It is recommended to be moderate in the dowry

Abu Salamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I asked Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her): How much dower did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) give? She said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave his wives a dower of only 12 uqiyah and a nashsh. She asked: Do you know what is meant by nashsh? I said: No. She said: Half an uqiyah.

Muhammad bin Abi Umar al-Makki narrates from Abd al-Aziz with the word "uqiyah" (and it also contains the addition): Five hundred dirhams; this was the dower of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for his wives.

Urwah narrates from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the dowers of the wives and daughters of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) were only twelve uqiyah, except Sayyidah Umm Habibah (may Allah be pleased with her), because al-Najashi conducted her marriage and also paid four thousand as dower on his behalf; and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) consummated the marriage but did not give her anything.

Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Beware of giving excessive dowers to women. If this were piety in the sight of Allah or a mark of honour among people, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would have been the most deserving of it; yet the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) married his wives and married off his daughters, and the dower was only twelve uqiyah, which comes to four hundred and eighty dirhams. One of them raises his wife's dower so high that resentment remains in his heart, and he says: I have borne hardship for your sake, even the strap of the waterskin.
(b) Ibn Sirin (may Allah have mercy on him) reported twelve and a half uqiyah, which agrees with what Abu Salamah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her).

Ibn Abi al-Ajfa' narrates from his father that Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Do not give excessive dowers to women." He mentioned it in agreement with the hadith of Hammad, that a man gives an excessive dower and then says: "Because of you I was burdened, even with the strap of the waterskin," and he holds it against her as a fault.

It is narrated from Ikrimah (may Allah have mercy on him) that Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) made Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) lawful for himself with nothing but a coat of iron mail.

Ibn Abi Najih narrates from his father, who named a man who heard Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) in Kufah saying: I intended to propose to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for his daughter in marriage, but I remembered that I had nothing at all. Then I remembered his (peace and blessings be upon him) kindness and generosity, so I made the proposal. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Where is the Hutami coat of mail that I gave you on such-and-such a day?" He said: It is with me. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Give it to her."

Mujahid narrates from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her), the daughter of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), was being proposed to, and a slave woman of mine said to me: Do you know that a proposal has been made for Fatimah? I said "Yes" or "No." She said: You should propose too. He said: I said: What do I have to give in order to marry? But she kept encouraging me until I went to him (peace and blessings be upon him). I held him (peace and blessings be upon him) in very great reverence, so when I sat before him I could not speak. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Do you need something?" I remained silent, until he said this three times. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Perhaps you have come to propose to Fatimah?" I said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "What do you have with which you can make her lawful for yourself?" He said: I said: Nothing, O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Where is the coat of mail I gave you as a weapon?" Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: That coat of mail is worth only four hundred dirhams. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Go, I have married you to her; but give that coat of mail to her and make her lawful for yourself."
(b) It is likewise 400 dirhams in my book, and in the narration of Ibn Ishaq it is 4 dirhams.

Ja'far bin Muhammad narrates from his father that Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) gave Sayyidah Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) a coat of iron mail and an earthen jar as dower; and the dower of the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was five hundred dirhams.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: In the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), our dowers used to be ten uqiyah, that is, 400 dirhams.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: A man, or a young man, came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said that he had married a woman. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Did you look at her? For there is something in the eyes of the Ansar." He said: I have looked at her. He said: "How much dower did you give?" He mentioned something. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is as if you carve gold and silver out of the side of these mountains! We have nothing today to give you, but I will send you in a direction where you will obtain something." And he (peace and blessings be upon him) sent him with an expedition towards Banu Abs. Then he came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: My she-camel has become too exhausted to get up. So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) took support from his hand and stood up, and struck it with his foot. Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: By the One in whose hand my soul is, it went ahead of the other mounts.

Sayyiduna Abu Hadrad al-Aslami (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) seeking help with a woman's dower. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "How much dower have you fixed?" He said: "Two hundred dirhams." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Even if you were scooping (wealth) out of the valley of Buthan, you would not set a higher dower."

Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Those women are greatest in blessing whose dowers are easy."
(b) In the narration of Yazid bin Harun it is: "easiest in expense."

Urwah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Part of a woman's being blessed is that her marriage is easy, her dower is small, and her womb is easy for children." Urwah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: That is, her womb is easy for children. Urwah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I consider the first sign of a woman's ill omen to be that her dower is large.