It is customary among us that when a person marries, a condition is imposed on him to pay a sum of money, for example, twenty thousand shillings or more, in addition to the mahr that

The questioner : It is customary among us that when a person marries, a condition is imposed on him to pay a sum of money, for example, twenty thousand shillings or more, in addition to the mahr that is stipulated in the contract. This amount is taken by the wife's father and the one who conducts the contract on her behalf, without the wife receiving anything from it. Is this permissible or not?

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. Our answer to this question is that the mahr, or the sadaq, or the dowry, or similar terms indicating the compensation given to the woman in exchange for her marriage, belongs exclusively to the wife. This is based on the saying of Allah the Exalted: It is not permissible for anyone to stipulate for himself any part of it, whether the father or anyone else. However, if the contract is completed and the husband wishes to honor one of the wife's relatives with a gift, there is no harm in that. Likewise, if the contract is completed and the woman has received her mahr, and her father wishes to take possession of some of it, there is no harm on him, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: As for making this a condition in the contract, such that it is known that her father, or her brother, or the one who conducts her contract, has a share of what was given to her, then that is forbidden. Yes.