Microsoft Word Marriage Guide doc

Weddings. 
It is Sunnah to hold a feast (walimah) for a wedding. It is part of 
the Muslim's duty to make the marriage public. The Prophet (P.B.U.H) said: 'Publicise 
this marriage; celebrate it in the mosques; sound the tambourines to mark it!' 
(Tirmidhi.) 
Al-Rubayyi bint Muawwidh narrated: `The Messenger of God (P.B.U.H) visited 
me the morning after my marriage was consummated. He sat on my bedding while 
some servant-girls of ours began to play tambourine and sang eulogies of my 
The Muslim Marriage Guide: Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood

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Source: 
www.al-islamforall@org
 
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ancestors who had died at the battle of Badr. Then one of them said: "And among us 
is a Prophet who knows what tomorrow brings." But he said to her: "Stop that, but 
carry on as you were doing before."' (Bukhari) 
Amir Ibn Sa'd said: 'Going in and finding Qaraza Ibn Ka'b and Abu Mas'ud al-
Ansari at a wedding where girls were singing, I said: "Is this being done in the 
presence of you two who are companions of God's Messenger, and were present at 
Badr?" They replied: "Sit dawn if you wish and listen along with us; or go away if you 
wish, for we have been given permission for amusement at a wedding."' (Nasa'i) 
The actual form of weddings depends a lot on cultural backgrounds, which 
nowadays are often very un-Islamic in insisting on extravagance and show. The good 
Muslim practice is always against ostentation or waste in any form, and true Muslim 
weddings are happy but simple affairs. It often happens that young people have to 
defer marriage because they cannot afford the parties, and sometimes people demand 
an enormous mahr for the bride. Both practices undermine society and are un-Islamic. 
It is obviously important for a bride to receive a generous mahr, as an insurance policy 
in case of divorce and to ensure her financial independence. But this is a concession to 
human frailty. Hadiths recorded by Abu Daud and Tirmidhi show that the Prophet 
(P.B.U.H) forbade the giving of excessive dowries.