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EPISODE 3️⃣6️⃣: it is sunnah to keep the mahr (dowry) simple
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Marriage is one of the blessings of Allah, and one of His signs. Allāh says:
وَمِنْ ءَايَٰتِهِۦٓ أَنْ خَلَقَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَٰجًا لِّتَسْكُنُوٓا۟ إِلَيْهَا وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَكُم مَّوَدَّةً وَرَحْمَةًۚ إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَءَايَٰتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquility in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought.
[Ar-Rum 30:21]
Allāh commanded guardians to arrange marriages for those who are under their care, as Allāh says:
وَأَنكِحُوا۟ ٱلْأَيَٰمَىٰ مِنكُمْ وَٱلصَّٰلِحِينَ مِنْ عِبَادِكُمْ وَإِمَآئِكُمْۚ إِن يَكُونُوا۟ فُقَرَآءَ يُغْنِهِمُ ٱللَّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِۦۗ وَٱللَّهُ وَٰسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ
And marry the unmarried among you and the righteous among your male slaves and female slaves. If they should be poor, Allāh will enrich them from His bounty, and Allāh is all-Encompassing and Knowing.
[An-Nur 24:32]
That is because of the great interests that are served by marriage, such as increasing the numbers of the ummah, and causing the Prophet (ﷺ) to feel proud before the other Prophets, and protecting both husband and wife from falling into haraam… and other great benefits.
But some guardians (walis) put obstacles in the way of marriage, which prevented those under their care from getting married in many cases.
That is because they exaggerate concerning the mahr, and demand huge dowries which a young man who wants to get married cannot afford, until marriage becomes something extremely difficult for many of those who want to get married.
The mahr is a right that is given to the woman, as enjoined by Islamic sharee’ah, as an expression of the man’s desire to marry her.
Allāh says;
“And give to the women (whom you marry) their Mahr (obligatory bridal-money given by the husband to his wife at the time of marriage) with a good heart But if they give up willingly to you anything of it, then take it in satisfaction and ease.”
[al-Nisa’ 4:4]
This does not mean that the woman is a product to be sold, rather it is a symbol of honour and respect, and a sign that the husband is willing to shoulder his responsibilities and fulfil his duties.
Sharee’ah does not stipulate a certain limit for the mahr that should not be overstepped, but it does encourage reducing the mahr and keeping it simple.
Al-Bayhaqi (14721) narrated that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “The best of dowries is that which is most affordable.”
Ahmad (23957) and Ibn Majah (4095) narrated from `Aishah (رضي الله عنها ) that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “One of the signs of a woman being blessed is that the process of proposing to her is made easy and the dowry is made affordable and she bears children easily.
(Classed as sound by Al-Albani in Sahih Al-Jami`, 2235)
At-Tirmidhi (1114) narrated that `Umar ibn Al-Khattab (رضي الله عنه) said: Do not go to extremes with regard to women’s dowries. If that were something honourable in this world or a sign of piety before Allāh, then the Prophet of Allāh (ﷺ) would have been the most entitled to it, but I never heard that the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) offered as a dowry for any of his wives or accepted as a dowry for any of his daughters anything more than twelve Uqiyah.
(Classed as authentic by Al-Albani in Sahih At-Tirmidhi)
(An Uqiyah is 40 Dirhams; the weight of a Dirham in grams is 2.975 g [of silver]).
Hence it is clear that what people do nowadays, increasing the mahr and exaggerating concerning it, is something that goes against the sharee’ah.
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🕋ISLAM GENERATION DAWAH GROUP
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