Allah mentions people’s rights in His Book and speaks of justice concerning them, He also encourages graciousness in these matters, for He, glorified is He, commands justice and graciousness. As Allah Most High says:

“If the debtor is in hardship, grant him time until a time of ease. But to remit the debt as charity is better for you, if you only knew.”

Thus, He makes giving charity to an insolvent debtor by cancelling his debt better for the giver than merely allowing him more time.

Allah Most High also says:

“Whoever kills a believer by mistake must free a believing slave and pay blood money to the deceased’s family, unless they waive it as charity.”

He thus calls waiving the blood money charity.

Allah Most High also says:

“If you divorce them before you have consummated the marriage, but after you have stipulated a dower for them, then half of what you stipulated is due, unless they waive it or the one in whose hand is the marriage bond waives it. And to waive is nearer to righteousness.”

Thus, He makes waiving the half of the dower owed by the husband upon divorce before consummation nearer to righteousness than collecting it. The woman’s waiver means relinquishing half the dower, by the consensus of the Muslim community.

As for the waiver of the one in whose hand is the marriage bond, one view is that this means the husband’s waiver, whereby he gives the woman her full dower. On this interpretation, this waiver is of the same kind as the other: this one consists in giving the whole amount, while the other consists in relinquishing the whole amount. Those who held this view were led to it by their judgment that no one other than the woman has the authority to waive what is rightfully owed to her, just as no one else has the authority to cancel any other debts owed to her.

Another view is that the one in whose hand is the marriage bond is the woman’s guardian who has independent authority to conclude the marriage contract without seeking her permission: