According to research, the honor of Islamic Madrasas in India goes to South India because during that period, the coastal areas had great importance in the areas that developed, and these areas remained one of the indispensable needs of the time. As Gujarat is also counted among the coastal regions of India, its coastline of 1600 km is the largest provincial coastline in the country. Therefore, whenever foreign traders are mentioned trading with India, Gujarat can never be forgotten. First of all, the coastal region of Gujarat was very beautiful and very suitable for trade. Another thing is that there was a lot of pride among Gujaratis. Not only did they treat their neighbors well, but hospitality also was their character and they were ready to sacrifice their lives for the adventurers.
A Chinese tourist like Heung Tsang was also impressed by the characteristics of Gujaratis. Therefore, it can be seen that Arab and foreign traders were greatly influenced by Gujarat. And many of them continued to come here not only for business purposes but also for visits. These traders also established mosques and madrasas here. The arrival and departure of Muslims in Gujarat started from 15 Hijri, 636 {in the era of Hazrat Umar}. During the reign of the southern kings of Gujarat, a large number of Muslims settled here. Then the way the Solankis encouraged the traders. This further strengthened the courage of the foreign traders. And they came and settled here in larger numbers. Therefore, this period is called the period of origin of Islamic madrasas in Gujarat.
From the arrival of Muslims in Gujarat, the madrasas that were established until the Sultans of Gujarat and the Mughal era, they are not only important because of their merits, but also have an indispensable history from the Middle Ages to the Mughal era. Not only Islamic education can be seen in the madrasas of Gujarat of that time, but also the Qur’an, Hadith, Tafsir, Fiqah and Usul as well as logic, philosophy, Sufism, geometry, mathematics, composition, medicine, debate, literature and history. Apart from geographic education, industrial madrasas and music madrasas can also be seen.
Not only the services of the Muslims from Arabia and the sultans of Gujarat behind the improvement and development of these madrasas are unforgettable, but the pride in their development and the promotion of the education of various arts belongs to the Sufi Saints and Auliya-e-Kiram of Gujarat. Without whose timely attention and foresight, the dream of development of madrasas in Gujarat might never have been realized.
The most important role of Sufis and saints in any era has been to establish peace and brotherhood in the human community. In this connection, it can be seen that not only the Muslims benefited from the madrasas of Gujarat, but it is surprising that non-Muslims and among them the Nagars of Gujarat benefited from these madrasas on a large scale.
The Nagar Brahmin is a Hindu Brahmin sub-caste mainly from Gujarat.
Author T. Sasaki says that among Brahmins in Gujarat Nagar Brahmins were the most prominent subdivision in the political, economic and social activities of this region both before and during the British period. They occupied important administrative posts in the courts during the time of the Gujarat Sultanate and the Mughal Empire.
Hence, not only did the Nagars of Gujarat learn the language but also acquired equal command of Arabic and Persian. Not only this, but further, when Persian was given the status of an official language during the time of the Sultans of Gujarat, Nagars were the most prominent among the non-Muslims in government departments and offices. And they continued to benefit from this till the end of the Mughal Empire.
As far as teachers are concerned in madrasas of Gujarat, one can see not only teachers who are fluent in the language but also a large number of excellent teachers who have devoted themselves to teaching. The qualities of these teachers were that they were not only experts in different knowledge but also authors of books and had power over language and expression. Not only qualified teachers from Gujarat and other places used to teach here but teachers from Arab countries can also be seen in madrasas of Gujarat. In this connection, the name of Muhammad bin Abi Bakr Fakhroumi can be taken who being the attribute of hospitality among Gujaratis, was welcomed on arrival and dedicated his life to madrasas of Gujarat.
It should be noted that Maulana Muhammad bin Abi Bakr Fakhroumi was born in Alexandria. He studied in Cairo and Mecca. He was an expert in syntax, literature and jurisprudence. He was also a poet. In the beginning, Maulana Fakhroomi continued teaching in the madrasas of Alexandria. Then he came to Cairo and after teaching for a few days held an official position and then went to Yemen after performing Hajj. Maulana came to Gujrat in 820 Hijri i.e. 1417 AD and was appointed by the Imperial Department as the Principal of the Government Madrasa.
It would not be wrong to say that Islamic madrasas have the pride of having the best hostels and boarding for students. This is of definite importance, especially as far as India is concerned, and in this respect, Gujarat has had the privilege. Not only in the madrasas of Gujarat, the students’ better education was taken care of, along with the food and drink of the students, hostels, boarding, rooms, reasonable arrangements for their bath (Ghusal) and in some madrasas, keeping in mind the financial condition of the students, the needy students were also compensated as much as possible.
At the same time, libraries can also be seen from where teachers and students continued to benefit equally. In this regard, there is more surprise when the name of Alamgiri Madrasah of Gujarat comes up where many teachers continued to provide teaching services without payment! Apart from this, the work of translation of books and writing of sharah was also done in madrasas of Gujarat. Maulana Muhammad bin Abi Bakr Fakhroomi wrote the famous Sharah called “Al-Manhal”. On the order of Sultan Mahmud Begra, Yusuf Sahib of Madrasa Shama-e- Burhani translated “Tarikh-e- Ibn-e-Khalkan” into Persian. Nooruddin, the teacher of the same seminary, was the author of many books. “Fayuz-ul-Quddus” is his famous book.
As far as the question of the expenses of madrasas in Gujarat is concerned the Sultans of Gujarat have been very generous in this regard. Sultans continued to bear the burden of expenses for many Madrasas. Not only this but in many madrasas, the Sultans of Gujarat had dedicated villages for the expenses of the madrasas. So that the madrasas of Gujarat can be self-sufficient. Through these means, along with various needs, the Sultans also took responsibility for the expenses of Eid-e-Milad-e-Mubarak, the expenses of teachers, students and seminaries. Sultans also continued to bear the expenses of anchoring many madrasas where many travelers used to stay every day.
In light of all these facts, Gujarat was second to Shiraz and Yemen. If it is said then it will not be wrong that Hazrat Shah Wajihauddin Alavi’s Madrasa and Gujarat’s Khwaja Hazrat Shah-e-Alam’s Madrasa had the status of a university in their time where on the one hand, students from foreign countries used to come and study in these madrasas, and on the other hand, the teachers who graduated from madrasas of Gujarat used to go to Arab and foreign countries and perform teaching services.
Along with Islamic madrasas, industrial madrasas and music madrasas can also be found in Gujarat. As far as, industrial schools are concerned. Such industrial madrasas were numerous in Ahmedabad but their method was different from the technical institutions of today. The principle was that a factory would be opened, artisans would work in it and students would be given practical education in it. Among these students, there were some students who were completely deprived of literacy but their marks in this education would be better than educated boys. The students who graduated from these factories were mostly employed in the same factories. The sons of merchants and artisans would enter these studies and study with great enthusiasm.
Apart from industrial madrasas, music madrasas are also present in Gujarat. In Gujarat, art flourished during the reign of Bahadur Shah. His generosity attracted many people to the art of music. Suddenly, great masters of this art were born. Darya Khan was very fond of music. He especially paid attention to the development and welfare of this art. It is said that in his era so many music masters were born in Gujarat that there is no example. However, many madrasas from that era can still be seen in Gujarat today, some madrasas still standing in their original location with new roofs. Some madrasas are associated with their original names or new names elsewhere and with the passage of time and some madrasas fell victim to the situation.
The author is Assistant Editor Asasa, and Urdu Quarterly, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. He can be reached at [email protected]

Ghulam Mohammed Ansari