High bridal gifts are among the obstacles to marriage.

The Shaykh : However, there are obstacles to achieving this matter—namely, marriage—in our present time. Among them is the difficulty of the bridal gift, for the mahr is often very large. A young man may remain for a long time without obtaining the mahr, let alone the expenses that follow the marriage. This is contrary to the Sunnah. The Sunnah regarding the mahr is to make it light and small, until it was reported in a hadith: . The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) once married a man to a woman for a pair of sandals. He said to another man: . Why is it that we now control women and do not marry them off except to the one who offers the largest bridal gift? This is a mistake. A person should make the mahr easy and simple, for this is the Sunnah. It is also closer to bringing harmony between the man and the woman—meaning, it unites them. How so? If the mahr is large, and the man may have borrowed most or all of it, and then he marries the woman, it is known that this debt will remain in his mind, disturbing his sleep and filling him with worry. Perhaps he will not be fully happy with his wife. Why? Because he has lost a great deal for her sake. Then, if Allah does not bring compatibility between them and their relationship deteriorates, if the mahr was small, is it easy for him to divorce her? Answer? Yes, it is easy for him. He finds relief, and she finds relief as well. But if the mahr was large, he cannot divorce her without causing her great hardship. Then, if he says, "I will divorce her, but give me back what I spent on her," where will they get that? They may not be able to obtain it. This leads to much evil: a marital life, but a life of misery. All of this is due to making the mahr large.