The tradition of a bride being carried to the ‘Doli’ (palanquin) by her maternal uncle has been criticised by Islamists. The Darul Uloom Deoband clerics have issued a Fatwa for the same.
The fatwa issued was in a response to a query by a Muzaffarnagar-based man. It claims that carrying the bride to the palanquin by male members of her family can “give birth to lust”.
“A man cannot lift his fully grown niece. It is certainly not acceptable in the eyes of Muslim law. There is always a danger of destruction of such relationship if this activity leads to the birth of lust in either of the two,” the fatwa said. It added that it would be better if the bride’s mother accompanied her to the palanquin.
The seminary further called the use of ‘Lal khat’ a foreign concept borrowed from ‘non-Islamic beliefs’. A ‘Lal khat’ is a decorated invitation card. The girl’s family sends it to the groom’s family inviting them for the ‘nikah’ at a pre-decided venue.
The clerics furthered that, sending invitations through a normal letter or postcard could be implemented instead. Making phone calls to invite people could also be adopted.
Deoband has often come up with such bizarre fatwa’s. Earlier in February, the Islamic seminary had decided to issue a fatwa against Muslim women taking help of men while trying out bangles in shops.
Then it was also reported that Deoband clerics had issued a fatwa against life insurance, as they claimed that Life and death are in the hands of Allah and no insurance company can guarantee a man’s longevity. Recently, a cleric associated with the Darul Uloom Deoband university issued a fatwa against women watching football games, as watching men playing with bare knees is forbidden for women.
Before this, a fatwa was issued asking Muslim families to not marry men or women who work in banks. Posting photos of self and family on social media websites have also drawn Fatwas in the past. New Year Celebrations and designer burqas, too had the same destiny.
The most peculiar amongst these was when one such Ulema had proclaimed that a group of Muslim women who performed Lord Ram’s Aarti on the eve of Diwali, ceased to be Muslims.