So Allah is happy if you prevent women from earning their livelihood as receptionists

We should ban this organization immediately and punish this mullah,so no such mullah such dare to give such fatwas against women.

Are these brain dead mullahs leaders of the Islamic world?

If female is widowed no one is to take care of her and she has kids. Who is going to help her ? feed the children ? Mullah's are thinking in this way .. Shalwar upaar charha kar ..ISLAM inn par start or khatam ho gaya.. They never condem the suicide bombing.. They never condem the slaughtering of men..All of them look like Aliens, How anyone can be attracted to them ? They have a product named "FATWA" . It is upto them where ever they can introduce it and sell it. No one will question them because one more FATWA will come against those who condemn their FATWA's . They can pronounce anyone "KAFIR" ..

Sorry sir, there is everything wrong in their ruling.

How about Muslim women cleaning toilets? Is it batter for them then working as receptionists?How about working in small offices with other men? Why not issue full list of things women can and can not do.If you can not provide security to women keep them in lock and key and just feed them to breed for you like cattle.

.........and who cares what this man has to say.........the muslim youth in India are assertive and will not be pushed around by mullas.

tell the mullahs to lower their gaze this is per Quran.

nice to see such news and especially blogs in the dawn. Seriously , these mullah needs to come out of there mentality...and make islam an easy to follow religion...

Nobody listen Mullahs in INDIA. Why don't these idiots issues fatwa against Bollywood Muslim Women. hypocrites.

So they must be forceably removed and left to fend for themselves.

You know religion is a personal thing. Just because someone is wearing hijab does not mean she is pious or vice-a-versa. The main thing here is that Islam says to do hijab and if you follow it, your taqwa is greater then someone who does not follow it. There are lots of thing Islam say and muslims are not following, like Namaz, killing, zana, rishwat, and the list goes on...

Having such mullahs is not god for the health of the society.Immediately government of India should take action against him and put him behind bars.

FATWA should also cover the "compensatory means" of supporting women receptionists families.

why they have given fatwa after years........how many jobs are there which does not require human interaction. I don't know in which world we are living in....

another retrogressive step; another controversy that will make female workers guilty who have to work this basic level job and have no where to go without a job. Will Darul uloom also take responsibility for meeting their day to day expenditure?

Can these mufti's could quote even one hadith from Bukhari, Muslim or Tirmidhi that prophet ordered Muslim women to cover their face? My another question is do they have any support system for the women who needs money but can not find another job except receptionist job. Will they please publish list of all jobs which are not allowed for Muslim women. Do they have any program to train Muslim women for another jobs?

Living a normal life requires constant interaction with people, its not some horrible crime for a woman to talk to men not related to her for job or business.

There you go again! Which law should Pakistanis follow? Pakistani laws or Fatwas?

Then what about muslim models in ramp show ? Fatwa Please.

How about as a receptionist at a girl's high school with all women staff? Please let me know to which learned person I need to submit my query, just to curb my enthusiasm?

Its time for India to Ban this organization,if they can't ban them atleast stop these mullahs giving fatwas.

Its sorry to hear my country becoming about of Taliban Mullahs.

muslim women working as doctor, engineer, accountant, marketing manager, teacher and most probably all of the professions have to interact with men, now the question of being in a veil or not is their own choice and same choice is available for receptionists as well. what necessitates such fatwas then ? furthermore, the interpretation of veil also varies in various muslim countries. I personally live in a conservative muslim country but local women work here as receptionist and they wear a dress which as per this country's clerks is islamic. The interpretation of each region and sect seems to be more influenced by the social, political and economic conditions rather than some universal religious laws, in case of later there would have been no differences.

come on..grow up...i ask them a question, what role Deobandi or any other mullah played to give the needy woman folk their basic livelihood,...i think first these mullah should discuss the issue of prostitution which is being practiced in various muslim societies...if they dont get livelihood as receptionists, what you expect them to go for? prostituion ....!!!!!

