Nasihah (Advice): Do not give an excessive amount of Mahr
Abul Ajfa As Sulami reported that Umar bin Khattab (Radhiyallahu Anhu) delivered a sermon to us and said, “Do not go to extremes in giving women their dowry, for if that were a sign of honour and dignity in this world or a sign of Taqwa before Allah, then Muhammad Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam would have been worthier than you in doing so. But he did not give any of his wives nor were his daughters given more than twelve Uqiyyah (500 dirhams). (Abu Dawood)
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Question and Answer:
- My husband issued me a divorce in lieu of my Mahr to him. What is the status of such a divorce? Is there an Iddah period for such a divorce?
- A wife returning the Mahr amount to the husband in exchange of a Talaaq is referred to as Khula’. The Talaaq issued by the husband to the wife subsequently will constitute as an irrevocable divorce (Talaaq-e-Baain). The general laws and principles governing the laws of divorce (revocable/irrevocable) also apply to the Talaaq issued in the case of Khula’ i.e. she will observe the Iddah period of three menstrual cycles if she experiences menses or three lunar months if she does not experience menses or till birth if she is pregnant. (Al-Muheetul-Burhaani 3/507)
NB: Khula Divorce will only take place with the acceptance of the husband i.e if the husband accepts to issue the talaq in exchange of the mahr or a lesser agreed amount.
Talaq is the sole perogative of the husband. If there is gross abuse etc. & the marriage has totally broken down despite all efforts to save it and the husband is refusing to to issue talaq, the wife may approach the Jamiat or any trustable Ulama Organization for Faskh (dissolution) of the marriage.
And Allah Ta’ala Knows Best
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
(Islamic rulings on this Q&A newsletter are answered in accordance to the Hanafi Fiqh)
Fatwa Department
Jamiatul Ulama (KZN)
Council of Muslim Theologians
223 Alpine Road, Overport
Durban, South Africa
Tel : +27 (0) 31 2077099
Fax : +27(0) 31 2074163
Website : www.jamiat.org.za
Twitter:@JamiatKZN