat al-Burdah.Miʿyār al-Balāghah — a handbook of rhetoric presented in Urdu with examples from Urdu poetry.Tashīl al-Ḥisāb — a mathematics work; Garcin de Tassy notes an Urdu edition printed at Bareilly in 1852.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.