Part 15

‘The Figh of Marriage

“[Dancing] is the movement and shifting of the body according to a musical rhythm or otherwise.”!

Dancing is one of the greatest forms of error and going astray by which many of the dreams and desires of the enemies of Islam are fulfilled among the Muslims. Many of the young people have been tempted and have succumbed to this trial. They have now taken it as a regular practice at all parties and gatherings— although it is very rare in our country [of Saudi Arabia] and all praise be to Allah.

Al-Izz ibn Abdul Salaam stated, “Dancing is not done except by one who is deficient in his intellect, an ignoramus and it is not befitting anyone except women.”2 The youth of Islam and tomorrow’s men must keep themselves free of such wantonness and evil, and not imitate women.

The Ceremony of Presenting the Bride and Groom

Among the evil practices and lewd customs that have crept into our society— concerning which every zealous person should fight and try to bring an end to— is what is known as al-tashreeah or the presenting of the bride and the groom. There is where the bride wears a long white wedding dress [like those found in the West] that she cannot even walk in without having some women carry the tail of it. She also

; Taaj al-Lughah wa Sibaah al-Arabiyyab by al-Jauhari, vol. 3, p. 1041. pa eai ‘ al-Abkaam ti Masaalib al-Anaam, vol. 2, pp. 220-221 (edited by Abdul

The Figh of Marriage

wears a white headcovering with white gloves. Then she is placed in an. open place in front of all the people. Then her husband comes to her, greets her, presents to her a present and they talk, all while in front of all the people.

This practice has no source in the Quran or sunnah. Neither the Prophet (peace be upon him) nor the Companions or early scholars of this nation ever did anyhing of this nature. If it were something good, they would have done it. In fact, this practice has many greatly evil aspects to it, including:

The groom enters upon a number of women and they are not wearing the proper Islamic attire (Aijaab). He or they may be tempted to evil by that. Furthermore, many men watch that event and this leads to some ends that are not praiseworthy. The women also watch some of the private interaction between the bride and groom and that is also forbidden. Their speech or actions may be something that should be private and spreading such private matters of spouses is not allowed.

Also, both spouses or one of them may be afflicted by the evil eye. Such has occurred on many occasions, such that the end of the marriage was the result because the people did such a dangerous act in disobedience to Allah while they should be very eager to gain Allah’s pleasure and guidance under such circumstances.

In addition to that, many people customarily use cameras and video cameras to record such events in order to watch them again later. This is very unfortunate and an imminent evil. During such occasions, the women are dressed in their most attractive attire with all their makeup and jewelry. To take pictures of them during such a time is a great temptation; it can reap evi] and lewdness among the people. There is no doubt that any kind of picture-taking during such times is forbidden. Furthermore, some women are unaware that they are having their picture taken and this can cause them or their husbands great harm and embarrassment later as they are captured in those pictures or films in all of their adornments. Such occurrences have actually led to some women being divorced when their husbands see them later in such videos and openly doing acts of disobedience to Allah.

Those who are in charge of the places that are rented for such gatherings and those whom Allah has placed in positions of authority

"The Figft of Marriage

over the Muslims must stamp out this evil phenomenon and put an end to these actions that have entered upon our customs and our culture.

The Figh of Marriage

The Wedding Dinner (a/-Waleemain and an Admonition Concerning Extravagance at Wedding Parties

The Root of the Word Wa/eemai, Its Linguistic and

The root of the word al-waleemah' (35!) is, “Completing something and gathering it together.”? Ibn al-Araabi said,

It is said that a man has awalam when his intelligence and character have come together. The one who is shackled is called walm because one of his legs is tied to the other. Then the word waleemah became specifically known as

1 The meals that people are invited to are of ten varieties: (1) the wedding feast; (2) the feast at the time of circumcision; (3) the feast after giving birth; (4) the feast after completing one’s house; (5) the feast at the time that one who was absent comes or returns; (6) the slaughtering due to the birth of a child (@l-ageeqah); the meal when the child becomes proficient and memorizes the entire Brey (3) eneral feasts that may be given with or without any specific purpose; (9) the feast

at is offered by the people who have suffered a death or catastrophe— this type is neither sanctioned nor recommended; (10) feast for the arriving person. See Haashiyataa Qalyoobi wa Umairab ila Minhagy al-Taalibeen, vol. 3, p. 294; alMatli ‘ala Abwaab al-Mugni, p. 328; at lnsadl, vol. 8, p. 316; Fath al-Baari, vol. 9, p. 241. [Here the author has simply listed the different types of meals that person are normally invited to. Some of his sources, such as al-Jnsaaf include others that he did not mention. It is important to note that not all of the above are necessarily sanctioned or recommended in Islamic law—JZ]

"The Figh of Marriage

the wedding feast and was not used for anything else. Its plural is walaaim (p49)!

