Triple talaq is valid in India

In Sharia law, there are broadly two kinds of talaq :

(1) Talaq al ahsan, which is done by saying a single word 'talaq' 3 times, with an interval of one month every time. The talaq becomes complete when the third time the word 'talaq' is used.

(2) Triple talaq, or talaq ul biddat, which is done by saying 'talaq' 3 times one after another, with no interval of time. So this results in immediate divorce. As a matter of fact, this is the most wide...ly practised method.

Although, Muslim Sunni scholars have disapproved triple talaq, and called it sinful, nevertheless they say it is valid.

This matter, whether triple talaq is valid was considered by the Privy Council in Saiyid Rashid Ahmed vs. Aneesa Khatoon, A.I.R. 1932 P.C. 25. In paragraph15 of the judgment, after considering the relevant authorities on the subject, this is what the Privy Council said :

" Their Lordships are of opinion that the pronouncement of the triple talak by Ghiyas-ud-din constituted an immediately effective divorce, and, while they are satisfied that the High Court were not justified in such a conclusion on the evidence in the present case, they are of opinion that the validity and effectiveness of the divorce would not be affected by Ghiyas-ud-din's mental intention that it should not be a genuine divorce, as such a view is contrary to all authority. A talak actually pronounced under compulsion or in jest is valid and effective (Baillie's Digest, 2nd edn., p. 208; Ameer Ali's Mohammedan Law, 3rd edn., vol. 2, p. 518; Hamilton's Hedaya, vol. 1, p. 211)."

In view of Article 372 of the Indian Constitution, this decision of the Privy Council still remains the law in India, since it has not been altered by the Indian Supreme Court.

So people who say triple talaq is illegal in India are wrong.

Some people argue that triple talaq should be banned, but talaq al ahsan should remain. I disagree. Both talaq al ahsan and triple talaq can be done orally by a Muslim husband., while a Muslim wife cannot get oral talaq. As regards, khula, this requires consent of the husband, which he may not give, whereas a husband need not get consent of the wife for divorcing her orally.

Thus, the Sharia clearly discriminates against Muslim women, and needs to be scapped, and replaced by a Common Civil Code.

However, the Mullahs will staunchly oppose abolition of even triple talaq, and this also seems to be rigid the stand of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board. And because of vote bank politics in India, the politicians will do nothing about it.

The need for Muslims to become modern

I have always supported Muslims whenever any atrocity or injustice was done to them. But I am an opponent of outdated backward feudal customs and practices among all communities, e.g. the caste system among Hindus and looking down on dalits.

Similarly, I am strongly against oral talaq and burqa among Muslims, and I support the demand of a uniform civil code.

Sharia law has done great harm to Muslims, and has contributed in keeping them backward. The time has come when it must be abolished ( just as the old Hindu Law was abolished in 1955 and 1956 by statutes ). It is only due to vote bank politics and bigotry of some die hard feudal minded Muslims that this has not yet been done. So I support the recent demand of some modern minded Muslim womens organizations in this connection.

The very fact that oral talaq is permitted to only Muslim males, but not to females shows that Sharia treats women as inferior. But some claim that Sharia was made by Allah, and so cannot be abolished. This is nonsense and humbug. Customary non statutory law was not made by anyone, but evolved in accordance with the social syste prevalent at that time. In the middle ages women were everywhere regarded as inferior to men. Thus, according to the old non statutory Hindu Law, a man could marry as many wives as he wanted, but a woman could marry only one husband. This shows that the old Hindu Law too treated women as inferior.

Similarly, wearing burqa is a stupid backward practice. If a woman wears a sari or salwar kameez surely she is not nude. Why should women be kept in a cage ? It is time now that Muslim men tell their wives and other female relatives to discard burqa, and support the demand for abolition of oral talaq.

Muslims should reflect

This is a message I got on facebook ( I have deleted the name of the sender ) :

Hi sir....Asslam o alaikum

Aap kaafi dooor ras insaan hai aur education & history par apko command hasil hai.  Mai  apse ek request karta hun.  Plz aap ek baar Islaam ko achhe se study krye or hmare Nabi Mohammad Sab ke baare mein padhye or Quraan ko padhye ek baar zrur sir. Uske baad aap khud faisla karye ke Islaam kaisa mazhab hai or wo kya chahta hai.

This is my reply:

I am 69 years old, and have been reading and discussing all my life since I was very young. I have studied Islam well.

 Islam was a great religion which spread from Spain to Indonesia because of its great message of equality. It was a great leveller, treating all men as equals. The oppressed people, who were often inhumanly treated ( e.g. the 'low' castes in India ) accepted Islam as it gave them social emancipation ( the same reason why Buddhism and Christianity spread ).

The early Muslims emphasized on science and education. The Prophet is said to have said that for knowledge ( ilm ) one should even go upto China . Arabs were great scientists, and regarded Hindus as their gurus in science and mathematics. They learnt the decimal system, etc from the Hindus, and passed this knowledge on to Europeans.

 However, of late the Wahabi type bigoted idiots have disgraced and painted a wrong picture of Islam, because of which many people in the world today identify Islam with terrorism.

 Islam was a great liberating religion. but many fundamentalist and stupid fools have sought to make it it an enslaving religion. For example, these bigoted idiots support burqa or hijab which puts women in a cage. In my opinion burqa or hijab is against the spirit of Islam, which was a great liberator. So it is anti-Islam. But these stupid fools will not agree to something so obvious. They say that it should be left to the choice of the woman to wear burqa or not.

 The truth is that many women wear burqa or hijab because of the force of social pressure or custom, which can be as powerful as physical force.

 Some idiots say that a woman without a burqa or hijab is naked or like a woman in a bikini. This is a stupid argument, and only idiots can make it. Is a woman wearing a sari or salwar kameez or shirt pant naked or in a bikini ?

Oral talaq, which is only permissible to men, discriminates against Muslim women by keeping a damocles sword hanging over their heads. It is one of the main causes of keeping Muslims backward. By treating women as inferior, it plucks out one of the two eyes of Muslim society. Abolition of oral talaq is absolutely necessary for emancipation of Muslim women, and since women comprise half of society, it is absolutely necessary for emanc ipation of Muslims ( see my article ' Womens Emancipation ' on my blog justicekatju.blogspot.in )

 The Talibanis want that girls should not be sent to school. But the Prophet had emphasized on education. So are Talibanis not anti-Islamic ? Some bigoted fools in Pakistan are against vaccinating  children for polio etc. Are they not idiots ?

 It is time Muslims declare these idiots anti-Islam.

Some people make pictures or cartoons insulting to Islam. It is best for Muslims to ignore this, instead of shooting such people, as was done to Charlie Hebro, which only gives Muslims a bad name.