Islamic Wedding

Wedding of Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) 

Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) is the youngest daughter of our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him). Out of all the children, she was the most beloved to him.

 

He said, "The queen of the ladies in Jannah is Fatimah."

He also said, "Fatimah is part of my body. Whoever grieves her, grieves me."

When Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) reached the age of fifteen, proposals for her marriage began to come from high and responsible families. But the Prophet (peace be upon him) remained irresponsive.

‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), who was 21 at the time, says:

"It occurred to me that I should go and make a formal proposal, but then I thought, "how could this be accomplished, for I possess nothing."

At last, encouraged by the Prophet’s kindness, I went to him and expressed my intention to marry Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her).

The Prophet (peace be upon him) was extremely pleased and asked, “Ali! Do you possess anything to give her in mahr?” I replied, “Apart from a horse and an armour I possess nothing.”

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “A soldier must, of course, have his horse. Go and sell away your armour."'

So, ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) went and sold his armour to Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) for 480 Dirham and presented it to Rasulullah (peace be upon him).

Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) was ordered by the Prophet (peace be upon him) to bring some perfume and a few other things and Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) was sent to call Abu Bakr, Uthman, Talhah and Zubayr with some companions from the Ansar (may Allah be pleased with them).

When these men arrived and had taken their seats, the Prophet (peace be upon him) recited the khutbah (sermon) of nikah and gave Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) in marriage to ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him).

He announced,

"Bear you all witness that I have given my daughter Fatimah in marriage to ‘Ali for 400 mithqal of silver and ‘Ali has accepted."

He then raised his head and made du‘a saying,

"O Allah, create love and harmony between these two. Bless them and bestow upon them good children."

After the nikah, dates were distributed.

When the time came for Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) to go to ‘Ali’s (may Allah be pleased with him) house, she was sent without any clamour, hue and cry accompanied by Umm Ayman (may Allah be pleased with her).

After the ‘Isha Salah, the Prophet (peace be upon him) went to their house, took permission and entered. He asked for a basin of water, put his blessed hands into it and sprinkled it on both ‘Ali and Fatimah and made du‘a for them.

The sovereign of both worlds gave his beloved daughter a silver bracelet, two Yemeni sheets, four mattresses, one blanket, one pillow, one cup, one hand-grinding mill, one bedstead, a small water skin and a leather pitcher.

In this simple fashion, the wedding of the daughter of the leader of both the worlds was solemnized. In following this sunnah method, a wedding becomes very simple and easy to fulfill.

Some Points Derived from the Above Mentioned Marriage

1. The many customs as regards engagement are contrary to Sunnah. In fact, many are against the Shari‘ah and are regarded sins. A verbal proposal and answer is sufficient.

2. To unnecessarily delay nikah of both the boy and the girl after having reached the age of marriage is incorrect.

3. There is nothing wrong in inviting one’s close associates for the occasion of nikah. However, no special pains should be taken in gathering the people from far off places.

4. It is appropriate that the bridegroom be a few years older than the bride.

5. If the father of the girl is an ‘alim or pious and capable of performing nikah, then he should himself solemnize the marriage.

6. It is better to give the Mahr Fatimi and one should endeavor to do so. But if one does not have the means then there is nothing wrong in giving less.

7. It is totally un-Islamic for those, who do not possess the means, to incur debts in order to have grandiose weddings.

8. It is fallacy to think that one’s respect will be lost if one does not hold an extravagant wedding and invite many people. What is our respect compared to that of Rasulullah (peace be upon him)?

9. The present day practice of the intermingling of sexes is an act of sin and totally against Shari‘ah.

10. There is nothing such as engagement parties and mendhi parties in Islam.

11. Great care must be taken as regards to Salah on occasions of marriage by all - the bride, the bridegroom and all the participants.

12. It is un-Islamic to display the bride on stage.

13. The unnecessary expenses incurred by the bride’s family in holding a feast has no basis in Shari‘ah.

14. For the engaged couple to meet at a public gathering where the boy holds the girl’s hand and slips a ring on her finger is a violation of the Qur’anic law of hijab.

15. It is un-Islamic for the engaged couple to meet each other and also go out together.

16. Three things should be borne in mind when giving one’s daughter gifts and presents at the time of nikah:

i) Presents should be given within one’s means (it is not permissible to take loans, on interest, for such presents);

ii) To give necessary items;

iii) A show should not be made of whatever is given.

17. It is Sunnah for the bridegroom’s family to make walimah.

NOTE: In walimah, whatever is easily available should be fed to the people and care should be taken that there is no extravagance, show and that no debts are incurred in the process.

18. To delay nikah after the engagement is un-Islamic. Some Customs In following modern day trends, we have adopted many customs that are un-Islamic and contrary to the Sunnah. Some examples are:

i)   Displaying the bride on stage;

ii)  Inviting guests for the wedding from far-off places;

iii) Receiving guests in the hall;

iv) The bride’s people incurring unnecessary expenses by holding a feast which has no basis in Shari‘ah. We should remember that walimah is the feast arranged by the bridegroom after the marriage is consummated;

v)  It is contrary to Sunnah (and the practice of some non-Muslim tribes in India) to wish, hope for or demand presents and gifts for the bridegroom, from the bride’s people.

We should always remember that our Rasul (peace be upon him) did not give ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) anything except du‘a.

(A Shaykh)

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