Mumbai: The first day of Sunni Ijtema on Friday was reserved for women and witnessed issues like women’s education, religious practices and rituals, followed by questions from the attendees. The Ijtema was held at Azad Maidan and saw hundreds of women from across the city.
The annual event, thought to be the largest Sunni Muslim gathering, is being organised by Sunni Dawate Islami. Speakers on Friday delved into the idea of prayer, how to perform it, answered questions on verses of Quran, and talaq, among others. Career counselling and legitimacy of crypto currency will be discussed on Sunday, day two of the gathering.
“There are many things that we don’t know. We look forward to coming here and increasing our knowledge. We get to know what women can do or not do,” said Arshi Syed, one of the attendees.
Maulana Shakir Noorie, the president of the organisation, said the idea of the Ijtema is to lay emphasis on education and character. She said, “It is said that if you do not have these, you cannot become a good person. Our prophet emphasised on this and had come to educate and complete the character of people. A number of children are losing their way because mothers are not able to support and train them. A famous person said that when you have a good mother, you have a good community. We will also talk about drugs and how it destroys not just the life of the person but the entire family.”
Mufti Nizamuddin, the Head of Department, Fatwa, Al Jamia Ashrafia, Mubarakpur, took up questions about talaq and said, “It is better to talk to people and to those nearby before the matter escalates to talaq. Talaq is not good and we feel it should not happen.”
Another attendee, Phooljahan Shah said, “It was clarified that instant talaq is wrong. If women have a problem they should talk to the family of the husband so that others involved can resolve the issue. We also got to know about the Quran, what to read, and what to tell our children about Azaan. We come here to learn about the ways of the world and religion. I have been coming here for more than 20 years now.”
