❖ Walimah is Legislated in Islam
Written by: ʿImrān Ayyūb Lāhorī
❖ ➊ Command of the Prophet ﷺ to Perform Walimah
The Prophet ﷺ said to ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf رضي الله عنه:
"أولم ولو بشاة"
“Hold a walimah, even if with only one sheep.”
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 5167 — Kitāb al-Nikāḥ, Bāb: Walimah even with one sheep Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1427 Abū Dāwūd: 2109 Al-Tirmidhī: 1094 Al-Nasāʾī: 6/119 Muwaṭṭaʾ Mālik: 2/545 Ibn Mājah: 1907
This ḥadīth proves that walimah is a legislated Sunnah and encouraged upon marriage.❖ ➋ Walimah at the Marriage of Zaynab رضي الله عنها
Narrated from Anas رضي الله عنه:
“The Prophet ﷺ never held a walimah for any of his wives more than he did for Zaynab رضي الله عنها — he held the walimah with one sheep.”
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 5168 Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1428 Abū Dāwūd: 3743 Aḥmad: 3/227❖ ➌ Walimah with Dates and Barley at the Marriage of Ṣafiyyah رضي الله عنها
When the Prophet ﷺ married Ṣafiyyah رضي الله عنها, he held a walimah with dates and barley (sattu).
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Tirmidhī: 875 — Kitāb al-Nikāḥ, Bāb al-Walimah Al-Tirmidhī: 1095 Abū Dāwūd: 3744 Ibn Mājah: 1909 Abū Yaʿlā: 3559 Ibn Ḥibbān: 4061 Al-Bayhaqī: 7/260❖ ➍ Walimah with Two Mudd of Barley
The Prophet ﷺ held a walimah with only two mudd (approx. 1.25 kg) of barley on one occasion.
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 5172 — Kitāb al-Nikāḥ, Bāb: Walimah with less than one sheep❖ Scholarly Consensus
Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ رحمه الله narrated ijmāʿ (scholarly consensus) that:
There is no fixed limit for the quantity of food in a walimah.
One may host a walimah according to ability and need, whether it is small or large.
Nayl al-Awṭār: 4/260Conclusion:
Walimah is a legislated prophetic Sunnah, and its performance — whether with little or much — is encouraged based on one's means and circumstance.
وَاللهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
And Allāh knows best what is correct.
