Fatwa over Muslim women tying rakhis to Hindu brothers

The Darul-Uloom Deoband has issued a fatwa against Muslim women tying rakhis to Hindu brethren and Muslim men getting rakhis tied by Hindu sisters.

Maulana Nazeef Qasmi, Nayab Mohtamim, Madrasa Darul-Uloom Niswa said that Islam does not allow Muslim women to come out of 'purdah' (veil) and touch the body of any other man, who is not her husband. "Thus, tying rakhis and putting vermillion on other men's forehead by Muslim is against the tenets of the Islam and Shariat," he said in the fatwa.

"Those who have indulged in such acts have done it against Islam and Shariat. They should repent their anti-Sharia and anti-Islamic acts," he said.

Mufti Ahmad Gaud, State President of Majlis Etehad-e-Millat has also supported the views of Deoband. "Unveiling and touching another man is strictly prohibited in Islam for Muslim women. Those who tied rakhis on other men hands have committed an unislamic act and should repent and purify as per Islamic laws," he said.