What is the ruling on accepting a wedding invitation sent by card, and what is your opinion of those who categorically forbid wedding halls, even if there is no evil in them?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Two other questions regarding the wedding: What is the ruling on accepting a wedding invitation that comes by way of a card? And the other says: There are some people who see it as forbidden to go to wedding halls categorically, even if there is no evil in them.
The Shaykh : As for accepting the invitation to the wedding feast, if the inviter specifies the person he is inviting by writing to him a private letter, or going to him and speaking to him face to face, then it is permissible, on the condition that there is no evil that he is unable to change. If there is evil in it and he is able to change it, he should attend the invitation to remove the evil. If he is not able to change it, he should not attend. As for general cards, accepting them is not obligatory, because in reality they are general, but they are sent to the person for the sake of awareness. The evidence for this is that the one who sends them does not follow up, nor does he come to you and say, "Did you receive the card? I hope you do not miss it." And if you do not attend and he meets you afterwards, he does not say, "Why did you not attend?" So what I see is that the mere card sent to a person is nothing but a card for awareness, or out of fear that he will be envious of him and say, "Why did you not send me a card?" But if he specifies him, or goes to him, or writes to him a private letter, then it is obligatory for him to accept if there is no evil. If there is evil, then if he is able to remove it by attending, it is obligatory for him to attend. If he is not able to remove it, he should not attend. As for the statement that it is not permissible to go to wedding halls categorically, I do not see a basis for it. And whoever sees that and finds a Shari'ah basis for it, he should act according to what appears to him.
... I wish that people would go out and say, "I wish we had stayed home, that would have been better," rather than saying, "We went out, but we were tired." Do you agree with this opinion or not? Yes, answer: No, or yes?
The questioner : Yes
The Shaykh : Okay, if this is the last question.
The Shaykh : As for accepting the invitation to the wedding feast, if the inviter specifies the person he is inviting by writing to him a private letter, or going to him and speaking to him face to face, then it is permissible, on the condition that there is no evil that he is unable to change. If there is evil in it and he is able to change it, he should attend the invitation to remove the evil. If he is not able to change it, he should not attend. As for general cards, accepting them is not obligatory, because in reality they are general, but they are sent to the person for the sake of awareness. The evidence for this is that the one who sends them does not follow up, nor does he come to you and say, "Did you receive the card? I hope you do not miss it." And if you do not attend and he meets you afterwards, he does not say, "Why did you not attend?" So what I see is that the mere card sent to a person is nothing but a card for awareness, or out of fear that he will be envious of him and say, "Why did you not send me a card?" But if he specifies him, or goes to him, or writes to him a private letter, then it is obligatory for him to accept if there is no evil. If there is evil, then if he is able to remove it by attending, it is obligatory for him to attend. If he is not able to remove it, he should not attend. As for the statement that it is not permissible to go to wedding halls categorically, I do not see a basis for it. And whoever sees that and finds a Shari'ah basis for it, he should act according to what appears to him.
... I wish that people would go out and say, "I wish we had stayed home, that would have been better," rather than saying, "We went out, but we were tired." Do you agree with this opinion or not? Yes, answer: No, or yes?
The questioner : Yes
The Shaykh : Okay, if this is the last question.