Farhan Israeli/Jaipur
Jaipur, the pink city of India may be one of the choicest venues for luxury and destination weddings, a Muslim couple from the city jettisoned the trend of the big and fat Indian wedding and turned their nikah into a simple and pious occasion setting an example for others.
A well-known Muslim hotelier in Jaipur, Rajasthan solemnized the wedding of his son with simplicity and strict Islamic traditions, jettisoning the pomp and show and big spending that he could easily afford.
Naeemuddin Qureshi, the owner of Indiana Hotelsa organised the wedding of his son Shadab Qureshi. He purposely avoided wasteful expenditure and conducted the nikah with simplicity according to Islamic traditions.
In this Nikah ceremony, no lavish meals were served to guests, nor was there a big resort booked for hosting a party. The guests were served sherbet and dates!
Naeemuddin Qureshi’s son Shadab Qureshi married Sania, daughter of Chhuttan Qureshi, a social worker from Jhotwara, Jaipur.
The Nikah of Sania and Shadab took place on the evening of 24 December at the Noorani Mosque in the Jhotwara area of Jaipur.
Imam of the city’s main Jama Masjid, Mufti Syed Amjad Ali, performed the Nikah ceremony.
The nikah ceremony was attended by about 250 to 300 people who blessed the couple. As per the terms and conditions decided by the families, the bride’s family offered dates and sherbet to the baraatis.
The most important aspect of this Nikah was that both families rejected the practice of dowry and conducted the marriage without any show and a grand ceremony.
This was a strong message against the extravagance in marriages.
Chhuttan Qureshi said, “Nikah should be a simple and Shariat-based wedding. There is no need for any extravagance or show-off in it.” He also appealed to other families to keep their weddings simple and completely abandon the practice of giving and taking dowry.
After they signed the nikahnama and were declared man and wife, Shadab and Sania spoke of the need to simplify weddings and not to go for extravagant ceremonies of dowry in weddings.
Shadab said, “We have done our wedding in a simple and Islamic way by avoiding extravagant things so that other people also see it as an example and pledge to give up practices like dowry.”
Naeemuddin Qureshi, who arranged the wedding, said, “I have tried to get my son married in an Islamic way to send a message to society that marriage should be simple and according to the Sharia.”
He also said that instead of unnecessary expenses in marriages, society should understand that Nikah is a sacred bond and there should be no show-off. He appealed to the people to avoid unnecessary expenditure and do it simply according to Islamic principles.
Bride Sania’s brother, Imran Qureshi, said, “Dowry has become a big problem and made conducting weddings a challenge for many families. Many times, relationships break due to dowry, and in many cases, it leads to delayed marriages.”
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Imran appealed to the people that instead of spending lavishly on weddings, they should spend on the education and employment of children so that a change can come in society. This simple and Islamic Nikah has set a new example.