Scholar Slams Kano State’s Mass Wedding Scheme

• Prominent Kano Islamic scholar, Sheikh Hadi MaiHula, has condemned the state government’s sponsored mass wedding of 1,500 couples, declaring the initiative “forbidden” under Islamic law.

• The cleric argued that marriage is not compulsory for those without financial means and criticised the programme as a misplaced priority when critical sectors like water supply and healthcare require funding.

• Some local suitors echoed these sentiments, expressing a preference for economic empowerment, meaningful employment, and business grants over state-sponsored weddings.

• Conversely, beneficiary Haruna Bashir defended the initiative, stating it restored his hope after he lost his previous wife and six children in a tragic attack earlier in the year.

August 17, () — A Kano-based prominent Islamic Scholar, Sheikh Hadi MaiHula, has criticised the recent Mass Wedding of spinsters and widows sponsored and conducted by the State Government, describing the programme as “Forbidden”.

recalls that Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf had last week officiated the mass wedding of 1,500 couples, branding the initiative as “a bold social intervention to restore hope, strengthen families and promote moral values across the state.”

But Sheikh MaiHula said the scheme is illegal as Allah(SWT) had not made it compulsory for a Muslim to get married if he does not have the wherewithal.

“Allah, in His infinite mercy, has not made marriage compulsory for a Muslim who does not have the means; the State Government’s Mass Wedding initiative is, therefore, unlawful”, he argued.

He stated that the Holy Qur’an has made it clear that Zakkat, Hajj pilgrimage and marriage can only be undertaken by a Muslim who is capable.

“It is, therefore, wrong for state governments to be using people’s money for mass weddings. It is a misplaced priority, because there are more pressing needs such as improved water supply and healthcare to finance”, the Islamic cleric said.

He, therefore, urged the Kano State Government to halt the implementation of the mass wedding initiative and channel the state’s resources to the training of the youths and other members of the society to acquire skills that would make them self-reliant and also enable them to get married by themselves.

He also advised other state governments wishing to copy the mass wedding initiative to abandon the idea and prioritise other areas of human needs.

Some suitors interviewed in Kano, including Musa Saminu and Nafi’u Yusuf, also decried the mass wedding initiative, describing it as “ostentatious”.

“As we speak, I don’t have what it takes in terms of resources to get married, but what I need is meaningful employment to earn money with which to take a wife, and not sponsorship by the government”, Saminu said.

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Yusuf, on his part, also disapproved of the initiative, saying he wished that the programme were an economic empowerment gesture that includes start-up business grants that would enable the beneficiaries to become self-reliant.

“The self-reliance will take care of their basic needs and expenses such as feeding, housing, clothing, and payment of children’s school fees, on which the mass wedding scheme is silent”, the suitor added.

A beneficiary of the initiative, Haruna Bashir, however, says the programme has restored his hope for a better life, having lost his wife and six children in a brutal murder earlier in the year.

During the unfortunate incident which occurred on January 17, 2026, Bashir lost his wife, Fatima Abubakar, and their six children when assailants attacked their residence at Dorayi Chiranchi Quarters in Kano, thus killing the entire family.

He was among the 1,500 couples whose marriages were officiated by Governor Yusuf at the mass wedding, where he was joined with his new wife, Nabila Kabiru Yunusa.

Bashir immensely thanked the State Government for helping him to “rebuild my life”, having provided him with a house, a Hajj seat and wedding expenses, following the death of his wife and six children.