Mardiyyah Aliagan’s Waleemat: A Gathering Before the Nikkah
“Announce this marriage, and beat the sieve for it.” (Hadith Sunan Ibn Majah)
By Abdullahi Yusuf
Family, friends and members of the Muslim community gathered at the Aliagan Mosque in Ilorin on Friday for the Waleemat of Mardiyyah Sharafudeen Aliagan, daughter of Imam (Dr.) Sharafudeen Abdulsalam Aliagan, Chairman and Founder of Ashraaf Islamic Foundation and a familiar figure in Islamic scholarship and community engagement. The occasion brought together the intimacy of a family celebration and the presence of a wider religious community.
The ceremony was part of a series of gatherings marking Mardiyyah’s marriage to Sulyman Abdullahi. It followed the Nupe Day held on Thursday at Adewole, Ilorin, and the Aisun at the Aliagan residence later that night.
By Friday morning, attention had moved to the Aliagan Mosque for the Waleemat. The occasion brought relatives, friends, scholars and well-wishers together in a setting where the celebration of marriage was closely intertwined with faith and family.
There was something distinctive about the sequence of the celebrations. Alongside the joy and social character that naturally accompany a wedding, the programme retained a strong religious and cultural identity. The Waleemat was followed by Are-Osan, while an Islamic lecture later in the afternoon extended the day’s programme into the evening, extending the gathering beyond celebration into religious reflection and community fellowship.
The Waleemat was one of the principal gatherings in the marriage programme, bringing the two families and their wider circle of relatives, friends and community members together at the Aliagan Mosque before the formal solemnisation.
The following day, Saturday, September 5, Mardiyyah Sharafudeen Aliagan and Sulyman Abdullahi were formally joined in nikah at the same mosque, after which the wedding reception was held at Diamond Arena Hall on Vidi Road, Irewolede, Ilorin.
Faces from the walimaat and lecture:
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