Remitting Mahr
(Dower) out of Shyness
I have few questions regarding Mahr. Many women (including my mom and sisters) back home
in
1) Can a woman forgive the man of her Mahr, if he says that he does not have the means to pay it
or seeks forgiveness just so he can to get out of it (not pay it).
2) If the answer to the above question is
"yes", then can she demand it later at the time of divorce? Also, in
this case isn't this a tricky way on the part of the husbands to deprive their
wives from their rights making use of their shyness to ask for their rights. Will
the money taken this way be lawful for the husband keeping in mind that the
wife may have forgiven it out of shyness and the Prophet said this is unlawful?
Thank you.
Name of Mufti Sheikh Muhammad Al-Mukhtar Ash-Shanqiti
Content of
Reply In the Name of Allah, Most
Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah,
and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Dear sister in Islam, we would like to
thank you for the great confidence you place in us, and we implore Allah
Almighty to help us serve His cause and render our work for His Sake.
Answering the question in point, Sheikh
Muhammad ibn Al-Mukhtar Ash-Shanqiti, President of the Islamic Association of
"The Mahr
is the right of the woman; it is an obligation upon her husband. In principle,
she can forgive it, but if the husband feels that she forgives it out of
shyness, he has no right to accept that because there is a rule in Islamic
jurisprudence that states that Al-Ma’khoodhu hayaa’an kal ma’khoodhi
ghasban or “whatever is taken out of shyness is
similar to whatever has been taken by force". This statement is applicable
to the case of Mahr more than anything else, because
Allah Almighty says about Mahr: “And give the women (on
marriage) their dower as a free gift; but if they, of their own good pleasure,
remit any part of it to you, Take it and enjoy it with right good cheer.” (An-Nisa’: 4)
According to this verse, it is not
enough for the woman to forgive any part of the Mahr
only by words, the husband has to make sure that she
is serious about her saying, because the verse says “if they, of their own good
pleasure, remit any part of it to you.”"
Allah Almighty knows best.