Question:
There is a hadith saying that if someone speaks worldly matters in a mosque, Allahﷻ will destroy the reward of forty years of deeds. If that is the case, can a marriage ceremony be conducted in a mosque?
Answer:
There is no authentic hadith stating that speaking worldly matters in a mosque erases forty years of good deeds. This narration actually appears in books that collect fabricated hadith. Scholars themselves have classified it as false.
Authentic hadith show that companions used to sit with the Prophetﷺ ﷺ after the Fajr prayer in the mosque and talk about past events, even stories from the pre-Islamic period, and sometimes laugh.
The Prophetﷺ rather admonished them, instead he listened and smiled. If talking about worldly matters in a mosque destroyed good deeds, the Prophetﷺ would have stopped them. Therefore, speaking permissible matters in a mosque is allowed.
Similarly, marriage is a recommended act (Sunnah) encouraged by the Prophetﷺ.
There are instances that the Prophetﷺ purchased a land for masjid and even built a hut for an elderly destitute woman, in the premises. If someone cannot afford a wedding hall and chooses to conduct the marriage in a mosque to keep things simple and avoid unnecessary expenses, there is nothing wrong with it. Mosques in the time of the Prophetﷺ were used for many purposes:
- meetings with leaders,
- storing zakat,
- training for battle,
- hosting travelers,
- Even sheltering people who had no homes.
Therefore, conducting a marriage in a mosque is permissible.