The Sunni Ulema Council, a prominent body of Sunnis Muslims, has proposed a new set of guidelines and rules to be included in the new version of nikahnama (Muslim marriage contract).
Sunni Ulema Council has put forth this newer version of nikahnama that bars a man from giving triple talaq in one go and ensures safeguarding women, including the right to divorce.
The document will be made available in Urdu as well as in Hindi, for better understanding for those who are not much familiar with the Urdu language.
Haji Mohammad Salees, the convener of the Sunni Ulema Council told Hindustan Times, “We are giving them to the clergy to build a consensus on it and also promote it in place of the old one that had none of the conditions mentioned in this one.”
The remarkable changes included in the draft for the new nikahnama gives the woman the right to divorce and binds the clerics and the witnesses to give their testimony in case the matter reaches the court. According to Hindustan Times, the draft states that the name and address of the cleric who solemnises the marriage would also be mentioned in the contract.
Salees was further quoted in the report, saying, “The new nikahnama has detailed that divorce can only take place as per the method outlined in the Quran — the husband cannot give triple talaq in one sitting.”
The new version of nikahnama has been approved by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB). The AIMPLB would also help in conducting pre and post marriage counselling sessions and distribute books on the rights of husband and wife.
As the president of the board, Syeda Tabassum said, “The new nikahnama will formally be in use from Eid this year.”