'Can lakhs of subscribers save Danish Zehen from Allah's curse?'

Danish Zehen

Self-Righteous clerics refuse to leave the late social media star Danish Zehen alone. After two maulvis asked his mother to upload a video denouncing Danish's way of life, yet another scholar has spoken out against his lifestyle in a video that has gone viral. The maulana in the 3 minute 53 second video has been identified as Muhammed Sadiq Razvi.

Sermon goes viral
In it, he's allegedly heard saying at a religious gathering, "A few days ago, when a 21-year-old died in a car accident, the whole world mourned for him, saying he was a...very good human. People have changed their statuses and display pictures for him. If any Muslim cleric or priest dies, a young Muslim wouldn't even know or care. But they care for a person who was a dancer, musician, alcoholic, zani (one who has premarital sex). Some say he has 4.5 lakh subscribers and fans all over the world. Do you even know the truth behind him? He'd left his parents alone and was living with his girlfriend."

Danish Zehen with his sister and mother

"He posted videos every day, but did you see what happened after he died? People couldn't even recognise his face. I've heard that they refused to bury him at the kabristan (burial ground) because he had tattoos all over his body. His family was told that his body will be buried only after all of his tattoos are burned," said Razvi in the video.

He added, "He must have been playing juwwa, drinking alcohol, having sex. He has done all of these sins in his 21-year-old life. I ask you all, can lakhs of subscribers save him from Allah's curse?" he added.

Maulana apologises
Despite the video proof, Razvi claims he has been misquoted. Speaking to mid-day, he said, "A lot of people are spreading this video on social media, where my statement has been portrayed in a completely different light. My intention was not to hurt the family. In fact, one of his family members from Mumbra contacted me after watching the video, and I apologised to them. I hadn't even heard of Danish Zehen earlier. But a lot of people were complaining to me about how youngsters were following his way of life and troubling their parents. And so, I said all of that at a program in Surat on December 28, 2018. If the family is hurt, then I'm ready to apologise to them again. I'll also file a complaint against those circulating this video for their own agenda."

Turns out, the Maulana's words weren't the only thing twisted in the video. What he said about the situation at the burial ground was not factual. When mid-day contacted the Kasaiwada Kabristan in Kurla, where Danish is buried, the authorities concerned said, "This is not true. Nobody refused to bury his body. But yes, there were some rumours in the area, which were untrue. The family has followed all due procedure. Looking at the rumours and the huge crowd that has gathered, [outside the ground] we have asked the local police to deploy someone here."

Family says
Reacting to the Maulana's speech, Danish's brother Gufran Mulla said, "We are fed up of answering to such things. Even now, we don't want to comment; just let my brother rest in peace and pray for him. Nobody has contacted me or my family. But there is another Maulana who said similar things, and after his video went viral, he called us and apologised for his statement. However, I have not received any calls from Sadiq Razvi ji."

Danish's mother Yasmin Mulla said, "I humbly request everyone not to say anything wrong about my son, who was innocent. He lived his life the way he wanted. If he did something wrong, Allah will forgive him."

"I want to tell all of his fans to never hurt their parents and always listen to them. I say this because a lot of parents have come up to me saying their children are depressed or are behaving indecently. Please pray for my son and don't say anything wrong about him," she added.

'Maulana should apologise'
Mufti Manzur Ziyaee,
Islamic scholar
'I've watched this video and I can tell you that this is not at all accepted in Islam. Using such words for a dead person is a sin, and one should not misrepresent any religion in such a manner'

Maulana Fayaz Ahmed Barkati,
founder, Assunnah Islamic Foundation
'This is highly regrettable and against the high values of Islam. No Islamic speaker is allowed to use such words against a dead person. I watched the video, and the Maulana should apologise for what he said'

'Totally deplorable'
Raza Murad, actor
'So many Muslims work in Bollywood. This is totally deplorable. You are talking nonsense about a dead person. Who are you to point fingers at someone? If somebody has sinned, that is between him and Allah, who are you to use such language? By making such statements, you are making a joke out of yourself'

Eshan Hilal, belly dancer
'It is so unfortunate that a young, harmless human is dead and no shame has been maintained in disgracing him. For how long are we going to abuse dancers and singers and shame them or outcaste them? It's our life, and every individual has the right to live the way they want to. Only god can judge our deeds'

Aly Goni, TV actor
'This is so disturbing to hear about a person who is dead. Islam never allows this. I think nobody has the right to judge him because of his profession. That is between him and Allah, and all of us should always pray for him. We are all human and all of us do wrong things in our lives. Even the Maulana who is saying all of this must have done something wrong in his life'

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