Dowery (Maher) Portion
(Latif Chaudhery, Lahore, Pakistan)
Mahr is that amount which is
paid by the husband to his wife at the time of marriage. Its payment is
compulsory and should be paid like honey bee expels honey (4:4). The purpose of
this defrayal and the method of its calculation are not given in Quran, except
that it should be as per husband’s capacity to pay. It cannot therefore be the
price, remuneration or compensation of something. It cannot be a gift either
because gift is neither negotiable nor returnable. Then what is it for? The only
thing left is the expenditure on marriage, which I think is decreed to be borne
by the husband alone and he has to defray all charges on marriage in both the
houses. The amount of Mahr shall depend on how the husband wants to celebrate
the occasion and adorn his bride. The purpose of this scheme, unless someone has
a different opinion, is to save parents from incurring expenses on marriage of
their daughters.
Muhammad Latif
Chaudhery