Q: During a Asian wedding (Bengali) one of the many customary activities that people tend to do is gift the bride and groom with money concealed in an envelope. Some of these envelopes are given to the guardian or representative of the bride/groom. What happens after the wedding is the guardian opens the envelope and counts the money and then decides how much to keep for himself and how much to give the bride/groom. One of the reasons is that they say if they give all to the groom he may not give the bride’s share. I would like to know what is the islamic stance on such activities and what would you advice on this issue.
A: A gift that is given to the bride and/or groom must be given to them. It is not permissible for anyone else to take that gift.
Moulana Yusuf Laher