High bridal gifts are a cause of delayed marriage
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Question: The young man and the young woman are struggling to enter into marriage and the marital relationship due to the high cost of bridal gifts. What is the opinion of your Excellencies and your permissiveness in this matter?
Answer: There is no doubt that the high cost of bridal gifts is one of the greatest causes of delayed marriage and the idleness of many young men and women due to the exorbitance of the gifts. This is also related to the topic of marital relationships. If young men and women are delayed in marriage, it causes many problems. Therefore, it is obligatory to pay attention to this matter and to be careful to avoid boasting and showing off in bridal gifts and other things, such as wedding feasts. Boasting and showing off in these matters, whether in raising the cost of bridal gifts or in expanding the wedding feasts, all of this harms everyone and causes major, real problems.
My advice to everyone is to pay attention to making bridal gifts easy, lightening them, and reducing them as much as possible, while also paying attention to reducing, lightening, and lowering wedding feasts, and not expanding them. People are now in a state of well-being and blessing, and it is difficult for them to expand in wedding feasts. You should not expand in wedding feasts, my brother, but rather limit yourself to the small amount that fulfills the Sunnah, without burdening yourself or the guests, who are in no need of attending.
If a person slaughters what is easy for him, one or two or three animals, in the wedding feast, there is much good in it. Likewise, what is related to women's matters and announcing the marriage, inviting many women, and announcing it with loudspeakers, and staying up all night, all of this has great evil and great corruption. In brevity lies great good, and it facilitates marriage, increases marriages, increases children, and strives for good. Perhaps the state will be successful in doing a work by which Allah benefits the Muslim community, and it becomes a cause for the increase of marriage and the decrease of fornication, by helping with bridal gifts, being economical in them, and not expanding in them or in wedding feasts.
We ask Allah to guide the government and the rulers, and the scholars of the Muslims and the notables of the Muslims, to everything that benefits them, benefits their society, and benefits their poor and weak. We ask Allah to guide everyone to what is in their well-being and salvation, and to help them in the immediate and the hereafter.
Answer: There is no doubt that the high cost of bridal gifts is one of the greatest causes of delayed marriage and the idleness of many young men and women due to the exorbitance of the gifts. This is also related to the topic of marital relationships. If young men and women are delayed in marriage, it causes many problems. Therefore, it is obligatory to pay attention to this matter and to be careful to avoid boasting and showing off in bridal gifts and other things, such as wedding feasts. Boasting and showing off in these matters, whether in raising the cost of bridal gifts or in expanding the wedding feasts, all of this harms everyone and causes major, real problems.
My advice to everyone is to pay attention to making bridal gifts easy, lightening them, and reducing them as much as possible, while also paying attention to reducing, lightening, and lowering wedding feasts, and not expanding them. People are now in a state of well-being and blessing, and it is difficult for them to expand in wedding feasts. You should not expand in wedding feasts, my brother, but rather limit yourself to the small amount that fulfills the Sunnah, without burdening yourself or the guests, who are in no need of attending.
If a person slaughters what is easy for him, one or two or three animals, in the wedding feast, there is much good in it. Likewise, what is related to women's matters and announcing the marriage, inviting many women, and announcing it with loudspeakers, and staying up all night, all of this has great evil and great corruption. In brevity lies great good, and it facilitates marriage, increases marriages, increases children, and strives for good. Perhaps the state will be successful in doing a work by which Allah benefits the Muslim community, and it becomes a cause for the increase of marriage and the decrease of fornication, by helping with bridal gifts, being economical in them, and not expanding in them or in wedding feasts.
We ask Allah to guide the government and the rulers, and the scholars of the Muslims and the notables of the Muslims, to everything that benefits them, benefits their society, and benefits their poor and weak. We ask Allah to guide everyone to what is in their well-being and salvation, and to help them in the immediate and the hereafter.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.