While Muslims were anxious about the prospect of having Shariah Law recognized by government for the first time in our history, the process initiated by government was, as expected, riddled with a number of serious flaws. The purpose of this writing is to highlight these flaws to the Muslim public and apprise them of the current situation, as well the responsibility of Muslims in this regard.

At a meeting of Ulema convened in Durban last year to discuss the proposed MPL bill, a resolution unanimously adopted by all participants was the implementation of a Shar’ee Court System. It was agreed that a panel of Ulema elected for this purpose would strongly recommend to the Law Commission that separate Shar’ee courts be set up to resolve disputes among Muslims related to marriage, divorce, and other matters arising therefrom.

There was a consensus among all participating Ulema and members of the legal fraternity that any attempt to incorporate the Islamic system of personal law into the country’s constitution was fraught with danger. Any such effort would be at the expense of our Shar’ee principles, if not fully then surely in part, as events have proven. The very purpose of establishing a Muslim Family Law forum will be defeated should basic Islamic teachings be discarded in order to make such Divine Law “compliant” with the Constitution of the country.

Furthermore, constitutionally this appears to run contrary to the democratic right to practice one’s religion freely. The purpose of a Muslim Family Law provision was to comply with this fundamental principle of the new Constitution’s freedom of religion. But, the Draft Bill on this issue only serves to curtail and inhibit our freedom of religion by circumscribing to Muslims the extent that they may exercise this religious freedom.

Our Shar’ee Law is Divine and inviolable, but not so the constitution. It, therefore, is only reasonable that the latter should make way for, and accommodate the former, not vice versa. However, it appears that the thrust from the government’s side is to cut and cull our code of family law to suit the man-made clauses and acts of the Draft Bill. Yet, judicial precedents exist to prove that even certain fundamental principles of the present constitution have been overruled to accommodate traditional or customary law. The scope of this article precludes citation of examples where High Court Judges overturned clauses in the Constitution on the basis that it infringed on the right of the individual to practice his culture and tradition freely.

Be that as it may, it is totally unacceptable and unpalatable to Muslims to accept proposals that are in diametric conflict with standard Shar’ee Law. We intend to enlist some of these proposals contained in the Draft bill, so that Muslims can see how glaring is the anti-Shar’ee sentiment in this Bill. That should come in our next issue, Insha-Allah. Meanwhile, we request all to make Dua that Muslims stand united and are able to refute attempts at having this un-Islamic Bill passed.

• That Mirza Ahmad Baig ie. Muhammadi Begum's father would die exactly three years after his daughter's marriage to someone else.

• That the girl's husband would die within two and a half years of the marriage.

• That Ahmad Baig would not die till the day his daughter got married.

• That the girl also would not die till her first marriage to someone else, her widowhood and her second marriage to Mirza.

• That he too would not die till all these events came to pass.

These prophecies are really worth remembering. And what was their effect on Muhammadi Begum's father? Nothing at all. He didn't even turn a hair. He knew that Mirza was a confirmed liar and so unafraid, he married his daughter to Sultan Muhammad. Mirza failed miserably in all his conniving. His threats, prophecies and notifications bore no fruit. In fact his prophecy that Muhammadi Begum's husband, Sultan Muhammad would die within two and a half years of his marriage to her fell flat too. He in fact outlived Mirza himself. He married Muhammadi Begum on 17^th April 1892. Mirza died on 1908. Thus Muhammadi Begum, let alone marrying him, didn't even become a widow in his lifetime.

The most interesting part of this whole affair was that when two and a half years had passed after the wedding, people made great fun of Mirza. They came to him and said, Oh Mirza you had predicted Sultan Muhammad's death but he is still alive. How can that be? Mirza had no answer. For a liar is a liar after all. But unabashed, Mirza went on trying. He kept threatening Sultan Muhammad, asking him again and again to divorce Muhammadi Begum, which he refused to do.

"Allah Ta'ala shall eventually bring this girl to me. No one can evade what has been decided by Allah Ta'ala," he said. How true! No one can ever evade any decision of Allah Ta'ala indeed. And so it was that Mirza never did get to marry Muhammadi Begum in spite of all his concocted, lying revelations. Allah Ta'ala had so decided to make it clear upon the world what a liar Mirza was. It is the followers of Mirza who are to be pitied. When all these facts are put before them, they turn away refusing to discuss them. Before we go on to another 'prophecy' of Mirza, let us go over the one just mentioned. In it he had said "Allah Ta'ala has destined that, removing all obstacles, He shall bring Ahmad Baig's daughter in wedlock to me and this shall be the dearest proof of my truthfulness." As we have seen the wedding did not take place. So the prophecy became the dearest proof that Mirza was nothing but a liar and a bad one at that.