Glossary of ḥadith terms
– lam yafriḍ lahā: “he did not stipulate (a dowry) for her.”
– lā waks: waks denotes a decrease; therefore, “no waks” means that her dowry must not fall short of what women of her rank customarily receive.
– shaṭaṭ: injustice or excess. The Qurʾān says, “and do not commit shaṭaṭ,” that is, the husband must not be treated unfairly by raising her dowry above that of comparable women.
– Barwaʿ: Barwaʿ bint Wāshiq, of the clan of Ashjaʿ b. Rayth b. Ghaṭafān b. Saʿd b. Qays ʿAylān; she was the wife of Hilāl b. Umayyah.
– Wāshiq: the personal name of Barwaʿ’s father.

Points derived from the ḥadith

1. Jurists call the situation described here tafwīḍ al-buḍʿ (“delegation concerning the bridal due”): a woman authorises her guardian to marry her off without naming a mahr, or the guardian marries her without her authorisation and without specifying a mahr. Allah says, “There is no blame upon you if you divorce women before you have touched them or appointed for them a bridal due” (Q. 2:236); this ḥadith conveys the same rule.
2. Because the marriage contract is valid, if the husband dies she must observe the widow’s ʿidda and the prescribed mourning, even though there was neither consummation nor seclusion.
3. She inherits from him, for she remains his lawful wife. Al-Rawḍ al-Murbiʿ states: “If either spouse dies before intercourse or seclusion and before the mahr of equivalence is fixed, the survivor inherits, since leaving the bridal due unspecified does not invalidate the marriage.”
4. She is entitled to a dowry equal to that customarily received by women of her kin; the judge determines it by comparing her to those relatives who resemble her in wealth,