The groom appeared on a laptop screen to say 'qubool hai' (I accept) from far away Dubai at a Muslim wedding solemnised in Lucknow.
LUCKNOW: The groom appeared on a laptop screen to say 'qubool hai' (I accept) from far away Dubai at a Muslim wedding solemnised here - a sure sign how high technology is spreading fast among people.
The 'nikah' was performed through video-conferencing in the walled city of Lucknow on Thursday evening with the 'moulvi' declaring that the marriage had been solemnised after the groom said 'yes'.
The bride had already given her affirmative 'qubool hai' before a web camera.
After the moulvi declared the nikah solemnised, it was followed by 'mubarak ho' congratulatory calls from the friends and relatives gathered at the bride's home.
High priest Maulana Hamidul Hasan said: "This was the first nikah I have performed through video-conferencing. I am myself impressed by the procedure. It makes the task so much easier."
"I think this is a step beyond and better than the telephonic nikah as one is now able to see the person with whom one is getting married," Hasan told IANS.
Both the bride and groom were well accomplished. Alishan Zaidi, the groom is an MBA from Lucknow University, currently working with a Dubai-based multi-media company. Aliza is from Lucknow's elite Loreto Convent and is pursuing a course in fashion technology here.
Asked what prompted the family to go for a video-conferencing nikah, Aliza's father, Mohammad Alim, said: "Well, my daughter was engaged to Alishan about a month ago and we had fixed the marriage for December. However, with visa formalities likely to take longer than usual, our son-in-law suggested this. Just see, how well it has worked out!"
He said: "Initially, it appeared strange that a nikah was being performed without the bridegroom being present at the venue. But soon everyone realised what a unique and wonderful way it was to tie the nuptial knot."
Even the nikah of one of Aliza's aunts had been performed over the telephone way back in 1991.
Asked if this video-conferencing nikah would receive sanction among the Sunni Muslims, well known Sunni cleric Maulana Khalid Rasheed told IANS: "Why not?"
Maulana Rasheed said: "New techniques ought to be adopted by society and Islam does not restrict you from doing so. After all, don't we take new medicines for the same old diseases as time grows and fresh research take place?"
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