As for the Sunnah, the lawfulness of the mahr is affirmed by the Prophet’s words, actions, and tacit approval.
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His words: The Musnad of Imam Ahmad and the Sunan of Abū Dāwūd relate, on the authority of Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet ﷺ said, “If a man were to give a woman a bridal-gift amounting to nothing more than the two handfuls of food he could scoop up, she would become lawful for him.”
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His actions: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim and other Sunan collections report that ʿĀʾishah said, “The mahr the Prophet gave to his wives was twelve and a half uqiyyahs.”
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His tacit approval: The two Ṣaḥīḥs and others report that the Prophet ﷺ noticed traces of saffron on ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf and asked, “What is this?” He replied, “I have married a woman for a piece of gold the weight of a date-stone.” The Prophet said, “May Allah bless you.”
This is the unanimous practice of the Muslims in every age and land, praise be to Allah.
Accordingly, the Council rules that the husband must pay his wife a mahr—whether in full at the time of the contract, deferred, or partly immediate and partly deferred—provided that any postponement is genuine and that payment is made when possible. Contracting a marriage without any mahr from the husband to the wife is forbidden.
The Council further recommends following the Sunnah of keeping the mahr light, making marriage easy, dispensing with superfluous costs, and warns against extravagance and waste, for the benefits of this are great.
Fourth: The Council appeals to scholars, community leaders, officials, and others to combat this harmful custom of the “dowry” (dowta), striving earnestly to abolish it and remove it from their lands and homes, for it conflicts with the heavenly laws, with sound reason, and with clear-sighted judgment.
Fifth: Besides contravening Islamic law, this harmful custom inflicts real harm upon women; for in such circumstances young men will marry only the girl who offers