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« on: September 11, 2019, 12:23:10 AM »
I disagree with Br Joseph.
Just because God did not mention dowry in Quran [33:49] does not mean that dowry is not a perquisite of marriage.
You who have iman! when you marry believing women and then divorce them before you have touched them, there is no ´idda for you to calculate for them, so give them a gift and let them go with kindness. [33:49]
In the next verse [33:50] dowry is again mentioned, but as can be seen that ONLY the Prophet(pbuh) has been exempted from giving dowry if the woman he is about to marry says not to give her the dowry.
O Prophet! We have made halal for you: your wives to whom you have given dowries and any slavegirls you own from the booty Allah has allotted you and the daughters of your paternal uncles and the daughters of your paternal aunts and the daughters of your maternal uncles and the daughters of your maternal aunts who have made hijra with you and any mumin woman who gives herself to the Prophet if the Prophet desires to marry her: exclusively for you as opposed to the rest of the muminun — We know very well what We have prescribed for them regarding their wives and any slavegirls they possess — in order that there be no restriction on you. Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
We know very well what We have prescribed for them regarding their wives and any slavegirls they possess — in order that there be no restriction on you
What does this mean?This is an indication towards "Dowry" and as can be seen, in the last part of verse the Prophet has been told that he is not obliged to give the dowry, but this is exclusively for him.Rest of the Muslims are obliged to give the dowries for marriage.
Importance of Dowry in Marriage in Islam:
Give women their dowry as an outright gift. But if they are happy to give you some of it, make use of it with pleasure and goodwill. [4:4]
Mutual Attraction And Dowry Required
And also married women, except for those you have taken in war as slaves. This is what Allah has prescribed for you. Apart from that He has made all other women halal for you provided you seek them with your wealth in marriage and not in fornication. When you consummate your marriage with them give them their prescribed dowry. There is nothing wrong in any further agreement you might come to after the dowry has been given. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise. [4:24]
If any of you do not have the means to marry free women who are muminun, you may marry slavegirls who are muminun. Allah knows best about your iman; you are all the same in that respect. Marry them with their owners´ permission and give them their dowries correctly and courteously as married women, not in fornication or taking them as lovers. When they are married, if they commit fornication they should receive half the punishment of free women. This is for those of you who are afraid of committing fornication. But being patient is better for you. Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful. [4:25]
Allah desires to make things clear to you and to guide you to the correct practices of those before you and to turn towards you. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise. [4:26]
Today all good things have been made halal for you. And the food of those given the Book is also halal for you and your food is halal for them. So are free women from among the muminun and free women of those given the Book before you, once you have given them their dowries in marriage, not in fornication or taking them as lovers. But as for anyone who rejects iman, his actions will come to nothing and in the Next World he will be among the losers. [5:5]
O Prophet! We have made halal for you: your wives to whom you have given dowries and any slavegirls you own from the booty Allah has allotted you and the daughters of your paternal uncles and the daughters of your paternal aunts and the daughters of your maternal uncles and the daughters of your maternal aunts who have made hijra with you and any mumin woman who gives herself to the Prophet if the Prophet desires to marry her: exclusively for you as opposed to the rest of the muminun — We know very well what We have prescribed for them regarding their wives and any slavegirls they possess — in order that there be no restriction on you. Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful. [33:50]
You who have iman! when women who have iman come to you as muhajirun, submit them to a test. Allah has best knowledge of their iman. If you know they are muminun, do not return them to the kuffar. They are not halal for the kuffar nor are the kuffar halal for them. Give the kuffar whatever dowry they paid. And there is nothing wrong in your marrying them provided you pay them their due. Do not hold to any marriage ties with women who are kafir. Ask for what you paid and let them ask for what they paid. That is Allah´s judgement. Allah will judge between them. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise. [60:10]
From the above we learn that:
-dowry is a pre-requisite for a marriage,
-is to be paid by husband to his wife,
-should be equitable,
-the husband and wife can mutually make any adjustment to the dowry,
-a woman's forfeiting of the dowry for the prophet does not automatically apply to other believers.
Although one cannot find in the Quran any direct support for payment of dowry in cash only, dowry cannot be something that does not have a monetary value. It cannot be love, honesty, being faithful, etc., which are anyway traits of righteous people. If it could be something that does not have monetary value, following and many other verses (including making adjustments to the dowry) would be rendered inapplicable:
If you divorce them before you have touched them but have already allotted them a dowry, they should have half the amount which you allotted, unless they forgo it or the one in charge of the marriage contract forgoes it. To forgo it is closer to taqwa. Do not forget to show generosity to one another. Allah sees what you do. [2:237]
And there is nothing wrong in your marrying them provided you pay them their due. Do not hold to any marriage ties with women who are kafir. Ask for what you paid and let them ask for what they paid. That is Allah´s judgement. Allah will judge between them. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise. [60:10]
What is an equitable dowry is what one has to assess for oneself. It depends on case to case. The rich as he can afford and the poor as he can. This should not be abused for God will hold us responsible for our innermost intention. When we are committing our deeds with an intention to please Him, He will guide us to do the right thing.
Dowry is a pre-requisite for marriage throughout the Quran. Even when verse 4:4 says :Give women their dowry as an outright gift. But if they are happy to give you some of it, make use of it with pleasure and goodwill. A woman may choose to willingly forfeit anything; the believing man must offer dowry with sincere intentions.
Let us see some other relevant verses in this regard.
[2:229]
Divorce may be retracted twice. The divorced woman shall be allowed to live in the same home amicably, or leave it amicably. It is not lawful for the husband to take back anything he had given her. However, the couple may fear that they may transgress GOD's law. If there is fear that they may transgress GOD's law, they commit no error if the wife willingly gives back whatever she chooses. These are GOD's laws; do not transgress them. Those who transgress GOD's laws are the unjust.
Protection for Women
[4:20-21]
If you wish to marry another wife, in place of your present wife, and you had given any of them a great deal, you shall not take back anything you had given her. Would you take it fraudulently, maliciously, and sinfully? How could you take it back, after you have been intimate with each other, and they had taken from you a solemn pledge?
The above verses makes it abundantly clear that it is not righteous to take back the dowry unless one is completely overcome by certain circumstances.
An example of dowry from the Quran could be that of Moses.
[28:27-28]
He said, "I wish to offer one of my two daughters for you to marry, in return for working for me for eight pilgrimages; if you make them ten, it will be voluntary on your part. I do not wish to make this matter too difficult for you. You will find me, GOD willing, righteous." He said, "It is an agreement between me and you. Whichever period I fulfill, you will not be averse to either one. GOD is the guarantor of what we said."