is stipulated after the contract belongs to the person for whom it was stipulated as a gift. A hadith to this effect has been narrated by Amr ibn Shuayb, from his father, from his grandfather, and recorded by the compilers of the Sunan; it is sound: “The most deserving person for whom a man should be generous is his daughter or his sister” (1).

What this hadith indicates is more correct, because the first view results in the daughter being treated like merchandise: whoever stipulates more for her father is given her in marriage. This exposes the father to a breach of trust, and that is a serious matter. For this reason, people have now become excessive: they stipulate something for the father, something for the mother, something for the brother, and something for the sister. Thus, the woman’s bridal gift is divided into fragments, each of them taking a small portion of it, and the trust has consequently been lost because of this practice.

We say: O father, you may take ownership of whatever you wish from your child’s property, but she has not yet acquired ownership of it; rather, she acquires it after the contract. Moreover, what she acquires of it is liable to be forfeited, for if she is divorced before consummation, she is entitled to only half of it; and if the separation is caused by her, she receives nothing. Thus, once the marriage contract has been concluded and she has acquired the bridal gift, you may take whatever you wish from her property, subject to the conditions well known among the scholars.

These are two issues that differ in ruling according to the school, because of the difference in the effective cause as they have explained it. According to the second view, however, they do not differ: whatever is stipulated before the contract belongs to the woman, while whatever is stipulated after it as an honorarium for her guardian—whether her father or someone else—belongs to him.