The institutions Aligarh and Deoband were working apparently different but inwardly for the same objective to reform the Muslim society and organize them on sound footings. Aligarh was ultra-modern and their entire thrust was on English education whereas Deoband had orthodox approach and focused on religious education. The ultra-zeal of these two apparently different institutions created certain misgivings in the minds of Muslim intelligentsia.
Moreover, the missionary zeal of certain British officers, to organize missionary schools in the far and wide of India was also a cause to establish the Madrassah that would be moderate in training and preparing the students for future challenges. One of the significant of these institutions was Nadwat-ul-Ulama. It was attempted to bridge up the gulf between the old and the new ideas.
It was started with a conference held on 22nd, 23rd and 24th April 1894 at the Madrassah Faiz-i-Aam, Kanpur. It brought on one platform the leading ulema of every school of thought. Beside the Hanfi ulema, Maulawi Ibrahim Arawi and Maulana Muhammad Hussain from among the Ahill-e-Hadith and Maulana Ghulam-ul-Hasnain from among the Shiah Mujtahids participated in the session.
The president was the great scholar Mufti Lutfullah, of Aligarh who commanded the respect of all sections of the participants. Maulana Sulaman Nadwi, the most distinguished scholar of Nadwah, has well summarized the problems facing the conference. He said: Thoughtful Muslims were perturbed at the onrush of revolutionary trends and catastrophic disasters. The old system of Madrassah and Maktabs was breaking down. Muslim boys were being attracted to English schools and colleges, Christianity had been brought to the forefront through the influence of government. A network of missionary activities had spread everywhere. Their orphanages had been established at every place; disputations between Christians and Muslims had become common: pamphlets were being published by both the camps and modern European ideas were rushing in like, a flood”.Ulemas was busy in petty controversies over the matters of no significance and were being estranged from one another in the process. The methods of instruction in old Muslim institutions had grown antiquated and were outdated. The founders of Nadwah set themselves the task of finding remedies for these difficulties. Maulana Shibli was the person who assumed the responsibility of framing syllabus and chalking out course, outline for Nadwah.