Chapter 05 - The Wedding Banquet (Walimah)

1073. Anas bin Malik narrated that the Messenger of Allah saw Abdur Rahmiin bin 'Auf with traces of saffron on his clothes. He thereupon asked him, "What is that?" "Abdur Rahman answered, 'I married an Ansari woman for a Nawat (five Dirhams) of gold.' The Messenger of Allah said to him, "May Allah bless you. Make a Walimah (wedding banquet) even with only one sheep." Agreed upon and the wording is from Muslim.





1074. Ibn 'Umar narrated that the Messenger of Allah said, "When one of you is invited to a Walimah, he should accept the invitation." Agreed upon.

In a version by Muslim, "When one of you is invited by his brother, he must accept the invitation, whether it be a
wedding banquet or something similar."





1075. Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allah said, "The worst food is that of a Walimah from which is turned away whoever comes to it (i.e. the poor), and to which is invited whoever refuses (to come, i.e. the rich). He who does not accept the invitation has disobeyed Allah and His Messenger." Related by Muslim.





1076. Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allah said, "If anyone is invited (to a Walimah) he must accept the invitation. If he is fasting, he should invoke Allah (i.e. making invocation for the one who invited him) and if he is not fasting, he should eat." Related by Muslim.





1077. Muslim has also transmitted on the authority of Jabir a similar tradition that goes, "If he wishes to eat he could do so, and if he does not he may abstain from eating.





1078. Ibn Masud narrated that the Messenger of Allah said, "The food of a Wali'mah offered on the first day (of marriage) is a duty, and that offered on the second day is Sunnah (i.e.just preferable) and the food of the third day is a sign of showing off (and hypocrisy), if anyone does something just to show off, Allah will slander him(316) (publicly in this life or in the Hereafter)." Related by At-Tirmidhi.

316. Imam Al-Bukhari said that the Messenger of Allah did not specify a day for the Walimah, and for those who could not come the first day could come later, unless what he means in this Hadith is those who do it for the sake of showing off and out of hypocrisy and not to follow the Sunnah.





1079. A similar tradition is related by Ibn Majah on the authority of Anas.






1080. Safiyah bint Shaibah narrated that the Messenger of Allah gave a banquet with two Mudds of barley when he married some of his wives.' Related by al-Bukhari.





1081. Anas narrated, 'The Messenger of Allah stayed for three nights at a place between Khaibar and Madinah, and there he consummated his marriage with Safiyah. I invited the Muslims to his Walimah that included neither meat nor bread. It was only that the Prophet ordered that some dining sheets be spread, and dates, dried cheese and clarified butter were provided on it.' Agreed upon and the wording is from Al-Bukhari.





1082. A Companion narrated that the Prophet ; said, "If two people invite you at the same time to a Walimah, accept the invitation of the one whose door is closer to you (i.e. the closest neighbor). But if one of them comes before the other, accept the invitation of the one who came first." Related by Aba Dawud with a weak chain of narrators.





1083. Abu Juhaifah narrated that the Messenger of Allah said, "I do not eat while I am reclining." Related by Al-Bukhari.






1084. 'Umar bin Aba Salamah narrated that the Messenger of Allah said to me, "Young man, say Bismillah (mention the Name of Allah) before you eat, eat with your right hand and eat from what is next to you." Agreed upon.





1085. Ibn' Abbas narrated, 'The Messenger of Allah was brought a bowl of Tharid (crumbled bread, soup and meat), so he said, "Eat from the sides and not from the middle (of the dish) for the blessing descends in the middle of it." Related by the four Imams with a sound chain of narrators. The wording is from an-Nasa'i.





1086. Abu Hurairah narrated, 'The Messenger of Allah never showed a sign of dissatisfaction towards any food (presented to him). When he liked something he would eat it, but if he disliked it he did not touch it." Agreed upon.





1087. Jabir narrated that the Messenger of Allah said, "Do not eat with your left hand, for the devil eats with his left hand." Related by Muslim.




1088. Abu Qatadah narrated that the Messenger of Allah said, "When anyone of you drinks, he should not breathe into the vessel (he is drinking from)," Agreed upon.





1089. Abu Dawud related a similar narration on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas but with the addition, "or blows in it." At-Tirmidhi graded it as Sahih.