For conversation, not a ruling. This guide explains positions as they are commonly reported. For guidance on your own situation, speak to your local imam.
This guide explains positions as they are commonly reported. It supports conversation and is not a ruling. For guidance on your own situation, speak to your local imam.
The Mahr (also called sadaq) is a gift the groom gives the bride. It belongs to her alone: she decides what to do with it, and no one can take it back once it is hers. It is her right and her property, separate from anything else the marriage involves. For guidance on your own situation, ask your local imam.
In the Hanafi school the minimum is 10 dirhams of silver. If the couple agree on less, the marriage is still valid, but the groom then owes her the full 10 dirhams. There is no maximum. A fixed dollar value is not written here on purpose: the guide computes today's value from the stored silver price on the "Today's values" tab. For guidance on your own situation, ask your local imam.
The full agreed Mahr becomes hers when the marriage is consummated, when the couple have been truly alone together in private (valid seclusion), or when either spouse dies. If the marriage ends in divorce before any of those, she is entitled to half of the specified Mahr. For guidance on your own situation, ask your local imam.
The Mahr can be split into a prompt part (paid at the marriage) and a deferred part. In the reported Hanafi position, a deferred part with no stated date falls due when the marriage ends by divorce or death, and a local custom that it can be demanded at any time is also given effect. For guidance on your own situation, ask your local imam.
Anything that counts as recognised property with commercial value can be a Mahr: money, gold, jewellery or other goods. One reported exception in this school: the groom's own services, such as teaching the Quran, are not accepted as the Mahr of a free woman. For guidance on your own situation, ask your local imam.
The minimum: The Shafi'i school sets no minimum. Anything of lawful value counts, however small: the report of the Prophet, peace be upon him, tells a man who owned nothing to "search for something, even an iron ring". There is no maximum. For guidance on your own situation, ask your local imam.
When it is due in full: In the stated position of this school, the full agreed Mahr becomes hers only on consummation or on the death of either spouse. Mere seclusion does not vest the full amount: if the marriage ends in divorce before consummation, she is entitled to half of the specified Mahr. For guidance on your own situation, ask your local imam.
Deferred Mahr: Shafi'i and Maliki jurists generally require a known due date for a deferred Mahr. In the reported position of this school, deferring it to an unspecified event creates uncertainty about what is owed. Some jurists require a specific date or duration; others accept a customary understanding. For guidance on your own situation, ask your local imam.
The minimum: In the Maliki school the minimum is a quarter of a gold dinar, or three dirhams of silver, or property of equivalent value. There is no maximum, though excessive amounts that cause hardship are discouraged in this school. The guide shows today's value of the silver amount on the "Today's values" tab. For guidance on your own situation, ask your local imam.
When it is due in full: The full agreed Mahr becomes hers on consummation, on an extended stay together in the marital home as custom would see it, or when either spouse dies. A brief moment of seclusion without further proof does not, in the reported position of this school, by itself make the full Mahr due. For guidance on your own situation, ask your local imam.
Deferred Mahr: Shafi'i and Maliki jurists generally require a known due date for a deferred Mahr. In the reported Maliki position, deferring it indefinitely to "divorce or death" is treated as creating unacceptable uncertainty about what is owed. Some jurists require a specific date or duration; others accept a customary understanding. For guidance on your own situation, ask your local imam.
The minimum: The Hanbali school sets no minimum: anything that can lawfully be bought, sold or rented, however small, is valid as a Mahr. There is no maximum. For guidance on your own situation, ask your local imam.
When it is due in full: The full agreed Mahr becomes hers on consummation, on valid seclusion in private, or on the death of either spouse. If the marriage ends in divorce before any of those, she is entitled to half of the specified Mahr. For guidance on your own situation, ask your local imam.
Deferred Mahr: In the reported position of this school, the deferred part may be set for a specified date, or left to fall due when the marriage ends; both are permissible and customary. Couples can also add their own conditions, and this school is reported to hold the groom to conditions the bride stipulates. For guidance on your own situation, ask your local imam.
The minimum: Guidance for the Ja'fari school is being prepared with a Ja'fari scholar. Until then, please ask your local imam.
When it is due in full: Guidance for the Ja'fari school is being prepared with a Ja'fari scholar. Until then, please ask your local imam.
Deferred Mahr: Guidance for the Ja'fari school is being prepared with a Ja'fari scholar. Until then, please ask your local imam.
