The Mahr Is the Wife’s Exclusive Property

Question: Is it permissible for a father’s wife—that is, the girls’ step-mother—to take something from the mahr (bridal gift) of her husband’s daughters from another wife, given that she raised and cared for them with their and their father’s consent? Or does she have no right to any portion of it?

Answer: There is no objection to her taking whatever the daughters willingly allow her to take, because the mahr belongs exclusively to the bride. If she chooses to give part of it to her step-mother, or to anyone else, there is no harm in that—even if she chooses to give a portion of it to her own husband. Allah the Exalted says, “If they, of their own good pleasure, remit to you anything of it, then consume it with satisfaction and ease” [Qur’an 4:4]. Thus the mahr is the wife’s property, and she may give from it to her father’s wife or to whomever she wishes.

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Marriage Contract Funded by Illicit Earnings

Question: A man acquired money through unlawful means and used part of it to pay the mahr of the wife with whom he now lives; they have three children. What is the ruling on their marriage contract in this situation and on the children? He has repented to Allah and wants to return the money to the person from whom he took it, but he cannot find him. What should he do with the money? May he give it in charity to his sister’s husband, who is in need, or not?

Answer: First, as far as the marriage is concerned, it is valid provided its conditions were fulfilled; in itself the contract is sound and free of defect.

As for the money that you wrongfully took without right, you must return it to