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I want to ask that what is the concept of Dowry(Jahayz) in Islam?is it allowed or prohibitted in Islam?

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i want to ask that what is the concept of Dowry(Jahayz) in Islam?is it allowed or prohibitted in Islam?if it is allowed,then in what aspects and respects?and if it is prohibitted then why was Hazrat Fatima (RA) given the dowry,what were the reasons and circumstances?and i have heard that for a Muslim woman to get married,her parents are not allowed to provide her with the worldly objects of living,rather her husband is supposed to provide her with everything i.e. all that which is provided by the woman`s parents to her should be prvided by her husband instead.what do u say about it?please answer soon.....JAZAAKALLAHI KHAIRAN DA`ARAIN........! 

 

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Answer:

 

Concept of dowry in Islam

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.

 

Your Question: i want to ask that what is the concept of Dowry(Jahayz) in Islam?is it allowed or prohibitted in Islam?if it is allowed,then in what aspects and respects?

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisaa verse 34:

34 Men are the protectors and maintainers of women because Allah has given the one more than the other, and because they support them from their means.

 

The complete financial responsibility of the upkeep of the wife after marriage is laid upon the shoulders of the husband in Islam.

 

If by the term ‘dowry’ or ‘jahayz’ you mean to inquire about the pagan ritual whereby it is customary amongst the pagan cultures today where the family of the groom demands or it is considered a requirement for the guardians of the bride to provide financial assistance, or a house, or furniture, or a car, or even cash to the groom upon marriage; then such rites and rituals and requirements of dowry or jahayz are absolutely discouraged and forbidden in Islam.

 

The majority of the scholars in Islam are of the opinion that it is highly disliked, deplorable, and absolutely discouraged in Islam that the husband, upon whom Islam has laid the complete financial responsibility of the wife in marriage, should ever ask or demand as a condition of marriage that he be financially rewarded by the guardians of the bride.

 

In direct contrast to dowry, Islam guides and has made it an obligatory condition of ‘Nikaah’ that a man who wishes to marry should generously fulfill the condition of ‘mehr’ and according to his means pay the demanded amount as a free gift to his bride upon marriage.

 

But if the parents or guardians of the bride, absolutely without any pressure or coercion (from the groom, the groom’s family, social, cultural, etc.), and of their own free will and pleasure wish to gift their daughter or the groom with anything, there is absolutely no harm in the couple accepting such gifts from them.

 

But if the groom, or the grooms’ family, or social or cultural pressures demand and/or make it a condition of marriage that the guardians of the bride are required to pay something in order for the marriage to take place….then such a demand would be absolutely unjustified and unwarranted in the Sight of Shariah.

 

Your Question: if it is prohibitted then why was Hazrat Fatima (RA) given the dowry,what were the reasons and circumstances?

Firstly, Hadrat Ali (r.a.) was taken into the care and lived in the house of the Noble Prophet (saws) from a very young age, and the caretaker, guardian, and sponsor of Hadrat Ali (r.a.) was the Noble Prophet (saws) himself. Thus when the Prophet (saws) accepted the proposal of Hadrat Ali (r.a.) who sought to marry his beloved daughter Fatimah (r.a.), after the marriage the Noble Prophet (saws) of his own will and pleasure gifted a few basic household items like a mattress, a blanket, and some utensils to Hadrat Ali (r.a.) and Hadrat Fatimah (r.a.) as a gift.

 

Under absolutely no circumstances can these gifts which the Prophet (saws) gave to Hadrat Fatimah (r.a.) be considered as ‘dowry’, nor is it even conceivable that Hadrat Ali (r.a.) ever demanded these items as a condition of his marriage to Hadrat Fatimah (r.a.). The Prophet (saws) presented these items as a gift to his daughter and his son-in-law at their marriage absolutely of his own free will and choice.

 

Secondly, the Prophet (saws) married two of his daughters to Hadrat Uthmaan (r.a.), but there is absolutely nothing in recorded history that he (saws) gifted anything to his other daughters at their marriage.

 

Your Question: and i have heard that for a Muslim woman to get married,her parents are not allowed to provide her with the worldly objects of living,rather her husband is supposed to provide her with everything i.e. all that which is provided by the woman`s parents to her should be prvided by her husband instead.what do u say about it?

Beloved brother, it is not as if it is illegal or unlawful for the parents of the bride to gift anything to their daughter or son-in-law. If the parents of the bride, of their own free will and choice, and without any pressure whatsoever from the groom, or the grooms’ family, or social, or cultural, etc. wish to gift something to the couple, there is absolutely no harm.

 

But if the gift or dowry is made to be a condition of marriage, or if the groom, or the grooms’ family, or social or cultural pressures demand or expect that the guardians of the bride must pay or gift a dowry….then such a demand is absolutely discouraged and deplorable in Islam.

 

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

 

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

 

 

Burhan

 


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