The Sanatan Faith — Page 10
IO SANĀTAN DHARM included an Aryah, Kishan Singh, who became an Aryah after becoming upset with the views of revered Bawa Nanak. He for- sook a righteous and pious man whose heart permeated with the love of God. He is now a staunch devotee of Pundit Dayanand. The others included Lāla Sharampat, Lāla Malāwāmal of Qadian, and Pundit Saum Raj, Secretary of the Aryah Society of Qadian. There were also several followers of the Sanātan faith present. I expounded that it is not appropriate to engage one's wife in such a practice, especially in this town. The assembly was embarrassed and kept its silence. However, Pundit Saum Raj eventually said that there was nothing untoward about this custom. On hearing this, that he is not at all ashamed of involving his wife in such a filthy practice, the followers of the Sanatan faith started chant- ing aloud the name of Rām. The other Āryas cloaked their faces to hide their amusement. Almost thirty people witnessed Pundit Sahib's disgraceful confession. It is deeply regrettable that instead of abolishing this prac- tice, the Aryas become excited and object, 'Do the Muslims not practice mutah?';¹ that is, they do not divorce women with whom they have entered into the nikāḥ [religious marriage]. It has been repeatedly elaborated that there is a glaring difference between divorce, which is practiced the world over when necessary, and the custom of forcing one's wife to enter an illicit relationship. Yet, they fail to understand. The respectable and decent followers of 1. Mutah was a pre-Islamic practice of contracting a short-term marriage. The vast majority of Muslims believe it was abolished by the Holy Prophetsas. However, some Shia Muslims still consider it to be lawful. [Publisher]