Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Asalamu alaykum wr wb,

The search on the website keeps crashing so I had to ask here. Well my questions are:

1) what is the sunnah way to get married (ceremonies etc)

2) is the wedding ring a christian/kafir symbol?

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Wedding ceremony and ring

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Q-1): what is the sunnah way to get married (ceremonies etc)

Allah and His Messenger (saws) have encouraged the believers to marry, and make the process a very simple affair in Islam. The following are considered the obligatory acts or ceremonies in an Islamic marriage:

The Proposal from the groom, and the acceptance from the bride.

The determination of a ‘mehr’ amount to be given by the groom to the bride.

Two witnesses to the marriage contract.

The consent to the marriage by the parent/guardian of the bride.

And the only ceremony that is absolutely encouraged by Islam is that the groom offer a ‘walima’ banquet to the people in his community after his marriage.

Apart from the above, there are no ceremonies required for a marriage in Islam. Each region or culture has its own cultural ceremonies which are performed in marriage to celebrate the joyous occasion, and if these regional or cultural ceremonies are not associated with or are not an imitation of a pagan religion or pagan culture, there is absolutely no harm if one performs them; example being the application of ‘henna’ for the womenfolk, the playing of legal music or ‘daff’, singing legal songs, etc., provided each are done within the boundaries of Islam.

Q-2): is the wedding ring a christian/kafir symbol?

Exchanging rings between the bride and the groom at a wedding is definitely not from the Islamic Culture. Thus two things need to be seen to determine if this exchange of rings or any other ceremony would be legal and permissible in Islam:

It cannot be a associated with anything to do with ‘shrik’.

It cannot be associated with or be an imitation of a pagan culture.

There is absolutely no doubt that the exchanging of rings is a requirement of a Christian wedding. If the believer wants to present a ring to his bride, there is absolutely no harm; but to give the exchange of rings between the bride and the groom a shape of a ceremony in an Islamic marriage, or to think that without the exchange of rings the marriage ceremony would not be complete is clear manifestation of imitating a pagan ceremony and ritual, and thus would be considered impermissible in Islam.

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 4020 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar

The Prophet (saws) said: ‘He who copies (or imitates) any people is one of them.’

If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), he can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), he can be assured of being led astray.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan