The Moral Vision
Getting off to a Good Start.
~ 56 ~
had the wherewithal to make a start in life at all and
might well have ended their days in penury.
One’s wedding is a very serious event in life, not
just an occasion for senseless showing off. It is
rather a day to shoulder life’s responsibilities as
mature, grown-up people and future parents. It is a
day for a man and a woman to enter into a ‘firm
contract’ (Qur’an, 4:21), not just an opportunity to
impress friends, neighbours and relatives with
one’s spending ability. It is at all events advisable
that the marriage ceremony should be simple and
straightforward,
thereby
avoiding
pointless
expenditure. Before anyone spends his entire life’s
savings, on gaudy displays—for money, after all is
hard earned and difficult to accumulate—he should
reflect seriously on the above-mentioned incident.
All things considered, would it not be better to
avoid ostentation altogether and to think of how
best one can help the young couple concerned? If
this practice were to become widely adopted, it
would not only benefit young people in general, but
would actually make a positive contribution to
national construction. The millions of rupees which
