Married in Islam - part 2/2

CLICK HERE FOR PART 1/2

We went then to the Imam’s office, full of books in Arabic, including the Qur'an. The Imam, me and Habibi and two witnesses, it was enough for the ceremony. We started talking about the marriage itself and everything was explained on how the ceremony would be.

We talked about Mahr – the wedding gift the groom must offer to the bride or to her family. It can be a big amount of money or a very valuable object that automatically becomes the bride’s property. It’s supposed to be a support for the future wife in case that something happens to the husband. It must match the bride’s wishes.

They asked me what I wanted as Mahr. £10.000? £100.000? It didn’t really matter to me, so we accorded Habibi must offer me £500, as a symbol.

The Imam then started the prayers. It was an unusual moment for me, but I tried to follow.
He asked Habibi if it was his honest intention to marry me, he said yes. He made him repeat a transcription in Arabic.
He turned to me and asked me if it was my honest intention to marry this man, I said yes.
He smiled and kindly asked if I was good with Arabic. “A little bit?", he joked. He asked me to slowly repeat the same transcription in Arabic. I did. Again, he prayed in the Qur'an’s language.

A few more moments and we were officially married. They welcomed me has their sister. Everyone was absolutely happy. We took pictures all together. Habibi’s boss offered me some money as wedding gift. I was surprised!!

Together we walked out of the mosque and went home. Habibi looked so happy and relaxed, finally! I was still in shock trying to understand everything that just happened. I was happy but in shock. Habibi said it was not supposed to mean for me as much as it meant for him, as it is not my religion. But it did mean a lot.
I was completely shocked during a couple hours and we actually had a fight. He thought I didn’t love him because I was not smiling, but I do. However the idea of getting married and not knowing what’s going to change in my future, together with the millions of bad stories we hear about Arabs and muslims and about "how terrible" they are, it all made me stop to think about my life. I was afraid, I confess.

But we talked about it and in the end of the day everything is coming back to normal. We had his two best friends – Mohammed and Hatab – passing by to celebrate this moment with us. Both Tunisian and married as well, and definitely good people to have around. With the promise of good times to come.

Talk soon,