Distributing the sweets after the marriage
Question: It is customary here to distribute dry fruits after the marriage ceremony. Is this a Sunnah practice?
Answer: Allah, the Exalted, has commanded us to follow the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in all matters of life. One important matter in life is marriage. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ conducted the marriages of the Companions and female Companions during his lifetime, but there is no authentic hadith evidence that he distributed dry fruits after any marriage ceremony. This is actually a Hindu custom. However, among Muslims, this practice has become common based on some weak and fabricated narrations. A brief analysis is as follows:
➊ It is narrated from Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her):
«ان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم تزوج بعض نسائه فشر عليه التمر»
“When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ married any woman, dry dates were scattered upon him.”
In the chain of this narration, Al-Hasan ibn Amr Saif al-Abdi is a narrator. Imam Ali ibn Madini and Imam Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on them) called him a liar, and Imam Abu Hatim al-Razi (may Allah have mercy on him) declared this hadith abandoned.
Imam Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “This narrator deserves to be abandoned.”
Ibn Abi Dawud followed up on this narration, but in its chain, Sa’id ibn Salam is a liar narrator. Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) called him a liar, Imam Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) called him a fabricator of narrations, and Imam Darqutni (may Allah have mercy on him) described him as abandoned and a narrator of false narrations.
It is established that this narration is false and fabricated.
➋ Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) states:
«كان النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم اذا زوج او تزوج نثر تمرا»
“When the Prophet ﷺ married someone or got married himself, dry dates were scattered.”
Imam Bayhaqi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
“In its chain is Asim ibn Sulayman al-Basri, whom Umar ibn Ali attributed to lying and fabricating hadith.”
Imam Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
“Many hadith scholars have declared him a liar.”
It is established that this narration is also false.
Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates:
“Mu’adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) told me that he attended the marriage of an Ansari man with the Prophet ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ delivered the sermon and married the Ansari man, saying: ‘Love, hold fast to goodness and good deeds, and beat the tambourine over your companion’s head.’ So the tambourine was beaten over his head, and packets of fruits and sugar were brought, which the Prophet ﷺ scattered among the Companions. But the people stopped and did not take them back. The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘What excellent patience! Why do you not take them back?’ They said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! You forbade us from taking spoils that day.’ The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘I forbade you from spoils of war, not from spoils of weddings, so take them.'”
Mu’adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “By Allah! I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ snatching from us.”
This narration is also based on falsehood. In its chain is Bashir ibn Ibrahim al-Ansari.
Imam ‘Aqili (may Allah have mercy on him) says that Imam Awza’i (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “He is among those who fabricate narrations in my view.”
Imam Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him) says: “He fabricates narrations from trustworthy narrators.”
This narration is also narrated through another chain, but in that chain both Hazim and Lamazah are unknown narrators.
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet ﷺ attended the marriage of an Ansari man and woman.
The Prophet ﷺ asked: “Where is your witness?” They said: “What is our witness?” The Prophet ﷺ said: “The tambourine.” So they brought the tambourine. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Beat it over your companion’s head.” Then they brought vessels full of dry fruits and scattered them, but people were afraid to take them. When the Prophet ﷺ asked the reason, they said: “You forbade us from taking spoils.” The Prophet ﷺ said: “I forbade you from spoils of war, not from weddings and such occasions.”
In its chain is Khalid ibn Isma’il, who fabricates narrations from trustworthy narrators, as Imam Ibn ‘Adi (may Allah have mercy on him) said, and Imam Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “It is not permissible to take any proof from him.”
Imam Bayhaqi (may Allah have mercy on him) says: “Nothing is established in this matter.”
From this clarification, it is understood that there is no authentic narration regarding distributing and scattering dry fruits at the time of marriage, and this is merely a custom that has become prevalent among Muslims. Therefore, it is better to avoid it.
