Encouraging the facilitation of mahr (bridal gifts)
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
We return at the beginning of this episode to the message from listener Abdullah Hamid 'Abbud. We presented some of Brother Abdullah's questions in a previous episode, and in this episode he has a very long question about the high cost of mahr, and whether a high mahr is considered like selling a daughter—as he says?
He requests guidance. May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send blessings and peace upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow his guidance. As for what follows:
The pure Shari'ah did not specify a known amount for the mahr; rather, it left it to people to agree upon whatever mahr they wish, whether small or large. However, the Lawgiver encouraged reducing and facilitating it to encourage marriage and the chastity of men and women. Among this is His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He) : And his wives' mahr was five hundred, and he married [others] for five hundred, and it is narrated that he married his daughters for four hundred.
The point is that he (peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged lightening and facilitating the mahr, and he did not make it excessive, neither with his wives nor with his daughters (peace and blessings be upon him). So what is prescribed for the believer is to lighten it and not to burden himself with it. But times differ in terms of high prices and low prices, and the availability or unavailability of necessities. It is prescribed for those getting married to agree upon something suitable that does not wrong the husband, nor harm the husband, nor leave women and young men without marriage. The easier and less it is, the better, so that marriage becomes easy for everyone to obtain; due to his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):Mishkat al-Masabih 3080.
So the believer strives to offer his daughter, his sister, and his ward through every lawful means so that they do not remain unmarried and so that they are not exposed to dangers. The man likewise strives to get married, and his father, his brother, and whoever is able to marry him strive to do so and cooperate with him in that, so that he is not exposed to the dangers of bachelorhood, especially in this age where trials have increased and where there are many women who display their adornment.
We return at the beginning of this episode to the message from listener Abdullah Hamid 'Abbud. We presented some of Brother Abdullah's questions in a previous episode, and in this episode he has a very long question about the high cost of mahr, and whether a high mahr is considered like selling a daughter—as he says?
He requests guidance. May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send blessings and peace upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow his guidance. As for what follows:
The pure Shari'ah did not specify a known amount for the mahr; rather, it left it to people to agree upon whatever mahr they wish, whether small or large. However, the Lawgiver encouraged reducing and facilitating it to encourage marriage and the chastity of men and women. Among this is His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He) :
The best mahr (the bridal gift) is the easiest
خير الصداق أيسرهThe point is that he (peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged lightening and facilitating the mahr, and he did not make it excessive, neither with his wives nor with his daughters (peace and blessings be upon him). So what is prescribed for the believer is to lighten it and not to burden himself with it. But times differ in terms of high prices and low prices, and the availability or unavailability of necessities. It is prescribed for those getting married to agree upon something suitable that does not wrong the husband, nor harm the husband, nor leave women and young men without marriage. The easier and less it is, the better, so that marriage becomes easy for everyone to obtain; due to his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):
Young man, those of you who can support a wife should marry, for it keeps you from looking at strange women and preserves you from immorality; but those who cannot should devote themselves to fasting, for it is a means of suppressing sexual desire.
يا معشر الشباب، من استطاع منكم الباءة فليتزوج، فإنه أغض للبصر، وأحصن للفرج، ومن لم يستطع فعليه بالصوم، فإنه له وجاءSo the believer strives to offer his daughter, his sister, and his ward through every lawful means so that they do not remain unmarried and so that they are not exposed to dangers. The man likewise strives to get married, and his father, his brother, and whoever is able to marry him strive to do so and cooperate with him in that, so that he is not exposed to the dangers of bachelorhood, especially in this age where trials have increased and where there are many women who display their adornment.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.