Wedding Expenses Going Sky High. WHY?

Now-a-days, wedding expenses are going sky high; I fail to understand the reason behind this. Let me define marriage. Marriage is a legal union of a man and woman as husband and wife, which doesn’t require hundreds of people in the first place, neither 6 functions (like in case of traditional Indian weddings) nor a grand wedding hall.

Little do people realize the money they waste on such occasions. I don’t call it a wedding; I call it an opportunity to show off to the maximum. People book the most expensive function halls, arrange the dinner in a very grand manner, buy oodles of jewelery enough to blind you (rather to not be one wearing the least), forcing relatives to spend as much as the bride/groom on clothes; when this is not at all required. I do agree that all of us want to have the best, and dream to have a memorable wedding but it shouldn’t go to extremes where it can’t be affordable. Some don’t do justice by not thinking about the hungry people on the streets and the ones who can’t have basic facilities like shelter, clothing, even half a meal or education.


An extravagant wedding is not a problem for the people having money, my focus is on those who can't afford such a grand wedding. By hook or crook they have to arrange for money; they drown themselves in loans, do anything and everything as they have to live up to not their own expectations but those of the society because this has become a trend. Peoples mentalities are changing so drastically that it is now very difficult to change back, very difficult to do the right, to do what God has asked us to do. And dream of having weddings that not only satisfy us but also show our consideration towards other people.

Like I said, this has become a trend. If a wedding is not done in a grand manner, the people who have absolutely nothing to do with it and have to incur none of the expenses start talking nonsense. They assume that the families of the bride and groom don’t have money- like that is a crime!. They don’t understand that a wedding just as satisfying can be done in a simple way. A less expensive wedding with your loved ones is any time better and comfortable for the bride and groom. After all it’s their day!

The harsh truth is that we are more concerned about the society and what they want rather than what is convenient for us because spending enormous amount of money on weddings is totally unnecessary, when instead the same money can be given to the poor people who hardly eat food. There are of course many better reasons to invest your hard earned money , well even if you have a lot of it you can invest it for a child’s education; it can be saved for your old age; for your child’s future, can be used for the betterment of humanity/less privileged.

Even though this article is rather contrary to what you might perceive a wedding to be like, this is the bitter truth and its better that we realize this now and make a change before weddings become more of a burden for even the people who are living a decent life. Its time we realize, we wake up; we change for the better and prove the difference. And make it a point that even if it's important for us to be spending so much on our wedding, we should be fair and contribute some to the poor, it could be a way of starting a new life by helping the people around you.

I have written this article for everyone’s good, for everyone to realize that no religion permits us to over spend, the expenses should be as per the necessities and exaggerated expenses for want of anything is forbidden.

Here is a useful link that might make things a little more clear and is entertaining too!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH2nNt1s5pk&feature=PlayList&p=409C23E2F903F8D3&index=2

Samreen Fathima Mirza, 17

mail to: sammirza14@gmail.com

The true culture.

Culture. What does culture mean, it is defined as ;'The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought', And the best thing we do is mix cultures which is aimed at nothing but our pleasure , when being a Muslim is doing everything for the pleasure of Allah!. The truth is that we don't need to take from others what Allah has defined for us already!.

There are two states of a human being with regard to knowledge;
1) state of ignorance or jaahalia
2) state of negligence or ghaflat
both of which aren't what you'd be proud to be in.being in any of the two states is not productive in any way. It's important to realize that Islam in itself is a culture, & there is absolutely no benefit in mixing the Islamic culture with that of the country you reside in. There is no reason for you to neglect this fact and absolutely no reason to say you were ignorant anymore!

Islam is a culture because it clearly tells you what to do everyday from morning till evening, it tells you what to do when someone is born, or when someone dies, when u wake up in the morning or when you should get married, what you should wear etc. Islam is undoubtedly the most practical religion and it has always been that way. But the creativity of the Muslims in doing everything but what is prescribed is mind blowing. We seem to be getting some sort of pleasure out of the wrong, the unwanted, the unsolicited, the haraam!.

There seems to be a need to go against the wish of Allah, a need to redefine our pathetic state by making it even more miserable. How often in a problem do you think to yourself "why do i have these problems?" I'll tell you, trust me it wasn't very difficult to solve this mystery, this phenomenon of loserness is because NO ONE IS FOLLOWING THE RELIGION!!!

Yes, u read it right, in fact read it again, repeat it, oh no! not softly loudly so your totally cross wired brain gets it to the point you start understanding what you read and signals are sent to your whole body saying you have been a totally insane person till now!!! on the more positive note you could've been worse, there's no limit to how much you can ruin your life!!

Now that you're strong enough and have accepted the fact, its time you start to think about how to turn your world around. Get the basics of your religion right, get to the core ask yourself what your aim on earth is?, why have u been neglecting all your responsibilities?, why have you been suffering like a moron?, do have an Iman?, do you have implicit faith in Allah? these are just some of the difficult questions. You should then try to make a change in not just yourself but also in the people around you and please don't take your time, you're not on earth forever!; there is absolutely no age bar on when you should start practicing your religion a man is responsible for his actions from the age of 14 and the woman by the age of 9. Understand that you only get so many chances and you can't be taken your life for granted, ask Allah for forgiveness, spread the word of Islam, understand It, understand that you already have a culture,and you're just not following it. Understand the need to understand.

Lastly don't chose to be jaahil, learn to learn more, don't chose to be in ghaflat, remind yourself that you are here for a purpose an exam, the benefit of which you would reap not only in this life but also the hereafter.The clock is ticking the sigh that you're going to take after you finish reading this very article might be your last!

Syeda Fatima, 18
(syeda715@hotmail.com)