Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Can you please advise me that in marriages MEHR

HALF YOU HAVE TO GIVE TO YOUR WIFE WHEN EVER ASKED HALF YOU HAVE TO PAY AFTER DIVORCE OR WHAT SO EVER.

MY QUESTION IS THIS THAT IF MY WIFE SAYS THAT I DON`T WANT MEHR. YOU CAN KEEP THIS AMOUNT WITH YOU. WE HAVE VERY GOOD UNDERSTANDING.
IS IT A LIABILITY FOR ME TO PAY HALF MEHR OR FULL MEHR. EVEN MY WIFE DON`T DEMAND.
DURING MY LIFE IS THIS A LIABILITY ON ME TO PAY MEHR EVEN MY WIFE SAY I DON`T NEED THAT AND I DON`T DEMAND OR EVEN IF YOU WILL PASS AWAY I CAN FORGIVE THIS AMOUNT.


PLEASE ANSWER KEEPING IN VIEW OF MY QUESTIONS

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Answer:

Payment of Mehr

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Q-1: HALF YOU HAVE TO GIVE TO YOUR WIFE WHEN EVER ASKED. HALF YOU HAVE TO PAY AFTER DIVORCE OR WHAT SO EVER.
In Islam, it is an obligatory condition of marriage that the man fix and gift an amount to his wife, according to his means or according to his wife’s demand, at the time of marriage.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisaa verse 4: 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.

This Mehr is a right of the wife, and she may spend it as she wills. It is impermissible for the husband to demand the mehr back, or take it away from his wife after their marriage, or if he divorces her, or he marries again; but if of her own free will and good pleasure, the wife wishes to share the mehr amount with her husband, there is no harm.

Once the ‘mehr’ amount is accepted by the bride, it is better and purer for the man to pay her immediately. If he cannot afford to pay her immediately, and if his proposed wife agrees, he may pay her at a later date or in installments.

Q-2: MY QUESTION IS THIS THAT IF MY WIFE SAYS THAT I DON`T WANT MEHR. YOU CAN KEEP THIS AMOUNT WITH YOU.

If the wife, without any coercion and of her own free will decides that she wants to forego the agreed ‘Mehr’, she is well within her rights to do so. There is absolutely no harm if the husband keeps this amount in such a case.

Q-3: WE HAVE VERY GOOD UNDERSTANDING. IS IT A LIABILITY FOR ME TO PAY HALF MEHR OR FULL MEHR. EVEN MY WIFE DON`T DEMAND.
Once the marriage is consummated, it is the duty and liability of the husband to pay the agreed Mehr to his wife in full, whether she demands it or not. But if of her own free will and without any coercion whatsoever, the wife forgives all or part of the agreed ‘Mehr’, there is absolutely no harm in that.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 237:And if ye divorce them before consummation but after the fixation of a Mehr for them, then the half of the Mehr (is due to them), unless they remit it.

Only if one divorces his wife before consummation of the marriage but after the fixation of the Mehr, then the man is required by Law to pay his wife half the agreed Mehr.

Q-4: DURING MY LIFE IS THIS A LIABILITY ON ME TO PAY MEHR EVEN MY WIFE SAY I DON`T NEED THAT AND I DON`T DEMAND OR EVEN IF YOU WILL PASS AWAY I CAN FORGIVE THIS AMOUNT.
The ‘Mehr’ is the right of the wife, and she may do whatever she wills with this amount. If she wills she may take and use all of it, and if she wills she may take a part of it and forgive the other part, or she may forego the whole amount. It is entirely upto her.

But if the wife has, of her own free will and without any coercion whatsoever, not forgiven the full Mehr or a part of it, it is the liability of the husband to give the agreed Mehr to her in full, whether she demands it or not.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan