Darul Uloom Deoband backs Saudi fatwa prohibiting use of Quran ayats as ringtone

Deoband: Darul Uloom Deoband, one of the leading Islamic institution of India has supported the fatwa issued by Saudi Arabian clerics prohibiting use of Quran verses as ringtone.

According to the Times Of India reports, the fatwa, terming the practice as un-Islamic said it is not permissible to use the Quran ayats (verses) as ringtones on mobile phones even if the meaning of the verses do not change.

“The phone caller may be in the toilet at the time the call is made. In such a state, hearing Quran ayats and azaan (call for prayer) as ringtone or caller tune is quite un-Islamic. Whether it is Arabia, India or any other part of the world, Islam is the same everywhere, so a fatwa issued in Arabia is no less important here,” TOI quoted Mufti Arif Qasmi of fatwa cell at Darul Uloom.

This is not the first time a fatwa against using Quranic verses as ringtone issued. In 2009, clerics from a Kanpur-based organization, Jamia Ashraf-ul-Madaris echoes a similar diktat.

Qasmi also expressed similar reservations. “If a person is in the toilet and heard Quranic ayats after the mobile phone rang, it would be a sin. Besides, most of the time, people answer calls midway, leaving the verses incomplete, which is again un-Islamic as an incomplete verse, sometimes, has a completely different meaning,” he said.

Qasmi also added that, “The other day, someone asked me that Hindu people also use bhajans and shlokas as ringtone, but they don’t see any harm in that. I replied that I can’t comment about other religions. But as far as Islam is concerned, using verses as ringtone goes against the sacred nature of the Quran,” he said.