Registration under the Special Marriage Act Grew Among Muslims (Photo @DaveAtherton20)
In an attempt to bypass certain conditions related to daughters’ property rights under Islamic Inheritance Law, several Muslims register their marriage under the Special Marriage Act. The development was revealed when data under the Right to Information Act was collected from sub-registrar offices of two districts.
According to the data collected from Thrissur and Kasaragod, a total of 277 marriages were registered under the Special Marriage Act across these two districts in the last year.
As per the Muslim personal law, the daughter gets only one-third of the father’s property if he has no son, and the rest goes to the other immediate relatives such as brothers. Thrissur witnessed 144 registrations under the act, 133 such registrations were held in Kasaragod. Thrissur’s anthikad saw the most number of registrations under the SMA, with a total of 80 couples, The New Indian Express reported.
Actor and lawyer C. Shukkur, who last year came to the limelight after remarrying his wife, Sheena, under the Special Marriage Act, 29 years after they got married. The remarriage was done claiming to save the property rights of his three daughters. The remarriage was held to prevent the rightful claims of his immediate relatives, such as brothers and sisters, on his property under the Islamic Personal Law.
Talking about the increase in registration under Special Marriage Act, Shukkur said that he is waiting for details of other districts, pointing out that there is a notable change in the community’s perspective towards the SMA.
The lawyer told the media house that many families with only daughters were approaching him inquiring about the legal routes to secure their daughters’ property rights after their deaths.
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After announcing his remarriage under the Special Marriage Act in March 2023, Shukkur had faced criticism from some Muslim scholars. The Council for Fatwa and Research of Darul Huda Islamic University issued a fatwa against Shukkur, stating that by remarrying, Shukkur tried to bypass the Islamic law out of a “selfish thought” that his brothers and sisters shouldn’t get even a portion of his property, and that the thought came from the failure to understand the Islamic principles.
The Fatwa also reminded the provision in the Sharia that the parents can divide their property among the daughters when he or she is alive, noting that the lawyer was using religion for his selfish interest.
However, the report by the media outlet also cited an Islamic scholar from Malabar, admitting the changing trend among the community. “Indeed, such a trend is there in the community, However, being a sensitive issue, it would not be appropriate for us to comment on it. We need to hold further studies into the matter,” the media house quoted a scholar.
