Eftekar Saaleh from London posted the following Facebook status update yesterday:

So here it goes.. When I was planning on getting married I had in the bank a grand total of £300. The fee to get married… Posted by Eftekar Saaleh on Monday, 12 October 2015

Since posting, it has received over 5,300 likes and over 1,700 shares.

Eftekar, commenting on the response said he “‘couldn’t believe it” and he thought that it was received so well because the “new generation was fed up with the old system”. What he meant was the growing tradition of new couples pressured by family into spending huge amounts of money on lavish weddings and not being able to marry because they could not ‘afford it’ although a small wedding would suffice.

It inspired many:

Others shared their own experiences:

I’m not in competition brother but just thought I’d share my nikah was £100.00 dowry, £75.00 imams fee, no gold or gifts just duas… My mum cooked and fed the immediate family which was a maximum of 20 people (about £75.00 max) … The money that I could have spent on a lavish wedding all went towards feeding the orphans and widows on the outskirts of Makkah. – Fozia Senwan Amani

Whilst others commented on why spending too much is not a good idea:

Subhanallah masha allah i wish i had done lookin back now i realised how much unnecessary spending i did wish i cld turn back time i advise the youth of today keep that money as will come in handy in the future and trust me it will and Allah will only make ur money grow of which ever halaal money u have Insha Allah – Irfan Patel

Zulqarnayn shared a worrying story:

Finally, Abdul Kahhar shared some wise words:

Those reading this and thinking of getting away without spending – if you can genuinely afford it then don’t be a tight (miserly). Spend and announce this special occasion but don’t be extravagant.

In this time of temptation and vice, we should make marriage easy and not put up societal and cultural barriers which makes it hard for them to get married. A person should spend according to their means and weddings should not be a time to show off. It is an act of worship and in a Hadith as mentioned by Eftekar, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said:

“The most blessed wedding (nikah) is the one with the least expenses.” (al-Bayhaqi)

Eftekar and his wife now have three beautiful children and he runs a blog called Contemplate Quran. May Allah bless Eftekar and his family and protect them from all evils. Ameen

By Rafiq ibn Jubair