The society that one lives in has a direct effect on one\u2019s life. Hence every person desires for and strives to build a healthy society. Among the aspects that form the bedrock of a healthy society is the institution of nikaah. By means of nikaah one finds solace and comfort which enables one to fulfil one\u2019s duties to Allah Ta\u2018ala. It also provides a lawful avenue to fulfil a basic in-born need. A pure human race flourishes as a result of the bond of nikaah, while countless social evils are dispelled by it. Take away the institution of nikaah and in a short time the society will sink to such depths of moral degradation which are unimaginable.<\/p>\n
The West has to a great extent abandoned the customary marriage and adopted in its place the \u201cliving together\u201d concept. When the partners do not feel like \u201cliving together\u201d anymore, they just say \u201cgood bye\u201d and part company. The result of this is glaring for all the world to see. Abortion, thousands of illegitimate children, AIDS, teenage pregnancies and suicide are just a few of the many direct consequences of abandoning the bond of marriage.<\/p>\n
Least Expense<\/strong><\/p>\n Thus the importance of nikaah can never be over emphasised. In the light of what has been mentioned it is much easier to grasp the true implications of the words of Rasulullah (sallallahu \u2018alaihi wasallam) who said: \u201cVerily the nikaah which is blessed with the greatest amount of barakah (blessings) is that nikaah wherein the least expense is incurred.\u201d (Musnad Ahmad #24529) By stressing the aspect of incurring the least expenditure, Rasulullah (sallallahu \u2018alaihi wasallam) paved the way for the nikaah to be easily affordable for the rich and poor alike. When this advice is not heeded, nikaah becomes a costly affair. It becomes a big worry and a huge burden. The very rich will afford it, the middle class will resort to loans (even on interest) in order to make it, while the poor will only dream about it. The matter does not end there. Those who cannot afford it and abstain are prone to becoming victims of the social evils mentioned above and thus every level of society is affected.<\/p>\n Wastage<\/strong><\/p>\n However, this sunnah and \u2018ibaadah of nikaah has in many cases become just a kuffaar style wedding. The greatest expense is incurred. Every effort is made to keep up with the trend. To start off with, thousands of Rands are wasted on absolutely futile wedding cards (which, as time goes, become more fashionable and expensive in order to impress). The most impressionable and expensive venues are booked. Much more wealth, which is purely a gift and bounty from Allah Ta\u2018ala, is squandered on hiring floral arrangements and other fancy accessories. The \u201cstage\u201d (for the wedding show) is then made up at considerable cost. The wastage list goes on, with many new shocking items being added on. Such weddings are actually setting the stage to destroy all barakah from the nikaah. The barakah is totally lost, while the great impression which one sets out to make is also seldom achieved. After having filled their bellies, people generally leave commenting on the wastage and discussing the flaws and defects.<\/p>\n Sophisticated Begging<\/strong><\/p>\n While on the one hand thousands of Rands are wasted on futile aspects, at the same time some novel ideas have been invented to extract \u201cgifts\u201d from others. Invitations are sent out (with or without the knowledge of the bride-to-be) towards a \u201cbridal shower\u201d which takes place a few days before the wedding. The unwritten rule is that the invited person must come with a gift for the bride. It is unthinkable to attend without bringing a gift along. This subtle way of extracting gifts tantamounts to a sophisticated form of begging. People are being invited to \u201cplease come along,\u201d and with it goes the unwritten rule, the object of the invitation \u2014 \u201cand don\u2019t forget the present!\u201d This is in direct conflict with the hadeeth wherein it is mentioned: \u201cThe wealth of a Muslim is not permissible except when he gives it whole-heartedly (without coercion or obligation).\u201d (Musnad Ahmad #20695) Thus it is time to break away from these alien customs and practices which destroy the barakah from the nikaah.<\/p>\n Foundation<\/strong><\/p>\n The nikaah is the foundation of the building that has to be erected upon it \u2014 the building of a lifelong marriage. If this foundation is absolutely weakened and deprived of the barakah from Allah Ta\u2018ala, how much hope can one then have of the building remaining firmly erect on such a weak foundation?<\/p>\n Solution<\/strong><\/p>\n The only solution then is to return to the sunnah \u2014 by adopting the guidance of Rasulullah (sallallahu \u2018alaihi wasallam) and the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu \u2018anhum). Far from inviting the world, many of the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu \u2018anhum) were married while Rasulullah (sallallahu \u2018alaihi wasallam) was present in Madeenah Munawwarah without Rasulullah (sallallahu \u2018alaihi wasallam) being aware of the nikaah. Neither did they deem it necessary that he should be informed, nor did Rasulullah (sallallahu \u2018alaihi wasallam) take exception to this attitude. The nikaah in that era was an extremely simple affair. The least cost was incurred. The greatest amount of barakah was attained. This is the example that we have to keep as an ideal in front of us. Then every attempt should be made to follow it as closely as possible.<\/p>\n Shackles vs Natural Freedom<\/strong><\/p>\n May Allah Ta\u2018ala grant us the intelligence and ability to release ourselves from the heavy and burdensome shackles of baseless customs. May He enable us to adopt the wonderful sunnah so that we may earn His pleasure while at the same time enjoy the numerous benefits of the sunnah, among which are its absolute ease, elegant simplicity and natural freedom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14111,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alhaadi.org.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alhaadi.org.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alhaadi.org.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alhaadi.org.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alhaadi.org.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14109"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alhaadi.org.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14109\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14110,"href":"https:\/\/alhaadi.org.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14109\/revisions\/14110"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alhaadi.org.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alhaadi.org.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alhaadi.org.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alhaadi.org.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}