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Marriage and Customs (Follow Up)

Question:


AOA 

1-In your reply you said these customs nothing to do with Islam and on the other you are saying these customs can not be called wrong.What do you say if these customs done under the label of Islam? these are not falling in Bidat? Also please explain the concept of Bidat? 
2- And whats about the tail mehndi customs like this? 
3- Can a girl get married without the consent of her father 
4- court marriage allowed? 

Regards.


Answer:

Assalamu Alaykum,

1. Bid'ah means to add something new to the corpus of religion. Any belief or any act (including any custom) that is being added to the religion as part of the religion has to be strictly avoided. However please note that the criteria here is "adding something new to the corpus of religion". If there are things that people do beside religious acts or things that people do as religious acts but do not consider them as part of the corpus of the religion of Islam that the Prophet (pbuh) brought, then this cannot be called Bid'ah. The validity of these (non-Bid'ah) acts need to be judged based on their own merits and features. I wrote in my original answer:

"if any custom creates so many trouble and complications and involve too much cost and effort then these too are better to be avoided. Entering a marriage contract as prescribed by the Shari’ah is a very simple and easy procedure. It is best to keep it that way."

2. The same principle that I explained above applies to this custom as well (note not being from Pakistan, I am not fully aware of the details of this custom). 

3. Religiously the consent of guardian is not the absolute condition of marriage, however the state can announce this to be the condition for marriage, just as the Prophet (pbuh) as the head of the state did this at his time. Consent of the guardian can be very instrumental in strengthening the marriage and in creating healthy relationship between the relatives and the newly wed couple. Unless there is a solid reason, the consent of guardians should be obtained. Where it is part of the law to get the consent of the guardian for the marriage, then the cases where this consent can not been achieved and yet the couple wish to marry should be referred to the court.

4. There is no difference between court marriage and traditional marriage. What makes the marriage valid is the intention of the couple to live together forever and public announcement of this intention. Both court marriage and traditional marriage cover these essential elements.

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Related Topics:
- Marriage and Customs

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April 2013
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