The conventional darul ulooms of today have their roots in the
Indian subcontinent, where the first darul ulooms were founded by the Indian Islamic scholars (
ulema) of the past. Darul ulooms followed in the past, and today continue to follow, the age-old Islamic curriculum known as the
Dars-e-Nizami syllabus, which has its origins in the
Farangi Mahal Islamic seminary of the
Mughal Empire, developed by prominent Islamic thinker
Nizamuddin Sihalivi thus the name
Dars-e-Nizami, later on was merged with the dawra-e-hadith curriculum of
Shah Waliullah Dehlawi (1703 – 1762). The Dars-e-Nizami syllabus comprises studies in
tafsir (Qur'anic exegesis),
hifz (Qur'anic memorisation),
sarf and nahw (Arabic
syntax and
grammar),
Persian,
Urdu,
tarikh (Islamic history),
fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and
sharia (Islamic law). ==List of major darul ulooms==