It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Indian Muslims could not convey the sacred message of Islam. Both the clerics and the people are at fault
According to the Oxford dictionary of Islam, “Men and women are moral equals in God’s sight and are expected to fulfil the same duties of worship, prayer, faith, almsgiving, fasting and pilgrimage to Mecca. Islam generally improved the status of women compared to earlier Arab cultures, prohibiting female infanticide and recognising their full personhood.”
Unfortunately, influenced by sectarianism and personality cult, certain sections of the Muslim community portrayed a different picture of Islam altogether. The bad portrayal raised its head when the issue of instant triple talaq — the pronouncement of the word talaq thrice in one go — came in the public domain and led many from the civil society to question the religion’s take on gender equality. All of it happened without any fundamental knowledge of Islam, which is solely based on the Quran and sayings of the Muhammad. This meant that the people considered (referring) instant triple talaq as part of Islam or Shariat (Islamic law) because this is what they have learnt from their ancestors and clerics. A majority of the people are unaware that what they understand and practise is completely different from the teachings of the Quran and authentic sayings (Hadiths) of the Muhammad (PBUH).
Historically, instant triple talaq is an age-old practice among the Muslims, who follow traditions rather than Islam. Factually, it is nothing but a false interpretation of the decisions made by Caliphs after the death of the Prophet. Most of the time, Muslim ulemas (clerics), who validate instant triple talaq, cite decisions made by the Caliphs without even knowing the real context or backdrop of the case. In contrast, the actual procedure of talaq (divorce) is the one which the Quran explains and which is totally different from the instant triple talaq being followed by many.
On various places in the Quran, the process of talaq is explained very clearly and in an elaborate manner. Surah Al Baqarah, Surah Al Nisa and Surah Talaq are those various chapters of the Quran where talaq happens in three consecutive months. In contrast, if a man pronounces talaq before her wife three times in a row or even more in one encounter, then it will be a single and not triple talaq. It should be remembered that there is no scope of Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) in Islam as long as the Quran and authentic Hadiths clearly define a matter. And accepting Fiqh over the Quran and Hadiths is nothing but defying the true teaching of Islam.
The proponents of instant triple talaq forget that Islam explicitly elaborates the rights of women and prescribes punishments to whosoever does injustice to them. It is the religion where demanding dower is the exclusive right of the wife and she is not even bound to breastfeed her newborn baby, taking responsibilities of household chores is a far cry. And if there is no compatibility between the married couples despite suggestive measures in the Quran and Hadith, then the woman has the liberty to withdraw from the relationship (khula).
So, by supporting instant triple talaq, the proponents are acting brutal and spoiling the lives of women, which is by no means supported by the teachings of Islam as mentioned in the Quran. Moreover, it is also observed that the group, which supports instant triple talaq, is also biased towards women’s right to property as per Islamic law of inheritance. Alike the procedure of talaq, a woman’s right to property is also mentioned clearly in the Quran and Hadiths. By their actions, they contradict the words of the Almighty, who in the Quran, said, “The believers, both men and women, are allies of one another. They enjoin good, forbid evil, establish prayer, pay zakah and obey Allah and his messenger. Surely, Allah will show mercy to them. Allah is all-mighty, all-wise.”
It would not be wrong to say that Muslims in India couldn’t convey this sacred message of Islam by their words and actions. Consequently, a majority of the people misinterpreted Islam. In a country that is home to around 200 million Muslim population, neither politicians nor courts are familiar with the Islamic laws because more than 90 per cent of the Muslims are unaware of the fundamentals of Islam. Any form of improper treatment of women — be it physical or emotional — is strictly prohibited in Islam. Hereby, rather than blaming the Government, Muslim clerics should honestly introspect the issue but not in a jiffy. Who else is more responsible for the deteriorating socio-economic conditions of the Muslims than the voluble and verbose ulema? These pseudo-scholars are not only guilty of rescinding the rights of women but are also responsible for not educating the Muslim men about their duties towards them.
(The writer is an Islamic philosopher and an author)
