I attended a wedding of a friend recently. It was the simplest of weddings I have attended (though the families could afford much elaborate functions). I was not invited to the mehndi even though I am one of the closest friend, reason being that they wanted to keep the number of guests to a maximum of 20!
The most amazing thing about the wedding was that they stipulated that if the guests want to give presents/gifts to the newlyweds, the gift has to be a receipt of guest’s contribution to a (Pakistani) charity of at least the amount they wanted to give as a gift.
“We belong to a poor country, and should not be wasteful while thousands go hungry” is what they said.
We already had a fully furnished house, so didn't need any 'gifts' (typical toaster, kettle lol) and usually when people give money to the newlyweds it's to help them out at the beginning. We thought it would be selfish of us to take money we didn't need, so we asked guests to donate money to 2 charities that are close to my husband and I.
it's becoming common pratice to do things like this, as most likely the groom and bride are financially stable..... though you still get the odd aunty doing the old 'lehn dayn'... :)
We already had a fully furnished house, so didn't need any 'gifts' (typical toaster, kettle lol) and usually when people give money to the newlyweds it's to help them out at the beginning. We thought it would be selfish of us to take money we didn't need, so we asked guests to donate money to 2 charities that are close to my husband and I.
it's becoming common pratice to do things like this, as most likely the groom and bride are financially stable..... though you still get the odd aunty doing the old 'lehn dayn'... :)
At a recent wedding - the birde and groom had asked the their guests to donate the amount that they were going to spend to the local masjid and they matched the donations to give a large sum to the masjid (that is opening up a full time islamic school)
very generous act! however... i hate the word donation (that's all muslims do - donate donate and donate)
I worked in the not-for-profit sector for a while and I was surprised how many people in Pakistan (still) invest a lot of their time, money or efforts (at times all three) for charitable work. Really commendable.
I am not really sure if this thread belongs here...
I attended a wedding of a friend recently. It was the simplest of weddings I have attended (though the families could afford much elaborate functions). I was not invited to the mehndi even though I am one of the closest friend, reason being that they wanted to keep the number of guests to a maximum of 20!
The most amazing thing about the wedding was that they stipulated that if the guests want to give presents/gifts to the newlyweds, the gift has to be a receipt of guest's contribution to a (Pakistani) charity of at least the amount they wanted to give as a gift.
"We belong to a poor country, and should not be wasteful while thousands go hungry" is what they said.
inshallah, At my wedding my parents decided that they would donate all the money they get to charity matached!!! Weddings should be a time to make the world a better place, and not just think about yourself!So kudos to that wedding!
I grew up in a wealthy home, and I think that especially if you are wealthy you have an obligation to spend in the way of Allah, because He's the one that gave you the money. So my motto, is that if you hold a lavish wedding, then you can donate a lavish amount!!
I agree! Although this sounds like a great idea, the prophet (PBUH) said: 'Seven (types of) people will be covered with Allah's shade on a day when there is no shade but His Shade, (from among them) a man who gives a charity hiding it, that (even) his left hand does not know what his right hand has spent'. Saying that your left hand does not know what your right hand has spent is a form of expression that indicates how careful you should be when giving a charity not letting anyone notice what you're doing. It would even be better to hide your identity from the one who is receiving the charity, when possible, so as to protect the receiver's dignity and save him from feeling shameful or humiliated.
Muslims should give fully from their heart without expecting anything in return but just have the happiness of knowing they did so when they could afford so. The other thing is, this couple could have taken however much money people gave them for a wedding gift in total and anonymously donated it themselves. This would have been a true form of charity in my opinion.
I agree! Although this sounds like a great idea, the prophet (PBUH) said: 'Seven (types of) people will be covered with Allah's shade on a day when there is no shade but His Shade, (from among them) a man who gives a charity hiding it, that (even) his left hand does not know what his right hand has spent'. Saying that your left hand does not know what your right hand has spent is a form of expression that indicates how careful you should be when giving a charity not letting anyone notice what you're doing. It would even be better to hide your identity from the one who is receiving the charity, when possible, so as to protect the receiver's dignity and save him from feeling shameful or humiliated.
Muslims should give fully from their heart without expecting anything in return but just have the happiness of knowing they did so when they could afford so. The other thing is, this couple could have taken however much money people gave them for a wedding gift in total and anonymously donated it themselves. This would have been a true form of charity in my opinion.
True. The thing is if you tell people to give money for charity rather than gifts causes them to think about it as well.
I have heard that Sialkot can boast as a city with highest portion of per capita income spent on charitable purposes in the world. Of course this claim cannot be verified but looking at the number and scope of not-for-profit activities in the city, the claim does seem to hold some ground.
