Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
If a man
wants to get married, and he has decided to propose to a particular woman,
then he may go to her guardian on his own, or with one of his relatives such
as his father or brother, or he may delegate someone else to propose
marriage on his behalf. The matter is broad in scope, and prevalent customs
should be followed. In some countries it is regarded as improper for the
suitor to go on his own, so attention should be paid to that.
What is
prescribed in sharee’ah is for the suitor to see the woman to whom he wants
to propose marriage, because of the report narrated by al-Tirmidhi (1087),
al-Nasaa’i (3235) and Ibn Maajah (1865) from al-Mugheerah ibn Shu’bah (may
Allaah be pleased with him), who proposed to a woman and the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Go and look at her, for
that is more likely to create love between you,” i.e., ,ore likely to
establish lasting love between you. This hadeeth was classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi.
Secondly:
If the girl
and her family agree, then a mahr has to be agreed upon, and the wedding
expenses and the wedding date, and so on. This also varies according to
local customs, and what the man can afford and what preparations he has made
for getting married. Some people do the proposal and the marriage contract
in one sitting, and some delay the marriage contract after the engagement,
and some they delay the consummation after the marriage contract. All of
that is permissible. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) did the marriage contract with ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with
her) when she was six years old then he consummated the marriage with her
when she was nine. Narrated by al-Bukhaari (5158).
Thirdly:
It is not
sunnah to recite al-Faatihah at the time of engagement or at the time of the
marriage contract. Rather the Sunnah is to recite Khutbat al-Haajah. It was
narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) said:
“The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught us
Khutbat al-Haajah, (to be said) at weddings and on other occasions: “Inna
al-hamda Lillaahi nasta’eenahu wa nastaghfiruhu, wa na’oodhu bihi min
shuroori anfusinaa wa sayi’aati a’maalinaa. Man yahdih Illaahu falaa mudilla
lahu wa man yudlil falaa haadiya lahu. Wa ashhadu an laa ilaaha ill-Allaah
wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhu wa rasooluhu (Verily, all praise is
to Allaah, we seek His help and His forgiveness. We seek refuge with Him
from the evil of our own souls and from our bad deeds. Whomsoever Allaah
guides will never be led astray, and whomsoever Allaah leaves astray, no one
can guide. I bear witness that there is no god but Allaah, and I bear
witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger).
‘Yaa
ayyuha’n-naas uttaqu rabbakum alladhi khalaqakum min nafsin waahidatin wa
khalaqa minhaa zawjahaa wa baththa minhumaa rijaalan katheeran wa nisaa’an
wa’ttaqu-Llaah alladhi tasaa’aloona bihi wa’l-arhaama inna Allaaha kaana
‘alaykum raqeeban (O mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you
from a single person, and from him He created his wife, and from them both
He created many men and women, and fear Allaah through Whom you demand your
mutual (rights), and (do not cut the relations of) the wombs (kinship)
Surely, Allaah is Ever an All-Watcher over you).’ [al-Nisaa’ 4:1]
‘Yaa
ayyuha’lladheena aamanu-ttaqu’Llaaha haqqa tuqaatihi wa laa tamootunna illaa
wa antum muslimoon (O you who believe! Fear Allaah as He should be
feared, and die not except in a state of Islam (as Muslims) with complete
submission to Allaah.)’ [Aal ‘Imraan 3:102]
‘Yaa
ayyahu’lladheena aamanu-ttaqu’Llaaha wa qooloo qawlan sadeedan
yuslih lakum a’maalakum wa yaghfir lakum dhunoobakum wa man yuti’ Allaaha wa
rasoolahu fa qad faaza fawzan ‘azeeman (O you who believe! Keep your
duty to Allaah and fear Him, and speak (always) the truth). He will direct
you to do righteous good deeds and will forgive you your sins. And whosoever
obeys Allaah and His Messenger, he has indeed achieved a great achievement
(i.e. he will be saved from the Hell‑fire and will be admitted to Paradise)’
[al-Ahzaab 33:70, 71].”
Narrated by
Abu Dawood (2118) and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi
Dawood.
The Standing
Committee for Issuing Fatwas was asked (19/146): Is reciting al-Faatihah
when a man gets engaged to a woman an innovation (bid’ah)?
They
replied: Reciting al-Faatihah when a man gets engaged to a woman or when the
marriage contract is done is an innovation (bid’ah). End quote.
Fourthly:
There is no
special clothing to be worn for the engagement, wedding or consummation, for
either the man or the woman. Attention should be paid to what the people are
accustomed to with regard to that, so long as it is not contrary to
sharee’ah. Based on that, there is nothing wrong with the man wearing a suit
and so on.
But if the
woman is in a place where men can see her, she should wear concealing
clothes, just as she should before and after the wedding. But if she is
among women, she can adorn herself and wear whatever kind of clothes she
wants, but she should avoid extravagance and waste and that which calls to
fitnah.
As for
wearing a ring, it is not prescribed for men or for women, because that
involves imitating the kuffaar. See question no.
21441.
May Allaah
help us and you to do that which He loves and which pleases Him.
And Allaah knows
best.
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