Walima Expenses: Who Should Bear the Cost?
Question: Is it permissible for the girl’s family to bear the expenses of the wedding hall in the Walima ceremony after the marriage, and the boy’s family to host the Walima ceremony, so that both the boy’s and girl’s families can jointly host the Walima ceremony?
Answer: Walima has no relation with the girl or her family, so it is not permissible for the girl’s family to bear the expenses of the Walima ceremony. If someone has done this somewhere, it may be due to the pressure of the boy’s family, just like the forced and customary invitation of the Barat.
If the boy does not have the power to host the Walima ceremony, he should not host it. It is not a mandatory invitation, but a Sunnah. If he wants to host a simple Walima, there is no harm in it. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) married Safiyyah (may Allah be pleased with her) during the journey to Khaibar and hosted the Walima in such a way that he asked the companions to bring whatever food they had, and thus the Walima was held. In other words, a person should host the Walima according to his status, but it is not permissible to take money from the girl’s family for the Walima.
If the girl’s family says here that they want to give money to the boy’s family for the Walima ceremony with pleasure, it is a lie. Can the girl’s family give such a large amount of money to a poor and needy person with pleasure? If they can, I advise them that giving money in the Walima ceremony will not bring any reward, but giving it to the poor will bring reward. So, they should give the money they want to give in the Walima ceremony to a poor person, the poor person is in need, his need will be fulfilled, and the giver will also get the reward.
✍ Sheikh Maqbool Ahmad Salafi حفظہ اللہ
❪Jeddah Dawah Center – Al-Salamah – Kingdom of Saudi Arabia