I had previously promised the son of a friend of mine that I would marry my daughter to him without a mahr. This is a young man I know; he is of good character and religion, but it became clear to me that the mahr is the right of the wife.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : This caller from Jeddah says: “O honorable Shaykh, I had previously promised the son of a friend of mine that I would marry my daughter to him without a mahr. This young man is one I know; he is of a high level of character and religion. But it became clear to me that the mahr is the right of the wife after my friend reminded me of it. What should I do? Should I pay my daughter a mahr from my own pocket, knowing that I will cover all the requirements of the marriage? Please advise us, O honorable Shaykh, may Allah reward you.”
The Shaykh : The matter is as you heard: the mahr is the right of the wife, by the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He:[An-Nisa 4:4] and by His saying, the Exalted: [An-Nisa 4:24].
If you promised the son of your friend that you would marry him without a mahr, then marry him and say to him: “Give me whatever is easy for you of the mahr, even if it is just one riyal, and I will complete the rest for my daughter.” By doing so, you will be rewarded for your faithfulness to the promise from one angle, and rewarded from another angle if this young man is upright and does not find what to pay as a complete mahr for your daughter. We ask Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, to guide you to good and to grant them, if Allah decrees their union, good offspring.
The questioner : O Allah, amen. May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : The matter is as you heard: the mahr is the right of the wife, by the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He:
And give the women [upon marriage] their [bridal] gifts graciously
وَءاتُوا النِّساءَ صَدُقاتِهِنَّ نِحلَةًSo for whatever you enjoy [of marriage] from them, give them their due compensation as an obligation
فَمَا استَمتَعتُم بِهِ مِنهُنَّ فَآتوهُنَّ أُجورَهُنَّ فَريضَةًIf you promised the son of your friend that you would marry him without a mahr, then marry him and say to him: “Give me whatever is easy for you of the mahr, even if it is just one riyal, and I will complete the rest for my daughter.” By doing so, you will be rewarded for your faithfulness to the promise from one angle, and rewarded from another angle if this young man is upright and does not find what to pay as a complete mahr for your daughter. We ask Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, to guide you to good and to grant them, if Allah decrees their union, good offspring.
The questioner : O Allah, amen. May Allah bless you.