MISCONCEPTIONS REGARDING ISLAMIC LAW
To begin with,who is a Muslim?
Islam is a word that connotes obedience and harmony. A person who believes in Kalma (God is one, and Prophet Mohammad is God's messenger) can be referred to as a Muslim whether they were born into it or through conversion.
Islamic law is the rule that governs all Muslims.
Islamic law is one of the oldest laws in the whole world and, most importantly, it is uncodified. So, among other things, the Quran is the ultimate and limitless source of Muslim law. Muslim law is very organised and well planned, and it can be followed for years without any actual codification.
But the actual scenario is far away from what was written. Muslims follow Shariat law, and Shariat law is the teachings and practises of the prophet Muhammad, which are mentioned in the Quran as well. However, the applicability and the interpretation among people regarding Shariat are way more twisted than that.
Although the Indian constitution grants article 14, which says equal protection of the law to every citizen, when it comes to personal issues such as marriage, divorce, maintenance, adoptions, etc., Muslims in India are governed by their personal law, and the Indian government faced a lot of problems in granting equality of marital status to Indian Muslim women.
There is a huge discussion about whether Muslim law is a contract or a sacrament, as there are few similarities between Muslim law and that of a contract. The essentials of Muslim law require a proposal(ijab), acceptance(qubool), and competency of the parties, which is the same as that of a contract. There is a dower, which is given by the husband to their wives as a mark of respect, which can be considered a consideration also. These similarities do show the nature of a contract, but a marriage can never be called a contract because marriage can never be a bondage between the emotions and thoughts of two people. Marriage should be regarded as a sacrament only.
Women's rights are being misinterpreted in the same way, and a few powerful people are using them against women who are rarely aware of their rights. For years, Muslim women have been exploited and misguided.
There are various misconceptions regarding Islamic law, but I will focus mainly on marriage, polygamy, divorce, property rights,dower and iddat period .
MARRIAGE OR NIKAH
Under Mohammedan law, a Nikah is a license that legalizes the sexual activities between a husband and wife for the procreation of a child and mutual support, which are considered essential units in our society. It is noticeable that no religious ceremony or rituals are essentially required for Nikah. The only essential elements in nikah are proposal and acceptance in the presence of witnesses, where free consent is mandatory. It is mentioned in the verses of the Quran that the bride can accept or refuse certain terms and conditions of the marriage. But how can we be certain that consent was freely given? There have been instances where the bride has been forced to marry. So, the holy book of the Quran has given women the right either to ratify or repudiate the marriage by giving their consent, but people don't seem to follow that fact.
POLYGAMY
Polygamy in general means having more than one wife, but under Muslim law, polygamy means having a fifth wife, as Muslim law allows a maximum of four wives. Having a fifth wife would result in polygamy, and the marriage would be treated as irregular and not void. The fifth marriage can be valid after the death or termination of the four marriages. But it is often seen that a Muslim marries another woman because they are not happy or satisfied with their previous wife, which is why they tend to marry another woman. It is mentioned in the Quran that they can marry a maximum of four wives, but they have to treat each wife equally. If the man cannot treat them equally, then it's better to marry only one.
Furthermore, the Quran mentions polygamy to help widows and orphans provide them with life and justice. Polygamy is not a fundamental right of any person. Instead, it should be an exception.
DIVORCE OR TALAQ
Talaq ul biddat was a prevailing custom at some point in time by a few groups to escape from the strictness of the law. It is the most sinful mode of talaq, and it was disapproved of by the prophet himself. There is no mention of triple talaq in any Quranic verse, but it is still in practice, and it is practiced in the name of the prophet. The Quran permits divorce when it becomes impossible to live with each other. Then it's better to separate. But talaq needs two witnesses, one from the wife's side and the other from the husband’s side. The witness has to be competent. Then only talaq is valid. Moreover, the first pronouncement should be made in the pure state of the wife, i.e., TUHR, and no cohabitation should take place during the three periods of Tuhr. If the husband cohabits, then the talaq will be revoked. The Quran fairly gives a chance for reconciliation between spouses. Therefore, it is clear that the Quran also laid down a procedure for talaq, but some people are following the informal and sinful process of talaq and leaving the wife helpless.
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PROPERTY RIGHTS
Property ownership is vested in the hands of the males of the family in general. The equal division of property among males and females is still a dream, but the constant struggle of women to get ownership of property has been continuing for a long time now. But why fight for a right that has been given by the Quran already?
