Muslim wedding customs vary greatly depending on the surrounding culture the Muslims live in. Although in every country they have some specific traditions peculiar only to them, there are certain Islamic obligatory acts that make the wedding valid. Nevertheless, not all the customs associated with Muslim marriage comply with the Islamic values.

The traditional Islamic acts include:

Mehndi ceremony is a pre-wedding ritual. It is held in the bride’s house on the eve of the wedding day or several days earlier. The female relatives of the bride rub her with turmeric paste to fetch out the glow in her complexion. Special ointment is applied to the hands and feet of the girl. The whole ritual is accompanied by the traditional songs singing. The bride is believed to have to remain in the house till the wedding day.

Welcoming the Baraat on a wedding day. Baraat is a marriage procession of the groom, which includes his family, relatives and friends. The bride’s family offers a work welcome to this procession, the bride’s sisters usually play some tricks on the groom, and veryone exchanges gifts.

Nikaah ceremony is another part of the wedding day rituals. It can be conducted at the bride’s or groom’s house, or at any other convenient place. The priest reads certain extracts from Quran in the presence of close members of the family, and the groom proposes and the bride accepts the proposal. It is important that there is mutual consent of both the bride and the groom for the marriage to be considered legal. On this day, the older members of both families decide the amount of Mehar (nuptial gift), which is a compulsory amount of money given by the groom’s family to the bride.

Nikaahnama is an official document that registers marriage contract. It contains important terms that must be adhered to, gives the right to the bride to divorce the husband. In order for the contract to be valid, it has to be singed by the bridegroom, the bride, the Walis (fathers of the bride and the bridegroom) and the Maulvi (the priest).

After the official parts, the lavish dinner is held (usually organized by the groom’s part) for the relatives and friends. In some countries it may take as long as several days to celebrate the wedding.