boastful rivalry is what has left our young men idle and unable to marry. Whoever is protected by Allah suppresses his desires; whoever follows his appetites plunges into vice. This deplorable practice has filled households with unmarried young women who complain of loneliness and tremble at the prospect of a bleak future in which they will have no children to support them when they grow old. Mere sermons, advice, and guidance are not enough to cure this problem; a firm limit must be set and serious, practical steps taken to restore matters to their proper course—otherwise the issue will spiral out of control and usher in hardships and complications.
5 – This ḥadith establishes the legal basis for the bridal gift (ṣadaq) in marriage and shows that it is indispensable, whether or not it is stipulated in the contract. If it is named, it is binding in the amount agreed upon by the spouses; if it is not named, the wife is entitled to the bridal gift customarily given to women of similar status (mahr al-mithl).
6 – The bridal gift was never intended merely as compensation; rather, it is a gracious offering and a gift by which the husband honors his wife when he enters upon her, consoles her heart, and signals her worth. Had it been meant solely as a quid pro quo, people would never have been satisfied with keeping it light, for it accompanies the most precious possession a woman has to give, and commercial exchanges must observe strict equity.
7 – Monetary values—whether they be bridal gifts, sale prices, wages for services, indemnities for damage, and the like—are the standard; everything else is merchandise assessed against them.
- Resolution of the Council of Senior Scholars on the Issue of Exorbitant Dowries, No. 94, dated 6/11/1402 AH:
All praise is due to Allah alone. May blessings and peace be upon His servant and Messenger, our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
The Council of Senior Scholars, in its twentieth session held in Ṭāʾif from 25 Shawwāl to 6 Dhu l-Qaʿdah 1402 AH, examined the phenomenon of inflated dowries and the measures that ought to be taken