Yes !!! Muslim women shouldnt work at all & moreover as a reciptionist. And if they cant work,may b no geen to go to school either ,like the Taliban way. Its ridiculous.

why is the fatwa not issued for men not to stare at women with lustful eyes!

It is time we asked them to define who is a Muslim. Time to put them on the spot as their definitions of a Muslim apparently is more strict than Allah and His prophet and differs what have been said in Quran/ Taliban and Lashkar Jaangvi etc follow their interpretation of Islam.

why not issue a fatwa on not allowing women to breathe, as they pollute air when they exhale!!!! for god'd sake stop humiliating islam and they sufi mullah's should be the ones whose interaction needs to be stopped, with EVERYONE....

What about women customers having to deal with a male receptionist? So many hadith narrated by Hadhrat Aisha Radh, and other female sahaba?

We are not here to make happy the creation but we are here to obey ALLAH TAALA to get HIS pleasure

Fruits of Saudi-Kuwaiti investment reported earlier in this very paper, reference to which is strangely missing from the above article.... http://dawn.com/2011/05/22/saudi-arabia-uae-financing-extremism-in-south-punjab/

At least they stick to their point and try to practice what they preach which is appreciable.

What else can be expected from maulvis!!! They want to drag us to the dark ages. Few days back I watched (in shock), JI Leader Munwar Hassan saying that woman should not report rape if can't produce 4 witness. Why on earth we need these maulvis!!! They do nothing good but Fassad Sabeeh-Lillah.

WELL DONE better late then never, keep up with good work, Lock every body up, Plz issue Fatwa againest mobiles and plz don't leave too much gap between Fatwas because it we get lazy, thank you yours

backward people... no wonder their countries never progress and are always behind the rest of the world cuz of their low mentality.... they always want to impose their thoughts n beleifs on others which is wrong cuz they dont want the same for themselves.....

With due respect to these clerics. There are many other decent jobs by Muslim women. Will they ban all of them. Women are now pilots, doctors engineers and in many other places where they are front line representatives. Will they ban all of them. In fact who cares, luckily they are not the one to control the system in Pakistan or other countries otherwise they will drag us to stone age.

please take these leaders to pakistan.. Hindus and muslims live peacefully in india and these mullahs don like this harmony. Tomorrow the same imam will issue fatwa if muslims speak to hindus..

A woman has to face and deal with constant interactions with men while boarding a bus, shopping of any kind, and even while walking on the street, therefore it would be better, safe and Islamic, if women are totally banned from going out of their homes! Besides, windows in the front wall of the room, facing the street, should also be not allowed in a Muslim buildings!

Every man is a sexual animal and at the sight of a woman they become uncontrollable so better to have the woman entombed rather than leashing the beast. Wow what a philosophy. I have yet to see a world class leader emerge from this Home of Sciences. Think of every woman the way you would want someone else to think of your sister or your mother.

Ask them what NASA tells about retrograde motion of the mars. they will answer that the sun will rise from the west haha. Height of ignorance of MULLAS

that's ok, but can someone anwer this: Is it permissable for Molvi's to keep an unblinking eye contact when talking to TV hostesses especially of morning shows!! ? what is the fatwa for them

Question: Have any of the Darul Uloom fatwa-givers held any job themselves? What do they do other than giving fatwas? How do they pay their rent, that is?

Is is high time people stopped paying heed to these meaningless fatwas and paying undue respect to the self declared ulemas...they seem to be bent on messing up the women and the image of Islam. May Allah bless them with real wisdom one day...

sahi hay... lagay raho muna bhaii

inka bhi kuch kam kaj ni hai jisko receptionist banna hoga wo to banega he logo ne khana ni khana kya aggar kam ko aise he lat marte rahe to chal gaya logo ka ghar...ye deoband wale khilayege kya muslim aurato ko khana har kisi ki apni jarurat hoti hai wo apni jarurat ke hisab se kam karta hai..inhe ye ghisa pita ravyya chodna chahiye or muslim men women sabhi ki bhalai ke liye kam karna chahiye..jab katrina kaif jesi muslim girl short skirt me dance kar sakti hai uske liye to ye koi fatwa ni jari kar sakte dusri poor girls ke piche pad jate hain..mere hindustani muslim bhaiyo ko apni jarurt or dimag ke hisab se kam karna chahiye na ki dharmguruo ke dabav me aakar ni

Wah Wah Wah. Best Fatwa i have heard in years. You gotta love this dudes. More Fatwas on similar lines please. How about a fatwa for women not allowed to drive on the roads or a fatwa where women are totally banned from coming out of their house. Now that is one fatwa i could live with.

