The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has released newguidelines for Muslims in the country with the aim of prohibiting dowriesand extravagant marriages after a woman recently committed suicide due to“dowry harassment.”
The guidelines are contained in a document released for Muslims to besigned and followed. The AIMPLB is widely regarded in India as therepresentative of Muslims in the country.
The 11-point guidelines were released by AIMPLB Chairman Maulana Rabe HasanNadvi recently.
Nadvi has urged all members of the Muslim community to shun the dowrysystem and lavish spending during wedding ceremonies.
The move comes after a Muslim girl from Gujarat committed suicide lastmonth by drowning herself over dowry harassment, in which her husband andin-laws physically abused her for the dowry. The suicide set off acountrywide debate over social evils associated with marriage among Muslims.
The board has already launched a 10-day drive to educate members of thecommunity across the country and to raise awareness against such evils.During the campaign, Muslim clerics will place emphasis on solemnizingmarriages according to Islamic customs to eradicate dowries andoverspending during marriage functions.
llow only simple wedding ceremonies, ban dowries and do not permittraditions such as wedding processions, fireworks, dancing and lavishfeasts, as it calls them un-Islamic. It only allows Dawat-e-Walima, a feastserved after wedding rituals are completed by the groom’s family in whichinvitations are also extended to poor and needy people of the community.
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Many un-Islamic rituals have ended
Maulana Umrain Mahfooz Rahmani, secretary of the All India Muslim PersonalLaw Board, said it is not right to say that measures to end social evilslike dowries are being taken suddenly.
“The Muslim Personal Law Board has been working for years to bring aboutgood changes in society and motivates Muslims to end bad practices andcustoms. As far as marriage is concerned, work has been done on it foryears so that the evil practices that have become associated with it couldbe curbed,” he told Anadolu Agency.
Previously, marriages were rarely solemnized in mosques. But now a goodchange is taking place and a large number of marriages are being performedin mosques and many un-Islamic rituals have ended, said Rahmani. – AnadoluAgency
