Ajmer Dargah shrine head, who denounced beef and criticised instant talaq, faces 'fatwa', boycott call for being 'ignorant Mulsim'

Ajmer: A 'fatwa' has been issued against the spiritual head of Ajmer Dargah, Syed Zainul Abedin, nearly two months after he announced his decision to give up beef and extended his support to overhaul the practice of instant talaq.

According to News18.com, the fatwa calls for “social boycott” of the “ignorant Muslim”.

Sher Mohammad Khan, head of Darul Uloom Ishaqiya, Jodhpur, has issued the fatwa against the Ajmer Dargah shrine head.

The fatwa slammed the views of Ajmer Dargah’s Dewan and stated that “the words uttered by Syed Zainul Abdein were against the word of Allah.”

After the annual Urs ceremony in April at Ajmer Dargah, Abedin had announced his and his family’s decision to give up beef forever. 

He had also called out flaws in the practice of triple talaq and said that Sharia and Quran never permitted such a practice of divorce in one sitting.

Quoting verses from Quran, Darul Uloom Ishaqiya chief said, “The mention of divorce is there in Quran and the three-layered divorce is also mentioned. Though the practice of instant divorce is not an appropriate form in the eyes of the almighty, but still it is valid and you cannot deny it. By denying this, the Dewan has gone against the word of Allah. Such a person is completely unaware of his own religion and he should seek public repentance and forgiveness.”

In April, when Abedin had called for a national law banning cow slaughter, his brother, Syed Alaudin Alimi, had issued a statement claiming that he was appointed the new Dewan of Ajmer Dargah by the family. 

Alimi had said Abedin was no longer a Muslim.

Soon after this, Abedin went ahead and christened his son as the successor of the post of the Sajjadanashin or the spiritual head of Ajmer Dargah.

However, Alimi stood by his ground and has written to Islamic scholars all over the country, seeking fatwa against the statements made by the Dewan and is hopeful that other scholars would follow the Rajasthan Darul Uloom decision.

The fatwa stated that Abedin was no longer a “proper Muslim” and must be “socially boycotted”.