❖ Source:
This ruling is taken from the book “500 Questions & Answers for Women”, based on the fatāwā of the Scholars of the Ḥaramayn, translated by Ḥāfiẓ ʿAbdullāh Salīm.
✿ Question:
What is the ruling on the gathering known as a “gift-giving engagement ceremony,” in which the fiancé (the man proposing) and the fiancée (the woman being proposed to) meet, and the man personally presents a necklace or bracelet to the woman, which he had arranged for her — all this taking place before the nikāḥ, after which such interaction would become permissible?
✿ Answer:
It is well known and widely understood that the fiancée remains a non-maḥram (stranger) to the man until the nikāḥ contract is formally concluded. Therefore, any kind of meeting or interaction between them prior to the marriage contract is not permissible in Sharīʿah.
The type of engagement ceremony described by the questioner — in which the couple meets, and the man gives jewelry directly to the woman — is prohibited (ḥarām). Organizing such a gathering is not permissible, and it must be avoided and abstained from.
However, once the nikāḥ (marriage contract) is properly concluded between the man and woman, then she becomes his lawful wife in every respect, and he may:
✔ Visit her
✔ Present her with gifts and adornments
✔ Enjoy her company in seclusion (khalwah) and intimacy — as all of this becomes permissible under Islamic law.
[Fatāwā of the ʿUlamāʾ of al-Balad al-Ḥarām, p. 631]