In a rare incident, a female Qazi performs the Nikkah of a Muslim couple in New Delhi, India. Woman Qazi performed the Nikkah rituals of the great-grandson of former President Zakir Hussain on Friday.
The video of the Nikkah ceremony went viral on social media with the video generating over 57k views. Syed Saiyadain Hameem, a former member of planning commission, took the responsibility of the Qazi to perform the Nikkah of the Rahman and Ursila Ali.
“The terms set forth in the nikaahnama were prepared under the auspices of the Muslim Women’s Forum, an organization of which the groom’s great-grandmother Begum Saeeda Khurshid was a founding president,” Ms. Hameed said in a statement.
At the Nikkah ceremony, Qazi Syeda Hameed invoked the passages from Quran. The Nikkah concluded with a call to celebrate the union of bride and groom.
Read more: PTI & PML-N workers clash outside Junaid Safdar’s nikkah event
Indian netizens expressed their excitement over a female Qazi performing the Nikkah. They believe that times are changing and that Muslims are progressing by giving Muslim women equal responsibilities to perform important religious rituals.
In a rare occurrence in Delhi, a female Qazi solemnized the wedding of the great-grandson of the former President of India Dr. Zakir Hussain. The ceremony was performed by Dr. Syeda Saiyadain Hameed, a former member of the Planning Commission.https://t.co/KS0a7xdruN
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A new beginning
Usually, and by practice, it is the male Qazi who performs the Nikkah in Muslim weddings. The ceremony declared both bride and groom equal in marital, legal, and spiritual partnership as quoted under the Quranic verse.
Read more: Junaid Safdar sings in melodious voice on Nikkah, impresses netizens
Ali, the groom said that the idea for Nikkah to be solemnized by a female Qazi was of the bride and he welcomed it. “There was no concept of a female qazi in the Indian Islamic society so we want to make a new beginning and when we talk about equality then why not a female Qazi,” he was quoted as saying.
Syeda Hameed also talked about the significance of the Nikkah. She said, “Nikkahnama is the iqrarnama “which enlists the conditions mutually agreed upon by the bride and groom, about the equal rights and responsibilities along with respect and regard for all aspects of married life”.