Shoaib moves out of Sania's house for April 15 wedding

Amid hectic wedding preparations, Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik in keeping with customs has moved out of Sania Mirza's house before their marriage on April 15 though his family members are staying at her place.

The clarification came from Sania's spokesperson after a fatwa was issued by Sunni Ulema Board which said that a bride and the groom staying in the same house before marriage is un-Islamic and unacceptable.

When contacted, the All India Sunni Ulema Board distanced itself from the fatwa.

"We have nothing to do with this outfit. Such fatwas cannot be issued," AISUB spokesperson said. 

Reading out a brief statement, Sania's spokesperson said, "We would like to clarify that there has been a misunderstanding in some quarters. The groom has not been staying in the Mirza residence for the last few days. His mother and other family members are residing at the Mirza residence as guests."

The statement made no mention of when Shoaib shifted out of Sania's house. Shoaib moved to Sania's house on his arrival
from Pakistan on April 2.

"In the light of religion it is not right to stay together and go about together so freely before nikah. Normally even guests do share homes but a proper purdah has to be maintained between the bride and the groom," Mufti Mukarram Ahmed, Shahi Imam of Fatehpuri Mosque Delhi, said.

23-year-old tennis star Sania and 28-year-old Shoaib, a former Pakistan cricket captain, who have been dogged by controversies, are all set to tie the nuptial knot on April 15.

The statement said Sania got out of her house to attend a function after a gap of six days. Shoaib divorced Ayesha Siddiqui on April 7 after a series of flip-flop statements in which he claimed he had never married Ayesha.

"Sania finally got out of house after five-six days as she had to attend G V Krishna Reddy's grandson Krishnabhupal's engagement," said the spokesperson. GVK group are the sponsors of Sania.

The spokesperson said that a sister of Shoaib has also arrived from Germany. 

"All his sisters have gone shopping and sightseeing in the city. Sania's aunt has decided to have a 'dholak' session this evening in the traditional way," she said.

A mouth-watering menu is being readied for the marriage reception to be held at Taj Krishna here on April 15.

"The menu for the reception has been decided. There will be seven types of starters, a salad counter, a kebab corner including 'pathar ka ghosh' along with some other Hyderabadi delicacies. There are 23 dishes for thew main course -- two types of biryani and 12 types of desserts," the spokesperson said.