The shareeah definition of waleemah is, “The food that is specifically for the occasion of a wedding.” Some of the jurists give it the following definition, “Every meal given for a happy event.” However, its usage for the wedding feast is more common. This latter definition contradicts what the scholars of the language and fiqh have stated.?

Al-urs (+) refers to the meal and the wedding.

Al-uroos (_~3,') refers to either a man or woman during the days in which the marriage is consummated and the two are brought together.?

The Ruling Concerning the Wa/eemah

The wedding feast (waleemah) is a strongly recommended sunnah according to the majority of the scholars.* This is the wellknown opinion among the Malikis> and Hanbalis. This is also the opinion of some of the Shafi’ees. Since it is a feast due to a happy occurrence, it is not obligatory, as other feasts are also not obligatory.

There is a statement from Malik, a clear text in al-Umm by alShafi’ee and the opinion of the Dhahiris that the wedding feast is obligatory. This opinion is based on the statement of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to Abdul Rahmaan ibn Auf,

5 Al-Matli, p. 328; al-Qaamoos al-Fighi Lughab wa Istilaabaan, p. 387. 3 AL Qaamoos al-Fighi, p. 387; al-Matli, p. 328. Sharh sahih Muslim by al-Nawawi, vol. 9, p. 234; al-Qaamoos al-Mubeet, under

(rO0Ss. 5 Nail al-Autaar by al-Shaukaani, vol. 6, p. 1970. é Al-Mughni, vol. 10, Pp. 192-193.

Qalyoobi and Umairah, vol. 3, p. 295; al-Muballa by ibn Hazm al-Dhaahiri, vol. 11,

"The Fight of Marriage

“Make the wedding feast even if it is with just a sheep.”! The apparent meaning of this command is that of obligation.

A narration by Abu al-Shaikh and al-Tabaraani in a/-Ausat from the hadith of Abu Huraira from the Prophet (peace be upon him) states,

“The wedding feast is a right act (hagq)* and sunnah. One who is invited

to it but does not attend has disobeyed [Allah and His Messenger].”? Ibn Battaal stated,

[The word in Arabic is bagg. This could imply “an obligatory act." It could also imply “a right act,” which is the interpretation the author favors above. However, since this narration and the other narrations that state that the waleemah is a haqq are weak, the argument is actually moot. The only aspect they need to prove is that the command in the previous hadith, "Have a waleemab even if with just a sheep," is a command implying recommendation and not obligation. There is yet another hasan hadith that implies obligation which the author did not mention here. It states, “A wedding must have a feast.” For more details on this point and the status of the waleemab see Jamaal al-Din M. Zarabozo, The Figh of the Family, Marriage and Divorce (Falls Church, VA: American Open University, 1998) pp. 1465 [Al-Haithami stated that this hadith is recorded by al-Tabaraani through Yahya ibn Uthmaan al-Taimi. He says that Yahya was considered trustworthy by Abu Haatim alRaazi and ibn Hibbaan while al-Bukhari and others considered him weak. He then states that the rest of the narrators are of sahib quality. A closer inspection of Yahya shows that he was considered very weak by almost all scholars. In fact, ibn Hibbaan himself included him in his collection of rejected narrators and stated, "His hadith are very rejected. He narrated objectionable reports that are not corroborated by anyone. It is not allowed to argue by his hadith." It is therefore clear that this narration from al-Tabaraani is weak or very weak. There are other hadith that mention at the beginning, "The waleemab is agg but they are also weak. Hence, there is no need to try to reinterpret the wording of this hadith to try to prove that the waleemah is not obligatory, as the author has done in the text above. Allah knows best. Cf, Abdullah al-Darweesh, Bughyat al-Zaaid, | fi Tabqeeq Majma al-Zawaaid wa Manba al-Fawaaid lil-Haafidb al-Haithami (Beirut: Daar al-Fikr, 1992), vol. 4, p 80; Ahmad ibn Hajr, Tabdbeeb al-Tabdbeeb (Beirut: Muassasah al-Risaalah,

996), vol. 4, p. 378; Muhammad ibn Hibbaan, Kitaab al-Majrooheen min alMuhadditheen wa al-Dhuafaa wa al-Matrookeen (Beirut: Daar al-Marifah, 1992), art 3, pp. 122-123; Muhammad Naasir al-Deen al-Albaani, Irwaa al-Ghaleel iakbregy Abadecth Manaar al-Sabeel (Beirut: al-Maktab al-Islaami, 1979), vol. 7,

‘The Figh of Marriage

His word, hagq (a right act), means, “not invalid but something recommended.” And it is a sunnah, meaning a virtuous act. The meaning of haqq here is not that it is obligatory. It is interpreted to mean preferred since he ordered the person to have the dinner with a slaughtered sheep while all agree that such is not obligatory.1

Hence, the weightier view is that it is a stressed sunnah and a preferred act but it is not obligatory.