An Islamic group organised the wedding to help couples who cannot afford a wedding.

One hundred couples got married in a mass wedding at the Almannar Jummaat Mosque in Kaduna on Easter Sunday, April 20.

The wedding fatiha took place at 2pm.

The mass wedding was conducted by an Islamic Organization group called Darul Rahma meaning the house of mercy.

Abubakar Saleh, one of the grooms who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES after the solemnization, said he was actually marrying a second wife.

He also said Darul Rahma paid N10, 000 as dowry for every bride that got married.

Mr. Saleh explained the meeting between the grooms and brides.

“Some of the brides were introduced to some of us by the group, subsequently we get to understand each other, then the group will agree to marry us,” he said.

Mr. Saleh also said he was given 10 yards of white shadda cloth to sew and his bride was given a set of furniture which comprises of a bed, chairs, kitchen utensils, mattress and a hijab.

“In fact everything a woman requires to start a home she will be given free by the Darul Rahma group,” said Mr. Saleh.

Another groom, Salis Bello, said he saw his wife when her picture was displayed in the mosque that she is looking for a husband. He took interest and today “with the support of Darul Rahma we are husband and wife,” Mr. Salis said.

After the wedding fatiha, both the grooms and the brides converged in the Shehu Yaradua hall at the Murtala Square in Kaduna for a reception.

At the reception, PREMIUM TIMES met with Saude Bala, one of the brides who said that although she is 19 years old and only had an Islamic education, she is willing to live with her new husband.

“My husband’s name is Sanusi and I know him earlier in my village in Kujama. We loved each other and he is a local builder but he could pay for my dowry and buy all the furniture as the normal Hausa tradition entails. When this opportunity came to our village and the chief imam announced that all those things will be provided by the Darul Rahma we took the advantage and here we are today.”

Saude also said that her husband has a room in his family house which he fixed prior to their wedding day.

Over 60 per cent of the brides were either widows or divorcees and about the same percentage of grooms were marrying a second or third wife.

The organizers and members of the Islamic group, Ustaz Mohammed Tukur and Sheik Daurawa, said that the event will be a yearly affair.

“’We are doing this so we can reduce the rate at which people get into fornication because they do not have money to pay for dowry and other small logistics that will bring the woman home. Once the woman comes home the man will be able to take care of the woman. So we make sure the men have some kind of work or business they do and we also assist them to keep moving,” Sheik Umar said.

Governor Ralman Yero of Kaduna State, was also present at the wedding fatiha at the Almannar mosque. He said the government will hence forth get involved in the event and encourage such efforts by similar groups. At the reception at the Shehu Yar’aduwa hall in Kaduna, the governor met with the brides and wished them a happy married life.

The governor also said the next mass wedding will involve Christians in the state.