Muslim

Hadith Commentary: Benefits and Issues: There are forty dirhams in one uqiyyah, and twelve uqiyyah make 480 (four hundred and eighty) dirhams. By adding the amount of nish, which is twenty (20) dirhams, it becomes five hundred dirhams. However, since the dowry (mahr) of Umm Habibah radi Allahu anha was paid by Najashi, he gave four thousand dirhams or four thousand dinars. And the dowry of Safiyyah radi Allahu anha was her freedom. It is better that at least a portion of the dowry be paid on the first night itself, as the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam instructed Ali radi Allahu anhu to do.

Benefits and Issues:
There are forty dirhams of silver in one uqiyyah, therefore this amount becomes five hundred dirhams. According to the current standard, the weight of one dirham is 2.975 grams, and according to previous scholars, it is 3.06 grams.

Benefits and Issues:

➊ In marriage, the bridal due (mahr) is obligatory. Allah the Exalted has said:
﴿وَأُحِلَّ لَكُم مَّا وَرَ‌اءَ ذَٰلِكُمْ أَن تَبْتَغُوا بِأَمْوَالِكُم مُّحْصِنِينَ غَيْرَ‌ مُسَافِحِينَ﴾ (: al-Nisa, 4:24)
“And besides those (aforementioned) women, all others are lawful for you, provided you seek them (in marriage) with your wealth (by giving the bridal due), desiring chastity, not lust.”

➋ In the aforementioned verse, the conditions of a valid (shar‘i) marriage are stated.

First, that you seek (marriage) ﴿أَن تَبْتَغُوا﴾, meaning there must be proposal and acceptance from both sides.

Second, that you give wealth ﴿بِأَمْوَالِكُم﴾, meaning the bridal due (mahr) must be paid.

Third, that the intention is to bring the woman into the permanent bond of marriage, not for temporary pleasure (mut‘ah) or for making something lawful (halalah) ﴿مُّحْصِنِينَ﴾ “those who confine (women) in a fortress (hisn).”

The fourth condition is that it should not be a secret relationship, but rather the marriage should take place in the presence of witnesses.
﴿وَلَا مُتَّخِذَاتِ اَخْدَان﴾ “nor those who take secret lovers.” (: al-Nisa, 4:25) (Summary of Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan, Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf)

➌ The bridal due (mahr) should not be set so high that it becomes difficult for the husband to pay, nor should it be set so low that it holds no significance in the eyes of the husband.

➍ If the husband is poor, the bridal due (mahr) may be set very low, even if it is only an iron ring. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Nikah, Hadith: 5150; and Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Nikah, Hadith: 1425)

➎ The amount of five hundred dirhams is approximately equal to one and a half kilograms of silver.

(1) "Uqiyyah" is equivalent to forty dirhams. Twelve and a half uqiyyahs amount to five hundred dirhams.

(2) "Contracted marriage" means that he himself married his noble wives, and arranged the marriages of his daughters to his sons-in-law. If most of the marriages were contracted on this dowry, then the above-mentioned words can be used, even if not all marriages were on this dowry. This was a reasonable dowry. According to our current currency, it amounts to approximately ten thousand rupees, even though that was a time of hardship. As for the notion nowadays that thirty-two and a quarter rupees is considered the Shari' (legal) dowry—what era's calculation is this? Allah knows best! This is extremely unreasonable, let alone being Shari' (legal).