I urge Indian government should bell the cat.

Wow, what a fatwa. In fact quite a fat one. What about those Talibans waging war on girl education? and killing innocent followers of Islam in praying halls, just because they don't like the flavor?

not a single in comment in support of this fatwa. shows that what people thinks of these mulllas !

Great news! Harzrat Ayesha (pbuh) could lead the army as an army general but in the present day women cant even be a receptionist. well done!

Bro do the same thing that i do with fatwas. Ignore it

Actually if you follow true Islam?? None of the muslim women should be allowed to work anywhere. There life should be a model of service and sacrifice for their husbands and children and yes.. 5 time prayers is a must. LOL

Its due to these mullahs Muslims have a bad name in this world.

I fail to understand the double standard in islam - on one hand its says islam gives full rights to women and on the other hand it bars women from its right.

Seems maulvis forgotten they born from womb of one of women. From when women become inferior to men? Even our Prophets came in this world from blood and cells of these women. Lets respect them, not make them an item.

women from other parts of the world are stepping into the space whereas we are still confused whether appointment of a woman as receiptionist should be allowed or otherwise?

I think these mullas want to put the women in boxes. I wonder how long these people want to live with the mindset of a tribal society of past.

That is what world is moving and these mullah want to muslim should live in 6th century

There you go again. In the Holy Quran Allah only asks women to cover their heads and no where is a veil mentioned. In Haj men and women stand alongside. In wars during the early Muslim history women tended the wounded and looked after food and water. Where the hell do these Mullahs get their religious beliefs from?

Ah! Equality and Islam !

If our ulema have their way we will be back to dark ages before Islam emancipated women.

There should be a fatwa against men giving fatwas against women

Its about time. We should have some good looking female mullahs. I nominate Veena Malik....

I literally feel sorry for the Ulema because Allah has not given them full hidayat. They know how to put an end to women's education and office jobs; but they don't have the answer what if the women in the workforce are the only bread winners of the house, what should they do? I would personally like to know how Mufti Zulfikar Ali and his followers running the Darul Uloom Deoband earn their income. I'm sure it is from begging people to spend money in the name of Allah on them. They lack self respect and dignity because it clearly said in the Quran, do not sell signs (verses) of Allah for a small price and yet the shamelessly do it.

Deobandi folks need to get real. How will women progress if they are to stop interacting with men.

It indeed will prove to be a mile stone in contemporary business practices, where womens are used as a show piece in offices,specially in Islamic countries.young ladies are being used as a tool to attract the clients/customers and to promote the business.It indicates the sign of apocalypse (qayamat)....that people will start using women to promote their businesses......

What nonsense! Which Sharia are they looking at? The various so called Islamic groups can't even agree on some of the basics. Sharia laws appeared 200 years after the death of the Holy Prophet. Can we really rely on knowledge that appeared so much later in Islamic history especially when there is very little agreement.There is no requirement for a Muslim woman to wear a veil. It is just tradition in some cultures. It is not an Islamic requirement. It was mandatory only for the wives of the Holy prophet so that they could be distinguished as such.

What a bunch of bologna! I am starting to think that none of these so called scholars actually know a thing or two about religion. Can we ship them and their hard core followers to Antarctica, where they can form their own fantasy land and live their lives according to 'their' shariah? Seriously, I think we should petition all the controlling bodies of Antarctica and request to allot the desert of ice to the radicals, so the rest of us could live in peace.

I dont think so that Muslim women should wear the veil at all times, I do agree that they should cover the head with scarf but wearing a veil is not compulsory but covering head is certain essential and same is for man as well then.

