Haq Mahr or dowry is the fixed amount that a Muslim man pays to his bride in exchange for marriage. or promises to pay. Although the world has developed so much. The literacy rate has increased, but some people still have the same stereotypes about right mahr. Irrespective of the types of dowry, men consider it a burden. And sometimes the parents of the girl are urged to waive the dowry.
Sometimes it is argued that men and women are equally entitled to marriage and intercourse. And there is mutual benefit from this marriage. So why should every man give less or more wealth to a woman as a dowry? Doesn't it become a form of buying and selling?
This is explained by the fact that although women and men equally benefit from marriage. But in the case of separation or divorce, the woman has to bear more losses. Secondly, due to the specific physical capabilities and strength, the man usually has more influence and dominance in the society. Whereas women are weak and dependent on others. So right mahr is necessary for him in this case also. Besides, Haq Mahr does not have any aspect of trade. And the best proof of this is the terms of marriage. In which, legally, men and women are the two basic members of this covenant.
In the age of ignorance, people were not convinced of the respect and value of women. That is why most of the time the right of dowry which is the right of a mankuha. Instead it was given to his guardian. Or sometimes strange conditions were placed in the dowry. If the brother married his sister to someone, that person also had to marry his sister to the girl's brother. That is, the marriage of Vita Satta. And the dowry of both women would have been considered as the same.
Among us, a certain intellectually capable class considers haq mahr as against masculinity. He is made to believe that paying dowry is not less than a sin or abuse for him. Or the misunderstanding that the right to dowry will be paid only in case of divorce. There is not even that much trouble to take off. Because that clause is cut from most of the marriage contracts. In which the woman will be entitled to dowry in case of divorce.
In some places, these scenes are also seen that in the case of the death of the wife, before her funeral, the husband forgives the dowry from the deceased in the presence of all the relatives. In many places it was seen that someone's husband died. So before the funeral, his widow was ordered to forgive her right to dowry to her husband. So that he does not leave the world with this burden.
A man will marry, build a house. He will fulfill all the needs and wishes of the wife and children. He will dress his wife well. If possible, he will also bring gifts and ornaments. But Haq will defer the payment of dowry until his or his wife's death. It has also been observed that if one's married life becomes bitter and difficult. So, some cruel in-laws intentionally create such situations that the woman is forced to become humble and take the khula. So that her husband avoids paying the dowry.
Types of right stamp
Following are the types of Haq Mahr in Shariah.
1- Maher Masmi
The dowry whose amount is determined between the spouses. It has two types as follows.
Maher Mu'jal (i
Muajjal refers to the seal. The payment of which becomes obligatory immediately after the marriage. And the wife can demand it immediately after marriage.
Maher Mujal (ii
It refers to the dowry which is not required to be paid immediately after the marriage. Rather, a specific time has been fixed for it. Or its payment has been suspended at the demand of the wife in the future. If a specific period of Haq Mehr has been fixed. So the wife has no right to demand dowry before this fixed time. And if the dowry has been withheld on the demand of the wife, then the wife should demand whenever. At that time, the husband will have to pay the dowry. In the third case, if no specific time is fixed for the seal. Nor was it suspended on the demand of the wife. So in this case its payment will be required at the time of divorce or death.
3- Absolute seal
This is a seal that is neither movable nor movable. That is, with the mutual consent of the spouses, the husband can pay it whenever he wants. In order to receive this type of dowry, the wife is not legally authorized to withhold herself from the husband.
4- Maher Manjum
It refers to such right of dowry. Regarding which it should be decided between the husband and wife that the payment will not be made in one lump sum but in installments.
5- Maher like
It refers to the dowry given to a woman's female relatives, such as a sister, paternal aunt, uncle or cousin. Not only the woman's age, beauty and beauty, knowledge and intellect, religiousness and character will be taken into consideration to determine the dowry. Rather, the lineage and wealth of her future husband will also be seen. Apart from this, there will be a difference in the seal due to the difference in the above things.
