Punjabi Singer-Actor Ammy Virk Apologises To Muslim Groups For Using ‘Rasul’ In A Song

Punjabi singer-actor Ammy Virk has issued an apology after being harassed by Muslim organisations for the word ‘Rasul’ featuring in a song he is associated with. In Arabic, the word translates to ‘messenger’ or ‘prophet’.

In Islam, the word refers to Mohammed, who Muslims consider as the last prophet of Allah. Muslims insist that the word, whenever used, should be in the context of Mohammed only.

The song ‘Qubool A’ was released last year as part of a Punjabi film, Sufna, in which Virk plays the lead. In the song, a woman is shown as singing to her lover [played by Virk] - “Rasul hai, rasul hai, rasul hai, tu mera Allah, Maula, Wali, tu rasul hai (you are my god and my prophet).

The song has been sung by so-called “Sufi sisters” Hashmat and Sultana.

It was only recently that a social media user from Punjab’s Malerkotla noticed the use of the word ‘Rasul’ in the song and took it up with the Muslim clergy. Among others who reacted strongly to it, was “Naib Shahi Iman” Maulana Muhammad Usman Rehmani of Ludhiana city’s Jama Masjid.

On 2 September, Rehmani issued a press release saying ‘Rasul’ cannot be used for anything or anyone except Prophet Mohammad. He demanded a police case against Virk.

Two days ago, Virk and lyricist Jaani put out an apology note on their respective Instagram accounts.

The post said:

“My sincere apologies for being nieve [naive] and hurting the sentiments of many by the lyrics of my Qubool A (released in 2020) I had no intention to hurt religious sentiments and I wish I was aware of the interpretation before putting those lyrics in the song. If I knew I would have never done it. We have taken down that song as soon as we realized how how it could be interpreted which we were not aware of and changed the lyrics. May almighty forgive me and others involved in the song for not realizing it could be hurtful. Once again my sincere apologies.”

As mentioned in the posts, the song’s lyrics have been changed. The new lyrics say - “Vasool hai, vasool hai, vasool hai, saadi tere naal jannat vasool hai“ (being with you is worth paradise for me).

Following the posts, Maulana Rehmani issued another press release on 6 September saying he has accepted the apology and the matter has been put to an end from his side. The release said that Virk and Jaani met him personally in Ludhiana and apologised.

Virk has been facing heat from various controversies for some time now. His recent debut in Bollywood with the film ‘Bhuj: The Pride of India’ has been met with severe criticism in Punjab, as residents have been accusing Bollywood ‘stars’ of being silent about the union government’s indifference to protests against the new farm bill.

He is also under fire from Punjabi entertainment industry for his upcoming film Qismat 2 because it’s a Zee Studios production. Zee network is seen as being close to the government. Virk recently broke down on video while talking about these controversies.