That is, despite its brevity, this sermon brings together all that gives order to Islam and faith: sound and upright beliefs, and righteous and steadfast deeds.

It should also be noted here that no evidence establishes that reciting Sūrat al-Fātiha at the marriage contract is prescribed, contrary to the practice of many Muslim laypeople.

As for congratulating the bride and groom upon their marriage, the Sunnah prescribes supplicating that they be blessed and that Allah unite them in goodness.

It is reported in the two Sahīhs from Anas ibn Mālik, may Allah be pleased with him: “The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, saw a trace of yellow on Abd al-Rahmān ibn Awf and asked, ‘What is this?’ He replied, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I have married a woman for an amount of gold equal in weight to a date stone.’ He said, ‘May Allah bless you. Give a wedding feast, even if only with one sheep.’”1

Al-Tirmidhī, Abū Dāwūd, and others narrated from Abū Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him: “Whenever the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, congratulated someone upon his marriage, he would say, ‘May Allah bless you, bestow blessings upon you, and unite you both in goodness.’”2

The words, “Whenever he congratulated someone upon his marriage,” mean that he offered him congratulations and supplicated for him on the occasion of his marriage. In the pre-Islamic period, people would say to a newly married man, “May you have harmony and sons.” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, prohibited this. Their wish for “sons” accorded with their customary dislike of girls, their aversion to them, and their unwillingness to have them. This expression reinforced that dislike and hatred. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, therefore prohibited it and directed people instead to this blessed supplication, which asks that both spouses be blessed and that Allah unite them in goodness.