1. In a wedding where men and women are in separate areas, is it allowed for the groom to sit in the women’s section with the bride on the stage? It’s is likely that the bride and the women will be wearing makeup and some of the women may not be wearing hijab.

2. If it is allowed, is it allowed for the bride and the groom’s male relatives to come on the stage to congratulate the couple?

3. If no to question one and/or two, what should the bride/groom do if the parents insist on having the wedding this way due to their tradition? Telling them that its haram doesn’t work so well.

Alhamdu Lillah

Having the bride and the groom on stage defeats the purpose of having a non-mixed wedding ceremony! It becomes worse when the groom’s male relatives enter to the women section to congratulate the couple.

The above traditions - and much more - are not more than blind imitation of non-Muslims, signs of having a shaky Islamic personality, and even lacking the pride and the dignity of being Muslims!

Weighing the advantages and the disadvantages is what should be done when the bride and the groom are unable to apply what they believe is right, especially when the parents ignorantly insist on applying these fruitless and meaningless traditions. If disobeying parents will result in damage worse than the damage of gender-intermingling in the wedding, then they can let it go, while trying their best to lessen the sins and keeping them to the minimum. For instance, the bride and the groom can set on the stage together, but there is no need for the groom’s male relatives to join.