Mahmud Hasan Deobandi

Shaykh al-Hind, Mawlānā Mahmud Hasan Deobandi
3rd Principal of Darul Uloom Deoband
In office 1890–1915
Preceded by	Syed Ahmad Dehlavi
Succeeded by	Anwar Shah Kashmiri
1st President of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind
In office November 1920 – 30 November 1920
Preceded by	Kifayatullah Dehlawi (as an interim president)
Succeeded by	Kifayatullah Dehlawi
Personal life
Born	1851 Bareilly, North-Western Provinces, British India
Died	30 November 1920(1920-11-30) (aged 68–69) Delhi, British India
Resting place	Mazar-e-Qasmi
Main interest(s)	Exegesis, Indian freedom movement
Notable idea(s)	Silk Letter Movement
Notable work(s)	Tarjuma Shaykh al-Hind Adilla-e-Kāmilah Īzah al-adillah
Alma mater	Darul Uloom Deoband
Religious life
Religion	Islam
Denomination	Sunni
Founder of	Jamia Millia Islamia
Jurisprudence	Hanafi
Teachers	Mahmud Deobandi, Muhammad Qasim Nanawtawi
Tariqa	Chishtiya-Sabiriya-Imdadiya
Movement	Deobandi
Senior posting
Disciple of	Imdadullah Muhajir Makki Rashid Ahmad Gangohi
Disciples List of students of Mahmud Hasan Deobandi
Influenced His students, Deobandis
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Mahmud Hasan Deobandi (also known as Shaykh al-Hind; 1851–1920) was an Indian Muslim scholar and an activist of the Indian independence movement, who co-founded the Jamia Millia Islamia University and launched the Silk Letter Movement for the freedom of India. He was the first student to study at the Darul Uloom Deoband seminary. His teachers included Muhammad Qasim Nanawtawi and Mahmud Deobandi, and he was authorized in Sufism by Imdadullah Muhajir Makki and Rashid Ahmad Gangohi.

Hasan served as the principal of the Darul Uloom Deoband and founded organisations such as the Jamiatul Ansar and the Nizaratul Maarif. He wrote a translation of the Quran in Urdu and authored books such as Adilla-e-Kāmilah, Īzah al-adillah, Ahsan al-Qirā and Juhd al-Muqill. He taught hadith at the Darul Uloom Deoband and copyedited the Sunan Abu Dawud. His major students included Ashraf Ali Thanwi, Anwar Shah Kashmiri, Hussain Ahmad Madani, Kifayatullah Dehlawi, Sanaullah Amritsari and Ubaidullah Sindhi.

Hasan was a staunch opponent of the British Raj. He launched movements to overthrow their power in India but was arrested in 1916 and imprisoned in Malta. He was released in 1920, and was honoured with the title of "Shaykh al-Hind" (The Leader of India) by the Khilafat committee. He wrote religious edicts in support of the Non-cooperation movement and travelled various parts of India, to enroll Muslims in the freedom movement. He presided the second general meeting of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind in November 1920 and was appointed its president. The Shaikh-Ul-Hind Maulana Mahmood Hasan Medical College is named in his memory. In 2013, the Government of India released a commemorative postal stamp on his Silk Letter Movement.