Chapter on the Bridal Gift

The Shaykh : Then the author said "Chapter on the Bridal Gift". The bridal gift is the compensation paid by the marriage contract, and what is attached to it. The one who pays is the husband, and the one to whom it is paid is the wife. Our saying "and what is attached to it" refers to intercourse under a false impression. If a man has intercourse with a woman under a false impression, he must pay her bridal gift. For example, a man enters his house and finds a woman on his bed, thinking she is his wife, so he has intercourse with her. This is intercourse under a false impression. A man finds a woman on his bed and did not know that anyone other than his wife sleeps on his bed, so he has intercourse with her. We say this is intercourse under a false impression, and he must pay the bridal gift because he considered her private parts lawful while believing they were lawful. If she becomes pregnant from this intercourse, the child is hers, clearly, and also his, because he had intercourse with her believing she was one of his lawful wives. In summary, the bridal gift is the compensation paid by the marriage contract and what is attached to it. Its ruling is obligatory, based on the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He: with the condition . Therefore, every marriage requires a bridal gift, except for one marriage: a woman who offered herself to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). This does not require a bridal gift because she offered herself, and an offering is a gift without compensation. However, this is specific to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). It is obligatory.