Moreover, the dowry is wajib in this case. When there is absolutely no mention of dowry in the marriage. or if mentioned, it is vague or unknown. Or something that is not Shariah halal should be placed in the seal. Moreover, if there is sexual intercourse in an invalid marriage, the mahr is the order of the same. Whether or not the dowry has been previously fixed. If a stamp has been fixed, it is necessary that the amount of the stamp should not exceed the fixed stamp. Otherwise, the fixed mahr will be obligatory.
What are the conditions for a seal to be valid?
Apart from the types of Haq Mehr, the conditions for validity of the Mehr are as follows.
1- The seal of wealth should be sufficient. That is, which can be valued. A trivial item which has no value like a grain of wheat etc. cannot be sealed.
2- The right seal should be pure and lawful. Which is correct to use. Therefore, it is not permissible to give alcohol, pork, blood or corpse as dowry. Because these items have no value in the eyes of Islamic Shariat.
3- The seal should not be engrossed. That is, there should be no usurped property. If usurped property is declared as mahar, it will not be valid. However, this will not affect the marriage. The marriage contract will be valid. In the case of usurped property, the woman will be entitled to it with the permission of the real owner. Otherwise, the wife will have to pay mahar equal to the value of the specified property.
4- It is necessary for the health of the seal. That is to say, it should be clear how much right has been fixed.
How much should be the stamp duty?
The minimum mahr is ten dirhams. And ten dirhams will be seen as of the present time. That is, how much gold or silver will come in ten dirhams. As the price keeps fluctuating. Therefore, at the time of paying the dowry, its price should be ascertained from the market. Let it be clear here that ten dirhams does not refer to current paper currency. Rather, it is the sex or wealth that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) determined in his time.
The maximum amount of Mehr is not fixed in the Shari'ah. The amount decided by the spouses or both families by mutual consent will be the Mahr. However, fixing an amount in dowry which is difficult for the husband to pay. Or it is not appropriate to set a high amount of money in the family just to show off and show off.
Most families demand dowry. "Mahr-e-Fatimi" is called the seal that the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, set for Hazrat Fatima al-Zahra, may God bless him and grant him peace, and other wives and most of the pure wives. Its amount is five hundred dirhams of silver.
Unique and unique conditions to be held as right mahar
It is common to pay money or jewelery for the dowry. But some individualistic people have unique conditions in haq mahar. Thus, the right of Hazrat Safiyyah Radiyallahu Anha was set to free her. But in modern times, regardless of the type of dowry, it has become common to make new demands as dowry. A girl from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa asked her husband for books worth 100,000 Pakistani rupees as dowry.
A citizen of Mauritania demanded not cash, gold, silver, or land property in exchange for his daughter's marriage, but the groom to send 100,000 times Durood Sharif on the Prophet. The groom paid this unique dowry. On the insistence of the bride's father, this unique right of mahr was also recorded in the marriage certificate.
A Saudi citizen made a condition of memorizing the Holy Qur'an in front of the young man to ask for his daughter's marriage. This young man memorized the Holy Quran completely. And married the girl. Another Saudi national made his daughter's dowry conditional on the groom giving the best wedding dinner. Similarly, a father made it a condition for his daughter's dowry to memorize Surah Al-Mulk. And called it the total dowry of the girl. The Nikah Khan recorded this condition in the Nikah Nama as a formal seal.
In another strange incident, the Saudi girl made a condition in front of her future groom that he should present three hundred witnesses for the marriage . This will be his right . And that he will collect all the witnesses on his own without anyone 's help . After three months of trying , the boy could gather only a hundred people as witnesses . According to the girl, the purpose of placing such a condition was only to check how serious the boy is to make her his spouse .
The reason for fixing a woman's right to dowry is actually that most of the woman's needs are fulfilled by the husband. But there are some needs that a woman cannot express to her husband. So she can fulfill these needs with her dowry. Therefore, Islam has determined the right of a woman through dowry according to the status of her husband.