WEB DESK: Congress leader and national media coordinator Abbas Hafeez has served a legal notice on actor Kareena Kapoor Khan and celebrity stylist Rhea Kapoor over the display of a 30-carat emerald pendant inscribed with Ayat-ul-Kursi in photographs of Kareena’s Diwali look.
The November 11 notice seeks removal of the photographs, videos and related posts from accounts under their control, a public apology, and an assurance that the sacred Quranic inscription will not be presented in a way that compromises its sanctity.
Kareena’s Instagram photographs showed her wearing a beige kaftan and matching turban by designer Punit Balana, paired with the pendant. Ayat-ul-Kursi is the 255th verse of Surah Al-Baqarah.
Rhea described the jewellery as family heirlooms inherited through Kareena’s husband, actor Saif Ali Khan, including a 200-year-old kalgi from the Nawab of Bhopal and the Begum of Bhopal’s emerald pendant. The pendant’s reported lineage traces through Saif’s paternal grandmother, Sajida Sultan, daughter of Bhopal’s last ruling Nawab, Hamidullah Khan.
Hafeez said his objection concerns the pendant’s presentation, not Kareena’s clothing, personal choices or freedom to wear jewellery. The notice argues that the accompanying attire and social media context did not convey the reverence due to the inscription.
It also cites reservations among some Islamic scholars about wearing Quranic verses as jewellery, while acknowledging differing views and the need for appropriate references. Invoking the Begums of Bhopal’s historical observance of purdah, it calls for sensitivity towards the pendant’s reported heritage.
The notice alleges that the presentation hurt members of the Muslim community and people with ancestral, cultural and historical ties to Bhopal. Hafeez clarified that he acted in his individual capacity, not on behalf of Congress.
