Scholar: Spare the ridicule, but Harussani should've known better

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Religious scholar Wan Ji Wan Hussin urged all to avoid ridiculing Perak mufti Harussani Zakaria, even though the mufti had cited a questionable hadith.

This comes after the mufti won the 'Insult to Intelligence' prize at the Aiyoh Wat Lah! Award last weekend for arguing that Prophet Muhammad had said women must abide by sexual requests by their husbands even when she is on the back of a camel.

Wan Ji, who is PKR Youth religious bureau chief, said Harussani (left) should have known better than to cite that particular hadith because scholars accept it as questionable.

Hadiths are a collection of quotations and actions of Prophet Muhammad, as recalled by his peers and passed down from scholar to scholar.

Hadith scholars verify the authenticity by screening each level of a hadith's path of origin.

Wan Ji said the hadith cited by Harussani is questionable because it was related by Husain bin Qais.

He said respected hadith scholars like Ibn Hajr and al-Bukhari do not accept hadith related by Husain bin Qais as verified and authentic.

"As a mufti, Harussani should have been more careful when citing hadith so as to not have negative implications on Islam, and to make it seem that Islam teaches husband and wife to have sex on moving vehicles," he said.

However, the Al-Azhar University graduate of syariah Islamiyyah said Harussani should not be ridiculed for the mistake as he is also human.

"(But) it is hard to escape courting ridicule like the Aiyoh Wat Lah Award because the mufti was not careful.

"All this could have been avoided if he was more careful," he said.

Already in its fifth year, the Aiyoh Wat Lah! Award is an initiative of the Joint Action Group (JAG) and the Gender Equality Initiative (GEI) to highlight and condemn homophobic and sexist remarks made by community leaders.

Federal Territories PAS lodged a report against the award organisers for being "rude" and "uncivilised" by ridiculing the mufti.

Harussani in April 2015 cited the contentious hadith when he said Muslim women cannot reject their husband's sexual advances unless she is menstruating, ill or had recently given birth. - Mkini