Reference values computed from the stored nightly metal prices. They are references for conversation, not requirements.
The Mahr al-Sunnah is the Mahr the Prophet, peace be upon him, gave his wives: 500 dirhams of silver.
Assumes a dirham of 3.0618 g of silver (the commonly cited weight) and a dinar of 4.25 g of gold.
The Mahr is the bride's right and her property alone. She alone decides what happens to it: she can keep it, spend it, save it or set it aside, and it is not payment for anything. It does not belong to her family, and it is not a price. The Quran addresses this directly: "Give women their due dowries graciously", and forbids taking any of it back once given. This is stated first because everything else about the Mahr follows from it.
A deferred Mahr is not a hope or a gesture; while it is unpaid it is a debt the groom owes the bride. It does not disappear because the marriage has lasted, and it does not depend on his goodwill at the time. It survives separation and it survives death, which is why the amount and the date need to be written down clearly rather than left to memory.
Some jurists require a deferred Mahr to carry a known due date, and a contract that leaves it vague invites disputes later. For guidance on your own situation, ask your local imam. Whatever your school says, writing the amount and the date (or the event that makes it due) in the contract protects both of you: she has it written down clearly, and he knows exactly what is being asked.
A religious contract on its own may not be enforceable in the civil courts of the US, UK or Canada, and court outcomes for Mahr claims have varied widely by state and by judge. Researchers and legal practitioners therefore advise Muslim couples to also give the Mahr civil effect: through a registered civil marriage, or through a premarital agreement that names the Mahr. In US states that have adopted the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, that framework governs how such agreements are made and enforced; in England and Wales, the Supreme Court in Radmacher v Granatino held that a couple's agreement can carry decisive weight where both entered it freely with a full appreciation of its implications, though it is still not automatically binding.
Self-reported survey of married North American Muslim women; sample size and method not published; from a commercial calculator.
As an example of a statutory limit: UAE Federal Law 21 of 1997 sets advance dowry at no more than AED 20,000 and deferred at no more than AED 30,000.
Rules of thumb some community guides use. These are not religious rulings.
2.5% of annual income: enter an income to see it
Islamic Finance Guru describes this as a moderate Mahr.
Your income stays in this browser.
This guide explains positions as they are commonly reported. It supports conversation and is not a ruling. For guidance on your own situation, speak to your local imam.
The Mahr (also called sadaq) is a gift the groom gives the bride. It belongs to her alone: she decides what to do with it, and no one can take it back once it is hers. It is her right and her property, separate from anything else the marriage involves. For guidance on your own situation, ask your local imam.
In the Hanafi school the minimum is 10 dirhams of silver. If the couple agree on less, the marriage is still valid, but the groom then owes her the full 10 dirhams. There is no maximum. A fixed dollar value is not written here on purpose: the guide computes today's value from the stored silver price on the "Today's values" tab. For guidance on your own situation, ask your local imam.
The full agreed Mahr becomes hers when the marriage is consummated, when the couple have been truly alone together in private (valid seclusion), or when either spouse dies. If the marriage ends in divorce before any of those, she is entitled to half of the specified Mahr. For guidance on your own situation, ask your local imam.
The Mahr can be split into a prompt part (paid at the marriage) and a deferred part. In the reported Hanafi position, a deferred part with no stated date falls due when the marriage ends by divorce or death, and a local custom that it can be demanded at any time is also given effect. For guidance on your own situation, ask your local imam.
Anything that counts as recognised property with commercial value can be a Mahr: money, gold, jewellery or other goods. One reported exception in this school: the groom's own services, such as teaching the Quran, are not accepted as the Mahr of a free woman. For guidance on your own situation, ask your local imam.
The minimum: The Shafi'i school sets no minimum. Anything of lawful value counts, however small: the report of the Prophet, peace be upon him, tells a man who owned nothing to "search for something, even an iron ring". There is no maximum. For guidance on your own situation, ask your local imam.
When it is due in full: In the stated position of this school, the full agreed Mahr becomes hers only on consummation or on the death of either spouse. Mere seclusion does not vest the full amount: if the marriage ends in divorce before consummation, she is entitled to half of the specified Mahr. For guidance on your own situation, ask your local imam.
Deferred Mahr: Shafi'i and Maliki jurists generally require a known due date for a deferred Mahr. In the reported position of this school, deferring it to an unspecified event creates uncertainty about what is owed. Some jurists require a specific date or duration; others accept a customary understanding. For guidance on your own situation, ask your local imam.
