Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
Can only something with monetary value be set as Mahr, or can an act or service also be validly considered as Mahr in Islamic law?
If both parties mutually agree to make a particular act or service the Mahr, then it is valid and permissible in Islamic law. It is not necessary that the Mahr be a material possession with financial value.
❀ Sayyidunā Anas bin Mālik رضي الله عنه reported:
إن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أعتق صفية، وجعل عتقها صداقها
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ emancipated Ṣafiyyah and made her emancipation her Mahr.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 5086, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1365]
❀ Sayyidunā Anas bin Mālik رضي الله عنه narrated:
When Abū Ṭalḥah proposed to Umm Sulaym رضي الله عنها, she replied:
“O Abū Ṭalḥah! A man like you is not to be rejected, but you are a disbeliever and I am a Muslim woman. I cannot marry you unless you embrace Islam. If you accept Islam, that will be my Mahr, and I shall not ask for anything else.”
Abū Ṭalḥah accepted Islam, and his Islam became her Mahr.
Thābit said:
“I have not heard of a woman who had a Mahr more valuable than Umm Sulaym رضي الله عنها—for she received Islam as her Mahr.”
Later, Abū Ṭalḥah رضي الله عنه consummated the marriage and they had a child.
[Sunan al-Nasāʾī: 3341 – chain ḥasan]
Authenticated by:
❀ Sayyidunā Sahl bin Saʿd رضي الله عنه narrated:
A woman offered herself in marriage to the Prophet ﷺ. A man stood up and said: “O Messenger of Allah, marry her to me.”
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Go and find something (to give as Mahr), even if it’s an iron ring.”
He returned with nothing.
The Prophet ﷺ then asked him:
“Do you know anything from the Qur’an?”
He replied: “Yes.”
Then the Prophet ﷺ said:
“I marry her to you for what you know of the Qur’an.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 5149, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1425]
So long as both parties agree, an act or deed may be designated as Mahr.
❖ Question:
Can only something with monetary value be set as Mahr, or can an act or service also be validly considered as Mahr in Islamic law?
✿ Answer:
If both parties mutually agree to make a particular act or service the Mahr, then it is valid and permissible in Islamic law. It is not necessary that the Mahr be a material possession with financial value.
◈ Examples from the Sunnah:
① Freedom as Mahr:
❀ Sayyidunā Anas bin Mālik رضي الله عنه reported:
إن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أعتق صفية، وجعل عتقها صداقها
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ emancipated Ṣafiyyah and made her emancipation her Mahr.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 5086, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1365]② Embracing Islam as Mahr:
❀ Sayyidunā Anas bin Mālik رضي الله عنه narrated:
When Abū Ṭalḥah proposed to Umm Sulaym رضي الله عنها, she replied:
“O Abū Ṭalḥah! A man like you is not to be rejected, but you are a disbeliever and I am a Muslim woman. I cannot marry you unless you embrace Islam. If you accept Islam, that will be my Mahr, and I shall not ask for anything else.”
Abū Ṭalḥah accepted Islam, and his Islam became her Mahr.
Thābit said:
“I have not heard of a woman who had a Mahr more valuable than Umm Sulaym رضي الله عنها—for she received Islam as her Mahr.”
Later, Abū Ṭalḥah رضي الله عنه consummated the marriage and they had a child.
[Sunan al-Nasāʾī: 3341 – chain ḥasan] Authenticated by:- Imām Ibn Ḥibbān (7187)
- Ḥāfiẓ Ḍiyā al-Maqdisī in al-Mukhtārah: 426
- Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar in Fatḥ al-Bārī: 9/115
③ Teaching Qur’an as Mahr:
❀ Sayyidunā Sahl bin Saʿd رضي الله عنه narrated:
A woman offered herself in marriage to the Prophet ﷺ. A man stood up and said: “O Messenger of Allah, marry her to me.”
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Go and find something (to give as Mahr), even if it’s an iron ring.”
He returned with nothing.
The Prophet ﷺ then asked him:
“Do you know anything from the Qur’an?”
He replied: “Yes.”
Then the Prophet ﷺ said:
“I marry her to you for what you know of the Qur’an.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 5149, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1425] Conclusion:
- Mahr can be financial, such as gold, silver, money, property, etc.
- Mahr can also be non-material, such as:
- Emancipation
- Embracing Islam
- Teaching the Qur’an
- Any act or service beneficial to the wife
So long as both parties agree, an act or deed may be designated as Mahr.
