“Islam does not talk of equality, it talks of justice; and justice is the only way to ensure that every section of society is treated in a fair and just manner”, said Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rehmani, Secretary, All India Muslim Personal Law Board at Aligarh Muslim University, while delivering keynote address at a National Seminar on “Relevance of Muslim Personal Law and its Compatibility with the Law of Nature”. The seminar was organized by the Sir Syed Awareness Forum in collaboration with the All India Muslim Personal Law Board.
Maulana Rehmani stressed that Islam would never give sanction to the concept of equality popularized by the western ideologues as it would be an erroneous concept of bringing justice to society. He however affirmed that Islamic concept of Justice is a far wider concept to uphold the rights of every section according to their natural claim based on behavioral qualification. He said that equality, if applied in its true sense, will only lead to chaos and social discontentment as it cannot be guaranteed in a fair manner.
Referring to triple Talaq issue, Maulana Rehmani confirmed there was no division of opinion amongst Muslim Ulemas of all leading sects that triple Talaq, although being the worst sin in the eyes of Allah, was a valid Talaq and Muslims must practice this with extreme restraint.
Chief Guest of the seminar, AMU Vice Chancellor Lt. Gen. Zameer Uddin Shah said that “Muslim women should also have an ease in seeking Khula”. He said Muslim seminaries should consider proposing stricter rules for pronouncing Talaq.
Lt. Gen. Shah said that polygamy was more popular in people of other faiths than Muslims and even some used Islam as an escapade to practice polygamy and get away the restrictions of their faith.
Underlining the importance of Bridge Course for Madrasa graduates started by the AMU, the Vice Chancellor said that Madrasa graduates were profoundly gifted with learning capabilities and soon they will achieve leadership positions in the country having qualifications in every field of knowledge. He said there was no need for reserving seats for them in any course, rather he was sure they would get through the admission tests for various courses with their abilities.
In his presidential address, Maulana M. Wali Rehmani, General Secretary of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, upheld that the western idea of liberalization was causing greater harm to Islamic and eastern sensibilities and the social and cultural tenets of West could not be considered commendable. He argued that in the name of culture men were getting more prudish with high neck suits while in the name of liberalization women were shedding their cloths every day. He said that “our society has to guard its social, cultural and religious tradition from cultural onslaught propounded by ideologues of so-called liberalization”.
Maulana Rehmani assured that he would stand with the Aligarh Muslim University whenever there was a need. He said that claiming minority status for the University was a matter of right and not a concession or grant to be given by those in power. He said that he would provide the University all necessary help to conduct a good coaching and guidance for preparing students for competitive examinations including Civil Services, engineering and medical entrance tests on the pattern of Rahmani 30.
In his address, guest of honour Maulana Fazlur Rahim Mujaddidi, Rector, Jamiatul Hedaya, Jaipur warned Muslims of ill designs of devil powers who were trying to create confusion amongst their rank and file in religious matters by questioning their validity and legality. He said that issues like Talaq and polygamy had to be understood with sharper objectivity and reason. He emphasized that these issues, if taken up by the people with a prejudiced mind, could not be understood in their true spirit. He warned Muslims not to get carried away by the so-called liberalism and equality while dealing with these issues, rather a higher degree of objectivity and research was essential to understand the relevance of matters like Talaq, Khula, inheritance and polygamy.
Maulana Mujaddidi said that Islam gave safer space to women than any other religion and they had better secured rights considering their respectable place in family bonding.
Earlier, welcoming the guests and highlighting the objectives of the seminar, Prof. Shakeel Samdani, Convener, said that in an atmosphere of dogmatic misinterpretation of some Islamic tenets and rules of Fiqh, it had been essential to raise awareness among the youth about Islamic Shariah and various other related issues. He said that issues like Talaq, polygamy and inheritance have to be understood in a pure objective manner and one must have a clear understanding of these matters in view of the drumbeating of Uniform Civil Code.
Thanking all attendees and volunteers for their time and help in organizing a successful programme, Prof. Samdani said that efforts will be made to organize a two or three day workshop on Muslim Personal Law so that the Law students could get acquainted with the various nuances of personal law studies. Prof. M. Saud Alam Qasmi, former Dean, Faculty of Theology also spoke on the occasion.
Mrs. Sabiha Simi Shah, Prof. Tariq Mansoor, Principal and CMS, JN Medical College, Prof. Humayun Murad, Member AMU Court, Dr. Nasim Khan, Member, Executive Council, Prof. Sheikh Mastan, Dean, Faculty of Arts, Prof. Mohd. Nafees Ahmad Ansari, Director, Centre for Distance Education, Prof. Tauqueer Alam Falahi, Chairman, Department of Sunni Theology, Prof. Abdul Aleem, Prof. Abdul Khaliq, Prof. Salahuddin Qureshi, Prof. Masood Ahmad, Prof. Mohd. Asim Siddiqui, Prof. Anwar Mohsin, Dr. Rihan Akhtar, Dr. Nadeem Ashraf, Anjum Tasneem, Ayesha Ansari, Talat Anjum, Abdullah Samdani, Qari Mohd. Abdullah, Qari Shoeb, Islam Khan Advocate and many other were present in the programme. Prof. Shakel Samdani conducted the programme while Dr. Obaid Iqbal Asim proposed a vote of thanks.