Ishq Subhan Allah


Ishq Subhan Allah is an Indian television series that premiered on 14 March 2018 on Zee TV. Produced by Zuby Kochchar and Dheeraj Kumar, it stars Eisha Singh and Adnan Khan.
Set against a Muslim backdrop, it addresses contemporaries political, religious and social issues including Triple talaq and Sharia law.

Premise

Kabir Ahmad and Zara Siddiqui are devout followers of Islam but interpret the Quran differently. Kabir abides by the traditional code of conduct and Zara applies the teachings of Allah in a practical way. Kabir and Zara take us on a journey of their world where they are grappling with issues like Triple Talaq. They get married due to an agreement but gradually fall in love. However, they face a series of obstacles in their life.

Plot

The series begins with Zara Siddiqui and Kabir Ahmad returning to Lucknow after 5 years and completing higher studies in Islam. When an argument about Triple Talaq between Zara and Kabir becomes viral on the internet, they are forced to marry each other.
Gradually after marriage, Zara realizes her love for the still hesitant Kabir. Rukhsaar has been in love with him from a young age and tries to split them up, who brings Miraj to create differences between Zara and Kabir though he goes rogue out to harm everyone in the family.
Rukhsaar calls Nilofer to pose as Miraj's sister and instructs her to protect the family from Miraj except for Zara, but is then married off to Hamdaan Alghazi and leaves for Dubai. Miraj buys out and kills Nilofer. A misunderstanding leads to Kabir divorcing Zara using the Triple Talaq practice.
It is revealed this was not a part of their nuptials and Zara refuses to accept. Miraj tells Zara that he wants her and can go to any extent, whereas she tries to have Rukhsaar return to expose Miraj's true intentions but is unable to reach her. Miraj makes his way into the local Shariah Board and turns out to be a diamond smuggler laundering money.
Miraj is arrested and Kabir's dream project loses its funding. Miraj's connection to Rukhsaar is revealed before he swears revenge on Zara and Kabir who confess their love. The family arrange their remarriage. Prior to it, Kabir leaves for Dubai to save Rukhsaar from implication in Hamdaan's death and ends up marrying her. He weds Zara on his return. When Zara finds out, she is heartbroken but decides to stay.
Rukhsaar meets with an accident and loses her memory. Kabir takes her responsibility upsetting Zara. Wanting Kabir to earn independently, Zara moves to outhouse. Tabassum visits with Azhar who appreciates Zara's modern thinking. Shahbaz is in debt and decides to sell the house but Kashan swindles him and takes ownership of the house.
Kabir realises Shahbaz's faults and sees Zara's well-intended suggestion to him to earn independently. Rukhsaar is sent to a hospital for treatment; Zeenat and Kashan team up to have Alina marry local don Salamat's son Samir. Zara and Kabir thwart their plan with help of army officer Amir, who and Alina fall in love and get married. Salamat tries to kill Kabir and Zara. Kabir becomes the head priest.
Zeenat is irked; Salamat threatens to kill Rukhsaar, amd Irfan suggests Zara to become the vice priest. Heer's case is brought before the Sharia Board where she wants to go to Delhi to study but in vain amid her reluctant father. Zara takes the case against Kabir and wins. Suraiya moves to Lucknow with Rizwan and plans to have him replace Kabir as Board Head with Zeenat's help. Salamat bribes Khalid on Zeenat's request.
Rizwan exposes Zeenat's actions as soon as he joins the Board and has her declared mentally unsound. She vows revenge on Rizwan who starts poisoning Irfan slowly. Bilal and Kausar's case comes to the Board; Rizwan plans to create a rift between Zara and Kabir, who tells her that Kausar was betrothed to Kashan and eloped on wedding before Kashan married Zeenat who was indebted to Kausar's family.
Everyone in the family request Zara to disagree to the case but she and Kabir decide. Entire city protests against them and Kabir too turns against Zara who is about to drop the case before Kausar's suicide attempt changes her mind. Zara leaves Ahmads and Shahbaz plans her murder. In the Sharia Board, she wins. Kabir in an accident is orchestrated by Rizwan; Zara is shot by a hitman hired by Shahbaz. The two collapse together.

