Write a short note on : Mutawalli

Mutawalli : Under the Muhammadan law the momenta Wakf iscreated all rights of propertypass out of the wakif and vest in the God. The manager or the Superin­tendent of a Wakf is called its Mutawalli. Usually,he is appointed by the settler. If not, by his executor and lastly by court. But neither a minor nor a person of unsound mind can be appointed a Mutawalli. When the officeof the Mutawalli is hereditary, and the person entitled to succession is aminor, the court may appointanother person to discharge the duties of the Mutawalli during the minorityof such person.When the settler makes the appointment, he may appoint a female, or even a non-muslim, provided Wakf does not involve the performance of any religious duty.

His powersand duties : Mutawalli cannot,(without the permission of the court)alienate Wakf property. He cannot grant a leaseof the wakf land for more than three years (or one year, if the land is non agricultural) He is entitled to the remuneration fixedby the wakf. He cannot transfer his office,though may appointhis successor when he is on death-bed. Generally his officeis not hereditary.

Mujawar :A Mujawar is he or she who does manual work in a mosque such as cleaning sweeping it, etc. Females are competent to perform the duties of a Mujawar,which consist in reading.the Fatiha, offeringprayers and incense and looking after the general management of the shrineand to succeed to the office in due course of inheritance: Abdul Aziz v. Mahomed Ibrahim, 43 Bom. L.R. 126.

Takia : Takia literally means a “restingplace”. Hence,- a burial groundis sometimes calleda Takia. In common language,it means a resting place of a Fakir, i.e., a holy person who has relinquished the world and who devoteshis time to imparting religiousinstruction to his disciples and others. The Takia is the place where he usuallyresides and imparts such instructions. Takia, (when thus coupledwith some religioussignificance) is a religious or quasi-religious institution and is recognised as such by the Muhammadan law, and a grant of endowment to the same is a valid wakf.
. All properties attached to Takiasare tied up in the ownership of God and are, therefore, inalienable and impartible, except with consent of all the persons interested.

Khankah: A, Khankah is a Musliminstitution similar in many respects, to a Math of the Hindus. The place of residence of a Fakir is calledTakia before he attains sufficient public impor­ tance. But when he attains such importance, and a large number of disciples begin to get round him, and lodgement is provided for suchdisciples, then the place is called Khankah, and then if the Fakir, on his death,is buried In the Oiankah, it becomes a Durgah.

(1 OS 13S)
Masjid : Mosque - Fazle ali, J. lays down following conditions for a valid dedication for a public mosque - (a) Founder’sintention to dedicateproperty, either declaredor inferred from his conduct, (b) Founder divesting himself of the property, either by delivering possession to the Imam or mutawalli, or by permitting the public to offer prayers therein, (c) The founder must provide a separate entranceto the mosque for the entry by the devotees. Any adjuncts to the mosque building, money for its repairs, etc. are part of the wakf. Any Muslim of any sect may pray in the mosque. This is his legal right complete with legal remedy.It is doubtful if the donor can dedicate a mosque to a particular sect exclusively, and even ifdone, no Muslim can be denied admission to say prayers.But there can be a private mosque wherein ‘outsiders’ may be denied entry; Muslim law allows a Wakf for a private mosque. According to Lahore High Court, a mosque is a juristic person, but not so according to the RajasthanHigh Court. (10S 13S)

Public and Private Mosques: If a mosque is'specially dedicated to Mohammedan in­ habiting a certain localityor belonging to a certainlocality or belonging to a certainsect, members of other localityor sect are entitled to worship in it. When a mosque has alwaysbeen opened for the publicto worship in it, is presumed to be a public mosque.But other Mohammedans cannot claim the right of entry if the mosqueis & privateone. According to a Peshwarcase, private mosquesare not recognised in Mohammedan Law and therefore incharge of a mosque claimingthe mosque to be his private propertyis liable to be removed.Where the mosque constructed by Government for inmates of the police surrounding it and which had neither been dedicatednor thrown open to all Muslim in general exceptto certain Government servants and lawyers,who too could not claim entry as of right,would not become a public mosque merely because Friday prayers were being performedthere. An argumentthat for Friday prayers per sewithout azaan and ikamat render the mosque a public one was rejected. There is no such thing asShia mosque or a Sunni mosque.

Durgah : It is a tomb or a shrine of a Muslim saint. Under the classical Muslim law durgah is not mentioned as one of the objects of wakf. The Prophet was against the erection of an elaboratetomb. But in India by tradition tombs of saints are held in reverenceand it has come to be established that a dedication of property can be made to a durgah and it is established that a dedication of property can be made to a durgah and a wakf can be constituted. The pir in the durgah is worshippped with great ostentations in India though this is opposed to the basic tenets of Islam.) The durgah is managed by mujawar, i.e. the servantor sweeper of the shrine.Sometimes a largedurgah is headedby a Sajjadanashin. According to Fyzee the office of a mujawar (as an integral part of the durgah) is not known to Muslim law. The famous durgah of Khwaja Chishtiat Ajmer is governed by separate law (the DurgahKhwaja Saheb Acts, 1955-64) hence the Wakf Acts, 1955-64 do not apply toit. (05D, 07A)

Imambara :It is a Shia religious institution where an apartment is set aside to perform certain ceremonies in Moharram. It is essentially a private wakf, butby long usage; may also be established as a public wakf.

An imambara is an apartment in a private house ora building set apart like a private chapel for religiouspurposes. It is intended for the use of the owner and members of his family,though the publicmay be admitted with the permission of the owenr.It may be the objectof a valid wakf-Sec.178. Such a wakf is a private wakf and not a public wakf nor a trust for the purposesof sec. 92 of the Gode of Civil Procedure(h), but'it may be proved that a particular imambarais a public wakf (i).

Sajjadanashin (11S, 11W, 13S): | TheKhankah is usuallyunder the governance of a Sajjadanashin (literally, the one seated on the prayer-mat), who not only acts as the Mutawalli of the institution but is also the religious preceptorof the followers. A Sajjadanashin has a larger right in the surplusof the income than a Mutawalli and like the Mahant of a HinduMath, he has ordinarily full power of disposition over it. He is the teacher of religious doctrinesand rules of life, and manager of the institution and administrator of its charities. He has, in most, cases,.a larger interestin the usufruct (use of the property) than an ordinaryMutawalli. As the.office of Sajjadanashin is a religious one, a woman is not qualified to hold the office, nor can aminor, unless the succession to the office is by inheritance.

The status of a Sajjadanashin is higher than that of a Mutawalli. Mutawalli is subjectto the supervision of the Sajjadanashin. A Sajjadanashin is not only a religious preceptor, but also an admin­istrator.