Comment: Wedding costs in Istanbul reach 1 million liras, what about in Uzbekistan?

The average cost of a wedding in Istanbul has reached nearly 1 million liras. According to the Planning Agency (İPA), Turks spend 850,000 liras (≈ $20.7 thousand) for a simple wedding, and 982,000 liras (≈ $23.9 thousand) for an open-air wedding.

These estimates do not include henna, engagement, jewelry-wearing ceremonies, and honeymoon expenses.

Don't be surprised, the situation in Uzbekistan is no different. According to a survey conducted by the "Yuksalish" movement in June-July of this year, many families in our country spend 50-100 million soums (≈ 4-8 thousand dollars) or more on a wedding. It is noteworthy that more than 81 percent of the survey participants indicated their monthly income as from 5 million soums to 12 million soums. Considering the amount of wedding expenses, this is an amount equal to the annual income of most people.

As if that weren't enough, 25 percent of participants said they were paying for their wedding with debt. The reasons cited were public pressure, the obligation to "give the people a wedding," and their parents' wishes.

"So what? If it's his money, let him do whatever he wants!" is nothing more than a lack of concern for the interests of the nation and indifference. The reason is that today we need to learn from the problems in Turkey, where wedding expenses are increasing day by day, and reform ourselves. To do this, first of all, let us understand the negative consequences of our long-standing obsession with lavish weddings.

Social consequences:

Lavish weddings are a heavy financial burden for everyone, causing young people to avoid or delay marriage. According to statistics, the birth rate in Turkey, which was 2.38 in 2001, fell to 1.48 in 2024. This level is below the self-replacement limit of the population. In Uzbekistan, 405.5 thousand babies were born in the first half of 2025. This figure is 29.1 thousand less than in 2023, indicating a slowdown in demographic growth.

Economic consequences:

This means a shrinking workforce and a heavy burden on the social security system. If the birth rate continues to fall in Uzbekistan, the proportion of young people in the population will decrease, and the rate of economic growth will also decline.

Moral consequences:

As a result of young people not getting married or delaying marriage, a moral and spiritual decline begins in society: illicit relationships, prostitution, and adultery are rampant. Family relationships are in crisis.

In place of conclusion

Anas ibn Malik narrated: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saw Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf wearing a piece of yellow perfume and said, “What is this?” He said, “I married a woman with a dowry of gold equal to the weight of a date.” The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “May Allah bless you, and may Allah reward you with a sheep.” (Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Additional hints

• The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) also gave simple dowries in his marriages: for example, with a sheep in the marriage of Zaynab (may Allaah be pleased with her); with hays (a mixture of dates, oil and curd) in the marriage of Safiya (may Allaah be pleased with her). This shows that the dowry was voluntary, not extravagant, and according to circumstances.

Ruling (jurisprudential conclusion)

• These hadiths show that the walimah is Sunnah muakkadah, and that it is permissible for those who can afford it to slaughter a sheep, but the walimah can be done with any food.

When Abdurrahman ibn Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) got married, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Give a dowry, even if it is just a sheep.” This is authentically recorded in Bukhari and Muslim.

For your information, I would like to mention that at the end of Abdurrahman ibn Awf's (may Allah be pleased with him) life, he had 3,103,000,000 (three billion one hundred and three million) dinars (1 dinar = 4.36 grams of gold). If we convert this gold into today's international currency, it is equivalent to $550 billion.

The total wealth of the world's richest investor today is less than half that of Abdurrahman ibn Awf, may God be pleased with him. Yet, despite his wealth, he lived a life of poverty.

Arrogance and adornment bypassed them. And this man became one of the 10 companions who were given the prophecy of Paradise while he was still alive.