I wish to marry a Muslim man, (I am a Muslim woman). We want to have a nikaah. My parents would know but his parents would not. When we have a reception next year, can we have another more public nikaah ceremony again--this time his parents would know about it. So is it possible to have 2 nikaah ceremonies or is this not allowed?
Praise be to Allah.In principle, the wedding party and waleemah should be
done at the time when the groom enters upon his bride, because one of the aims of the
waleemah is to publicize the marriage, as it is something legitimate that should be made
known, as opposed to fornication which is done in secret and is hidden – even though
nowadays some people have no shame and commit haraam deeds openly, seeing no difference
between halaal and haraam (we ask Allaah to keep us safe from that). “They are
like cattle, nay, even more astray” [al-A’raaf 7:179 – interpretation of
the meaning]. There is nothing wrong with having a second wedding party, even after
some time has passed, if there is a reason for doing so. Perhaps the person who is asking
this question wants to please his parents and not make them angry. He could just inform
his parents, without having a wedding party, or he could invite them for a meal without
having a party as such. And Allaah is the Source of strength.