This is what it comes down to. Country is in turmoil and the issue Deoband sect has to issue a fatwa about a woman working as a receptionist. How about Fatwa against religious intolerance and murders that are carried in the name of religion? Isn't that un-islamic and what are prophet stood for?

Can some one, anyone tell me where it says that in Quran or state a quote or saying of the Prohphet PBUH? I do not want long explanation, just simple words. Where does it say that?

Actually in islam a role of alim is very much important. he or she should have a good knowledge of science , current affairs, social and moral values and islam so that he has a broad picture of current scenario. so in islam , becoming an alim should be a very difficult thing but its easy now a days.

Can this Mullah raise such a Fatwa on Arab countries for Arab women who do not wear veil and yet work as front desk officers in the Government?

How about a fatwa asking men to lower their gaze so the sisters can work in peace to support their families in these financially difficult times?

Darul Uloom Deoband when translated to this language means " Toward Humanity's Ultimate Darkness" Simply shame is the word for these Fatwabaz Corporation

Its sorry to hear my country is becoming abode of Talibani Mullahs and government of India is keeping quiet without taking any action.

Here you go again. We don't want these radicals in Pakistan.

Who will bell the cat?

does anyone listen to these old bearded guys anymore.... these thoughtless fatwas are making these seminaries further irrelevant to the lives of common people. Hope the women will protest and make the seminary rethink its fatwa....

I as a Muslim women ask our Muslim men to voice their opinion against these mullahs and prevent them from giving such fatwas against Muslim women.

Who will bell the cat?

Here we go again ..... What about male receptionists who mingle freely with females; any fatwa for them please?

I love the mullahs they always stand for male dominance.:)

You r 2 naive ;)

What a Poor & Backward thought. If a woman can become a Judge, Lawyer, Air-hostess, Prime minister, Foreign minister, Film Actress then what is wrong in becoming a mere receptionist? These mullahs need sense.

absolutely correct. Muslim women should only work at an office, where her husband, brother or father is also working. At no time and for whichever assignment, they should be forced to work anywhere without supervision.

Its time to have our women mullahs to defend women against these men mullahs.

it's not double standards in Islam...it's about interpretation of laws...and interpretation would always be subjective to level of intellectuality possessed by the interpreter...if we have more learned scholars, interpretation would change accordingly...so it's all about people

These mullahs using fatwas are indoctrinating the Muslim males to torture their wives,this amounts to inciting domestic violence.

Hear.. hear...well said.

many Muslims people respect mullahs from core of heart. counting comments on dawn doesn't give us real picture. comments here are written by readers of dawn news. everyone is not reader of dawn.

Loved ur sarcasm. Who are these Mullahs to decide about women? We all have our brains to think of ourselves so try your best to stop women, we wont stop.

Why are the people in the picture sitting on the floor ? Why can't they use table and chair to read and write?

next is banning muslim women working as doctors nurses and university professors because they have even more interaction with all species of people. respected ulema in my humble opinion should have outlined the do

Please remember all terrorists in Pakistan belong to this school of thought and it is imperative for Indian government to close all such seminaries who are spreading narrow mindedness and hatred around the world

maar dein saari aurton ko... thand inn ko tab hi parhay gi.

why on earth something has been made so difficult to understand that the implementators are left no choice but to go with their own set of interpretations in implementing something as per the religion... and all of them think that they are correct as per the religion/book and its law.... 1 book and 1000 interpretations.. there lies the root cause.

what ----- about trying to be a good muslim????

Guess what! That's how it is in Saudi Arabia, the cradle of Islam.

Its time to have women Mullahs to give fatwa against men not to work as receptionist. For men not ogle at women,for men to wear veil to cover their face and their head.

Women have become presidents,prime ministers etc its time for women to be mullahs and give fatwa against mullah men and ordinary men.

This fatwa is a hate speeches against women.The person who issued the fatwa should immediately punished.

Allah loves people living for humanity.

