The Ruling on the Wedding Feast with a Sheep
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
We will discuss the ruling on the walimah (wedding feast).
The Shaykh:
It is a sunnah (recommended practice). The walimah is a sunnah, as the fifth hadith from al-Mas'ud indicates, may Allah will it. The most of it is his saying, "Even if it is with a sheep." The word "even" here indicates minimization. It signifies that the sunnah is to hold a walimah even with a sheep. This means that the walimah involves inviting relatives and neighbors and includes the joy of the wedding. If one is generous with the food for the guests, neighbors, and relatives, that is fine. There is no minimum amount, even if it is just a sheep. If one holds a walimah with something other than a sheep, such as hais (a mixture of dates, ghee, and barley), as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did for Safiyyah with hais, dates, ghee, and 'aqiqah (sacrifice for a newborn), which was his walimah for his marriage to Safiyyah, then meat becomes more emphasized. If it is made easy, praise be to Allah, but if it is made easy, the minimum is a sheep, if it is made easy.
We will discuss the ruling on the walimah (wedding feast).
The Shaykh:
It is a sunnah (recommended practice). The walimah is a sunnah, as the fifth hadith from al-Mas'ud indicates, may Allah will it. The most of it is his saying, "Even if it is with a sheep." The word "even" here indicates minimization. It signifies that the sunnah is to hold a walimah even with a sheep. This means that the walimah involves inviting relatives and neighbors and includes the joy of the wedding. If one is generous with the food for the guests, neighbors, and relatives, that is fine. There is no minimum amount, even if it is just a sheep. If one holds a walimah with something other than a sheep, such as hais (a mixture of dates, ghee, and barley), as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did for Safiyyah with hais, dates, ghee, and 'aqiqah (sacrifice for a newborn), which was his walimah for his marriage to Safiyyah, then meat becomes more emphasized. If it is made easy, praise be to Allah, but if it is made easy, the minimum is a sheep, if it is made easy.
Source
شرح بلوغ المرام [ ابن باز ] [ الشرح الجديد ]، باب الصداق — islamhouse.com (15:01)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.