Authored by: Shaykh Mubashir Ahmad Rabbani (ḥafiẓahullāh)
Is it allowed for the bride's family to take both the bride and groom to their home for a few days after the wedding and walimah? Kindly clarify with references from the Qur'an and Hadith.
The custom of Maklawa, prevalent in our society, has no basis in the Qur'an and Sunnah. After marriage, the bride and groom may visit their in-laws or relatives whenever they mutually desire—there are no restrictions placed by the Qur'an or Hadith in this regard. Similarly, such a practice of taking the bride back to her home the next day after the wedding is not established from the lives of the righteous predecessors (Salaf al-Ṣāliḥīn).
Ibn Abī Wadā‘ah narrates:
"I used to attend the gatherings of Imām Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyib رحمه الله, but I missed a few days. When I returned, he inquired, 'Where have you been?' I replied, 'My wife passed away, and I was occupied due to that.'
He said, 'Why didn’t you inform us? We would have joined the funeral.' Then he asked, 'Have you married again?' I said, 'May Allah have mercy on you! Who would offer me a proposal? I possess nothing more than two or three dirhams.'
He said, 'I shall give you a proposal.' I asked in surprise, 'You would do that?' He replied, 'Yes!' Then, after praising Allah and sending blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ, he married me to his daughter for two or three dirhams as mahr.
I went home, overwhelmed with joy, unsure of what to do. After Maghrib, while breaking my fast with bread and olives, there was a knock at my door. I asked, 'Who is it?' The reply came, 'Sa‘īd.'
I was puzzled because Imām Sa‘īd رحمه الله had not been seen outside the route between his house and the mosque for forty years.
When I opened the door, he was standing there and said, 'O Abū Muḥammad! I have given my daughter in marriage to you, and disliked that you should spend the night alone. Here is your wife.' She was standing behind him.
He brought her in and closed the door. She was extremely modest. I covered the lamp with a bowl so she wouldn’t see me, then climbed to the roof and summoned my neighbors. They came and informed my mother, who arrived and said, 'May my face be unlawful for you if you go near her before I test her for three days!'
I waited for three days and then went to her. She turned out to be more beautiful than all others, a memorizer of the Qur’an, a scholar of the Sunnah, and most mindful of her husband's rights.
I did not visit Imām Sa‘īd for a month. When I finally returned, he was in his study circle. He responded to my salām but said nothing until the gathering ended. Then he asked, 'How is your companion (wife)?'
I replied, 'Excellent, O Abū Muḥammad, as one whom friends love and enemies envy.'
He said, 'If anything displeases you, use the stick.' I returned home, and he later sent me twenty thousand dirhams."
[Sources: Ḥilyat al-Awliyāʾ 2/167–168; Siyar A‘lām al-Nubalāʾ 4/233–234]
We must purify our environment from all forms of innovation, harmful customs, and un-Islamic traditions. Imām Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyib رحمه الله chose a pious man over a royal prince for his daughter and did not send for his daughter the very next day. In fact, the groom came to his father-in-law’s presence a month later, and even then, alone.
❖ Question:
Is the custom of Maklawa permissible?Is it allowed for the bride's family to take both the bride and groom to their home for a few days after the wedding and walimah? Kindly clarify with references from the Qur'an and Hadith.
❖ Answer:
For a Muslim, the exemplary model for living life is the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. His blessed life offers guidance for us in every matter. The Prophet ﷺ not only conducted his own marriages but also those of his daughters.The custom of Maklawa, prevalent in our society, has no basis in the Qur'an and Sunnah. After marriage, the bride and groom may visit their in-laws or relatives whenever they mutually desire—there are no restrictions placed by the Qur'an or Hadith in this regard. Similarly, such a practice of taking the bride back to her home the next day after the wedding is not established from the lives of the righteous predecessors (Salaf al-Ṣāliḥīn).
❖ A Beneficial Incident for Reflection:
One instructive story is that of Imām Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyib رحمه الله, a prominent scholar of Madinah and among the chief of the Tābi‘īn. The Caliph ‘Abd al-Malik sought his daughter's hand in marriage for his son Walīd, but Imām Sa‘īd declined. Instead, he married his daughter to one of his students, Kathīr ibn al-Muṭṭalib ibn Abī Wadā‘ah.Ibn Abī Wadā‘ah narrates:
"I used to attend the gatherings of Imām Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyib رحمه الله, but I missed a few days. When I returned, he inquired, 'Where have you been?' I replied, 'My wife passed away, and I was occupied due to that.'
He said, 'Why didn’t you inform us? We would have joined the funeral.' Then he asked, 'Have you married again?' I said, 'May Allah have mercy on you! Who would offer me a proposal? I possess nothing more than two or three dirhams.'
He said, 'I shall give you a proposal.' I asked in surprise, 'You would do that?' He replied, 'Yes!' Then, after praising Allah and sending blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ, he married me to his daughter for two or three dirhams as mahr.
I went home, overwhelmed with joy, unsure of what to do. After Maghrib, while breaking my fast with bread and olives, there was a knock at my door. I asked, 'Who is it?' The reply came, 'Sa‘īd.'
I was puzzled because Imām Sa‘īd رحمه الله had not been seen outside the route between his house and the mosque for forty years.
When I opened the door, he was standing there and said, 'O Abū Muḥammad! I have given my daughter in marriage to you, and disliked that you should spend the night alone. Here is your wife.' She was standing behind him.
He brought her in and closed the door. She was extremely modest. I covered the lamp with a bowl so she wouldn’t see me, then climbed to the roof and summoned my neighbors. They came and informed my mother, who arrived and said, 'May my face be unlawful for you if you go near her before I test her for three days!'
I waited for three days and then went to her. She turned out to be more beautiful than all others, a memorizer of the Qur’an, a scholar of the Sunnah, and most mindful of her husband's rights.
I did not visit Imām Sa‘īd for a month. When I finally returned, he was in his study circle. He responded to my salām but said nothing until the gathering ended. Then he asked, 'How is your companion (wife)?'
I replied, 'Excellent, O Abū Muḥammad, as one whom friends love and enemies envy.'
He said, 'If anything displeases you, use the stick.' I returned home, and he later sent me twenty thousand dirhams."
[Sources: Ḥilyat al-Awliyāʾ 2/167–168; Siyar A‘lām al-Nubalāʾ 4/233–234]
❖ Key Takeaways:
This incident highlights that there was no concept of cultural rituals like maklawa in the lives of the pious predecessors. Customs such as wedding processions (baraat), dowries, maklawa, garlands, songs, and drums are all of Hindu origin, having entered Muslim practices due to cultural mixing in the Indian subcontinent.We must purify our environment from all forms of innovation, harmful customs, and un-Islamic traditions. Imām Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyib رحمه الله chose a pious man over a royal prince for his daughter and did not send for his daughter the very next day. In fact, the groom came to his father-in-law’s presence a month later, and even then, alone.
