Nurul's Marriage

On the 29th of November, I married off my daughter, Nurul Syuhadah Bt A. Hamid to Ahmad Tasdiqi bin Ahamad Thamizi, a teacher from Perak in a simple akad nikah ceremony at our home in Bandar Tenggara, attended by members of both families. It is the third marriage in our family this year. The akad nikah ceremony started a bit late because the 'Pak Imam' was late due to a breakdown in communication whereby he thought the ceremony would start at 10.00 a.m when it was supposed to be at 9.00 a.m. I sent off my eldest son, Ikram, to fetch the Imam who was at his house, in his towels. We had a big laugh at that.
When the Pak Imam finally came, we started off the ceremony with the Pak Imam scrutinizing the administrative documentations of the akad nikah. The Pak Imam asked my permission and bade me to come along to see the bride to ask/seek her consent to the marriage. Then the bride was asked to sign a number of documents pertaining to the akad nikah. Then, the Pak Imam documented the saksi2 or witnesses to the akad nikah, 6 of them: 2 for the bridegroom, 2 for the bride and 2 for the akad or the Pak Imam's side.
After that, the akad nikah rituals began with the Pak Imam reciting some prayers and verses from the holy Quran. When the recital ends, I took up my position to marry off my daughter. Everyone in the room went quiet and waited. I pronounced the akad proposal, "Bahawa Aku nikah dan aku kahwinkan dikau dengan anakku, Nurul Suhadah binti Abdul Hamid dengan maskahwinnya RM 70.00 tunai". The bridegroom was late in responding to my proposal and the Pak Imam asked for the ritual to be done again. The second time, the bridegroom, in one breath, responded, "Aku terima nikah Nurul Syuhadah binti Abdul Hamid dengan maskahwinnya RM 70.00 tunai." The Pak Imam then looked around at the saksi/witnesses and every witness says, "Sah".
Then, it was official that I had given away my daughter in marriage to Ahmad Tasdiqi bin Ahamad Thamizi. The Pak Imam then recite the 'doa' and after that the bridegroom recites the 'lafaz takliq'. The bridegroom then presented to his bride the maskahwin. Later, my wife was asked to recite advices and bid forgiveness to her daughter. It was a solemn situation where mother and daughter were crying and the effect was all around.
When the ceremony was over, we had a small feast and by that time it was already 11.15 a.m. The kenduri at the dewan was supposed to begin at 11.00 a.m and guests had already arrived but was still at home entertaining my in-laws. Some friends were calling from the dewan. When my in-laws took their leave, I went off straight to the dewan in my brother's car. Guests were already there and some were milling around at the entrance of the dewan. The festivities went on well with friends and relatives enjoying the kenduri. At about 2.00 p.m, the bride and bridegroom arrived at the dewan and they were escorted with the family entourage and the company of kompang. The bride and bridegroom were seated at the entrance of the dewan for a special presentation by the kompang group. There were also silat performed. After that, the bride and bridegroom proceeded into the dewan with the guests.
The feast ended at 5.00 p.m. and ended well. I am thankful to Allah swt for what had transpired and thankful for blessing our family with a new member. Alhamdulillah.