A man who marries a woman and dies without having fixed a mahr for her

Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked: "If a man marries a woman and dies, having neither fixed a dowry for her nor consummated the marriage with her, what is the ruling?" He said: "The woman will receive the full dowry, she will receive inheritance, and the full waiting period is obligatory upon her." Sayyiduna Ma'qil bin Yasar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I was present with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) when he gave this same judgement concerning Birwa' bint Washiq."

Likewise (through another chain).

Likewise (through another chain).

Nafi' said: Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) arranged the marriage of one of his sons. The son died before a dowry was fixed and before the marriage was consummated. The girl's family demanded the dowry from Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), and he said: "She has no dowry." They refused to accept this and made Sayyiduna Zayd bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) arbiter, and he decided that the woman would not receive a dowry.

Sayyiduna Zayd bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "She will inherit and she will also observe the waiting period."

Abu al-Sha'tha' (may Allah have mercy on him) and Ata (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "If, after the marriage, one of them dies before the dowry has been fixed, the woman will receive inheritance but will not receive a dowry."

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "She will receive inheritance but will not receive a dowry."

Al-Sha'bi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: A man in Madinah married a woman and died before fixing a dowry for her and before consummating the marriage. The people said: "She will receive inheritance but will not receive a dowry." Masruq (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "There is no inheritance unless a dowry precedes it."

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "She will receive half the dowry," or he said: "She will receive the full dowry." (The narrator Abu Bakr (Ibn Abi Shaybah) was in doubt.)

Alqamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: A man came to Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: "A man married a woman and died before fixing her dowry (mahr) and before having intercourse with her." Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Since the passing of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), I have not been asked anything as difficult as this; ask someone else." The people went around asking here and there for a month but reached no conclusion. So the man came back and said: "You hold a distinguished position among the Companions of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) in this town; you tell us." Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I will speak by my own opinion. If it is right, it is from Allah, and if it is wrong, it is from me and from Satan. My view is that she gets a dowry equal to that of the women of her family, no less and no more; she also inherits, and she must observe the waiting period ('iddah) of a woman whose husband has died." On hearing this verdict of Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), people of Banu Ashja' said: "We bear witness that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) gave this very ruling concerning a woman of ours, Birwa' bint Washiq." The narrator said: On hearing this, I saw Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) happier than I had ever seen him.

Nafi' (may Allah have mercy on him) said: A son of Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) married a daughter of Sayyiduna Ubaydullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). The girl's mother was Asma' bint Zayd bin al-Khattab. This son of Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) died before her dowry had been fixed. The girl's family demanded the dowry and the inheritance from Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both). Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "She will receive the inheritance, but she will not receive a dowry." The people rejected this view of Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), so they appointed Sayyiduna Zayd bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) as arbiter, and Sayyiduna Zayd said: "She will receive the inheritance, but she will not receive a dowry."

Al-Hasan (may Allah have mercy on him) said: A woman whose husband dies before her dowry is fixed and before the marriage is consummated will receive a dowry equal to that of the other women of her family. He used to narrate this from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). She will observe the waiting period of a woman whose husband has died, and she will also inherit.

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "She will receive the inheritance, but she will not receive a dowry."

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "That girl will receive the inheritance, but she will not receive a dowry."