KOZHIKODE: Under the shadow of a fatwa issued by the Council for Fatwa and Research of Darul Huda Islamic University (DHIU), advocate C Shukkur remarried his wife Dr Sheena Shukkur on Wednesday.
Shukkur and Sheena opted for the Special Marriage Act to circumvent the provisions of the Muslim inheritance laws to ensure that their three daughters get their entire property. After registering the remarriage at the sub-registrar’s office in Hosdurg, Kasaragod, Shukkur said he would explore the possibility of legal action against the DHIU council.
Shukkur told TNIE later that if anyone misreads the word ‘resistance’ in the fatwa as an indirect call to mount a physical attack on him, those who issued the document would be held responsible for their actions.
Issued on Tuesday, the fatwa said it was a paradox that a person who claimed to follow Islamic laws had opted for remarriage under the Special Marriage Act. It said the lawyer’s actions stemmed from the ‘narrow thinking’ that his brothers should not get any share of his property.
“Such thoughts are tragic results of the failure to understand the Islamic principles...Allah is the real owner of all wealth and property. They should be utilised the way Allah stipulated,” the fatwa said.
It also said there was no hindrance in Islam for any person to divide property among daughters, while he/she is alive. “So, there is no need for a registered marriage to circumvent Islamic laws,” it said.
Fatwa tarnished my image among friends, says advocate Shukkur
The fatwa added: “True believers will not fall prey to such drama by those who use religion for personal gains. They (true believers) will strongly resist such heinous moves that are meant to insult religious laws and drain believers’ morale.”
Shukkur said the document had been widely circulated among mahals. “Someone from one of the mahals forwarded it to me. It tarnished my image among my friends and clients,” he said.
Jafar Hudavi of DHIU, Malappuram, said the fatwa only aimed to clear the doubts of believers on the issue. “The council issues such clarifications occasionally. An individual’s doubt is cleared at the personal level. However, this issue was discussed widely in social media. So, we issued a fatwa,” Hudavi said.
He also said the word ‘resist’ did not have any other meaning. “It means Islamic laws will be defended against such distortions,” he said.
Shukkur and Sheena remarried in the presence of their daughters, relatives and friends, including CPM leader V V Ramesan.
Shukkur said there was an aim to create a platform for Muslim parents who have only girl children. “We are envisaging a system to help such parents get their marriages registered under Special Marriage Act and ensure that daughters are sole heirs of their parents’ property,” he said.