Fatwa ID: 03931

Answered by: Alimah Sumeyye Sofu

Question

Assalamu alaikum Wa-rahmatullahi Wa- barakatuh.

Is it compulsory for a girl to ask for money in Mahr? Or is it up to her to ask for whatever she wants? If for my mahr I want my would-be husband to memorize Surah Rahman, then is it permissible?

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Answer:

Allah (SWT) in the Holy Quran has said: “And give the women their dower in good cheer”.[1]

According to the Hanafi school of thought, the mahr must be a type of wealth that has value or benefits and it cannot be less than ten dirhams.[2]

It is compulsory for the husband to pay for the mahr, although later on, the wife by her own will and without any pressure can forgive the husband from paying for it.[3]

According to the Hanafi scholars, it is not permissible to specify the “memorization of a certain surah” as a dowry. If someone marries upon this dowry, then Mahar Mithl should be given to the bride.[4]

Mahar Mithl means The dowry in which the type and value are not stated or agreed upon during the Aqd nikah. If this happens, then the dowry that should be given is one that is to the value of a dowry befitting the wife's sisters and her aunts and paternal cousins (i.e. the mahr of the girls of the family).

It is not considered in the light of the Mahr of her mother and her maternal aunt if they are not from her tribe. The considerations made in Mahr Mithl are: both women should be equal in age, beauty, chastity, wealth, intelligence, religion, city, and time period.[5]

Only Allah knows best

Written by Alimah Sumeyye Sofu

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham