bride

Q: There is a tradition when the bride's parents go to the groom's house for discussion, they leave the bride at home. The groom, his parents, bride's parents, everyone are present in the discussion related to marriage, except the bride. The bride is not even allowed to see her in laws house before marriage.

I feel all these rules are made by the society to deprieve a woman of her rights. Since it is her marriage, the bride should be allowed to be present during the discussions, just like the boy. And she should be allowed to see her in laws house before marriage, as she will be spending her entire life there. I am getting married soon, so I just want to know if visiting the groom's house with parents and taking part in discussions, will not be against Islam.

Q: I am now marrried for 13 years. Unfortunetly during my wedding, my father in law had gotten ill. He passed away the day before my wedding. We had cancelled everything and just made the nikaah and fed the guests. We have always wanted to have a good wedding but that had not happened. Our nikaah was mixed with very big loss and most of the elders could not attend. All these years I have yearned for a proper opportunity to be a bride. If we would like to have like a reception or gathering is that Islamically allowed?

Q: There's a practice here in my country that after the bride is engaged, she can't see/appear in front of anyone (even females) from the groom's family. Is that practice from Islam?

Q: Can the groom go in the hall full of ladies after his nikah where no other males were allowed? Can he sit on the stage with his bride in front of all the ladies?

Q: Who asks for the dowry, the bride or the parents? If dowry is the right of the bride, can the parents disagree with her if she accepts less mahr?

Q: I want to ask you what is the procedure of Nikaah in the Masjid. I mean groom and bride should be available in Masjid or only groom? What does Shari'ah say about Nikaah in the Musjid?