4 – A bridal gift (dowry) is indispensable to a marriage contract, yet it may be no more than a token amount; whatever sum the two spouses—or the guardian authorized to contract—agree upon is valid.
Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ said: The scholars are unanimously agreed that the dowry may not be something that has no monetary value, for such a thing cannot serve as the basis of a marriage.
5 – It is recommended to name the dowry in the contract, for that ends disputes and benefits the woman. If the marriage is concluded without specifying a dowry, the contract is still valid, but once the marriage is consummated she is entitled to the customary bridal gift given to women of her social standing.
6 – It is permissible to take an oath even when no one has asked for it and no claim has been raised against one.
7 – A person may not dispose of property that is essential to his basic needs—such as the garment that covers his nakedness or the food and drink that stave off his hunger and thirst.
8 – A claim of insolvency must be investigated, for the Prophet did not accept the man’s initial plea of poverty until evidence appeared to support it.
9 – The sermon ordinarily delivered at the time of the marriage contract is not obligatory, because it is not mentioned in any version of the hadith.
10 – The dowry may consist of a benefit, such as teaching or personal service, as in Moses’ arrangement with the man of Midian. The Prophet’s words, “Teach her from the Qur’an,” mean a specified portion of it, and that constituted her dowry.
11 – A marriage contract is valid when expressed with the wording “I have made her yours,” for some narrations contain this expression. Shaykh al-Islam observed that most scholars hold that the contract is not restricted to the specific terms “ankah” or “zawwaj.” Ibn al-Qayyim added that the sounder of the two scholarly views is that any wording conveying the meaning suffices. This is the opinion of the majority—Abu Ḥanīfah, Mālik, and one of the two reports in the Hanbalī school—and the explicit texts of Aḥmad point only in this direction.
12 – It is permissible for a man who is poor and without resources to marry, provided the woman is content with his poverty and lack of means.