Is it permissible for the mahr to be deferred, and is it permissible for a woman to stipulate that the guardianship (al-'ismah) be hers?

The questioner : Well, regarding other questions related to this, we often contract marriages here in America and encounter what we consider or believe to be religious innovations in these marriages, so we refrain from doing them. One such thing is that it has become customary here in this country for the guardianship (al-'ismah) to be written in the hand of the wife.

The Shaykh : Here or there?

The questioner : Here. People there ask us to do something similar, and some of the mosque imams agree to it. We usually, when they come to us, refuse and say that this contradicts the Shari'ah and goes against the Sunnah. Also, there is the issue of the deferred mahr. We usually refuse this and say that it is not from the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and that the mahr must be what the man possesses at the time of marriage, not in the future. Does this mean?

The Shaykh : Yes, regarding the deferred mahr, there is a detail in my opinion and knowledge from two aspects. The first aspect is that what we disapprove of is making the mahr a system where it is split into immediate and deferred portions, such that even the wealthy, rich, and great men must divide the mahr into two parts. This is undoubtedly a system that contradicts Islam, because the Noble Qur'an explicitly states:

The questioner : .

The Shaykh : "As a gift." The gift (nahlah) completely contradicts this division for those who are able. This is the observation we should note when we disapprove of there being a deferred mahr. This is because it is agreed upon among scholars that it is permissible for a Muslim to marry a woman and consummate the marriage without having given her a mahr or any part of the mahr. In that case, it is said that she is entitled to the mahr of her like (mahr al-mithl), the mahr of women of her status. Likewise, a fortiori, it is permissible for a Muslim, if he agrees with the wali of the proposed bride, to pay half of the mahr that he owns and then promise to fulfill the other half when it becomes easy for him. All of this is permissible. The disapproved matter is making it a system that the wealthiest of the rich must divide the mahr into two parts. This is the disapproved thing; this is the first point.
The second point is if such capable people, who are able to pay the full mahr immediately, do divide it, the contract is valid, the mahr is valid, and the deferred portion remains a debt on the suitor. However, this mahr has no relation to invalidating the contract that was conducted with this division, which may be an unjust and unlegitimate division. So, the only disapproved thing is adopting the immediate and deferred mahr as a system for those who are able.

The questioner : This is the outcome.

The Shaykh : This is the outcome, but it may happen that what we mentioned does not apply to some people who do not have the ability. The suitor may agree to pay, for example, a thousand, because the girl is noble, good, and righteous, and her family is the same, so he desires her even if he does not own the full mahr. If he agrees with them to pay what is easy for him and the rest later, this is what I wanted to point out: two matters.
The first is not adhering to this division; the second is that if it does happen, it does not affect the contract. Yes.

The questioner : Well, we agree that it does not affect the contract, but the question is: was it ever from the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for there to be a deferred mahr?

The Shaykh : The answer is as stated previously: for the one who is able, it was not so.

The questioner : The first part of his question, Shaykh, regarding the story of the 'ismah, meaning... about what he spoke of regarding the 'ismah sometimes being for the woman.

The Shaykh : He did not mention that; he only brought it up in passing. He did not ask a question about it.