A father took his daughter's mahr and gave her nothing from it except gold, then the father learned of the prohibition of his action, so what should he do now?
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The questioner : His EminenceThe Shaykh : May Allah keep you safe. In our tribe, the father takes the entire mahr, which is approximately 130,000 riyals, and gives the daughter nothing from it except gold, and he takes the rest. The question is: if this man learns that this mahr is not lawful for him, what should he do now, given that many years have passed since the marriage?
The Shaykh : I say, may Allah reward him for this question. Returning to the truth is the right thing to do, and repentance after a sin wipes it out and leaves no trace. Perhaps a person is better after repenting from a sin than he was before committing it. So we say to this brother, may Allah help him to return what was forbidden to him. The way to do this is easy: he should say to his daughter now, "My daughter, I owe you what I took from the mahr. Do you permit me to keep it?" If she says, "Yes," his liability is cleared. It is most likely that she will say, "Yes," especially if her father is poor. If she says, "No," it is her right. However, we advise the daughter that if such a situation occurs, she should forgive her father and absolve him, especially if he is poor and she does not need it. In fact, if he is poor, even if she does need it, she should not compel him to hand over the mahr when he is unable to do so. Yes.
The Shaykh : I say, may Allah reward him for this question. Returning to the truth is the right thing to do, and repentance after a sin wipes it out and leaves no trace. Perhaps a person is better after repenting from a sin than he was before committing it. So we say to this brother, may Allah help him to return what was forbidden to him. The way to do this is easy: he should say to his daughter now, "My daughter, I owe you what I took from the mahr. Do you permit me to keep it?" If she says, "Yes," his liability is cleared. It is most likely that she will say, "Yes," especially if her father is poor. If she says, "No," it is her right. However, we advise the daughter that if such a situation occurs, she should forgive her father and absolve him, especially if he is poor and she does not need it. In fact, if he is poor, even if she does need it, she should not compel him to hand over the mahr when he is unable to do so. Yes.