Is it permissible to marry in the month of Muharram?

Question:

I would like to know if it is permissible to marry in the month of muharram/safar as i am planning a nikah in the month of December in which muharam does fall, i have been told by family members that it is not permissible to marry in those months, please could u clarify this for me as soon as possible by replying to my email.

Answer:

It is permissible to marry in the month of Muharram, Safar or any other Islamic month of the year. There is no prohibition recorded in the Qur’an or Hadith with regards to marrying in any particular month. In fact, Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) has strongly condemned the misconception that certain months hold bad luck. It is narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (Radiyallahu Anhu) that Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said:

لا عدوى ولا طيرة ولا هامة ولا صفر

(In Islam) There is no such thing as contagion*, bad omens, superstition and bad luck in Safar

(Sahih  al-Bukhari, Hadith #: 5425)

* It should be noted that it is not permissible to hold the belief that a disease or sickness is contagious by itself.  Rather, one should have the belief that one can contract a disease or sickness only by the will of Allah and by being in close proximity or in contact with a sick person, it may be a means of contracting the sickness by the will of Allah. If Allah does not will for a person to contract a disease or illness, he will not contract the disease or illness, regardless of him being in close proximity or contact with the sick person.
 

And Allah knows best

Suhail Tarmahomed (Mufti)

Jamiatul Ulama (KZN) Fatwa Department