1460.(Ag – from Abu Hurayrah)

The Ruling of the Waleemah

(A) + (+H, +M, +S): Recommended.

(a) + (-m, -s, -Z): Obligatory.

The main proof for those who consider the waleemah mandatory is the hadith above, where the Prophet (SA) ordered ‘Abdur-Raḥmân (RA) to offer it. The majority argued that the command in this context does not necessarily mean obligation; he also ordered him to slaughter a sheep, and it is agreed that this is not mandatory. This food is not only donated to the poor but is also served to the rich, making the waleemah more like the uḍḥiyah (an animal sacrificed as an act of worship during the days of Eid al-Aḍḥâ), which is not mandatory. Furthermore, marriage itself is not obligatory, so why would one of its rituals be? Finally, they cited the report that the Prophet (SA) said, “There is nothing due on wealth other than zakat.” (Ma – from Fâṭimah bint Qays) However, the authenticity of this hadith is not established, and the exact opposite was reported from the Prophet (SA) through the exact same chain, ‏“Indeed there is a duty on wealth aside from zakat.” (Jâmi‘ at-Tirmidhi, from Fâṭimah bint Qays)
Imam ash-Shâfi‘i himself stated that the waleemah is mandatory, but the madh-hab’s later scholars ratified the other position. This is an example where al-qawl manṣooṣ (the verbatim statement of the Imam) is not always al-asaḥḥ (the truer) in the madh-hab.