One year later

Zara and Kabir live separately. While Zara resides with Amina, Azra and Nusu in Mumbai, Kabir lives with his family in Lucknow. Zara and Kabir have applied for a divorce wanting to free each other, but he finds Zara's hospital reports and is shocked to discover that Zara was in a coma after being shot. Alina tries to bring them together but they see through her plan.
Zara discovers that Kabir became a writer after publishing a book on their relationship and moves to Lucknow with Azra. They finally decide to give their relationship another chance angering Zeenat and Shahbaz. Shahbaz again tries to have her killed but Kabir saves her every time.
The Ahmads rejoice at the couple's reunion prospect and Kabir insults Irfan, asking the Qazi to beg to him to take Zara back. Upset, Zara breaks up with Kabir, while Irfan has a heart attack. Ayesha is heartbroken and asks him to leave the house. He starts living in the mosque.

One month later

Zara learns about Ayesha's illness from Kashan and decides to go back only for Ayesha's sake. She decides to reunite Ayesha and Kabir on Eid. Shahbaz and Zeenat worry that Zara and Kabir might get back together so Shahbaz constantly provokes Kabir against Zara. According to the Sharia Board, all the board members should attend the Eid celebrations with their entire family.
Shahbaz tries to foil the plan but Zara is the event organizer and manages the situation. Rukhsar returns and the family is unaware of it. Zara and Azra succeed in reuniting Kabir and Ayesha with Rukhsaar's help. Rukhsar vows to reunite Kabir and Zara.

Cast

Main

Development

The first promo of the series was released on 10 February 2018 where Eisha Singh and Adnan Khan were introduced.
Initially titled as Ishq Pakeezah, it was later changed to Ishq Subhan Allah.
Deepak Rajadhyaksha, Deputy Business Head, Zee TV said, "We started 2018 with the launch of two beautifully curated shows, Aap Ke Aa Jane Se and Kaleerein each of which has touched upon a contemporary Indian reality and is sensitizing the masses about the same. Our next primetime fiction offering belongs to the Muslim social drama space that we had, ourselves, pioneered with Qubool Hai, a show that enjoyed an immensely successful run of two seasons. Ishq Subhan Allah asks viewers to pause and reflect on the true interpretation of religion in our daily lives. It questions the true importance we accord to a woman's choice in every decision that a couple makes, including entering the institution of marriage as also ending it with dignity".
Dheeraj Kumar, the producer of the show said, "With Ishq Subhan Allah, we want to break the stereotype and urge people to take a rational stance in matters of religion. We want to spread the message that adherence to religion cannot come at the cost of compromising practicality. Instead, one must apply the core fundamentals of one's religion to move forward in life."
Adnan Khan expressed, "Kabeer's character is of a young Maulvi with a thorough understanding of Islam. While he is very traditional and culture-driven, his personality and outlook is extremely different from Zara's. Being a Muslim, I could easily adapt myself to certain aspects of Kabeer's character which helped me a lot during my preparation. In fact, I could also strongly relate to his inner instincts and religious traits as I am extremely religious in real life, albeit with a modern touch. The concept of the show is extremely engaging and I am looking forward to this exciting new journey".
Eisha Singh said, "Ishq Subhan Allah is a unique concept with a strong message. Zara is a strong and confident woman who doesn't fear any consequences and isn't afraid to ask the right questions. She is deeply rooted in her religious teachings of the holy Quran but applies them intelligently to life with logical reasoning. Zara is progressive but she isn't a rebel or an atheist. She has studied Islam in depth and stands up against the misinterpretation of its teachings. Moreover, I am really excited to play such a strong character and I hope that the audience will enjoy watching this side of me."
In November 2019, Zee TV's home production house, Essel Vision Productions took over the production of the series from Creative Eye Limited.
Owing Covid-19 outbreak, the shootings were stalled since 19 March 2020 and the series telecast was halted midway on 20 March 2020 and was expected to resume shoot after the lockdown ends.
In April 2020, it was speculated not returning back, being axed abruptly by the channel due to the losses caused during the lockdown.
However, in July 2020, it was reported that the show has got an extension and the makers have brought back the original lead, Eisha Singh on the show.

