Walima explained.
The walima is the meal held after a nikah to make the marriage known, and the Sunnah sets its floor at one sheep rather than any ceiling.
وَلِيمَةAlso written Waleema, Walimah, wedding feast
One sheep, and what that instruction means
When Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf married, the Prophet ﷺ told him to hold a feast even with one sheep. The instruction is usually quoted as a minimum, and it is, but the more useful reading is the context it was given in. Abd al-Rahman had arrived in Madinah with nothing, refused an offer of half another man's wealth and one of his wives, asked only to be shown the market, and traded his way to a modest profit. The instruction was given to a man who had just started from zero.
So the floor is low and it is real. What has no basis anywhere is a ceiling imposed by expectation: a hall, a certain number of guests, a certain number of dishes, a debt taken on to meet what other families did.
The Prophet ﷺ held a walima for Safiyyah with no meat at all. A walima within a family's means is not a lesser walima.
The worst food
There is a hadith about walima that is far less quoted than it should be, and it is unusually blunt: the worst food is that of a wedding feast to which only the rich are invited while the poor are left out.
The same narration continues that whoever refuses an invitation has disobeyed Allah and His Messenger, and accepting an invitation to a walima is commanded in its own right in Sahih Muslim.
Put together, the two halves describe a social function, not a display. The feast exists so that the marriage becomes known across a whole community rather than performed for part of one. A guest list assembled by status inverts the purpose of the meal.
Timing, cost and what is not required
The walima follows the nikah. Scholars differ on whether it is obligatory or strongly recommended, with the majority holding it a confirmed Sunnah, and there is no evidence fixing a particular day.
What is not required: a specific venue, a set number of guests, particular clothing, gift exchange, or anything borrowed against. Free mixing between men and women, music that is impermissible and extravagance are not made permissible by the occasion, which is where most disagreements about walimas actually sit.
If a family is choosing between a walima they can afford and a walima that meets what relatives expect, the Sunnah has already answered, and it answered with one sheep.
The evidence
أَوْلِمْ وَلَوْ بِشَاةٍ
When Abd al-Rahman bin Awf married an Ansari woman, the Prophet ﷺ said to him, "Give a banquet, even if with one sheep."
Sahih al-Bukhari 5167 (Book 67, Hadith 102), Anas
The worst food is that of a wedding banquet to which only the rich are invited while the poor are not invited. And he who refuses an invitation (to a banquet) disobeys Allah and His Apostle.
Sahih al-Bukhari 5177 (Book 67, Hadith 112), Abu Hurairah
Allah's Messenger ﷺ said: When any one of you is invited to a feast, he should attend it.
Sahih Muslim 1429a (Book 16, Hadith 112), Ibn Umar
Common questions
Is the walima obligatory?
The majority of scholars hold it a confirmed Sunnah rather than an obligation, and a minority consider it obligatory. Either way the nikah is valid without it, and the instruction that defines it sets a floor of one sheep, not a standard of expense.
Who pays for the walima?
The groom, by the plain sense of the hadith, which was addressed to Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf about his own marriage. Arrangements where families share the cost are custom, and custom is permitted as long as nobody is pressured into a debt.
Do I have to accept a walima invitation?
Yes, in the ordinary case. Sahih Muslim records the command to attend, and Bukhari records that refusing is disobedience. A gathering involving something impermissible is the recognised exception, and a valid excuse remains a valid excuse.
How big should a walima be?
As big as the family can afford without borrowing. One sheep is the stated floor and the Prophet ﷺ held one for Safiyyah with no meat at all. There is no minimum guest count and no maximum, though a guest list built around wealth is exactly what the hadith about the worst food criticises.
When should the walima be held?
After the nikah. No specific day is fixed in the evidence, and scholars have permitted it on the day of the contract, after consummation, or on the days following.