Who Is Farmani Naaz? Singer's Bhajan Har Har Shambhu Courts Controversy

Farmani Naaz is well-known for her singing in her native Muzaffarnagar district. Naaz has been under attack by Muslim activists for her performance of the song Har Har Shambhu, which is a song dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. However, many of her fans have expressed their support for the singer on her page, despite calls from preachers for a boycott of activities that are not Islamic.

Farmani Naaz uploaded the song to YouTube on July 24 and has since received many views. It is allegedly popular with her fans, many of whom have left comments on her page applauding the singer. Naaz posted a studio-recorded devotional tribute to Mahadev, or Shiva, during the month of Shravan. In the month of Shravan, devotees pray to their lord, and many travel to Haridwar, Gaumukh, and Gangotri on pilgrimage (Kanwar yatra), bringing holy Ganga water back to their homes to be offered at their local Shiva shrines.

Her most recent release was Har Har Shambhu and when the video first appeared online, caused a lot of controversies for clerics to call for a boycott of acts that are against Islam. It even outraged the Ulema of Deoband, an Islamic seminary (Darul Uloom) in India. The singer's actions were condemned by the Muslim organisation as being "against Islam."

Several media sources cited Deoband-based cleric Mufti Asad Qasmi as saying that singing is prohibited under Sharia law. He implied that singing "any song" is haram, or forbidden, in Islam. He claimed that singing such songs should be avoided, especially by women who identify as Muslims.

The singer responded that an artist has no faith and is likely to provide a voice to all types of tunes in response to Ulema's assertion.

Who Is Farmani Naaz?

Farmani Naaz hails from Muzaffarnagar in the state of Uttar Pradesh. She has a YouTube channel with the name Farmani Naaz Singer. She currently has 3.84 million subscribers and is well known to her viewers. In 2020, she participated in Indian Idol Season 12, which gave her notoriety among her fans and in her hometown. Before, Har Har Shambhu Naaz was heard singing the song Ghumungi Hardiwar, which is attributed to a Hindu sacred location.

She relies on her singing skills to support herself after her husband left her after the birth of their sick son. She reportedly got married in 2017, but a year later, her in-laws wanted money from Naaz's mother to cover the suffering child's medical expenses. She then decided to return home to her mother's house and started residing there.

According to Naaz's mother, Fatima, BJP politician Sanjeev Balyan praised her daughter and assisted in setting up treatment for her grandchild.

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Fatima revealed in an interview that after hearing Naaz sing, a boy in their community who filmed videos approached her to participate in a video that was posted on YouTube. Naaz received a lot of praise for her singing and made the decision to participate in the 12th season of the reality singing competition Indian Idol. She and her brother participated in the show, and the judges were impressed by her voice and modesty. She had to turn around because her son's condition was getting worse. She continued to sing full-time and support her family ever since, though, and there was no turning back for her.

In reaction to some people's criticism of her singing, Naaz stated that her family is poor and that this is the only way she can support herself. She claims that she does not allow religion to restrict her singing or determine the music she chooses to sing. She stated, "I am an artist." I have both a qawwali and a bhakti geet channel on YouTube. I sing all kinds of music."