Lucknow shehr qazi faces boycott over comments on fatwa

Lucknow, Sep 5 (UNI) The shehr qazi of Lucknow Maulana Abul Irfan Firangi Mahali today faced a boycott by ulemas and maulanas of Sunni Barelvi Jamat for differing on a fatwa issued by a Moradabad cleric declaring marriages in a village void for offering prayers led by a cleric of the Deoband sect.

The Barelvi ulemas announced their decision at a press conference here and said people would henceforth not take his announcement on sighting of moon into consideration.

Maulana Abul Irfan had criticised the fatwa issued by mufti-e-shehr (Mooradabad) mufti Abdul Mannan Kalimi in which he had declared all those who had attended the 'namaz-e-janaza' led by a maulana of Deoband sect, as non-Muslims and had termed their marriages as void.

Mufti Kalimi said his fatwa was not a mere opinion but a decree given in the light of the holy Quran. ''People, who delibrately attended the namaz led by a deoband mufti stand to lose their marriages and have to solemnise the Kalma again. But, those who attended the prayers without the knowledge were not effected,'' he clarified.

Defending his fatwa, he said the decree was issued in the light of a similar decree issued by a respected Sunni leader Maulana Ahmed Raza a 100 years ago.

Those effected by the fatwa were made to read the Kalma again and re-marry their wives.

He said the Deobandis had published certain books in which Paigambar-e-Islam and the Allah were insulted. ''Therefore, we do not consider them as Muslims.

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