Can You Get Married in al-Muharram?

There is nothing wrong with getting married or proposing marriage in the sacred months of Allah (al-Muharram ) which is the beginning of the lunar year. That is neither makruh or haram. That is based on a great deal of evidence, including the following: 

Things are permissible unless otherwise proven

The basic principle is that things are permissible, unless there is a report to suggest otherwise. The basic Shar‘i principle on which the scholars are unanimously agreed is that with regard to traditions and activities, the basic principle is that they are permissible so long as there is no evidence to suggest that they are forbidden. 

As there is nothing in the Quran or Sunnah, or scholarly consensus and analogy, or reports, to indicate that it is not allowed to get married in the month of al-Muharram, then our rulings and fatwas should be based on the ruling that it is basically permissible. 

Can you get married in al-Muharram?

The scholarly consensus that it is permissible is, at the minimum, a consensus of silence, as we have not found any of the earlier or later scholars, among the Sahabah or Tabi‘in, or among the widely accepted imams and their followers until the present day, stating that it is haram, or even makruh, to get married or propose marriage in the month of al-Muharram . 

If anyone disallows that, it is sufficient evidence for rejecting his opinion to note that he has given a fatwa for which there is no evidence and which has not been suggested by any of the scholars. 

Virtues of al-Muharram

The month of al-Muharram is one of the venerated and honourable months of Allah. Concerning its virtue, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “The best of fasts after Ramadan is Allah’s month of al-Muharram.” (Narrated by Muslim, 1163)

It is the month that Allah has described as His, and has ordained that fasting during this month brings a greater reward than fasting in other months; therefore it is appropriate for a Muslim to seek the blessing of this month by doing such acts, and not to be sad or to fear getting married at that time, or to regard it as inauspicious, as was the custom during the Jahiliyyah. 

Refuting claims for prohibiting marriage in al-Muharram 

If anyone gives as evidence for not allowing marriage at this time the fact that the month of al-Muharram is the month in which al-Husayn ibn ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred, as some of the Rafidis do, the response to that should be as follows: 

There is no doubt that the day of the martyrdom of Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) is a day of great calamity in the history of Islam, but it does not mean that we should rule it to be haram to get married or propose marriage at that time. There is nothing in Islam to suggest that we should renew sorrow and grief in annual commemorations and continue mourning to the extent that we forbid any expressions of joy. 

We are within our rights to ask the one who says that: Isn’t the day on which the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) died the greatest calamity that befell the Muslim ummah? So why is it not also haram to get married during that entire month, namely Rabi‘ al-Awwal? Why hasn’t that ruling that it is haram or makruh been narrated from any of the Sahabah or members of the Prophet’s household (Ahl al-Bayt), or the scholars after them? 

Similarly, if we were to renew our sorrow on every day on which one of the great leaders of Islam, from among the family (ahl al-bayt) of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) or others, was killed or martyred or died, there would be too many such days to ever allow any day of joy and happiness, and the people would be burdened with unbearable hardship. Undoubtedly, introducing innovations into the religion of Allah is, first and foremost, going to harm the people who go against Islamic teachings, those who think that they can add something to make Islam perfect (when it is already perfect), and are not content with it as it has been prescribed by Allah for His slaves.  

“Some of the historians stated that the first one to introduce this opinion, and indeed the first one to introduce the innovation of renewing outward displays of mourning at the beginning of the month of al-Muharram was the Safavid Shah Isma‘il (907-930 AH), as Dr. ‘Ali al-Wardi says in Lamahat Ijtima‘iyyah min Tarikh al-Islam, 1/59:

Shah Isma‘il did not only use terror as a means of spreading Shi‘ism; rather he also employed other means, namely propagation and winning over people’s hearts and minds. He issued orders that ceremonies be organised to commemorate the murder of al-Husayn in the manner that is still followed now. This way of commemoration was originally introduced by the Buwayhids in Baghdad in the fourth century AH, but those who came after them had neglected this practice. Then finally Shah Isma‘il came along and developed it and added to it the gatherings for mourning, in such a manner that they had a strong impact on people’s hearts. It may be true to say that this is one of the strongest factors in the spread of Shi‘ism in Iran, because of what they involve of expressions of grief and weeping, accompanied by large numbers of flags, beating the drums and so on, which leads to instilling the belief in people’s hearts on an emotional basis.”

Marriages that happened in al-Muharram

Moreover, some historians regard it as most likely that ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) married Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) at the beginning of 3 AH. 

Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

“Al-Bayhaqi quoted from al-Ma‘rifah by Abu ‘Abdullah ibn Mandah that ‘Ali married Fatimah one year after the Hijrah, and consummated the marriage with her one year after that. According to this view, the consummation of his marriage to her occurred at the beginning of 3 AH.” “Al-Bidayah wa’n-Nihayah, 3/419) 

There are also other opinions concerning this issue, but the point is that none of the scholars ever objected to marriage in al-Muharram; rather the one who marries at that time has a good example in Amir al-Muminin ‘Ali and his marriage to as-Sayyidah Fatimah, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).

And Allah knows best.