Good Example Of Religious Studies Essay - Muslim Wedding

Muslim Wedding

It is always very interesting to get to know new cultures as well as uncommon rituals and customs that differ from those we are used to. Observing them makes us closer to the inexperienced and unbelievable things. This makes us understand each other better and widens our horizons. We become more tolerated and treat each other as equal. Religion plays a key part in all of this. Every religious ritual has its sacred explanation and serves its mission. The great meaning of particular customs that are performed at weddings, funerals and other important events contributes to their sense.
Hardly could anyone deny the beauty and greatness of wedding ceremony. In every culture this ritual means the unification of two souls that have found each other and want to help and support each other throughout the entire lifetime. In each religion wedding is considered to symbolize a new beginning of two people permissible for each other. Marriage implies the great happiness shared by the families of groom and bride. One of the most fascinating events I experienced recently was wedding of my friend. She and her husband are Muslims so it was performed according to Islamic traditions. I found out that they can vary dramatically which depends on the region of bride and groom’s origin. For example, the wedding traditions of Arab Muslim and South East Muslim are pretty much different. However, some of the elements are common for both cultures.
For me it was absolutely new experience because I had never attended weddings before. I tried to catch every single detail to understand the meaning of every ritual performed. To my mind, Muslim weddings are performed with emphasizing on the women’s dignity and men’s faithfulness. Such things as coercion or fraud are not allowed by Allah.
Moreover, marriage is considered to be a lifelong commitment of bride and groom to each other. After the ceremony they should live together and respect each other. Marriage may be concluded only with the blessings of Allah. Such thing as engagement, also known as mangni, does not play an important role in the Muslim wedding tradition. Only after the performance of nikah, that means Muslim wedding ceremony, boy and girl are considered to be permissible for each other. That is why it constitutes a core part of life of the Muslims. The marriage contract is viewed to be of particular importance by the Muslims. It is usually signed during nikah. The tradition says that the groom has to propose to the bride three times and this must be witnessed by at least two men. The free will of the bride and groom to marry is demonstrated by repeating qabool that means yes three times. The marriage is considered to be legal religiously and civilly only when the couple and witnesses sign the contract. All this done, my friend and her husband shared a piece of sweet fruit called date.
Then the procedure called meher followed. This ritual means a present from husband to wife. As I became aware the bride generally is not obliged to make any incumbent such as a dowry. All the marriage expenses are usually borne by the groom’s family. In general, meher includes two parts: a prompt that must be given before the marriage is consummated and a deferred amount that implies the amount of money, jewellery or other things of high value that the bride receives throughout her life. The bride is allowed to use these gifts as she wants. Modern meher that I observed on the wedding changed. The couple used the ring as the prompt while the deferred amount was a simple formality.
The qazi or madhun who is the elder of the mosque runs the ceremony. The brides usually wear bold gowns that are covered with flowers, precious stones and other kinds of jewellery. The husband-to-be wears suit or traditional Muslim clothes. The wife-to-be I saw was wearing beautiful adorned with flowers gown while the man was in the dark suit. Some couples can be kept apart during the whole ceremony. In such cases, a male witness called wali represents the bride and acts on her behalf during nikah. However, the newlyweds on the wedding that I attended were not separated. The whole event ended with a prayer that is known as “Duoa.” The bride was drizzled with coins as a part of the custom called Savaqah. The wedding ceremony that I attended was prolonged because the qazi added recitation of the Fatihah when nikah was completed. This meant that he started reading the first chapter of the Quran and this reading was followed by durud, blessings for newlyweds. The couple listened carefully to the injunctions about marriage and then said vows to each other. The vows they said to each other were quite similar to those that Christian couples say to each other. This element is not common for every Muslim wedding; couples usually skip the vow part.
When this all is done, walimah started. This means that guests and newlyweds are invited to the wedding banquet. One of the most important things in the Muslim tradition is to make the wedding public. Secrets are not allowed. That is why such feasts as walimah are necessary. There was a huge amount of national food and beverages on the tables. Alcohol was not allowed on this wedding. People ate and drank saying blessings to the newlyweds. On the wedding I attended the couple was not kept apart so they sat together with their hands shielded. The prayers were chanted everywhere by everyone. Dancing, singing and making noise was allowed only at this part of the ceremony. During nikah singing and dancing are prohibited because the attention is concentrated on the important step that the couple is going to make.
It is common for close friends and relatives to give gold as a present. Other guests are allowed to choose anything they want to give to the newlyweds but the latest trend is to give money. I saw different presents that people gave directly to the bride and groom. The whole event lasted pretty much long but the couple left the party earlier than anybody.
I was deeply impressed by the whole performance I witnessed. Now I feel the necessity to know more about the meaning of particular rituals because each of them has its own logic explanation. I also want to attend wedding ceremonies of other religious traditions to observe the difference and to know more about people around me. The Islamic wedding ceremony proved to me that this religion stands on the grounds of respect to woman. Everyone has their own rights and obligations and marriage is not an exceptions. This religion emphasizes that the couple must want to marry without any coercion or any other purposes except ensuring their love and support to each other.

Works Cited

Maqsood, Ruqaiyyah. “Weddings.” BBC Religions:Islam. BBC, 8 Sept. 2009.
‹http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/ritesrituals/weddings_1.shtml›.
“Muslim Wedding Traditions.” Brides: Ceremony Options. The Brides, 8 Aug. 2011.
‹http://www.bridesmagazine.co.uk/planning/ceremonies/ceremony-options/2011/08/08/muslim-wedding-ceremony-traditions›.
Patel, Arti. “8 Things You Can Experience at a Muslim Wedding.” The Huffington Post: Living. The Huffington Post Canada, 6 May 2014. ‹http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/06/04/muslim-wedding_n_5446388.html›.
Schaer, Robin. “Muslim Wedding Ceremony Rituals.” The Knot: Advice+Etiquette. The Knot, n.d. ‹https://www.theknot.com/content/muslim-wedding-ceremony-rituals›.
Syed Athar Husain S.H. Rizvi. “Islamic Marriage.” World Islamic Network.Al-Islam.org, n.d.
‹http://www.al-islam.org/islamic-marriage-syed-athar-husain-sh-rizvi›.