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Wedding of
Fatimah
Fatimah (RA) is the
youngest daughter of our beloved Prophet (SAW). Out of
all the children, she was the most beloved to him. He
said, "The queen of the ladies in Jannah is Fatimah (RA).
"He also said, "Fatimah (RA) is part of my body. Whoever
grieves her, grieves me."
When Fatimah (RA)
reached the age of fifteen, proposals for her marriage
began to come from high and responsible families but the
Prophet (SAW) remained irresponsive.
'Ali (RA), who was
21 at the time, says: "It occurred to me that I should go
and make a formal proposal, but then I thought,’ How
could this be accomplished, for I possess nothing.' At
last, encouraged by the Prophet's kindness, I went to him
and expressed my intention to marry Fatimah (RA). The
Prophet (SAW) was extremely pleased and asked, "Ali! Do
you possess anything to give her in mahr? 'I replied,
'Apart from a horse and armour, I possess
nothing.'
The Prophet (SAW)
said, 'A soldier must, of course, have his horse. Go and
sell away your armour.'"
So, 'Ali (RA) went
and sold his armour to 'Uthma'n (RA) for 480 Dirhams and
presented them to Rasoolullah (SAW). Bilal (AS) was
ordered by the Prophet (SAW) to bring some perfume and a
few other things and Anas (RA) was sent to call Aboo
Bakr,'Uthman, Talhah and Zubayr with some companions from
the Ansar (RA).
When these men
arrived and had taken their seats, the Prophet % recited
the khutbah (sermon) of nikah and gave Fatimah (RA) in
marriage to 'Ali (RA). He announced, "Bear you all
witness that I have given my daughter Fatimah (RA) in
marriage to 'Ali for 400 mithqal of silver and 'Ali has
accepted." He then raised his head and made du'a saying,
"O Allah, create love and harmony between these two.
Bless them and bestow upon them good children." After the
nikah, dates were distributed.
When the time came for Fatimah (RA) to go to
'Ali's (RA) house, she was
sent without any clamour or hue and cry, accompanied by
Umme Ayman (RA). After the 'Isha Salah, the Prophet (SAW)
went to their house, took permission and entered. He
asked for a basin of water, put his blessed hands into it
and sprinkled it on both 'Ali (RA) and Fatimah (RA) and
made du'a for them. The sovereign of
both worlds gave his beloved daughter a silver bracelet,
two Yemeni sheets, four mattresses, one blanket, one
pillow, one cup, one hand-grinding mill, one bedstead, a
small water skin and a leather pitcher.
In this simple
fashion, the wedding of the daughter of the leader of
both the worlds was solemnized. In following this Sunnah
method, a wedding becomes very simple and easy to
fulfil. Some points derived
from the above mentioned marriage:
1) The many customs
as regards engagement are contrary to Sunnah. In fact,
many are against the Sharee'ah and are regarded sins. A
verbal proposal and answer is
sufficient.
2) To unnecessarily
delay nikah of both the boy and the girl after having
reached the age of marriage is
incorrect.
3) There is nothing
wrong in inviting one's close associates for the occasion
of nikah. However, no special pains should be taken in
gathering the people from far off
places.
4) It is
appropriate that the bridegroom be a few years older than
the bride.
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