CM Yogi Adityanath, Shias welcome top court verdict, Sunnis wary

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday welcomed the Supreme Court verdict on triple talaq. While Muslim women and the Shia community also welcomed the Supreme Court decision, the Sunnis seemed wary of the same.

The chief minister said that it would have been better if it was a unanimous decision. He said that the central government clarified its stand in court on the issue and added that it was a good start and the result will be good. Muslim women in Lucknow have also expressed their happiness over the SC verdict on triple talaq.

The All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board (AIMPLB)  and the All India Shia Personal Law Board that had supported the ban on the triple talaq, welcomed the Supreme Court judgment and termed it as a victory for Islam and Muslim women in the country.

President of the AIMPLB, Shaista Amber, who has been fighting for the rights of Muslim women, said that the SC verdict had given new hope to Muslim women. “The Supreme Court decision is historic; It is the victory of women,” she said.

AIMPLB spokesperson Maulana Yasoob Abbas also welcomed the decision, saying it would help end harassment of Muslim women. “There was no arrangement of triple talaq in the times of the Holy Prophet,” he said.

Asking the government to enact a new law without harming the Shariat, he hoped a new legislation would be brought without any pressure to ensure welfare and prosperity of Muslim women.

 AIMPLB general secretary Maulana Wali Rehmani, however, refused to comment on the verdict saying the board would sit together and decide on the future steps. Senior lawyers and also an AIMPLB member Zafaryab Jilani said that the board has called a meeting on September 10 to deliberate on the issue of triple talaq.

 “The AIMPLB itself considers talaq at one go as a crime. We will suggest that Qazis, while solemnizing marriages, should tell the newlyweds that divorce at one go is a crime in the eye of the Allah. The judgment is very confusing as some say the court has asked the government to bring a law within six months. But the Board will not allow any interference in the personal law of Muslims”, he said.

Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangi Mahali, a well known Sunni cleric and Imam of Eidgah, said, “I have reservations on the SC ruling and asking the government to bring a law on talaq. The government law could be interference in our personal law which has been protected by the Constitution. As per Shariat law, triple talaq is valid if Islamic procedure is followed. We are also in favour of abolition of triple talaq at one go. This should end but there should not be any interference with our personal law”.