The Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband representing the orthodox Wahabi Sunni Islam has issued a fatwa restraining women to wear bangles from any male, who do not have any blood relationship with them.

“Wearing bangles from any male other than of any blood relationship is `haram’ in Shariat and it is forbidden is Islam for a women to allow some other person to touch her wrist,” the fatwa said. 

The fatwa was issued by Darul Ifta department of Darul Uloom on a written question asked by a local resident of Deoband town.   The questioner had asked the women usually go out and buy the bangles from the person of `manihar community’ who are strangers to them, whether it was permitted in Islam.

Mufti Tariq Kasim said on Sunday that touching of women by any other male is illegal in Shariat and hence wearing bangles from any unknown person is forbidden in Islam.    “We are not against wearing of bangles by women. But they women should do this job themselves or take help of some other women, “the Mufti said.    

Earlier too Darul Uloom Deoband had issued a fatwa last month restraining women from watching of football match by women as it was `haram’ in islam.   The fatwa said the women shouldn’t watch men playing with bare knees.  It also said that the women will be looking at footballers’ thighs and all their attention will be on that. They wouldn’t even care about the competition or scores.  The cleric also lashed out at the men who “allow” their wives to watch football and said: “Do you have no shameIJ Do you not fear GodIJ You let her watch these kinds of things.”

Muslim clerics particularly from Darul Uloom Deoband issuing a fatwa  is not something new  and many times these fatwa kick up a  controversy for bordering on weird and sometimes pointless. 

In October last year, the Darul Uloom Deoband, in Saharanpur district had issued a fatwa banning Muslim women from plucking, trimming, shaping eyebrows and cutting their hair. Calling it “un-Islamic,” the religious body also urged women to stay away from beauty parlours. 

Earlier in January a Deobandi Sunni Islamic seminary in Hyderabad said that Muslims must not consume prawns.  The fatwa said that prawns are not fish and instead categorized as an arthropod thus “makruh tahrim” (strictly abominable). As per the Islamic dietary laws, food is divided into three categories – halal (lawful) haram (unlawful and prohibited) and  makruh (abominable).