إِنَّ أَعْظَمَ النِّكَاحِ بَرَكَةً أَيْسَرُهُ مَئُوْنَةً

(مشكوة المصابيح)

The most blessed marriage is the one in which expenses are few, and which is simple.

Instead of wasting the money on unnecessary expenses, it is better to give the same money to one’s daughter, to one’s son-in-law, to be used to purchase carpets for a musjid, or to pay for the expenses of a student. In short, consult your shaykh and spend it in some correct avenue. The walîmah meal which is Sunnah is to be from the boy’s side – to whose house the bride is going.

But today, the opposite is taking place. The girl’s side is spending thousands to feed and entertain the thousands of people who come from the boy’s side. If a person has five daughters, he estimates his cost at 600 000 rupees. Consequently, he steals, robs, and accepts bribes.

Moreover, it is not necessary for the boy’s side to have such a large walîmah for which a tent has to be pitched, 10 000 people are invited, and hundreds of thousands of rupees are spent to feed the guests. A walîmah can be fulfilled by just five people as well. If any family is not invited, it has no right to complain.

Karachi is a very large city [so it is understandable if someone is not invited]. In a small town like Madînah, a Sahâbî – Hadrat ‘Abdur Rahmân ibn ‘Auf (radhiallaho anho) did not invite Rasulullah (Sallellaho alaihe wasallam) to his walîmah. Rasulullah (Sallellaho alaihe wasallam) saw the yellow coloured effect of fragrance on his clothes and gauged [that he just got married]. So he asked him: “Did you perchance get married?” But Rasulullah (Sallellaho alaihe wasallam) did not feel offended in the least for not being invited to the walîmah.

My shaykh, Shâh Abrârul Haqq Sâhib rahimahullâh, gave his daughter in marriage to a very noble family. Professor Hakîm ‘Irfânullâh Sâhib was a member of the Consultative Assembly of Deoband and a senior hakîm (Islamic physician) of Aligarh Tibbîyyah College.

Hadrat said to him, “You must come with your son and one other child.” In other words, no more than three people may come from Aligarh to Hardoi. Thus, the father must come, the son who is going to become the son-in-law must come, and he may bring one additional child. No fourth person may come. This is what you call simplicity. But today people say that if we adopt simplicity ‘our nose will get cut’ [we will be humiliated].

Listen, the ‘nose’ is under Allâh’s control. If you opt for simplicity, you will be honourable in the sight of Allâh Ta’ala.