And she is entitled to the equivalent mahr by contract, and the judge determines its amount.

The Shaykh : Then the author (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "And she is entitled to the equivalent mahr by contract, and the judge determines its amount." This means that the one who estimates determines it; "determines" here means to estimate. "The judge" means the qadi. "By its amount" means by the amount of the equivalent mahr. Now, if the husband and wife agree on a specific amount without going to the judge, is that permissible? Yes, it is permissible, because the right belongs to them. But if they disagree, and the husband says, "Her equivalent mahr is thirty," while the wife says, "My equivalent mahr is fifty," then there is a problem. Who resolves the problem? The judge, meaning the qadi. He determines it by its amount and looks into what the equivalent mahr is. He says, "Now, you, the husband, must pay the equivalent mahr." The time is up.