‘Islam Does Not Permit Singing Hindu Bhajans’—UP Singer Farmani Naaz Under Fire From Deoband Clerics For 'Shiv Shambhu' Video

A Muslim woman singer from Uttar Pradesh is forced to defend herself against the Ulema for singing a “bhajan”.

Farmani Naaz from Muzaffarnagar district is a former contestant at the reality television show Indian Idol and has more than 38 lakh subscribers on her YouTube account.

Nine days ago, Naaz posted a video of her singing a song titled ‘Har Har Shambhu’ in praise of Lord Shiva.

Besides Naaz, a singer named Parvendra Singh has also featured in it. Description of the song put up by Naaz says it’s released under her label Naaz Bhakti.

A comment below the video by Naaz posted two days ago says (as translated), “Singing or music has no religion. Accomplished singers like Master Saleem and Mohammed Rafi also sang bhajans. So I request with folded hands not to associate singing or music with any religion.”

Naaz was reacting to a barrage of hate directed at her from members of her religious community, who called it anti-Islam.

Now, The Times of India has reported that her act has attracted the attention of clerics in the Deoband Islamic seminary. The clerics have called the act as anti-Shariat and a sin.

Maulana Ishaq Gora has commented that Islam does “permit bhajans for other religions. This is against Shariat as well as tenets of Islam”.

Another cleric Mufti Asad Qasim has said, “According to Islam, every kind of song is not allowed. If any Muslim does so, it is a big sin. Muslims should stay away from singing such songs. Despite being a Muslim, Farmani Naz is singing bhajans. She should stay away from this and ask forgiveness from God.”

Reacting to the Ulema, Naaz told The Times of India that no cleric had approached her personally with the objection.

Naaz, 30, is separated from her husband who she married in a match arranged by her family. She is raising her four-year-old son by herself. Naaz has told the media on various occasions that her husband would harass her for dowry and was having an extra-marital affair.

Two years ago, two of her friends posted a video of her signing online. The video became a viral hit and she managed to reach the platform of Indian Idol. She says she dropped out of the show to look after her ailing son.

She recently told the media that she sings to support her son. Her family supports her singing.

Past incidents

Fundamentalists in Islamic society oppose any kind of show of reverence for deities of other religions calling, it un-Islamic. They argue that the very recitation of the Shahada – that is, the Islamic oath – says that Allah is the only God and Mohammed is his only messenger. They consider disbelief in this oath as one of the biggest sins and, in several cases, have endorsed death as a punishment for it.

Like Naaz, another Muslim woman singer named Suhana Syed was criticised and trolled for singing a Hindu bhajan on a reality show aired on Zee Kannada.

Swarajya reported a case similar to Naaz’s from UP’s Aligarh district where a Muslim man who recited Ramayana on his harmonium was beaten up by his neighbours. The mob also broke his harmonium and tore off the Hindus religious books. Mohammed Dilsher described himself as a devotee of Lord Ram. He said that for the past 40 years, he had been practising the ritual of reading Ramayana after taking his morning bath.

On his complaint, two people were arrested by the police.

A Muslim woman from Kerala, Mansiya VP, had to brave a lot of criticism and pressure from her community for learning Bharatnatyam. Read her story here.