IS THERE A FIXED AMOUNT FOR MAHR?

In our Sharia, spouses have rights over each other. These rights are divided into those of the wife over the husband, the husband over the wife, and mutual rights.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said during the Farewell Pilgrimage: “Indeed, your wives have rights over you, and you have rights over your wives.”

One of these rights is the mahr. That is, the bride has the right to request a mahr from her husband before the marriage contract.

According to Islam, it is obligatory (wajib) for a man to give mahr to his wife. However, it is not a condition for the validity of the marriage contract, meaning that a marriage is valid even if the mahr is not specified at the time of the contract. Mohammad Abu Zahra explains in his book “Al-Ahwal al-Shakhsiyyah”: “Mahr is a right owed by the husband to the wife. It is considered a consequence or result of the marriage contract, not a condition for its validity. Therefore, a marriage without specifying the mahr is still valid. However, the obligation to give mahr arises at the time of the marriage contract. Even if the spouses agree to forgo the mahr, the husband is still required to give it.”

Mentioning the mahr at the time of the marriage contract is Sunnah. Doing so helps avoid disputes and is better for both parties. The mahr can be given at the time of marriage, delayed, or paid in installments. According to the Hanafi madhhab, the mahr should be given in the form of property or money. To avoid disputes, the type and value of the mahr should be specified clearly.

There is no upper limit to the amount of mahr. Allah says in Surah An-Nisa, verse 20:

“If you have given one of them a great amount (of mahr), do not take anything back from it.”

The minimum amount of mahr, according to the Hanafi madhhab, is ten dirhams. In the time of the Companions, ten dirhams equaled one gold dinar, and one dinar weighed 4.25 grams.

The Council of Scholars of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kazakhstan has issued a fatwa that the minimum amount of mahr should be calculated as 4.25 grams of gold. If the agreed amount is less than this, it should be raised to this minimum.

Islam is a religion of ease. Allah wants Muslims to benefit from this ease. Therefore, the amount of mahr should be determined based on the groom’s financial ability and the family’s social situation. The mahr should not be so high that it burdens the groom with debt, nor so low that it offends the bride. If the groom cannot pay the full mahr immediately, he can give part of it in advance (mahr mu‘ajjal) and the rest later (mahr mu’akhkhar). In a hadith narrated by Ibn Hibban, the Prophet (ﷺ) said:

“The best women are those whose mahr is the easiest.”

Medet Kurmashuly,

Iman Magazine, No. 1, 2023