of the palm, and to keep the fruit on it until the normal time of cutting, she is—according to the sounder opinion—compelled to do so, and the ownership of the palm tree is then shared between the two of them. If she is satisfied with this arrangement, he may still refuse and demand its monetary equivalent. Whenever a contractual option (khiyār) existed for either party from the outset, he does not acquire half of the object until the holder of the option makes his choice. If he elects to take the value instead, the calculation is based on whichever is less: the value on the day the mahr was stipulated or on the day it was delivered.
Should the mahr be the teaching of the Quran and he divorces her before providing it, the sound view is that such teaching has become impossible; therefore, an equivalent mahr is due—its full amount if intercourse has taken place, and half of it if it has not. If he divorces her after the object has left her ownership, he is entitled to half of its substitute; but if it had left and then returned to her, his entitlement attaches to the object itself, according to the stronger opinion.
If she had already given the mahr back to him as a gift and he then divorces her, the more evident view is that he still receives half of its substitute. On this basis, if she had gifted him only half of it, he is entitled to half of what remains and to a quarter of the value of the whole. Another view gives him the remaining half only, while a third allows him to choose between the value of one half of the whole or half of what remains together with a quarter of the full value. If the mahr was a debt and she absolved him of it, he may return upon her for it, according to the authoritative position. Under the later opinion (al-jadīd), a guardian has no authority to waive a woman’s bride-price on her behalf.
Section
A woman divorced before consummation is entitled to a consolation gift (mutʿah) provided that half a mahr has not already become obligatory. The same, according to the preponderant view, applies to a woman with whom intercourse has occurred, and to any separation not caused by her, such as a regular divorce. It is recommended that the gift not be less than thirty dirhams. If the two parties dispute its amount, the judge fixes it at his discretion, taking account—according to one opinion—of both their circumstances, according to another of the husband’s circumstances, according to a third of the wife’s, and according to a fourth of the least amount of property.
Section
When the couple differ over the amount or the description of the mahr, they both swear oaths; their respective heirs, or the heir of one of them and the other party, do likewise. The marriage is then annulled on account of the mahr dispute, and an equivalent mahr becomes due. If she claims that a specific mahr had been named and he denies it, they both swear, according to the sounder view. If she claims the marriage and a mahr