In contrast to the reforms being undertaken at al-Azhar and Diyanet, Deoband is steadfast in its conservatism. This chapter examines the conservatism of Muhammad Taqi Usmani, one of the most influential scholars in Deoband, as well as the current fatwās by the Dār al-Iftā’ and the Nadwatul Ulama. Conservatism here refers to resistant to change in rulings that have a precedent in Islamic law. Usamni sees no such need for reform in Islamic law, and believes that the laws of Islam have already laid out the basic blueprint for society. Muslims should simply follow God's plan. Ijtihād is to be reserved for new issues that do not have a precedent in Islamic law. He believes that although modernity has brought many technical advances, it has also brought moral ills. Thus, he argues that it is through the traditional literature that one can filter out the bad parts of modernity from the good.

This chapter will begin by examining the general approach toward deriving fatwās by Muhammad Taqi Usmani. Usmani's works on the principles of deriving fatwās (uṣūl al-iftā) limits not only the ways that a scholar or muftī can bring about change in Islamic law, but also limits the cases in which change is applicable. Although this is an examination of the work of one scholar, Usmani's approach toward Islamic law and fatwās is grounded in Deoband's emphasis on taqlīd discussed in the previous chapter. Examining the fatwās of the Dār al-Iftā’ and Nadwatul Ulama will reflect this conservative ethos. The final section will analyze Usmani's approach toward Islamic finance, one of the few topics in which he allows for dynamic interpretations of the Islamic law. Yet, it will be shown that even here his method and extent of change is still conservative.

The Conservatism of Muftī Muhammad Taqi Usmani

Muftī Muhammad Taqi Usmani is one of the best known Deobandi scholars from Pakistan. Born in 1943 in Deoband, India, he is the son of the late Muftī Muhammad Shafi. Muhammad Shafiwas sent by the Deobandi scholars to Pakistan in order to fill the vacuum of scholarship in the newly established country. Usmani attained his takhaṣuṣ, Ph.D. equivalent, in madrasah system, from the Darul Uloom Karachi.