Following the suicide of a woman over "dowry harassment," the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has set new guidelines for Muslim weddings and marriages in the South Asian country to prevent further agony.
The 11-point guideline, released by AIMPLB Chairman Maulana Rabe Hasan Nadvi, prohibits dowries and extravagant marriages. The AIMPLB is widely regarded in India as the representative of the country's Muslim community.
Nadvi urged all members of the community to shun the dowry system and lavish spending during wedding ceremonies.
The move comes after a Muslim woman from Gujarat committed suicide last month by drowning herself over dowry harassment, in which her husband and in-laws physically abused her. The suicide set off a countrywide debate over social evils associated with marriage among Muslims.
The board has already launched a 10-day drive to educate members of the community across the country and raise awareness against such evils. During the campaign, Muslim clerics will place emphasis on solemnizing marriages according to Islamic customs to eradicate dowries and overspending during marriage functions.
The new guidelines allow only simple wedding ceremonies, ban dowries and do not permit traditions such as wedding processions, fireworks, dancing and lavish feasts, as it calls them un-Islamic. It only allows Dawat-e-Walima, a feast served after wedding rituals are completed by the groom's family in which invitations are also extended to the poor and needy.
Many un-Islamic rituals have ended
Maulana Umrain Mahfooz Rahmani, secretary of the AIMPLB, said it is not right to say measures to end social evils like dowries are being taken suddenly.
"The board has been working for years to bring about good changes in society and motivates Muslims to end bad practices and customs. As far as marriage is concerned, work has been done on it for years so that the evil practices that have become associated with it could be curbed," he told Anadolu Agency (AA).
Previously, marriages were rarely solemnized in mosques. But now a good change is taking place and a large number of marriages are being performed in mosques and many un-Islamic rituals have ended, said Rahmani. He said despite many good changes, the painful aspect is that many poor girls still remain unmarried as their families are unable to spend a lot of money.
"There are many others who are suffering even after marriage as the dowry demand continues and the girl's husband and his family keep pressuring her to bring more dowries. Many girls commit suicide as they are unable to bear the physical and mental harassment. To end these things, a new guideline has been drawn up and is being worked on all over the country.
"Members of the Personal Law Board come from across the entire country. Among them are well-known Muslims from a cross-section of Indian Muslim society such as religious leaders, lawyers, politicians, scholars and other professionals. They have been asked to work on this in their respective areas. Meetings of imams (clerics) of mosques are being held all over the country," he added.
Similarly, members of the Islah E Muasharah (Social Reform) Committee of the board have also been asked to discuss this issue and take action so that more and more people can be made aware. In most areas of the country, discussions are taking place and the common people are participating in debates.
"Even in the mosques, the clerics are talking with the people. During the last three Fridays, discussions and arguments took place in the mosques after the Friday prayers and the harms of the dowry system and extravagant wedding ceremonies were explained to the people. People visiting the mosques for namaz (prayers) are being told to avoid dowries and extravagance," said Rahmani.
Zafaryab Jilani, a member of the Muslim Personal Law Board, said marriage is a contract. "Our effort is to make nikah (marriage) easy and simple for the people."
"We want them to avoid spending money unnecessarily in marriages so that they can set a good example for society. The board has always tried this and will continue to do so," said Jilani.