KOZHIKODE: “If I can’t attend my own wedding, then what is the point of the function being conducted inside the mosque in the name of Nikah?" The poser came from Bahja Dalil whose presence inside the mosque during her marriage made headlines recently. While some hailed the move as ‘progressive’, while others, including some Muslim scholars, flayed it.
However, Bahja, who got married to Fahad Qasim in the presence of their relatives, said: “It is time these so-called scholars realise that the world is changing and that too with an unpredictably high speed.”
“I considered it a great blessing that I got to witness my wedding in the presence of my father and my husband, as this had never happened in our family before,” she said. The ceremony was held on June 30 with the permission of the Parakkadavu mahal jamaat committee.
However, the committee recently issued a statement saying it will not allow such weddings in future. It also ordered the committee official, who allowed the function, to apologise.
Bahja asked them: “What is the justification for forbidding my presence at a such critical moment?”
The mahal committee meeting recently had decided to meet Bahja’s family in person to convince them of their lapses in the entire incident. The committee, in the statement, had blamed her family for allegedly misbehaving inside the mosque by conducting a photo shoot.
‘Bride’s presence not prohibited in scriptures’
Bahja’s brother Fazil Shahjahan said the bride’s presence in a Nikah is not prohibited in scriptures. “This has been happening since time immemorial in the Gulf countries. The stance of the supposedly progressive mahal committee came as a surprise.
They have failed to realise that the world is changing. Many are enjoying the benefits of living in the comfort of the civilized world. Our family is not responsible for the incident,” Fazil said.
Bahja is an MSW graduate, while Fahad is a civil engineer. She had told her family that she did not want gold for marriage, but instead wanted to participate in her own Nikah.
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