Hazrat Maolana Rafiquddin Deobondi (rahmatullahi alaihe) was the second principal of the Darul Uloom Deobond Madrasah. One day while the principal was standing at the premises of the Madrasah, one student of Hadith threw food in front him and remarked with great insolence: “Is this your management? Look at the food--they have neither spice nor any butter in them.” The student went on to make many such remarks. Other students became very enraged at this but Rafiquddin Deobondi (rahmatullahi alaihe) showed great patience and preferred to remain silent. The principal, however, glanced at the student three times from head to toe. After the student had left, the principal asked other students whether he was a student of the Madrasah. Other students affirmed that he was a student of the Madrasah. The principal, however, maintained that the individual could never be a student of the Madrasah.
After thorough investigation, it was revealed that the individual was not a student of the Madrasah. It turned out that the individual, who was not registered at the Madrasah, was fraudulently using the name of another student to obtain food and drink from the Madrasah. When all this became known, the students asked the principal how he knew for certain that the individual was not a student of the Madrasah.
The principal replied that he once dreamed that the well of the Madrasah was overflowing with milk. In the dream, the Beloved Prophet (sallallahu alaihe wa sallam) arrived at the well and was distributing milk amongst the students. The students came one by one and took milk from the Beloved Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihe wa sallam). According to the principal, the well represented the Madrasah while the milk represented knowledge. The Beloved Prophet (sallallahu alaihe wa sallam) was the distributor from whom the students received knowledge according to their individual capacity. The principal added that he knew each and every student of the Madrasah well and had seen every one of them take milk from the Beloved Prophet (sallallahu alaihe wa sallam). However, the insolent student was not present in the dream. Since the principal did not see the individual in the dream, he was certain that the individual was not a student of the Madrasah.
From this, it can be inferred that students of this Madrasah are chosen by Allah subhana wa ta'ala. The Madrasah does not advertise to enlist students, yet it receives students from many corners of the globe. Only individuals whom Allah subhana wa ta'ala inspires to seek knowledge come to this Madrasah.
It should be noted that Hazrat Maolana Rafiquddin (rahmatullahi alaihe) was the principal of the Darul Uloom Deobond Madrasah for almost 19 years. He passed away in Madina Al Monawara in 1890 and was buried in the Jannatul Baki. What is astonishing is that although Hazrat Rafiquddin (rahmatullahi alaihe) was unlettered, he attained a high level of spiritual knowledge and performed many miracles. He was the spiritual successor of Hazrat Shah Abdul Gani (rahmatullahi alaihe). Hazrat Shah Abdul Gani (rahmatullahi alaihe) succeeded Hazrat Shah Abdul Aziz (rahmatullahi alaihe). Hazrat Shah Abdul Aziz was the eldest son of Hazrat Shah Waliullah Dehlavi (rahmatullahi alaihe).
