The Wedding Night

Affaf Jamal provides us with Islamic guidelines for the wedding night.

The wedding night marks the beginning of a whole new kind of relationship - deeper and more personal than any other relationship one will ever have, entailing a deluge of unique experiences and considerations.

Between a husband and wife, nothing remains hidden. There are no veils and no barriers, and no shameful parts. How could there be, when the husband is a garment for his wife and she for him? They are to seek comfort and tranquility in one another.

They will be able to enjoy what has always been forbidden to them. This new permissibility is a realization for the husband that this person is his wife, life-partner, and mother of his children. Consequently, his new bride deserves to be treated with the utmost care, consideration, and sensitivity from the very first moment. Therefore, the wedding night should be a night filled with tenderness, intimacy, affection, and joy. In that night, the husband should be seeking to establish ties of love and affection with his wife and placate her worries and fears about the new life she has just embarked upon, so as to ultimately feel secure and at peace with him.

Alhumdullilah, as with all aspects of life, Islam provides us with simple guidelines, which make this event meaningful and blessed for the couple.

The final disposition of things is for those of pious practice, as the Lord of the Worlds said: "As to the Righteous, they shall be amidst (cool) shades and springs (of water). And (they shall have) fruits, - all they desire. ‘Eat and drink to your heart's content: for that which you worked (for righteousness).' Thus do We certainly reward the Doers of Good." (Al-Mursalaat 77:41-44)

Kindness toward your wife, when you wish to enter her chamber

When one goes into his wife's chamber on the wedding night, it is desirable to show her kindness, such as presenting her with something to drink, etc. This is found in the Hadeeth narrated by Asma' bint Yazid ibn As-Sakan, who said: "I beautified Aisha (rta) for Allah's Messenger (sa), then called him to come to see her unveiled. He came, sat next to her, and brought a large cup of milk, from which he drank. Then, he offered it to Aisha (rta), but she lowered her head and felt shy. I scolded her and said to her: ‘Take from the hand of the Prophet (sa).' She then took it and drank some. Then, the Prophet (sa) said to her: ‘Give some to your companion.' At that point, I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, rather take it yourself and drink, and then give it to me from your hand.' He took it, drank some, and then offered it to me. I sat down and put it on my knees. Then, I began rotating it and following it with my lips, in order that I might hit the spot from which the Prophet (sa) had drunk. Then, the Prophet (sa) said about some women, who were there with me: ‘Give them some.' But, they said: ‘We don't want it.' (ie. we are not hungry). The Prophet (sa) said: ‘Do not combine hunger and fibbing!'” (Ahmad)

The husband should place his hand upon his wife's head and offer a supplication for her

At the time of consummating the marriage with his wife or before that the husband should, place his hand on the front part of her head and mention the name of Allah Most High, and pray for Allah's blessings. As in the statement of the Prophet (sa): "When any of you marries a woman ... he should hold her forelock, mention Allah Most High, and pray for His blessings saying: ‘O Allah, I ask You for the good in her and the good with which You have created her, and I seek refuge in You from the evil in her and the evil with which You have created her.'" (Bukhari)

The husband and wife should offer two units of prayer together.

This is an established practice of the pious predecessors, as related in the following narration: On the authority of Shaqeeq who said: "A man named Abu Hareez came and said: 'I have married a young girl, and I am afraid that she will despise me.' 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ood said to him: ‘Verily, closeness is from Allah, and hatred is from Shaitan, who wishes to make despicable that which Allah has allowed. So, when your wife comes to you, tell her to pray behind you two Rakaat.'" In another version of the same story, "'Abdullah went on to say: 'And say: 'O Allah, give Your blessings on me in my wife, and to her in me. O Allah, join us together as long as You join us in good, and split us apart, if You send to us that which is better.'" (Ibn Abi Shaibah and at-Tabaraani and 'Abdur-Razzaaq: Saheeh)

Before cohabitation with one's wife or husband, it is desirable to mention the name of Allah (swt)

When a Muslim man is about to enter his wife, he should always say first: "In the name of Allah, O Allah, keep us away from the devil, and keep the devil away from that which You may grant us (i.e., offspring)."

About this the Prophet (sa) said: "After that, if Allah decrees that they will have a child, the devil will never be able to harm that child." (Bukhari)

What the husband should do the morning after his wedding night

The following morning, it is desirable for the husband to visit those relatives, who came and visited him to greet and pray for him and his bride. It is also desirable for them to do likewise for him, according to the following Hadeeth narrated by Anas (rta): "The Messenger of Allah (sa) gave a feast on the morning of his wedding night with Zainab (rta), at which he fed the Muslims to satisfaction on bread and meat. Then, he went out to the Mothers of the Believers (i.e., to his other wives), gave them greetings, and prayed for them, which they returned in kind. This is what he used to do on the morning after a wedding night." (Ibn Sa'd and An-Nasai)

The prohibition of spreading bedroom secrets

It is forbidden for either the husband or the wife to spread any of the secrets of their bedroom or private relations to anyone outside. The following Hadeeth is about this: "The worst in position of all people in the estimation of Allah on the Day of Resurrection will be the man, who cohabits with his wife, or the woman, who cohabits with her husband, then either of them divulges the secret of his mate." (Muslim)