Mahar or Mahr in Islam

Mahr (The Gift) Sometimes called Haq Mahr given to the Bride before or at the Nikah (Islamic Marriage)

In the Islamic marriage contract the Nikah Nama covers haq mahar .

It is a mandatory gift or token of respect given by the husband to the wife. It is often a monetary amount. But it can be in the form of cash or gold or even property or another financial obligation that solely belongs to the wife.

It can be paid upfront, prior to the Islamic Marriage and or on the day, it can be paid in installments and it can also be differed, this is agreed by both the Bride and Groom prior to the agreement of the Islamic Marriage Ceremony.

Haq Mahr is the main aspect of Nikah and it is mandatory for the groom to give it to the bride.

The gift of marriage (Mahr) is a sacred command. Mahr may be given at the time of Nikah or given on credit. It is the liability of the husband or someone else who wants to pay it and is done on the couple’s mutual consent.

As said by Allah, “And give the women (on marriage) their Mahr as a free gift” (Quran 4:4)

Mar is not dowry but unfortunately today’s society sometimes call it dowry even when dowry was the European tradition of the Gift(s) given to the groom by the Bride, Islam actually reversed the whole process and gave women rights when everywhere else in the world rights were removed.

It is compulsory for us to understand the Deen of Allah if we dare to call ourselves Muslim.

Mahr is not returned if the wife applies for a khulla unless she returns it without any pressure willingly.

May Allah SWT bless us all with the correct knowledge Ameen.

We often get asked the question:

Can a husband demand the Mahr back from his wife when she is applying for a khulla?

The simple answer is NO according to the Holy Qur’an the husband MUST NOT demand any gift back from his wife, however if she willingly returns the gift or compensates the husband in return for a Talak then there is no problem with that. Qur’an Surah Al Baqarah Verse 229.

The Link is here to check for yourself. https://quran.com/2/229

A lot of people seem to think that the returning of Mahr is compulsory for a wife if she applies for a Khulla, however this is a cultural practice nothing to do with Islam,

The Ahadith below is often used to explain why the wife needs to return the Mahr:

The wife of Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammaas (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said, “O Messenger of Allah, I do not find any fault with Thabit ibn Qays in his character or his religious commitment, but I do not want to commit any act of kufr after becoming a Muslim.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to her, “Will you give back his garden?” Because he had given her a garden as her mahr. She said, “Yes.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to Thabit: “Take back your garden, and give her talak.” (Narrated by al-Bukhari, 5273). 

Please note that the wife returned the Garden and obtained a talak from her husband this is not Khulla, she willingly returned the garden, there was no force for her to do so also the husband didn’t put it as a condition by demanding she returned it, the Prophet (Peace & Blessings of Allah be upon Him) asked the wife if she was willing to return the Mahr.

Islam is about negotiation, compromise, agreement and justice, if either party start demanding, then Islam is out of the window unfortunately.

May Allah SWT protect us and allow us to understand the deen correctly and deploy in our own lives rather than issuing fatwas on other people

Ameen Ya Rabbe Kareem, indeed Allah Knows Best