Mahr

In Islam, a mahr (in Arabic: مهر‎; also transliterated mehr, meher, or mahrieh) is a mandatory payment, in the form of money or possessions paid by the groom, or by groom's father, to the bride at the time of marriage, that legally becomes her property.^[1] While the mahr is often money, it can also be anything agreed upon by the bride such as jewelry, home goods, furniture, a dwelling. Mahr is typically specified in the marriage contract signed during an Islamic marriage.

Mahr is similar in legal enforceability to donatio propter nuptias of Eastern Roman law, except some critical differences.^[2] Donatio propter nuptias was optional and voluntary, while mahr is mandatory and required for all Muslim marriages. Mahr is not an optional gift.^[3][4] The other difference was that donatio propter nuptias was a security the groom delivered to bride or registered in her name, at the time of marriage, in exchange for dos (dowry) that came with the bride.^[5][6] Mahr is a religious requirement according to Sharia.

The terms "dowry" and "bride price" are sometimes used to translate mahr, but these are misleading. The term dowry (Latin, dos dotis) is inaccurate, as it is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage, usually provided by her parents or family. In Islamic marriages, such assets brought into the union by the wife may only be accepted by the husband after the mahr has been paid by him to her.^{[citation needed]}

In the event the marriage contract does not contain an exact, specified mahr, the husband must still pay the wife an equitable sum.^[7] The requirement of a mahr is mentioned several times in the Quran and Hadith.^[8]

The mahr is often paid to the bride in parts. The mahr amount given to the bride at the signing of the marriage contract is called a muajjal or mu'qadamm (in Arabic: ‎; مقدم, literally translated as forepart presented), and the portion that is promised but deferred is called a muwajjal or mu'akhaar ( in Arabic: ‎ مؤخر, literally translated as delayed). A deferred promise to pay does not make the full amount of the mahr any less legally required.^[9] There are differences between the nature of mahr, definition of proper contract and conditions of enforceability depending on the regional fiqh and school of Islamic jurisprudence.^[10]

Etymology and history

The word mahr is related to Hebrew Mohar, more closely to the Syriac word Mahrā, “bridal gift”, which originally meant “purchase-money”. The word implies a gift given voluntarily and not as a result of a contract, but in Muslim religious law it was declared a gift which the bridegroom has to give the bride when the contract of marriage is made and which becomes the property of the wife.^[11]

Among pre-Islamic Arabs, a bride price called mahra or mahar, was an essential condition for a legal marriage and only when a mahra had been given to the bride by the groom, or on groom's behalf, did a proper marriage relationship arise. The mahra was the wife's property. This practice continued under Islam.^[12]

Structure of mahr

A mahr is part of every Muslim marriage contract. The mahr may be separated into two parts. First, there is the muajjal, or the prompt mahr, which the wife must receive at or immediately after the marriage ceremony. The second part of the mahr, called the muwajjal, is a deferred and promised amount, payable only in the event of divorce or the husband‟s death. Often the deferred amount is larger than the amount paid at marriage. In theory, the deferred amount is supposed to provide the wife a means of support, were she suddenly lose her husband because of death or divorce.^[13]

The mahr in any Islamic marriage contract is a fundamental religious right of the wife, and the husband may not reduce the mahr. Even upon the husband's death, the deferred mahr is paid from his estate before all other debts, because it is a religious requirement. The mahr amount is often negotiated between the parents or guardians of the bride and groom (also called wali), and the parties often draft mahr agreements by filling in the blanks of form contracts that employ standard boilerplate terms. The typical mahr containing marriage contract consists of the names of the parties, the amount of the mahr, a cleric's signature, the signature of two male witnesses, and a disclaimer that Islamic law will govern the marriage contract.^[14]

In Arabian world, there are varying interpretations of mahr containing marriage contracts, highlighting the differences between Maliki, Hanbali, Hanafi, Shafi, and Jafari schools of Islamic jurisprudence.^[15] For example, the Hanafi School holds that if the woman initiates the divorce (khul) she cannot receive her mahr regardless of whether the husband is or is not at fault, while the Maliki School holds that when the husband is at fault for the divorce, the wife does not forfeit her right to the mahr even if she initiates the divorce. The schools also differ over the requisite number of witnesses to the contract. The Hanafi School requires two witnesses on the document for a mahr containing contract to be valid, while the Maliki School holds that witnesses are only needed at marriage's publication but not the document.^[16]

Differences and issues

Under Islamic law, there is no coverture, an idea central in European, American as well as non-Islamic Asian common law, and the legal basis for the principle of marital property. In Islam, marriage is a contract between a man and his wives. A Muslim man and woman do not merge their legal identity upon marriage. The assets of the man before the marriage, and earned after the marriage, remain his during marriage, and in case of a divorce.^[17]

A divorce under Islamic law does not require redistribution of property. Rather, each spouse walks away from the marriage with his or her individual property. Divorcing Muslim women who did not work outside their home after marriage, except for the deferred mahr, are left with little or no claim on the collective wealth of the couple. The deferred mahr is considered a debt owed by the man to the woman, and is owed even if he has no assets.^[18][19]

Divorce under Islamic law may take many forms. If a woman wishes to divorce her husband she has two options: seek a tafriq, or seek a khul. A tafriq is a divorce for certain allowable reasons. This divorce is granted by a qadi, a religious judge, in cases where the qadi accepts her claims of abuse or abandonment. If a tafriq is granted, the marriage is dissolved and the husband is obligated to pay her the deferred mahr in their marriage contract. The second method, by far more common in wife-initiated divorces, khul is a divorce without cause, by mutual consent. This divorce requires a husband's consent and it must be supported by consideration that passes from the wife to the husband. Often, this consideration almost always consists of the wife relinquishing her claim to the deferred mahr. In contrast to allowable methods of divorce to a woman, a husband may unilaterally divorce his wife, as talaq, with no requirement to show cause, nor is there any intervention by a qadi. However, upon talaq, the husband must pay the wife her deferred mahr.^[20]

Western courts have treated mahr provisions in a manner similar to pre-marital contracts; however, in many cases the courts have considered the validity of the marriage contract in cases such as where proper disclosures were not made at the time of marriage, the bride and groom did not separately consent without duress, and in case the bride or both spouses entered into a child marriage prior to a legal age of consent.^[21][22]

References in Islamic texts

The Encyclopaedia of Islam's entry on mahr states: "According to a tradition in Bukhari, the mahr is an essential condition for the legality of the marriage: 'Every marriage without mahr is null and void'."^[23]

According to Islamic teachings in the hadith (sayings of Muhammad), mahr is the amount to be paid by the groom to the bride at the time of marriage, some of which may be delayed according to what is agreed upon by the spouses. The mahr is for her to spend as she wishes. ^[24] It can be cash, jewellery or any other valuable gift. In some cases, per Sahih Bukhari (Volume 7, Book 62, Number 72), even an iron ring can be mahr.^[25]

Sura 4.4, 4.19, 4.20, 4.24, 60.10 and 60.11 of Qur'an require a groom to give a dower to a bride.^[26][27]

Modern purposes

In 2003, Rubya Mehdi published an article in which the culture of mahr among Muslims was thoroughly reviewed.^{[28] [29]}

Mahr is a means of sustenance in case of a sudden death, divorce or other emergency.^[30]

See also

• Women and Islam
• Islamic marital jurisprudence
• Dowry (an overlapping concept)

References

External links

Look up mahr in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.