Riding in a Palanquin for the Groom and Bride

Question

In our region the custom is that at a wedding the boy and the girl go to their in-laws’ home seated in a palanquin, which men carry on their shoulders. Is this permissible or impermissible, and what is better? Is the ruling the same for both the boy and the girl, or is it different?

Answer

This is an unsubstantiated custom; adhering to it is in practice “binding oneself to what is not binding” (iltizam ma la yalzam) and a mere custom, and it should be abandoned. If there is also the notion of its being an act that brings one closer to Allah (qurba), then it goes beyond a custom and is also a bid‘a.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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