In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.

I had the privilege of speaking at my sister’s wedding a few weeks ago, this is an extract of my speech:

As we celebrate and commemorate tonight, I believe it is important to distinguish the marriage from the wedding and the events attached to it. The wedding will end tonight, the honeymoon will end in a few weeks, its the marriage, the Nikah that will live beyond the events we’ve come to enjoy over the past few days. Behind all the glitter and glamour… beyond the fancy clothes and the delicious food lies a simple tradition, a simple belief… the Sunnah of Nikah!

In order to fully appreciate the importance of Nikah and benefit from the merits attached to it, we must reflect on the tradition itself and the divine wisdom behind it. We witness everyday the blatant disregard for marriage so the very fact that we are here today to celebrate this Nikkah is a blessing in itself and worthy of our acknowledgement.

As a newly wed myself, I don’t believe I am in a position yet to be giving marital advice but if there’s one piece of advise I will give the couple tonight, it would be this, that there is not much that can go wrong in a marriage if both parties respect and acknowledge the institute of marriage itself. Understand that this Nikkah has been prescribed upon you and that your spouse has been predetermined for you, it is this understanding and acceptance of divine intervention that will allow you to succeed not just in marriage but in all aspects of life.

May Allah keep us all happily married!