The Bride's Boon
The Wedding Banquet
The Wedding Banquet
Prophetic Hadiths:
When `Ali betrothed Fatima (may Allah be pleased with her) the Messenger of Allah said, There should be a wedding banquet.
[Reported by Ahmad]
Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) related,
'Abdur-Rahman ibn' ‘Awf came to Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) and he had marks of Sutra (yellow perfume). Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) asked him (about those marks). 'Abdur-Rahman ibn `Awf told him that he had married a woman from the Ansar. The Prophet (pbuh) asked, How much dowry did you pay her? He said, I paid gold equal to the weight of a date-stone. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said to him, "Give a wedding banquet, even with (only) one sheep."
[Reported by Al-Bukhari]
Reported Anas (may Allah be pleased with him),
The Prophet (pbuh) stayed for three days at a place between khaybar and Madinah, and there he consummated his marriage with Safiyyah. I invited Muslims to his banquet that included neither meat nor bread. Then the Prophet (pbuh) ordered for leather dining sheets to be spread, and then dates, dried yogurt and butter were provided on it, and that was the banquet (walimah) of the Prophet (pbuh). Muslims asked whether Safiyyah would be considered his wife or a slave girl of what his right-hand possessed. Then they said, “lf the Prophet (pbuh) screens her from the people, then she is the Prophet’s wife but if he does not screen her, then she is a slave girl.” So when the Prophet (pbuh) proceeded he made a place for her on the camel behind him and screened her from people.”
[Reported by Al-Bukhari]
The Obligation of Accepting the Wedding Banquet
Qur’anic Verses:
{But when you are invited, enter; and when you have taken your mail, disperse.}
[Al-Ahzab: 53]
Prophetic Hadiths:
Reported 'Abdullah Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that Allah's Messenger (pbuh) said,
If anyone of you is invited to a wedding banquet, he must accept the invitation. And let him eat if he wants it, otherwise he should not do.
[Reported by Muslim]
Narrated Abu Musa: The Prophet (pbuh) said,
Set the captives free accept the invitation (to a wedding banquet), and pay a visit to the patients.
[Reported by Al-Bukhari]
Limiting the wedding banquet to the wealthy people:
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) related,
"The worst food is that of a wedding banquet to which only the rich are invited. And he who refuses an invitation (to a banquet) disobeys Allah and His Messenger (pbuh)."
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Inviting the righteous people to the banquet:
The Prophet (pbuh) said,
Do not befriend but a believer and do not give food but to a righteous.
[Reported by Abu Dawud, and Tirmidhi]
Not Accepting the Wedding Banquet If One sees something disapproved of (from the standpoint of religion) in the party
Prophetic Hadiths:
Narrated `Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) the wife of the Prophet (pbuh),
"I bought a cushion having pictures on it. When Allah's Messenger (pbuh) saw it, he stood at the door and did not enter. I noticed the sign of disapproval on his face and said, O Allah's Messenger! I repent to Allah and His Messenger. What sin have I committed?” Allah's Messenger (pbuh) said, "What is this cushion?" I said, "I have bought it for you so that you may sit on it and recline on it." Allah's Messenger (pbuh) said, "The makers of these pictures will be punished on the Day of Resurrection, and it will be said to them, "Give life to what you have created (i.e. these pictures)." The Prophet (pbuh) added, “Angels do not enter a house in which there are pictures.”
[Reported by Al-Bukhari]
It is related that Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) refused to enter a house when he knew that there was a picture inside the house. Once they destroyed it, he entered the house.
Ibn Mas'ud saw a picture in a house and went away. Ibn `Omar invited Abu Ayyub, and the latter saw a curtain on the wall. So Ibn 'Omar said, We have been overpowered by the women in this matter. Abu Ayyub said, If I was afraid that some people might do such a deed, I never thought that you would do so. By Allah, I will not eat anything of your food. And so Abu Ayyub returned. [1]
[Reported by Al-Bukhari]
Supplication While the Wedding Banquet
It recommended for those who attend the wedding banquet to say the following Du'a:
May Allah bless yours (you Spouse), and you, and join you in a happy union.
[Reported by Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi]
Then he can say:
(1) O Allah! May You forgive them, have mercy on them and bless what you have bestowed them.
[Reported by Muslim and Abu Dawud]
(2) O Allah! May You teed the one who feeds us and provide drink to the one who provided us.
[Reported by Muslim and Al-Hakim]
(3) May the righteous people eat from your food. May the angels pray upon you. May the fasting people have their breakfast with you.
[Reported by Al-Hakim]
[1] Covering the walls with curtains is not prohibited but rather undesirable as argued by Ash-Shafi`i and Ahmad. This is because there is no a textual evidence that forbids it. It is narrated that Ibn 'Umar and others did so during the lifetime of the companions of the Prophet (pbuh). It is undesirable to do this because it may be extravagant like excessive clothing or overeating.