What is your opinion on deferring the mahr and paying it in advance, and does the one who does it commit a sin, and does the deferred portion remain a debt on the husband even if he dies?

The questioner : Is it permissible to write that the deferred portion is nothing?

The Shaykh : There is no deferred mahr in Islam. No, the deferred mahr in Islam is not a system in the sense that every suitor must divide the mahr he will pay into two parts: an immediate portion and a deferred portion. This has no basis in the Shari'ah. What has a basis is that if the suitor and the wali (guardian) of the bride agree on a specified mahr, and the suitor is unable to pay it in advance, then in this case he pays what is easy for him and records the rest as a debt on his person. When is this? When he is unable to pay the rest of the mahr. In fact, a man can marry a woman without paying a single coin of the mahr in advance, and instead record the whole amount as deferred. Why? Because he is unable to pay it. It is like the system you know today, where even the richest man, let us say a millionaire, must pay an immediate mahr and a deferred mahr. This has no basis in the Shari'ah. And this system prevalent among people today leads to many serious problems. Therefore, the mahr agreed upon is either such that the whole of it can be paid in one lump sum, and that is the Shari'ah way—peace be upon you—or it is not possible to pay any of it in advance, in which case the whole is recorded as deferred, or he can pay some but not the rest, in which case he pays what he can and defers what he cannot. This is the system. As for making it a system that is mandatory, where even the richest man must have an immediate and a deferred portion, that is a religious innovation (bid'ah) in Islam, and many problems arise from it.
Many people record an immediate mahr of a nominal amount, like a dinar, and put down ten thousand or many thousands as deferred. This is a noose around the neck if he does not want to get rid of his wife due to lack of agreement, because—may Allah reward you with good—did I make it clear to you, Professor? This is it.

The questioner:..

The Shaykh : So I say: Often the deferred mahr is a noose around the husband's neck. Often the husband and wife do not agree on a good and happy life. It is necessary that he divorce her to give himself relief and give his wife relief, but how can he do that when he is bound by shackles and the deferred mahr? So he remains her husband while hating her. And if he divorces her, the outcome and consequence of his affair may be prison because he is unable to pay her the mahr.
Therefore, the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). The Messenger paid his wives an immediate mahr, and so did the Companions. Sometimes, as is established in Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim, a man would marry a woman on the condition that he would teach her a chapter of the Qur'an. So the matter, as we said in the clarification, is that there is no system in Islam of dividing the mahr into two parts, unless it is not easy for him, in which case.

The questioner : If the husband agrees to this recording, does he commit a sin by doing so, after it has become known that it is a religious innovation (bid'ah)?

The Shaykh : If the wali (guardian) of the girl does not respond, there is no sin on him. The sin is on the wali (guardian) of the girl, and he does not commit a sin unless he knows the Shari'ah ruling.
I say: If the suitor does not find the wali (guardian) of the girl willing except for an immediate and deferred portion, there is no sin on him if the wife is the one he desires. The wali (guardian) of the girl commits a sin if he knows the Shari'ah ruling and then submits to customs. But if he does not know the Shari'ah ruling, there is no sin on him. In reality, most people do not know, as the Lord of the Worlds said, meaning: in these matters where they are contradicting the Sunnah, most people do not know about them. Therefore, we do not declare anyone who contradicts the Sunnah to be sinful except on the condition that it has been made clear to him, and then he contradicts it and follows the customs and traditions that people practice. Clear, if Allah wills.

The questioner : This deferred portion?

The Shaykh : It remains a debt on his person.

The questioner : Even if he dies, meaning?

The Shaykh : Even if he dies, of course, unless she permits it and forgives it, that is another matter.

The questioner : The courts do not consider this a debt except in the case of divorce?

The Shaykh : What is the basis for this, Professor?

The questioner : They do not look at the deferred mahr unless he divorces her.

The Shaykh : Why?

The questioner : Is it their custom to do that upon the occurrence of one of the two terms?

The Shaykh : This is her right.

The questioner : They write a deferred mahr of such-and-such only, meaning: upon the occurrence of one of the two terms, either death or divorce, or the greater of the two terms. They consider the legal occurrence to be divorce.

The Shaykh : Is the phrase the Professor mentions present?

The questioner : It is present. It used to be present upon the occurrence of the nearest of the two terms...
And nothing is demanded from him except when divorce occurs because of her, for example.

The Shaykh : Because of her?

The questioner : Because of her, for example, or he divorces her.