YouTuber, Indian Idol contestant Farmani Naaz faces flak from Muslim clerics for singing 'bhajans'

Singer Farmani Naaz, who is a rising YouTuber from Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, seems to have attracted the ire of Muslim clerics in Deoband. The Muslim singer seems to have faced hard times as her husband has left her after their child with a severe throat condition was born in 2019. The couple had married in 2017. Naaz states that she does not associate her singing with her faith and has been earning a living through singing only.

She had participated in the 12th season of Indian Idol in 2021, which she was forced to leave as her son was undergoing treatment. She rose to fame with her beautiful voice and became famous amongst the crowd through Indian Idol and YouTube. She has over 3.84 million subscribers on YouTube.

However, a Deoband-based Muslim cleric has criticised Naaz for her song 'Har Har Shambhu', which is a bhajan to invoke Lord Shiva. During the month of Shravan, Farmani Naaz posted the bhajan on YouTube, where it quickly gained popularity. But some people also criticised the performer and the song, saying it offended Muslim listeners.

Islam has prohibited singing and dancing, according to cleric Mufti Asad Qasmi. He claimed that under Islam, dancing and even singing are prohibited by Sharia. He further said that Naaz should seek forgiveness from Allah. Farmani Naaz has asked people to do not be critical of her performance. She said that first and foremost, she is an artiste and these talented performers do not have a religion.

She said that her objective is to make people smile with her beautiful voice that she has been blessed with.
The criticism has not shaken Naaz as she said she sings to earn livelihood. She claimed that singing has also helped her get the funds required for the treatment of her sick son. Later, her mother also said that Mohammed Rafi has also sung for almost 40 years in Hindi film industry and that many of his songs were devotional songs for the Hindu religion.