and there is no need for him to say, “in accordance with the sunnah of Allah and the sunnah of His Messenger ﷺ,” for the presumption regarding a Muslim is that he follows the sunnah of Allah and His Messenger ﷺ. The husband then says, “I accept.” He is then told: “May Allah bless you both, shower His blessings upon you both, and bring you together in goodness.” (1)

Some people say what the people of the Age of Ignorance used to say: “May you live in harmony and be blessed with sons.” We ask Allah not to blind our hearts. A wording has come from the Messenger ﷺ containing goodness and blessing, yet we turn away from it. Perhaps there will not be harmony at all; perhaps there will be more discord than harmony between husband and wife. And a daughter may be far better than a son.

Then, when she is brought to him, he takes hold of her forelock and says: “O Allah, I ask You for her goodness and the goodness of the disposition upon which You created her, and I seek refuge in You from her evil and the evil of the disposition upon which You created her.” (2) But should he say this aloud or silently? We consider that there is detail in the matter. If she is an educated woman who knows that this is prescribed, then he may say it aloud; perhaps she will say amin to his supplication. But if she is ignorant, I fear that if he says it, she may be repelled by him. In every situation, there is an appropriate way of speaking.