Marriage is the most sacred bond and wedding day is the beginning of a new chapter of life, which we must start with the blessings of Allah. But unfortunately we displease Allah on this day more than ever. Girls untangle their hair, put down hijab from their heads, wear dresses that are against their modesty. Many brides and grooms even forget to pray as they remain too immersed in celebrating their wedding day. We have become so mad in the race of following the trend that we don’t realise what we are doing. We follow non-Muslim cultures. We celebrate haldi, sangeet and dance with the opposite gender. Hijabs are thrown away and there is now a trend called pre-wedding photo shoot. Would-be brides and grooms capture pics in such a way that is impermissible before nikah, and they don’t respect the sanctity of marriage and the religion. Besides, brides spend more than 20 or 30 thousand rupees to book a makeup artist for a single day, and all this money gets washed away with one face wash. We need to realise that ultimately by the end of the day we have to come up with the real face and we should accept ourselves the way we are.
There are many families who spend lakhs on wedding decorations and festivities. By spending lakhs on decorations and videography, what will ultimately come of it? Our homes will look appealing and attractive for a few days and relatives and friends will praise us. That’s it. Everyone will forget about it after a week. By holding our marriages in an extravagant manner we are just buying the wrath of Allah and making it difficult for poor and middle-class girls to get their hands red, as their families can’t afford this pomp and show.
Nowadays there is a trend of cinematic weddings. People upload their wedding videos on social media platforms like YouTube and Facebook. Brides, grooms and all the women of the family are put on display for everyone and they feel so overwhelmed when they receive thousands of likes and comments. There are many people who do all this out of social pressure and they seek approval of others and don’t want to displease their relatives and want to compete in the race. There is a race for getting the best music band, makeup artist, and decoration. There are many parents who call it love for their child. They want to make this day memorable and adorable but they don’t realise they are doing it at the cost of displeasing the Almighty.
During weddings, we have ample time for gossip, makeup and singing, but don’t have time for a patient nikah ceremony on which the whole marriage is based. Molvis and muftis are directed to wind up in a hurry. There is a famous Islamic scholar in Kashmir who said that in many nikahs he found fathers missing and when he enquired about them, he was shocked to know that he was busy with preparations and arrangements. Is checking on feasts and decorations more important than attending the nikah ceremony of one’s son or daughter? We have become unmindful of the rulings framed for us by the Almighty regarding marriages. What blessings we can expect from the Almighty while side-lining and disobeying him? Will he be happy with our marriages where music, immodesty and extravagance cross each and every limit? It is high time that we realise what we are doing and where we are heading. As goes the saying, charity begins at home. So, let’s take a step towards making our marriages simple. Be the exemplar and motivate your siblings and others to follow suit.

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Bisma Farooq Sheikh