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Question: Write a short note on Sajjadanashin.[HJS 1996]Find the question and answer of Muslim Law only on Legal Bites. [Write a short note on Sajjadanashin.]AnswerA sajjadanashin is a head of a khankhah, a Mohammedan institution analogous in many respects to math where Hindu religious instruction is given. He is the teacher of the religious doctrine and rules of life, the manager of the institution and the administrator of its charities, and has, ordinarily speaking, a larger right in...
Question: Write a short note on Sajjadanashin.[HJS 1996]
Find the question and answer of Muslim Law only on Legal Bites. [Write a short note on Sajjadanashin.]
Answer
A sajjadanashin is a head of a khankhah, a Mohammedan institution analogous in many respects to math where Hindu religious instruction is given. He is the teacher of the religious doctrine and rules of life, the manager of the institution and the administrator of its charities, and has, ordinarily speaking, a larger right in the surplus income than a mutawalli.
But this does not mean that in every case the whole income from a khankhah is at the disposal of the sajjadanashin. At certain shrines, the members of the founder's family other than the sajjadanashin are entitled to share in the surplus offerings which remain after payment of expenses.
These Khankhahs exist in all parts of India and, so far as can be gathered from the works relating to them, have come into existence under the following circumstances:
"A dervish or a Sufi of a particular sanctity has settled in some locality; so long as he has not attained sufficient importance, his place of abode is called a takia or astana according to his position in public estimation. His previous life and teachings attract public notice, disciples gather around him, and a place is constructed for their lodgement and the humble takia grows into a Khankhah. After his death, his grave becomes a shrine and an object of pilgrimage, not only for his disciples but for people of distant parts both Hindus and Mahomedans. The process of development indicated here is observable in the very Khankhah which forms the subject of dispute in the present case."
The word "sajjadanashin " (spiritual superior) is derived from sajjada, that is, the carpet used by Mohammedans for prayer, and nashin, that is, sitting. The sajjadanashin takes precedence on the carpet during prayers. The office of a mutawalli is a secular office; that of a sajjadanashin is a spiritual office, and he has certain spiritual functions to perform.
The status of a sajjadanashin is higher than that of a mutawalli. He is the head of the institution and has a right to exercise supervision over the mutawalli's management. But the sajjadanashin may be a mutawalli and in that case, with reference to the wakf property he is in no better position than a mutawalli. He has no power to borrow money for the purpose of carrying out the objects of the trust, but he may like a mutawalli borrow money and incur debt, with the sanction of the Court, for the preservation of the wakf property.
The Court may remove a sajjadanashin for misconduct and when framing a scheme may separate the offices of sajjadanashin and mutawalli. Also, a minor cannot be appointed a sajjadanashin.
Mayank Shekhar
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