What is the successful solution to alleviating the high cost of bridal gifts, and does the woman's guardian have the right to force her to marry someone she does not want?
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The questioner : Your Eminence, what is the successful solution to alleviating the high cost of bridal gifts, and does the woman's guardian have the right to force her to marry someone she does not want? And does she have the right to annul the marriage if he forces her?
The Shaykh : As for the first, which is the way to alleviate the bridal gifts, this requires treatment, treatment from the responsible parties, from the leaders of the country and the wealthy of the country, and it requires a long time. But I tell you that, praise be to Allah, among the people there are those for whom a little bridal gift is sufficient. I once contracted a marriage for a man, and when I wanted to say, "So-and-so, marry the man," he said, "I give you my daughter in marriage for a bridal gift of one riyal, one riyal." I said to him, "This is not permissible, because I have heard that some of the common people send the bridal gift as, for example, one hundred thousand, and at the contract they say, 'I give you my daughter in marriage for a bridal gift of one riyal,' while the bridal gift is actually one hundred thousand." So I said to him, "This is of no benefit. The bridal gift is what the husband paid; it is not the riyal that is in the contract. This is an innovation." He said, "No, I am telling you the truth: the bridal gift is one riyal." I said, "Is that correct?" He said, "Yes." So I asked the husband, "Is that correct?" He said, "Yes." And the rest is upon whom? The rest is upon the father of the wife; he is the one who undertook all the expenses of the marriage, from bedding and a bedroom and other things, and he was content with the riyal as the bridal gift. But is one riyal sufficient as a bridal gift? The answer: Do you answer? Yes, it is sufficient. How is it not sufficient? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to a man:Sunan an-Nasa'i 3359Sahih (Darussalam) And the jurists said: "Everything that is valid as a price or a wage is valid as a bridal gift," due to the saying of Allah the Exalted: , [An-Nisa 4:24] So in any case, this requires, I mean reducing the bridal gifts requires great effort from the gathering of the notables and the elders of the country so that they cooperate in righteousness and piety.
And does the guardian have the right to force his daughter into marriage? The answer is no. The guardian, whether the father or other than the father, does not have the right to force his daughter into marriage, due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): And in a narration by Muslim: So he specified the virgin and he specified the father. Therefore, it is not permissible for a man to marry off his daughter without her consent, nor his sister, nor any woman over whom he has guardianship, except with her consent. If he forces her, the marriage is not valid, and it is not permissible for the husband to enter upon her while she is forced upon him, because the marriage is not valid. Yes.
The questioner : And does she have the right to annul the contract?
The Shaykh : If we say that the marriage is not valid, then it must be annulled, because it is not valid. But if we suppose that the woman entered upon the man and she liked the man and she approved the contract, then there is nothing wrong with that, and the marriage becomes valid based on the approval of the contract. Yes.
The Shaykh : As for the first, which is the way to alleviate the bridal gifts, this requires treatment, treatment from the responsible parties, from the leaders of the country and the wealthy of the country, and it requires a long time. But I tell you that, praise be to Allah, among the people there are those for whom a little bridal gift is sufficient. I once contracted a marriage for a man, and when I wanted to say, "So-and-so, marry the man," he said, "I give you my daughter in marriage for a bridal gift of one riyal, one riyal." I said to him, "This is not permissible, because I have heard that some of the common people send the bridal gift as, for example, one hundred thousand, and at the contract they say, 'I give you my daughter in marriage for a bridal gift of one riyal,' while the bridal gift is actually one hundred thousand." So I said to him, "This is of no benefit. The bridal gift is what the husband paid; it is not the riyal that is in the contract. This is an innovation." He said, "No, I am telling you the truth: the bridal gift is one riyal." I said, "Is that correct?" He said, "Yes." So I asked the husband, "Is that correct?" He said, "Yes." And the rest is upon whom? The rest is upon the father of the wife; he is the one who undertook all the expenses of the marriage, from bedding and a bedroom and other things, and he was content with the riyal as the bridal gift. But is one riyal sufficient as a bridal gift? The answer: Do you answer? Yes, it is sufficient. How is it not sufficient? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to a man:
Look (for something), even if it is only an iron ring
التمس ولو خاتما من حديدAnd give them their wages
فآتوهن أجورهنSo for whatever you enjoy [of marriage] from them, give them their due compensation
فما استمتعتم به منهن فآتوهن أجورهنAnd does the guardian have the right to force his daughter into marriage? The answer is no. The guardian, whether the father or other than the father, does not have the right to force his daughter into marriage, due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family):
Do not marry a virgin until her permission is sought, and do not marry a previously married woman or a widow until her opinion is sought
لا تنكح البكر حتى تستأذن، ولا تنكح الثيب أو الأيم حتى تستأمرThe father consults the virgin.
البكر يستأمرها أبوهاThe questioner : And does she have the right to annul the contract?
The Shaykh : If we say that the marriage is not valid, then it must be annulled, because it is not valid. But if we suppose that the woman entered upon the man and she liked the man and she approved the contract, then there is nothing wrong with that, and the marriage becomes valid based on the approval of the contract. Yes.