Fatwa Frenzy: Entire Muslim village asked to marry again as Deobandi Imam had led Barelvis in prayers

Alahazrat's shrine in Bareilly: Centre of Barelvi Thought

A Maulana has issued a FATWA, asking all Muslims in a village to again solemnise the 'nikaah' with their respective wives as their marriages had turned 'haraam'.

This 'enlightened' man, Mufti Abdul Mannan, issued the fatwa when villagers near Moradabad offered namaaz-e-janaazah [the prayer for the dead].

The Imam who led the prayers had come from another place and it was later found that the Imam was Deobandi [subscribed to Deoband school of thought].


Now villagers were Barelvis [theological school of Alahazrat Ahmed Reza Khan Barelvi]. The difference of 'maslak' dawned upon some villagers much later. The person was buried peacefully but the peace of village shattered there after as the fatwa reached them.

All Muslim men who had offered Namaz before the Deobandi Imam should re-marry their wives. Men from the age of 20 to 80; Age doesn't matter. The fatwa is stern. And when journalists reached the Mufti sahab, what he had to say!

Deoband seminary in Saharanpur: Centre of Deobandis

"You won't understand, it's an age-old issue between us and Deobandis, I have just re-issued the fatwa", said the cleric. 

Poor villagers were rushing to 'aalims' and some were even convinced that they should get a second 'nikaah' with the spouse. 

But the Mufti has at least proved that Indian Muslims are in no way a block or monolithic as many believe.

In many parts of the country, Deobandi Vs Barelvi rift has widened so much that if a person visits other sect's mosque they clean it [it happens in Eastern UP]. 

These sects live in separate clusters in some towns of North India where they don't have Roti-Beti relationship like other biradiris who are at conflict.

And the rift is getting widened as I find in conversations 'Bhaaiyyon ham log bhi ek doosre ke jaan ke dushman haiN aur hamare andar har woh zaat-paat, unch-nich maujood hai jo hamare hindu bhaiyyon me hai".

[We are after each other's throat, just like our fellow Hindu brethren, and are equally casteist]