Munkarat al-Afrah
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- Munkarat al-Afrah
Munkarat al-Afrah (Reprehensible Practices in Wedding Celebrations) is a contemporary Islamic treatise authored by Ghanim Ghalib Ghanim that addresses religious infractions, innovations, and un-Islamic customs commonly practiced during marriage ceremonies and celebrations. The book was reviewed by Dr. Muhammad Assaf, head of the Department of Jurisprudence and Legislation at the College of Da'wah and Usul al-Din at Al-Quds University.
Background and Purpose
The treatise aims to identify and caution Muslims against various unlawful practices (munkarat) that occur during weddings and festive occasions. Ghanim attributes the prevalence of these practices primarily to a decline in religious commitment, the widespread notion that wedding days are exempt from religious accountability, social rivalry and ostentation, and the uncritical imitation of Western customs regarding gender mixing, immodest dress, and revelry.
Content and Structure
The work is organized into structured discussions and sub-sections (matalib) covering various stages and elements of wedding celebrations:
- Wedding Processions (al-Zaffah): The author discusses traditional and contemporary street processions, warning against practices such as playing music through car-mounted loudspeakers, singing songs that describe women, gender mixing, and immodest display.
- Late-Night Revelry and Missed Prayers: The work criticizes staying up late into the night with drums, flutes, dancing, and expensive fireworks, highlighting the harm and disturbance caused to neighbors, students, the sick, and workers, as well as the loss of obligatory prayers.
- The Wedding Banquet (Walimat al-Urs): Ghanim explains the legal status of the feast as a prophetic Sunnah intended to show gratitude and honor guests without overburdening the groom, while censuring both excessive spending and the modern trend of omitting the banquet in favor of rented halls and lavish refreshments.
In the conclusion, the author urges Muslims to adhere to the Quran and Sunnah in their celebrations and emphasizes that believers should not hesitate to boycott celebrations that contain religious violations, citing the legal principle that there is no obedience to creation in disobedience to the Creator. He also calls upon Islamic preachers to educate the public on these matters, noting that many people commit such infractions out of ignorance.
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