Speech I Wrote For My Sister & Brother In Law On Their Wedding Day

(I actually had it recorded but, the audio did not come out clear.)

All praise is due to Allah, we praise him, we seek his help and we ask for his forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides, there is none that can misguide him and whoever Allah misguides, there is none that can guide him. There is no God worthy of worship except Allah alone, there is no partner and that Muhammad (Peace & Blessings Be Upon Him) is His slave and final Messenger.

O, you who believe, fear Allah as he deserved to be feared and do not die except as Muslims. (Surah Al-Imran: Family Of Imran: 3:102)

O, Mankind, fear your Lord, who has created you from a single soul and created from it, its mate and from them both, many men and many women and fear Allah through whom you demand your mutual rights and indeed Allah is ever watchful over you (Surah An-Nisa: The Women: 4:1)

O, you who believe! Fear Allah and speak a word that is true and He will correct your deeds and forgive your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has indeed achieved a great success. (Surah Al-Hajj: The Pilgrimmage: 22:77)

The best speech is the book of Allah (The Qur’an) and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (Peace & Blessings Be Upon Him).

The worst of affairs in this religion are the newly invented manners and all of them are innovations.

Today, my sister will be introduced to a new family she has not spent a lifetime with nor an entire day with. She will enter a home with new faces, new personalities, new cooking styles and new way of doing things. She will feel awkward, shy, not be herself for a few days but, she will enter a home, a loving home that is filled with welcoming people. She will be under the protection of a new man, who will honour her rights as a Muslim woman and not over power her, belittle her or feel he is above her and will treat her with respect, dignity and protect her from the harms of this world, as my father, my mother, my family has entrusted this right upon, Imran.

The Prophet Muhammad (Peace & Blessings Be Upon Him) said: “The best of you are the best to his wives, family, and I am the best of you to my family, wives.” [Tirmidhi]

The Prophet Muhammad has led by example and has and will always be the best of examples this world will have ever received. He taught us how to honour our wives and not mistreat them. To be good to them and show them they are important. To not repel them and to compliment them. As many of us here today, we grew up in a household where the men are firm, strict with their wives and they think this is a sign of manliness and it is something praised worthy but it is not. The Prophet Muhammad (peace & blessings be upon him) was not this way. Rather, he would compliment his wives, sit with them, play with them and not worry whether he is manly in front of the companions or not. His teachings was passed onto the best of men and they followed his example and today, as Muslims we follow that way too.

Many of the examples I will share today, to inspire, to teach my sister Naznin, to teach my brother in law Imran and to teach many of the couples here today, that these actions by the Messenger Of Allah are the best of actions, that are rewarding because we are following his example. To teach the newly weds to be, that there isn’t a need to be harsh and strict with your wives because this isn’t something Islam teaches.

When the Prophet Muhammad (peace & blessings be upon him) would sit with Aisha to eat, they both would eat together from the same plate and drink from the same cup. The messenger of Allah, would do his best to place his lips on the cup where Aisha had placed her lips and look into her eyes and drink [bukhari]. Many of you will think hearing this, this does not sound manly but it wasn’t about being manly, it was about showing love and appreciation to someone Allah has created for you. Allah has created us in pairs and Allah has created Naznin and Imran for each other and this was written 3000 years before they were even born.

Many men are also shy or afraid to play with their wives but the Messenger of Allah was never shy nor did her care who was watching. When him and Aisha were first married, they raced. He had sent his companions who were with him up ahead and said to Aisha, lets race, so they raced and Aisha had beat him. As Aisha got older, put some weight, he asked her to race again and this time, The Prophet won [Ahmad]. How many men today, when they are out with their wives will race with them? Will play with them? Instead, they’ll be serious or sit in front of the television waiting for a hot meal. The messenger of Allah was the best of examples and in this example, in this hadith, it shows the playfulness he had with his Aisha and it is something we should implement today when we are out with our wives.

We should never be afraid to show appreciation to each other nor should we be afraid to be ourselves to one another, nor be afraid to speak our mind. The messenger of Allah was never afraid to tell how much he loved Aisha and how much he wanted her to be at his side. In one instance, Aisha had asked him, how is your love for me? and He replied, like the ropes knot. Then some time later, Aisha would ask again, How is the knot? The messenger of Allah would reply, in the same condition [Hilya Al Awliya]. In another instance, the messenger of Allah was approached by a man who had prepared a feast for him so the messenger of Allah asked, if Aisha was invited too, the man said no, so the messenger of Allah declined. Once again, the man returned and invited him again and the messenger of Allah asked again, is Aisha invited, the man said no, so the messenger of Allah declined again. Then he returned for a third time to invite the messenger of Allah again and once again, the messenger of Allah asked, Aisha is also here, is she invited? The man finally agreed and they both went to the feast together. [Muslim]

These are just some examples islam teaches and these examples are there for us to implement in our lives. To be good to each other. To be playful with each other and honour each other. The religion of Al-Islam is a beautiful religion and it teaches us so much that we don’t seek these teachings and we end up missing out on performing these sunnah’s and being rewarded. We also miss out on being close to each other, to show love and grow appreciation for one another.

My sister, Naznin, insha’Allah, will fulfill all her obligations as a Muslim woman to Imran and Imran, insha’Allah, will fulfill all his obligations to her as a Muslim and both of you will honour each other and not over power each other but live with each other, with love and respect. Put each other first, help each other and be dutiful to the rights Allah has established as husband and wife. And I know, my sister can be a little crazy and weird but she has a big heart, masha’Allah and insha’Allah, just as my family has enjoyed her bubbly personality and weirdness for the past 22 years, your family will enjoy it too. We all are going to miss having her around, so honour her, respect her but most important of all, fulfill the rights and obligations Allah has set by establishing salah. When going through hardships seeking help through patience in prayer, and respecting each others rights as husband and wife.