UPPSC PCS - 2016

During the Mughal Period, the Madarsa which was specialized in the teaching of ‘Muslim Jurisprudence’, was located in

Year Asked: 2016

A
Lucknow
B
Delhi
C
Sialkot
D
Hyderabad(India)

Correct Answer

A. Lucknow

Detailed Explanation

The answer is Lucknow, where the Farangi Mahal was the centre of Islamic learning. The Farangi Mahal family of scholars traces its madrasa to Mulla Qutbuddin Sihalvi in the late seventeenth century, during Aurangzeb's reign. Its institution became known for teaching fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) along with the rational sciences, and its curriculum, the Dars-i-Nizami, spread across the subcontinent.

Why the others do not fit:

  • Delhi: Delhi had important Mughal-era institutions, including Shah Waliullah's Madrasa-i-Rahimiya, but that school is mainly associated with hadith and reformist scholarship, not with the fiqh specialisation the question describes.
  • Sialkot: It was a Mughal-period town in Punjab, but it was not a known centre for the teaching of jurisprudence.
  • Hyderabad: Its major Islamic institutions developed under the Deccan sultanates and, later, the Asaf Jahi Nizams, so it does not match the Mughal-period framing.

Core concept: madrasa education under the Mughals, where fiqh, hadith and the rational sciences were taught in specialised centres. For Mains, this links to the cultural and intellectual history of medieval India and the role of ulama in Mughal society.

Trap: Candidates pick Delhi because it was the Mughal capital and had many madrasas. Remember that the question asks for a specific subject, and the institution famous for that subject is the one to choose.

This question appeared in UPPCS 2016 GS Paper 1.

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