The Legal Status of the Wedding Procession (Barat) and the Requirements of a Sunnah Marriage
Question: Is it proven from any hadith that the groom should be accompanied by a wedding procession (barat) on the occasion of marriage?
Answer: The wedding procession (barat) as it is customarily practised is not at all proven in the Shari’ah, and one should refrain from it. There is no evidence of it anywhere in the era of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ or during the caliphates of the Rightly Guided Caliphs. For a marriage contract, the presence of the groom, two witnesses and the guardian of the bride is sufficient. Many marriages of the Companions took place during the blessed life of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and none of them arranged a wedding procession. Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates, saying:
“The Prophet ﷺ saw a yellow mark on Abd al-Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: ‘What is this?’ He said: ‘I have married a woman for a dowry equal to a gold nugget.’ The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘May Allah bless you. Hold a walima, even if it is with a single sheep.'”
From this sahih hadith it is known that the Prophet ﷺ learned of the marriage of Abd al-Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) only when he saw the yellow colour of saffron on Abd al-Rahman. If a concept of a wedding procession existed in Islam, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would have been called first. However, in Islam there is no example at all of the Prophet ﷺ or any Companion’s marriage being accompanied by a procession.
When Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) went to the Prophet ﷺ to ask for the hand of his beloved daughter Fatimah al-Zahra (may Allah be pleased with her), he went alone, but due to the majesty and awe of the Prophet ﷺ he did not have the courage to speak. The Prophet ﷺ asked: “What has brought you? Do you have some need?” Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “I fell silent.” Then he again asked in the same way, and Ali again fell silent. Finally, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: «لعلك جئت تخطب فاطمة ؟» “Perhaps you have come to propose to Fatimah.”
Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “Yes.” He asked: “Do you have anything to give as a dowry?” Ali said: “O Messenger of Allah, no, by Allah!” He said: “Where is your iron armour that I gave you?” He said: “By the One in whose hand is the soul of Ali, it is a Hutamiyyah, and its value is not even four dirhams.” The Prophet ﷺ said: “I have given Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) to you in marriage; send that armour, with which you will make Fatimah lawful for you.” That is, give it as dowry and make her lawful for yourself. This was the dowry of Fatimah, daughter of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. For details see:
What greater example could there be than this incident? At the marriage of Ali al-Murtada and Fatimah, among the best of all creation, there was neither a wedding procession nor any role for customs and traditions. Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) went alone for the proposal. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, after asking about the dowry, married off his beloved daughter, the dear piece of his heart, Fatimah Batul (may Allah be pleased with her). The correct Islamic way is that the young man should send a proposal to the household into which marriage is intended; if that family accepts, they should arrange the marriage promptly, without waiting at all for customs and traditions. Goodness and success lie in this.
May Allah grant us the ability to act upon the authentic Sunnah of the Messenger and protect us from every kind of Hindu custom. (Ameen!)
