The Permissibility of Agreeing on a Monetary Ta'zir (Discretionary Punishment) for Those Who Engage in Shighar

Question: We are a tribe, and when shighar occurs among us, the tribe takes a sum of fifteen thousand riyals from those who engaged in it, as a penalty and a deterrent. Is it permissible to take this amount from the married parties? Knowing that the tribe places it in a fund which it spends on those in need?

Answer: If the tribe agrees and reaches a consensus among themselves to impose a monetary ta'zir (discretionary punishment) on those who engage in shighar, so that they are deterred from the marriage of shighar, this is, if Allah wills, appropriate. It falls under the category of forbidding evil with money. Forbidding evil with money and imposing monetary ta'zir (discretionary punishment) are matters well-known in the Shari'ah, according to the most correct opinion of the scholars. So, if the tribe agrees that whoever marries through shighar will be punished with a specific amount of money, there is no harm, provided that the state has approved of it, and neither the state nor the court has objected, but rather they have approved of it. In that case, there is no harm, if Allah wills.
Shighar is when each one says: "Marry me to your daughter and I will marry you to my daughter," or "Marry me to your sister and I will marry you to my sister," or my daughter. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade this, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) , saying: This means making each one the mahr (bridal gift) for the other. This leads to great corruption, injustice toward women, and the nullification of the money, which is required in marriage, as Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) said: : [Surat al-Nisa: 24].
The point is that shighar is an evil. If the people of a village or tribe agree to punish whoever does it, and the state and the court do not object, but rather approve of it and remain silent about it, then this ta'zir (discretionary punishment) is appropriate and in its proper place. It should be placed in the public interest, in a fund for the public interest: marrying off the poor, or in avenues of reform, or the like.