Lucknow, November 5
If a Shia bridegroom misleads his future bride about his real income, educational or social status this would be sufficient ground for the woman to exercise her right to divorce. Stating all this in black and white is one of the several conditions that the Shia bridegroom will have to fulfil before his bride agrees to sign on the dotted line of the marriage contract.
With the model nikahnama finally getting the stamp of approval from Shia leader Ayatoullah Syed Ali Sistani of Najaf in Iraq, the long wait for the women of the community
is at last over.
Speaking to mediapersons, All-India Shia Personal Law Board (AISPLB) Chairperson Maulana Mirza Mohammad Athar said once the model nikahnama was presented before the board’s annual session in Mumbai on November 26, the Shia women, for the first time in the country, would have the option of getting divorce on honourable terms.
He said with the go ahead given by Ayatoullah Sistani, the chances of the nikahnama getting wider acceptability among the community is fairly high. Sistani is a renowned authority on “ijtihad” (personal reasoning) or innovative interpretation of the Quran relating to changing conditions of the Muslim community within the larger context of the Islamic spirit of justice and equality.
However, clarifying that “it was no law” the Maulana made it clear that it was only an option, henceforth available to the women of the community, regarding persuading their future partner of marrying under the model nikahnama.
His son Maulana Yasoob Abbasi would soon be getting married under this model marriage contract or nikahnama, a beaming Maulana Athar revealed to the mediapersons.
This document, whetted by both religious and legal experts of the country before being sent to Iraq for the final approval, has attempted to respond to the personal law problems thrown up in recent times by clearly spelling out a set of 18 or 20 conditions for both prospective bride and bridegroom.
Highlighting some of the salient features of the nikahnama, Maulana Athar said, “Till now Shia women had to resort to Khula to get out of a bad marriage. This was not a unilateral right of the woman to divorce; as it was subject to the approval of the husband”.
In actual practice, it had meant the approval being virtually bought by the aggrieved woman by resorting to various humiliating options, including foregoing her meher (dower money), dowry, maintenance and in a worst case scenario even the right to access to her children.
Another revolutionary right that the Shia women may now have is getting maintenance beyond the three-month “iddat” period in
case of divorce.
