In a peculiar incident that has come to light from Deoria in Uttar Pradesh, a Maulvi reportedly refused to solemnize a marriage after he found that an orchestra was part of the baaraat and wedding event.
According to the report, Ali Hussain’s son who was getting married reached the wedding venue along with the whole “baaraat” all the while playing celebratory music. After the Maulvi saw all the music and the orchestra during the wedding, he was incensed and stated how such practices were against Islam.
When the families of the bride and groom started to persuade the Maulvi, he quietly slunk away from the venue. They then desperately started to search for a replacement but every Maulvi repeated that orchestra was against their religion.
They finally found the original Maulvi who agreed to solemnize the marriage on the condition that they won’t repeat the ‘mistake’ again.
This isn’t the only time various Islamic clerics have spoken against the practice of music and dance at weddings. Muslim clerics in Bihar’s Bettiah district had way back in 2010 openly proclaimed their refusal to solemnize weddings that hosted music, dance and orchestras.
A similar diktat was announced by clerics in Kota, Rajasthan last year, who reportedly had imposed a ban on DJs, loud music and band-baaja at Muslim weddings. This ban though wasn’t endorsed by the Qazis of the state who reportedly stated that even though they agreed with the clerics in principle, a decision to either play or not play music should be a matter of the individual’s personal choice.
Although baaraat and music is considered a part of weddings in the Indian sub-continent for long, puritan Muslims see it as an influence of Hindu culture and preach keeping away from it. The belief that Music is haraam (forbidden) in Islam has also resulted in such diktats.
Many Islamic preachers believe that only a musical instrument called duff is allowed in Islam and thus something like orchestra having a motley of musical instruments is against Islam. Due to such beliefs, musical events or singing by Muslims is sometimes discouraged, as we had earlier seen in the case of reality show singers.
Controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik too is of the view that music was not good for the Muslim society:
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