Dowry

the man. This has to be settled at the time of the marriage if mahr is not to be handed over immediately. This form of dower is called mahr muwajjal, “a period of time.” This has often been willfully misinterpreted as implying an indefinite postponement of the giving of dower. But this is quite erroneous, for a definite date has always to be fixed for the discharging of this responsibility. Mahr muwajjal, however, can take the form of some service performed by the husband, one notable example of which was the grazing of cattle by the Prophet Moses. When Moses left Egypt for Madyan, he married Safoora, the daughter of the Prophet Shu’ayb. His mahr muwajjal was settled and paid off by binding himself to grazing the cattle of his elderly father-in-law for a period of eight to ten years. Only after performing this service for a full ten years did he leave Madyan for Egypt.9 THE OPINIONS OF JURISTS The system of dower favored by the shari’ah entails immediate handing over of mahr. This was the practice followed by all of the Prophet’s Companions. Deferred dower is an alternative, but is not ranked equal in merit of a prompt discharging of this responsibility. It is simply a form of concession made to those who are unable to meet the requirements of mahr at the time of marriage. Further details on this subject may be found in the books of Fiqh. In his book, AI-Fiqh ‘aIa’l Madahib al-Arba’ah, ‘Abdur Rahman al­-Jaziri devotes 85 pages to the subject of dower. The issue of the two systems of dower, mu‘ajjal and muwajjal, is discussed in four pages. Although jurists have their differences on this matter, these are of a minor nature. The different sects of sunnis don’t differ in usul, or the fundamentals of religious belief, but only in minor rules of practice and in certain legal interpretations. Since, in some respects, separate doctrines are broached, four schools of jurisprudence have been established, known as Hanafi, Shafi’i, Hanbali and Maliki. All of these schools agree that delay in handing over the dower, whether in full, or in part, is lawful, provided that the period fixed for payment is not indefinite. The Shafi’is also stipulate that the “period of payment should have been, fixed in time.”10 NO HEAVY BURDEN The dower, which may be in cash or in kind, has to be fixed taking into account the bridegroom’s position in life. That is, it should never be more than he is easily able to afford, whether it be a lump sum in cash or some article of value. The jurists have different views to offer on what the minimum amount should be, but all are agreed that it should be substantial enough for something to be bought against it. Any amount which is sufficient for a purchase is acceptable as dower.11 There are no traditions which encourage an increase in the dower, whereas there are many