Who is liable for the fee for officiating a nikah?

Question

Question: Among us there is no fee for officiating a nikah, but after the nikah the groom’s side gives something, as it wishes; and the officiant is invited by the bride’s side. According to the fatwa of Hazrat Thanawi ﵀, this transaction is impermissible. Hazrat ﵀ says: “If the giver is the groom’s side, while the qadi or mulla was invited and brought by the bride’s side — and such is the custom — then taking it is not permissible at all, because the fee was owed by the one who invited, and placing the burden on…

Answer

If the reasons for which Hazrat Thanawi ﵀ wrote that it is impermissible are absent, then it is permissible; that is, permissibility is the original ruling and impermissibility is incidental (‘arid), and it will cease when the incidental factor is removed. Permissibility is explicitly stated in the ‘Alamgiri.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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