If you are not married yet, and wish to commit yourself to marry without any exchange of dowry, please send a note to Shabi Hashmi, and join the campaign ... View current list of those who have already committed
| Marriage-Quranic verses | |||
Bihar Anjuman’s objective is manifold. On the one side, we strive towards the educational and socio-economic empowerment of Muslims, on the other, we pursue a bigger goal of overall empowerment which is deep-rooted in Islamic values of peace and harmony. We are confident that our efforts towards the welfare of Muslim community helps in nation building, in a multicultural and multi-religious environment, as well.
It is worthwhile to recall the movement launched in the 1990s, by a fearless and dedicated individual, Naiyer Ahsan - currently Anjuman's local representative in Dubai. Download an Eulogy, originally written in Urdu, by the students of AMU bidding farewell to brother Naiyer Ahsan Sahab. The translation is by Dr. Syed Iqbal Haider, a Professor in one of the universities in UAE - he belongs to Biharsharif. Click here to Download.
Click to download a free book by Azizah Yahia al-Hibri, An Introduction to Muslim Women's Rights
Dowry gives shivering thoughts to the parents of girls, not just among Muslims but among all the communities in India. It is becoming increasingly difficult for the girls' parents to find suitable grooms without dowry. The Islamic system prohibits any conditional marriage. According to Islamic system any marriage based on any sort of condition is not legal. Even our Indian civil law disallows dowry based marriage. Laws and rules apart, the reality is in stark contrast to what Islamic values or the civil codes dictate. Hence there is a need for a revolution at a much larger scale against the dowry system, in collaboration with all organizations and institutions that can directly or indirectly impact the movement. Our Anjuman has initiated one such anti-dowry movement and we are on way to tying-up with others so that we may get co-operation from all quarters. Insha-Allah, our plans will start yielding fruitful results pretty soon.
What is marriage of a Muslim all about? Click here to know.
We are of general view that dowry is a social evil plaguing the whole society irrespective of their religious dominion. Hence we will like to support and get support from any organization working towards the eradication of this social anathema. We believe together we can make a difference. Therefore we ask for co-operation from Madarsas, Mosques, NGOs, Temples, Community and Society heads.
......... Download many articles and books including "MUSLIM WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN THE GLOBAL VILLAGE: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES", by Azizah Yahia al-Hibri by clicking here.
Following are the members from Bihar Anjuman team who have pledged their whole hearted support. They form our Anti Dowry Movement Committee. Majority of these members are young Biharis residing in different part of the globe:
Aejaz Haque: Jaddah, Saudi Arabia.
Ahmad Ali: Mumbai, India.
Ahmad Rasheed: Al-Hofuf, Saudi Arabia.
Arshad Hussain: Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Hassan Arshad: Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
Imteyaz Ahmad: Incheon, South Korea.
Naiyar Ahsan: Dubai, UAE.
Najm Gilani: London, United Kingdom.
Perwez Ahmad: Chennai, India.
Shabi Hashmi: Cardiff, United Kingdom.
Shakeel Ahmad: Dubai, UAE.
Syed Hassan Jamal: Toronto, Canada.
Sanaullah Khan: Dubai, UAE.
The committee members wish to work aggressively to contribute their bit to eradicate this social anathema. They have full backing of the strong 1100+ members of their online yahoo group. Apart from the yahoo group members they have the support of strong 1000+ members spread all over the world.
The above write-up clearly directs us towards the ideal marriage and dowry. Then why has it happened that now a days we have turned materialistic and always measure everyone with their financial status. Is it not against the teachings of the prophet Mohammad (saw)? At the time of marriage, it has become customary that people look for the financial status of the bride's parents. Although it has been repeatedly commanded by the prophet that the religious understanding of the girl has to be given priority over all other factors. In fact according to Prophet Mohammad (saw), the religious understanding of the bride is everlasting and all other factors are bound to wane. Moreover, the ostentations and show-offs of the dowry from the affluent and educated members of the society has turned this marriage issue very complex and very difficult for the not so privileged members of the society. It is really a paradox considering that it is the responsibility of educated and affluent members of the society to free it from any social anathema. Dowry being a social anathema deserves greater attention from educated and affluent members of the society. It is a need of time that the educated and affluent members of the society come and work together to eliminate this social anathema.
Whoever, being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.
Explanation- For the purpose of this section, "cruelty" means-
(a) any wilful conduct which is of such a nature as is likely to drive the woman to commit suicide or to cause grave injury or danger to life, limb or health (whether mental or physical) of the woman; or
(b) harassment of the woman where such harassment is with a view to coercing her or any person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any property or valuable security or is on account of failure by her or any person related to her to meet such demand.]