Casting

was selected to play Zara Siddiqui's character and Adnan Khan was cast to play Kabeer Ahmed.
In October 2019, Eisha Singh quit the show to look for new opportunities and her character was shown falling down the cliff.
After Eisha's exit, Tunisha Sharma was cast as the new female lead of the show.
In late June 2020, when filming was about to resume after the halt owing to the COVID–19 pandemic, it was reported that Tunisha Sharma will make an exit from the show and the channel has approached the original lead, Eisha Singh to return to the show. However, Eisha didn't confirm her return to the show.
On 3 July 2020, Eisha Singh confirmed to be returning to the show and replacing her replacement, Tunisha Sharma who has also confirmed her exit from the show.

Marketing

To promote the show, Zee TV launched 'Galat Galat Galat', a marketing campaign which drives conversations about the misinterpretations of Islam. Showing protagonist Zara Siddiqui's point of view this campaign delivered a strong message against Triple Talaq system. A special profile was created for Zara Siddiqui on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter to share stories and videos about her point of view and interpretation of Islam derived from the holy Quran.

Filming

The series is mainly filmed in Mumbai with some initial episodes were shot in Lucknow as the show's main storyline is based in Lucknow.The honeymoon track of Zara and Kabeer was shot in Kashmir.

Writing

The show is written by Danish Javed. Talking about the show Javed said, “Being a practising Muslim, I have a knowledge of the religion. We also had many scholars on board for research. We confirmed and consulted with the scholars at any point of doubt. Our intentions are very clear because we do not want to hurt anyone.”

Broadcast

The airing of the series was shifted from its earlier 10:00 pm slot to 10:30 pm slot from 25 February 2020.
The production and airing of the show was halted indefinitely in late March 2020 due to the Covid-19 outbreak in India. Because of the outbreak, the filming of television series and films was halted on 19 March 2020 and expected to resume on 1 April 2020 but could not and the series was last broadcast on 20 March 2020 when the remaining episodes were aired. After four months, the production and filming of the series resumed on 12 July 2020.The airing of the series was resumed from 3 August 2020.

Reception

Critical response

Ishq Subhan Allah deals with the sensitive and burning issue of Triple Talaq due to which it received negative criticism from some Muslims. Following the first week of its premiere, the show created disappointment between the Muslims and a complaint was filed by Raza Academy, an Islamic association based in Mumbai against the show for wrongful representation of religious facts and maligning the image of the religion.
The complaint by the academy stated that the show "shows Islam in a bad light, the scripts of the entire serial is made to understand that Islam religion needs a lot of changes, revival, amendments".
Since the show is based on a religious concept, many Muslim priests like the Shariat Board Chief, Imam Organization and Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind had also raised objection against the show.

Ratings

Ishq Subhan Allah in its debut week was ranked in the top ten shows of India in its opening week. The show opened with 8460 impressions in HSM and 5346 impressions in urban markets. This gives the show the leadership position in the 10 pm slot and makes it the second-highest opening weekday fiction show of the financial year amongst pay Hindi GECs.
In week 15, the show entered the top 5 and maintained third position with 5113 impressions in the urban sector. In week 16, the show became second-most-watched show in India with 5370 impressions. The show again maintained its second position in week 17 with 6449 impressions. In week 18, the show was third most watched show with 5371 impressions. The show took fourth position in week 19 with 5108 impressions. In week 20 the show again took third position with 5268 impressions.
Commenting on the ratings, Deepak Rajadhyaksha, Deputy Business Head, Zee TV said, "In keeping with our brand philosophy Aaj likhenge Kal, it is our constant endeavor to present viewers with progressive stories that are not only entertaining but also provoke them into thinking differently, get inspired, take charge of their destiny and work towards an extraordinary future. With Ishq Subhan Allah, we bring audiences the love story of a Muslim couple where the man and woman beg to differ on matters of interpreting and applying religion to their daily lives. We have dwelled into the issue of Triple Talaaq which was never spoken about in a prime-time fiction show. The response that the show has received in its opening week stands testimony to the universal applause and the warm welcome given to the show by Indian audiences."
The concept was highly appreciated which made the show popular and it won [|several accolades]. Its popularity led Zee 5 to stream a spin-off web series in 2019.The web series starring Angad Hasija, Ankitta Sharma and Paras Kalnawat was titled Ishq Aaj Kal.

Soundtrack

Ishq Subhan Allah's soundtrack is written by A. M. Turaz and composed by Mukul Puri. Ishq Subhan Allah, the title song of the show, is sung by Javed Ali.

International broadcast

Due to its immense popularity, the show was broadcast by Antv in Indonesia.

Awards and nominations