Money or Its Value Incumbent on Husband (Mahr)

LESSON # 487 FROM HOLY QUR’AN

 Money or Its Value Incumbent on Husband (Mahr)

Surah NISAAA’  (WOMEN) - Chapter - 4)

Verses –20 & 21 of 176, Section –3/24 (Part – 4)

20.  And if ye wish to exchange one wife for another and ye have given unto one of them a sum of money (however great), take nothing from it. Would ye take it by the way of calumny and open wrong? 21.  How can ye take it (back) after one of you hath gone in unto the other, and they have taken a strong pledge from you?

20.  Wa  ‘in  ‘arattumus-tib-daala  zawjim-makaana  zawjinw-wa  ‘aataytum  ‘ihdaahun-na  qintaaran  falaa  ta’-khuzuu  minhu  shay-‘aa.  ‘A-ta’-khuzuu-nahuu  buhtaananw-wa  ‘is-mam-mubiinaa. 21.  Wa  kayfa  ta’khuzuuna-huu  wa  qad  ‘afzaa  ba’-zukum  ‘ilaa  ba’-zinw-wa  ‘akhazna  minkum-miisaaqan  galiizaa.

Lesson

During the times of ignorance before Islam, there was a tradition too that whenever any person used to wish to marry some other woman leaving the earlier wife, in that case he used to accuse her wife falsely and tyrannize her of various sorts. So that she might return the money of mahr under compulsion and get divorce, in like manner, this money may be used in the second marriage. It has been restricted in these verses that while you have given much wealth to your first wife and now you wish to marry any other woman leaving the first, then you should not take back that wealth or money. It is unlawful to take back the given money from the first wife by the way of calumny and open wrong.

At the very time, the man and the woman have gone in unto one another, kept company with each other and reached the certain point of copulation, then the mahr (the money or its value incumbent on the husband) has become payable upon the man to his wife. How can it be lawful for the husband to get back that money of mahr and how can he press the woman if she does not want to return? There can be only one mode to get back the mahr i.e. if the woman exempts it with her pleasure. While these women have taken a strong pledge from you and you have reaped the complete advantage from them, then how can it be lawful either not to pay them or get back the money (incumbent on you) of mahr, which you have already paid?

Remember it that as after copulation the entire mahr becomes incumbent on the husband to be paid, like this, if correct solitude has taken place between the two (husband and wife), even then complete mahr will be payable. However, if they have not reached the point of correct solitude and the husband has divorced her wife, then the mahr will be paid half. These matters have already been discussed in chapter -2 (Surah ‘Al-Baqarah).    

Transliterated Holy Qur’an in Roman Script & Translated from Arabic to English by Marmaduke Pickthall, Published by Paak Company, 17-Urdu Bazar, Lahore, Lesson collected from Dars e Qur’an published By Idara Islah wa Tableegh, Lahore (translated Urdu to English  by Muhammad Sharif).