Muslim marriage (Nikah) is not like Christian marriage, Jewish marriage, or civil marriage. Indeed, although it is obviously possible that it is celebrated by an imam and a request for blessing takes place, none of this is “mandatory”. Following are few Muslim Marriage Events Manchester.

 

Marriage in Islam: the essentials

The heart of Muslim marriage is the consent of the spouses. Indeed, this stage in the conduct of a marriage in Islam is the only one imposed, that which, in itself, validates or not the marriage. The spouses must be sensible and responsible and the exchange of consents must take place at the same meeting.

Where things differ is that this exchange of consent can be made between the two spouses directly, or between the man and the representative of the woman (imams and scholars do not all agree on this subject).

Another indispensable element for Muslim marriage is considered valid is the presence of witnesses. Indeed, if the presence of witnesses is indispensable, it is because this condition was formulated by the Prophet himself, in several Hadiths.
Also, the news of Muslim marriage must be announced, widespread. It is a recommendation of the Prophet himself. We will see later that this recommendation has an impact on the actual conduct of the marriage.

On the other hand:

  • Religious marriage can be celebrated in a mosque or simply in the house of the bride’s family, in a dedicated room;
  • Marriage can be celebrated by an imam or any other Muslim;
  • The exchange of consent may be preceded by the Khutbah, a short sermon, in Arabic, including praise to the Prophet, blessings and verses from the Qur’an, but it is not obligatory;
  • Spouses may conclude a Muslim marriage even if the woman is not Muslim; on the other hand, the non-Muslim man who wants to marry a Muslim woman in a religious way will have to convert.

The step-by-step process of marriage in Islam

Given the great variability of Muslim marriage, we chose to present a typical marriage, including all stages:

  • Before proceeding to the Muslim marriage, the spouses must, for it to be recognized, to be married in town hall. Also, they will have to publish the banns (which participates in the announcement of the marriage, according to the recommendations of the prophet).
  • Once the civil marriage is celebrated, two options: Either the spouses, without further ceremony, celebrate their religious marriage in a mosque or with the wife’s family;
  • Or, at the exit of the town hall, the use of tambourines (douff) allows to participate in the public announcement of the news of the marriage.
  • Spouses and witnesses meet with the celebrant;
  • The celebrant proceeds to the Khothbah;
  • The spouses exchange consents;
  • To mark the end of the marriage as such, we proceed to congratulations and invocations;
  • If there is no use of tambourines at the exit of the town hall, then it will be used at that time;
  • The guests then meet for the walimah, the wedding dinner, where guests are invited obviously but also the poorest.