Section
The wife1 acquires full ownership of her dower as soon as the marriage contract is concluded. She is entitled to any increase that accrues to a specified item given as dower—even before taking possession of it2—while the opposite ruling applies to an unspecified dower. If the item is lost or destroyed, the loss is hers, unless the husband has prevented her from taking possession, in which case he is liable3. She may dispose of the dower as she wishes, and she is responsible for paying its zakat.

If he divorces her before consummation or valid seclusion, he is entitled by law to half of the dower, excluding any separated increase; and with respect to an attached increase, he receives half of the item’s value exclusive of that increase.

Should the spouses—or their respective heirs—disagree about the amount of the dower, its specific identity, or the event that makes it irrevocably due, his word is accepted, and the same applies to whether or not she has taken possession of it4.

Section
Delegation of the right to sexual access (tafwīd al-budʿ) is valid: this occurs when a man marries off his daughter who is subject to his compulsion, or when a woman authorizes her guardian to marry her without stipulating a dower.

Delegation of the dower (tafwīd al-mahr) occurs when the marriage is contracted5 on the basis that either spouse—or even a third party—may later fix the amount. In that case she is entitled, by virtue of the contract itself, to the customary dower, and a judge will set its amount at her request6. If the two of them later agree on a specified figure7, that agreement is permissible, and she may discharge him of the customary dower even before it has been fixed.