His statement, “It is recommended”: this is the well-known position of the madhhab. It is also said that publicizing the marriage is obligatory, because the Prophet ﷺ commanded it. There are three situations here: publicizing it, keeping it private, and agreeing among themselves to conceal it.

Publicizing it is what is prescribed. Keeping it private without agreeing to conceal it is contrary to what is prescribed. According to those who hold that publicizing it is obligatory, keeping it private is a sin for which one is blameworthy.

As for agreeing to conceal it—such that the husband, the wife, or her guardian says, “This is a secret between us; do not tell anyone”—then there is no doubt that this is sinful. Indeed, some scholars have held that the marriage itself is thereby invalidated, because it is contrary to a valid marriage. This is the position of Malik, may Allah have mercy on him.

If someone were to ask: If there is some benefit in keeping it private, and the people have not agreed among themselves to conceal it but have simply kept it private, is that permissible?

The answer is that this depends on the difference between the two views. If we say that publicizing it is obligatory, then it is not permissible to keep it private. But if we say that it is not obligatory, then it may be kept private when there is an interest in doing so—for example, if a man already has another wife and fears that, should he publicize it, the family will fall apart. According to the view that publicizing it is recommended, there is nothing wrong with this.

It may be publicized through the customary means of announcement, such as the daff, and such as what was done in earlier times, when there were no electric lights: the husband would walk from his home to the wife’s home carrying lamp lights.

Among the means of publicizing it are also car horns, though this involves excess, because they are very disturbing. Another means of publicizing it is the lights placed on the husband’s house