Mahr (dowry): status, mention and limits

Property that belongs to the wife

The mahr (sadaq) is what the woman receives through the marriage contract. The Quran attributes it to her directly: "Give women their mahr with a good heart" (an-Nisa 4). The majority of scholars (Hanafis, Shafi'is, Hanbalis, and Ibn Wahb among the Malikis) state that it is her exclusive property: she disposes of it as she wishes, and nothing obliges her to turn it into the household trousseau; her father is not bound to furnish her either, unless he does so freely, a custom widespread in many countries.

Its mention in the contract: recommended, not required

The four schools agree: naming the mahr in the act is recommended, not obligatory. A nikah concluded without any mention is valid, and if no secret agreement excluded it, the wife is entitled to the mahr of her like (mahr al-mithl). The Prophet encouraged fixing it: "Go and ask, even for a ring of iron"; and lacking a ring, he married the man "with what you have of the Quran".

Go and seek, even a ring of iron.al-Bukhari 5533

Ibn Rushd reports the scholars' agreement: the mahr belongs to the conditions of validity, and one cannot agree to drop it, by virtue of the verses "Give women their mahr" and "Give them their due reward" (an-Nisa 4, 25).

When does it become due?

The Hanafis and Hanbalis, and according to one view the Shafi'is, hold that it becomes due by the contract alone, before consummation: if the wife dies first, her heir claims the mahr of her like; if the husband dies first, she takes it from his estate. Half suffices in case of divorce before consummation, and its payment may be advanced or deferred to a known term: all of this is accepted, as is part advanced and part deferred.

Its value and nature

• Shafi'is and Hanbalis require a known mahr, such that a sale would be valid with it; an unknown mahr falls away, and the mahr of her like applies;
• Hanafis and Malikis accept an unknown mahr: the marriage stands, and an average value is imposed;
• the mahr must be property: teaching the Quran as a counterpart is rejected by Hanafis, Malikis and Hanbalis; the Shafi'is accept it relying on the hadith of marriage with Quranic verses (al-Bukhari 4741);
• the husband's gifts to his wife do not count within the mahr, for most scholars.

Changing or waiving after the act

After the contract, increasing or reducing the mahr, deferring it, or waiving it is lawful: "No blame upon you in what you mutually agree to after the stipulation" (an-Nisa 24). Waiver by the wife or her guardian is accepted without dispute, notably for the woman divorced before consummation.

Practical note

The mahr is a right of the woman, not a price bargained against her: fix it fairly, state it clearly, pay it on the agreed date. For any delicate situation, consult a scholar.