The president of the All India Muslim Jamaat has backtracked on a statement he made about the un-Islamic nature of participation by Muslims in a condolence ceremony for non-Muslims. The comment was made in the context of the demise of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s mother, Heeraben.
Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi had, on Sunday, given a statement saying that the recitation of prayers by a Muslim for a departed soul, was only acceptable when the deceased was a Muslim. “It is essential to be a Muslim for this right. To pray for a non-Muslim deceased is najayaz (unauthorised) and should not be done”, he had said.
“Only a Muslim has the right to pray for forgiveness of a Muslim’s soul. The condolences offered by Muslims are different from that of others. The rituals of different faiths should not be mixed”, said the cleric.
Razvi was responding to a question on the organisation of a condolence meeting by a Muslim, in Bareilly, for Heeraben who passed away on Friday.
The self-declared aims of the slightly over three-month-old organisation are ‘..to promote Sufism, create awareness about education and maintain brotherhood’. Its president had made news in the recent past for praising the banning of the Popular Front of India (PFI) and for criticising the Samajwadi Party for asking for Muslim votes but not caring for the community.
But on Sunday, the Maulana drew criticism for declaring, “Those who have organised the condolence meeting and participated in it, need to seek forgiveness from Allah”. He had termed the act ‘haram’ (that which is prohibited in the holy Quran and thus a sin for Muslims).
On Monday morning, the Maulana circulated a video clarifying that his statement had been misconstrued to make it appear as though it was said for the PM’s deceased mother.
“It was a local matter on which I spoke. I request that my statement not be used in connection with the PM’s mother”, he said.
