A day after All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) in-charge general secretary Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani tweeted his opinion on loudspeakers being used to recite the azaan, the call to prayer, the Islamic scholar issued an apology and clarified that the opinion was made in his personal capacity. The tweets had snowballed into a controversy with several criticising the Maulana.
The Hyderabad-based cleric, in a series of Urdu tweets on Friday, opined that the azaan should be recited from external loudspeakers of a ‘big’ mosque in a neighbourhood, and the remaining smaller mosques should do so on internal speakers, or without a mic or a speaker from outside. He also stated that external speakers should not face homes of people belonging to other faiths and hospitals. Another tweet urged Muslims to use internal speakers of mosques to deliver sermons and carry out other religious activities.
While a section of twitterati agreed with his opinion, Rahmani’s comments discouraging the use of external speakers, in particular, drew sharp criticism from other sections on social media. The tweets were later deleted.
In a statement released on the micro-blogging site on Saturday, Maulana Rahmani, who also heads the Islamic seminary Al Mahad ul Aali al Islami in Pahadishareef, clarified that his opinions were a part of an opinion piece he had recently written, and were not those of the AIMPLB, or any other organisation. The comments, he added, were not injunctions as per the Sharia, but suggestions made bearing in certain circumstances.
He also clarified that since the azaan is an announcement, it has to reach a large number of people and the use of speakers is advisable. Explaining the reason for retracting his opinion, his statement reads, “Those in the know have said that against the backdrop of the circumstances prevailing in the country, these suggestions could have ramifications, therefore, I retract and apologise.”
