19th January 2015
السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته
Question: Could you please highlight the issue regarding the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam giving Hadya (gift) to Sayyidunā Ali radhiyallahu anhu at the time of Sayyidah Fātima’s radhiyallahu anha wedding?
الجواب حامداً و مصلياً
In the name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer
In reference to your question, the closest Hadeeth to your request is the report where the Messenger of Allāh sallallahu alayhi wasallam prepared (jahaza) for Sayyidah Fātima radhiyallahu anha (at the time of her marriage with Sayyidunā Ali radhiyallahu anhu and relocating them to their new accommodation) a bed sheet, pitcher and a cushion filled with leaves.[1] There is no clear mentioning of giving any gifts directly to Sayyidunā Ali radhiyallahu anhu.
Some have described this as jahaiz where the bride’s parents give some supplementary gifts when giving their daughter away in marriage. With the exception of Sayyidah Fātima radhiyallahu anha, there is no sound report where the Messenger of Allāh sallallahu alayhi wasallam did the same with his other daughters at the time of their marriage. This establishes that it was not his regular habit to do such a thing and moreover, the jahaiz for Sayyidah Fātima radhiyallahu anha and her husband were, in fact, their basic essentials because jahaiz comes from the root word ja-ha-za which means preparing one’s essentials.
So, albeit giving jahaiz at the time of giving one’s daughter away in marriage is not an emphasised Sunnah, there is no harm in gifting items generally without extravagance or coercion from anyone. The above Hadeeth cannot be used as evidence to make it an emphasised tradition nor to justify modern-day extravagance in gifts during wedding ceremonies.
[Allãh Knows Best]
Written by (Mufti) Abdul Waheed
Answer Attested by Shaykh Mufti Saiful Islam
JKN Fatawa Department
[1] Sunnan Nasai, Chapter on man giving Jihaz to his daughter Hadeeth No:3384
عَنْ عَلِيٍّ، رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: «جَهَّزَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَاطِمَةَ فِي خَمِيلٍ وَقِرْبَةٍ وَوِسَادَةٍ حَشْوُهَا إِذْخِرٌ