A Guide to Understanding & Fulfilling Muslim Marriage Dower (Mahr)

Several people can decide on the amount and makeup of the dower. In practice, it is often a negotiation among several people. But one person can also decide alone.

• It may be the wife.
• It may be the husband.
• It may be the guardian (wali), if the wife has delegated negotiation of the dower with the husband to him.
• It may be a third party acting as an arbiter (tahkim).

The things that can be included in a dower:

• Must not be prohibited by Islam.
• Must have a monetary value.
• Must be described sufficiently clearly.

1 – The property that makes up the dower must not be prohibited by Islam

The property given to the wife as a dower must be legal from the point of view of Islamic Sharia, in other words, it must be halal.

For example, property containing alcohol or pork is prohibited, as is property that has no market value or was acquired in an illegal or fraudulent manner.

2 – The property included in the dower must have a monetary value

The property included in the dower must have a market value, i.e., must be able to be priced and sold or rented for a sum of money. The dower may thus include material property like a sum of money, jewels, agricultural land, livestock and any other type of commercial goods. Preferably, the amount of the dower will be adjusted according to the husband’s means.

Experts from the Shafi’i, Maliki and Hanbali schools agree that the dower may include services, for example, Quran lessons given by the husband to his wife (Muslim Hadith 3316).

The Hanafi school believes that services may not be included in the dower. 

Halalmarriagecontract.com asks you to specify the value of the property given as dower in national currency in order to avoid any risk of accumulating interest (riba).

3 – The property that makes up the dower must be described sufficiently clearly

If the property that makes up the dower is described in a vague or approximate manner, the value of the dower will be uncertain and may be invalid.

According to the Hanafi, Maliki and Hanbali schools, whatever is given as a dower must be described well enough that there is no uncertainty about its nature or type.

Slight vagueness does not invalidate the provision.

The Shafi’i school, on the other hand, has decided that even a slight uncertainty about the makeup of the dower can nullify the marriage contract or lead to the payment of a standard dower.

Experts from all the Fiqh schools agree that there is no maximum amount for a dower.

Two schools, however, set a minimum value

• The Maliki school says that the minimum amount of a dower must be the value of a quarter dinar (old dinar) in gold. The old dinar is equal to 4.25 grams of gold or 22 carats today (91.67% gold)
  The minimum dower for this school is therefore 1.0625 grams of gold
• The Hanafi school says that the minimum amount of a dower is the value of ten (old) silver dirhams, i.e., 29.5 grams of silver.

Remember that Islam calls for sober moderation in all things, particularly in marriage.

Allah عزّ وجلّ says:

“The servants of the Merciful are those who, when they spend, are neither wasteful nor stingy, but choose a middle course.”
(Quran  25:67)

Remember also that the Prophet  صلَّى الله عليه وسلَّم himself advised a Muslim to hand over an iron ring as dower (Bukhari Hadith 50150)

Therefore, the amount of the dower should preferably be reasonable.

1 – Specified Dower (Mahr al-Musamma): Agreed-upon Amount

The spouses or representatives agree on the amount of the dower. This is the usual situation.

2 – Standard Dower (Mahr al-Mithl): Determined by Wife’s Social Status

A standard dower may be demanded by the wife whenever the dower was not stipulated in the contract or the clause covering it is not valid. The marriage is valid, even without stipulation of a dower (Quran 3:236) but this leads to the payment of a standard dower.

A standard dower is established according to the wife’s prior standard of living in comparison to the amount of dower received by women on her father’s side of the family and also according to what wives with the same physical and moral qualities typically receive.

3 – Delegated Dower (Tefwid al-Mahr): Decided After Marriage (By Spouse or Third Party)

The spouses agree that the dower will be established after the wedding either by one of the spouses or by a third party.

Option 1 – Full Payment Upfront (Before, During, or After Ceremony)

• Either before or during the wedding ceremony, or
• After the wedding ceremony on a set date sometime in the future.

Option 2 – Partial Payment with Deferred Installments (Clearly Defined in Marriage Contract)

All Muslim legal schools agree that it is a valid option to defer payment of the dower, either partially or entirely, provided that the payment date is precisely specified.

• The first part is payable when the marriage contract is signed.
• The second part is payable in the future and the details depend on what is provided in the marriage contract or, failing that, the customs of each country or community.

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Option 3 – Dower Can Be Determined After Marriage

The spouses may decide that one of them will decide on the dower (tafwid al mahr) or a third party will decide on it (arbitral dower).

Option 4 – Dower Can Be Postponed Entirely

The dower may be entirely postponed until the husband’s death or in case of divorce.

Only the Shafi’i school rejects the legality of this type of clause.

➤ All marriage contracts on Halalmarriagecontract.com allow each of these different options for paying the dower. Personalize your Islamic marriage contract today.

There are two circumstances in which the wife definitively acquires all or half of the dower.

Full Dower After Consummation

If the marriage has been consummated, the wife has the right to the whole dower.

Half Dower Upon Divorce Before Consummation (If Not Wife’s Fault)

If the wife is repudiated or the couple divorces before the marriage is consummated, through no fault of the wife’s, she has the right to half the agreed dower (Quran 2:237).

No Dower or Return of Received Dower (If Divorce Due to Wife’s Fault)

If the marriage is dissolved before it is consummated for a cause attributed to the wife, she has no right to any dower and, if she has already received it, she must pay all of it back. 

The husband can make the amount of the dower depend on the presence or absence of a quality or physical defect in his future wife or even, for example, her virginity.

The husband may stipulate two different sums as dower, agreeing to pay the higher amount if the wife has all the named physical conditions and the lower amount if she does not.

The wife will then have the right to one or the other of these amounts depending on whether she has the required physical qualities.

Halalmarriagecontract.com provides such a clause for those who wish to use it.

Gifts may be offered to the spouses in addition to the dower.

Legally, gifts given in a marriage are considered donations.

Under Muslim law, a donation cannot be reclaimed if the marriage is dissolved.

That is also what the Prohpet explained  صلَّى الله عليه وسلَّم  when he declared

“‘It is not lawful for a man to make a donation or give a gift and then take it back, except a father regarding what he gives his child.

One who gives a gift and then takes it back is like a dog which eats and vomits when it is full, then returns to its vomit.”
(Sunan Abu Dawud Hadith 3539)

Current customs or arrangements made according to family tradition or local customs may also play a role.