In the eyes of god, all humans are equal. But, especially in Islam Allah imposes insaaf i.e justice to one & all. He is the ultimate authority, not the mullah interpreting according to his will.

Isn't Islam a complete code of life? Don't you believe in Islam?

Mullahs always are men they always stood for men and they will always stand for men. :)

wah wah well said Sardarjee.

Its time for Muslims to stand against these mullahs who take away our right in the name of Islam.

We can't allow male mullahs ruling the show by imprisoning innocent women by their fatwas.

How about banning the mullahs from this seminary from visiting any offices where women work. That will prevent them from looking at the ladies so that they can maintain their status as true believers.

good thought by muslim scholars.

Maybe the mullahs should be the ones wearing the veil?

Fatwa is a religious ruling and as I understand it is not binding in Sunni Islam. It is on followers of a particular faith to abide by it or not. Darul-uloom-deoband is a respectable institution in India on Islamic faith. I do not see any wrong in their ruling. However, the fact is that such thoughts have become obsolete in our developing society.

Unfortunate but true.

its strange to see all these comments , we are muslims and this means that we accepted a way of life in accordance to sharriah , we have no right to comment against ulema , and those who are not happy with sharriah should decide their own way, they may be going out of Islam by these comments

your ulemas are stil trying keeping you people in the stone age period - modern techonoligy is still 'haram' for them

Fatwah should infact declare 1 lakh rupees/month/female receptionist.Many abandoned Muslim women work as maid servant even in my own house.There is no support for them from the Fatwah generating Mullah.Why?????

The fatwa does not seems to be against womens,in fact this is in favor to protect the sanctity of womens....those who don't believe are deaf,dumb and blind. They should get their mind free from the clutches of westernize culture. Only then they can understand......

I believe in moderation anything too much is too bad.Buddha said the middle way.The truth is not towards the left nor towards the right its is in the center or middle truth(god) is present.Its not in the extremes of liberal or fundamental but in the middle that is moderate.

Women only became prime ministers and president in third world countries not in USA. How back ward is USA.

Farooq Bhai, to my understanding anyone trained in Islamic law may give an opinion (fatw?) on its teachings? A fatwa doesn

these mullah's are crazy where ever they live in the world. there should be a ban on mullah receptionists.

As you have noticed, I was being sarcastic. At the end of the day, nothing is more important than survival. I may not need to heed to or ignore this fatwa and any woman who has her/her family's survival at stake and has the credentials to perform the job will ignore the fatwa anyway. These fatwas become sensation only when they appear in the media. Otherwise, Indians respectfully ignore such fatwas and they may not even be aware of how many and what fatwas this institution publishes. My belief is that the Deoband has relevance only because of historical reasons. Indians have same feelings towards Deoband as towards any other heritage related institution and so I do not want to trash my own heritage. But the sad part is that those at the helm probably do not realize that the institution has no social relevance in today's life and age. Ps: Wherever I used 'Indians' above includes 'all' Indians, regardless of the religion they profess (or don't profess).

Not being a follower of Islam or its particular sect, to me also it is not in line with present day thoughts. If you are Deobandi, I would like you to read this religious ruling,, interpret it according to the the faith and get it amended? No issue. Otherwise, are we not poking our nose in personal affairs of a particular sect? We should learn to live with diversified thoughts as long it doesn

True, why focusing receptionist only? Had this fatwa had true spirit it would have talked about general degradation of women in workplaces (not all).

@ Singh. Fatwa may be wrong or unagreeable but if by chance you read it, it says that women working as receptionist are more prone to men's disrespectful behaviour and should not take such jobs. It is protective in nature not degrading towards women. However, I agree fatwa should have been against disrespectful men ! @ Sheikh Chilli LOL

@ Skchadha. Rightly said sir.

Mullahs from both India and Pak should be sent to Malaysia on an incentive tour to see Muslim women working all around the country. Kota Bahru is a predominantly Muslim state in Malaysia with Sharia in operation as the state law but I saw women working all around the place.

