DOWRY AND DOWER

DOWRY AND DOWER An Un-Islamic Practice DOWRY—a practice which has never been sanctioned by Islam— is greatly on the increase among the Muslims of India and Pakistan. The custom of dowry has its origin in the Hindu tradition. Hindus did not give their daughters any share in the family property. Instead, they were given dowries on the occasion of their marriage, as a measure of compensation, in the form of household utilities. By following this practice, Muslims are denying their daughters their rightful share in the family property to which they are entitled under Islamic law. The practice of “compensating” for this by giving them wedding presents and labelling these “dowry” or Jahez is, in reality, a deliberate evasion of the Islamic law of inheritance. Some Muslims consider dowry as the sunnah (way) of the Prophet, because he himself gave his daughter, Fatimah, a “dowry” on the occasion of her marriage. FATIMAH’S DOWRY As a justification for giving dowry, this proposition is clearly unacceptable. Early records show that the “dowry” which the Prophet gave to Fatimah consisted of only the barest of household necessities. According to Ali ibn Abi Talib, the 'Prophet Muhammad prepared for Fatimah a sheet, a leather bag for carrying water, and a pillow filled with grass'. It is mentioned that when Fatimah left for Ali’s house, it was quite unfurnished except for a flooring of sand, a pillow of date palm bark, a pot of water and a drinking vessel. Even the sheet which Fatimah was given had to be divided in two so that one half could be spread for sleeping on and the other half could be worn. Such a dowry would be considered unbecoming to most people today. It had never been the custom to give presents to the bride. The Prophet’s feeling of obligation can be traced to the special relationship between Ali and himself. The Prophet had requested Ali’s father, Abu Talib, to confide young Ali to his care. From childhood, Ali had been under the There is a saying of the Prophet that “the most blessed marriage is one in which the marriage partners place the least burden on each other”.