consummation and intercourse; the amount allotted to her suffices.

Ahmad, according to the other opinion reported from him, together with Abū Hanīfa and others, holds that the consolatory gift is obligatory only for a woman divorced before her dowry has been fixed and before consummation. They regard the consolatory gift as a substitute for half the dowry, saying: “Every divorced woman receives a dowry except this one.”

The proponents of the former view say: “Entitlement to the dowry was already established before divorce through the marriage contract and consummation, whereas the consolatory gift becomes due because of divorce. It is therefore obligatory for every divorced woman. However, a woman divorced after her dowry has been fixed but before intercourse has received half the dowry as her consolatory provision, so she is not entitled to anything further.”

This view is stronger than the other, for Allah made divorce the basis for entitlement to the consolatory gift. It should therefore not be treated as a substitute for what became due through the marriage contract and consummation. Yet, on this reasoning, it may be said that the third view is more correct: namely, the other opinion reported from Ahmad, that every divorced woman is entitled to a consolatory gift. This is indicated by the apparent and general meaning of the Quran, where Allah says:

“Divorced women are entitled to reasonable provision.”

He also says:

“When you marry believing women and then divorce them before you have touched them, you have no waiting period to count for them. So provide for them and release them graciously.”

He thus commanded that women divorced before intercourse be given a consolatory gift, without restricting this to those whose dowries had not been fixed, even though most women are divorced after their dowries have been fixed.

Furthermore, just as divorce is the basis for entitlement to the consolatory gift, the marriage contract is the basis for entitlement to the dowry. A woman whose dowry has not been specified is entitled, by virtue of the marriage contract, to the customary dowry of women of comparable standing. This entitlement becomes definitive upon death, according to the correct view supported by the hadith of Barwa‘ bint Wāshiq. She married, and her husband died before a dowry had been fixed for her. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ruled that:

“She is entitled to a dowry equal to that of the women of her family, neither less nor more.”

But if this woman were divorced before