Maulana Mahmood Madani Maulana Mahmood Madani

Striking a defiant note a day after the Supreme Court set aside the practice of instant triple talaq or talaq-e-biddat, Jamiat Ulama-i Hind general secretary Maulana Mahmood Madani Wednesday said that regardless of the court ruling, the practice of talaq, including instant triple talaq, will continue in the country and will be considered valid. “If you want to punish the person for it, you can do so but the divorce will be recognised,” Madani told reporters. The Jamiat Ulama-i Hind was the respondent in a petition called the Muslim Women’s Quest for Equality which the court took suo motu cognizance of.

The Jamiat Ulama-i Hind made no bones of the fact that it viewed the court order as an interference in the fundamental right of practising one’s religion. “We are viewing this very seriously. Not only do we not agree with the judgment, we think this is a direct assault on the fundamental right to practice religion. The repeated reference to nikaah, halala, polygamy etc have raised apprehensions that there may be more such interference on the anvil,” Madani said.

“I want to state in unequivocal terms that talaq will continue to happen even though it is the worst sin in Islam, even instantaneous talaq will happen. If you want to punish the person, you can but the divorce will be deemed to have happened,” Madani said. He cited the example of owning a revolver licence. “Delhi Police has given it to me for self-defence, not to kill somebody,” he said, trying to explain why Islam incorporated the provision of talaq while deeming it halal.

He said the Jamiat had not yet decided on the next course of action. In a statement, the Jamiat said: “JuH appeals to all Muslims that they do not give triple talaq without any unavoidable circumstances because talaq is not the desirable thing in the eyes of the Shariat. Especially Muslims must avoid the practice of instant triple talaq so that others cannot find ways to interfere in our religious matters.”

“In view of the apprehensions arising… Jamiat Ulama-i Hind seeks to make it clear that we will never compromise on religious rights guaranteed in the Constitution as fundamental ones. Any attempt to trample upon that should not be condoned. We will continue to fight against such an attempt at every level,” it said.

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