The dower, or mahr, is a concept where the husband gives the wife a sum of money or other property promised by the husband to be paid to the wife, and the amount of mahr has to be fixed by the women according to their will, and then only the marriage will take place. Even if the woman has contracted that she will not take any mahr, she is entitled to a proper dower, which means that the Quran already mentions that women should be given a property right to ensure them an equitable marital status.
?DOWER OR MAHR
A dower is the sum of money or property promised by the husband to the wife as a mark of respect, and it is not an essential part of marriage but indeed a necessity. Those who say Nikah as a contract always tend to equate dower with consideration or the Indian concept of dowry. The truth is that the dower, or mahr, is an institution in Islamic law, occupying a unique position of its own. A dower is also introduced to reduce the extravagance of having more than one wife, as the amount of dower has to be paid before marrying another woman. The stipulation that he charges a huge amount of dower is enough to deter him from marrying more than one.
?IDDAT PERIOD
Iddat is a period of chastity that a Muslim woman has to observe after the dissolution of marriage by death or by divorce before she can marry lawfully. There are different time limits that she needs to follow according to the situation. She has a maximum time limit of four months and ten days before she can marry.
?It is correctly said that Muslim men can marry just after the dissolution of marriage, whereas women need to undergo the period of Iddat.?
But the Iddat period is required to be fulfilled to determine if the woman is pregnant or not or to determine the paternal status of the child, and the husband must maintain her till the end of the Iddat period.
CASE STUDY
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Mohd. Ahmad Khan v. Shah Bano Begum AIR 1985 SC 945
In the case issue was that, up to what extent of Muslim husband’s liability to maintain his divorced wife under Section 125 of the Cr.P.C 1973?
The court held that the husband must maintain her wife even after divorce and after the iddat period also. The court said that the maintenance under section 125 of CrPC is not based on any religion. Thus, it applies to all . this verdict evoked a lot of sentiments and many wives claimed maintenance after divorce also.It ultimately led to the enactment of the Muslim women (Protection of rights on Divorce) Act 1986.
BaiTahira v. Ali Hussein AIR 1979 SC 362
In this case supreme court held that payment of the amount of dower or mahr to a divorced muslim Women is no substitute for the maintainence.
Khazi Mohd.Abbas Ali v. Andhra pradesh Wakf Board AIR 1979 AP 116
The high court said that marriage under Muslim Law is a contract where only requirement is that persons entering into marriage should consent to such marriage in presence of witnesses and Qazi’s presence is must at Nikah ceremony and other religious ceremonies.
ShamimAra v. State of Uttar Pradesh (2002) 7 SCALE 183.
In the present case, the court determined that talaq must be pronounced explicitly in order to be effective. Further the court determined that a simple affirmation of a divorce in a written statement had been uttered occasionally in the past cannot be used to mean that talaq was executed on the day of delivery.
Therefore, judgement aims to establish some standards and guidelines inside
This allows the husband to say a talaq. The idea and legal standing of unilateral triple talaq has, however, come under attack.
Hence, from the above cases it becomes abundantly clear that court had played a very vital
role for the protection of the women’s rights under Muslim personal law. From time to time the court has protected women rights and also helped people to interpret the laws rightfully.
CONCLUSION
There are many other myths that people hold, and the so-called intellectuals or maulvis are to blame for the proliferation of this particular myth.
Muslim law has been codified by acts like the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act of 1937, the Muslim Dissolution of Marriage Act of 1939, and most recently, the Muslim Civil Partnership Act.
Act of 1986 protecting women's rights during divorce. Several uniformly formulated laws have? helped significantly to partially offset the disparities in the current personal Islamic law.
Although I don't believe codification is the only answer, I do believe that in order to end the practice of leading people astray, individuals must become aware of their rights and responsibilities.
Rather than just listening to what the intellectuals says ,we should yourself be reading the verses
At least the interpretation of the Quranic verse has to be mentioned, and women should be given a proper chance to gain knowledge regarding their rights. Therefore, there is a need to launch an awareness campaign against the misuse of various Muslim rights and laws relating to marriage, divorce, property rights, etc.
The Quran is regarded as the ultimate and unlimited source of Muslim law for a reason.Quran is a well designed and way more future oriented than any other laws. Just think that it has never been amended and still it is in practice. Stop believing in what people say and read the verses of the Quran to interpret them for yourself.
To bring a change we first need to change our way of thinking and then only a huge mass will get to know about it.