Doing Nikaah in the Masjid is not Sunnah

Some people believe that it is Sunnah to do marriage contract in the masjid using as proof the hadeeth: “Announce the marriage and do it in the mosques.” This is an error as the aforementioned hadeeth is weak. It was reported by at-Tirmidhee (1089) from the path of ‘Eesaa bin Maymoon from al-Qaasim bin Muhammad from ‘Aa’ishah. Yahyaa bin Ma’een, Amr al-Falaas and al-Bukhaaree have all graded the hadeeth weak.

So the hadeeth is weak and cannot be used as evidence. Consequently, al-Albaanee (may Allah have mercy on him) classified it weak in ad-Da’eefah (978). However, the first part of the hadeeth, which says: “Announce the marriage” is authentic as it was classified hasan by al-Albaanee in Saheeh al-Jaami’ 1072

See: al-Kalimaat an-Naafi’ah fil Akhtaa’ ash-Shaai’ah, p. 242 by Shaykh Waheed Abdus-Salaam Baali.

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: Some people believe that it is recommended to do marriage contract in the mosque; is there any evidence reported concerning that?

He responded: I do not know of any basis or evidence from the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam)) to suggest that it is recommended to do the marriage contract in the mosque. But if it so happens that the husband and the guardian of the woman are present in the mosque and they do the marriage contract, there is nothing wrong with that. This is because it is not like buying and selling. And it is well known that buying and selling is prohibited in the mosque.  But marriage contract is not like buying and selling.  Therefore, if the contract is done in the mosque, there is no harm. As for saying it is recommended in the sense that we would tell people to leave the house and go to the mosque, or make an appointment to meet in the mosque and do the marriage contract there, this is something for which evidence is required, and I do not know of any evidence to that effect.

Source:  Liqaa’ al-Baab al-Maftooh [ash-Shaamilah], 17/167