What is the minimum mahr?
The question as asked, details removedIs there a minimum or maximum amount for mahr, and what is Mahr Fatimi?More
This is a sample answer written to show how the site works. It follows the standard Hanafi books, but no mufti has reviewed or signed it yet, so it is not a fatwa. For a real answer, ask a question. Ask a mufti
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ اَلْجَوَابُ بِعَوْنِ الْمَلِكِ الْوَهَّابِ اَللّٰهُمَّ هِدَايَةَ الْحَقِّ وَالصَّوَابِ
1Short answer
The minimum mahr is ten dirhams of silver, about 30.62 g of silver or its value at the time of the nikah. There is no maximum, but excess is discouraged. Mahr Fatimi, 500 dirhams (about 1.53 kg of silver), is the amount many prefer to follow the sunnah.
2Detailed answer
Mahr is the wife's right, owed by the husband because of the nikah:
- The minimum is ten dirhams of silver, which is 2 tola 7.5 masha, about 30.62 g of silver, or its value at the time of the nikah. If a lower amount is named, ten dirhams become due.
- There is no fixed maximum, but setting an amount beyond the husband's means, for show, is disliked.
- Mahr Fatimi is 500 dirhams of silver, about 1.53 kg, the mahr of Sayyidah Fatimah. Following it is a blessing, but it is not required.
Mahr may be prompt (paid at the nikah or on demand) or deferred to an agreed time. It is a real debt: it is not cancelled by time, and if unpaid it is taken from the husband's estate after his death. The wife may forgive it, but only by her free choice.
3Evidence and sources
- Qur'an, An-Nisa 4:4
- Qur'an, An-Nisa 4:24
- Al-Hidayah, chapter on mahr
- Bahar-e-Shariat, chapter on mahr
Arabic texts, translations and how the ruling was derived
وآتوا النساء صدقاتهن نحلة فإن طبن لكم عن شيء منه نفسا فكلوه هنيئا مريئا
Meaning: Give women their mahr as a gift; but if they are pleased to give you any of it, then enjoy it with pleasure.
The verse makes mahr the wife's due and allows the husband to keep it only if she gives it willingly. The minimum of ten dirhams is narrated from the Prophet ﷺ and the Companions and adopted by the Hanafi school.
وَاللهُ أَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَرَسُوْلُهُ أَعْلَمُ صَلَّى اللهُ تَعَالٰى عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