Time to Introspect

Viewpoint:

TIME TO INTROSPECT

Shamsul Huda Qasmi
hudaqasmi@gmail.com

In Islam, marriage, a great bounty of Allah (swt), is a legal contract
between both bride and groom with their full consent. In marriage,
there is a lot of wisdom and benefits for human-beings. It saves a person form sinning and makes the society pure and healthy. When
husband and wife sit together, have conversations and express their
mutual love towards each other, it becomes a great virtue in the sight
of Allah and such acts are regarded to be better than Nafl prayers as
scholars profess. Islam with its full guidance always advocates a
peaceful and successful married life for spouses. If, unfortunately,
the spouses find it difficult to lead the life together, they are
given rights to terminate this legal contract as politely as they can.
Husband has right to execute divorce (talaq) and wife has a right to end the relationship with Khula'a (conditioned divorce). Islam has
elaborated the rights of spouses in details and fully protected them.
The prescribed laws in Shariah related to the family affairs like
marriage, divorce, dower, maintenance, period of waiting, right to upbringing, guardianship, inheritance, nursing and suckling, will and testament, right to parents and children and endowment affairs, etc. are called personal laws.

Recently (on 7 October, 2016) the government of India filed an
affidavit in response to a petition filed in the apex court. The
government, in its official declaration, expresses its needless
concern over triple talaq in Muslim community and regards it unfair
and injustice to Muslim women. The government falsely talks of the
upliftment of Muslim women and pledges to abolish triple talaq for a
better life of Muslim women. Indeed, this is a clear secret saffron
agenda of the government to enforce Common Civil Code in the country and interfere in personal laws of the Muslim community in disguise of beautiful and polished slogans. The government should relatively take a note of the official data of divorce ratio in Muslim community in India, which is far less than the Hindu community's divorce ratio. It should also make an unbiased study on Muslim women in Islam to learn how Islam has elevated and given the best status to women in the society. Muslim women feel more secured in Islamic laws than in any
other human-made rules. Islamic principles are far better to resolve
the family issues. The government should facilitate possible ways to
implement it, rather than abolishing it. The saffron brigade's long
cherished dream to enforce Common Civil Code is not at all possible to be enforced in a country, full of diversity in culture and religion. Neither Shariah has scope to implement it, nor our constitution itself as it contradicts the fundamental rights of the community. The article 25 fully sanctions each community to freely practice its religion and the prescribed personal laws in it.

The government, therefore, should sincerely focus on the article 45 of
the constitution that recommends delivering basic and higher education to one and all, even living in remote areas, elevating the living
standard of the citizens and providing food to the poor, as
unfortunately our country ranks 97th in the list of poverty stricken
countries, even our beloved nation goes below the level of Nepal,
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in terms of providing food to its people.
Education alone makes human being highly cultured and civilized, not the Common Civil Code that may lead the nation to disharmony if the basic rights of religious and cultural freedom is curtailed. If the
government is really concerned about the upliftment of community, it should pass the reservation policy to the wretched community as our many able judges have already recommended it.

Lastly, it's high time for Muslims to introspect themselves and judge
their actions as things are not falling in line with their
expectations. We should finally be united and vigorously support
Muslims Personal Law Board's each and every campaign with our body and spirit to protect our Shariah Laws. We should assimilate the Islamic
orders into our everyday life as the pleasure of Allah lies in acting
upon the commandments of the Almighty, Allah, and the violation of His orders earns His wrath. We should hold the rope of Allah strongly and repose full faith in His planning. May Allah protect us from all evil eyes. Ameen
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S Huda Qasmi
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