The Ruling on Interlocking Hands and the Sermon for the Marriage Contract
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
May Allah reward you. The questioner says: Some people, when contracting a marriage, tell those present to refrain from interlocking their hands. What is the validity of this? And what is permissible when contracting a marriage? Is it permissible for a Sufi marriage officer to contract it? Please inform us; may Allah reward you.
The Shaykh:
Interlocking hands, this is what we have not found, we have not found any statement on it. They think that interlocking hands causes problems between the spouses; that is what we have not found. Let the marriage be contracted and let the sermon be read. It is better that they seek a good man, known for knowledge, virtue, and the absence of superstitions.
And if the wali (guardian), her brother or the closest wali, contracts it and reads the sermon, that is sufficient. It does not require the role of anyone else. The wali reads it, or the husband reads it: "All praise is for Allah, we praise Him and seek His help." It is from the Sunnah, it is not obligatory. If her husband married her without a sermon, there is no obligation. Her father said to her, "I have married you off," and it was done; that is sufficient. Two witnesses were present. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to the one who proposed the woman: and it was not mentioned that he delivered a sermon. So the point is that the marriage sermon is recommended. It is conducted by the husband, or the wali, or a third person from among the people of good. They should not go to the people of superstitions. The people of good have blessing in them, the people of knowledge and virtue. Or the wali himself reads the sermon, or the husband himself, that is sufficient. Or one of the witnesses, he has no head in this matter. Its pillars are the husband, the wali, and the acceptance and consent, with the presence of the witnesses. Yes.
The questioner:
They interlock the hands, O Shaykh. They interlock the hands and make a fire, they tie the hands over a fire or a drop.
The Shaykh:
All of this has no basis. All of these are superstitions with no basis. Yes.
May Allah reward you. The questioner says: Some people, when contracting a marriage, tell those present to refrain from interlocking their hands. What is the validity of this? And what is permissible when contracting a marriage? Is it permissible for a Sufi marriage officer to contract it? Please inform us; may Allah reward you.
The Shaykh:
Interlocking hands, this is what we have not found, we have not found any statement on it. They think that interlocking hands causes problems between the spouses; that is what we have not found. Let the marriage be contracted and let the sermon be read. It is better that they seek a good man, known for knowledge, virtue, and the absence of superstitions.
And if the wali (guardian), her brother or the closest wali, contracts it and reads the sermon, that is sufficient. It does not require the role of anyone else. The wali reads it, or the husband reads it: "All praise is for Allah, we praise Him and seek His help." It is from the Sunnah, it is not obligatory. If her husband married her without a sermon, there is no obligation. Her father said to her, "I have married you off," and it was done; that is sufficient. Two witnesses were present. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to the one who proposed the woman:
I have married you off
زوجتكهاThe questioner:
They interlock the hands, O Shaykh. They interlock the hands and make a fire, they tie the hands over a fire or a drop.
The Shaykh:
All of this has no basis. All of these are superstitions with no basis. Yes.
Source
فتاوى المسجد الحرام (شعبان ١٤١٧ هـ) - ٣ — archive.org (55:25)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.