The Allahabad High Court bench recently set aside the order of the Bareilly district administration in which the latter had refused to allow the followers of Hazrat Shah Mohammad Saqlain Miyan Huzoor to celebrate Urs on October 8 and 9. The division bench of Justices Saumitra Dayal Singh and Vipin Chandra Dixit passed the order while hearing a petition against the decision of the Bareilly district administration.
The bench noted that there is no dispute that Hazrat Shah Mohammad Saqlain Miyan Huzoor, the grandson of Hazrat Shah Sharafat Ali, who died on October 20, 2023, is considered as a Sufi scholar who had a substantial following in the region around district Bareilly. His first Urs was to be observed on October 8 and 9, 2024, as per the religious practice prevalent amongst the Sufis.
In view of the fact that a large crowd had emerged to attend his burial last year, the petitioners, who were secretaries of the organisations managing the dargah of the deceased Sufi scholar, had applied to the district administration, Bareilly, on September 9, 2024, for permission to observe the first Urs of scholar on October 8 and 9 at the ground of Islamia Inter College, Civil Lines, Bareilly. Subsequently, another application for permission was filed by the petitioners on September 23, 2024.
The counsel for the petitioners said that Urs is a well-accepted practice observed by the Sufis. It is observed on the first and other important death anniversaries of Sufi scholars. As far as the dates to observe the first Urs in concerned, these are governed by religious observances and practices and not optional. Therefore, notwithstanding any dispute over the dates (whether they are correct on not), the observance of Urs on those dates is just unavoidable.
As to the contention regarding the size of the congregation, the counsel further said that the same would not exceed 80,000 to 1,00,000 at any given point of time. He further said that considering the size of the ground which is about 20 acres, the gathering will not spill over onto public roads, pathways and gullies and may not assemble in or around the dargah of the departed scholar. He assured that the Urs is proposed to be observed within the confines of the ground of the Islamia Inter College.
The counsel for the petitioner also said that no specific or credible objection had been received from any organisation either by the district administration or the petitioners. He further stated that since Urs is proposed to be observed within the confines of the 20-acre ground of the College, it may not interfere with Durga Puja celebrations or Ramlila, or any other religious activity.
As to the objection raised that juloos/procession would be taken out with loud music, the petitioners argued that it had been specifically stressed that no juloos/procession is proposed to be taken out and no loud music is to be played, this being the first death anniversary of the departed scholar. The entire function is proposed to be confined within the confines of the College. Therefore the said objection is only a figment of imagination.
The petitioners further said that as to the objections mentioned in the administration’s order that a dispute had arisen between two groups regarding the route to be taken by the procession, they are unfounded as there is no plan for a juloos or procession.
DK Tiwari, the additional chief standing counsel, stated that a new practice is being attempted by seeking permission, and if granted, it will lead to a law and order situation. He further stated that in the face of complaints received from various Hindu and Muslim organisations, permission has been rightly refused. He also stated that once the permission is granted, the number of persons who may assemble to attend the Urs would never remain in the control of the petitioners, going by the large congregation that emerged at the time of the burial of the Sufi scholar, last year.
The High Court bench noted in its order that, in the first place, the observance of Urs is not a new practice amongst the Sufis and the impugned order does not reason that Hazrat Shah Mohammad Saqlain Miyan Huzoor was not a Sufi Scholar or he did not die on October 20, 2023. Therefore, it is also not disputed that his first Urs may be observed on October 8 and 9, 2024, according to religious practices. To that extent, the city magistrate, Bareilly, may have erred in reading the application as one seeking to set a new religious practice.
The bench further observed that merely because the Urs observance would coincide with a religious festival of another community may not be a ground to deny the believers or followers of the Sufi saint their right to observe religious practice during that period in accordance with the law. The bench also said that as to the objection that “Chadron ka Juloos” would be taken out accompanied with loud music played on public roads, pathways/gullies, etc, the petitioners have undertake that no such occurrence would take place. They are ready and willing to file their written undertaking before the city magistrate to that effect.
The bench also said that as the petitioners have undertaken to confine the observance of Urs within the boundaries of the 20-acre land of Islamia Inter College, and that too peacefully. Therefore, the reasoning given in the impugned order that such occurrence may interfere with the religious festivities of Durga Puja and Ramlila may also not be sustainable at this stage.
The bench further stated that the objection raised over certain disputes between two groups of the same religious denomination, with respect to the route to be taken at the time of their respective processions, may also be not relevant in view of the undertaking the petitioners are willing to furnish before the respondent authorities that no religious or other procession would be taken out and no music would be played and no ceremony or function or congregation would be organised on the dates.
The bench also stated that the objection raised by the deputy superintendent of police, Bareilly, with respect to inconvenience caused to the students of the College, may be wholly imaginary as the College has given its no-objection to the petitioners to observe the Urs on its ground. Thus, it was never open to the police authorities or the district administration to imagine that there could be an objection by the students.
In Islam, Urs or Urus (literal meaning wedding) is the death anniversary of a Sufi saint, usually held at the saint’s dargah (shrine or tomb). In most Sufi orders, such as Naqshbandiyya, Suhrawardiyya, Chishtiyya, Qadiriyya, etc, the concept of Urs exists and is celebrated with enthusiasm.
Sufis celebrate Urs as a wedding ceremony, and believe that death is a time to rejoice, not mourn. They view the death of a Sufi saint as a mystical union with the divine. The Urs rituals are generally performed by the custodians of the shrine or the existing shaikh of the silsila. The celebration of Urs ranges from Hamd to Naat, and in many cases, includes the singing of religious music such as qawwali. The Urs of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti at Dargah Sharif in Ajmer attracts more than 4,00,000 devotees each year and is regarded as one of the most famous Urs festivals around the world.
—By Adarsh Kumar and India Legal Bureau