In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. May Allah bless our master Muhammad and his family, and grant them peace.

Book of Drawing the Curtains

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What Has Been Related Concerning Drawing the Curtains

Drawing the curtains is a euphemism for a man being left alone with his wife and being in seclusion with her, even if no door is closed and no curtain is drawn. The basis of this subject is the saying of Allah, Mighty and Majestic:

“And if you divorce them before you have touched them, but have already specified a dower for them, then pay half of what you have specified, unless they waive it or the one in whose hand is the marriage bond waives it.” [Al-Baqarah: 237]

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If a man divorces his wife before consummating the marriage, having stipulated a dower for her, she is entitled only to half of it: half of the immediately payable portion and half of the deferred portion, if any. She becomes entitled to the whole only upon death or consummation, or upon what Mālik regards as equivalent to consummation: living with her for an extended period and taking pleasure in her.

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The stipulated dower becomes due to the woman upon conclusion of the marriage contract, but her entitlement remains provisional. Her entitlement to half becomes definitive upon divorce, and to the whole upon death or consummation. This is the correct way to describe the obligation of