The mahr of women and the differences on it

Abd al-Rahman bin al-Baylamani, the freed slave of Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), said: Once the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said in a sermon: "Marry off the unmarried among you." A man stood up and asked: "O Messenger of Allah! What will their dowries be?" He said: "Whatever their families agree upon."

The grandfather of Ibn Abi Labibah said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever makes a woman lawful for himself even with one dirham, she has become lawful for him."

He (Abu Bakr Ibn Abi Shaybah) said: I heard Waki' giving a fatwa according to it, saying: He may marry her for one dirham.

Sayyiduna Amir bin Rabi'ah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: In the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) a man married a woman for two sandals as her dowry, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) declared his marriage valid.

Sayyiduna Sahl bin Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) married a man to a woman on the dowry that he would teach her a surah of the Qur'an.

Sa'id bin al-Musayyib said: If a woman agrees to take a whip as her dowry, that will be her dowry.

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Sayyiduna Abd al-Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) married for a date-stone of gold; that date-stone was equal to three and one third dirhams.

Al-Hasan said: Whatever dowry the husband and wife agree upon, that dowry is sufficient.

Ata said, concerning a man who marries for ten dirhams: The Muslims used to marry for less than that and for more than that as well.

Salih bin Muslim said: I asked al-Sha'bi: "If a man marries a woman for one dirham, what is the ruling?" He said: "It is not valid unless it is with a garment or something (of that kind)."

Ibn Awn said: I asked al-Hasan about the minimum amount of the dowry, and he said: "A date-stone of gold, or something equal to it."

Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Do not give women excessive dowries, for if this were a thing of honour in this world or a cause of piety with Allah, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) would have been the most deserving and most entitled of you to it. Yet he did not marry off any of his daughters nor marry any of his wives except for twelve uqiyah of silver.

Likewise (through another chain).

Muhammad bin Ibrahim said: The dowry of the daughters of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and of his wives was five hundred dirhams.

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: There is no dowry less than ten dirhams.

Nafi' said: Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) forbade increasing women's dowries beyond four hundred.

Ibrahim disliked (makruh) that a marriage be contracted for a dowry of less than forty dirhams.

And al-Hakam saw no harm in it.

Nafi' said: Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) married Safiyyah for four hundred dirhams. Safiyyah sent him a message that this dowry was not enough. Then Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) added two hundred dirhams, secretly from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him).

Sa'id bin al-Musayyib said: The Sunnah in marriage is twelve full uqiyah and half an uqiyah of silver, which comes to five hundred dirhams.

Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him) said: There is no sin on a man in marrying for a little of his wealth or a lot, when they are mutually agreed and have taken witnesses.

Sa'id bin al-Musayyib said: If a man gives a woman a whip as her dowry, it is sufficient.

Ishaq bin Abdullah bin Abi Talhah al-Ansari said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) married Sayyidah Sawdah bint Zam'ah (may Allah be pleased with her) for a room that he had inherited from one of his wives.

Ibrahim said: They used to dislike that a man should marry for a dirham or two, like the fee of a prostitute.

Al-Sha'bi said: The earlier scholars used to dislike that a woman's dowry be less than three uqiyah.

Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The greatest blessing is in the marriage in which the expense is the least."

Muhammad bin Ibrahim al-Taymi said: Sayyiduna Abu Hadrad al-Aslami (may Allah be pleased with him) sought help from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for the dowry of his wife. He said: "How much dowry have you fixed for her?" He said: "Two hundred dirhams." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Even if you were scooping dirhams with your hands from the valley of Buthan, you would not fix so large a dowry."