The minimum: In the Maliki school the minimum is a quarter of a gold dinar, or three dirhams of silver, or property of equivalent value. There is no maximum, though excessive amounts that cause hardship are discouraged in this school. The guide shows today's value of the silver amount on the "Today's values" tab. For guidance on your own situation, ask your local imam.
When it is due in full: The full agreed Mahr becomes hers on consummation, on an extended stay together in the marital home as custom would see it, or when either spouse dies. A brief moment of seclusion without further proof does not, in the reported position of this school, by itself make the full Mahr due. For guidance on your own situation, ask your local imam.
Deferred Mahr: Shafi'i and Maliki jurists generally require a known due date for a deferred Mahr. In the reported Maliki position, deferring it indefinitely to "divorce or death" is treated as creating unacceptable uncertainty about what is owed. Some jurists require a specific date or duration; others accept a customary understanding. For guidance on your own situation, ask your local imam.
The minimum: The Hanbali school sets no minimum: anything that can lawfully be bought, sold or rented, however small, is valid as a Mahr. There is no maximum. For guidance on your own situation, ask your local imam.
When it is due in full: The full agreed Mahr becomes hers on consummation, on valid seclusion in private, or on the death of either spouse. If the marriage ends in divorce before any of those, she is entitled to half of the specified Mahr. For guidance on your own situation, ask your local imam.
Deferred Mahr: In the reported position of this school, the deferred part may be set for a specified date, or left to fall due when the marriage ends; both are permissible and customary. Couples can also add their own conditions, and this school is reported to hold the groom to conditions the bride stipulates. For guidance on your own situation, ask your local imam.
The minimum: Guidance for the Ja'fari school is being prepared with a Ja'fari scholar. Until then, please ask your local imam.
When it is due in full: Guidance for the Ja'fari school is being prepared with a Ja'fari scholar. Until then, please ask your local imam.
Deferred Mahr: Guidance for the Ja'fari school is being prepared with a Ja'fari scholar. Until then, please ask your local imam.
Reference values computed from the stored nightly metal prices. They are references for conversation, not requirements.
The Mahr al-Sunnah is the Mahr the Prophet, peace be upon him, gave his wives: 500 dirhams of silver.
Assumes a dirham of 3.0618 g of silver (the commonly cited weight) and a dinar of 4.25 g of gold.
The Mahr is the bride's right and her property alone. She alone decides what happens to it: she can keep it, spend it, save it or set it aside, and it is not payment for anything. It does not belong to her family, and it is not a price. The Quran addresses this directly: "Give women their due dowries graciously", and forbids taking any of it back once given. This is stated first because everything else about the Mahr follows from it.
A deferred Mahr is not a hope or a gesture; while it is unpaid it is a debt the groom owes the bride. It does not disappear because the marriage has lasted, and it does not depend on his goodwill at the time. It survives separation and it survives death, which is why the amount and the date need to be written down clearly rather than left to memory.
Some jurists require a deferred Mahr to carry a known due date, and a contract that leaves it vague invites disputes later. For guidance on your own situation, ask your local imam. Whatever your school says, writing the amount and the date (or the event that makes it due) in the contract protects both of you: she has it written down clearly, and he knows exactly what is being asked.
A religious contract on its own may not be enforceable in the civil courts of the US, UK or Canada, and court outcomes for Mahr claims have varied widely by state and by judge. Researchers and legal practitioners therefore advise Muslim couples to also give the Mahr civil effect: through a registered civil marriage, or through a premarital agreement that names the Mahr. In US states that have adopted the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, that framework governs how such agreements are made and enforced; in England and Wales, the Supreme Court in Radmacher v Granatino held that a couple's agreement can carry decisive weight where both entered it freely with a full appreciation of its implications, though it is still not automatically binding.
Self-reported survey of married North American Muslim women; sample size and method not published; from a commercial calculator.
As an example of a statutory limit: UAE Federal Law 21 of 1997 sets advance dowry at no more than AED 20,000 and deferred at no more than AED 30,000.
Rules of thumb some community guides use. These are not religious rulings.
2.5% of annual income: enter an income to see it
Islamic Finance Guru describes this as a moderate Mahr.
Your income stays in this browser.
Looking for where these figures fit in your own nikah? Start your contract.