As someone who is not a Muslim, I welcome this step wholeheartedly. Women are more suited by nature to take care of family, inculcating moral values to children, supporting her husband, etc. However, these days we find they interact with strangers without any shame and end up getting cheated. It is also scientifically proven that women are more emotion, constantly insecure and less rational which is why they easily fall prey to wrong persons. It is my request that this fatwa should be extended to all communities.

these Mullanas are lifting the women by not allowing them to become showcase for many companies and protecting them from lustful eyes.

Just forget that!! Indian government has no courage to act against any religious organization be it Hindu, Muslim etc.

Guys, had anybody think why that company (name not mentioned) put that query (if any company really did) and what was the motive behind. Are we not putting useless efforts behind that report????

Satish I appreciate your study on the islamic issues and believe you are a learned person. My humble view on the issue which non-muslims will also comprehend is that instead of running away from issues by declaring a fatwa on it as impermissible, our cleric should assist muslim women by charting out the parameters of do's and dont's which the religion explains very well anyways. Any muslim women who cares about being muslim and works as a receptionist never let any one consider her a piece on showcase or a "pleasant scene at welcome desk". Muslim women just like any other women from noble faith and family oriented cultures like indian know it well how to behave in today's environment, not compromising on their faith and/or culture, not being rude but at the same time not giving any one a wrong impression of "extra-curricular" engagements. The growing problem with muslim clerics is that instead of working a bit harder to research and find the acceptable ways, they run away from the issues by issuing fatwas. That is the only reason world has started seeing islam as a competitor religion where as islam is actually a complete way of life. Religion is too narrow and misleading term for islam.

It seems like it's against my basic right Nasir Sahib! I have a better solution. why don't you issue a fatwa against men ooglin at women, I think that's definitely in favour of sanctity of your face

I request the Mufties of the Deoband Seminary to give a fatwa against women who who go to Arab countries and work in their homes like slaves, OR declare that a slave girl is better than a receptionist in the eyes of a Mufti.

excuse me, but i'm a student of islamic education and am studying by women and i believe this fatwa is completely right. we need to keep ourselves protected so as not to be probed by the eyes of so many other men except our husbands. and if you believe i may jux be a normal female student with no education but that of religion then you are wrong because i have also studied in university and done textile designing with in the veil and now i am applying for ACCA. there is no rule bounding us to our homes, there are rules only to keep us protected and to keep our bodies safe.

Eye contact alone is OK, eyes shudnt wander. Why not have the women wear dark glasses ?

u r right ,i have been working in kota bharu for 3 years ,as a hindu i lov the other side of islam ,where peace and love dominates .....i love islam there and peace there

I think no one should have, as all have the same destiny in this world today i.e. Geo or Genay Do. But the same quesiton applies, who will bell the CAT.....?

Then you do it. :)

We have gone so astray that we can't tolerate Islam, these people have not their thought but interpreted from verses. Shame to all muslims who comment this blog without researching what Islam is about? and what is written in holy Quran and Hadith?

those who blindly follow the mullahs are themselves blind, deaf, and dumb.

Don't ever disagree with the ulema or you're going against the Shariah and could be committing kufr??? You need to do some serious research buddy.

I see you have a lot more likes than dislikes, but thats a really messed up thing to say.

Going out of Islam? Really? Whose Islam? Yours?

Nope. You should get your mind free from the clutches of ignorant, bigoted men who speak in the name of absolute authority and require all others to follow them in, among other despicable things, subjugating half of the human race. .

Enlighten my about Ummul Momineen Khadeeja(a.s). was not she a bussiness woman and social worker ?

High hopes ? Deoband gives parties block muslim votes or atleast some quantity though less than previously. Else why the improtance to the seminaries and moulvis and preists ?

My dear sister, I don't know your religion but I advice if you are muslim, please read the Prohphet PBU him Sharia, and Law of Quran, then comments. May Allah give us bright vision and peace in this world and after.

Who are these mullahs. Most of them are uneducated madrassa educated, brain washed extremists.It is strange even this 21st century some people are following them.. These type of people are the main reason for the backwardness of muslims in all fields.