Darul Uloom Deoband Supports Fatwa Against Using Quran Ayats as Ringtones on Mobile Phones

The caller may be in the toilet at the time the call is made. In such a state, hearing Quran ayat as a ringtone is un-Islamic.

One of the leading Islamic institution of India, Darul Uloom Deoband issued a fatwa by Saudi Arabian clerics against using Quran ayats (verses) as ringtones on mobile phones, terming the practice as un-Islamic. According to the fatwa, it is not permissible to use the verses of the Holy Quran for the ringtone of one’s mobile phone even if the meaning of the verses do not change. By using the verses of the Quran for mobile phone ringtone, one displays utmost disrespect to the Holy Quran. Not only that, by doing so one also becomes guilty of using the Glorious Quran for a worldly purpose i.e. to alert him that someone wants to talk to him. This is tantamount to lowering the exalted level of the Quran from being a source of guidance for mankind to the level of mundane, commonplace things such as that of ringtones.

According to Mufti Arif Qasmi of fatwa cell at Darul Uloom said, 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. This is not the first time that Islamic clerics have issued a fatwa against using Quranic verses as ringtone on mobile phones. In 2009, clerics from a Kanpur-based organization, Jamia Ashraf-ul-Madaris, had issued the same diktat. Qasmi said, “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.” According to Qasim, using verses as doorbell was equally un-Islamic as using them in ringtones. “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 on other religions. But as far as Islam is concerned, using verses as ringtone goes against the sacred nature of the Quran,” he added. (Also read: Samba officials asked to install Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao ringtone)

The Saudi Council of Muftis earlier has given a unanimous fatwa that ‘ring tones on Quran Aayat are haraam because the Aayat is not complete when we pick the phone and meanings of Aayat changes when they are not complete. Quran is for Hidayat and not for ringtones.’