Shia Personal Law Board for Triple Talaq Ban, Issues Fatwa Against Cow Slaughter

Lucknow: The All India Shia Personal Law Board (AISPLB) has adopted three resolutions including a fatwa against cow slaughter, a move to ban Triple Talaq and a call to solve the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute through an out-of-court settlement.

The fatwa banning the slaughter of cows in India was issued at its executive meeting in Lucknow on Wednesday after the AISPLB sought a clarification from Ayatollah Sheikh Basheer Hussain Najafi, a top Shia cleric from Iraq. It said communal tensions arise often in the country over cow slaughter. Seventy five-year-old Hussain Najafi is one of the five Grand Ayatollahs in Iraq and is entitled to issue a fatwa for the community members.

Maulana Yasoob Abbas, member of the All India Shia Personal Law Board told News18 that how this fatwa aims to put an end to communal riots.

“For us Shias, horses are considered an important animal and likewise cows are considered holy by the Hindus. Hence, we need to respect other religions as well. If due to the death of one cow, a hundred humans are killed, I think it is best to save that cow,” said Abbas.

This move from the Shia community comes just a day after the Dewan of Ajmer Dargah and an influential Sunni Islamic spiritual leader came down heavily on the practice of triple talaq and called it “un-Islamic” and something which was against the Holy Quran. He also called for a legislation which would ban the slaughter of all the bovine species in India and announced a personal decision to have given up beef along with his family members.

However, this resolution concerning triple talaq was not unexpected as on March 15, Shia Personal Law Board member Maulana Yasoob Abbas had stated that triple talaq in one sitting was not acceptable.
Abbas said: “I am moving an intervening application in the SC in the next two or three days and will request the court to make me a party. This is because I want such a strong law against triple talaq, that a man thinks thrice before divorcing his wife.”

The Shia personal law board also seems to have supported the Chief Justice of India’s stand by calling for an out-of-court settlement when most of the parties to the dispute had dismissed the offer stating that previous negotiations and mediations have not yielded any result.

On the suggestion for an out-of-court settlement for the Babri Masjid dispute Abbas said: “Whenever there is a religious matter to be decided, it’s best to leave the political parties aside and take a call. Hence, this settlement should be without political interference and I am sure it will be successful as we understand each other’s concern.”

Recently Abbas had paid a courtesy visit to the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath, to express their demands in connection with certain demands of the Shias in India.

The Shia delegation headed by Abbas was expected to demand the establishment of a separate committee or commission on the lines of the Sachar Committee report for ensuring development and welfare of minority Shia among the Muslims. (VIA Debayan Roy | News18.com)